you register for services without
divulging personal information or linking
to existing accounts. You can even use an
automatically generated random email
address, which is invisibly forwarded
to your iCloud email by Apple. This
also works in compatible apps.Password pro
Another feature for your protection is
the new warning that appears when you
create a new password on a website that
Safari detects is weak, meaning it could
easily be guessed by someone (or an
automated system) trying to hack your
account (or millions of accounts). It’ll
suggest a stronger password, which, as
usual, it can remember for you and sync
to your other devices via your iCloud
Keychain so that you don’t have to
remember it. You can cancel this and
stick with your ‘rubbish’ password if youprefer, though. Check on all your website
passwords in Safari > Preferences >
Passwords, which will ask you to log in
with your Administrator password or
Touch ID before listing your logins, with
passwords asterisked until you click on
them, and warning triangles for those
that are considered weak or used for
multiple services.
If you’re using Dark Mode (see
below), Safari shows websites with a
dark appearance if they’re designed to
support it. So far, that doesn’t apply to
the majority of sites. Otherwise, they’ll
appear as normal, but if you prefer
white-on-grey text you can user Reader
mode (click the lines icon that appears
at the left of the URL bar on compatible
pages). While in Reader, you can click the
‘AA’ icon at the right of the URL bar to
change the background colour – which
you can set back to white if you prefer.V
ersion 13 of Apple’s Safari web
browser feels largely familiar
but has a few new tricks. As in
macOS Mojave, new windows show, by
default, your Favourites, displayed as
large icons, plus your Frequently Visited
sites – similar to Top Sites in earlier
versions. A third section now adds Siri
Suggestions, although this section
remains unseen until Siri has something
to suggest, based on your activities in
other apps. ≈-click any empty part of
the window to turn these three sections
on or off. You can also still set Safari >
Preferences > General > ‘New windows
open with:’ to revert to the old Top Sites
view or to make new windows show
something else, and the content of new
tabs can be set separately.
If you type a web address into the
URL bar that’s already open in another
tab or window, Safari will now offer to
switch to it rather than open it again – a
godsend for people who never close tabs
and end up with a zillion of them.
New in macOS Catalina, iOS 13 and
iPadOS is Sign in with Apple. Supported
by some third-party platforms, this lets
D
ark Mode gains a new Auto
option in Catalina. Choose this
in System Prefs > General > Appearance to
switch from Light to Dark at nightfall. It
follows the schedule set in System Prefs >
Displays > Night Shift (the feature that
reduces blue light to preserve circadian
rhythm). Sunset to Sunrise is automated,
while Custom lets you specify times.
You might think some apps look
better in Dark Mode all the time and
others never, but Apple doesn’t let you
choose (although many third-party apps
have their own controls). There are some
options, however, to mitigate particular
issues in some of Apple’s default apps. In
Mail, go to Mail > Prefs > Viewing and
untick ‘Use dark backgrounds for
messages’ to avoid white-on-grey text.
Similarly, untick ‘Use dark backgrounds
for note content’ in Notes > Preferences.
In TextEdit, untick ‘Use Dark Background
for Windows’ on the View menu; in Maps,
untick Use Dark Map.Safer surfing in Safari
Let Catalina’s browser
show you the web at
its best, safely
Dark magic
Catalina tips & tricks FEATURE
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