Data Doctors Tech Tips

Much of what you do on the Internet is sped up through a process called 'caching' which keeps elements of previously visited websites in a temporary space on your computer. Caching allows sites to load faster because it doesn't have to pull every image, frame, video or body of text down from the Internet. Loading these elements from your local hard drive is so much faster, but sometimes this can work against you. If you've ever gone to a website looking for information that you can't find or a site that doesn't load properly, it's possible that your just looking at an incomplete cached version of the site from your computer. The next time this happens, give this a try: hold the CTRL button down and tap the F5 key at the top of your keyboard. This universal shortcut works on all the major browsers and is a command that tells your computer to skip the cache and download everything from the website. It's a really quick way to troubleshoot strange website behaviours because if everything loads properly, you'll know its time to clear the browser's cache More info at: http://www.wikihow.com/Clear-Your-Browser's-Cache

Today's tech tip is on a rather uncomfortable subject: death. So much of our lives are tied up in online accounts that if you meet with an untimely death, your family members could be faced with an enormous task in the midst of grieving. If you pass away and no one in your family has any of your passwords, the process for unlocking online accounts is different for each company, so the process would become very time consuming and frustrating. The security measures that are in place to keep malicious users from accessing your accounts will become a roadblock when your family attempts to settle your affairs. Storing your passwords in a safety deposit box or password managing program is good start but your passwords will change over time. The most important passwords for someone you trust to have is to your e-mail account, since that's where password reset requests get sent. Whoever is tasked with settling your affairs can use your e-mail account to know what online accounts you used and get passwords reset if necessary. It's not fun to think about, but it's something you should be thinking about!

A friend recently asked me if I knew of any apps that would allow him to record phone conversations taken on an Android smartphone. He told me that he was looking for a solution that would help him create training material. Anyone wanting to do this needs to understand the various wiretapping statutes that tend to vary from state to state. Unless you know for sure, it's best to play it safe by notifying anyone on the call that it's being recorded. Of all the apps that I tested, a free app called Call Recorder seemed to the job quite effectively. Once you download and install the app, a tiny red 'record' dot appears in the upper left corner whenever you place or answer a call. Anytime you want to record a call, you just tap on the red dot and then again, when you want to end the recording. It captures lots of great info including the date, time and duration of the call as well as the caller ID, automatically! Once the recording is complete, you can save it to your phone or share in any number of ways. The free Call Recorder app an be downloaded from the Google Play store.

Have you seen this video? Can you believe you were caught doing this on camera? This is an example of a tricky social engineering scam that continues to be used to fool people with e-mail, social or private messages. The thieves want to get you so worked up over what might be in the video that you let your guard down. If you click on the link to see the incriminating video, you'll usually be warned that you need to install something called a CODEC or update your video player in order to see the video. In your haste to see this embarrassing video, you go ahead and bam, you've just been infected with a silent program. Any time you fall for these tricks and allow malicious software in, the crooks can do just about anything they want and generally without you having a clue they're doing it. We're seeing this approach on the rise, so stay alert and never install anything from a pop up message!

If you're a road warrior, you probably run into Internet access that's a bit limited in speed when you're traveling. Whether it's in hotels and coffee shops or on an airplane, your speed is very limited because you're sharing it with everyone else. Today's media rich ad-driven websites can be particularly slow on airplane wifi. There are ways to manually optimize your browser for slower connections, but it would require that you switch it back and forth or create a second optimzed profile. My preferred tool for when I'm on the road is the Opera browser. This lesser known browser has some interesting tricks up its sleeve with options like Opera Turbo which optimizes content on cloud servers first, which can reduce download times. Blocking unnecessary elements such as Flash ad boxes unless you click on them will also, which reduces the load. If things get really slow, you can block all images which can get you to your desired text much faster. I've posted the link to Opera along with other suggestions from my advice column which is posted at http://www.datadoctors.com/help/columns/22011

Spring has sprung and you know what that means...spring cleaning! A spring cleaning task you may want to add if you're an avid Facebook user is to review and cleanup the apps that have access to your profile. If you haven't done this in a while or ever for that matter, you may be amazed by how many apps you've given access to your profile, knowingly or unknowingly. Start by opening your Facebook Settings and clicking on the Apps option. An alphabetical list of the apps that have access to your profile will appear and by floating your mouse over each app, you'll have the option to either edit the settings or remove it. If you click on the Edit option, you can modify what the app can and can't do, including sending you notifications but it you don't really need it, remove it. Unfortunately, removing the app won't revoke the information the app has already gathered, but it will prevent future access.

The love hate relationship with Windows 10 rages on with a large number of you that have made it clear, you don't want to upgrade from your existing version of Windows. Microsoft recently made a change to their automatic update system that snuck the upgrade in without the owner realizing what was happening. Many websites have published various tricks for preventing Windows from auto-updating, but many of them require that you modify or delete files, which can be scary for non-techy users. Well, there's an easier way that's also a lot safer than making manual modifications to your system called Never 10. Never 10 is a simple utility created by one of my favorite software developers, Steve Gibson and it's super easy to use. Just download the tiny program and run it to so it can figure out what you have and how to prevent Windows 10 from sneaking in. If you're one of the millions that's saying Never 10, I've posted the link at DataDoctors/radio https://www.grc.com/never10.htm

Tabbed browsing has changed the way we use the Internet, by allowing us to open multiple sites in the same browsing session. It's easy to get carried away by opening lots of tabs, but each tab takes memory, so it's important to close unneeded tabs to keep your computer from becoming a slug. But how often have you accidentally closed the wrong tab forcing you to wade through your browser History trying to find something you still want to read? Well today's tip is the cure for errant clicks that close the wrong tab. The next time this happens to you in any browser, just hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys then tap on the letter T as in Tom. Which ever tab you last closed will suddenly appear in all its glory without the usual hassle. If you want to restore more than one tab, just repeatedly press Ctrl, Shift T and each one will appear in the order you closed them!

Taking pictures of a group gathering is standard operating procedure these days, but that usually means whoever takes the picture is left out. Asking a stranger to take the group shot can have mixed results because they didn't hold still or didn't compose the shot very well. Some newer smartphones actually have an option to use both the front and back camera so the person taking the shot can be part of the fun. If you don't have this feature on your camera, checkout a free app called Frontback that's available for both Android and iPhone users. The Frontback app makes it simple to take pictures from the back and front cameras and combine them into a single image, which can lead to some pretty creative shots. Selfie addicts will find this app indispensable for making sure they include themselves in every shot. There's even an entire online community sharing Frontback shots with each other; check it all out at http://frontback.me

The vast majority of e-mails circulating the Internet these days are junk messages and the technology that tries to filter through it all isn't perfect. The specific words you use and what you include in your messages can actually make your legitmate emails look like a junk message to automated spam filters. Simple things, like unnecessary images or certain words can boost your spam score and the parameters keep changing. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to test your messages to see if something you're doing is making you look like a spammer? Well, there's a tool for just this purpose at http://mail-tester.com that will quickly evaluate your message and give you a spam score. It's really simple to use; just send your message to the address that they provide and then click the link below it. You'll get a spam score and a detailed report on your message including whether you've been blacklisted. Start testing your messages at http://mail-tester.com