Data Doctors Tech Tips

When you visit a new city, whether it's here in the US or abroad, understanding the best ways to get around that city is an essential task. Google Maps does a pretty good job, but if you're looking for something more focused on navigating public transit options, checkout an app called City Mapper https://citymapper.com City Mapper offers both a website and mobile apps that can quickly show you all your options for getting to and from any two locations. Not only does it give you options for taxis, buses and rail services, it also includes bicycle and walking options. In cities that offer rental bikes and scooters, City Mapper will tell you how many are available at any of the docking stations near you. They'll show you the best options right now or based on a time that you want to arrive or leave a specific location. This is the most comprehensive navigation app that I've ever seen. It's currently limited to about 40 cities around the world but you can help them expand by voting for the next city to be added.

If you're going to be upgrading to a new computer to start the new year, you need to think about what it's going to take to get your new computer to look like your old computer. Not only will you need productivity tools like Word and Excel, you'll likely need to install the browser of your choice, myriad utilities and possibly some media players or streaming services. Left to be done manually, this process becomes a lot more work than you probably remember. Luckily, instead of having to slog through everything manually, there are free tools available to help streamline the process. For Windows users, a website called Ninite comes to your aid, while Mac users can speed things up by using the GetMacApps website. Both sites allow you to choose all of the programs that you want to add so they can create a single massive installation download that makes it all much more efficient. For Mac users: http://getmacapps.comand#160; For Windows users: https://ninite.com

When it comes to email, the overwhelming majority of messages are junk messages that none of us really want and spam filters spend all day scraping away. Still, much of what ends up getting past the filters and into our Inbox is mail that just wastes our time. Most of us have found that text messaging is a more efficient way to communicate and the spammers have noticed and altered their tactics. One of the ways that we can all help fend off the assault to text messaging is by collectively reporting it as soon as it hit's our phones. All of the major carriers have setup 7726, which spells S P A M as a convenient way for their users to report junk text messages. Simply forward the message exactly the way you got it and without anything added to 7726 whenever they appear. The more users that report the junk messages, the faster these guys can get shut down at the source by all the carriers.

If you share lots of photos on social media, there's not much keeping others from making use of your images in a variety of ways. One way to maintain some form of ownership of your shared images is to watermark them with your name or logo. There are lots of apps available for any type of smartphone, but the app that I like to use is called Logolicious. It has dozens of fonts to choose from if you want use text or you can upload a logo for a very professional look . You can save templates to maintain a consistent look and easily rotate and scale the watermark with your fingers right on your phone. The text can be in various colors and you have total control of how transparent both text and logos appear in your images. Logolicious is available for both Android and iPhone users and paying the developers for the app is completely voluntary. Check it out at https://logolicious.com

We all experience a variety of challenges on a regular basis and our ability to manage those challenges can have a direct relationship to our happiness. Life's challenges can lead to stress, anxiety and depression if we don't find a way to manage them and believe it or not, there's an app for that. The SuperBetter app encourages users to 'live gamefully'. This approach is designed to bring the mindset and psychological strengths like optimism, creativity, courage, and determination that come natural when you're playing a game SuperBetter is backed by science that's been validated in published studies that can help you build resilience and improve your mental health. It's resilience training powered by the science of games that millions of people have adapted both through the app and the best selling book of the same name. If you're trying to adopt better habits that will help you achieve your goals, build resilience and a positive attitude in life, checkout the SuperBetter approach at https://superbetter.com

Privacy has become one of the biggest concerns and challenges for the average person to navigate in the digital age. While just about every platform we use offers some form of privacy controls, understanding how and when to use them isn't always obvious. Anyone looking for help managing digital privacy in a single place should checkout the Jumbo privacy app. The creators of the app say it will empower you to take control of your privacy and security, right from your phone. Once it scans the apps and websites you use, it provides recommendation to improve your security and privacy. If you're starting a new job and want to clean up old social media posts, Jumbo can help with that too. We're all looking for a better way to manage privacy and security, so checkout the Jumbo Privacy app at https://jumboprivacy.com

Today's tip is an important reminder to anyone that uses images that they find on the Internet for personal or professional reasons. Just because you can find the image online through a search site, it doesn't mean you can use it without permission. If you aren't careful, you can end up in a legal process that could cost you thousands of dollars per image because you infringed on someone's copyright. If you've got a website loaded with images and you have no idea where they came from, you should remove or replace them for your own protection. There are a whole host of options for acquiring images that you can use for free, including the folks at Getty Images or by using the usage rights filter when doing a Google Image search. You can also do a search for creative commons licenses, which is when the owners of the image provide them for free with a few basic terms of use. Images can also be purchased for no more than a couple of bucks through sites like Canva.com or BigStockPhoto.com. For a more detailed understanding of this important issue, read my column here: and#160;https://www.datadoctors.com/help/columns/21988

From time to time, you may receive a legitimate file attachment from a friend or co-worker that you determine is safe to download, but you can't open it. The most common reasons is that you don't have a program that can specifically work with the type of file that was sent. You can certainly ask the sender to resend in a format you can open or perhaps even spend the money on a software program designed to work with the file or use today's tip to solve the problem. A free website at https://zamzar.com is setup to help you convert just about any file from one format to another. They can convert more than 1100 file formats that range from documents to images and even video and sound files. You can either click on a link that will allow you to select the file or files from your computer or drag and drop the files directly onto the website. Then, simply select the file format you wish to convert to and click the convert button to either have it emailed to you or download as soon as it's converted.

Who amongst us has never forgotten their passwords, not to mention the frequency of friends that get locked out of their own accounts? As it pertains to Facebook, there's actually something you can do preemptively to help you get back into your account if you ever get locked out. The ability to recover your account through a group of pre-designated trusted contacts was introduced by Facebook some time back and it's something worth thinking about setting up. The process requires you to select three to five of your trusted friends that can help you regain control of your profile if you need them. In the event you get locked out, you can have Facebook send a security code to the friends that you pre-selected that they send to you. By requiring 3 different codes, Facebook eliminated the possibility of any one friend having the keys to your kingdom. No more dealing with trying to convince someone that you are who you say you are. If you'd like the instruction for setting this up, they're posted here: https://www.facebook.com/help/119897751441086

There's a first world problem that most of us that love technology experience on a regular basis: not having a convenient way to charge our devices around the house. Even if you live alone, unless you've purchased wall chargers for all of the prime locations around your house, you either have to wait until you're going to another room to charge or move the charger from another location. You may be able to pull off the single location charging station but most of us can't. For those that would like an inexpensive way to charge their smartphone just about anywhere in the house, there's a solution from a company called Snap Power. Their solution is simple: just replace any wall plate with their replacement plate that includes USB ports while still allowing a regular charger to be plugged into the outlet. It's an elegant, simple to install solution that could make charging anywhere in the house a SNAP! Your new world of charging awaits you atand#160;https://www.snappower.com/pages/chargers