OWT Technical Support News

Should you upgrade to MacOS 14 (Sonoma)

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 18:29:00 -0700

This year's MacOS update has been a mixed bag for us. If you are using a Mac with a "M" series chip (Apple Silicon) we are recommending the update now.

If you are running a Mac with an Intel chip we suggest waiting at least for version 14.1 to be released as we have seen enough issues to cause some concern.

Should you upgrade to iPadOS 17?

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 18:29:00 -0700

Like iOS 17 we found this years beta releases to be very stable and we are recommending users upgrade to iPadOS at this time.

Should you upgrade to iOS 17?

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 18:29:00 -0700

This year's beta of iOS 17 was possibly the most stable we have seen and so we are recommending all users upgrade to iOS 17 at this time.

Some updates were critical for the iPhone 15 so make sure you are updating frequently with new hardware.

Should you upgrade to iPadOS 16?

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 18:29:00 -0700

iPadOS version 16 might be one of the most confusing updates we have seen in years from Apple. This is largely due to the new Stage Manager feature that can run on iPads with a A12X CPU or newer. This feature is going to confuse many but will someday be a great feature. Advanced users will have little trouble with Stage Manager and you do not even have to enable the feature.

Other than this the release seems quite stable and we have had few issues. We are recommending installation at this time. If you wish to play with Stage Manager you might enjoy it - we do - but it has caused some confusion. Your mileage will vary.

Should you upgrade to iOS 16?

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 18:29:00 -0700

This year's iOS update has gone well and throughout the beta process we saw very few deal breaker bugs. While iOS 16 doesn't bring a lot of startling features to older hardware the software still has some nice changes that most will like. We are recommending that users upgrade to iOS 16 at this time and feel the OS is very stable for the most part. Version 16.1 solved a few minor issues and seems ready for all to use.

Should you upgrade to MacOS 13 (Ventura)?

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 18:29:00 -0700

Short Answer: Not yet.

MacOS 13 was released on October 24, 2022 and can be installed now if your Mac is new enough to support it. Like every other point zero release of MacOS we advise that you wait a bit. We generally wait for the .1 release when the bad bugs are expunged and this time is no exception. We haven't seen a lot of serious bugs in the final release but the confusion factor is high with significant changes to how you configure your system. We are hoping this will get a bit better but check back before the end of the year and we might be recommending installation.

Update: 11/7/2022 - having now installed Ventura on some 2021 and 2022 Macs (all with Apple Silicon) we feel new hardware seems to like Ventura very well. No real problems like we see with older hardware. We are getting used to both Stage Manager and the new Settings app. Probably don't need to wait for the next update on newer hardware.

Should you upgrade to MacOS 12 (Monterrey)

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 22:31:00 -0700

This year's MacOS upgrade might be the least feature-laden release we have seen but it still has some nice additions. If you were able to run MacOS 11 (Big Sur) you should be able to run MacOS 12. But should you upgrade?

Our feeling is that Apple is far more reckless with MacOS code than we wish and have never recommended an OS upgrade before the first point release - in this case that would be MacOS 12.1 which is not yet scheduled. 12.0 will be released on 10/25/2021 and we will install it on non-critical machines at that time. This should not be like some upgrades in that past that rocked third-party developers for some time (Catalina) but we are still taking a cautious approach. Big Sur went pretty well after 11.1 and we expect the same from Monterrey.

There has been some controversy about the changes to tabs in Safari and in the final release it seems Apple has admitted they have no idea what users want in this regard and made the default setting to be as they were with an optional setting to have some of the new tab features if you wish rather than full control of the feature. Other than some nice Facetime improvements there is no must-have feature for almost anyone in this release so you don't need to rush into this one.

Now that the final version, 12.01, has been released we have installed this on several Macs. As with previous releases installing on contemporary hardware went off without a hitch. Also as before older hardware was sometimes problematic. The installation file was an over 12 Gb download but once we got past that we had two installation failures on 2015-era iMacs that resulted in a re-format of the drive and so ultimately we had to migrate from a Time Machine backup. After that though the installation seems to have worked and all seems stable at this point. The installer is improved from previous major versions to be sure. Even the migration seemed to go smoother if not really any faster.

Apple has spent some time working on some small details that actually stand out during the full installation process which includes a lot of permissions and notifications so you will appreciate some improvements there.

UPDATE: having used MacOS 12.1 on a few systems - both new and a few years old we are now ready to recommend installing this version now. Still some wake from sleep issues but that has been the case with every OS this century for older machines so that likely won't improve. The jump from Big Sur is minimal but older OS changes will be noticeable.

12.2 introduced some new bugs relating to bluetooth and multiple monitors and 12.3 is an important update for security reasons so even through some bugs remain in 12.3 we still urge those running 12.1 or 12.2 to update to 12.3.

Should you update to iOS 15 or iPadOS 15?

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 00:00:00 -0700

Another year another update. The beta cycle was actually better than previous releases in that the releases were mostly stable and only quirky problems existed. If your iOS or iPadOS device was able to run version 14 it likely can run version 15. When is the right. time to upgraded?

We have traditionally urged everyone on every Apple update to wait for the first point release to upgrade. So in this case 15.1 which should be out now or very soon. There are some compelling reasons to upgrade in this version with the new notes features (iPad) and nice Facetime features but nothing is really a must have feature so we will stick with that advice.

While this year's updates may have been overall the most stable we have seen there still seem to be some issues with feature just not working or even visible - old features not just new ones - that require a power-cycle to solve. We have long recommended a weekly power cycle of every mobile phone, tablet and even computer if possible but with this release it seems a bit more necessary.

Some users are still complaining of reduced battery life which was certainly true with the betas but near the end improved. It may be worth reviewing your battery settings and turning some notifications off if you can. Also be sure to pay attention to the Focus feature as this really can minimize needless notifications and group them so that you are not constantly interrupted. We strongly urge you to take some time to setup the Focus feature set.

Since all of the most important features of the device seem stable we can recommend that with the 15.1 release you upgrade your devices now. However, keep in mind that if you. witness some odd behaviour the healing power of the power cycle.

Beat the Heat

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 17:39:00 -0700

With extreme heat we see more hardware related issues. Electrical gear tends to struggle at higher temperatures. Here are a few thoughts and tips:

Fixed Wireless Customers - obviously your radio has to be outside your location and it can overheat in direct sunlight. Hopefully that isn't for very long during the day. If your radio overheats it can help to simply unplug the power supply for a period of time but be sure to look at the radio and see if it is taking direct sunlight.
Fiber Customers - your fiber gateway hardware is rated to perform at temperatures up to 160 degrees and so it is unlikely to be the problem even if deployed in locations without climate controls. However, the routers and switches connected to this gear are unlikely to be rated to such a high temperature. If your gear is in a room with less than ideal climate controls you may want to look for solutions that minimize the hardware in that room. You can run an Ethernet cable for a much as 300 feet from the fiber gateway to your router or switch if you need to.
If your router and other Internet hardware is in a cabinet or enclosed area try to find more open areas for your gear. Consumer electronics often struggle at a lower temperature than you would think and this is especially a problem when the gear itself generates heat as many networking devices do.

Should you upgrade to MacOS 11 (Big Sur)

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 05:00:00 -0800

We have been testing MacOS 11 (Big Sur) and now are running 11.1 on those systems. This release seems mostly stable and we haven't had any major issues with 11.1. Still some minor issues with Messages and wake from sleep on some systems. Our second monitor issues have been resolved with and with 11.2 out now we had hoped for a solid release. Seems to be fine on integrated display systems but external monitors are problematic with resolution issues or just no video on one system. Many issues that are reported are really not bugs but changes that are not intuitive. Searching in many new apps is baffling. We understand it but don't like it either. I fear we may have to wait some time to see a reversal on this though and urge you to just deal with the search vs. filter concepts.

We plan to hold off on updating our mission critical systems a bit longer and hope 11.3 solves a few more issues. We do see fewer issues on newer hardware. On a late 2019 MacBook Pro 16 we have seen very few stability issues but on older hardware, especially a 2017 iMac, stability is a major issue but is improving. So, if you really want to upgrade and are running newer hardware you might be fine but with older hardware we might be looking at a similar situation we had last year with 10.15 where you just couldn't expect normal stability until a few updates came out. Since we aren't seeing many issues on laptops or iMacs with only one monitor we feel we can recommend the software for those systems now. Once the external display issues are resolved we expect to upgrade the rest of our Macs.

If you are currently running MacOS 10.15 (Catalina) then Big Sur should run on your Mac. If you are not you may want to look at the many issues that were caused by MacOS 10.15 with regard to the 64-bit app requirement. This was a deal breaker for some but a year in most software has been upgraded if it ever will be. If you use older software that cannot be upgraded you may lose access to this software with 10.15 (Catalina) or 11 (Big Sur).

It seems with every OS release every vendor takes some time to iron out all of the details but so long as these issues are minor they don't seem to impact getting work done significantly. MacOS 11 is cosmetically quite different in many ways but functionally quite similar other than some new features borrowed from iOS and iPadOS. With 10.15 many software vendors didn't get support ready for months but this version really only required updates to deal with new features and so most third party software seems to work fine.

Should you upgrade to iOS 14 (including iPadOS 14)?

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 18:04:00 -0700

We have found both iOS 14 and iPadOS14 to be quite stable since it's release and can recommend that customers install it. Even the beta releases were more stable than previous beta releases.

There are few must-have features in this release but several nice features are included. However, many of these are contingent upon apps and developer support so you may not see a huge impact right away.

If you are a Mac user and plan to upgrade to MacOS 11 (Big Sur) this fall then you might want to get your iOS updates done soon so you can start to get familiar with some of the concepts.

Should you upgrade to MacOS Catalina

Sun, 20 Dec 2020 19:23:00 -0800

Unless you purchased a new Mac very recently and have nothing but the latest software installed on your Mac we strongly recommend that you do NOT install MacOS 10.15 (Catalina) on your Mac just yet. We are not having any significant issues on new systems or clean installs without any data migration but upgrading still has some issues. If you don't have much in your iTunes library and have a small and simple photos library you are probably OK. Hoping 10.15.2 will solve the few issues we still have with larger iTunes libraries.

While we aren't seeing too many problems with the release software per se there are things you must check before you upgrade. Most significantly you must understand that Catalina will not run 32-bit software - all software must be upgraded to 64-bit. Apple has warned developers for more than 15 months about this eventuality but a lot of software hasn't yet or never will be upgraded. If you have been getting by with that 10 year old version of Microsoft Office you are out of luck.

To see how much this will impact you, if you are running a recent version of MacOS do the following:

From the Menu select About This Mac
Click on the System Report... button
Find the Software section in the right column of the report
Click on Legacy Software

You will now see all of the 32-bit applications and get an idea of what software you will lose when you upgrade. If you find that these losses are acceptable you can prepare to upgrade.

Now that a few updates have come out Catalina appears to be stable and the issues are minimized. Too many users are still frustrated by the loss of some legacy application but other than that we feel upgrading is safe enough.

Macs and Anti-Virus

Mon, 07 Jan 2019 23:01:00 -0800

Mac users have largely been immune from virus issues since their inception in 1984. Other than some Word macro viruses and a few specific malware strapped to legitimate installers Macs have really not had to deal with security issues -- until now.

Apple continues to do a great job of updating Macs either in the background or through security updates to protect them from most malware but no it seems to be more prevalent and we must be more vigilant. Disabling Flash and Java prevents mitigates much of this risk but malware authors are becoming increasingly interested in the Mac and ransomware is now a real threat.

There are a number of anti-virus products for the Mac as many players got in early with free offerings until this inevitable day arrived. At this point the two that we have had good luck with are Webroot and Bitdefender but others are available and some are even in the Mac App Store although we feel the more complete packages are not App Store compatible.

Anti-Virus/Malware Recommendations

Should You Update to Windows 10?

Sat, 02 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0800

Many of our customers ask us if we think they should upgrade to the latest version of various operating systems. Since so many have been released recently we thought we would share our thoughts with you.Windows 10First of all we like Windows 10. Windows 10 solves most of the problems we had with Windows 8 and doesn't post huge transition issues for Windows 7 users. Whether you should upgrade yet depends on a few variables:

If you are intolerant of obvious cosmetic and some less obvious but still troubling bugs you should wait. While mostly reliable there are some problems that have not all been sorted out yet. Windows 10 is being updated frequently and improving every week.
While we have found good application support if you have a mission critical application we suggest you check with the vendor to ensure Windows 10 compatibility. Most applications are but a few older applications may have some significant issues.
Check with the vendor of your computer. We have seen a few (most notably Sony VAIO) computers that do not have critical drivers supporting Windows 10 available yet. Laptops may be the most prone to these issues. These will come in time.
If you use an older printer or really any older device other than an external hard drive you might want to check with the vendor to ensure drivers are available for Windows 10.
If you use Windows 8 now you should have little trouble adapting to the new OS but it is a bit of a hybrid between Windows 7 and 8 in the way it works. This will be more daunting to Windows 7 users than Windows 8 users.

Overall we are pretty happy with Windows 10 and generally recommend it to all those using Windows 8 and most Windows 7 users. Windows 10 is a free upgrade for all licensed Windows 7 and Windows 8 systems. We wish Microsoft would extend this program to Windows Vista.

Remember that after you update you may need to upgrade your anti-virus solution! This type of software will certainly require and update. We do not feel you should rely on the built-in anti-virus/mailware capabilities of Windows 10 and suggest either Norton Internet Security or Secure Anywhere - both commercial solutions that work well under Windows 10.

With all updates and upgrades OWT is here to help. If you are uncomfortable with the upgrade or just want to use our fat Internet connection bring your system to OWT and we can do the update for you economically.

Wireless access in your home or office

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 16:39:00 -0700

A great many of our customers have a wireless router in their home or office location that distributes their Internet connection to the various devices they own such as phones, tablets, computers and game consoles. This is a great technology and immensely convenient but users should recognize this is also the most likely part of their connectivity to go wrong. Below are some quick tips to keep in mind when running a wireless access point:

A great many devices use similar frequencies. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi use similar frequencies and many devices in the home or office also use Wi-Fi and it is possible for these devices to interfere with one other. If you are having problems, try to keep these devices a few feet apart if possible.
Wi-Fi is very much a line-of-sight technology but it will penetrate most walls to some extent. Accross an open room you should have a strong signal but devices that are far from the Wi-Fi router or have a lot of metal or plumbing between them may have issues. If it is only distance then consider a Wi-Fi extender product. We can help with that. If there are appliances between the devices then moving the router is your best bet. Don't hide the router underneath a desk or behind a cabinet. Try to have the router fairly high in the room and without any obstructions and certainly away from other electronics.
If there is a microwave operating nearby that will generally always kill a local Wi-Fi transmission.
Generally you should be able to have a computer, cell phone, tablet and even Bluetooth headset all in close proximity to one another without interference but if you are troubleshooting minimize these issues nonetheless.
If the Wi-Fi router is on a separate floor and the access point is not obstructed in anyway and connectivity is still poor consider a Wi-Fi extender placed somewhere between the two devices.
Motors, refrigerators and some other appliances can interfere with Wi-Fi connectivity sometimes. Keep this in mind when deciding where to place your routers.
Wired connections are always preferred to wireless when possible. If you digital video device, game console, computer or other device can be connected to your router with an Ethernet cable that is always preferable to a wireless connection. If you need affordable Ethernet cables at any length we can help with that.

Ethernet and Wireless Routers and Extenders

Sending Email to Multiple Recipients

Fri, 04 Dec 2015 00:00:00 -0800

Dealing with bulk Emailing might be one of the most challenging things an ISP has to deal with. So many users bite on phishing attacks or are improperly protected from malware that spammers get a hold of their accounts and use it to send out spam to thousands of unlucky recipients. Sadly, these issues doesn't just impact the poor user whose account was compromised. This impacts all users that share that mail system as a lot of the larger organizations have become weary from all of the spam complaints and so when they see bulk emailing coming from a mail server they just blacklist it and no user can send even non-bulk Email to that organization. This is to some extent the lazy approach to dealing with spam but one of the few automated methods that works well and so this practice is unlikely to stop. Here's what you need to know if you wish to send an Email to a large number of recipients:

Send your Email in batches of less than 50 recipients.
Wait a few minutes between batches.
Make sure all of the recipients know you and welcome Email from you. Some providers (e.g. AOL, Charter, Microsoft) will react to a small number of spam complaints by blacklisting a mail server.

If our outgoing mail servers detect a batch of Email exceeding 50 recipients or too many outgoing Emails are sent in a short period of time your batch may be quarantined until a technician can approve the batch. We just look at the subject and recipient list to make a determination that the batch is not from a compromised account.

Virus Woes

Sat, 02 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0800

Despite advances in anti-virus and anti-malware software virus and malware issues are as significant as ever. What's changed the most is the severity that these infections can damage your system. In the past even the most infected systems could be cleaned in no more than a few hours work but today we are seeing systems that are just too badly damaged to be properly cleaned.For this reason we are encouraging Windows users take certain steps to help minimize the impact of these infections:

First and foremost make sure you have a backup solution. One that KEEPS you updated. There are a variety of solutions and will add some articles to this site to help with that soon.
Make sure you have a quality, updated anti-virus/anti-malware system that uses active scanning on your computer. We have some recommendations but none of the free products will protect you completely. We have a couple of solutions that we link in our recommendations section here. Understand that we are no longer recommending any of the free anti-virus solutions. If at all possible a commercial product will save you time and money in the long run!

Ransomware is a real threat these days. Security software may only partially protect you from the worst of this but when it doesn't it is in those instances where the malware tries to trick the user into clicking on something or approving something as an authorized addition that will ultimately encrypt your hard drive until you pay a ransom. The key here is to not be tricked. While you are casually browsing the web there is just no reason to do what a popup tells you to. Close them or your web browser if you have to but BE CAREFUL.

OWT supports SSL and TLS for Email

Fri, 04 Dec 2015 00:00:00 -0800

Many people are unaware and still more don't even care but OWT does support sending and receiving secure Email using SSL and TLS. Now your Email passwords and Email can be encrypted for security.

While this doesn't mean the NSA can't sniff your Emails as they whizz through the Internet tubes but it does make your Email more secure. Gmail isn't even supposed to be private and the free web-based products don't care about privacy but we do. Ask us how easy it is to turn on SSL and make your Email more secure today!

Ask An Expert

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 01:40:00 -0700

Very often we talk to customers that quite simply bought the wrong product for their needs. For many their only resource is what they learn from a salesman in a store or maybe an online review or two. In either case the information can be tainted. OWT is a service company and we really don't sell many products so you can count on us to give you unbiased advice based upon years and years of being geeks.

More and more we are being asked to consult on new purchases for our customers so we thought we would actually promote that service a bit. OWT will offer a consulting service where you can sit down with a technician and discuss your needs and we can help you decide the right product for you and quite often even help you find the best place to buy that product. Sometimes this will require some research on our part and other times we will just have the answers for you right away.

We really believe that you should never buy any device or technology without researching the available products and understanding which meet your needs the best. Then, understanding the pros and cons, you can make a decision based on features, value and price. OWT can do all of that for you and let you make an informed decision. We don't pretend to be experts in everything but if you Email help@owt.com with what you are interested in accomplishing we will, at not charge, tell you if we can help you. If we can help you we can setup a time for you to come in and discuss it with us.

Not sure which PC or Mac to buy? Uncertain if you need an iPhone, Blackberry or Android? Cable or satellite TV? What are your DVR options? HD TVs? 3D or 2D? What's the best way to watch Netflix? Do you need an iPad or a Kindle? We can help with these questions and many many more. Email help@owt.com today!

Did you know that OWT repairs computers too?

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:29:00 -0700

We don't just provide great tech support - we can fix your ailing PC or Mac as well. From virus issues and blown up Windows to replacing drives and other components let OWT get the job done right and save you money in the process. OWT has very competitive service rates and a lot of experience with both PCs and Macs. We do quite a bit of hardware repair and just about any kind of software related repair including data recovery. We can save you or your business money!

VIRUS/SPYWARE REMOVAL * UPGRADES * DATA RECOVERY * SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS MACINTOSH AND PC

Nervous about that upgrade? Let OWT take the hassles away for you. Call 783-3454 to make an appointment - we have openings just about every day!

'Psyb0t' Attacks Modems and Routers, Not PCs

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:02:00 -0700

A fascinating new botnet has been found running on DSL modems and routers running an embedded Linux distribution. The worm is called "psyb0t" and appears to have been circulating since at least January, 2009. The worm infects any of a family of Linux Mipsel devices ("Mipsel" is the port of Debian Linux on MIPS processors) that contain one of several administration interfaces. The worm uses a dictionary attack against the admin interface. If you have a DSL modem or Ethernet router with a "weak" password (something silly like admin and password) then YOU MAY BE VULNERABLE. We will have more info as it becomes available.

Bad RAM???

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 00:00:00 -0800

If your computer is acting up suddenly consider that any memory (RAM) recently installed (even many weeks ago) could be the culprit. We are seeing more RAM failures than at any time in memory and so swapping RAM out is now one of the first things we consider.

Dial-up Number Lookup Tool

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:14:00 -0700

Our dial-up phone number lookup tool is now live! You can now use our dial-up services most anywhere in the U.S!