Data Doctors Tech Tips

Web-mail services are handy because they allow your to not be tied to any specific device in order to get your mail.and#160; Gmail is by far the favorite system for most of us and if you use it every day like I do, you should learn all the awesome keyboard shortcuts that can make things more efficient.and#160; The available shortcuts can reduce the need to reach for your mouse to perform common tasks, which makes it more efficient.and#160; A lot of the basic shortcuts start by tapping a 'G' (as in Gmail) followed by the shortcut character.and#160; For instance, tapping the 'G' followed by an 'A' will show you all your mail.and#160; 'G' followed by a 'D' jumps you to Draft messages.and#160; Tapping 'G' followed by 'C' pops up your contacts.and#160; If you make use of 'Starred' messages, typing G followed by S shows them to you while G followed by T will pop up your sent messages.and#160; With more than 60 shortcuts available, using gmail without a mouse will make things fly.and#160; Here's the direct link to all the Gmail shortcuts: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6594?hl=en

Anyone with home automation or smart devices in their home, like security webcams or connected thermostats knows that they rely heavily on a functioning wireless network. Smart devices are a wonderful way to remotely monitor your home, business or rental property but they're pretty useless if the wireless network goes down. In most cases, simply rebooting your router will reset things, but it's a difficult task to accomplish when no one is near the equipment to reset the power. Some routers can be configured to routinely reset on a regular schedule, but if you want more control, install a 'remote power switch' like I've done. They allow you to remotely restart anything plugged into them. You can also set them to monitor an Internet connection and automatically restart the power if your connection goes down. Anyone finding themselves restarting their router on a regular basis may also find some tips in my troubleshooting guide along with a link to the remote power switch option at: http://www.datadoctors.com/help/kenscolumns/22073

Virtually every airline offers offers Wi-Fi on their flights, but it can cost anywhere from $5 to $50, depending on the device you're using and the length of the flight.and#160; If you'd like to save money but still want to be productive the next time you fly, today's tip is for you.and#160; An alternative to paying for slow Internet access to get content you seek, is to 'queue' up your desired info prior to your flight using an app called 'Pocket' that will work on all your devices.and#160; Pocket's 'read it later' approach is one of the many tools that gathers content for later access without the need for an Internet connection.and#160; Pocket will work with all your devices, which means when you save content on one device, you can read it later on all your other devices without being connected to the Internet. The platform won't let you watch saved videos when you aren't connected, but Pocket will allow you to create a virtual newspaper with only the information that interests you for your next long flight.and#160; Learn more at: https://getpocket.com

The use of phishing scams have become a primary tool for starting many of today's sophisticated hacking attacks, even more so when a company becomes a target.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; The attackers know that it will only take one person in the company to fall for a well crafted email for them to start their attack. and#8232; Whenever I work with business owners on cyber-security, a radical suggestion that I present to them is to quit using e-mail for all inter-company communications.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; If you consider that most successful corporate phishing scams look like they're from someone in the company, you can understand why victims tend to let their guard down.and#160; and#8232;and#8232;If you can move your company away from e-mail for inter-company communications, it will make it very easy for all your employees to spot phishing scams.and#160; and#8232;and#8232;A very popular option is located at Slack.com, not only allows for a more secure communicate channel, it can also improve efficiency in other ways as well.and#160; and#8232;and#8232;The Slack platform works on any type of computing device and you can give it a try with an unlimited time free account!

So called 'Smart LED bulbs' were being shown by a large number of companies at CES this year, but one firm in particular, is focused on making lightbulbs do a lot more than just create light.and#160; Sengled has a complete line of bulbs that incorporate other electronics in their lightbulbs that includes everything from wifi boosters to security cameras to speakers.and#160; Pulse Solo, for instance, is a paired set of LED bulbs that have JBL speakers in them to light up your room and get you dancing. It's designed to work with all your Bluetooth audio devices.and#160; The 'Boost' lightbulb also has a Wi-Fi booster built-in, which can come in handy for blacked out areas of Wi-Fi in your house.and#160; My favorite offering is called 'Snap', which has a camera, motions sensors and facial recognition built right into the bulb.and#160; You can checkout all of these cool products atand#160;http://Sengled.com

Fitness monitors have been all the rage for the past couple of years, but they can get kind of expensive with prices that range from 100 to 300 dollars. But it's assumed that a dedicated device on your wrist is more accurate than just using an app on your smartphone, right? Well No! A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association states that many apps on a smartphone can be as accurate or in some cases, more accurate than expensive fitness bands for tracking daily steps and activity. Their tests were performed on treadmills so it may not reflect real-life movements, especially when you don't have your smartphone on you. But, anyone trying to find the motivation to exercise through the tracking of their daily activities, isn't required to purchase an expensive gadget. There are many solid smartphone apps and lots of them are free. iPhone users can checkout Argus or Moves or the Runtastic apps which work on both Android or iPhone devices. IMHO, anything that keeps you motivated to continue to commit to daily exercise is a really good thing, so what are you waiting for?

When Windows 10 was released, it became the fastest growing new operating system with over 75 million users within the first month of its release.and#160; That means Windows 10 had a 5% market share in just one month while the total market share for the Mac is only 7.5%.and#160; If you have Windows 10, there is a helpful feature that you may not know about called 'print to PDF' which will appear in your printer options.and#160; A real world use for this new option could be whenever you want to send someone a portion of a spreadsheet or document that they can open it without having the same programs.and#160; For example, with either a Word document or an Excel spreadsheet, you have the option of selecting what you want to send and printing it using the print PDF option, which will create a file that can be easily sent.and#160; It's a lot quicker then having to scan and send your documents.and#160; Those running an older version of Windows can add this feature using this free utility: http://www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/info.phpand#160;

I'm sure that you've heard about the exploding batteries in so-called 'hover boards' by now as it's been happening all over the world.and#160; The cause is most likely from the shoddy build process used by cheap offshore manufacturers that like to dump untested gadgets on the world's markets. Mismatched charging systems on lithium batteries can be a recipe for disaster, which would explain many of the issues with these hover boards. What we can all learn from this actually applies to everything we own that uses a lithium ion battery and that is, make sure you are charging with the proper charger.and#160; We constantly have to help laptop owners with various power related issues because they're using cheap universal chargers when the original factory charger goes bad.and#160; A mismatched charging system can not only cause overheating, but it will most likely shorten your battery life.and#160; If you ever encounter any bulging or higher than normal heat coming from your lithium batteries, you'd be smart to stop charging them so you can inspect or replace them.and#160;

Those tiny sensors that attach to keychains or other items which allows you to wirelessly track things when they are lost have been around for quite some time.and#160; The 2 brands that get most of the attention are Tile and TrackR.and#160; On their face, they appear to be similar, but anyone looking for a slight edge should, look into TrackR over Tile.and#160; The TrackR's thinner sensors can do more and the user replaceable batteries aren't those special expensive batteries.and#160; An interesting feature of the TrackR devices is that you can also be used to figure out the location of your phone when you can't figure out where you left it.and#160; Both companies use Bluetooth with a range of roughly 150 feet of bidirectional signal.and#160; When you buy a large number of them, you can get the cost down to $10 to $15 a piece, making it affordable to track lots of items.and#160; Check out the most current options at: https://www.thetrackr.com

The most common complaint we hear from users of any iPhone model is that it runs out of space quickly and doesn't allow any memory expansion.and#160; The problem in our household is when we are on the road snapping lots of pictures and taking lots of videos.and#160; The guys at Sandisk felt your pain and created a series of devices they call the iXpand.and#160; The device looks like a typical flash drive that has Apple's Lightning connector and a standard USB connector.and#160; When you install their app, the iXpand will auto copy your files from your camera roll whenever it's plugged in.and#160; It's the perfect solution for those with small storage levels that want to free up space while on the go.and#160; The USB connector allows you to plug it into your computer to transfer your files.and#160; The iXpand now comes in various storage sizes and range in price from $30 to $200.and#160; Learn more about their updated models at: http://www.sandisk.com/products/mobile/ixpand