Data Doctors Tech Tips

The cyber security world uses a simple process for evaluating threats - think like hackers. One of the most common items traded by the Internet underworld is your personal information and identity, which they generally acquire through fooling users. Finding the most likely victims of their trickery makes their job easier, so focusing on kids is very common. They know kids will eagerly download music, games and videos that appear to be free, which can have hidden trojan's hiding in them. They know that in most households, the parents share the same profile with their kids, which allows them full access if they can trick the kids. Anyone with kids in their household should strongly consider reconfiguring their computers so the kids have a different profile. The primary account for the parents can be the admin account, while the kids have a limited use profile to minimize the exposure. This approach is how large organizations protect their sensitive data and it's equally as effective for the average home user.

Today's tip is a regular reminder that when you use the same passwords on multiple online accounts, you're making it easy for the bad guys to win. The only way to be secure with your passwords is to make sure you're using some form of password management that allows you to follow our advice. If using a program to manage your passwords is still too complicated, there's another option that is more likely to be successful: just write down your passwords. There are a number of ways to create a discrete password document that works best when you don't use the word 'password' anywhere in or around the file. In addition, creating a secret code system around your passwords, like a bunch of random character before your actual password will help secure the file even further. No matter how cautious you are when it comes to your usernames and passwords, all it takes is a breach at one of the sites you use regularly to expose that password you are using everywhere. Don't make it easy for hackers; use a different password for each of your accounts even if you have to write all of them down to make it happen.

Today's tip is our annual reminder to always pay attention to what you add to your computer or smartphone. Those little changes on your screen that seem to creep in from nowhere is most likely happening when you add something new to the mix. Most popular computer programs that are free will setup a relationship with another company that wants access to more people and include their product in the installation program. When you know this is common, you'll start to pay closer attention to those installation screens that pop up that most people never read and simply agree to get the program installed. The trick is to get users to agree to use the standard installation option that allows the 3rd party garbage to make it into your computer. They'll try to make the 'advanced or custom' installation menu seem like it's only for the hardcore nerds and geeks, but it's not. It's actually the transparent version of the installation process they don't want you to see. Keeping the junk out to begin with is easily achieved if you always use the custom install option. Being diligent will stop those useless toolbars, odd search engine changes or weird start pages from sneaking into your devices.

Paying attention to your long-term financial situation is something that everyone at any age should be focused on and quite frankly, the younger you start, the better. If you one of the many that just hasn't found the right tool to help you get started, I'd recommend checking out a website called Personal Capital. In business, using a dashboard to track what's happening is essential and doing the same with your personal finances is easy to do at https://www.personalcapital.com The dashboard will provide graphs and data that starts with your net worth and extends to any investment portfolios you own as well as all of your banking accounts. All this data is what makes it easy to start playing with 'what if scenarios' to help you find a path to retirement that is realistic. This isn't about trading stocks, this is about granular financial planning and monitoring via their website or mobile app that makes it easy to stay on top of your current situation and progress. Get your financial dashboard up and running today atand#160;https://www.personalcapital.com

If you love music as much as I do, finding new songs and artists to enjoy is an ongoing pursuit. One of the most common things that I'll do is search through the greatest hits of any artist for both new songs and remembering old ones that I've forgotten about. To that end, my search for hits landed me at TheTopTens.com a while back and it's a great resource for discovery. This isn't some self-proclaimed music expert choosing their personal favorites, it's a crowd-sourcing site that leverages the 'wisdom of the crowds'. This crowdsourcing rating site isn't limited to music either, so it's handy for just about any pursuit for the best of the best. You can consume the content or get involved and vote on things yourself to help grow the collective intelligence. If you can't find a top ten list for something you seek, why not start the list yourself? No matter what you are searching for online, leveraging the input from lots of others is made so easy at https://www.thetoptens.com

If you're a camera buff with an expensive DSLR, it's highly likely you have Adobe's Lightroom installed on your computer for extensive image editing capabilities. Whether you're a photo nerd or a basic novice when it comes to taking pictures, having a powerful editing program like Lightroom on our smartphone is a good idea. There's really no limit to the number of image editing apps you can have on your phone, so this is one that I'd highly recommend you add to your tool chest. Unlike the desktop version of Lightroom, the mobile app makes it very easy to make complex changes to all your smartphone pictures. You can start with the pre-set options, but if you're willing to take the time, learning how to use the manual settings will take your images to a whole new level. You can download the free app for your Android, iPhone or iPad so you no longer have to settle for the basic adjustments that your phone limits you to! https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-cc/how-to/lightroom-mobile.html

The incredible technology that's built into our smartphones is allowing ground breaking apps that use artificial intelligence possible. One of my recent favorites is the Otter voice recognition and transcription app. It's a no-brainer for recording interviews or taking meeting notes and easily sharing them with others. The AI allows the app to recognize the various speakers in the conversation and assign them different numbers. If you tap on the number and give the speaker an ID, the app will tag the rest of the transcript with that speaker ID when they talk. It also automatically generates summary keywords, so you can quickly identify themes from any discussion. The app isn't just for your live recording sessions because you can upload any of your pre-recorded audio or video files to be transcribed as well. It's not perfect transcription, but it's light years faster than the manual method. The free version of the app allows you to generate up to six hundred minutes of transcripts per month with premium options if you need more. Check it out at https://otter.ai

If you're a coupon clipper looking for a more efficient way to save money, today's tip is for you. An app called Flipp - that's with two p's - has developed a platform for consilidating coupons from over two thousand retailers. From grocers and drug stores to some of the most popular discount retailers, Flipp makes finding coupons for them so much easier. One of the cool features allows you to create a shopping list which the app will use to search for the best deals across all the stores. You can manually browse the weekly circulars and coupons for stores near you or search for a specific store or item, right from your smartphone. When you see an offer you want, just save it to your shopping list for future use. If you're looking for a way to collect relevent shopping ads in one place, the Flipp app is about as good as it gets. Check it out for yourself by searching for Flipp with two p's in your smartphone's app store.

How many times have you seen those offers to get paid for taking a survey and assumed that they were a scam? Well, for the most part, they aren't what they appear to be, but there is one exception. The folks at Google created their Opinion Rewards program initially for Android users years ago, but it's now available to iPhone users as well. I mean, if Google is gather all this info on you, why not get reimbursed, right? Once you download the app, it will present you with surveys from time to time through a notification that can earn you credits in the Google Play store. The credits can be used to buy apps, music and rent movies and the survey's only take a minute or so to answer. A couple example of the questions are like "Which promotion is most compelling?" or"When do you plan on traveling next?". I've been participating for years and have earned lots of credits that I've been able to use on items that I would have paid for otherwise. If you want to check it out, just search your app store for Google Opinion Rewards

If you're one of the millions that uses an app to enhance or edit your photos, you may want to think about doing the same with your videos. Most devices make it easy to trim and possibly rotate your videos, but there's so much more you can do if you start using an app called Vizmato that's spelled V I Z M A T O It's an incredibly powerful app that makes it really easy to enhance your videos by speeding them up or slowing them down, using themes to create a dramatic feel and lots of visual effects like mirror to make your videos really stand out. There are dozens of effects, emojis and animation tools that you can add to any part of your video just by tapping the screen. You can use music to either replace the audio or mix it with the sounds that you captured in the video. There are lots of sound effects as well as dozens of text fonts that make it easy to put the emphasis on specific moments in the video. Vizmato is free to try and if you really like what it can do, it'll cost you $10 for a lifetime subscription.