Category: Tech Bytes

Have you ever wanted to put access to certain apps on your phone or tablet under an extra layer of security? There are all sorts of reasons people might want this. Maybe you want to share your phone with a child, but you don’t want little Johnny messing with work apps or your grown-up Netflix account. As another example, maybe you want to let a fellow salesperson review a presentation on your phone without having access to your contacts and sales leads. Some people may have sensitive chats that they want to keep safe from inquisitive eyes, too.

Whatever your reason for wanting to protect certain specific apps, we have good news and bad. First, the good: On Android, there’s an app (or 3) for that! The bad news: there really isn’t any kind of equivalent function on Apple beyond the content restrictions found in Screen Time. If this is something you want to do, you’ll need an Android Device.

How to Password Protect Individual Apps on Android Devices

Password protecting individual apps isn’t something that you can do natively on Android phones. In other words, the functionality is not a standard feature that’s part of the operating system. That said, there is a way to add this functionality. You just need to download the right app.

Step 1: Download AppLock by SuperTools

The first step is to download an effective app-locking app from the Google Play store. There are several to choose from. We recommend AppLock – fingerprint lock & phone cleaner, by SuperTools.

Remember that the Google Play store has plenty of lookalike and copycat apps. If you search for an app protector app, make sure you select this one or another that has very strong reviews.

Install the app, then click OPEN once it’s installed.

Step 2: Set an AppLock Passcode

Once you open AppLock, you’ll be greeted with a landing screen with a big START button. Tap it. The next screen prompts you to create a new password. Don’t be fooled if this screen looks like your Android login screen! It’s something different entirely. This is where you create the password you want to use to access your password-locked apps.

Pick something you can remember but that’s different from your phone’s main lock code. Otherwise, you’re more or less defeating the purpose of this added security. If your kid or your coworker knows your main password, he or she can just guess that same password when trying to access a sensitive app and bingo, they’re in.

When you finish setting up your passcode, you’ll get a couple screens asking if you want to give AppLocker permission to draw over other apps. Set this to Allow/enable/permit, whatever your version of Android calls it. You may need to do this in 2 consecutive screens.

Step 3: More Configuration

Once you’ve taken care of your permissions settings, head back over to the AppLocker app. You should see a list of other apps. Find the ones that you want to lock and click the icon on the right that looks like an open padlock. It will change to a colored, closed padlock when you tap it.

Once you’ve selected all the apps that you intend to lock, click the LOCK button at the bottom.

Step 4: Test It Out

Now that you’ve configured your AppLocker app, it’s time to test it out. Exit to your main screen and open an app that you’ve locked. You should see a secondary login screen with the app’s icon at the top. Enter the passcode you created earlier, and you’re good to go.

Wrap-Up

Adding an app locker to your Android device is a simple way to add an extra layer of security. You’ll gain the freedom to share your device with more people knowing that your sensitive apps are protected.

This article covers the definition of metadata and how to view, manage and delete it in Microsoft applications.

What is Metadata?

Metadata is information about your data. It contains facts that can’t be disputed, the same way data does.

Here is an example from Microsoft Word. Let’s say you’re writing a letter to a co-worker. The letter consists of characters that form words and sentences. To the computer, this is translated as a series of ones and zeroes that make up the data associated with your letter. Other information about the letter includes when it was typed, who wrote it, when it was saved, and what version of Word you used. These facts are metadata.

How Can You View Office Metadata in the File?

You can view the metadata associated with your Excel, Word and PowerPoint files. (Metadata for Outlook email is more complicated and isn’t covered here.)

1. Open the workbook, document or presentation you wish to check.
2. Click on the File menu in the top-left of the screen.
3. On the Info screen, you’ll see the Pages, Size, Total Editing Time, Words, Created, Last Modified, and Related People options.
4. At the bottom of the list, click Show All Properties for more information.

NOTE: Look at the Template data. Keep in mind that a template with your name or company name can be used to trace the file back to you.

How Can You View Office Metadata in Windows Explorer?

You don’t have to open the file to view the metadata. Here’s how to view it in Windows Explorer:

1. Open Windows Explorer and go to your saved file.
2. Right-click on for filename or icon and click Properties.
3. Click on the Details tab of the Properties window. The metadata appears in a list.

What’s the Best Way to View Metadata for All Your Microsoft Files?

You can use Extensible Markup Language (XML) to view the metadata for all your presentations, documents and workbooks. XML is used to store metadata in computing, including Microsoft Office files.

Let’s use a Word document as an example of how to use XML to view metadata:

1. In Windows Explorer, go to your saved file.
2. Make a copy to protect the original file.
3. Select the copied and either click the F2 button or right-click to select Rename.
4. Change the file extension to .zip. (NOTE: Each Office filetype ending in x contains compressed XML documents.) Click Yes on the warning that appears.
5. Right-click the file to choose Extract All…
6. You will be asked where to save the extracted files and whether to show them when finished. Leave the default values and click Extract.
7. The extraction produces three folders as well as an XML file. You can examine the files to view the stored information. When you double-click an XML file, it usually opens in Internet Explorer.
8. You should be able to piece together what the information means. These XML files may include your name: core.xml under the docProps folder, and document.xml and people.xml in the word folder.

How Can You Delete Metadata from Microsoft Files?

Here are the steps to follow to delete your information from these files in Excel, Word or PowerPoint:

1. Click on the File menu in the top-left corner.
2. On the Info page, select Check for Issues near the middle of the page.
3. Select Inspect Document and the Document Inspector opens.
4. Ensure that all the Document Inspector checkboxes are checked, then select the Inspect button.
5. Once the Document Inspector finishes, you can see the information it found. If you see a green checkmark in a circle, it found no data for that category. A red exclamation mark indicates it found data of that type.
6. There’s a Remove All button next to the data type’s description. Click it to remove all data of a certain type. Scroll down to ensure you clear all the desired data.
7. To double-check, click the Reinspect button to see if you missed anything.
8. Save your document so that the data isn’t re-entered.

What are the Steps to Ensure the Metadata was Deleted?

First, repeat the steps under “How Can You View Office Metadata in the File?” When you inspect the document.xml, people.xml and core.xml files, there shouldn’t be any personal data. Change the extension from .zip to .docx, to open the file in Word.

How Can You Delete Metadata using Windows Explorer?

This method strips metadata from several files at the same time.

1. Open Windows Explorer and go to the file with the metadata you want to take out. Right-click it to select Properties.
2. Under Properties, click the Details tab then select both Remove Properties and Personal Information.
3. There are two ways to remove information. Remove the metadata from the original file or a copy.

How Do I Remove Metadata from Original File?

1. Select Remove the following properties from this file:
2. Check the boxes you want to remove or choose Select All button.
3. Click OK.

Can You Make a Copy with No Metadata?

This makes a copy of your file with the “Copy” appended to the filename. This copy will have no associated metadata.

1. Under the Remove Properties window, click Create a copy with all possible properties removed
2. Click OK.
3. Compare the properties of the original and copy to view the changes.

Are You in the Clear Now?

What you do next with the document determines whether your metadata stays gone. Digital processing, such as emailing it, may add metadata. The best option is to print and mail the document to avoid add metadata that could be traced back to you.

 

Did you know you can use just about any Amazon Echo device to make phone calls for free? You can do the same in the Alexa app on iOS or Android, whether or not you have an Echo device. You can also call others in your contacts on their Echo devices instead of their phones. These services can be convenient, and they are real money savers for people paying per minute for their cell or landline phone. In today’s tech tip we’ll show you how to make calls with Amazon Alexa.

Step 1: Open the Alexa App on Your Phone

Making phone calls using Alexa is an opt-in service, meaning you’ll need to enable it and set it up before it will work. Open the Amazon Alexa app on your phone, and tap on the menu bars (likely in the upper left). Choose “Things to Try”. On that page, choose “Calling”. This area reveals several videos and explainers on how to get calling with Alexa set up.

Alternatively, you can simply ask your Echo device, “Alexa, how do I set up calling?” for verbal instructions. Those are nice, but you’ll end up needing to work in the app anyways. For that reason, we think it’s easiest to start in the app.

Step 2: Give Alexa Access to Your Contacts

In the Amazon Alexa app, open the Communicate tab by tapping on the Communicate button in the bottom row. If you’ve not done this before, the app will ask for access to your contacts. Tap OK to grant access.

If you want to use the Alexa app to make calls directly from your phone, you can do it from this screen. Simply select the contact you want to call, choose the right number (cell, work, or home), and the call should begin.

Step 3: Talk to Your Echo Device

If what you really want to do is make calls using your Echo device, you should be able to do so after following steps 1 and 2. You have to know the right lingo, however. You can start with a simple phrase like “Alexa, make a call.” Your Echo device will respond with a question of its own, asking who you want to talk to.

Some of your contacts can be reached multiple ways, so you’ll need to be specific with Alexa. Alexa should understand commands like “Call mom’s cell phone” or “call Shawna at work.” You can also call numbers not in your contacts list with “Alexa, call (555) 356-4321.”

To call another Echo device, simply say “Alexa, call Leslie’s Echo.” If Leslie has calling enabled on her echo, you’ll get patched right through.

If you want to explore phrases in more detail, look back at the “Things to Try” area in the app.

Note: Alexa Can’t Do Everything

One thing to note before diving into the world of phone calls with Alexa: Alexa and her associated devices do have some limitations. There are a few types of phone calls that Alexa can’t make. First, and most importantly, Alexa can’t call 911 or other emergency service numbers. These services need to know where you are, and even though you might think Alexa knows that, the functionality isn’t foolproof enough to support emergency calls.

Alexa also can’t (or won’t) call those pricey 1-900 numbers. (Yes, that’s still a thing.) Similarly, directory assistance and information lines of the 211, 411, or “star-88 on any cell phone” variety aren’t compatible with Alexa’s calling technology. For now, Alexa also won’t call internationally, nor will it respond to “call 1-800 CONTACTS” or other letter-to-number prompts.

Conclusion

Making phone calls through Amazon Alexa is a great way to save if you’re still counting minutes on your landline or cell phone plan. Follow the steps above to enable the feature and give it a try today.

Nearly every site or service we use online requires a username and password. Remembering hundreds of unique passwords is just about impossible, and reusing passwords across multiple sites can be dangerous. If one account is compromised in a data breach (and this is likely: check out IdentityForce’s list of all the breaches so far this year), any other account using that same password is now at risk.

Today’s username and password convention is a difficult system to manage well, but it remains important to create strong, unique passwords for your various accounts. We’re here to help today by sharing a few ways to create unique passwords that are strong and memorable.

Base Your Password on a Familiar Phrase

One way to make a password easier to remember is to base it on a phrase or term that’s familiar to you. Notice we didn’t say to use a term that’s familiar to you: “ilovesarah”, “sparky”, and “gocowboys” are all terrible passwords because they’re easy to guess. Anyone who knows that your wife’s name is Sarah, that your dog’s name is Sparky, or that you love the Cowboys might guess these easily.

Instead, come up with something creative, but that still has a connection to something you won’t forget. Something like “R3dsk1nsRool!” would be hard to guess since it runs counter to your actual interests, and it would be hard to crack due to the character variations. You’ll have an easier time remembering it, though, since it connects to one of your true passions.

Another variation on this theme is to take a poem or song lyric that’s meaningful to you and turn it into an acronym. “Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream” could turn into “RrrybGdtS”, for example. Easy to remember; hard to guess.

Use Long Passwords

Long passwords are hard to guess, but they’re even harder to crack using hacker tools. Use a memorable phrase in its entirety, or choose a series of seemingly unrelated words that mean something to you. You’ll create a password that’s easier to remember than the previous method and that’s even harder for a computer to crack. Check out this Xkcd comic, which illustrates this principle with an added dose of humor.

Use Two-Factor Authentication Wherever Possible

You should enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on any site that offers it. 2FA adds a second method of authenticating that you’re who you say you are. Most 2FA methods involve sending a numeric or alphanumeric code to the account owner (that’s you). This code can be sent via email, text message, or even be displayed on a physical key fob. The code is only good for a short window (usually 1, 2, or 5 minutes). After supplying your username and password, you’ll be asked for this code.

Most consumer applications of 2FA involve sending the code via text message. Unless a hacker has stolen or cloned your phone, he or she won’t be able to view this code and thus won’t be able to log in to your accounts—even with your username and password.

Change Your Password Frequently

Changing your password frequently is another way to stay ahead of information thieves. A stolen password is only useful until you change that password to something else. It’s good practice to change your passwords frequently, such as every 3 to 6 months. We realize that can be a lot of work. Changing only your most sensitive passwords (financial, social, and email) is better than changing none.

Use a Password Manager

All this sounds like a lot of work, and it is. Thankfully, there’s a better way. Using a password manager, you can create long, unique, complex passwords for each account — but you don’t have to worry about remembering them! All your passwords are stored in the password manager. All you need to remember is the strong master password you create for this utility.