Tutorials in this Series:

1. Setup:
   Install calibre plug-ins and configuration for the removal of protercion (DRM) from Kindle eBooks;
2. Import & Convert:
   Download Kindle books from Amazon without the Kindle app. Import eBooks into calibre and converting them to your preferred format (ePub, PDF, ...).

Apple Passwords is very useful in that you can use it across your other Apple Devices via iCloud (iPhone, iPad,…). However it does not work for all apps. Firefox for example has its own Password Manager. Recently I found that Apple had created a Firefox Plugin to allow Apple Passwords to work in Firefox however I had lots of passwords stored within Firefox Passwords. If only there was a way that I could migrate these from Firefox to Apple Passwords and have just one Password Manager – well there is!

Here is how...

Tutorials in this series:

1. Move Applications to an External Drive
2. Move Photo Library to an External Drive
3. Move Music Folder to an External Drive
4. Move iMovie Library to an External Drive

Amazon has released a new version their Kindle app for macOS. The latest version of the DeDRM Tools plugin for calibre (10.0.3 and RC 10.0.9) no longer remove the DRM (Amazon now uses KFX-ZIP format). However there is still a trick that you can use to acquire the older azw3 format if you own a Kindle eBook Reader – it just needs your Kindle eBook Serial number (the one that you have registered with Amazon).

You must have already set up calibre as per the first part of this tutorial or this will not work.

Amazon has released a new version their Kindle app for macOS. The latest version of the DeDRM Tools plugin for calibre (10.0.3 and RC 10.0.9) no longer remove the DRM (Amazon now uses KFX-ZIP format). However there is still a trick that you can use to acquire the older azw3 format if you own a Kindle eBook Reader – it just needs your Kindle eBook Serial number (the one that you have registered with Amazon).

For this I used the Release Candidate version of the DeDRM

Apple is charging up to $1200 for an internal SSD while you can purchase a very fast Thunderbolt drive for a fraction of the price. However currently (without Thunderbolt 5 and a corresponding External Enclosure) it is still faster to run your System Startup on the internal drive. Also Apple Intelligence currently requires your Mac to start from its internal drive.

So the solution is to have a smallish internal SSD as your Startup while placing your other files on an external SSD. This is even achievable for MacBooks as the external drives are now so physically small that owners are simply attach them to the back of the screen. I have a desktop Mac so I also have at 8TB External RAIDed Hard Drive for my data.

Here is how...

In order to get Apple Certification app developers must pay a fee. Free Mac Applications can not do this and still remain free. In the past you could right-click on an app and select Open followed by Open Anyway. Doing this with Sequoia no longer give you this option but never fear, there is still a way [this worked for FreeTube – I assume other Free apps are now the same].

Note: Do not do this unless you are certain that it is from a trustworthy source – I also run the free Avast AntiVirus on my Mac.

Here is how...

If may seem strange but the GEDCOM Standard (first released in 1984) has many variations. This is due to a combination of two factors: infrequent standard updates and app developers wishing to add additional features that the current standard did not include. There are some sites that offer an online tool that standardises your GEDCOM file but even these do not have the ability to convert all of the variations from other apps. So some have to be fixed manually.

Here is how...

I have tens of thousands of Events in the Family Tree that I inherited from my father. The Primary Participants of an event are usually recorded correctly however Secondary Participants (like Witnesses and the person conducting the service are usually recorded as separate events and added as a Family Event for the couple - this is very messy (the single event is entered as several events). Not only are the participants entered as Places but it is difficult to add the event(s) to other participants records. There is a better way...

Here is how...

GIMP is a great photo editing app (free Photoshop equivalent).

McGimp (by Patha) came with G’MIC and many other plugins preinstalled however his site had not been updated for around four years and it has now gone.

I went looking for an alternative and found a process that someone had developed to add G’MIC to GIMP. The added advantage of this is that it can be applied to the most recent version of GIMP - so Mac users no longer have to put up with using outdated versions of GIMP [The version used here is 2.10.38].

Tutorials in this series are:

1. GIMP: Installation
   The installation of GIMP is now very easy. Older versions required users to run GIMP using X11 or XQuartz. GIMP now also supports Apple Silicon natively. This tutorial is only here for completeness and as a lead-in to the new method of installing the G’MIC Plug-in – read the tutorial Add G’MIC Plugin next if you wish to install this most popular plug-in for image manipulation. There is still the old installation tutorial for old versions of GIMP.
2. GIMP: Adding the G’MIC Plugin
   G’MIC is a most installed plugin used with GIMP. I use it to restore old photos (see below). GIMP plugins can not be simply added and must undergo a complicated process to be installed. However I have developed this tutorial to make the process far simpler.
3. GIMP: Adding Extra Fonts
   I was trying the reproduce a graphic with a special font in it when I found out that GIMP only had a limited number of fonts & the one that I wanted was not one of them. With a little research I found that I could easily add fonts that are installed on my Mac to the list of GIMP fonts.

I was trying the reproduce a graphic with a special font in it when I found out that GIMP only had a limited number of fonts and the one that I wanted was not one of them. With a little research I found that I could easily add fonts that are installed on my Mac to the list of GIMP fonts. Here is how...

GIMP is a great photo editing app (free Photoshop equivalent). G’MIC is a most used plugin used with GIMP. I use it to restore old photos (see the next page). GIMP plugins can not be simply added and must undergo a complicated process to be installed.

McGimp (by Patha) came with G’MIC and many other plugins pre-installed however his site had not been updated for around four years and it has now gone. I went looking for an alternative and found a process that someone had developed to add G’MIC to GIMP.

Here is how...

When I went to change the name of a map of Enoggera Parish, I found that it was attached to its containing Shire and that the Parish was not a Place in my Family Tree. So I had to Create a Place called Enoggera link the Shire to it then transfer the Map link from the Shire to the Parrish. Sounds like fun?

Here is how...

GIMP is a free Image manipulation application similar to Photoshop in features.
The installation of GIMP is now very easy. Older versions required users to run GIMP using X11 or XQuartz. GIMP now also supports Apple Silicon natively. This tutorial is only here for completeness and as a lead-in to the new method of installing the G’MIC Plug- in – read the tutorial Add G’MIC Plugin next if you wish to install this most popular plug-in for image manipulation.
[There is still on old tutorial (2017) that works with GIMP 2.8 and has a different method of installing the G’MIC plug-in.]

Here is how...

Many of my media files were copied over from an old MS Windows drive where there was a limited file name (some even had DOS 8.3 names like 13MCKE~1.JPG). Since I would like to look through these files and know clearly what they are it would be good to give them more descriptive names. I have separated them into two categories – one that just need fixing (13MCKE~1.JPG ) and others that need to be more descriptive (John Harvey.jpg – we have several John/Jon/Jonathon’s... in my family – maybe add a birth year to the name).

The easiest ones to fix would be those linked to my Family Tree as there would be information attached to them).

Changing the file name also requires a change in the Media Object Path.

Here is how...

The next topic that I wish to cover is image formats. I use webtrees to run my Harvey History Family Tree site. It allows TIFF image files to be attached but it does not display them. So I would like to have the JPEG image files alongside the TIFF. I need to locate these files, convert then link them. Why keep both? TIFF is a lossless format while JPEG is a lossy format. Each time a JPEG file is re-saved (recompressed) a small amount if its quality is lost – this does not happen with TIFF. So JPEG is used for displaying while TIFF is used for editing. So it is often good to have both version of a file.

I will show you how to create a JPEG version of a TIFF file but more importantly make sure the two versions have linked information attached (eg: Citations, Notes, Attributes, etc).

Here is how...

GIMP is a great photo manipulation app (free Photoshop equivalent). I have written a series of tutorials that cover many of the methods that I use for photo correction and restoration:

0. Installation (+ G'MIC & Fonts)
   Three tutorials (Install GIMP, G'MIC Plug-in, & Fonts)
   G’MIC is the most used plugin for GIMP - I use it to restore old photos (see my other tutorials). GIMP plugins can not be simply added and must undergo a complicated process to be installed.
   McGimp (by Patha) came with G’MIC and many other plugins pre-installed however his site had not been updated for around four years and it has now gone. I went looking for an alternative and found a process that someone had developed to add G’MIC to GIMP.
1. Convert a Photo into a Painting;
2. Replace A Dull Sky;
3. Remove Marks on a Photo (G'MIC);
4. Sharpen Images;
5. Restore Colour in an Old Photo;
6. Layer Creation & Manipulation (Mr Potato Head);
7. Remove Colour Cast from Photo (harder).

More to come...

In this tutorial I will select a single Place entry like Teape Street, Silkstone, Ipswich and convert it into Hierarchal Place Tree structure. I would normally fill in additional details about the Places as I edit a Place (like Date, GPS, Notes, etc) to save me going back and doing it later – however this is meant to be a quick tutorial just about the topic.

Here is how...

When my father added media to his family history application (PAF), he created links to where they were stored on his computer – which were all over a few different drives and several different folders. These were static or absolute links (eg: E:Family Line Mahon
877 Ann Mahon & Thomas SherlockSherlockPatrick Sherlock & Mary Doolan.jpg) and when he moved it to a new computer, not only did the links break but the file names were truncated to a DOS 8.3 name (eg: Patrick Sherlock & Mary Doolan.jpg became PATRIC~1.JPG). Once he copied his files across he wiped the old drives. - much was never seen again. Even when located, folders that should have media files within, were empty. Also many now unlinked files were digitally scanned into the computer and had auto-generated names – many people in these are still not identified.

So how do I fix this?

My paths are mostly from my father’s MS Windows computer so they are of no real use. If you wish to keep your files within the Gramps Media Folder organised in folders by something like family tree branches then you can keep the folder paths that represent these folders.

I decided however that it would be best for me to remove all sub-folders from my media folder by placing their contents the file paths directly into the media folder (this tutorial). Then go to the Gramps Family Tree and remove all file paths from the Path field of the Gramps Media Item (see next page for an example)(Part 1B: Using Media Manager and Part 1C: Manually Fix Path).

If you wish to keep all of your existing folders within the Gramps Media folder as they are then you can start with this tutorial.

Here is how...

When my father added media to his family history application (PAF), he created links to where they were stored on his computer – which were all over a few different drives and several different folders. These were static or absolute links (eg: E:Family Line Mahon
877 Ann Mahon & Thomas SherlockSherlockPatrick Sherlock & Mary Doolan.jpg) and when he moved it to a new computer, not only did the links break but the file names were truncated to a DOS 8.3 name (eg: Patrick Sherlock & Mary Doolan.jpg became PATRIC~1.JPG). Once he copied his files across he wiped the old drives. - much was never seen again. Even when located, folders that should have media files within, were empty. Also many now unlinked files were digitally scanned into the computer and had auto-generated names – many people in these are still not identified.

So how do I fix this?

My paths are mostly from my father’s MS Windows computer so they are of no real use. If you wish to keep your files within the Gramps Media Folder organised in folders by something like family tree branches then you can keep the folder paths that represent these folders.

I decided however that it would be best for me to remove all sub-folders from my media folder by placing their contents the file paths directly into the media folder (this tutorial). Then go to the Gramps Family Tree and remove all file paths from the Path field of the Gramps Media Item (Part 1B: Using Media Manager and Part 1C: Manually Fix Path). See next page for an example.

If you wish to keep all of your existing folders within the Gramps Media folder as they are you can skip this tutorial and go directly to Part 1B.

Here is how...

I have many addresses that are a single Place Object (flat – highlighted in red) – instead of being in a tree structure (hierarchical – highlighted in green). The hierarchical places are much more useful and efficient (I can link information reverent to each place in the tree (people, images, GPS data,...). However even when it is in Tree format there are often sections of the address missing. Eg: Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia. There is no region – and it is not a Place that has been created in the Family Tree. So I need to insert the region between the town and state. This can be done using the Gramps Clipboard.

Here is how...

Gramps does not import Media Files into its database – this would make it very large and slow and also risk losing you media files if the database crashes. Instead it uses Media Object records that stores the location (path) of the file.

Sometimes when I am attaching media to a person’s record I forget or do not realise that the Media Object already exists – so I create another Media Object that uses the same media file. This can cause problems – if information (like Notes, References, Citations etc) is attached to one of the Media Objects this information will not appear for a person linked to the other Media Object. Multiply this by 21,000 persons in my family tree and things could quickly become very bad – information that you know you entered seems to go missing so you enter a slightly different version – gets worse.

This can be fixed fairly easily by one of 2 methods: Automatic or Manual (transferring all of the linked information to one of the copies and deleting the other).

Here is how ...

When my father added media to his family history application (PAF), he created links to where they were stored on his computer – which were all over a few different drives and several different folders. These were static or absolute links (eg: E:Family Line Mahon
877 Ann Mahon & Thomas SherlockSherlockPatrick Sherlock & Mary Doolan.jpg) and when he moved it to a new computer, not only did the links break but the file names were truncated to a DOS 8.3 name (eg: Patrick Sherlock & Mary Doolan.jpg became PATRIC~1.JPG). Once he copied his files across he wiped the old drives. - much was never seen again. Even when located, folders that should have media files within, were empty. Also many now unlinked files were digitally scanned into the computer and had auto-generated names – many people in these are still not identified.

So how do I fix this?

My paths are mostly from my father’s MS Windows computer so they are of no real use. If you wish to keep your files within the Gramps Media Folder organised in folders by something like family tree branches then you can keep the folder paths that represent these folders.

I decided however that it would be best for me to remove all sub-folders from my media folder by placing their contents the file paths directly into the media folder (Part 1A). Then go to the Gramps Family Tree and remove all file paths from the Path field of the Gramps Media Item (see next page
for an example)(Part 1B: Using Media Manager and Part 1C: Fix Path Manually) ← This part.

If you wish to keep all of your existing folders within the Gramps Media folder as they are you start with Part 1B of this tutorial.

Here is how...

I inherited a Family Tree of over 21,000 ancestors created on a MS Windows computer using an app called PAF. Instead of the media files being located within a single folder they were scattered all over the drive - many no longer linked to PAF. Many had truncated DOS 8.3 names and others had very ambiguous names like George. It was a large task to consolidate, rename, and re-link the Media file (the process is still ongoing).

14 tutorials and more to come...

The places were also a mess (I did not realise how many ways a place name can be misspelled & abbreviated). I also had to make them hierarchical and add GPS however many were ambiguous or missing segments of the place locations (eg St Mary's, Ipswich). Abbreviated names were very ambiguous too (Main St., Linc. could be several different places in different countries). So I had to make all of the Places Hierachical within a correctly structured Place Tree, Expand addresses adding & inserting missing segments), unlink & reattach Media to the correct segment in the place name, all while resolving all of the ambiguous place names that I could. There are tens of thousands of these so this process is also ongoing.

I will add more tutorials as I find how to solve more of these problems.

Tutorials in the Clean Up (Media) series are:

1. Media Folder & Family Tree:
   Media objects have bad links, Media folder is chaotic - clear out your old (absolute) paths and re-link objects (many re-link themselves):
   Split into three tutorials:

   • 1A Clean up your Gramps Media Folder ready for re-linking your Media Objects;
   • 1B Using Media Manager to Edit Paths - allowing you to do bulk changes;
   • 1C Fix your Media Paths manually.

2. Remove Duplicate Media Objects:
   Sometimes when I am attaching media to a person’s record I forget or do not realise that the Media Object already exists – so I create another Media Object that uses the same media file. This can cause many problems – if information (like Notes, References, Citations etc) is attached to the first copy of the Media Object this information will not linked to the person that has the second copy of the Media File attached (like having different versions of the same text file being edited differently). This can be fixed by using the Media Manager or one at a time.
3. JPEG versions of TIFF Objects:
   TIFF files are great for editing while JPEG files are great for viewing (specially on the web for apps like webtrees). If you only have a TIFF Media you can create a JPEG Media Object with all the same links - then you can have both options.
4. Rename then re-link Media Files:
   When you rename a file in your Media Folder the link within your associated Gramps Media Object breaks. Here is how to fix this and give your Media files meaningful Titles.
5. Generic: Extract (Media Files) from a Drive:
   Media files can sometimes get lost on a great big drive. There is a way of not only finding out where all of the media files are hidden, but also copy them to a single location and it is built into the Finder.

Tutorials in the Clean Up (Places) Series are:

1. Hierarchical Place Tree Conversion:
   I will select a single Place entry like Teape Street, Silkstone, Ipswich and convert it into Hierarchal Place Tree structure. I would normally fill in additional details about the Places as I edit a Place (like Date, GPS, Notes, etc) to save me going back and doing it later – however this is meant to be a quick tutorial just about the topic.
2. Expand an Address – using Gramps Clipboard:
   I have many addresses that are a single Place Object (flat – highlighted in red) – instead of being in a tree structure (hierarchical – highlighted in green). The hierarchical places are much more useful and efficient (I can link information reverent to each place in the tree (people, images, GPS data,...).
   However even when it is in Tree format there are often sections of the address missing. Eg: Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia. There is no region – and it is not a Place that has been created in the Family Tree. So I need to insert the region between the town and state. This can be done using the Gramps Clipboard.
3. Fix a Place Tree & Re-attached Maps:
   When I went to change the name of a map of Enoggera Parish, I found that it was attached to its containing Shire and that the Parish was not a Place in my Family Tree. So I had to Create a Place called Enoggera link the Shire to it then transfer the Map link from the Shire to the Parrish. Sounds like fun?
4. Fix Ambiguous Place Names:
   My family Tree has thousands of Places in the database, many of which are very ambiguous. I once found a place (that I was certain was in England but, upon looking into it, I found that it was in USA. Many places in Australia, USA, New Zealand, Canada have place names that originated in the UK. There is an Ipswich USA. Churches with the same names also exist in places with the same name. I can often work out which it is by a simple technique.

Tutorials in the Clean Up (Events) Series are:

1. Participants:
   Some of my Events do not make the use of Roles to add Participants to my Events. Instead each group of Participants (eg: Witnesses, Usher, etc) are listed as a separate Event under the real one. These 'false' Events need to be deleted and included within the one Event as Roles.
2. I will add more as I discover more problems that require a Clean Up.

Tutorials in the Clean Up (Notes) Series are:

1. Fix Bad Imports:
   If may seem strange but the GEDCOM Standard (first released in 1984) has many variations. This is due to a combination of two factors: infrequent standard updates and app developers wishing to add additional features that the current standard did not include. There are some sites that offer an online tool that standardises your GEDCOM file but even these do not have the ability to convert all of the variations from other apps. So some have to be fixed manually.

More to come...

Tutorials in Series:

1. Create your own web site (2024-09
2. Import Family Tree (GED + images)(2024-09)
3. Clean Media Folder (Removing Old File Paths)(2024-09)
4. Fix Broken Media Links (Manually Relink Media Files)(2024-09)
5. Locate & Attach Missing Media (2024-09)
   Fix ‘No images in Slide Show’ (2024-09)

In Part 3 of this series I removed the full absolute path of my Media files from the GEDCOM file – leaving just the files names. In doing this I made it a lot easier to reattach webtrees media files that broken links (since I did not have to do searching through several folders to look for the missing file).

I have copied my father’s MS Windows drive to my Mac. Many of the missing media files are hidden in there – I just have to know their name and fix the broken link.

When people first start attaching media to their family tree they make the mistake of not copying all of the media files that they use to a single Media folder. As a result if they move their Family Tree many links could break (read my introduction in Part 3). This needs to be fixed.

Here is how...

When my father added media to his family history application (PAF), he created links to where they were stored on his computer – which were all over a few different drives and several different folders. These were static or absolute links (eg: E:Family Line Mahon
877 Ann Mahon & Thomas SherlockSherlockPatrick Sherlock & Mary Doolan.jpg) and when he moved it to a new computer, not only did the links break but the file names were truncated to a DOS 8.3 name (eg: Patrick Sherlock & Mary Doolan.jpg became PATRIC~1.JPG). Once he copied his files across he wiped the old drives. - much was never seen again. Even when located, folders that should have media files within, were empty. Also many now unlinked files were digitally scanned into the computer and had auto-generated names – many people in these are still not identified.

So how do I fix this. There are three main methods that I use: manually relinking media, GEDCOM editing and file relocation. I will cover the first one here.

Here is how...

When my father added media to his family history application (PAF), he created links to where they were stored on his computer – which were all over a few different drives and several different folders. These were static or absolute links (eg: E:Family Line Mahon
877 Ann Mahon & Thomas SherlockSherlockPatrick Sherlock & Mary Doolan.jpg) and when he moved it to a new computer, not only did the links break but the file names were truncated to a DOS 8.3 name (eg: Patrick Sherlock & Mary Doolan.jpg became PATRIC~1.JPG). Once he copied his files across he wiped the old drives. - much was never seen again. Even when located, folders that should have media files within, were empty. Also many now unlinked files were digitally scanned into the computer and had autogenerated names – many people in these are still not identified.

So how do I fix this. There are three main methods that I use: manually relinking media, GEDCOM editing and file relocation. I will cover the second one here.

Here is how...

I imported a Family Tree file (GEDCOM) into webtrees as I had done many times before however in the Slide show panel there were no images – only a message ‘This family has no images to display. I re-imported the Family Tree, uploaded the media folder again, checked all settings and even wiped out the web site and reinstalled webtrees – still the same error.

I investigated and the images displayed everywhere else except the Slide show. Upon some investigation and reading on the web I fixed the problem.

Here is how...

Important Note:

This tutorial edits webtrees’ MySQL database – any errors could cause your website to stop working – please backup before you proceed – including your GEDCOM file.

In the previous tutorial I installed webtrees on my hosting providers site – but it had an empty family tree. The most used file format for the transfer of genealogy data is GEDCOM. So I will show you how to import a GEDCOM file into webtrees. When this is done, usually any images that were with the family become detached. I will show you how to import these images so they remain attached to the family tree.

Here is how...
Note: I will use DreamHost in this example – other providers will be fairly similar.

One of the best ways to grow your family tree and share it with others is to put it on-line with your own web site. Sounds difficult but it is actually rather easy using webtrees – it is genealogy web site software that does it all for you you just have to upload, install, then import your GEDCOM file! I use it on my family history site.

If you do not have a domain name & web site provider then the first tutorial in my Create Your Own Web Domain Series will show you how to do so: 1A. Web Host, Buy Domain, Secure Website.

Here is how...

Note: I am using DreamHost as my web-hosting service. If yours is different, then the examples and methods may vary from mine.

Until now I have ignored the appearance of the web site. The theme that one uses more a personal preference however I can show you how to change Themes and its settings which would give you the knowledge to modify the appearance of the site to suit your purpose. I will also install a Child Theme which allows for greater modifications while leaving the parent theme mostly untouched.

Here is how...

If you do not have your own Cloud Server and wish to share your large files or photos with someone else while not placing them on someone’s remote server, there are very few options other than placing them on a Flash Drive and sending them through the post.

There is however a very private and secure option of sending them via the internet using an internet protocol called WebDAV. Many cloud servers like NextCloud, ownCloud, and several commercial services use this. There is a simple Mac app that does this that is simply called WebDAVNav Server and it is available on the Apple AppStore for free.

Note: for this tutorial you will need to have access to the Settings of your Modem/Router.

Here is how...

In parts 6A &6B I used file downloads in my example for web page creation & protection. I mentioned there that, unless you only had a few files to download on your site, it is far easier to use a Plugin. I will show you the Download Plugin that I use to manage hundreds of files on the Apple-Q Site.

Here is how...

This is part of a series to show how to secure your DNS with the option of adding AdBlocking. Depending on what option you choose, it could be your whole network, your Apple device, or your browser. In this part I will show how to protect your Apple device (Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV).

This Profile can enable device-wide Secure DNS including DNS over HTTPS (DoH) or DNS over TLS (DoT) with the option of
AdBlocking.

Here is how...

This is part of a series to show how to secure your DNS with the option of adding AdBlocking. Depending on what option you choose, it could be your whole network, your Apple device, or your browser. In this part I will show how to protect your Apple device (Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV).

This Profile can enable device-wide Secure DNS including DNS over HTTPS (DoH) or DNS over TLS (DoT) with the option of AdBlocking.

Here is how...

This is part of a series to show how to secure your DNS with the option of adding AdBlocking. Depending on what option you choose, it could be your whole network, your Apple device, or your browser. In this part I will show how to protect your Apple device (Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV).

This Profile can enable device-wide Secure DNS including DNS over HTTPS (DoH) or DNS over TLS (DoT) with the option of AdBlocking.

Here is how...

This is part of a series to show how to secure your DNS with the option of adding AdBlocking. Depending on what option you choose, it could be your whole network, your Apple device, or your browser. In this part I will show how to protect all devices on your network with DNS Encryption with an option to include AdBlocking.

To do this you will need access to your Modem/Router (not the NBN Modem if you have one). Because the many brands on Modem/Routers use different settings I will give general instructions on how to do this – please use your manual (or internet) to determine the exact steps.

Here is how...

This is part of a series to show how to secure your DNS with the option of adding AdBlocking. Depending on what option you choose, it could be your whole network, your Apple device, or your browser. In this part I will configure Firefox to use DNS over HTTPS.

By now every one should have heard of HTTPS (Secure HTTP) and be using it for their own protection as they browse the web. Most good web browsers warn you when you navigate to a non-secure site.

DNS is used to convert the name of a site (eg www.apple-q.org.au) to an IP web address (eg: 203.12.171.70). This process is not always encrypted (ie secure). DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS aims to fix this. Once again all good web browsers should support this, however it is not always enabled.

Here is how...

A collection of tutorial to show how to secure your DNS with the option of adding AdBlocking. Depending on what option you choose, it could be your whole network, your Apple device, or your browser. I will show how to protect your Apple device (Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV) using Apple Profiles.

This Profile can enable device-wide Secure DNS including DNS over HTTPS (DoH) or DNS over TLS (DoT) with the option of AdBlocking.

This collection includes 5 tutorials:

Protect your Internet with Secure DNS + AdBlocking Using:

• Apple Profiles (Mac)
• Apple Profiles (iPad)
• Apple Profiles (iPhone)
• DNS over HTTPS (Firefox)
• Home Network-Wide Protection

Here is how...

When my previous internet provider closed down I was faced with having to not only find a new provider but also change my email accounts (which were with the provider). I decided that that I wanted my own domain with personalised email accounts. After much research I found that Main Hosting cost more than Web Hosting that included an Email service. So that is what I did. I could also create & test WordPress Web Sites.

Tutorials:

1A: Web Host, Buy Domain, Personal Emails

Select a Web Host Provider, Purchase a Domain, and Creation of a blank Secure Web Site.

1B. Unlimited Personalised Email Accounts

Creation of Personalised Email Accounts.

2: Generate WordPress Website, Themes, & Plugins

Web Site Generation (WordPress), Adding a Theme, & Plugins.

3: Edit, Publish, Link Web Pages (WordPress)

Editing Web Pages that were auto-generated in Part 2 of this tutorial. It is easier to edit existing pages than starting from scratch. We will also Publish and Link Pages.

4: Install & Setup Mail Sending (WordPress)

Setting up email sending within our WordPress site. This is useful for Contact Forms which are use for people to contact you without displaying your email address.

5. Site Backup (WordPress)

The very important process of backing up the website and keeping a copy of the back away from the web site.

6A. Create Web Pages (WordPress)

Creation of web pages (& menu items in Part B.)

6B. Create Menus & Menu Items (WordPress)

Creation of menus & menu items (continued from Part A).

7. Add Users & Restrict Access (WordPress)

Add Users & Restricted Access. This is usually done to limit access of some content to Registered Users only.

8. Easy Log In/Out (WordPress)

Trying to remember the login address for your website can be a pain (my Test Site is https://site.xxxxxx.xxx/wp-login). It is far easier to have a menubar item to allow easy Log In or Log Out – guess what? There is a simple Plugin for that!

9. Easy Downloads with Plugin

In parts 6A &6B I used file downloads in my example for web page creation & protection. I mentioned there that, unless you only had a few files to download on your site, it is far easier to use a Plugin. I will show you the Download Plugin that I use to manage hundreds of files on the Apple-Q Site.

10. Changing Themes & Appearance

Until now I have ignored the appearance of the web site. The theme that one uses more a personal preference however I can show you how to change Themes and its settings which would give you the knowledge to modify the appearance of the site to suit your purpose. I will also install a Child Theme which allows for greater modifications while leaving the parent theme mostly untouched.

Trying to remember the login address for your website can be a pain (my Test Site is https://site.xxxxxx.xxx/wp-login). It is far easier to have a menubar item to allow easy Log In or Log Out – guess what? There is a simple Plugin for that!

Here is how...

Note: I could also do this using the If Menu Plugin used in Part 7 – I could set a Log Out menu item Invisible when not Logged In and a Log Out menu item Invisible while Logged In. This would require creating pages for these and / or setting up redirects. This simple plugin does all that for me.

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Create Your Own Web Domain: Part 7 (WordPress: Add Users & Restrict Access)

When my previous internet provider closed down I was faced with having to not only find a new provider but also change my email accounts (which were with the provider). I decided that that I wanted my own domain with personalised email accounts. After much research I found that Main Hosting cost more than Web Hosting that included an Email service. So that is what I did.

Part 7: Add Users & Restricted Access. This is usually done to limit access of some content to Registered Users only. Here is how...

Read the whole series

When my previous internet provider closed down I was faced with having to not only find a new provider but also change my email accounts (which were with the provider). I decided that that I wanted my own domain with personalised email accounts. After much research I found that Main Hosting cost more than Web Hosting that included an Email service. So that is what I did.

Part 6B: I will cover the creation of menus & menu items (continued from Part A).

Read the whole series

When my previous internet provider closed down I was faced with having to not only find a new provider but also change my email accounts (which were with the provider). I decided that that I wanted my own domain with personalised email accounts. After much research I found that Main Hosting cost more than Web Hosting that included an Email service. So that is what I did.

Part 6A: In this sixth part I will cover the creation of web pages & menu items in Part B.

Here is how...

Read the whole series

When my previous internet provider closed down I was faced with having to not only find a new provider but also change my email accounts (which were with the provider). I decided that that I wanted my own domain with personalised email accounts. After much research I found that Main Hosting cost more than Web Hosting that included an Email service. So that is what I did.

Part 5: In this fifth part I will cover the very important process of backing up the website and keeping a copy of the back away from the web site. I will also restore the web site using the backup.

Here is how...

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List of Tutorials:

1. Apple-Q HowTo- Clean Your Mac- Large File Finder
2. Apple-Q HowTo- Clean Your Mac- System Maintenance (Onyx)
3. Apple-Q HowTo- Clean Your Mac- AppCleaner
4. Apple-Q HowTo- Clean Your Mac- Spring Clean - Speedup
5. Apple-Q HowTo- Clean Your Mac- Solve Unwanted Mac Behaviour
6. Apple-Q HowTo- Clean Your Mac- Corrupted PRAM-NVRAM
7. Apple-Q HowTo- Clean Your Mac- Corrupted SMC

When my previous internet provider closed down I was faced with having to not only find a new provider but also change my email accounts (which were with the provider). I decided that that I wanted my own domain with personalised email accounts. After much research I found that Main Hosting cost more than Web Hosting that included an Email service. So that is what I did.

Part 4: In this forth part I will cover setting up email sending within our WordPress site. This is useful for Contact Forms which are use for people to contact you without displaying your email address.

Here is how...

Read the whole series

When my previous internet provider closed down I was faced with having to not only find a new provider but also change my email accounts (which were with the provider). I decided that that I wanted my own domain with personalised email accounts. After much research I found that Main Hosting cost more than Web Hosting that included an Email service. So that is what I did.

Part 3: Creating & Editing Web Pages that were auto-generated in Part 2 of this tutorial. It is easier to edit existing pages than starting from scratch.
See the next page for the complete list of topics.

Here is how...

Read the whole series

When my previous internet closed down I was faced with having to not only find a new provider but also change my email accounts (which were with the provider). I decided that that I wanted my own domain with personalised email accounts. After much research I found that Main Hosting cost more than Web Hosting that included an Email service. So that is what I did.

Part 2: Web Site Generation (WordPress), Adding a Theme, & Plugins. See the next page for the complete list of
topics.

Here is how...

Read the whole series