Your personal data can be easily leaked through data breaches from sites where you have accounts. A recent BGR.com article discusses the Have I Been Pwned? web site that will list all your accounts that have been exposed due to data breaches. Read more here and discover what data of yours has been exposed.
Big Tech is definitely listening to us
I was having a chat on Skype the other day, and much to my surprise, a topic we were discussing popped up on my very next Internet search. Purely a coincidence you might think, but I somehow doubt that. My suspicions were increased after stumbling on the following YouTube video from Mitchollow who does a live demonstration of what I experienced the other day. Which reinforces my belief that we all need to be extra careful about what we discuss or wish for, when around Internet connected devices that have microphones on them.
How to stop Windows spying on you
Yep, Windows collects data about you and sends it off to a number of external servers. Surprise, surprise. Disappointing but true. The following YouTube video from The PC Security Channel will show you how to thwart Microsoft efforts.
I’ll include a link here to the original YouTube posting, that shows the text in the description of the video, that is required to be added to your Windows Hosts file on your computer. This will enable you to simply edit, cut and paste; to both save time typing, plus eliminate any mis-typing. I have noticed however that the msn.com site accessed from the Windows Taskbar will no longer work after implementing the above (which makes me wonder just how much data Microsoft has garnered from me already!!).
Paid subscription for Windows 10 users
If you don’t want to update from Windows 10 to 11, or cannot due hardware limitations, Microsoft can offer ongoing OS updates beyond 2025 through a subscription program. FInd out more in Windows Central’s article here.
Don’t forget to update your Apple devices
It is your responsibility to update your Apple devices to stay safe from any potential attacks. Tom’s Guide has recently published an article about Apple’s latest updates that patch two actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities. Read all about it here.
Like to use your TV for FaceTiming?
The SlashGear.com guys have published an article explaining how you can use your iPhone or iPad, and your Apple TV to FaceTime using your TV screen. This will be great for when you are FaceTiming with a group or simply want to use the larger format of a TV screen. Discover more in their article here.
Is WhatsApp gobbling up your phone’s storage
WhatsApp is a great app for keeping in touch with your friends and colleagues, however unless managed correctly, it can use up a lot of your phone’s precious storage. Read the article here from the MakeUseOf guy’s to learn more about how to better manage your storage and make use of disappearing messages.
Staying safe when using free Wi-Fi
The MakeUseOf guys have written some useful information and guidance about staying safe from hackers when using free Wi-Fi sites. Read about it here.
Want to edit and manipulate PDF documents?
Nowadays we all work with PDF documents. They are the most common way of providing detailed User Manual documentation. Now ONLYOFFICE has a built in editor that will enable you to edit and manipulate these PDF documents. ONLYOFFICE is a free MS Office alternative (see one of my earlier posts here). Read all about this PDF editor’s capabilities in an article by the MakeUseOf guys here.
Apps that enable your Android phone to work with Windows (or Mac)
The MakeUseOf guys have written an article listing some very useful Android phone apps that work in collaberation with Windows computers. I find number 5, the Link to Windows app really helpful and use it a lot. Check out all the apps in their article here. If you have a Mac instead of Windows, check out the Android apps available for Mac here.
Running your home network from a mobile phone
My office seems to be located in a high lightning strike area, and as a consequence we have been through 4 modems in just over 12 months. Each time this happens we spend days (or over a week as I write this) without Internet access. I recently discovered the following YouTube video from a chap with a channel called Network Advisor, who has discovered how to tether his mobile phone to a modem, which then provides Internet access for devices in his house. I had an old modem and I’m currently using this method with my Samsung mobile phone to provide Internet and Wi-Fi access for all the devices in my house, while I wait for a replacement modem to be delivered. It works and I don’t know why I haven’t done this sooner!!
It’s time to update your Apple devices again
Apple have just released an important new security update for most Apple devices. Update yours now. Read all about it in LifeHacher’s article here.
Travel the world with your smart phone and an eSIM
In the past we either had to pay exorbitant data roaming fees to use our mobile phone overseas, or suffer the inconvenience of purchasing a separate SIM card for each of the countries we visited. Luckily modern smart phones now have the ability to use a virtual SIM card known as an eSIM. I’ve posted about eSIMs before – just enter eSIM into the Search field to find those articles. We still need to acquire an eSIM for each country that we intend to visit, however we won’t have the inconvenience of having to physically swap SIM cards, plus we can continue to use our existing SIM at the same time as the eSIM. Read more about how to use eSIM and the companies that support them in the Android Police article here. The article talks about Android phones, but is equally relevant to other phones. There are some eSIM companies that offer a single eSIM that cover multiple countries in Europe, making the process of travelling between them even easier. You might find the following YouTube video useful as it compares many of the popular eSIMs available today.
Is your Wi-Fi running slow?
There are many things that can impact your home Wi-Fi performance, and I have previously written a self-help document in the Resources section of this web page to assist with boosting your Wi-Fi speeds and explaining why it is so important to use only the 2.4 Ghz band channels 1, 6, and 11. Then today I discovered a great article from MetaGeek that goes into far more depth about a whole raft of Wi-Fi topics. Discover more here.
3rd party VPN support coming for Apple TV
Techtime have written an article about the upcoming release of TVOS 17 for Apple TVs. It will include the ability to support third-party VPN software that will unlock a bunch of useful capabilities. Read more here.