High Sierra, APFS, and your hard drive-equipped Mac

Apple has released High Sierra, a new upgrade to macOS that’s installable on most Macs built since 2009 and 2010. One of the key features of High Sierra is a new file system. There’s a hitch if you’re using a Mac with a hard drive, including Macs with Fusion Drives. File systems aren’t a sexy feature or even a visible one, but the last time the Mac’s file system changed, Bill Clinton was president. So it’s a big deal. Read on for the full story.

Macbook highsierra file system

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Another heinous Flash problem? Update Flash on your Mac now!

Today brings word of an important update to Adobe Flash that fixes “critical vulnerabilities” that could let hackers take control of your system. The new version is 21.0.0.182, and it’s available for immediate download from Adobe’s web site.

Flash, and fake Flash installers, have become major ways that malware developers introduce corrupted payloads onto personal computers. So you need to be very careful when you use Flash, when you update it, or when you respond to pop-up messages that tell you to update Flash right away. 

If you already have Adobe Flash installed and you want to make sure you’re using the latest version, follow these simple steps.

  1. Click on the  menu and select System Preferences.

Sys pref

  1. Click on Flash Player.

Flash player

  1. Click on the Updates tab.

Updates

  1. Click on the Check Now button.

Check now

 

If an update exists, the Flash Player system preference will begin to prompt you to download and install the latest Flash update. If no update exists, the Flash Player will tell you Flash is up to date.