Blog – Page 3

7 June, 2018 by Martin Vines 2 Comments

ICE Emergency Contacts

In a medical emergency, the services look to your phone as the first point of information.

It’s virtually impossible to unlock a smartphone to identify who you are so it is important to get your phone to provide relevant information quickly and easily without unlocking the phone.

Your locked smartphone can still show both your ICE contacts and your medical information, if set up correctly.

On the lock screen on the Android phone, swipe up to display the unlock screen and tap on EMERGENCY CALL

Ice Contacts will be displayed along the top.

Emergency Medical Info is at the bottom.

Adding Ice Contacts

The video below explains the procedure on a Samsung Galaxy S7 phone running Android Ver 7 (Nougat).

Press Play to start the video tutorial

Press Resume to continue

Setup Instructions

Ice Contacts

Open the Contacts App
Tap the three dots on the top right of the screen
Tap Groups
This will show All Groups. The first item is ICE – emergency contacts.
Search for contact members and for each contact tap the + to add that person to your Emergency contacts group.
On the lock screen on the Android phone, swipe up to display the unlock screen and tap on EMERGENCY CALL.
At the top, tap the + button and select the contacts, along with the specified number, that you want displayed along top of the screen.
The selected contacts will now be displayed and can be dialled directly.

Emergency medical information

Open the Contacts App
Your Contact list will display some sections

My Profile
Favourites
Frequently Contacted
Alphabetical list of contacts

Under My Profile

Select yourself
Tap Edit and complete your information.
Scroll down and tap on Emergency medical info and complete that section.
Look for a “View More” dropdown and complete that information too
When finished, tap DONE.
Then tap SAVE.
On the lock screen on the Android phone, swipe up to display the unlock screen and tap on EMERGENCY CALL
Tap the icon on the bottom left to display your Emergency medical information

What else should you do?…

This is just ONE of about 30 steps we do in our comprehensive smartphone setup.
Get an expert to customise your SmartPhone to suit your Work, Play, Travel and Everyday lifestyle.

Find out More…

12 April, 2018 by Martin Vines Leave a Comment

Facebook Messenger is a messaging app and platform.
Originally developed as Facebook Chat in 2008, the company revamped its messaging service in 2010, and subsequently released standalone iOS and Android apps in August 2011.
You need to be a FaceBook member. Users can send messages and exchange photos, videos, stickers, audio, and files, as well as react to other users’ messages and interact with bots. The service also supports voice and video calling.
An alternative for messaging, voice and video calling is WhatsApp (also owned by FaceBook) but neither user needs to have a FaceBook account.

I recently had a client who had a 5 year long FaceBook Messenger chat history with one other person. When I logged into the Messenger account to download the history, all I could get was the past six months of history. After a bit of research I found a Google Chrome Extension called “Message/Chat Downloader“. After a few errors I realised that I had to limit the time frame of conversation before attempting a download. After each download I printed to pdf and landed up with 19 pdf documents – totalling 5,847 pages (containing an exchange 161,071 messages). I then used a free program called PDF Redirect to merge these 19 pdf files into fewer pdf documents to deliver to the client (5,847 pages would not fit into one pdf document).

The client then requested a printout of all 5,847 pages. I then had a problem as the pages were not numbered. I could only find software that would number one pdf document from Page 1 until the end, but because I had multiple pdf files I needed to edit the page number of the first page for the consecutive files. So I signed up for a free one month trial of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC which would allow me to do exactly that.

I found a reasonable printer in Wotton-under-Edge who did the printing for me double sided on A4 paper.

Job Done!

16 September, 2017 by Martin Vines Leave a Comment

Web Site Security

Starting in October 2017, Google will display the message “Not Secure” in the address bar when users interact with an un-encrypted webpage.

Chrome SSL Views

Google Chrome dominates the global browser market to such a great degree that more than half of the world’s internet users will see the warnings when they interact with unencrypted websites.

Don’t allow your competition to get ahead of you !

Stay ahead on Google rankings, customer trust AND show you care about security.
Have your site secured now before it’s too late…

Keep your clients and viewers happy! Keep data safe and encrypted between your web page and your client. Get your site converted to HTTPS before it’s too late.

Apply Now

3 January, 2017 by Martin Vines Leave a Comment

CyberAttacks – How to Avoid

One answer is… – Never turn your computer on!

However, we know that that defeats the object of owning a computer, like “never drive your car to avoid an accident”.

Your car has security. A key to open it and start it, an alarm and immobilser, seatbelts, a front and rear bumper, airbags, proximity sensors etc. You would avoid driving your car into mud, thick sand or into a disreputable area.

Similar appropriate measures are necessary for a computer.

Your computer is a modern day tool for many things which includes finding information, keeping records, productivity, keeping in touch and being able to shop.

Keep your computer protected by observing the following:

Lock-Up. When left unattended the computer should be locked away – be it in a building, a room or a cupboard.
Log-In password. Use a Log-In Password/ Pin-Code to log into the computer.
You could also add extra security and set up a password in the computer BIOS which locks the hard disk drive and requires unlocking password immediately at boot up.
AntiVirus. Install good (paid for) Security Software on your computer. I recommend ESET Smart Security. Windows Defender, is already included with Windows 10 computers (also Windows 7, 8 and 8.1), but it has limitations. Other security software disables this software when installed.
Bogus Phone calls. Anyone calling you on your phone about your computer should be rejected immediately. Unless a piece of monitoring software is already installed on your computer by someone you know, it is impossible for anyone else to detect issues with your computer.
Phishing. You may get emails with a web site link or you may land on a web site which requires you to provide sensitive information. NEVER fill in a form on a web site unless you have checked the web site address to one which you know and sure of.
Bogus animations. You may land on a web site with an animation of a scan displaying numerous virus issues. This is NOT your computer, it is simply a scaremongering animation designed to alarm you to take further action. Close the website tab or application immediately.
Emails with attachments. Spam email can have an attachment which contains a virus. Unless you have pre-arranged to receive that email and attachment, do not open the attachment. If you cannot verify with the sender of the email, delete it immediately.
Software and applications. Most viruses and hacks come in the form of software which you have been coaxed to install. This software can include: Registry cleaning, Driver maintenance, Defragging, Web Browser toolbars, bogus Security or Antivirus software, Audio and Video Codecs or Pirated software. (Pirated software is software which is a copy of the original but key generated to avoid having to enter a product unlock key. Hackers often inject virus software into these programs.)
PUPS (Potentially Unwanted Programs). This is software, usually free and useful, but has other software bundled into it and installs onto your computer without your permission.

Good Antivirus software will detect and ban dodgy emails, software and websites before the worst happens.

26 January, 2016 by Martin Vines 2 Comments

7 Ways a SmartPhone can Outsmart your Computer

Think back to the days when we used a mobile phone for texts and calls, an iPod or MP3 player for music, a DVD Player for movies, a radio for local broadcasts, a SatNav for directions, consulted time tables for travel and then used the computer for just about everything else. A lot of finicky gadgets, each with user manuals, cables, batteries and chargers.

Enter the modern SmartPhone

Today’s smartphone can accomplish all these plus a lot more.

With a worldwide community of developers for the Windows Phone, the iPhone and the Android Phone, the app market is very competitive. Hence an array of apps for Communication, Entertainment, Information, Productivity, Sport and Travel.

I will attempt to cover each area or category with my own experience and app suggestions. I use an Android phone, however many apps of the same name are also available for Windows phone and the iPhone.

Communication

The original reason for a using a phone is for communication. Communication has gone a lot further to utilise social media and the phone’s data/ video/ webcam/ bluetooth capabilities.

Three apps for communication are already shipped with your phone. These are used for phone calling, text messaging and email. When your phone is connected to wifi, you can bypass your allowances by using other communication apps.

The most popular communication apps are:

Skype
Whatsapp
Messenger (FaceBook)

Apart from making calls you can also video call, text, send pictures, files and voice messages. Each app has it’s own list of features, so not all of them do everything. The person you are connecting to must also have the same app installed.

Using your Mobile Phone in the Car

The law states that if you are caught using a hand held phone whilst driving, you will be fined £100 and 3 penalty points on your licence. You can use your phone safely and within the law whilst driving, but you will need a couple of accessories:

A mount or cradle fitted to your car dashboard or windscreen.
In my experience, a mount that requires the use of two hands to mount the phone will probably never be used due to the trouble it takes to fit the phone. For one handed use try products from Scosche or Brodit (Find the Holder for your phone plus the ProClip for your car).
Bluetooth communication to a speakerphone.
Either
A car which already has a bluetooth connection in it’s audio sytem
or
A bluetooth speakerphone car kit.
I use a Jabra Freeway which clips to the sun visor. As an alternative to its own quality speaker, it can transmit audio to the car stereo via its built-in FM transmitter.

The first time you use your phone in the car it will need to be paired once with the car audio system or car kit. Subsequently you need to ensure the phone’s bluetooth radio is switched on.Optionally, an app installed on your phone can then determine what happens after your phone is connected. Examples are:

Read text messages out loud
Open maps

Entertainment

Entertainment encompasses music, movies, video, photo albums and games. Most phones include apps for music and photo galleries, but it might be worth exploring for an app that offers more features according to your requirements.

Movies and TV

Each platform has it’s own music and movie store which will charge you a fee for each download.

My favourite apps for TV and movies are:

Netflix – Movie Rental at £6.00 per month
ToView – Freeview Live TV Channels
BBC News
BBC iPlayer

Screen Mirroring

Screen Mirroring is the ability of the phone to mirror its screen onto another display such as a TV.

A modern Smart TV should have a Miracast screen mirroring feature (usually selected as one of the inputs) but various accessories can be bought to make screen mirroring possible:

MHL cable – (MHL – Mobile High-definition Link). This is a cable that plugs into the micro usb socket of a phone that is MHL capable. The other end plugs into the HDMI socket of a TV, projector or computer monitor.
Miracast Receiver – I use a Microsoft Display Adapter – This forms a wireless link directly between your phone and any display with an HDMI socket. Great for business presentations to a projector straight from your phone.

Information

Information comes to us in all sorts of ways. Newspapers, radio broadcasts, television news, weather forecasts, Facebook and Twitter posts and so on. Likewise apps for all these are available for the smartphone.

My recommendations are:

BBC News
BBC Weather
Facebook
TuneInRadio
YouTube

Productivity

Microsoft Office as a productivity suite of programs has the greatest market share, so having an app that can display Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on your phone is great for reference purposes. Creating or editing a Microsoft document on a phone is not a great experience because of the limited screen size.

The very fact that you can add items to your calendar, create or reply to emails and catch up with phone calls means you are being productive on the go and thus saving you the hassle of attending to things later.

Using your phone as a presentation tool means having less kit with longer battery life. Researching and keeping up with the news using the internet and various apps also means you stay informed and productive. The use of DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive or Apple iDrive means you have access to files from any device. Other useful productivity tools are EverNote and Pocket.

Keeping your Contacts, Calendar and Notes in sync is also a consideration. Users of Microsoft Outlook who use an Android phone could use an Outlook plugin called gSyncit. This keeps Outlook synced with your Google Calendar and Contacts which in turn keeps the same updated on your phone. Makes absolute sense to me!

Travel

Handy Tip:
Group all apps for Travel into a folder on your home screen, so that they are all there at once.

Maps and Navigation are apps that come included with most phones. The Google Maps app doubles up as a navigation app and provides you with route, directions and navigation to a searched location. You can select travel by car, public transport, walk or bicycle and the map and directions will change accordingly, providing accurate information for the best way to your destination along with alternate routes.

Your Maps app is constantly updated with traffic information, delays and construction works. Positioning your phone in a cradle in your car therefore turns it into a useful SatNav device.

Bus Checker is a clever app for finding a bus, a bus stop and a route. There are numerous Bus Checker apps and the one for Bristol and Bath is called TravelWest Bus Checker.

Train Tickets from CrossCountry does a brilliant job of finding trains, booking on-line and viewing the progress of an existing train or journey.

Fuel Buddy records Fill-Ups, Services, Expenses and Trips. Pay the small once-of fee and get a lot of extra features. It works out your fuel efficiency and how much you can claim for business mileage.

TripIt manages trips. Whether a business or vacation trip, TripIt includes every aspect of your trip: flights, accommodation, car hire, public transport, activity etc. It provides location information, weather updates and stores all your phone number, contact and booking details. You can share trips with others too. Allow TripIt to scan your email and it will automatically add trips into your calendar. View your trips in your calendar, in the app or on-line on the web-site.

We can advise you on a phone and the applications you will need to go with it, along with the correct set-up and training.

Make sure you’re not left behind – enjoy the value of your SmartPhone while on the move …and care less about your computer!

…Find out more