It’s hurricane season, and you should have a hurricane app on your smart phone so you can see if it’s coming toward the islands. A good one that I rely on is called Hurricane Tracker that you can download from the App Store.

If you want to see a good satellite image, open up Safari and type in “httpS://EARTH.NULLSCHOOL.NET”>EARTH.NULLSCHOOL.NET. This is one of my favorites, because you can see the image of the Earth as a spinning globe, and by swiping with your finger, you can spin the Earth to see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

If you just want to check out the weather every day, there’s a good app called WeatherBug that you can download. It can give you a ten-day forecast in your local area and even send out an alert, so if Waikapu is getting a snowstorm on Monday you’ll be the first to know!

The last app that only shows the tracking and wind speed is called Hurricanes Pro. If you want to see a radar image, Radar Scope shows you a graphic display of rainstorms moving over the islands. And the last one that is pretty good shows the East, Central and West Pacific areas, where you can see the hurricane image spinning and moving. Open up Safari and type in WWW.NHC.NOAA.GOV/SATELLITE.PHP. It also displays the water temperature and water vapor.

Here’s the best part: you can make an icon for both of these websites, so that you don’t have to click on Safari every time and type in the long HTTPs. Go to Safari and type in EARTHNULLSCHOOL.NET. When the program opens up, click on the bottom of the screen that has a square with an arrow pointer up in it. A menu pops up and displays two levels. On the bottom level showing the print, scroll to the right and choose “Add to Home Screen.” Now you have an icon that gets you there faster. You can do the same and add an icon for the NOAA website. Open up Safari and type in WWW.NHC.NOAA.GOV/SATELLITE.PHP.

After it opens up in Safari, click on the bottom square with the up arrow, scroll to the right and click on “Add to Home Screen.”

A lot of people ask me if they should buy virus protection for their Mac and worry that they may be infected by Malware. Well, what is malware and how does it affect your computer? Malware is all about making money off you. It can steal, encrypt or delete your data, alter or hijack core computer functions, and spy on your computer activity without your knowledge or permission. Your computer slows down and reduces the speed of your operating system, whether you’re navigating the Internet or just using your local applications. A tidal wave of annoying ads that shouldn’t be there washes over your screen.

Unexpected pop-up ads are a typical sign of a Malware infection. Your system repeatedly crashes or freezes, and your browser’s homepage changes without your permission. Your antivirus product stops working and you cannot update it.

A program called Malwarebytes prevents all this from happening, and you can download it free from Malwarebytes.com. I have it on all my Macs, and once a week I use it.

Send your computer-related questions to mauimist8669@yahoo.com.