Data Doctors Tech Tips

If you are like most people, you likely have a ton of info stored on many of Google's popular services, whether it's your e-mail, contacts, pictures, or music. If you are a regular Google user, have you ever worried about what would happen to all your personal files and information if suddenly you were to pass away? It isn't the most pleasent thing to think about, but we should really all be thinking about our critical digital assets in this way. Google has created an option that allows you to assign a 'trustee' to your accounts which can only access your information if you don't log-in for an extended period of time. You get to choose the inactivity interval which can be between 3 to 18 months which will automatically send trustees an access notification. You can setup up to ten trustees and choose what information that they can access and by which trustee, so certain things can go to certain people. It only takes a minute or to get it setup and it could really come in handy should anything unforseen ever happen. I've posted the link to the instruction for the Google Inactive Account Manager at DataDoctors.com/radio https://goo.gl/0QEepK

Popular search engines like Bing and Google are wonderful for finding what we want on the Internet, but the exchange for this service are that they are able to gather lots of valuable marketing information about us in the process. Generally, the customized results for our searches are actually very helpful, but because of all the privacy concerns these days, lots of users want a more private way to search the Internet. A web resource called Startpage is responding to this growing desire for privacy and offers what they are claiming to be the world's most private search site. Most search engines will log your IP address, what you're searching for, what sites you are coming from and which link you chose to click on in the search results. With Startpage, none of these things are recorded, but they still allow you to take advantage of the power of Google but in private. The site serves as sort of a security blanket between you and Google, much like Harry Potter's invisibility cloak when you're searching on the Internet. Learn more and try it for yourself at https://Startpage.com

One of the best things about Google Maps is that it allows you to pop into a "Street View" of just about any street that their mapping vehicles have been on. Google's "Street View" Cars have been roaming and recording our streets since 2007, but in 2014 a new feature was added that many of you still may not know about. After you grab the peg-man and drop him on your street, the initial images you will have are the most recent. But did you know that you could travel back in time for the same street view by simply clicking on the small clock icon just under the address in the upper left-corner of the window? In general, you will see dots on the timeline for each time that the view was captured going back to 2008. You can not only see the current view from a previous year, you can also move around and see the rest of the street images from that year. It is the closest thing to time travel we have available! Go traveling for yourself at https://maps.google.com

One of the most common pleas for help I get almost daily is from folks that keep running out of space on their smartphones. It's an even bigger problem for iPhone users because there is no option to expand the memory like you can on many Android smartphones. Dumping unnecessary apps will certainly free up a little room, but deleting old pictures and video will free up a lot more. Getting rid of videos in particular will free up a larger amount of space since a two-minute video can take as much space as 80-100 images. But an area of the phone that most users don't think about are all those old text messages, especially if they came with photos and videos as attachments. My wife's smartphone had over five GBs of valuable space taken by old her text messages because so many of them photos and videos attached. If you are one of the many struggling with an ongoing space problem, I've published a column with tips for freeing up storage on your smartphone at DataDoctors.com/radio http://www.datadoctors.com/help/kenscolumns/22055

An e-mail address is often required as verification whenever you want to sign up for an online service or need to download some forms of information, but when you use your regular e-mail address, you'll often end up with more than you may have bargained for. When you don't necessarily need to hear from a site after your initial interaction, using a temporary e-mail address allows you to get through the verification process without exposing your personal e-mail account to future unwanted messages. While there are dozens of free temporary online mail services available, one of the easiest to use is called 10MinuteMail.com. You simply go to the site to get a disposable e-mail address that is usable for 10 minutes. Everything you need is on a single page, including any of the messages that get sent to your temporary address. If you do need more than 10 minutes, you can just tap the link for 10 minutes more which will extend the time before your address expires. But keep in mind that 10 Minute Mail accounts aren't usable to reset passwords down the road, so make sure you use them wisely!

If you are an avid outdoor enthusiast, you know that keeping your iPhone protected while you're in the wild is best accomplished with a solid phone case. A well designed case will protect your phone from the 2 common threats: getting it wet and dropping it. If you are a really hard core adventurist, you'll probably benefit from a submersible/waterproof case that will still allow you to take excellent shots below and above water. This wacky combination has been created by Optrix, which are called adventure cases from the Body Glove company. They are waterproof all the way down to 1 atmosphere for you scuba diving fans, which is 33 feet for you snorkeling fans AND they have been drop tested up to twenty feet. What makes these cases different from all the others that I've seen are the unique lenses that are interchangeable and add features like telephoto, wide angle and macro image capture to your iPhone all while it is still in its case. Now you can capture that awesome photo or video without having to stress out about ruining your expensive phone. Before you go on your adventure, checkout the interesting options at http://Optrix.com that's O P T R I X.com.

We're all aware that phishing scams and spam are often used by hackers to set booby-traps that can allow them to exploit us. Most savvy users have their guard up when using their e-mail service, but that isn't the only way that you will run into these clever traps. Something that's been around for a while that's referred to as 'comment spam' and it is on the increase. Before, you could spot these "out of context" posting with things like work from home offers mixed in the comment thread, but they are getting more devious. When breaking news hits any of the social media networks or popular news sites, user comments are always going to follow. You may now see another user making a solid point with a link to learn more about it, but you need to be extremely careful just like you are in email. From now on, even when you think the user and their post may be legit, avoid clicking the link...instead, do your own search using their title for the info just to play it safe.

If you are a devoted iPhone photographer, there's little more frustrating than lining up for that perfect shot just to have the image come out blurry. You can tak several pictures in a row as one way to help improve your odds, but a lot of times the movement is caused every time when you tap on the screen to take the shot. Holding still while gently tapping will go a long way to reducing these useless images, but there are other ways to take the picture that many of you may have forgetten. The first is by using the volume button on the side of your phone, which will make it seem more like a traditional camera when you're holding the phone sideways. If you use those famous 'white headphones' plugged into your iPhone, you can also use the volume buttons to takevpictures as well. Using your headphones to snap pictures can come in very handy, especially if you are trying to take a candid shot or you're using a tripod. Whatever you do, just remember to hold still longer!

Hey sweetheart, I need to print something from my smartphone! This tech request was from my wife and it reminded me of a tech tip I provided years ago that is more relevant today. Since most of you use some type of Google service daily, why not include the ability to print just about anything from anywhere with the Google Cloud Print option. Anyone with any type of Google account, can simply configure their printer connected to their computer so that it's available through the Internet. This will allow you to print from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets but it also allows you to send print jobs from your work PC to your home printer or vice versa. In fact, you could even invite others to print to your printer, if they needed to, like a friend that's having a printing emergency. Google's Cloud Print will work with both cloud-ready and traditional printers and also allows you to send print jobs from a variety of apps and devices. To get started with this super useful tool, go to http://Google.com/cloudprint

That smartphone in your hand has substantially more processing power than the entire group at NASA had for the 1969 lunar landing. Your phone also holds virtually every private thought and a large amount of sensitive information that you wouldn't want just anyone to see. For whatever reason, many don't think of their smartphones the same way they do their computers, but it's essentially the same thing when it comes to your sensitive personal information. That may be why so many of people still have not taken the simple step in protecting all your valuable info by turning on the lock screen. A common reason that many don't turn it one is that don't want to be bothered with tapping in a lock code every time you want to use the phone, but you should know that the alternative is scary. The likelihood of you losing a phone or having it stolen is very real, so take a second to protect your phone right now. All the other powerful security features built into your phone are useless if you don't take the time to lock the front door!