How To Use Your Smartphone When You Are Offline
Ever wonder how you can use your smartphone without an Internet connection? Being offline doesn’t mean you can’t watch a movie, listen to your music, read a book, and keep up to date with your favorite podcasts. Many airlines now offer wi-fi, however don’t rely on it to stream since, in most cases, the signal is not as great as what you are used to at home.
To learn more on what you should be doing, prior to your trip, when connected to the Internet (preferably wi-fi), click HERE to access a video with some great tips.
Also, you should be traveling with two sets of earphones (in case your main one breaks), a charging cable, and a preferably a portable battery pack.
Why It’s Important to Have a Backup Plan
Last week I received a panic phone call from a person whose home computer wouldn’t start. The hard drive had crashed and all the data was lost. None of his data was backed up.
I have written many times on the importance of having a backup strategy, both onsite and cloud based.
Your documents, pictures, music, videos, etc, that are stored in your computer are important to you. Do you have a backup system? Here are some reasons you should be backing up your data.
– What if your computer crashes and you can’t start it.
– Your home/office burns down
– Your computer has been stolen
– You left the computer in a restaurant, hotel, etc.
– Coffee, soda or other liquid has been spilled on the keyboard of your laptop
– The computer has been dropped
– A virus has wiped out the hard drive
– Malware, short for malicious software, has permitted someone to infiltrate your computer system without your consent
– You have inadvertently erased an important file.
– Someone else who uses your computer has deleted files
The list goes on and on. Before disaster strikes, make sure you are backing up ALL your important data onto an external hard drive and explore many of the online backup options that are available.
A popular cloud based backup service is CrashPlan, however a review of all the major services can be read HERE.
Want to organize all your pictures and videos?
Do you have years of family photos and videos scattered in drawers and closets all over your home? Ever get frustrated looking for photos of graduations, weddings, vacations, etc.? Chances are they haven’t been looked at in ages.
After years of finding pictures in practically every drawer in my home, I decided it was time to organize nearly 100 years of pictures and videos and create a media history of our family for our children.
I must say it was quite a chore to accumulate all the material. However, I am pleased to report that I now have an archive of all photos and videos that I selected stored in “The Cloud.” Password protected, they can be viewed on all my computers, tablets, and smartphones. Most importantly, I now can share any of the items stored in my site with family members and friends. My favorites are pictures of my parents from as far back as over 90 years ago.
OK. How was I able to do this? Here is a summary of the steps I took in creating my family archive.
1. First I signed up for a Dropbox account. Up to 2 GB of storage is free. For $9.99/month, you can store 1 TB. I chose the 1 TB plan since I had thousands of pictures and videos.
2. Next, I determined whether I wanted to store my files by year or subject manner.
3. I reviewed all the media (pictures and videos) stored in my computer, tablet, and smartphone and selected the ones I was interested in including in my archive.
4. Since all photos and videos need to be in a digital format, I hired services that were able convert loose photos and ones in albums as well as videos on VHS to the proper format.
The process was quite time consuming (even though I did “outsource” the conversion to digital formats), but definitely worth it.
If you would like a free consultation on how you can create a digital “media library,” give me a call at 917 921-4518 or e-mail me at jblue@bluetutor.com.
What You Need to Know About Streaming Movies and TV programs
Streaming media (movies and TV shows) to your TV, tablet, and even your smartphone has been very popular. The largest sources for streaming are Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.
What is streaming? Simply stated, Streaming is defined as a method of receiving videos (movies, TV shows, etc.) and audio directly from the Internet without having to download them into your computer, tablet, or smartphone. CLICK HERE to read my blog for additional information.
TV manufacturers today are selling “Smart TVs.” A Smart TV is a television set with Internet access. Connected to your router, it contains apps for streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and many others. Most TVs being sold now are Smart TVs.
However, those of you that have older TVs can purchase “set-top boxes” such as AppleTV, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, and Chromecast. These devices allow a digital signal to be received by your TV so it is possible to access media sources such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.
I recently purchased a new TV (Smart TV) and can now watch the streaming services directly on my new unit. However there are other older TVs in my apartment, and I am able to stream using one of the set top devices listed in the previous paragraph. I chose the Roku device, since it gave me flexibility at a good price.
CLICK HERE to read a review of the new Roku stick and a comparison of all the leading set-top devices.
When streaming from your tablet and smartphone, remember to only do so from wi-fi locations, since Internet access through wi-fi is free. Using your wireless carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc.) for Internet access can be costly (ie: Streaming 2-3 movies in the course of a month could use your entire data plan for that period).
How to Select the Right Cellphone Provider
Confused by all the offers from the major cell phone providers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.)?
There’s a price war going on between the major carriers. Although price is a consideration in selecting a carrier, saving a few dollars should not be the major factor when signing a contract. Having an unlimited or discounted data or phone plan is useless if your service is poor.
First, you must determine which provider offers the best service in your area. Are you frequently getting disconnected in the middle of a call? How is the voice quality of the calls?
Second, you should check the signal strength in all parts of your home or office. If you are a frequent traveler, how is the service on the road? How about your second home? If you are moving to a new location, check with your neighbors. Find out what works for them and which provider (s) have poor reception. I have a client who recently moved a few blocks away and found the provider she was using in her old apartment did not work in her new building. Another client found that her provider only worked in a few rooms in her new building.
There are a number of discounted service providers offering deep discounted rates. However, the majority of them are using one of the major providers listed above. If you elect to go that route, check out who they are using before signing up.
Don’t be tempted to sign up with a provider because of a great deal or a pretty new phone offer. The name of the game is quality of service.
Beware of Tech Support Popup Scams
Ever receive a popup warning on your computer that warns you that your computer has a virus or malicious software?
If you get a call from someone who claims to be a tech support person, hang up. A caller who creates a sense of urgency or uses high-pressure tactics indicating that your computer has a serious virus is probably a scam artist. Once they have you on the phone, they often try to gain your trust by pretending to be associated with well-known companies (Microsoft, etc.). They may ask you to go to your computer and perform a series of complex tasks. Their tactics are designed to scare you into believing they can help fix your “problem” for a fee.
Once they’ve gained your trust, they may:
- Ask you to give them remote access to your computer and then make changes to your settings that could allow them access to your files or wipe out all the files
- Try to enroll you in a worthless computer maintenance or warranty program
- Ask for credit card information so they can bill you for phony services and use your credit cards for their own use
- Trick you into installing malware that could steal sensitive data, like user names and passwords to access your bank records and other online services
Keep these other tips in mind:
- Never give remote control to anyone you do not know
- Do not rely on caller ID alone to authenticate a caller. They may appear to be calling from a legitimate company or a local number
- Never provide your credit card or financial information to someone who calls and claims to be from tech support, a bank, or the government.
- Never give your password on the phone. No banks, financial institutions. or other online services will ever ask for any personal information
- Register your phone number with the NATIONAL DO NOT CALL REGISTRY, and report illegal sales calls.
Should You Be Interested in the New iPhone SE?
Apple has introduced its latest iPhone and, as expected, my phone rang off the hook as soon as the news was released. Apple has called it “A big step for small.”
So, what’s new? The iPhone SE is a new 4-inch smartphone that offers a smaller and cheaper option to the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. Apple’s new iPhone SE looks almost identical to the iPhones 5s, but comes with the hardware and capabilities of the 6s. Apple has targeted the phone to consumers who were put off by the size of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6s and 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus.
To read PC Magazine’s full review and comparison of the iPhone SE and iPhone 6S CLICK HERE.
It’s Tax Time. What You Need to Know About Income Tax Identity Fraud
It’s tax time and we all know that income tax identity theft is a major problem. The most common way that income tax identity theft occurs is when the identity thief files an income tax return using his or her victim’s Social Security number along with a counterfeit W-2 that indicates a large refund is due.
In his most recent post, Steven Weisman, writes that “Filing your income tax return electronically can be both safe and convenient if done properly, but it also can be risky as evidenced by a recent study by the Online Trust Alliance, a nonprofit Internet Security firm which found that six of the thirteen companies used in the IRS Free File program had significant security issues that included failures to properly encrypt data.”
To read his entire post on Scamicide,com which offers tips on how you can make your electronic filing more secure, CLICK HERE.
Steve has been a guest on my BlogTalkRadio program several times discussing personal identity theft. To listen to my discussion with Steve about how to minimize your risk of income tax identity fraud, click on the BlogTalkRadio logo below.
Thought You Could Only Have One Phone Number on Your Smartphone?
Now you can have a FREE second phone number on your smartphone.
No need to carry two mobile phones with you, one for business and the other for personal use.
Sideline is the FREE phone solution for anyone who needs a second phone line. The idea is that your smartphone is your personal phone, and you don’t necessarily want to use that as your business phone. That’s why you still see people carrying around two phones, which is a hassle to say the least.
Your second number works just like your first. Separate caller IDs, notifications, and ringtones make it clear who’s contacting you. For outbound communication, just open Sideline. With your free phone number, you get unlimited texting, and Sideline calling uses the carrier plan you already have.
Sideline is available on both iPhones and Android smartphones.
CLICK HERE to read more about Sideline and instructions on how to install the app on your phone.
Super Speed Free Wifi Throughout New York City?
Welcome to the future of public Wi-Fi. It will soon spread well beyond the City That Never Sleeps, and it’s unlike the isolated free Wi-Fi hot spots in airports, coffee shops and hotels, best known for slow speeds and posing serious risks to your digital security. This is fast, it’s ubiquitous and it’s relatively more secure
The 9.5-foot-tall rectangles, which are replacing the city’s pay phones, feature USB outlets for charging your devices (actual charger not included), city maps, 911 emergency access, and video calls to anywhere in the country. And, of course, wi-fi.
To get the most out of the updated public Wi-Fi in New York and elsewhere, there’s some new lingo to learn: Passpoint, which is sometimes referred to as Hotspot 2.0
The technology allows a Wi-Fi hot spot to work like a cellphone tower. Your phone or laptop’s Wi-Fi connection can seamlessly switch from one hot spot to the next as you move around—no need to repeatedly log in. LinkNYC is a first-of-its-kind communications network that will replace over 7,500 pay phones across the five boroughs with new structures called LinksOn. It means walking out of your apartment and being able to walk for blocks and blocks.
To read the complete article by Joanna Stern in the Wall Street Journal, CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE read an earlier article by Bryan Lufkin