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Apple Continues to Destabilize macOS with Kernel Panics

re: kernel panic

Each time Apple updates the OS, things get worse. My 2019 Mac Pro is on macOS Monterey. Since the last update, I’m getting kernel panics every 2-3 days now. I’ve also seen a kernel panic on the Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max, so it’s not like Apple Silicon is immnue.

It’s getting old. More reliability, fuck those emoji and iOSisms updates!

kernel panic ... and another kernel panic (why does an Intel machine have a RELEASE_ARM64_T8010?)
...
mp_kdp_enter() NMI pending on cpus: 0 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55
mp_kdp_enter() timed-out during locked wait after NMI;expected 56 acks but received 1 after 13681526 loops in 1246874999 ticks
panic(cpu 3 caller 0xffffff801e7cea77): Machine Check at 0xffffff801e7e34e4, registers:
CR0: 0x000000008001003b, CR2: 0x000070000ed19498, CR3: 0x0000000022fe1000, CR4: 0x00000000003626e0
RAX: 0x0000000000000020, RBX: 0x0000000000000045, RCX: 0x0000000000000001, RDX: 0x0000000000000000
RSP: 0xfffffff0be3e3ef0, RBP: 0xfffffff0be3e3f20, RSI: 0xffffff801f664440, RDI: 0xffffff801f4e4550
R8:  0x0000000000000000, R9:  0xffffff801f663980, R10: 0xffffff801f6644b8, R11: 0x0000000000000007
R12: 0x0000000000000020, R13: 0x07ffffffffe2d4c1, R14: 0x0001eb6364723e3c, R15: 0x0000000000000003
RFL: 0x0000000000000046, RIP: 0xffffff801e7e34e4, CS:  0x0000000000000008, SS:  0x0000000000000000
Error code: 0x0000000000000000
@trap_native.c:168
Panicked task 0xffffff8d1d40a670: 592 threads: pid 0: kernel_task
Backtrace (CPU 3), panicked thread: 0xffffff91e4ffa000, Frame : Return Address
0xffffff801e50da40 : 0xffffff801e67bebd 
0xffffff801e50da90 : 0xffffff801e7de5e6 
0xffffff801e50dad0 : 0xffffff801e7cd953 
0xffffff801e50db20 : 0xffffff801e61ba70 
0xffffff801e50db40 : 0xffffff801e67c28d 
0xffffff801e50dc60 : 0xffffff801e67ba46 
0xffffff801e50dcc0 : 0xffffff801ef148b3 
0xffffff801e50ddb0 : 0xffffff801e7cea77 
0xffffff801e50dec0 : 0xffffff801ef1c6bc 
0xffffff801e50ded0 : 0xffffff801e61c2cf 
0xfffffff0be3e3f20 : 0xffffff801e7cff56 
0xfffffff0be3e3f40 : 0xffffff801e6aba3a 
0xfffffff0be3e3f80 : 0xffffff801e6abc39 
0xfffffff0be3e3fa0 : 0xffffff801e61b19e 
Process name corresponding to current thread (0xffffff91e4ffa000): kernel_task
Mac OS version:
21G419
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 21.6.0: Mon Dec 19 20:44:01 PST 2022; root:xnu-8020.240.18~2/RELEASE_X86_64
Kernel UUID: 33C30416-3302-3FFF-9686-A557DED28C5B
KernelCache slide: 0x000000001e400000
KernelCache base:  0xffffff801e600000
Kernel slide:      0x000000001e410000
Kernel text base:  0xffffff801e610000
__HIB  text base: 0xffffff801e500000
System model name: MacPro7,1 (Mac-27AD2F918AE68F61)
System shutdown begun: NO
Hibernation exit count: 0
....
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IntegrityChecker (icj) Java Release 3.0 fc17

re: IntegrityChecker Java
re: data integrity

See previous notes on IntegrityChecker 3.0 and icj 3.0fc9.

IntegrityChecker Java (icj) supports Mac, Windows, Linux, etc—anything with Java, an unrivalled cross-platform data integrity solution.

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icj version 3.0fc17 (version 3.0, final candiate 9)

As before, tested and working on macOS Ventura. Download page for existing customers.

  • 3.0fc17
    2023-03-02 Added jattr tool
    2023-02-25 Improved wording/output of cleaning when attributes are being cleaned.
    2023-02-25 Fixed bug when cleaning --kind=lattr ; files were not being cleaned only folders.
    2023-02-23 Fixed newly introduced bug in which end summary would say "0 existing...".
    2023-02-23 added "lattr" kind for clean as in "icj clean --kind=lattr" in order to remove legacy attribute "user.diglloyd.icj.ID#N". Code revised to use same code for that and other attribute cleaning.
  • 3.0fc16
    2023-02-22 Fixed filepath gray portion for some cases.
    2023-02-22 Moved folder with non-matching inode is now MOVED* instead of MATCHED_ID
    2023-02-21 modified output from 'matches' to give totals for matched files and folders for [output.suppressInnocuousChanges]. Also modified to not have misleading count for the items, but retained this count for other matching preference groups.
    2023-02-21 change portion of 'from' path is now grayed-out for RENAMED (eg the name part) and MOVED (whatever path part is affected).
    2023-02-21 changed ouput.* to report.* eg report.INNOCUOUS_FILE_CHANGES, report.NEW_FILES, report.INNOCUOUS_MOVED
    2023-02-20 fixed bug where output.INNOCUOUS_MOVED matches were being made on file name instead of the whole file path
    2023-02-20 renamed warn flags to output.LIST_NEW_FILES, output.INNOCUOUS_MOVED, output.MISSING_FILES_IN_MISSING_FOLDER
    2023-02-20 changed FOUND_ID to MATCHED_ID
  • 3.0fc13
    2023-02-18 Strengthened support for folder and file IDs. Originals are noted as MOVED/RENAMED, copies as MOVED*, and 2 or more copies as MOVED*_CNT.
    2023-02-18 Fixed a nasty bug due to recent change from user.diglloyd.icj.ID#N to user.diglloyd.icj.ID#S in which the ID was not being updated if an ID already existed. The (false even before) working assumption has been that user.diglloyd.icj.ID#N did not propagate. But this assumption was always false (cloning backup programs, Linux). Now the code always checks if the ID is up to date even if an ID already exists. This deals with both copying of files/folders on the same volume as well as to other volumes.
    2023-02-18 Moved folders are now handled better; exact inode match results in MOVED or RENAMED. Match by ID inode results in MOVED_ID.
    2023-02-18 Renamed warn.MOVED_BUT_SAME_PARENT_FOLDER to warn.INNOCUOUS_MOVED.
    2023-02-18 NEW files are now listed for status, update, verify, with option to suppress via warn.LIST_NEW_FILES default true.
  • 3.0fc12
    2023-02-18 'matches' command now appends a trailing "/" to folders, to distinguish from files.
    2023-02-18 For [output.suppressInnocuousChanges], fixed bug in which 'matches' was showing only matched folders, but not files
    2023-02-14 The info command now lists non-writeable files in sorted order. Ditto for empty files.
    2023-02-13 Changed user.diglloyd.icj.ID#N to user.diglloyd.icj.ID#S so as to preserve file/folder IDs for purpose of locating missing files even when copied or backed-up to another volume. To remove the old attr, use xattr -dvr "user.diglloyd.icj.ID#N" FolderName
    2023-02-12 Implemented warn.MOVED_BUT_SAME_PARENT_FOLDER defaults to false. Suppresses detailed file listings of files and folders that now have different paths, but are in the same parent folder as before. By so doing, only the top-level moves are called-out, greatly reducing clutter for very simple changes like moving a folder hierarchy elsewhere. Applies only for systems supporting file/folder IDs. Files without IDs (eg locked files) will still be noted because of matching hash values.
  • 2023-02-01 Subfolders of a missing parent folder are no longer listed.
    2023-02-01 Fixed issue where stale and missing attribute counts were not totalled, resulting in zero count in the summary section.
    2023-01-23 Fixed issue where a filename that changed character encoding would result in "AssertionError: FileHashInfo: name mismatch...". Now the code checks if the file name compares as equals() as a Path instead of a String.3.0fc10
    2023-01-23 Missing files is now red if there are missing files.
    2023-01-23 removed "*** see Missing Folders listing above ***" from Missing Folders line.

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re: Thunderbolt 3

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Legal Tort Liability to Require Email for Login ID?

re: cyber social engineering
re: passphrase

Should companies that require the use of an email as a login ID should be subject to legal tort lawsuits for engaging in risky security practices? Heck yes.

Actually, it ought to be illegal to require the use of an email. Congress, or states attorney general, could you do something useful please? One year to fix this noxious practice, then allow small claims court damages of $1000 per person per month for those that fail to comply—things would get fixed very quickly.

Same email everywhere is just like the SSN risk

A lot of people rightly object to having the SSN (social security number or similar ID in other countries) tied to anything and for good reason—identity theft in particular.

Anyone informed enough to understand that ought to understand that using the same email or login ID across the web is the same type of single-ID security risk. Ditto for using the same password for any two things.

Many of us us base our digital lives on our email address. Yet most web sites force us to use an email for our login ID. Thus giving away half of the challenge of compromising an account (login ID + password). And creating a huge hassle when an email changes or must be changed across two dozen web sites.

With email known, malefactors out there need only hack the password portion, greatly simplifying the attack across dozens of web sites. And that’s a big deal when your password is compromised.

While most users use the same email even when not required, this stems in large measure from the requirement to do so, users having been trained in utilizing bad practices. In this way, these corporations actively degrade the security of billions of people.

Different emails

There are services that allow you to generate many different emails that all get routed to your inbox. A simple system like myname-website-1@wesuck.com can do the trick, varying the website name and the number portions. But this is a high-overhead headache:
(a) for most of us, it’s a hassle to find such a service, create/delete/maintain such emails, an ongoing burden,
(b) it is impractical for entering login ID (thought+effort+typos), making it likely you’ll use auto-fill and thus create a far worse security hazard.

vs Different login IDs

If you could simply invent your own login ID (that is not an email), you would not need any service or support or research. You would be able to use anything unique using any nomenclature you’d like. These ahole companies are denying you that, making your life worse, not better.

Some might argue that login ID + password should just go away and be replaced with passkeys. That argument is strong at first glance, but wildly unrealistic for many years to come. Even for a tech nerd like me, I have no idea how to use it*, and in essence it can automate total destruction of your digital life should the phone be stolen.

* If you need a 30-minute video to explain it, it’s too fucking complicated.

Reader Tait S writes:

Since you are on the topic of security...

I've tried to preach password security before - the only times that really seem to work was showing them places where their passwords are now known to bad guys:

https://haveibeenpwned.com/

MPG: great site, CHECK IT RIGHT NOW with your email.

Is Your Password Known to Hackers?

re: cyber social engineering
re: passphrase

Is your password already known to hackers? I’ve had at least two of my passwords compromised over the years by companies that were careless to the point of stupidity. Maybe more (I have hundreds of email addresses).

The obnoxious forced use of your email address for login ID by security-ignorant companies isn’t helping matters. By requiring your email as your login ID, even companies like Apple and Google are reducing your security and are training billions of people to have bad habits.

But it gets worse.

Apple iOS by its very nature makes it a huge hassle to use a high quality password by making it hard to type and impossible to see what you’ve typed. So they train you to use short low quality passwords lacking in variation. Apple has been guilty of this for years now.

How passwords are compromised

Never use the same password for more than one thing, excepting obnoxious things like the new HealthSafeID which is required for some sites, an inherently flawed single point of compromise system.

Lots of ways a password can be compromised.:

  • Sites that store the actual “cleartext” password instead of a cryptographic hash. In other words, it can be displayed for anyone to see, or hack into.
  • Regular password-resets that force you to use less and less good passwords, because you cannot remember the dozen or more passwords you are forced to change every 3 months. So you start using the same password in multiple places because it’s too damn hard to remember so many changing so often.
  • Password-reset schemes: an fixed list of “security questions” that are invariably themselves major security risks because the answers are readily available (hint: make something up, never use the real answers). An attacker just resets your password using these along with your well known email that you were forced to use as your login id.
  • Cyber social engineering: getting tricked into revealing it by phone, phishing, fake web sites, etc.
  • Zero-day exploits that compromise your computer or device and all your passwords and information, unknown to you until disaster strikes. This one is a bad one, because you cannot do much about it.

Apple iOS: Your Digital Life Stolen if Passcode Compromised? How it Works

re: cyber social engineering

re: WSJ: A Basic iPhone Feature Helps Criminals Steal Your Entire Digital Life

Summary: if a thief can observe your passcode and thus get into your phone, or even force you to unlock it with your face, your digital life can be stolen.

And if you are foolish enough to rely on auto-fill for passwords and/or to tie Apple Card/Cash and your credit cards into the mix as well (which millions do), you’re going to have a very bad day. Well, a very bad year or two trying to repair all the damage. And maybe all your money gone, unless you get lucky with your financial institution.

Problem #1: unfettered access to iCloud account, changes, etc.

Open question: when/how often does Apple require the existing iCloud passcode in order to change it?

Apple iOS: Major security risk

I tried this. I had not entered my iCloud password for months, so in my case it required that. But once I entered it, it “sticks” and no further prompting is done. And that’s the problem. I tried it on my daughter’s phone—no prompt. I don’t know how long it “sticks” but at first it required no prompt, then later it did. Is it tied to the passcode somehow?

There should NEVER be a case where the iCloud password is not required. And of course it is moronic if you make the iCloud password the same as your phone passcode.

Assume you have the passcode for the phone; the thief steals it as per the article above.

1. Go to Settings => Apple ID=> Password & Security.
The phone will not require entering the iCloud password unless it has not been entered recently. How long? That’s not clear.

2. Malefactor changes the password, changes the email, changes the recovery key, turns off Find my iPhone.

At this point, you are screwed. None of your devices can get your stuff back, not even the recovery key, since the thief has changed it. Everything is lost, forever, and Apple will not and cannot help you*. Unless your stuff is on your local computer and assuming you are not foolish enough to let things be stored (only) in iCloud (but most people do!).

Two-factor authentication (2FA) via your phone does not help you here, since the thief has the phone and simply allows the change. I did this myself—it is beyond stupid to see a “stolen” phone approve the theft of itself. What is Apple thinking to allow a phone being used to change the iCloud password to itself approve the change?

* This is why you make local backups that have nothing to do with Apple or iCloud!

Problem #2: saved passwords, Apple Cash, et

The malefactor has your phone and its passcode, has changed your iCloud everything and you are LOCKED OUT of all your stuff on all your devices and computers, as per above.

If you were foolish enough to use auto-fill passwords, the malefactor will happily login to your bank account, Venmo, etc, etc. Bye-bye balances. Rent and car payment due? Oh well.

Maybe you were foolish enough to have pictures of things like your driver’s license or passport, social security number, etc... suddenly you have 3 new credit cards, all maxed-out.

Or... some nude selfies headed for your Twitter or Facebook accounts or your boss, if the malefactor is feeling bored and especially malicious. Have fun!

Bonus: the thief is caught in one of our wonderful shithole progressive cities, the local DA will almost certainly release that turd without bail and probably never prosecute.

  ˜  
Security hazard on iOS: auto-filll passwords, Apple Cash, etc

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2-Factor Authentication (2FA) for Securing your Computer of Phone or Tablet Logins

re: cyber social engineering
re: 2-factor authentication

2FA = 2-Factor Authentication, a hardware device ("token") for login together with a a conventional login.

If thieves steal your phone your entire digital and financial life could also be stolen.

While thieves might also steal a 2FA device, such a device is easily hidden, and thus less likely to be stolen along with the phone/tablet/computer.

Reader Don H writes:

Do you have a recommendation for a 2-factor device?

MPG: excellent question. Standards have changed* and now there are general purpose 2FA.

Incredibly, very few financial sites support hardware 2FA devices and nearly all of them require a proprietary hardware token, making it a hassle to deal with more than one company.

For that matter, the vast majority of sites today have no support for 2FA hardware tokens.

The good news however, is that if you secure a password manager with a hardware token (eg 1Password on an iPhone), then theft of your phone is much less of an issue. The same applies to 2FA hardware tokens used with a password manager on computers.

General purpose 2FA hardware tokens are easy to use, but:

  • With which service(s) does the device work?
  • With which device(s) does the device work?
  • Compatibility: USB-A or USB-C and/or NFC connectivity.
  • How many 2FA devices? Consider two of them, in case one is lost.

Resources

Multi-Factor Authentication security key @AMAZON

It might come down to a specific device for a specific company in all too many cases. And some companies don’t even offer it; for example, I could not find any such option on Charles Schwab.

It all looks pretty sucky given that Schwab, Chase, etc all use proprietary tokens. Unless you have a specific use case, the Yubikey doesn't look useful, not in any general way.

Reader Don H writes:

I look into this every few years just to see if there’s been some usability breakthrough that makes it worth pursuing further, but after about three paragraphs of any review my eyes glaze over and I decide I can (continue to) live without it.

I’ll keep on using that crumpled-up Post-It note with all my passwords on it and type them in manually like a mediaeval scribe laboring over a manuscript. (Actually, I use 1Password 6 but I do manually copy and paste the passwords in because I refuse to install any browser extensions to save that step. Keep everything separate…)

MPG: I’m totally OK with a password manager on a desktop computer and a laptop with care, and copy/paste is fine but comes with a danger of leaving the password on the clipboard.

It sure looks like until and unless there is widespread adoption of things like Yubikey, I don’t see a use case for 2FA hardware tokens excepting very specific circumstances such as a brokerage account (eg Charles Schwab) or github, or similar.

* Some years ago PayPal sent me one, one of the old-fashioned battery-powered kind that continually displays the curent PIN code. I ended up never used it because I was traveling a lot, and I was worred about losing it and thus losing access to services I needed. But a further issue was that it was good only for PP.

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WSJ: A Basic iPhone Feature Helps Criminals Steal Your Entire Digital Life

re: cyber social engineering.

It’s not just about having your phone stolen; a phone can be replaced.

It’s about your bank account(s) being drained and your entire digital presence stolen/destroyed.

Worse, Apple’s recovery key feature can deprive you of access to iCould permanently—you lose everything on iCloud, forever.

Local backups (at home and/or office) not connected to a computer are critical. I keep trying to explain this to my kids and they just don’t get it—I hope my readers do.

See also: Apple iOS: Major Security Hazard if Passcode Compromised?

WSJ: A Basic iPhone Feature Helps Criminals Steal Your Entire Digital Life

2023-02-24

Security hazard on iOS: auto-filll passwords

The passcode that unlocks your phone can give thieves access to your money and data; ‘it’s like a treasure box’

NEW YORK—In the early hours of Thanksgiving weekend, Reyhan Ayas was leaving a bar in Midtown Manhattan when a man she had just met snatched her iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Within a few minutes, the 31-year-old, a senior economist at a workforce intelligence startup, could no longer get into her Apple account and all the stuff attached to it, including photos, contacts and notes. Over the next 24 hours, she said, about $10,000 vanished from her bank account.

Similar stories are piling up in police stations around the country. Using a remarkably low-tech trick, thieves watch iPhone owners tap their passcodes, then steal their targets’ phones—and their digital lives.

[Read our guide with tips to protect your iPhone data from thieves.]

Security hazard on iOS: cash, cards

The thieves are exploiting a simple vulnerability in the software design of over one billion iPhones active globally. It centers on the passcode, the short string of numbers that grants access to a device; and passwords, generally longer alphanumeric combinations that serve as the logins for different accounts. 

With only the iPhone and its passcode, an interloper can within seconds change the password associated with the iPhone owner’s Apple ID. This would lock the victim out of their account, which includes anything stored in iCloud. The thief can also often loot the phone’s financial apps since the passcode can unlock access to all the device’s stored passwords.

MPG: a simple passcode that unlocks everything and allows changing everything irreversibly is unbelievably bad security.

I give Apple an 'F' on real-world security because Apple fails to address the physical risks involved, relying entirely on the (false) premise that passcode security is all you need.

See Apple iOS: Major Security Flaw is Just Unbelievable, Apple Ought to Have Full Civil Liability.

WSJ: How to Protect Your iPhone Data From Thieves

2023-02-24

What You Should Do

  • Cover your screen in public...
  • Strengthen your passcode...
  • Enable additional protection for other apps...
  • Use a third-party password manager.... [MPG: better than using built-in features, but still a severe risk due to the thread of violence]
  • Delete scans of sensitive information...
  • If your iPhone is stolen, act quickly... [MPG: good luck! thieves know this too]

What Apple could do

  • Let people add extra Apple ID password protection...
  • Password-protect the iCloud Keychain...
  • Protect account recovery from hijackers...

“The most important thing is awareness,” says Sgt. Robert Illetschko, the lead investigator on such iPhone theft cases in Minneapolis. “People forget that what they’re holding in their hand is their entire life.” He adds, “If someone has access to it, they can do a lot of damage.”

MPG: losing your phone should not mean losing your digital life, and Apple is remiss in making it so easy for thieves to exploit you.

Recommendation: whenever feasible, use 2-Factor Authentication such as a separate hardware key for all financial/sensitive accounts. It’s a small device that fits onto a keychain with a code that changes every 30 seconds or so.


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Using a Password Manager or Any Stored Passwords on a Portable Device is a Terrible Idea?

re: cyber social engineering

I never have and never will store passwords for anything on my phone, not in any form, not with a password manager, etc. Nor do I have financial apps on my phone except for my bank (so I can remote deposit checks), and for that app I always manually enter a strong passphrase.

If my phone is stolen, I have no sensitive information on it that thieves could use.

Inconvenient? Yep. And it’s why I rarely sign up for services that require passwords—such a hassle to remember a different password for each of them*.

That’s going too far for many people. But for financial apps it’s risky to automate anything. And what if someone 'only' destroys your reputation via damaging comments or videos?

What would you risk if someone stole your phone and knew its passcode?

See also: Apple iOS: Major Security Hazard if Passcode Compromised?

* If you avoid password hassles by using the same password for all or short/easy passwords, you’re going to be hurt by that, it’s only a matter of when.

Password manager: the “Master Ring” for digital life

A password manager has its risks, but is almost certainly better than built-in features that remember passwords for you, because such features generally do not require any security measurees for unlocking, as well as doing auto-fill without user action.

A password manager is touted as a good way to secure all your logins. Is it?

One master key that unlocks everything?

Classic conflict between security and convenience. Risk your life savings for convenience?

What good does it do to have your passwords locked in a password manager when a phone/device thief need only force your thumb and/or face to do it, and/or threaten you with violence unless you provide an unlock code? Some good for sure and most of the time for most uses. But not when violence is involved.

At the least, use a 2Factor authentication device with a password manager, see discussion in reader comments below.

Rudimentary security check for password manager

If someone knows your phone passcode, is the password manager accessible? If so, game over; every account you have is now wide open. Of course the password manager had better use a different passphrase than the device itself. Try this:

  1. Lock your device.
  2. Immediately unlock your device.
  3. RISK TEST: can you use your password manager or other apps without now having to re-enter the password/passphrase for each of them? (which should be different for every one of them)

If the answer to #3 is “yes”, you are at extreme risk of major financial or other damage. Change your settings to require re-entering the password manager passphrase after unlock. And then reconsider what’s being stored and how risky it is.

And then consider all of the apps involved: do they just work without login after unlocking the device? That’s extremely risky.

Threats of violence

A form of cyber social engineering, violence beats cryptographic security like the game of rock-paper-scissors with scissors removed. And all you get is 'paper'.

Consider the threat of grave immediate bodily harm unless you provide a passphrase for the phone and/or password manager. Whether gun or knife or just getting beaten senseless your choices of permanent physical and/or pyschological harm are huge. Compound that with massive financial and digital harm and it ain’t pretty.

Recomendations

Do not use a password manager for financial/sensitive accounts

The higher the value to you, the more you should favor security over convenience. Memorize the login and always enter it manually.

Use 2-Factor authentication

Use a 2-factor device that goes onto your keyring for every account you can. Then if the thieves do not notice that device, you are in decent shape. If they do... that’s why you want to not have key logins in your password manager! See previous point.

Honey pot

Consider a dummy password manager so that the thieves can be satisfied seeing it unlocked, while you walk away. This is a sort of “honey pot” to buy you time.

Reader Comments

Reader Don H writes:

Just curious - do you have a recommendation for a 2-factor device?

MPG: see see 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) Ddevices.

Zero-Day Exploits for macOS, iOS Could Cost you Your Life Savings, Identity Theft, etc.

This bug is as serious as they get—total control of the computer or iPhone or iPad—just from visiting the wrong website. But don’t worry, it’s only your life savings and identity theft and little things like that. Nice work Apple! BTW... can we get some more emojis soon?

MPG strongly advises everyone to always have some form of 2-factor authentication for financial accounts and anything that might muck up your life if compromised. A 2FA hardware token is best (a little keychain device with a continually varying code). But if you use your phone for that (eg one-time passcodes), bugs like this could lead to all your devices being compromised very rapidly—computer, phone, tablet, etc— and the phone itself might be stolen.

Apple: About the security content of macOS Ventura 13.2.1

Kernel

Available for: macOS Ventura

Impact: An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges

Description: A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management.

CVE-2023-23514: Xinru Chi of Pangu Lab, Ned Williamson of Google Project Zero

Shortcuts

Available for: macOS Ventura

Impact: An app may be able to observe unprotected user data

Description: A privacy issue was addressed with improved handling of temporary files.

CVE-2023-23522: Wenchao Li and Xiaolong Bai of Alibaba Group

WebKit

Available for: macOS Ventura

Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.

Description: A type confusion issue was addressed with improved checks.

WebKit Bugzilla: 251944
CVE-2023-23529: an anonymous researcher

MPG: maybe Apple could beef up its security audit staff (are there any?) or offer better rewards for finding serious bugs, instead of feckless changes that degrade usability, calendar driven releases, etc?

Now that Apple is degrading macOS with iOSisms throughout the system, along with the same Apple Silicon chips for both, a system compromise on your Mac might also mean your phone and iPad all at once.


Get all the tools you need to upgrade the factory HDD of any 2009-2019 iMac to a larger HDD or a modern SSD.

TESTED, Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Image Scaling with Topaz Gigapixel AI

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

Incredible performance by the 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max that blows-away the expensive high-end Vega II video card of the 2019 Mac Pro.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Image Scaling with Topaz Gigapixel AI

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

Get one

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.
See 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max at B&H Photo, sales tax B&H Photo Payboo pays it does, for most states.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended MacBook Pro Configurations

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: image scaling with Topaz Gigapixel AI

Upgrade the memory of your 2020 iMac up to 128GB

TESTED, Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Adobe Lightroom Import/Export

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

Sometimes there is just no substitute for CPU cores.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Adobe Lightroom Import/Export

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

Get one

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.
See 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max at B&H Photo, sales tax B&H Photo Payboo pays it does, for most states.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended MacBook Pro Configurations

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: Convert raw flies to JPEG

Get all the tools you need to upgrade the factory HDD of any 2009-2019 iMac to a larger HDD or a modern SSD.

TESTED, Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Assemble Panorama in Photoshop

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

A great example of how a specific task can very in speed for unknown reasons.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Assemble Panorama in Photoshop

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

Get one

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.
See 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max at B&H Photo, sales tax B&H Photo Payboo pays it does, for most states.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended MacBook Pro Configurations

Photoshop CC: assemble panorama
2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro

Upgrade the memory of your 2020 iMac up to 128GB

TESTED, Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Adobe Camera Raw, RAW to JPEG

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

The 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max easily outperforms the 28-core 2019 Mac Pro in most cases, and leaves the 2019 iMac 5K far behind... amazing performance!

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

Get one

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.
See 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max at B&H Photo, sales tax B&H Photo Payboo pays it does, for most states.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended MacBook Pro Configurations

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: Maven build Java app

Upgrade the memory of your 2020 iMac up to 128GB

TESTED, Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Maven Build Java App

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

Who in their right mind would use an Intel-based Mac for coding/development? Do this 100 times a day (I do), and this matters to productivity.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Maven Build Java App

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

Get one

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.
See 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max at B&H Photo, sales tax B&H Photo Payboo pays it does, for most states.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended MacBook Pro Configurations

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: Maven build Java app

TESTED, Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Photoshop Benchmarks

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

Intel-based Macs are note remotely competitive for general Photoshop work.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Photoshop Benchmarks

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

Get one

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.
See 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max at B&H Photo, sales tax B&H Photo Payboo pays it does, for most states.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended MacBook Pro Configurations

Sustained transfer speed writing 1000 files of 1862MiB each to 3TB ~= 1.862TiB APFS volume

TESTED, Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: SSD Performance

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

2022 MacBook Pro M1 Max SSD is quite similar to the 2021 MacBook Pro M1 Max.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: SSD Performance

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

Get one

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.
See 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max at B&H Photo, sales tax B&H Photo Payboo pays it does, for most states.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended MacBook Pro Configurations

Sustained transfer speed writing 1000 files of 1862MiB each to 3TB ~= 1.862TiB APFS volume

With cached data (I/O a minimized factor), the picture changes to show the CPU capability, where the Intel Macs easily outperform.

Flash Drive (SSD) Speed vs Transfer Size from 32K through 512MB, APFS
2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2020 iMac 5K
Upgrade Your Mac Memory
At much lower cost than Apple, with more options.

Lloyd recommends 64GB for iMac or Mac Pro for photography/videography.

TESTED, Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Integrity Checker Java 'verify'

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

Here in 2023, Adobe has apparently done its homework on optimizing for Apple Silicon.

The 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max is limited not by its SSD, but by its CPU speed, which happens to max-out at about half its SSD speed

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Integrity Checker Java 'verify'

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

Get one

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.
See 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max at B&H Photo, sales tax B&H Photo Payboo pays it does, for most states.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended MacBook Pro Configurations

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: IntegrityChecker Java verify

With cached data (I/O a minimized factor), the picture changes to show the CPU capability, where the Intel Macs easily outperform.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: IntegrityChecker Java verify

Get all the tools you need to upgrade the factory HDD of any 2009-2019 iMac to a larger HDD or a modern SSD.

TESTED, Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Memory Bandwidth

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

Here in 2023, Adobe has apparently done its homework on optimizing for Apple Silicon.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max makes the best Intel-based Macs look like tricycles next to a racing bicycle.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Memory Bandwidth

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

Get one

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.
See 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max at B&H Photo, sales tax B&H Photo Payboo pays it does, for most states.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended MacBook Pro Configurations

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2020 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: memory bandwidth

Get all the tools you need to upgrade the factory HDD of any 2009-2019 iMac to a larger HDD or a modern SSD.

TESTED, Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Adobe Camera Raw Enhance Details

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

Here in 2023, Adobe has apparently done its homework on optimizing for Apple Silicon.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max laughs at the best Intel-based Macs as geriatric dinosaurs.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Photoshop Filters

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

Get one

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.
See 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max at B&H Photo, sales tax B&H Photo Payboo pays it does, for most states.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended MacBook Pro Configurations

Photoshop CC filters
2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro

Get all the tools you need to upgrade the factory HDD of any 2009-2019 iMac to a larger HDD or a modern SSD.

TESTED, Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Adobe Camera Raw Enhance Details

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

The 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max does laps around my $19K 28-core 2019 Mac Pro.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Adobe Camera Raw Enhance Details

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

More tests coming.

Get one

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.
See 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max at B&H Photo, sales tax B&H Photo Payboo pays it does, for most states.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended MacBook Pro Configurations

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2020 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: Adobe Camera Raw Enhance Details

Get all the tools you need to upgrade the factory HDD of any 2009-2019 iMac to a larger HDD or a modern SSD.

TESTED, Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Zerene Stacker Focus Stacking

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

I am delighted to report that focus stacking performance with Zerene Stacker is now fantastic vs last year, competing favorably with my 28-core 2019 Mac Pro, and wiping the floor with my 2019 iMac 5K.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: Zerene Stacker Focus Stacking

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

More tests coming.

Get one

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.
See 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max at B&H Photo, sales tax B&H Photo Payboo pays it does, for most states.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended MacBook Pro Configurations

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2020 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: focus stacking

Upgrade the memory of your 2020 iMac up to 128GB

Apple 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max: How Much Faster than 2021 MacBook Pro M1 Max?

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

More tests coming.

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

This thing is a full-on desktop replacement eclipsing the performance of all but the most powerful destkop workstations. It’s just 'ridiculous'!

M2 Max vs M1 Max

The M2 Max and M1 Max both have 8 performance cores, with M2 Max having 4 efficiency cores and M1 Max having 2 efficiency cores. EG 8+4 vs 8+2.

Adobe Photoshop has clearly had a lot of optimizations since last year’s tests. Thus no valid comparison can be made for M2 Max vs M1 Max for Photoshop without having a machine on hand to re-test. A 2021 MacBook Pro M1 Max was not available for such a comparison.

However, the hashing test results are entirely valid, as are certain other tests.

The M2 Max chip delivers a barely noticeable 7% performance improvement over the M1 Max chip through 8 CPU cores (blue line vs black line). We can therefore conclude that the raw computing power of the M2 Max CPU cores is barely noticeable vs the M1 Max.

However, for the (rare) job that can use all the cores, hashing throughput is 23% greater on the M2 Max from that 7% along with the two additional efficiency cores. But that’s just it—such jobs are uncommon at best—most of the time most of the CPU cores goes unused, and in human terms, you cannot perceive a 7% speed difference.

Which model?

This work is not free; it is very time consuming with no direct reward. I need your support. Thank you for buying your Macs and other gear at B&H Photo, which provided the machine for testing. Subscribing to my photographic publications is another way to help support work like this—consider that AppleCare alone is $350 on $4000 to $7000 machine.

Clearly the 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max is a better performer than the 2021 MacBook Pro M1 Max, but only marginally so. Other new features aside, a 2021 MacBook Pro M1 Max discounted by 15% offers better price-performance value.

Prioritize 64GB or 96GB memory if there is any chance that 32GB might not suffice (eg photography or video work). Nothing else will matter as much if memory is too low.

For those not too price conscious: max-out everything, then choose the appropriate size SSD. It is hard to go wrong with a 4TB SSD, and for many users 8TB SSD will be overkill. Strictly avoid a too-small SSD eg 2TB minimum.

For professional/rigorous use, MPG advises the M2 Max chip with a minimum of 64GB memory, 4TB SSD (internal flash drive). The 38 vs 30 core GPU is not very important for many uses, but increasingly matters for Photoshop and video work, and in the context of total cost, better to go all-in.

View: current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.

See the 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max models at B&H Photo. B&H Photo Payboo pays sale tax for most states.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2020 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: raw SHA-512 hashing speed

Get all the tools you need to upgrade the factory HDD of any 2009-2019 iMac to a larger HDD or a modern SSD.

REVIEWED: 2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max

What an amazing performance!

Consult with Lloyd to design a complete system for photography or similar including backup and data safety.

An 8+4 core laptop which thumps the best Intel-based Macs hard most of the time, lagging the 28-core 2019 Mac Pro only modestly and only when the task can use all those cores.

REVIEWED: MacBook Pro M2Max

More tests coming, see the link above for starters.

2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: Adobe Camera Raw Enhance Details
2022 MacBook Pro M2 Max vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: focus stacking in Zerene Stacker

Get all the tools you need to upgrade the factory HDD of any 2009-2019 iMac to a larger HDD or a modern SSD.

macOS Ventura: Finder Display of File/Folder Dates with Time in Seconds

re: Apple Core Rot

Let’s set aside the system lockup that required a hard reboot of macOS Ventura on the 2022 MacBook Pro M2, after first trying to force-quit the Finder and also to logout... no joy. Seriously Apple? I cannot recall this happening with any previous laptop I’ve tested. Everything about macOS Ventura is crap so far. What follows is just a small sampler.

Prelude

For me at least, macOS Ventura is the most work-damaging macOS release yet. Numerous usability problems that cost me time and effort have popped up like mushrooms after a rainstorm. Luckily, I am not running Ventura on my production machines, but I am having to deal with numerous headaches on a test machine.

For example, the crapified Ventura System Settings dialog is a study in making something simple vastly more tedious to use, by rendering all past knowledge and experience obsolete.

Its design was apparently taken from iOS, a dumpster fire of thousands of nested and hierarchical settings that few users are familiar with, like searching a garage full of 30 years of accumulated debris. The new approach to System Settings de-alphabetizes them and also reorganizes and renames many of them. The experience and know-how you had is now vaporized, having wasted a great deal of time to find things that before I could get to instantly. Search for what you want, with results almost always including half a dozen irrelevant suggestions (or more) only one of which is what you want. Or, none, since things have been renamed and now you have to guess at the new name.

Date/time display broken in Finder, difficult to customize

Which brings us to a related change: the removal of the ability to use your own preferred date/time format without special effort. No longer are you allowed to create your own date format, no longer can you have it with seconds. At least not in System Settings—only a handful of “moron mode” choices are now available.

Worse, the Finder cannot be customized in Language & Region, because it is not listed as a choice! So I have to put up with jackass date format which spells out the month—useless for a visual scan by numeric year/month/day.

What I want is the format like 2023-02-15 13:52:54, NOT the disorderly Feb 2, 2023 13:52. But the Finder does not respect Language & Region as shown below, insisting on this asinine format. Well, at least I got seconds added to the time, see how below.

How much time has this cost me so far? Half an hour, and I still don’t have what I want. Now take that and multiply it by half a dozen other Ventura issues, which might or might not have workarounds, and it’s a nightmare for getting work done.

macOS Ventura, Finder: broken display of file dates disrespects user settings
macOS Ventura, Language & Region: many choices have been obliterated, such as seconds, or your own custom format

Showing file dates with seconds

I realize that most people don’t need file times to the second. But it’s outrageous that Apple has taken away the ability to do so in the user interface. Apple, why not round to the hour or even the day? Before, you could have thousandths of a second if desired (I actually used that capability). But removing seconds? Someone over there has lousy judgment.

Never mind why, but for my work, I need to be able to see the file creation or modification times to the second. Sometimes I need this dozens of times a day. With the seconds hidden, the alternatives are tedious (even Get Info will not show seconds, which is insanity since info about the file is the whole godamned point).

You might also want to modify the date and number settings in System Settings => Language & Region.

Editing method

I prefer this approach, using BBEdit.

<key>AppleICUTimeFormatStrings</key>
<dict>
<key>1</key>
<string>hh':'mm':'ss.S' 'a</string>
</dict>

Changing the time format portion of file dates

See the discussion at discussion at AppleStackExchange.

This solution requires the use of Terminal.app. After the change, quite or logout of the Finder.

For the current logged-in user (recommended solution):

defaults write ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist AppleICUTimeFormatStrings -dict-add 1 "hh':'mm':'ss' 'a" 

For all users:

defaults write -g AppleICUTimeFormatStrings -dict-add 1 "hh':'mm':'ss' 'a" 

System-wide, all apps:

defaults write -g AppleICUTimeFormatStrings -dict-add 1 "hh':'mm':'ss' 'a"
Thunderbolt 4 Dock

Thunderbolt 4 hub and ports!

Any Mac with Thunderbolt 3.


Connecting Old DVI-D Displays to Modern Macs

re: computer display

Displays these days fall into 3 general connectivity categories: Thunderbolt, DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort, and HDMI. These are easy to connect with various adapters.

Older displays with DVI-D are more of a challenge.

James G writes:

The OWC PCI SSD in my vintage 2009 Mac Pro gave up the ghost maybe three years ago and as it was my boot drive the machine was unusable and most of my data inaccessible without a bunch of work. I also had a 17” MacBook Pro and enough of my data was on DropBox that I could get by and life got in the way. Circling back now with a three year old 2019 MacBook Pro and enough of a kludge with firewire Mac Pro to firewire 17” laptop to external SSD to MacBook Pro 2019 and I’m now good to go.

But I miss that NEC monitor.

Trying to mate that old NEC 3090WQXi monitor’s DVI-D technology to a more modern laptop has proven a challenge but I finally got it to work. I am attaching the details in case any of your other readers come up against the same problem.

1. Use the DVI-D port on the NEC closest to the center. I presume this is port 1. I could not get port 2 to work.
2. Connect a quality Dual Link DVI-D to DVI-D cable (preferably the one that you were using with your original setup) to the monitor port above.
3. Connect an Apple model A1306 Active DVI-D-to-mini DisplayPort adapter to the DVI-D cable.
4. Connect a Mini DisplayPort-to-DisplayPort adapter between the Apple adapter and the DisplayPort on your dock. I am using a CalDigit TS3+.
5. Go to System Preferences/Displays/Display_settings, select the LCD3090WQXi monitor, click “Scaled” and “Show all resolutions,” click "2560 x 1600” from the dropdown menu, and click "Done.”

These steps and devices worked for me but there are probably other combos that might also work. However, it took me over a month of consulting with CalDigit and trying multiple devices before I found something that would work. Most of the things I tried would only allow 720P resolution and/or would allow the laptop to find the monitor, then drop the connection and repeat that cycle every fifteen seconds or so.

MPG: more patience that I’d have. Few displays would be worth the bother, but the NEC 3090WQXi was a good one, the predecessor to the outstanding NEC PA301W/NEC PA302W.


Upgrade the memory of your 2020 iMac up to 128GB

Dirty Secrets of Thunderbolt Daisy Chaining: Never Reliable, Probably Never Will Be, Kernel Panics with Sustained I/O eg Backups

re: Apple Core Rot
re: Understanding Thunderbolt 3 Bandwidth

Terminology: Thunderbolt 4 is a renaming of USB-C + Thunderbolt 3 along with some minor specification changes. As used here, Thunderbolt 3 means any/all of these.

Thunderbolt 3 daisy chaining is a much hyped feature which allows one Thunderbolt device to be attached to the previous one, up to 6 devices per Thunderbolt bus.

Not new: this is a long-running issue (many years), but I am writing it up once again, as a reader recently wrote about similar issues. You are not alone!

For two days, I was trying to make several backups at once on my 2019 Mac Pro, to various multi-bay enclosures. After a dozen or so kernel panics involving an “unresponsive CPU” or some such, I was feeling rather frustrated.

I could not get my #$#*$$* backups done, due to these repeated kernel panics. Worse, the reboot cycle is quite long, and checking for file system damage another chore.

Maybe you have only 2 or 3 devices, if so count your blessings. I have six multi-bay hard drive enclosures and two Thunderbolt SSDs and more. It is a solid argument for one larger enclosure like the OWC Thunderbay 8 instead of two OWC Thunderbay 4 units, other considerations aside. Ditto for a large internal SSD—anything to reduce the daisy chaining reliability mess and data/power cable rat’s nest.

Yes, you can daisy chain six devices on one bus and it will work for some period of time. Great science fair demo. But 10 or 38 or 72 or 127 minutes into that backup, the system will kernel panic. It is guaranteed in my experience. The higher the device count and the greater the I/O throughput, the quicker the crash will come. Perhaps I should say on Intel Macs—I am unsure if M1/M2 Macs have similarly screwed Thunderbolt—likely so given the same specs for devices/cables.

Quick tests won’t show the problem; it’s about sustained high-throughput I/O eg when doing hundreds of gigabytes or more of backup—precisely when you need to start things going and go do something else with your time.

Thunderbolt daisy chaining beyond 2 devices is unreliable garbage, has been for years, goes unacknowledged by Apple and Intel (which also legally silence licensees on the matter), and will probably never be fixed. Reliability will vary, depending on device count and throughput across the bus.

With rare exceptions, it’s not your device, it’s not your computer, it’s not your cables. That falsifiable bullshit claim can be proven by swapping components and seeing the same problems. Do not accept that explanation from tech support without exceptional evidence.

Working around unreliable Thunderbolt Daisy Chaining

To work around the issue, a machine with a bare minimum of 3 Thunderbolt busses is needed. Otherwise fantastic machines like the 2019 iMac 5K and all its siblings suck because they have a single Thunderbolt bus.

Minimize device count on each bus

Minimize the number of devices on each bus, especially actively used devices eg devices doing the I/O (reading or writing). Take into account bandwidth losses from displays, or that fast SSD or RAID box might run sluggishly with writes.

For example, if you have 6 Thunderbolt devices, put 2 of them on each bus, and when making backups, try to have only one device on each bus actively doing stuff.

Minimize simultaneous I/O

I ended up having to restrict my backups to one source and two destinations, all three on separate Thunderbolt busses. I could only do so by temporarily disconnecting other things. Once I did this, no more kernel panics. But it took me 24 hours to get it all done, rather than ~6 hours that it could have taken if things could have run simultaneously.

Save Big $$$$ on Memory for 2019 Mac Pro

Up to 65% better pricing than Apple

Lloyd recommends 32GB RDIMM modules for most users (more expensive LRDIMMS are for 512GB or more).


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