MacCare

12/27/2025

If you are considering purchasing an item on the Internet from an unknown source; it can be checked by going to the website in my comments. If it isn't 100% trustworthy then you may save yourself some money.

12/27/2025

This is a scam from a link on Facebook. All I had to do was close the page and continue browsing. Don't fall for pages like this always try to close the page or quit the browser or if needed, restart your machine before taking any other actions.

03/10/2023

Outlook Mail client is now Free. If you would like to use it as your email application go to the App Store and write "Outlook" in the search bar then click "Get"

01/14/2019

Don't get Malware by falling for this scam!

If you get a message in your web browser that "Flash is not up to date" then you are probably being enticed to install Malware on your computer. Quit your browser or force quit if you have to.

Go to System Preferences on your computer and you should see Flash Player, click on it, Select the updates tab and then click "Check Now" If your Flash Player is current you will see a message as pictured. If you need an update the Flash Player System Preference will get it for you to install.

06/24/2018

Apple will release Mojave - Mac OS 10.14 this fall and the system requirements retire many machines.

Apple has said that any Mac introduced in mid-2012 or later will support macOS Mojave, along with the 2010 and 2012 Mac Pro models if they have a Metal capable GPU. That’s fairly descriptive, but if you want a specific list of supported Mac hardware for macOS Mojave 10.14 then the following should be helpful to you:

MacBook Pro (mid 2012 and newer)
MacBook Air (mid 2012 and newer)
MacBook (early 2015 and later)
iMac (late 2012 or newer)
iMac Pro (2017 or newer)
Mac Pro (late 2013 or newer, or mid 2010 and mid 2012 models with Metal capable GPU)
Mac Mini (late 2012 or newer)

macOS Mojave. Dark Mode to put your work center stage. New features to help you quickly organize and work on files. And the all-new Mac App Store.

04/30/2018

Maintenance - Hard Drive Health!
Hard drives use S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology ) to gauge their own reliability and determine if they're failing.
You can get a free trial of DriveDX to determine the health of your hard drive. If the hard drive report shows 100% in all areas of S.M.A.R.T. testing you can likely eliminate that as an issue. If some of the S.M.A.R.T. values are less than 100% you will need to determine if your hard drive is at risk. I should mention that the report may be difficult to decipher if the values vary. Please feel free to save and send me a report if you have concerns. S.M.A.R.T. testing can give you the time you need to preserve your data. I find this is a great tool to use and own.

DriveDxThe most advanced drive healthdiagnostic & monitoring tool. DriveDx will protect you from data loss and downtime. Learn MoreFree DownloadRecommended by THE ECLECTIC LIGHTCOMPANY

03/09/2018

How to stay out of trouble when upgrading to a major release of Apple Mac OS software.
First of all this article has to do with having a time Machine backup of your computer before upgrading to a Major Mac OS release.
Once a year Apple releases a major update to the Mac OS Operating system usually in September.
This year it is called High Sierra 10.13. You decide to install the OS update because Apple reminds you repeatedly or you just decide it is the right thing to do. After the installation is complete you may need a day or more to make sure that all your applications run properly and there are no gotchas.

READ THIS: Do not use time machine or time capsule to backup your computer until you are sure that the installation meets your needs. TURN IT OFF! When you have tested everything; you are sure the choice was appropriate for you then you can move to the next step.
THE NEXT STEP: You can start Time Machine backups again.

WHY... If you let time machine backup immediately after you install a new OS you will have a far more difficult time downgrading to the prior Mac OS if you need to because the whole computer will have upgraded and some apps will not downgrade without manual migrations.

02/23/2018

Service Announcement: Apple has determined that a very small number of iPhone 6s devices may unexpectedly shut down. This is not a safety issue and only affects devices within a limited serial number range that were manufactured between September and October 2015.

If you have experienced this issue, please use the serial number checker below to see if your iPhone 6s is eligible for a battery replacement, free of charge.

This does not effect all iPhone 6s phones so you can check by serial number. Go to Settings on your phone -> click on "About" to find your serial number. This apple website will tell you if your battery can be replaced under the recall.

iPhone 6s Program for Unexpected Shutdown Issues

02/06/2018

The data you create: documents, images and movies all take up space on your hard drive. You have to manage your hard drive to insure you have space for everything. It is possible to fill your hard drive to the point that it can become slow and unresponsive.
The hard drive space can be seen if you go to the Apple Menu and click on "About this Mac" Click on the tab for Storage. Here you will see the capacity of your hard drive and the available space.
I prefer to have drives with 20% to 30% available space. Try to keep your drive with around 30% available space to control your machines performance. When you see your data start to approach the 20% level you should consider moving important data to another storage drive.
Remember every drive that you save data onto should have a backup!

01/04/2018

Spoofed email - an email sent supposedly from a person you know, often with a single link in it. It turns out not to be from the actual person but spoofed email makes you think that it is from them.
Don't click on the link. When you are spoofed the attack generally uses your email address to send out more spoofed emails in your behalf.
There is really no way to combat email intrusion other than education.
There is little than can be done to fix the problem of an email address that has been spoofed.
This problem can last for weeks or longer and may re-occur at a later date. It will eventually go away.
The most important reaction you should have is to question any email that is a suspect.
If you were to click on the attachment it is likely that you would also have your email address spoofed.
There is no way to prevent other people from using your email address. There are no services that can completely prevent spammers from using your email address since they are using a different mail server. YOUR COMPANY has no control over it.

01/03/2018

You need to maintain your Apple Computer regularly. At the basic level there is a program called Onyx that can perform some important tasks for you. You will need to download the program and the best part is that it is free. The Onyx app is specific to your operating system so make sure you download the version for your Mac OS - for instance, if you are on the High Sierra 10.12 then you need to download the version that is specifically for it. Once the installation is complete you can run the Onyx app and have it run a maintenance on your computer. The default settings should be fine for most users. If you want to know what it is actually doing (a good idea) then read the documentation under the Help menu. This will empower you to make good decisions about the maintenance. https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html

12/09/2017

If your trackpad on your Apple MacBook, MacBook Pro or MacBook Air does not respond or is wacky; the problem could be that the battery is failing and has started to expand in size. As the battery bulges it puts pressure on the trackpad making it act oddly or not at all. A battery replacement can be done to fix the machine. The problem is more commonly found on machines about 4 years old but possibly could happen on newer models.

The image shows a battery that has budged and broken the seam. This battery caused the trackpad to be non functional.