Data Doctors Tech Tips

I'm taking the risk of grossing you out, but there's something I need to bring to your attention: that smartphone in your pocket is a breeding ground for filthy bacteria. A news article claims that the smartphone you touch everyday has 18X the bacteria that an average public restroom door knob has on it, you know those handles that you always avoid touching. Making things worse, your smartphones typically runs warm and gets placed in dark insulated locations like our pocket or handbag which helps the bacteria breed. So you're thinking you'll just wipe your phone down with some antibacterial wipes, but the harsh chemicals in most cleaners can be hard on phone screens. Properly formulated screen cleaners may be a better way to go, but it may not sanitize your handset properly. If you are looking for a safe way to sanitize your phone on a regular basis, there's a device called Phonesoap you may want to look into. Phonesoap is a special container that can bombard your phone with powerful UV light to kill bacteria while you're charging your phone. Skeptical? Me too, until I saw the Discovery Channel lab test video that showed some impressive results. Germ-a-phobes aside, check it out at PhoneSoap.com

Crowdsourcing is a terrific method of getting things accomplished ranging from developing a new logo to building a web site to getting admin tasks done through a virtual assistant. Add to that the hiring a business consultant through a website called HourlyNerd.com. Large expensive consulting firms are financially out-of-reach for small businesses or when it's a small project, which is the niche HourlyNerd is trying to fill. Their aim is to match businesses with industry professionals and MBAs that can assist with just about any challenge. As with many other crowd-sourcing resources, consultants bid for your tasks, which help to keep the costs much more competitive. Whether you need a helping hand with a business plan, creating a marketing strategy, developing financial projections or any custom project, HourlyNerd offers consultants on an as-need basis. The site's consultants are mostly current and former MBA students from over fifty colleges from around the globe, so it's a truly diverse workforce competing for your business. Checkout case studies and learn more at http://HourlyNerd.com

For you regular listeners to my daily tips, you know that I'm on an endless quest to discover the best ways to display all my digital photos. If you have seen high-resolution images printed directly to glass at a fancy art gallery, you know how eye-catching the pictures are. Well, you can create these same amazing glass photos right from your PC with a few taps of your mouse. A site called 'Fracture' is a printing company online that lets you upload images then select one of five sizes that ranges from 5x7 to 22x30 printed in either portrait, landscape or square. The entire process takes but a few minutes and the glass pictures range in price from $18 to $125. Fracture prints your images directly to the back of a piece of flat glass, then they add a black backing and ship it to you, which generally only takes a couple of days. This presentation of your best pictures makes for spectacular wall art or makes for a special gift that captures great people and unforgettable moments in your life. You can even create Fractures from some of the famous art and photography in their Art Store. Check it all out at https://www.fractureme.com

Fancy craft cocktails are a huge thing these days, but having them served to you at a local watering hole gets pretty expensive, pretty fast. If you would like to avoid hipster bars and save a little cash, why not start making them yourself? You can certainly buy loads of books full of drink recipes, but a smarter method is to tap into the awesome database in the Mixology app. You begin by informing the app of the liquor and mixers you have on hand so you'll get recipes for the stuff you available. It's always frustrating to find a new drink recipe only to see that you have to run to the store if you want to make it! You can ask for random suggestions or use a specific liquor as a starter to get lots of suggestions. The app's recipes go beyond just simple cocktails; you can learn to make specialty shots, punches, hot drinks and even non-alcoholic beverages for the DDs at your party. The free Mixology app includes a complete bartender's guide and is available for both iPhone and Android users. It's a smart resource for increasing your mixology skills! http://mixologyapp.com

All of the current smartphones have many incredible features but unfortunately, those features suck...battery power that is. When you're on a trip and only have a few minutes to recharge, it's important to maximize the small window of time that you have. The best way to max out any quick charge is to shut down the phone completely while you are charging. If you can't, consider putting the phone in 'airplane mode' so background tasks and power chomping radios like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth don't eat up what little charge you're getting. If you check-in to a hotel room and have more devices to charge than power outlets, don't forget that most newer TV's have a USB port that can also be used as a charger. It's not going to charge nearly as fast as the proper charger and you need to have the TV turned on, but in a pinch, it's a lifesaver. One last thing to keep in mind; heat is a battery's biggest nightmare. Nothing will shorten the life of any battery more than too much heat, so try to keep it out of direct sunlight and don't leave them in hot vehicles. Also avoid charging any device when its hot to the touch.

If you've ever called tech support for help, you've been told that the 1st step to troubleshoot your issue is to restart your computer. It's amazing how many problems it can solve and when it comes to solving Internet problems, there's an equally easy process most users overlook...clearing the browser cache. Browser cache, spelled C A C H E is a host of items that you have already downloaded from previous surfing sessions. By re-using the items that are already in your cache, all your devices can load web pages a lot faster because it isn't necessary to download everything from the Internet. But sometimes older stuff in the cache can cause a web page to load improperly, especially when it's a site that requires log in credentials. The next time you are experiencing problems at a specific website, you should give clearing the cache a try first. If you aren't sure how to clear your cache I've posted a link with instructions for the most common browsers at DataDoctors.com/radio http://www.refreshyourcache.com

Being able to use wifi while flying has become more common these days with virtually every airline now offering it, it's especially useful on those long flights. While it's not the speediest connection you will ever use because you're sharing the same connection with the whole plane, it's better than nothing. If you are like me, often times you have several devices you need to connect, but aren't willing to pay for each connection. When that happens, don't forget your laptop can serve as a wi-fi hotspot so you can share the connection with your other devices. Mac and Windows users have Internet sharing options which will allow your other devices to connect via the same connection. It's also a money saver when your hotel charges by the device for web access. I've posted links with the instructions for both Mac and Windows users at DataDoctors.com/radio If you are a Windows user and find the built-in option a bit overwhelming to setup, there's an option from Connectify Hotspot that makes it much easier. Connectify Hotspot - http://www.connectify.me/hotspot Windows 7 - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/set-internet-connection-sharing#1TC=windows-7 Windows 8/10 - http://howtogeek.com/112050/how-to-turn-your-windows-8-laptop-into-a-wireless-access-point Mac - http://imore.com/how-turn-your-macs-internet-connection-wifi-hotspot-internet-sharing

Yesterday, I provided iPhone and iPad users a tip on restricted access to apps and today, I'm providing something similar for Android users. The Hexlock app is a very powerful way to manage privacy and security on any Android device. Hexlock lets you lock the various apps you want to protect with a special pass-code or locking pattern screen, which allows you to let someone use your device with complete security against snooping. or dad's mobile devices. It can also act as a security barrier should your phone get stolen or lost while the phone is unlocked. Hexlock also allows you to create 6 different profiles such as home, work, child or vacation and then protect those apps based on where your device is being used. It's a free app and getting it setup is pretty straight forward. If this apps sounds interesting, just search the Google Play Store for 'Hexlock'.

For millions of parents an iPhone or iPad have become an electronic babysitter, but just handing a young child unlimited access to everything on either device can be a little risky. In those situations, a cool feature in Apple's iOS that many people don't seem to know exists can easily protect your sensitive items when you hand your device to a child. It's known as 'Guided Access' and it lets you lock down the device and only allow one app to run. Once you turn it on, choose an app and it will lock the system to just that app so you can hand it off knowing they can't get into anything else. If you have a collection of apps you want to give them access to, invoking 'Restriction' settings can safeguard individual apps. Either of these features can be setup quickly by going to the Settings menu and it won't take a rocket-scientist to get it done. If you need help I've posted how-to links for both of these useful features at DataDoctors.com/radio Tomorrow, I've got a similar tip for all you Android users! Setup Guided Access: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202612 Setup App Restrictions: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201304

The folks at Google offer an amazing number of free tools, especially for the business community. A lesser used tool but still one of my favorites is Google Trends. Using Google Trends allows you to leverage Google's enormous database for search-terms used by the world to see how often it's typed in relative to the entire search universe. It's a great way to find relevant keywords that will attract desireable users to your website, so it's a powerful market research tool as well. You can search for trends and narrow the focus by country, state or even language and produce a chart showing the interest over time. You can even adjust the timeframe from the past hour or start back in 2004 it can show you the relationship between multiple terms over time. It's an awesome way to find keywords that are seasonal, which can help with a variety of business marketing plans. If you have yet to experience Google Trends, take a few minutes to learn how incredibly powerful this tool can be. Just go to http://Google.com/trends to get started!