Are you up to date?

Do you know when the software on your computers and mobile devices was last updated? Keeping them updated with the most current software versions is very important, and neglecting to perform updates can degrade performance, increase instability and a make the system vulnerable to security threats. 

The operating systems, often referred to as an OS, is the software that controls a computer’s basic functions, and is the most important software installed on our computing devices, and the one most at risk for causing problems. Operating systems are given version numbers, sometimes followed by a code name. Major updates are introduced at intervals of a year or more, and incremental updates are released several times a year, usually to address security issues. Ignoring these updates cannot only degrade performance, but increase the risk of security breaches. 

Apple releases a major new version of its Macintosh, iPhone and iPad operating systems every fall, with minor updates available as they become necessary. MacOS 10.14, code name Mojave, for Mac computers was released in September 2018, and the most up-to-date version, released earlier this month, is 10.14.3. Apple also released its updated mobile operating system, iOS 12, last September, and the most current version is 12.1.2. 

Microsoft Windows 10, which runs on most other computers, was released in 2015, and periodic updates have been issued as needed, the most recent being version 1803. The current Android mobile operating system, named Pie - version 9.0, was released in August of 2018, and since then there have been several security updates.  

Both Microsoft and Apple include options to automatically download OS updates in the background. To activate automatic updates on a Mac running Mojave, open System Preferences and select Software Update and check ‘Automatically keep my Mac up to date.’ The actual installation process will be completed once the computer is restarted. In addition to MacOS, this also includes updates to software applications purchased through the App Store. 

For Windows 10 Home users, manual updating is not an option — the OS automatically updates whenever a new version is released. Most Windows users have had the experience of turning on their computer and getting the message that an update is in progress and the computer needs to restart. Since most OS updates require the computer to restart, you should always save your work when you leave the computer unattended, as most of us never know when an update will take place. Application software (word processing software, photo applications, etc.) should also be kept current, and most publishers notify users when updates are available.

It is also important to keep mobile devices current, and activating automatic updates is the best course of actions. On Apple iOS devices go to Settings; General; Software Update  and turn on Automatic Updates if it is not already turned on. iOS updates will be downloaded in the background, and you will be notified when an update is ready to be installed. You can then postpone the actual installation until you are not using the device.

You can also set your Apple devices to update installed apps as they are released. To do so, go to Settings and select your name, which appears at the top of screen. Select iTunes and App Store from the list, and turn on Updates. To view recent update activity, select the App Store app and tap Updates from the menu bar. The resulting screen shows a list of updated apps, with the most recent app at the top of the screen.

The Android operating system runs on devices made by a variety of manufacturers, and in most cases OS updates are the responsibility of the cellular carrier. As I have never used an Android device, I did some research on how to enable automatic updates, and it appears that each manufacturer handles the update system differently. My advice is to visit your carrier’s website for directions on how to enable updates of the OS and installed apps. It is also important to remember that updates to mobile operating systems can only take place when the devices are fully charged or plugged into a power outlet. 

When major OS updates are announced, Microsoft and Apple will include requirements for running the new software. Some equipment is just too old to be compatible with operating system versions that require additional memory and processing speed. It is also important to note publishers of application software must issue updates to keep pace with the updates to operating systems. If your computers and devices cannot run new versions of an operating system, then you may not be able to run current versions of your valued applications.

Are you looking at me?

For a minute, envision a movie or TV show featuring a law enforcement agency looking for the bad guy who is trying to flee the country. Cut to a computer screen using facial recognition technology to scan every person picked up by a CCTV Surveillance camera at the airport (CCTV stands for closed-circuit television). Within minutes the missing person is identified by the computer and apprehended. Is this speed of identification really possibly or still in the realm of science fiction? I decided to do a little research to learn the answer. 

While not yet ubiquitous, facial recognition technology is being used in the real world for a variety of applications. Facebook uses facial recognition technology to tag people in the photos you upload, and many digital photography applications can recognize, sort and identify the people in your photos. If you use an iPhone X, Galaxy Note 9 or an LG G7 mobile phone, you can unlocked it by holding the phone up to your face. Apple calls their system Face ID, and according to the Apple website, “Face ID uses advanced machine learning to recognize changes in your appearance. Wear a hat. Put on glasses. It even works with many types of sunglasses.” To train a device, the user takes multiple photos of their face, and software builds a facial map to use for identification. 

On the other side of the world, Australia has been in the forefront of facial recognition technology since 2007 with the system-wide introduction of SmartGates border control. The system is used for holders of ePassports entering the country at its international airports. ePassports, available in Australia and a number of other countries, including the United States and Canada, include an embedded, biometric chip containing a photograph and personal data. Upon entry in Australia, SmartGates uses facial recognition technology to verify travelers identities by comparing a facial scan to the data stored in the passport, in addition to information housed in international immigration databases.

In 2017 it was estimated that the police in London monitor over 51,000 cameras, and that the average Londoner was captured on camera about 300 times a day. Closer to home, New York has deployed approximately 6,000 CCTV cameras, as well as using license plate readers that capture photos of all cars traveling in and out of the city. The surveillance system in New York is one of the most sophisticated in the United States. The city is working with Microsoft to employ smart cameras using Artificial Intelligence to flag suspicious behaviors, such as vehicles that repeatedly drive around a singular location and unattended packages in public places. Chicago police command center’s continuously monitor approximately 10,000 cameras 24/7. These numbers do not include the thousands of private surveillance cameras installed in many of these cities. What is not widely known is how many of these CCTV system employ facial recognition as part of their regular surveillance procedures.

Many retail stores, as well as public sports and entertainment venues, employ cameras to take photographs of patrons, and compare the photos with databases of known criminals. However, you don’t have to be a criminal to have your photo included in a database of faces. According to reports by several news organizations, including both NBC and CBS news, the faces of most law abiding, adult Americans are part of statewide facial recognition databases. The photos are obtained from driver’s license ID photos, social media, and various government IDs. It is up to the states to decide to make their databases available to law enforcement, and presently sixteen states allow FBI access.

As with most technologies that use AI, this type of surveillance and identification is in its early stages, and privacy, misuse, and abuse are issues that must be addressed. Recently, facial recognition software designed by Amazon, Microsoft, IBM and a Chinese firm Megvii, have come under fire for problems of mis-identification as well as gender and racial bias. Last year, when the ACLU conducted a test of the Amazon software by scanning photos of members of Congress, if found that the software falsely matched twenty-eight of the photos with police mugshots. Citing privacy concerns, state and local governments are beginning to pass laws and issue guidelines to regulate the use of facial recognition software.

It is pretty obvious that facial recognition is going to become a dominant form of identification in the future. What today’s column hasn’t answered is the question posed in the first paragraph. Facial recognition technology does work, abet with many inaccuracies, but nowhere could I find information about the time required to match a known individual against a sea of faces appearing on real-time CCTV cameras. Thus it will probably be a few years before the scenes we see in the movies become everyday occurrences in real-life law enforcement. Look forward to that information in my 2030 column (lol).

Digital Housekeeping

A recent article in the New York Times by tech writer David Pogue outlined the steps users should take to keep their computers and mobile devices healthy. At least once a season I remind TR Times readers about the importance of making periodic back ups of all your computer data, and while Mr. Pogue advised making regular backups, he also recommended a “data cleanse.” The article addressed the idea that, just like in the real world, our virtual worlds accumulate a fair amount of junk, and now maybe the time to consider cleaning your virtual house.

A good place to start is by getting rid of all the files on your computer that are no longer needed — duplicate files, temporary files that were never deleted, downloads that have be save elsewhere and forgotten, bits of leftover files from deleted applications. All of this extra “junk” takes up memory and can slow down your computer and devices. Microsoft, Apple, and Google all offer built-in tools to help you clean out the junk.

• Windows 10 – Go to the Start menu and open Settings; System; then Storage. Click on “Free up space now,” and you will see a list of suggested categories to delete and how much space will be gained. Check the categories you want to delete and click Remove files. You can also turn on Storage Sense (the default value is set to off), and Windows will automatically delete superfluous and unnecessary files – temporary files, and files that accumulate in your recycle bin.

• Apple Macintosh – Included with its most recent version of Mac OS (computer operating system High Sierra or later) is a utility to manage the files on your Mac. To access the utility, click on the Apple menu at the top left of the screen and select About This Mac; click Storage; then Manage. If you choose Reduce Clutter you will be shown a list of files that are deemed expendable. You can also view different types of files from the list on the left of the window. Choosing Applications lets you see if you have more than one version of an application, and which is older. You can also see lists of other categories of files, which can help in spotting duplicate files

• Apple iOS – Go to Settings; General; iPhone Storage for a visual picture of what you have stored on your iPhone or iPad, followed by lists all of the apps on the device and how much space each is taking up. By viewing this list you can decide what applications need to be eliminated.

• Google Android – Beginning with the Oreo version of Android operating system, you can clean out junk files by going to Settings; Storage; Memory; then Free Up Space. You will see a list of  downloaded files, photos and videos and applications that can be deleted by category, or one at a time.

One task the built-in utilities do not accomplish is identifying duplicate files. To find and delete duplicated files, you will need a third party application. The most popular Windows 10 utility for finding duplicate files is CCleaner, free software file cleaning software that comes pre-installed on many Windows machines.  If it is not installed on your windows machine, it can be downloaded for free at cleaner.com. While the standard version of the software is free, a Pro version is available for $24.95, and also available for the Mac and Android operating systems.

As a Mac user, I am very satisfied with Duplicate Detective, an application that has only one purpose. The app searches for duplicate files, shows you the contents of both files and lets you choose which to delete.  The current version of the application, Duplicate Detective 2, is available for $4.95 from the App Store or fiplabs.com. On my iOS devices, I have installed BeetleCam Photo Cleaner that searches out similar photos, shows thumbnail images of the photos, and lets me choose which ones to delete.

Once you get your digital house efficiently organized, your computers and mobile devices will run faster, freeing space for all the new applications, files and photos you will be adding in the year to come. 

The Future is Happening Now …

The Future is Happening Now …

Last week’s column, titled “The Future is Coming,” previewed innovative technologies poised to enter the marketplace with the promise of making our life easier and more productive. A  more apt title may be the one for today’s column, “The Future is Happening Now.” While we, as consumers, think of technology as the devices and gadgets we see and use everyday, many of the technological advances changing our world happen behind the scenes.

I just finished reading Dan Brown’s 2017 best seller, Origins. While the book itself is rather formulaic, the story features a character named Winston, a very sophisticated AI (artificial intelligence) entity that converses with the protagonist as if it were human. Winston has a voice, communicates though headsets and smart phones, and passes the Turing Test —  a test developed in 1950 by the computer scientist Alan Turing that determines if a computer is indistinguishable from a human. The book postulates (spoiler alert) that the proliferation of personal technology is causing humans to evolve into a new and better species co-joined with technology. While this premise seems far fetched, there are many things happening today in the realm of AI that are fascinating, and maybe more than a little frightening.

In layperson’s terms, a computer programmed for artificial intelligence can interpret, analyze and learn from external information (data), and use what it learns to achieve specific goals and guide future performance. An example is how Google uses AI to rank the results of searches. In the past human operators decided the order of search results. Humans are not always objective and the top results were not always of the highest quality. Google has since replaced the human factor with AI that can more accurately select content for the ranking of search results. These AI based rankings are constantly changing as the AI learns from how users react to the search results. If the result that is third on the list gets more clicks than the results listed first and second, the AI code will change the order and bump number three to the top of the list.

Facebook is very close mouthed about the technology behind its platform, but company officials often cite the use of AI in monitoring community standards and weeding out unsavory, hateful and profane postings. Facebook still uses human moderators to screen and remove offensive material, but these moderators only act when a post is flagged by other users. AI is being deployed to identify potentially offensive material, and even fake news before it is flagged by users. Facebook and other social media apps like Instagram and Twitter also use AI to select the feeds that you see in your timeline. Every post you expand, every search you make, is used by the AI to learn your likes and dislikes and tailor your experience.

What about all the advertisements you see when you visit social media websites. How does the website decide what advertisement to show you, and why? How many times have you done a web search for a particular product, only to find ads for the same or similar product pop up next time you log on to Facebook or some other website. It is called programmatic advertising, and it is the dominate form of digital advertising on the web. Programmatic advertising uses AI to profile visitors to websites and apps, and then use that information to deliver selected ads across a variety of platforms.

Financial institutions use AI as gatekeepers to protect customers from potential fraud. Did you ever get a text or email notification that possible fraud was detected on your credit card? You can thank AI for watching over your account and flagging an “out of the ordinary”.  transaction.

AI is also found in apps on our smart phones that we use on a daily basis. Navigation apps such as Google and Apple Maps us AI to determine the best routes based on the interpretation of current, real-time traffic data. Camera apps with a portrait mode uses AI to select and blur the background, change the lighting and determine the main subject.

While artificial intelligence had moved out of its infancy, it still has a long way to go before it produces entities such as Winston that can converse and interact with us as if they were human. We are living in an evolving future full of promise and trepidation. OnMouseClick was conceived to help TR Times readers learn how to use everyday software. Over the years the column evolved to keep pace with an increasingly knowledgable readership and advances in technology. In 2019 my goal is to alert readers to the ever changing trends in technology and how they affect our lives.