By Marco Horn / Jeremy Laukkonen
When your USB ports suddenly stops working, the problem can always be tracked down to either a hardware or software failure. Some of these problems are the same across both Windows and Mac, while others are unique to just one or the other.
Google's Backup and Sync tool has been available for a while now and can make backing up a file, folder or even a system very easy.
It comes in the form of a easy to download app that works on Windows and Apples alike.
This can be downloaded from the Google website.
Link to download https://www.google.com/drive/download/backup-and-sync/
Here's how to set it up:
Google Authenticator is a free security app that can protect your accounts against password theft. It's easy to set up and can be used in a process called two-factor authentication (2FA) offered on popular services like Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and lots more.
The app (iOS/Android) generates a random code used to verify your identity when you're logging into various services. The code can technically be sent to your phone via text message every time— but the Google Authenticator app provides an extra level of security.
SMS-based 2FA has a known security flaw, and any devoted hacker can attempt to socially engineer an attack against your phone company. The Google Authenticator app eliminates the possibility of an SMS-based attack using algorithms to generate the codes on your phone.
1. Download Google Authenticator from either the Apple App Store or the Android Google Play store. It's free.
2. Next, set up two-step verification on your Google account. Log into your Google account. Under "Security and Sign-In" select "Two-Step Verification," and then scroll down to select the "Authenticator app" option.
3. Select your phone, Android or iPhone.
Do you love using your iPAD but still find the process of transferring files to the iPad quite unintuitive? Two reasons, Apple is quite particular about the file formats and they don’t have an official tool for converting your files to iPad format.
Cloud Drive is a great way to get content onto your iPad, but it’s a tool many users are unaware of.
In this article, we’ll show you a couple of different ways you can get data from a computer onto your iPad. If you have to transfer a very large file, like a movie, you should use the iTunes direct connection method. The iCloud Drive method is best for smaller files like documents and pictures.
Can’t decide if you should buy a Mac or PC? It’s a tough decision because both platforms have different advantages and disadvantages. It really also depends a lot on external factors like what other devices you own and what kind of software you use.
For example, if you own an Xbox One, a Windows Phone, a Surface tablet and all the other computers in your home are Windows PCs, then it might be more convenient to stick with a PC.
On the other hand, if you own an iPhone, an iPad, an Apple TV, and an AirPrint enabled printer, then a Mac would fit in really well with those other devices.
By Sumai de Beer / Mike Rogan
If you believe your Android phone or tablet has a virus then the good news is it's really easy to delete. Here's how to remove a virus from Android.
First of all, it's worth pointing out that it's unlikely that your Android phone or tablet has a virus.
What you're more likely to be seeing is an ad that wants to convince you, that your Android device is infected and you need to download an app, or a dodgy pop-up, to prevent the virus. Or perhaps your device is just misbehaving.
But viruses for Android do exist. If you're sure your device has one, here's how to remove it.
Put your phone or tablet into Safe mode. This prevents any third-party apps running, including any malware. On many devices you can press the power button to access the power off options, then press and hold Power off to bring up an option to restart in Safe mode.
If this doesn't work for your device then you should Google 'How to put [your model name] into Safe mode' and follow the instructions. When in Safe mode you'll see 'Safe mode' at the bottom left of the screen.
By Sumai de Beer / Ramish Zafar
Smartphones are great. They’ve managed to give us an unprecedented level of freedom and accessibility any where right at our fingerprints. What's even better is open source software, not limited to any particular device. And the market has responded accordingly, with Google’s Android have the greatest market share in smartphone Operating Systems.
But with such popularity, threats are natural. Just like Windows and the PC, hackers and programmers with malicious intent are busy coding software and hacks to harm the everyday smartphone user.
So naturally, if you don’t use your Android device safely, or within limits, you’re exposing yourself to unnecessary threats. But you’re not always at risk. Take a couple of precautions, follow a couple of steps, and your Android device will be as safe as the president.
Okay well maybe not. But at least you’ll end up greatly reducing the risk of installing software with malicious intent on your Android device. So take a look below, and make your device and your data more safe.
1. Download An Anti-VirusIn Android, the apps you install on your device are sandboxed. This essentially means that they have limited access to your device, should they by chance decide to wreak havoc on it.
But installing an anti-virus is never a bad option, whatever the device may be. All the popular antivirus programs such as AVG and Avast are available for android as well.
By Sumai de Beer / Sofia AK
Kids born into the tablet generation are exposed to more gadgets, devices and Internet tools than any other generation before theirs.
Toddlers can navigate their way in a mobile device like a duck takes to water but they have little to no way of knowing how to be responsible with what they do to the contents of tablets and smartphones.
Anyone who has had lent a child his or her device, would sometimes find apps missing, or files displaced, or even worse new purchases that were made without parental or the owner’s consent.
While it is necessary to talk to them about handling these devices more responsibly, you can always fall back on the options available in iOS devices to better handle these mishaps.
Here are 5 tricks on how to turn your iOS devices into kid-friendly devices (applicable for iOS 6 and above).
1. Block In-App Purchases
If you have a lot of games on your iOS devices you will need this. With your credit card linked to your Apple ID, you really don’t want to make a purchase as easy as tapping a button, especially when the person tapping it does not understand what a ‘purchase’ means.
To block in-app purchases:
Tap on Settings > General > Restrictions.
If this is your first time using the restrictions feature, tap on Enable Restrictions.
You will be asked to set a 4-digit passcode. Enter the passcode twice for confirmation.
Scroll down until you see the ‘Allowed Content’ section.
Under ‘In-App Purchases’ toggle it OFF.
Future purchases will require the use of the passcode you have just set to proceed.
By Jeandre de Beer / Pc World
Flash drives are easy to lose. And anything lost can fall into the wrong hands.
So if you’re carrying around sensitive information in your pocket, you need to make sure those files are encrypted.
Buy an encrypted drive
You can buy a flash drive with built-in encryption, such as the DataTraveler Locker+ G3. When you plug the Locker+ in, it comes up as a 13MB, read-only drive.
But once you launch the program file on that drive and enter the password that you previously setup, another drive opens up with all the storage space you paid for. That drive, of course, is inaccessible without the password.
The software runs off the drive, and it can be used on multiple computers and operating systems.
But I strongly recommend against using this drive’s optional cloud backup feature. It uses Dropbox, OneDrive, or whichever cloud service you pick, which at first glance seems like a nice convenience.
But this feature uploads the files without its own encryption. That means you’re trusting your sensitive files to the encryption capabilities of Dropbox and similar services, and they aren’t all that secure. Find another way to backup these files—preferably one where you can can control the encryption.
Install specialized software on your drive
By Jeandre de Beer / Pc World
Email spam filtering is far better than it used to be. There was a time when nearly every scam email would land in your inbox.
Thankfully that's not the case anymore—especially if you're a Gmail user.
But no system is perfect. Every now and then a scam message will manage to slip into your inbox. But how do you know when you're looking at a scam or not?
Here are three basic tip-offs you can look for to figure out whether you're looking at an email with dishonest intentions. They're hardly an exhaustive list, but more often than not one of these tips will save you from getting scammed.
