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Speed up internet by using alternate DNS servers

Did you know that Google has their own DNS server which claims to be several times faster than your normal DNS?

DNS server can be described as a phone book for the internet. Every website on the internet has an IP-address (for example Google's is 74.125.95.104), but remembering these addresses for every website you want to visit is a pain. What the DNS (Domain Name Server) server does is translate www.google.com into 74.125.95.104 and direct your browser to that page.

Normally the DNS server is hosted by your internet service provider but Google claims that their server is both faster and more secure, giving you a better online experience.

To use Google’s servers simply open System Preferences and click Network. Select the network connection you use to go online (normally AirPort if you use wireless or Ethernet if you are wired), press "Advanced…" and then select DNS at the top. Now you are presented with two lists, below left one there is a button with a plus sign. Click it and enter:

8.8.8.8

and in a new line:

8.8.4.4

Click OK, then Apply (if the DNS options are grayed out when you try to change them, just click the padlock in the lower left of the Network settings screen and enter your password when prompted). You may have to restart your browser for the changes to take effect.

It is worth keeping in mind that Google will be able to view your browsing habits, so it is a good idea to have a read through their privacy statement (https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/privacy).

Otherwise, if you'd rather not use Google’s DNS server but want faster browsing, you can use a tool such as Namebench (http://code.google.com/p/namebench) which tests a whole bunch of DNS servers (such as OpenDNS or DNS.WATCH) and finds out which one is the fastest for you.

 

Prevent your Mac from heating up

Posted in Tips & Tricks

Apple specifies ambient operating temperatures for most Macs as between 50°F and 95°F (10°C and 35°C), this means that anything above 95°F (35°C) goes beyond the conditions the Mac was specified to function within. Does that mean you can’t use your computer in intense heat? Most likely not, it just means you have to find ways to help keep it cool. With that in mind, here are some tips to keep a portable Mac cool when faced with blazing temperatures.

• Avoid using a Mac on a bed or fabric surface. Anything soft doesn’t allow for sufficient heat dispersion and can even block the air ventilation on many portable Macs, try to always use a Mac on a hard surface of wood, metal, or glass.

• Use a laptop stand. On hot summer days a laptop stand can mean the difference between having the fans blasting or not having them on at all. Anything that raises a Mac away from a base surface allows for heat to radiate out and for air to flow around it, cooling the hardware. Some laptop stands have built-in fans that blow directly onto the underside of a computer, these can be very effective.

• Raise the rear of a MacBook. No laptop stand? Make do with what you have, and try placing the rear of the Mac elevated by a hardcover book or something similar. It’s not as effective as a laptop stand, but this promotes airflow and can make a significant difference in keeping hardware cool.

• Place a Mac at the edge of a table or desk. No stand and no book to raise the computer with? Try hovering the rear end of a MacBook over the edge of a desk or surface to increase air flow where Macs blow out their heat.

• Use a fan. Yes, a standard room fan. This may sound silly but if you’re in an environment without air conditioning, pointing a fan onto a Mac will blow cool air onto it and help disperse heat. If you’re using a Mac in temperatures over 90°F (32°C), this is one of the best things you can do to not only keep yourself cool but also your computer.

• Keep away from the sun. Again this may seem like common sense, but using a computer in direct sunlight places an unnecessary burden on the fans. Even on reasonably mild sunny days the sun can cause fans to go into overdrive, it’s best to avoid direct sunlight completely.

Finally, a quick word of advice: if you’re in extreme heat and you don’t have any method to cool down your Mac, do yourself a favor and don’t use it at all until you get out of the crazy weather. Heat is one of the most detrimental forces to anything electronic and overheating can lead directly to reduced lifespan of hardware, diminished battery capacity, and other problems. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Use Secure Notes to store secret information

There are many times when people may have items they would like to keep secured, which can include banking account numbers, software license information or a Coca-Cola recipe.

If you open the Keychain Access utility, you will see a Secure Notes section for each keychain; here you can add any bit of text, and it will be securely saved to the keychain. Here are the steps to do this:

• Open Keychain Access (located in /Applications/Utilities)
• Select "New Secure Note Item" from the File menu (or press Shift+Command+N)
• Name the item and enter your secret information in the Note field
• Click "Add" to save the note to your keychain

Though the formatting of the notes are limited, you can add images, movies, and other media items to them. By default the new secured note will not be automatically accessible when the keychain is unlocked. This security measure will prevent people from accessing the note even if you leave your system unlocked. To view or edit the note, double-click it in the list and you will be presented with information about it. Click the Show Note check box and you will be prompted for your password in order to see the note. After this, the note will be editable, and you can click the Save Changes button to save and lock the note again.

 

Back up or move your Contacts data

Contacts in macOS stores a lot of vital information that you don't want to lose. Here's how to manually back it up.

• Launch Contacts
• Go to the File menu, scroll down to Export, then choose "Contacts Archive..."
• Name the backup something meaningful and export the .abbu file to the desired location

The resulting .abbu file is easy to reimport by going to File > Import in Contacts. This file can be stored for back up purposes or used if you just want to easily copy Contacts data to a new Mac.

What about iCloud? If you use iCloud, Contacts will synchronize its address book automatically with the cloud. This means you do have a separate copy of all your contacts there, but changes you make locally are synchronized. If you lose contacts locally, the synchronized copy at iCloud may have dropped them as well. Note that you can restore iCloud contacts to a previous state, however:

• Open iCloud Settings at iCloud.com
• Follow the Restore Contacts link under Advanced
• Click Restore next to the most recent backup copy you suspect to contain the lost data

iCloud will create a new backup copy of the current state of your address book (which you can restore using the same process), then replace all contacts on all your devices and iCloud.com with the archived copy.

 

Create email reminders in Reminders and Calendar

To easily remind yourself about an email message in Mail that needs your attention, you can use the Reminders or Calendar app.

Simply drag and drop the message from Mail to the Reminders application icon in the Dock. The Reminders app will present a new item in your default list with the name of the email as the title, and a link to the message. Clicking the link will open the email in Mail. You can easily set a reminder for a location or date, along with a priority from here.

You can also drag and drop an email from the Mail app into the Calendar app on a specific date. This will create a new event on that date.