Thoughtful, detailed coverage of the Mac, iPhone, and iPad, plus the best-selling Take Control ebooks.

 

 

 

 

TidBITS Watchlist
 
Easily Change Firewall Settings in VirusBarrier X6

If you need different levels of protection on your laptop based on location, you can set up VirusBarrier X6's two-way firewall with multiple configurations. Whenever you change locations, switch easily to the firewall settings you want to use from the Intego menu, located in the menu bar. Make as many configurations as you want: for home, office, when you're on public Wi-Fi, and so on.

Visit Intego

Share your own tip! | Search TipBITS

 

 

Related Articles

 

 

Published in TidBITS 924.
Subscribe to our weekly email edition.

 

 
Macs & Mac OS X | 08 Apr 2008 | Listen  | Print Printer-Friendly Version of This Article

Apple Releases Various Firmware Updates

by Adam C. Engst Send Email to Author

Send Article to a Friend

Apple has released firmware updates for a number of Macintosh models, including the MacBook Air (2.3 MB), MacBook (1.8 MB), MacBook Pro (3.1 MB), and iMac (1.6 MB). In each case, all Apple will admit to is that the update "fixes several issues to improve the stability" of each Mac. Otherwise, I've seen one report that the update fixes problems with the MacBook Pro's closed lid mode. Late in the week, Apple also released the MacBook Air Bluetooth Firmware Update 1.0 (1.2 MB).

It doesn't appear as though these firmware updates apply to all models of the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and iMac; the updates don't appear in Software Update and refuse to install manually on at least my MacBook and Tonya's MacBook Pro - both early versions of those models. Apple says nothing online about which models need these updates, so I recommend relying on Software Update; if a firmware update appears in Software Update, install it, but if not, don't bother trying a manual installation.

To complete the firmware update process, follow the instructions in the updater application that launches automatically after the installer finishes. And, though this should be obvious, don't do anything that could interrupt the process. If you do, you'll need a Firmware Restoration CD to restore your Mac's firmware. Apple just released Firmware Restoration CD 1.6 (30 MB), which supports the Xserve (Early 2008), MacBook (13-inch Late 2007), iMac (20-inch Mid 2007), and the iMac (24-inch Mid 2007). Previous versions of Firmware Restoration CD support other models, although it's not clear if all models are supported.

 

Make friends and influence people by sponsoring TidBITS!
Put your company and products in front of tens of thousands of
savvy, committed Macintosh users who actually buy stuff.
More information: <http://db.tidbits.com/advertising.html>