Top Android Launchers For Android – How To Change The Theme Of Your Phone

One of the great things about Android is the fact that it’s highly customizable, and one of the easiest ways to modify how you interact with your device is to install a new launcher on it.

So what is a launcher? A launcher basically replaces the skin on your Android phone, making it look and act differently – of course, underneath it all it’s still Android, it just uses your data in a different way. We took a look at some of the best launchers available for Android. All of them are free.

Nova Launcher

qualities, and one of them is the fact that it’s so polished. By installing Nova Launcher, users won’t have to compromise using a Android launcher that works great. Not only that, but Nova Launcher enables users to make the device look and act the way that they want it to, so they don’t have to settle for something that isn’t right for them.

For example, users can install custom icon packs, helping make all app icons look uniform and like they fit together. If a user want’s their Android device to feel like an iPhone, that isn’t hard to do. It doesn’t stop at icons though. Users can even control things like animations, gestures, and so on. Users will appreciate the ability to organize their app drawer exactly the way they want to, instead of having to order them alphabetically.

Action Launcher 3

Action Launcher 3 is different from many of the other launchers in that it handles the app drawer completely differently. Of course, users can decide to use a regular app drawer, but otherwise the drawer appears as a “Quickdrawer,” which slides in from the left, allowing users to access their apps as easily as possible.

Action Launcher has matured quite a bit over time, and currently features a design that’s very much in-line with Google’s Material Design philosophy.

Using Action Launcher 3, users are also able to change the grid size and dock width for apps, so if you want to fit more apps on the screen by making them smaller, that’s possible, or if you want to be able to see them better by making them larger, that’s also possible.

Arrow Launcher

Microsoft’s Arrow Launcher is a little different from other launchers mainly in tone and feel, and it’s focus is to offer users the best possible experience. To do this, it ranks apps based on how often they’re used and when it thinks you will need to use them, making sure that users can always access apps quickly and easily.

The launcher is made up of three main pages, however that can be expanded to five. These pages include a “People” page, which offers quick access to messaging and calling features, as well as a “Recents” page, allowing users to quickly enter recently used documents and apps.

Arrow is overall pretty elegant and beautiful, and is great for those who just want to quickly get to the things they need to get to, including files and apps. While the launcher was somewhat of an experiment for Microsoft, it turned out to be a good one. You can check out our full review of Arrow here.

Yahoo Aviate Launcher

Of course, with Microsoft having launched its own Android launcher, Yahoo also has to be in on the fun. The company’s own launcher is called Aviate, which is aimed at building up collections of apps based on what those apps are used for. Users can tweak those collections, of course.

As time goes on, Aviate figures out when and where particular apps are used, and it offers different apps to the user based on what it thinks they will need and when. It also is able to serve up relevant information based on certain actions – so, for example, if you plug in your headphones, it will offer media controls to help you listen to music or watch videos. If you start driving, it will offer navigation apps.

Users can also look at their full collection of apps, which will be grouped based on things like “social,” “productivity,” and so on. Aviate is generally well-designed, and supports custom app icons, as well as light and dark themes. While it is well-designed, its predictions are still a little hit-and-miss, but an interesting concept nonetheless.

Smart Launcher 3

Smart Launcher is aimed at cutting down the user’s home screen into a simple dial of the most frequently used apps. The launcher is very minimalist and simple, making it work particularly well on phones with small screens. Of course, the app dial isn’t the only feature of the launcher, which also offers a well-designed app drawer, which also organizes apps into categories, separating games from productivity apps, from social media apps, etc.

Smart Launcher 3 is also available in a “Pro” version, which, of course, is not free, but only costs $2.90 to buy. The Pro version basically offers more customizability and as many as nine screens, where users can organize their widgets, somewhat removing the simplicity of the free version, but something that could be useful anyway.

Conclusions

As you can see, there are a ton of different options for launchers on the market. Most of them are aimed at making Android much easier to use, however they also offer different design choices, some of which might be better for users than others – my advice? Try them all out – they’re all free, so there’s no reason not to!

How To Track And (Hopefully) Find Your Lost iPhone Or iPad

Losing an iPhone–or any smartphone for that matter–can be a catastrophe. After all, who really wants to lose a close to $1000 device? It’s not a fun situation, whether you unintentionally set it down somewhere or if it was theft. Luckily, if you have an iPhone, you can take advantage of some online software to try and track it down. And if you can’t track it down, at least there are some features available to you to make sure that no one can get their hands on pertinent information, such as bank credentials, password databases, and other sensitive information.

Tracking Down Your Lost iPhone Or iPad

It can be difficult to track down a lost iPhone, particularly because the smartphone must be turned on and attached to a network for you to try and find it. If it was stolen by a thief, they’ve likely turned off the smartphone or have already wiped it. However, it’s still worth trying to use Apple’s online tools to try and track down your smartphone on the off chance that it is still turned on and attached to a network.

First off, on your PC, point your browser to http://icloud.com. Once you arrive, you’ll need to enter your Apple ID credentials and press “Enter” or the small sign-in arrow.

Once you’ve successfully logged in, you’ll want to click the “Find iPhone” web app. Depending on your network connection, it’ll take a minute or two to load, so sit tight.

Keep in mind that, in some cases, it will require you to log-in again once clicking the “Find iPhone” app. It’s an extra layer of security that at least attempts to keep prying eyes out. Once fully signed-in, the web app will begin locating your device by trying to pinpoint your iPhone or iPad’s global positioning sensor (GPS).

If your device is shut down or has no service, the above screen will appear. You won’t be able to do anything to try and track down your device if you get this screen. However, it’s worth watching it off and on in case your device ever does come online. There’s also a chance that you didn’t turn the “Find my iPhone” feature on inside your iPhone’s software itself. We’ll touch on that in a minute.

The above screen is ideally what you should get. From here, you need to determine whether or not the location is somewhere where you’ve misplaced your iPhone. In that case, it’s a good idea to go and try and track it down. If you have another smartphone or tablet, you can keep an eye on it from a web browser while out and about. On the other hand, if you’ve determined it has been stolen, it’s best to contact local authorities to try and retrieve your stolen goods, as you trying to take care of it yourself doesn’t usually work out in the best way possible. Safety first, as they always say. A $1000 iPhone certainly isn’t worth your life.

If authorities are unable to help you, all you can really do is call it a loss and erase your iPhone from the web app. This is so that no person can get their hands on the likely sensitive information on your iPhone, such as photos of kids, friends, family, as well as the aforementioned bank credentials and other info.

Alternatively, if you know you just misplaced your smartphone inside your home or in your car, you can click the “Play Sound” button (two options to the left of the Erase iPhone button). This will take the iPhone off of mute, crank the volume up, and play a rather annoying sound until you’re able to find it. Keep in mind that for any action you do in the Find My iPhone app, Apple will email you notifying if a sound was played on your iPhone, or even if the iPhone was erased.

Precautions For The Future

A lost iPhone or iPad is not any fun at all. It’s usually a costly endeavor if you’re unable to locate your lost technology, but there are a few things you can do to prevent it from happening again in the future:

• Keep your iPhone or iPad with you at all times. Don’t let it out of your sight. However, all of us are prone to mistakes. That said, it’s worth getting something like the Tile tracker, which will start beeping whenever you get too far away from your iPhone or iPad. There are other similar devices, and they’re all worth the investment if you think it’ll help you from misplacing important technology like this.
• In case your iPhone does ever get lost, make sure to have Find My iPhone turned on. You can do this by going into the Settings of your iPhone, tapping the ‘iCloud” option, and then selecting the “Find My iPhone” field. From here, you can turn the feature on and off. Keep it on to increase the chances of you finding it in the event of misplacing it, or worse, a theft.
• Losing an iPhone to theft, in most cases, is a lost cause. However, you don’t have to lose “all” of your iPhone. Make sure to back-up your iPhone frequently to iCloud or your computer so that you have all of the personal data immediately available to you. So, if you can get a new device, you can quickly return that new device to the same state as your last iPhone through a restore.

How To Override Your Password With a PIN in Windows 10

Remembering passwords can be a pain, but did you know Windows 10 will actually let you use a PIN number instead? Well, it does! And, it’s a breeze to set up. Be sure to follow along, as we’re going to walk you step-by-step below.

Setting Up The PIN

First off, you need to open the Start menu and click “Settings.”

Next, click “Accounts.”

Then you’ll want to select “Sign-in options.

And now click the “Add” button under the PIN heading.

Before adding a PIN, you’ll need to enter the current password you have on file for your Windows 10 user. Once entered in the form, click “OK.”

Finally, add your desired 4-digit PIN in the two fields, and then click “OK.”

Congratulations, you now have your PIN setup! Now, whenever you’re at the login screen, you can choose to enter into your PC via the entry of your new 4-digit PIN number, or can you can click an icon to go back to entering the traditional password.

Amazon Echo: Is it Worth Buying?

Alexa is here to stay. After beating out Bose, Sonos and Logitech in 2015 speaker sales, Amazon Echo is now on track to be Amazon’s third billion-dollar company.

Amazon is so dedicated to the product that they even aired their first Super Bowl commercial featuring Alec Baldwin and other celebrities using the Echo. According to reports, the next version of Amazon Echo will be announced soon as a smaller and cheaper alternative.

So, yes, Amazon Echo is here to stay, even if you were one of those who initially mocked the Echo. But is it really worth the $180 price tag? Let’s break it down.

Audio Features and Quality

ProsAmazon recently added Spotify integration for Echo, which works pretty seamlessly as long as you’re a Premium Spotify user. You can also say “Alexa, read my Audible book” or “Alexa, read my Kindle book” to enjoy audio books through Alexa. If you’re listening while working around your home, crank up the volume to 10—you will be shocked how loud this speaker gets.

ConsSound quality matters when you’re dropping close to $200 on a speaker. Unfortunately, Echo doesn’t quite meet the mark as it gets spotty with weaker bass in the upper levels of volume. Since it doesn’t connect with external speakers, you are kind of stuck with the quality Echo has. Additionally, you can’t answer phone calls through Amazon Echo, which is a feature most would assume comes with a smart speaker.

Smart Home Integration

ProsContinues to integrate with more lights and switches, including Wink, SmartThings (by Samsung), Insteon, Philips Hue, Ecobee, WeMo switches, and LIFX light bulbs.

More recently, some nifty Echo-compatible products include Orange Chef, (a smart kitchen scale) Automatic (a gadget for connecting and analyzing your car), Garageio (smart garage door opener), and Scout DIY Alarm System. If you’re a member of security systems like Vivnt or Alarm.com, add those to the growing list of compatible smart home products.

ConsThere’s still room for growth.

• A nice feature would be TV controls, including Netflix/Hulu, Plex/Subsonic servers, and Apple TV/Chromecast/Roku.
• Users still have to use third-party integration (IFTTT, or If-This-Then-That) to make multiple devices work together to create specific scenes. For example, movie scene turns down the lights and turns up the temperature. IFTTT is doable for the average techie, but doesn’t just work out of the box. Echo should model Apple HomeKit’s simple integration to make this feature easier for everyone.
• There are way more smart home devices on the market that don’t integrate with Echo than those that actually do, although this may change over time.

Commands and Voice Recognition

ProsAmazon Echo is easily much more intuitive than Google Now, Siri, or Cortana. She just seems to understand what you’re saying more quickly without the same hiccups as the other virtual assistants. With 7 microphones and far-field technology, it can easily pick up your voice without a problem.

ConsWhile Amazon Echo is definitely smart, it’s not quite a genius like the robots you see in the movies. You still have to give one command at a time, which is frustrating for those of us who would love say, “Alexa, dim the lights and start playing rock music.” Plus, there are still plenty of times you repeat yourself or shout commands at a confused Alexa.

Hardware

ProsEcho is built to hear you from any direction with 7 noise-cancelling microphones on all sides. It’s also built out with speakers (both woofer and tweeter), Bluetooth 4, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, 4GB of storage and 256 MB of RAM.

ConsAmazon Echo has to be plugged in, rendering it immovable without a reboot. Seriously, this has to be one of its biggest flaws. A smart Bluetooth speaker that’s stationary? Am I supposed to buy one for each room?

Software

ProsAlexa is actually pretty smart. She can learn to recognize speech patterns to understand you better over time. Echo is also based in the cloud, so it’s always updating and improving. Amazon has consistently updated the software with significant improvements based on user feedback.

ConsAmazon Echo is definitely missing some of the basics, as pointed out by Reddit users on the sub-Reddit for Amazon Echo. A few missing common sense features include:

• Reading text messages
• Recurring alarms and multiple alarms set at once
• Alarms that play music (wasn’t this a feature on flip phones like 15 years ago?)

Verdict

If you’re looking to dabble in home automation and have $180 lying around (current price atAmazon), Amazon Echo is absolutely worth it. Echo is improving constantly with new features (like ordering Domino’s pizza or an Uber ride). These updates outweigh any hardware flaws, especially since there’s nothing quite like Echo on the market. Grab yourself a couple of smart lights or WeMo switches and you’ll feel pretty cool controlling your home through voice commands.

You can also wait for the cheaper version of Echo to release soon, or just wait for a competitor home automation hub to come along in a few years (Google?).

An Overview Of Virtual Reality: Oculus Rift and HTC Vive

Virtual reality is in a really weird place right now. We have technology, such as the Oculus Rift orHTC Vive, that can sort of deliver on the concept of virtual reality, but while we may have technology for it, there’s not exactly a whole lot of software available for it. And if there is software available for it, much of it are just tech demos and not necessarily full-fledged games.

Now, there are a few full-fledged virtual reality games games out there, such as Alien Isolation, Dear Esther, and Dying Light, to name just a couple. However, there’s not necessarily enough content to make it worth dropping nearly $2000 to play them, as you’ll not only need the virtual reality headset, but a high-end machine as well.

With those thoughts in mind, virtual reality really is in a interesting place. The technology is sort of there, but not quite there, and there’s not even close to enough software available yet. It really is in a weird place. But, the emerging technologies still have a lot of potential.

Oculus Rift

The Oculus Rift will truly be the first PC gaming virtual reality headset available, and at a cheap price point in comparison to what the Vive will be. However, the Oculus isn’t exactly what we picture virtual reality to be…yet. It requires a hard connection to your PC for the user to be able to play, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but many folks imagine virtual reality is a truly wireless experience. In this case, users will be sitting down, playing with a controller in hand, kind of as you would on a gaming console.

Oculus’ Rift will cost a whopping $600 for those that are interested in making a leap into virtual reality. It has some hefty PC requirements, and there won’t be a whole lot of quality software available for it on launch day, particularly because it doesn’t have Valve backing the project. However, there will still be some good games available, but not many. You can find a whole list of games available around launch day here. As a forewarning, the only software the Oculus Rift will be able to run are PC and Xbox One Games. VR-compatible movies will be available for it, but companies are still deep in production for those.

Oculus says the Rift’s minimum requirements are a Intel i5-4590 processor, 8GB of RAM or more, and Windows 7 SPI (or higher). A Nvidia GTX 970 or AMD 290 graphics card or higher will be required, as well as access to a few ports on your computer (USB, HDMI, DVI, etc). The Rift will be able to run on less than this, but performance isn’t going to be great at all. That said, it’s highly recommended to have a high-end machine available for it.

   Microsoft Hub Keyboard Review

Microsoft has been releasing a number of interesting apps to Android and iOS of late, and it recently announced a new one that really takes its integration in your phone to a new level. Not only that, but it adds a number of great features that should be very helpful for those plugged in to the Microsoft ecosystem.

The Hub Keyboard app itself basically brings a host of new features to your keyboard. The app is basically aimed at those who feel like they often need to switch between apps to complete common tasks.

Installation And Design

Installing the Hub Keyboard is extremely easy to do. Users imply have to install the app, then head to their default keyboard options to change the default to the Hub Keyboard.

The design of the keyboard is not bad – the keys are clearly defined, something which is helpful considering the fact that users can’t swipe type as they can in other Android keyboards – this is a fairly serious omission – I have gotten used to swiping words rather than typing them, and typing again will take some adjustment.

Above the keys can be found a selection of icons, which are located where other keyboards might offer autocorrect suggestions. As a side note, the default view of the keyboard does not offer any autocorrect suggestions. Instead, users can tap on the first icon along that row to hide Hub Keyboard icons, where autocorrect suggestions will show in their place. It’s unfortunate that it’s one or the other, but understandable that Microsoft doesn’t want to take up too much screen space.

Usability

The second icon along the row basically offers access to the most recent clipboard items. This can be very helpful considering it doesn’t just offer access to one single clipboard item, but multiple.

The second icon requires a login to the user’s Microsoft account, and allows users to drop in a document from their Office 365 accounts. A great addition, to be sure, but rather limiting in that really only Microsoft Office 365 users will find use in it. If the keyboard included options for Google Drive and Dropbox it would catapult the keyboard to the next level.

The next icon in line is contacts, and it basically enables users to quickly and easily send over contact information, however it is important to note that it does enter all of the contact info into the message, so if you only want to send a phone number you might have more work in deleting stuff.

Last but most certainly not least is the translate tool. This was honestly the most interesting, impressive, and useful tool for me. It basically enables users to type something in their mother tongue, after which it will automatically translate into the language that the user pre-selects.

Conclusions

The Microsoft Hub Keyboard certainly has a long way to go to be perfect – autocomplete could be much more front and center, and the ability to drop files in from other cloud storage services would be extremely useful.

For the average person who really only texts and emails without needing to do other things won’t need the hub keyboard. The multitaskers among us, however, could find the app extremely useful, especially those working with people in other countries who speak other languages.

The First Steps To Securing Your Small Business Online

If you own a small business, then you know the true value of some of your electronic and digital assets. Your customer information and sensitive business data cannot be leaked, or else your goals could be set back months. A small business could even go under if they are the victim of a large enough cyberattack. You need to protect yourself, your employees and your computers. Fortunately, there are plenty of options available to you, and it isn’t difficult to set up a good system.

Yet sometimes a wealth of information can seem overwhelming. If you haven’t really created a strategy yet, then you need to start with a framework that you can build upon. Focusing on the threats of today only wastes time in the long run. You need to develop habits and an outlook that are conductive to cybersecurity so that you can respond when new threats appear over time. Start with the following steps so that you can focus on growing your business.

Create an IT Policy

The security of your systems and hardware is by default something you shouldn’t spend most of your time on. What you need to worry about instead is your employees. Human talent makes all the difference in any business, and in cybersecurity, it is human error that results in most incidents and data breaches. You need a uniform policy regarding technology for your company, and it’s recommended that you consider some of the following as a base to work from:

• Make detailed guidelines regarding who has access to specific programs and devices. Your computer should be yours and yours alone, and your accounts should rarely be shared. As the owner, you have to deal with sensitive information and communications that don’t need to be shared with anyone else. A disgruntled employee can do a lot of damage on their way out.
• Make sure that all verification measures are strong and that passwords are changed at least every couple of months. Specify more detailed measures depending on what you use.
• If your employees deal with customers online, create some guidelines as to behavior and proper procedure regarding these interactions. Err on the side of caution, and be clear about rules regarding giving out information online.
• It isn’t a good idea to allow personal devices to be used for work purposes, even if it means you have to provide devices for employees. You have less control over personal devices, and you don’t want a personal mistake to threaten your business.

Use the Best Tools

Even though your employees and your own skills are where you should focus most of your efforts, you still need to equip everyone with the right tools so they can do their jobs effectively and safely. Consider the following tips and tools:

• Every device used for your business should have a security suite installed. No exceptions. That security suite should be constantly running and updated often. Make sure that it isn’t a free or excessively cheap one, as you get what you pay for.
• Employees that travel or occasionally work on a public network should be equipped with a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which will connect the user to an offsite secure server. This will protect a device on any network and allow one to hide their IP address, allowing access to blocked sites (consumers use it to access Netflix all the time) and services.
• Out of the general digital tools you use for your business, check to see if there are any security options and if you feel they meet your needs. Then check to see what competing products are out there. If there are known vulnerabilities in the products you are using to run your business, it is better to switch sooner rather than later.
• Whether it is a cloud service or a series of external hard drives, find some way to regularly back up your business data and keep it safe. If you have a smaller amount of data that isn’t used often, an external hard drive is your safest bet. Otherwise, for the sake of convenience, you’ll likely have to pick out a good cloud service. Just make sure that you set proper guidelines and settings for it.

Train Properly and Train Often

Once you have everything else set up and a general plan of action, make sure that your employees know what is going on. Have a training day or session where you go through all of the cybersecurity measures and habits to be implemented. Follow up on this, and take notes about which employees might be struggling. Don’t discourage them, but instead find the root of the problem. Be persistent until the issue is resolved. Explain the importance of your cybersecurity plan and how the company suffers in the event of a breach.

After the initial training period, make sure that you do a refresher every few months in order to keep strategies fresh and deal with new problems. Emails regarding immediate threats might be helpful, but they are no substitute for dedicate time and effort.

Have a Response Plan

No matter how well you think you can prepare, the chance always remains that your business could become the victim of a cyberattack. In this situation, you need to remain calm and put out the fire immediately. This means that you should have a response plan in place and the tools to implement it. Consider the following:

• Be prepared to wipe some data and start your systems up from your backup files. Flushing the system isn’t always necessary, but if your systems get corrupted by potent malware, trying to just get it out could take days of fruitless effort. During this time, hackers could be siphoning off even more sensitive information.
• Don’t try to hide what happened if the cyberattack goes public. Contact affected customers and/or immediately and apologize for the situation. Even if it costs you, make sure that they are taken care of and secure.
• Should a cyberattack occur, change all of your account verification measures immediately. Even if the accounts seem unrelated, it is a measure that will make everyone feel safer and remove some of the danger caused by the interconnectivity of the current business world.
• Be sure to find the root of the problem and change security practices immediately. Some hackers like to come back for more after a successful attack, thinking their target weak.

As business becomes more digitally focused, cybersecurity is more important now than it ever has before. Don’t become one of the companies you hear about on the news and focus on success instead. Once you have a framework and do your research, you will be more than able to tackle the challenges ahead.

Do you have any additional tips for your fellow readers? Are you a business owner who has set up a cybersecurity strategy for their business? We’d love to hear what you think, so please leave a comment below or join in the discussion in the ( mhaskeganesh blogspot)

Tips For Saving Data On Android

While some of us may have been grandfathered into unlimited data plans from years ago, the majority of us still have to deal with the stinginess of large mobile carriers limiting how much data we can access while at the same time making hundreds of dollars off of each of us per year.

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways of reducing your data use on your smartphones, ensuring that you don’t go over your data limits and have to pay insane fees or have your data use capped. Here are some of the ways to save data on your Android device.

Restrict App Background Data

Many apps refresh when you’re not even using them, ensuring that when you do return to using the apps, they’re able to offer up to date and refreshed information. Of course, there is a drawback – that background refreshing uses up quite a bit of data – data which could be saved when you may not be using that app much anyway.

To restrict background apps in general, you can can head to Settings > Data Usage > Restrict Background Data, or, alternatively, you can restrict data use on an app by app basis by heading to Settings > Apps, then pressing on the app you want to restrict and pressing Restrict app background data.

Disable App Auto-Update

Another process that happens in the background is that apps update automatically. This is fine when you’re on a Wi-Fi network, but when you’re on a cellular network, you don’t want to be downloading updates for large mobile games. Restricting when apps auto-update is one of the easiest ways to save data use.

To ensure that apps aren’t updating on their own when you’re connected to a cellular network, head to the Google Play Store, then go to Settings, where you will see an option for app auto-updates. From here you can choose to either not auto-update apps, auto-update apps at any time, or only auto-update apps from Wi-Fi. The best option is to only auto-update apps over Wi-Fi, ensuring that your apps update themselves but at no charge to you. Alternatively you can choose to never auto-update, and you can update your apps manually.

Download Music To Your Device

Music streaming services are great, especially if you’re a music lover. Unfortunately, when you’re streaming music on a cellular network they can take up quite a lot of data. How can you get around this? Well, most major music streaming service offer users a way to download playlists to their device, basically meaning that the user can download their favorite music to their device over Wi-Fi, and then not have to worry about streaming it later, taking up valuable data.

The way to do this varies widely depending on which streaming service you’re using, but on Google Play Music, it’s very easy indeed. Simply head to the app and go to the playlist you want to download, then press on the pin button, which will download that music to your device.

Limit Apps That Use A Lot Of Data

Sometimes, unfortunately, you’re going to have to monitor apps on an app-by-app basis, identifying which apps are using the most data. While in some cases you might want to go back to the first tip and restrict app background updates, in some cases you might want to simply delete the app altogether.

To check how much data apps are using, go back to Settings > Data Usage, where you will see an app-by-app list of how much data is being used. Then you can decide whether or not apps are worth keeping, ideally cutting back on your data use in general.

Compress Pages On Chrome

If you’re a web junkie like me, Google Chrome is probably pretty high on the list of apps that take up a lot of data, but you most likely don’t want to get rid of the app because, as your default web browser, it would seriously hinder how you use your mobile device. Thankfully there are ways of reducing how much data Chrome takes up.

Compressing web pages on Chrome may make web pages load a little slower, but it will, in turn, ensure that much less data is being used. What’s more is the fact that it only slows things down a little, and it’s very easy to get used to.

To compress Chrome web pages, simply head to Chrome, then tap Settings, and go down to Data Saver. Turn the feature on, and a lot of data will be saved.

How have you managed data limitations on your smartphone?  Let us know in the comments below, or by starting a new discussion in the PCMech Forums.

Never Lose An Article Or Video Again With Pocket

Have you ever come across an interesting article you wanted to read, but were to busy at work at and eventually lost the article? I’ve done this countless times, but recently came across a Chrome/Firefox plugin that will stop that from ever happening again.

Dubbed Pocket (download here), this application will let you store articles, video, and other online resources for later when you have time to sit down and read articles or watch video.

So, how do you use Pocket? First you’ll need to download and install the Chrome plugin. Once installed, you should see an icon on the top right corner, where you might normally see your list of extensions. You’ll need to click the Pocket extension to do your initial sign-in and setup.

Once you’ve gotten past all of that, now you can simply go to an article, click the Pocket button, and it’ll save the article for later use (pictured above).

After you’ve saved an article, video, or even multiple articles and videos, you can head on over to www.getpocket.com, where you can find the list of resources you’ve saved.

It’s a very easy and simple tool, but one that’s proved to be extremely useful. And the best part? You can essentially access Pocket from anywhere. If you want, you can simply go to it in your desktop or mobile browser, but if you’re looking for some extra convenience, Pocket also offers a stellar iOS and Android application so that you can read your saved articles on the go!

A Guide For Choosing The Best Antivirus For Your PC Or Mac

The world of computer viruses and antivirus has evolved quite a bit over the years. These days it’s very rare that we come across a virus or other digital intrusion that threatens to destroy our computers. Most antivirus is able to handle these problems without a hitch, and that’s largely because they’ve had to evolve to deal with larger threats, such as rootkits, trojans, and more.

Some of the early and best antivirus back in the day was McAfee and Norton, though there are many more competitors now in 2016. But, only just a few years ago were they both good programs for getting rid of the common virus or piece of malware. While they were able to handle those common problems just fine, viruses and other computer intrusions evolved, requiring more advanced and protective software.

Now, antivirus must be able to quickly and effectively deal with things like rootkits, spyware, adware, trojans, ransomware, and much more. And software like Norton and McAfee have all evolved very well to take care of things like these, but they’re no longer the go-to solution, as the competition has gotten thicker.

The Early Stages Of Antivirus Software

Viruses and malicious software in the 1980s wasn’t very common, this is particularly because the Internet didn’t really go public until around 1989. And even then, it wasn’t until years later that it started becoming widely known and used. Either way, antivirus tools weren’t really needed back then. In fact, Norton launched at tool in 1985 called Norton Utilities. Its goal wasn’t really protecting you against malicious attacks, but to help manage your computer better, whether that be recovering lost files or optimizing the computer to increase speeds. It wasn’t until 1991 when Norton actually provided its first piece of virus removal software.

That’s not to say that viruses weren’t around pre-internet. In fact, they were. One popular one was known as the Creeper virus, which was intended to infect PDP-10 mainframe computer that operated on the TENEX operating system. Ray Tomlinson, the man accredited to creating email, created a virus called The Reaper intended for removing the Creeper virus. That said, viruses were alive and well, but nowhere near as common as we see them today.

Viruses became very commonplace in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This is also when some of the first pieces of antivirus software became available, such as John McAfee’s VirusScan and Ross Greenberg’s FluShot Plus. As mentioned earlier, another one that appeared in 1991 was Norton Antivirus. All of these programs at the time were very basic, intended for getting rid of, well, basic viruses. Some of these viruses would steal hard disk space (still do, but in much larger capacity), steal CPU time, access private information, corrupt data and more. Viruses today do much of the same thing, but they weren’t anywhere close to as large scale as we have them now.

Viruses over the years have expanded to include  spyware, adware, trojans, ransomware, and oh so much more. The goal of these viruses hasn’t changed since their inception during the pre-internet days, though. The goal is to still very much steal private information, steal identities, corrupt data, and other harmful things. Only, they’ve become much more sophisticated, and as a result, antivirus software has also become much more sophisticated.

Antivirus software had to become more sophisticated to deal with these threats, but even then, they often weren’t enough. That’s where specialized software came in, such as rootkit scanners like F-Secure and Spyware removal applications like CounterSpy. Even our antivirus tools in 2016 aren’t enough for some threats out on the World Wide Web, and that’s why specialized software has become such a big thing within the antivirus industry, such as Malware Bytes (more on that later).

Blue Snowball iCE Condenser Microphone Review

Getting into recording videos these days is fairly cheap. All you need is a basic microphone and some free video recording software and you’re ready to go. Eventually, though, it’s time to up your audio (and video) presentation, and that’s why we’ve taken Blue’s Snowball iCE microphone for a spin.

Be sure to follow along for out thoughts on the microphone below.

Setup

Setting up the Blue Snowball iCE microphone is relatively easy. It’s literally a plug-and-play USB mic. Once you pull it out of the box, you’ll need to attach the stand to the Snowball (the mic), plug the cord in, and then you’re ready to go!

It doesn’t have any software that comes with it, nor is there any type of interface for controlling various levels and settings. However, you can control the volume level in Windows by going into Control Panel > Sound > Microphone and adjusting the volume slider there.

Beyond all of that, once you plug the USB connector into your laptop or PC, you’re ready to start recording! Just make sure that you’ve set it as your recording device in whatever software you’re using.

Overall, I was very pleased with how easy the Snowball iCE was to setup. I was up and ready to go just minutes after receiving the package, and the lack of menus and software wizards to wade through was a nice touch.

Features

One of the neat things about this microphone is the swivel that comes with it. It lets you adjust the microphone in almost any direction, allowing you to properly point it towards what needs to be recorded. That said, it’s perfect for all types of setups, whether you have it sitting next you on a desk, farther back on a desk, below you, or even above you.

Another neat aspect of this microphone is that it will actually work with an iPhone or iPad. All you need is Apple’s Lightning to USB adapter or the USB to 30-pin adapter. Once you have one of those adapters, you should be able to plug in the Snowball iCE as if you were plugging it into a laptop. From there, you can use it with your desired recording software.

One important thing to remember is that this is the Snowball iCE microphone. There’s a slight difference between the Snowball and Snowball iCE. You can see a comparison chart straight from Blue, but most notably, the Snowball iCE doesn’t have dual-microphone capsules, which provide the crystal clear sound we all want. Granted, the Snowball iCE has very clear audio, but the Snowball is even better in a multitude of ways.