This is fairly simple. Open a Terminal type:

defaults write org.gpgtools.gpgmail DefaultSecurityMethod -int 2

Close Mail, open it again and you are set.

No matter what you prefer either GPG/PGP encryption over S/MIME – it is always a good thing to encrypt your email.
Setting up S/Mime on a Mac is simpler then you think.

Go for example to Comodo, get a free certificate by filling out the simple form (name + email), wait for the email, click on the link, download the certificate, double click, restart Mail – DONE!

As in my previous post, sometimes it is necessary to have “full” internet access instead of limited access. Even that Tor is initially done to anonymize you, it also does a great job in such occasions.

To redirect all traffic on Mac OS X thru Tor, follow these steps.

Step 1 – Choose “System Preferences” from the Apple  menu.
Step 2 – Choose “Network” from the menu.
Step 3 – Choose “Edit Locations” from the Location menu.
Step 4 – Click the “+” icon to add an additional location.
Step 5 – Type in a new name for your location (I used Tor), then click “Done”.
Step 6 – Select “Airport” from the list on the left side.
Step 7 – Click “Advanced”
Step 8 – Click on “Proxies” in the list.
Step 9 – Activate “SOCKS Proxy” by ticking the checkbox
Step 10 – In the SOCKS Proxy Server box, type localhost and 9050.
Step 11 – Click “OK” and then click “Apply”.

Now you can easily switch the environments in the upper center menu of the system preferences.

I travel a lot and sometimes I end up in hotels that claim to have internet, but after a couple of minutes I realize they mean HTTP and HTTPS, maybe Skype.

I am not sure why some hotels are super paranoid about outgoing protocols, but the second you want to upload something (e.g. GIT over SSH) or administrate your server you need a lot more ports than a usual user.

My way of “tricking” the hotel firewall is using Tor for such things.

Step 1 – Install Tor on the Mac
I am using the Command Line tools for Tor and load them using MacPorts (you will need to download and install MacPorts).

Step 2 – Install the tor components
$ sudo port install tor torsocks

Step 3 – Run tor (could take a couple of seconds)
$ tor &

Step 4 – Connect using torify
$ torify ssh user@spamcollect.com

This will not anonymize your traffic, this is just a way around firewalls etc..

When the rumor came up that Apple is working on a smart watch, a lot of people got pretty excited. More interesting, a lot of big hardware vendors started working on smart watches, which some just got announced. E.g. Sony and Samsung.

The main question still is, how could a smart watch change your life? I doubt there is a big benefit in having your phone hooked to your watch constantly. Especially as your phone is just 30 centimeters away.

But more important, a watch is something very special to most man (sorry ladies, but I think they are the main audience for a smart watch) wearing one. It is the only peace of jewelry a man is wearing in the usual case. And in addition to that, it is usually a pretty expensive, but classical watch like a Rolex, Patek Philippe or Panerai.

Can you imagine business man running around with a display on there hands just to see the latest Tweet or Facebook update from his mates?

Brings me to the conclusion that such a thing would just be a niche product.
If Apple is really hopping on this wagon they are really lost and out of ideas!