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MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week people wrote in with questions about missing Recovery HD partitions after cloning a Lion installation, upgrading the processor on Mac systems, and the requirements for running permissions repair routines when updating the system. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

NOTE: The "contact us" box on the MacFixIt page is now available for you to use when e-mailing questions. … Read more

Recently Apple announced to developers that beginning in March 2012, all applications submitted to the Mac App Store will require support for Apple's sandboxing routines.

Since Apple initially scheduled to implement this requirement in November of this year, this announcement is nothing new and is more of a timeframe shift than anything else; however, it still raises questions and concern over what this means for developers and end users.

What is sandboxing? Sandboxing is a security technique that acts as a last line of defense against exploited, buggy, or otherwise compromised applications, which Apple is implementing to ensure programs … Read more

If you get information on files and folders in the OS X Finder you will see the access permissions for the items listed at the bottom of the information window.

The items in this list are generally the username of the file's owner, the primary group associated with the owner, and then an "everyone" group; however, there may be situations where the system will not display a group, and instead will show a persistent "Fetching..." notification.

This situation may happen because the system cannot properly identify the group that is associated with the file. In … Read more

A lot of changes are rolling out on Facebook, and the Apps area didn't escape this remodel. Currently, an app only needs you to authorize permission once. After permission is given, it can post and share activity on Facebook on your behalf without approval. If you want to check up on what an app has access to, or are tired of sharing what game you're playing, here's how to adjust those settings:

Step 1: In Facebook, click the small arrow near your name in the upper-right-hand corner and choose Privacy Settings.

Step 2: Scroll down to Apps … Read more

When managing your hard drive in OS X there are several potential problems that can crop up, including issues with the drive itself as well as those pertaining to the file setup on the drive. All of these can result in the inability to read or access files, and may, depending on the severity, result in anything from errors and brief pauses to system hangs or crashes. Apple lumps the management of some of these problems into its Disk Utility program, which is convenient but does have the effect of blending their meanings together, such as assuming a permissions fix … Read more

While the only Mac systems that have user-accessible drive bays are Apple's Mac Pro line, some systems such as the Mac Mini and iMac have options to include multiple hard drives. Additionally, you can attach numerous USB or FireWire hard-drive systems to any Mac if needed, to give it additional storage capacity. While this is convenient for single-user machines, there may be instances where on a system with multiple users you may wish to limit access to a drive.

Ultimately, hard-drive storage is just a mount point on the system, which means that the directory tree of the drive … Read more

Recently as part of the ongoing coverage of the MacDefender malware developments we suggested that users consider running their systems under non-administrative accounts. This practice limits access privileges to the resources that a standard user can access without providing administrative credentials. This mainly consists of the user's home directory, unlike Admin accounts, which can access system directories and the applications folder. Running in a standard account therefore helps prevent the user and hence any programs running under the user's account (including malware) from making changes to system folders without first being prompted for confirmation.

In OS X you … Read more

Twitter is now giving its users more control and clarity over what information third-party apps are allowed to access.

As defined in a recent blog, third-party apps are those that "automatically share your tweets on other networks, connect you to players on gaming platforms, or instantly tweet whenever you update your blog."

Common examples include third-party Twitter apps such as TweetBot, TweetDeck, and Twitterific. But they can include any Web site or service that taps into your tweets.

Such third-party apps need your permission to access certain information about your account. But in an effort to be more … Read more

A few people have reported that when using the latest version of iTunes in OS X 10.6.7 they experience errors in which the program immediately crashes when launched. When this happens, the program displays a message that states, "You do not have enough access privileges for this operation" and then quits followed by the OS X crash reporter.

As with most application crashes, people experiencing this problem have tried numerous approaches, including running in Safe Mode, removing the iTunes preferences files, loading a new user account, and deleting system caches with various maintenance programs; however, in … Read more