Your Mac Logs Everything You Download, Here's How to Clear It Out. Access OS X's Secret Terminal Hidden in the Login Screen. Become a Command Line Ninja With These Time-Saving Shortcuts. Secrets. Build the Mac Pro That You Wish Apple Released. The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable. iFixit removes the logic board from the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display during their teardown.
Photo: iFixit This week, Apple delivered the highly anticipated MacBook Pro with Retina Display — and the tech world is buzzing. I took one apart yesterday because I run iFixit, a team responsible for high-resolution teardowns of new products and DIY repair guides. We disassemble and analyze new electronic gizmos so you don’t have to — kind of like an internet version of Consumer Reports. The Retina MacBook is the least repairable laptop we’ve ever taken apart: Unlike the previous model, the display is fused to the glass, which means replacing the LCD requires buying an expensive display assembly. The design pattern has serious consequences not only for consumers and the environment, but also for the tech industry as a whole. The Retina MacBook is the least repairable laptop we’ve ever taken apart.
Four years ago, Apple performed a market experiment. Today, we choose. Editor: Caitlin Roper. Apple FileVault 2 encryption cracked, but don't panic. FileVault 2 is a feature of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion that provides a way to encrypt a full disk drive so that it can only be used by those who know a password ... until now, that is.
Passware, a company that makes forensic software used to recover lost passwords or open encrypted files to police and others, has announced that their Passware Kit Forensic 11.4 software (US$995) can extract the keys to FileVault 2 in an average of 40 minutes. Password was able to recover data from FileVault 2 encrypted drives regardless of the length and complexity of passwords. Fortunately for Mac users, however, not only does the cracking require a relatively expensive piece of software, but it also requires that certain conditions be in place for the software to be able to extract the FileVault keys. FileVault 2 easily decrypted, warns Passware. One of the welcome features in OS X Lion was the replacement of Apple's first-generation FileVault file encryption technology, which only encrypted the home folder, with a new whole-disk encryption approach.
Unlike the first FileVault, which required a number of workarounds and still had compatibility problems with various programs and utilities, the new technology is transparent to the operating system and enhances security since it not only encrypts user data but also all other data on the drive, including system caches, application files, and system configuration files that might contain some personal information. FileVault 2 requires the hard drive to be partitioned with a recovery partition that in part acts to store the password and encryption keys used to decrypt the drive. In a statement (PDF) issued this morning, password recovery company Passware has claimed that it can fully decrypt a FileVault-encrypted Mac disk within an hour. Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) Languages In some situations, you may need to reset your computer's System Management Controller (SMC).
Learn how to identify these conditions and to reset the SMC. Note: It is possible that the SMC could encounter an issue that may cause unusual system behavior typically related to the symptoms described below. In some cases, resetting the SMC may be the only correct method to resolve the issue. However, an SMC reset should only be attempted after all other standard troubleshooting has been performed. Before Resetting the SMC Try each of the following steps in this order before you reset the SMC. Press Command + Option + Escape to force quit any application that is not responding. If your Mac appears to be running normally but isn't responding, force the computer to shut down by pressing and holding the power button for 10 seconds. For Mac portables experiencing issues related to the MagSafe power adapter and/or battery, try: Indicators Fans Lights.
Command Line.