686: North Korean Remote Job Infiltration, Apple Threat Alerts, and Stopping Gift Card Scams

Joe and Sam discuss a Wall Street Journal documentary on North Korean operatives using stolen identities, AI tools, and U.S. accomplices to gain remote jobs at American companies, including schemes where U.S.-based helpers host shipped laptops for overseas workers, raising financial and data-leak risks. They note interview red flags, AI face/voice masking, and an email pitch offering a U.S. partner for a 50/50 split. Sam updates on trying FDA-approved Closee eye drops for age-related vision issues, finding partial improvement but stopping due to itching/burning and concern over past side effects. They troubleshoot Fireflies AI auto-joining meetings via default settings after easy “Sign in with Microsoft” onboarding. Joe reviews Apple threat notifications, Lockdown Mode effectiveness, verification via account.apple.com, and Consumer Reports resources. Sam outlines KnowBe4 security awareness training and shares a near-miss CEO text gift-card scam stopped by verification.

00:00 Show Kickoff

00:08 Overemployed Meets Espionage

02:04 How the Laptop Proxy Scam Works

04:41 Interview Red Flags and Tests

08:22 AI Voice and Face Spoofing

09:13 Suspicious Joint Venture Email

10:57 Eye Drops Experiment Update

14:42 Fireflies Auto Join Mystery

18:20 Apple Threat Notifications Explained

22:33 Can Attackers Fake Apple Alerts

26:42 Lockdown Mode and Best Practices

28:28 Apple Emergency Resources

29:27 Handling Hard-to-Assess Clients

32:56 Jamf Response Playbook

34:50 Developer Mode Malware Evasion

36:46 Staying Ahead of Scams

38:10 Selling Awareness Training

39:45 KnowBe4 Campaigns and Phishing

45:10 Gift Card Scam Case Study

54:51 Phone-Level Limits and Wrap-Up

685: Recovered MacBook, Client Trust, and Preparing for Rosetta 2’s Phaseout

Recovered MacBook, Client Trust, and Preparing for Rosetta 2’s Phaseout

In this episode of Command Control Power, Sam and Joe discuss being short-staffed while covering client onboarding and ticket work, and how client relationships shift when a different technician becomes the main contact. Joe recounts a new small boutique client raising concerns about him having passwords, leading to credential changes and enabling MFA, plus a quick non-technical win fixing a poorly positioned VoIP phone stand. They address HomePod/Apple Music use in a business and disabling personal content requests, suggesting services like Spotify instead. Joe shares a case where a “stolen” MacBook Air was recovered via Delta’s lost-and-found because his MDM login window message showed company contact info; he used Adigy monitoring to track online status and IP changes, then arranged an Apple trade-in-value credit path for the recovered device. They close with upcoming macOS 28 changes: Rosetta 2 removal and loss of support for encrypted HFS+ volumes, recommending reporting to identify Intel apps and demonstrating MDM value to clients.

00:00 Cold Open And Introductions

00:17 Covering For Matt

01:31 Client Handoffs And Trust

04:49 Passwords And MFA Talk

06:55 The VoIP Phone Fix

08:13 HomePods In The Office

13:34 Small Biz Vs Enterprise Vibes

15:38 Adequate Survey And Anonymity

18:09 Music Tangent And Genre Debates

23:25 Back To Tech Teaser

23:33 Stolen Mac Recovery

24:23 Lost Device Monitoring

25:31 Delta Lost and Found Lead

30:15 Laptop Returned and Verified

30:36 Lock Screen Message Win

32:35 Trade In or Resell

35:29 Refurbish and Alerts Trigger

36:09 Flex Policy Breakdown

39:02 Lock Screen Serial Tips

41:20 Rosetta and HFS Changes

46:53 MDM Reporting Value

49:59 Wrap Up and Next Episode

684: Resetting AirTags, Beta Bugs, and Vibe-Coded Mac Health Checks

Resetting AirTags, Beta Bugs, and Vibe-Coded Mac Health Checks

The hosts discuss how to reset an Apple AirTag by inserting and removing the battery five times until a different sound plays, noting newer AirTags may require pressing down. They share issues seen on iOS 27 and macOS betas, including missing app icons in search, slow contact searching, Contacts app odd behavior, Apple Configurator on iPhone failing to enroll devices until using a non-beta phone, and a Control Center white-noise toggle bug requiring reboots. They debate installing macOS 27 “Golden Gate” on production machines, restarting habits, and workflow clutter from Safari tabs, Finder windows, and messy desktops, with Sam recommending an analog black glass dry-erase desktop board. They also note a Safari private browsing/profile issue showing history and Microsoft 365 credential problems. Jerry describes using Claude to “vibe code” an unsigned “MacWorks Health Check” app that collects Mac discovery info and uploads reports to Dropbox via API keys to replace a costly subscription tool.

00:00 Show Kickoff and Setup

00:26 Resetting an AirTag

02:33 iOS Beta Bugs and Contacts Glitches

04:20 Configurator Beta Breakage

07:41 White Noise and Beta Quirks

08:33 Should You Install macOS Betas

13:53 Restarting and Workflow Friction

15:06 Tabs Desktops and Finder Chaos

21:37 Analog To Do Board and Vig Talk

23:19 Vigorish Explained

23:45 Desktop Whiteboard Find

25:12 Madden Movie Tangent

25:55 Safari Private Mode Bug

29:53 Analog Workflow Systems

33:14 Notion For Solo Work

36:26 Vibe Coded Health Check

41:19 Sizing Storage Needs

50:55 Tool Ideas And Wrap

Best Of CCP: 158: Balanced Billing the Partner Plan with Richard Wingfield of Envision Design

Recorded on may 31, 2016

TOPICS:

Richard B. Wingfield - Head Geek, Envision Design, LLC of Houston Texas:"I have been using Mac's in business since original Macintosh in '84 and Envision, as a consulting firm, has been around since 1993. Started part time as sole proprietor and 20+ years later we are now a firm of 5 full time consultants here in Houston.

I tell people I am a "recovering architect" as I got my start in technology practicing architecture and being the "tech guy" in every firm I ever worked for. I even helped manage a DEC vax/vms system for a firm in Austin soon after graduating from The University of Texas with a degree in Architecture.

This episode examines Richards own "recipe' for Managed Services. Here is a brief description as discussed:

… Simple Hybrid Partner Plan is setup so almost all the clients “get it” and are not confused about how it works

- 3 part invoice is made up of

- small monthly fee per device (each mac, each windows, each iOS or android, each server… fees like $25/mac or $49/windows or $250/server etc) client must enroll ALL computers in the office (cant get cheap and have some on the system and some not)

- our “consluting fee” - which is time for humans to do the work to manage, monitor, secure and maintain systems and ALWAYS includes a minimum of one 2hr visit per month

(more if needed or requested)

- fees for services or hosting (if we host kerio email or rackspace or web or crashplan backups or re-sell backblaze)

-----------------------------------

You can find more about Richard and Envision design here: Web: http://www.envisiondesign.net

682: Using Claude for IT Fixes: Printer Pools, Chrome Log Sleuthing, UniFi IoT Wi‑Fi, and iPhone Protection Tips

The hosts discuss confusion caused by Microsoft’s email warning that Publisher will end in October 2026 and urging users to convert files to PDF. Jerry shares how he’s been using AI—especially Claude (and sometimes ChatGPT)—to speed up IT work: creating an Addigy printer pool by assigning static IPs to flaky Brother network printers, analyzing Mac logs with Claude to find a runaway Chrome render process causing memory pressure, and using the Quitter app to auto-quit Chrome as a workaround for battery and performance issues. He also describes fixing a weak UniFi doorbell connection by creating a 2.4GHz-only SSID and broadcasting it on multiple access points. The conversation broadens to AI guardrails, environmental and economic concerns, and social impacts. They cover security-minded IoT network segmentation, Sonos reliability, a client scare about entering a Mac password prompted by Touch ID autofill in private browsing, RingCentral sidebar customization, presbyopia eye drops, and phone accessory tips including ESR screen protectors, Spigen cases, camera lens vulnerability, battery health, and pros/cons of Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program.

00:00 Podcast Kickoff Banter

00:19 Microsoft Publisher Panic

01:39 AI Fixes Printer Deployments

04:19 Claude Reads Mac Logs

05:53 Quitter App Chrome Workaround

08:14 AI Ethics and Guardrails

12:07 AI Economy Bubble Talk

16:03 UniFi Doorbell WiFi Fix

20:23 IoT Networks and VLAN Trust

25:00 Sonos Reliability Updates

28:12 Experian Password Scare

30:06 Touch ID Prompts Confuse Users

32:00 V-Neck and Beard Side Chat

32:18 Beard and Shirt Banter

32:54 Eye Drops for Presbyopia

35:23 Screen Reflections on Calls

37:11 RingCentral Sidebar Hack

39:21 Best Budget Screen Protectors

41:58 Do You Even Need Protectors

44:27 Cracked Camera Lens Mystery

47:06 Battery Health and Upgrade Temptation

52:07 iPhone Upgrade Program Debate

57:54 Wrap Up and Sign Off

Best Of CCP - 540: Interview With Mike Bombich of CEO and Developer of Carbon Copy Cloner

-We are pleased to welcome Mike Bombich, creator of Carbon Copy Cloner.

-He tells a story of losing data that inspired his creation of Carbon Copy Cloner.

-Mike spent 8 years as a creative with Apple.

-CCC was initially donation-ware.

-He never wanted to put any barrier between you and your data.

-macOS Big Sur started the downfall of bootable backups.

-Mike talks about how that affected CCC and his customers.

-We talk about Time Machine’s reliability and alternatives to built in solutions.

-Mike is not a fan of backing up to disk images.

-Jerry talks about the new Quick Updates feature of CCC.

-Mike talks about his feelings on cloud storage.

-Migration Assistant is another hot topic and we get into methods of restoration.

-Mike has always had a concern about releasing software that can delete data.

-We love the fish (it’s a tuna!) that guides us to privacy settings.

-He shares a bug from the Mojave days that affects helper tools, that has now been corrected in Ventura.

-Carbon Cooy Cloner’s update will not be subscription based.

-Check out the latest release of Carbon Cooy Cloner and the list of new features.