This is why I will never actually BUY a new Apple product.

Strap yourselves in, it's going to be a rant.

I am fortunate in that I have someone who occasionally gives me fairly current, but not new, iPhones.   They are still quite usable but not brand spanking new.

Mind you, had they been Androids, I would have rooted them and neutered the "google spying" on me with a hosts file but that's besides the point. 

I prefer to be in control of my own technology devices and not have to trust in a walled garden whether it be iOS or Android or Mac or god forbid, Windows.

A Walled Garden from any manufacturer does not benefit you, the end user, eventually.  It starts as a curated set of experiences that are for "your best experience" and eventually get corrupted into a spyware or commercial nightmare, or both (See Windows).

This is being written on a Debian Linux based computer that just purrs and does what I want. 

My current "daily driver" is an iPhone 12.  The problem is that the battery has faded to 81% health.  Whatever the blazes that is supposed to mean.  The end result is now that I wake up and the phone that was at 100% battery at 8:30 at night before the dog walk and sleep, is at 56% at 5:15 AM. 

Who are you talking to while I am asleep?  I don't know, I don't know why you are using battery other than to poll my sport watch.

At 56% at 5:15 in the morning, when I have to immediately top off the battery to be able to take Rack the McNab SuperDog (TM) for a first walk of the day gets very complex because I need this blasted phone to count my steps.

Levels of crap happen around me, usually sports related.

Bottom line is that the phone is "old" and failing to hold a charge.

So I went into the drawer that holds my "Inventory" of new-to-me phones and stumbled across the last phone that I moved off of before.  It was actually at a newer battery strength than the one that I am trying to move off of but I have others that are better.  Newer, with a stronger battery.

That means that my old-old phone is a candidate for "Erase and Remove" any trace of my self from it.

Here is where Apple truly earned my anger.

I told the phone that I did not want it. 
It immediately began a backup.
I hit "Skip backup".
It refused and demanded me to enter in a password for iCloud.
"Why?!?!?"
I typed in that password that I have on a spreadsheet and it rejected it.
FOUR TIMES.

Mind you, any other NORMAL operating system would have a little eye that would show you what you typed in clear characters but this being Apple, no.

"Hey Apple, you are Stoopid!" you may have heard me yell, or "similar".  Instead of it immediately giving me some sort of notification that it "got" what I was trying to do with it, the software simply sat there as if it were continuing on with its task.  No feedback, no way to verify what was happening.  Why would I need feedback?

After the fourth time, I used a normal laptop, this one, and a normal browser, Firefox, and logged in to iCloud with my password of record from the spreadsheet I keep.

So here I am an hour into this process.
iCloud logs me in and demands that I consider upgrading the account. 

No.  I am free, it gives me a whopping 5GB of storage.  Never mind that the phone has 256GB of storage on it that I can't access except by jumping through hoops, it wants me to spend more.  NO!. 

Nonsensical way of doing business, nag your customer until they go to the competition. 

Seeing that I have a rooted android phone on the desk, I am considering it.

The entire time that I am proving to this stupidly small, underpowered, and fragile device that I am using the correct password but it refuses to accept it, I'm feeling myself get more and more angry.

I simply wanted to get off the phone.  I did not care what was on it.  I did not want to save anything from it. 

It would not allow me to do it gracefully so what did I do?

With an evil grin I did what many technology users would love to do.

Still wanna know?

I took it to my porch.
I put it on the porch where it was concrete.
I went back into the house in a fit of pique and...
I got the sledge hammer.

It felt great to pound the damn thing.
In fact it felt so good to do that, I did it a second time.

Why on the porch?  Because I was able to get the garden hose and saturate the phone.  It was now bent on a jaunty angle, and I saw that it was starting to smoke.

Good.

I hosed the thing down and it made many sad Apple noises as it released the magic smoke.

In case you think I should have sent it off to be destroyed, securely, I will.  There is an electronics recycling event that I will take the accursed device to in the future along with some other old iPhones so old that they were orphaned by the accursed Apple.  Iphone 5 was the oldest, the newest being an 8 that is going to go to a new home in another state.

So if you have a Mac Book Pro?  I can fix it for you by installing Debian Linux on it.  In the case of the iPhones?  I hate them myself, find yourself an e-recycler and go for it.

As for Apple?  You will never see a penny from me, your practices seem to be designed for me to need blood pressure medications, and your websites are crap.

Add a button to enter passwords in the clear.  If I click on it, it's because I am feeling safe.

As Red Forman says in That 70s Show... Dumbass.
As Red Forman says in That 90s Show... Dumbass.

Police Use Selfie To Return Phone and the Importance of ICE

Being That Guy who is out walking his dog at stupid hours of the morning, I see a lot of weirdness.

Oh sure, I live in a tourist town in South Florida.  That could be redundant in itself, but its true. 

So I see a lot of weirdness.  Wait, I said that once already.

Some of that weirdness is best that I keep to myself.  Let me just say I see what you do out there and Shame.  Trust me some of that is truly bizarre. 

Luckily, most of what happens here is people from outside coming in and enjoying things a bit too much and therefore creating problems.

You lot party a bit too hearty.  No, really you do.  Have a little moderation.  A little goes a long way.  You wander down our streets using the wall to steady yourself.  Even my dog sees it and he is smart enough to know when to stay away.

So as you use that wall to steady yourself, you reach into your pocket for your keys.   What you were going to do with those keys scare me, but you have dropped them instead.

This is where I come in handy.  You see, I have found more sets of keys than I care to count.  I do tend to find a lot of things and since City Hall is on my normal walk, I tend to leave things there.  Just ask the Police Department. 

Really.  It gets to be a bit repetitious.  Keep a better handle on things.

So when the Police Department gets them they ask me where I found it and I tell them.  They also ask me a lot of random questions about myself that makes me think that it would be a lot easier if I just left your things sitting where I saw them in the grass next to that shoe.

This story doesn't seem to be that impaired. 

It also has the benefit of some really great Aussie Sense Of Humour.  Love the way the Australians think, even if they are upside down.

They don't like that joke either, but hey...

You see a lady lost her phone.  It was found by someone in Albury, New South Wales, Australia.  They took it to the police department, being good people who do that sort of thing.  Lo and Behold they were able to get into the phone.  There was no passcode.  I am assuming they couldn't find the person's own personal information but they were able to get onto her Facebook software and post a selfie.

Of the police.  Told her that she should come and get her phone because it's safe.  They also said that she should use a passcode to lock the phone. 

Of course if there was a passcode and no personal information on the phone, the police would just have to hope that this person came to them and asked.  Small bit of circular logic.

What I do is I have a passcode, however I also have some ICE on the phone. 

ICE stands for "In Case Of Emergency".  All the first responders know to look for that sort of information, although it is a bit vague where they look for it. 

I made it easy.  On my lock screen in Android, you can go into the settings and personalize it.  I added a message "ICE 954-xxx-xxxx".  Yes, a phone number, No, you may not have it.

Someone presses the button to check to see if they can get in to the phone and if they're honest, I'll get my phone back. 

Honest people do still exist.

So add a little ICE to your phone if you can, I can't tell you if your shiny iPhone has this feature or not.  You could always use the Find My iPhone Feature, and Android has a similar service, but this is easy.

It also might make things easier if you need a wall to hold yourself up.

Getting Your SMS Texts Back on Android After Leaving the IPhone

This is something I usually don't do.  A Reblog.

I'm doing it so I have the info later on and will have to repeat it.  Now you know why I have so many recipes on here - so I can bake and not have to go digging through the "Recipe Box of Doom"!

The backstory is that when Kevin went to The Isle Of Man, I borrowed a shiny old or "new to me" iPhone 4s for two weeks.  The reason is that iMessage on the iPhone will do what passes for an international text for free.  Google's Hangouts works that way too.  But either way you have to have two people on the same hardware.  Either Android or iPhone - but not mixed.  Both systems are proprietary, and I believe that both will not play well with each other.

Since he had the loaner, I went off my beloved Samsung Galaxy S4 for two weeks.   I came back to the S4 because I use the phone like a computer and create content on it like pictures and videos mainly for my own entertainment and use here.   The camera on that iPhone has thankfully been improved in later versions, it was too saturated and too poor and grainy in low light situations.  The software was rubbish since HDR didn't work well at all, but this is also iOS 6 when the current phones get iOS 8.

Got all that?

Anyway, here are the steps - and if you're coming here and want the original, here is the direct link.  I have no pictures here since I followed the steps and it worked first time immediately.  The steps were beyond annoying when I got to iCloud since Apple wants you to stay on their services.  Removing the phone number from iCloud required hunting around in every nook and cranny of the site in order to delete the number from wherever you find it.

Steps:

1)  Before you leave your iPhone, turn off iMessage.  This is done by going into the Settings app, selecting Message, then flicking the slider to off on iMessage.

2)  Remove yourself from iCloud.  On the Mac, there is (or was) an iCloud app that you could do this from.  Since I am normally using Linux or Windows (in that order) I had to go to the website for iCloud.  Start on the settings link (icon) and go through every single aspect, link, and sublink on there.  If you see a phone number, delete it.  It also argued with me to disable "Find My iPhone" in order to proceed with some of this.  I did and chased my tail around until complete and I was dizzy.

I'm sorry I can't be more specific.  I had to go through all of the account details manually myself.

3)  Have all your iPhone friends delete and readd your contacts.   Good luck.  As annoying as the iCloud step was, this one may simply be impossible.  Luckily for me, I had few people iMessage me during the two weeks.  If your contact used iMessage to talk to you, they will not be able to recontact you until Apple's servers all realize that you have dropped off of iMessage - that could be as much as 45 days, however with me it was instant.

4)  Ask your readded friends to "Send Message as Text Message" on their iPhone.  Yes, seriously.  They're going to wonder if they really want you as friends at this point.  Hopefully you don't lose too many as a result.

5)  Wait 45 days before using your new non iPhone on this number.  I had to ask myself whether they were serious about this one, but apparently either I was lucky or this particular bullet is old news.  It was in my case.

6)  Text "STOP" to 48369 .  That's the Apple support guy's hint.  It worked for me immediately.

After running through all of this, my S4 is working fine.  I SMS Text everywhere, I am not using iMessage anywhere. 

I have read that some people on iPhones hate green text bubbles, and SMS is green while iMessage is blue.  All I have to say to that is grow up since there are worse things to hate.

First world problems, really!

Another Day, Another Adobe Flash Exploit

Flash used to be what I would call "Update of the Day Club".  Start your computer and get into doing what you need, and surprise of surprises, there would be an update window popping up for Flash.

We seem to be back to that.

It's a nuisance because with at least Firefox, it forces you to close your browser and go through the nonsense necessary to restart it.  Since Firefox isn't exactly 100% accurate in reopening pages and tabs, I hold my breath each time.

In this case, there's no reason to trash Firefox.  There was an exploit found with "Shockwave Flash" as it shows up in the addons page and it tells you it wants to be updated.


Except.


There is no update as of this writing.

So? What do you do?  Tread lightly, my friend.  What you need to do is put yourself through a bit of annoyance or uninstall the blighted software completely.

Since the annoyance is less of a problem than uninstalling Flash at this time, I'll show you how to do that.

What I am doing is to tell the browser to ask me to run it.  I was going to uninstall it completely.  Youtube does not use Flash as a default to play videos any longer, favoring the newer HTML5.  Facebook does use Flash and at this point it does not apparently use HTML5.

Here is how to go in and tell Flash to run when you want it.  It will leave an ugly placeholder in Facebook with the a grey Lego brick or the international symbol for no, and some warning messages, but you can always turn it back on to watch that particular video of a dog doing something cute if you really want to.




In Firefox:

In the address bar enter:   about:addons and hit enter to load the page.

On your Addons page:

• Find Shockwave Flash
• Click the button that most likely says "Always Activate" and select "Ask to Activate"
• click the link to "Check to see if your plugins are up to date" to open another tab.

On your "Check Your Plugins" Page

• Click the big red button that says "Update Now" under "Potentially Vulnerable Plugins" and follow the prompts to update your Flash.
• This space intentionally left blank.
• Flash will update through multiple steps that are documented on Flash's site.  
• They include downloading a program.  
• Make certain that you clear the box that asks if you want to download any "Optional Offer" like McAfee or any other "helpful" programs since they are not helpful and will simply clutter up your computer or it could even lock it up.
• Flash's install will require you to close your Firefox, so save your work.
• Note:  As Of This Writing, there is no update to Flash that will fix this problem.  That is why I told you to set Flash to "Ask To Activate".
• Flash will not be updated on Android, Apple's IOS, or Linux.
• Flash will eventually be updated on Windows 7 or newer, or Mac OSX... just not as of this writing.

Youtube Prefers HTML5 Video to Flash - But What About All That Old Stuff?

Flash is one of those necessary evils.  It was like Java, reflexively installed onto computers that weren't really quite up to the task of running it. Just checked, nope, I don't have Java - and you should not either.

The computer would bog down, act cranky, and even crash when Flash was running.  Flash also has persistent cookies that you had to remember to delete.  Some people would have those cookies for years.  Security is a bear.

But there is one more nail is in Flash Player's coffin.  Youtube is now preferring HTML5 over Flash when you watch videos there.

Why is that important?

More and more Flash had been the target of people wanting to hijack passwords, insert viruses, and track your movements with those persistent cookies.  Adobe had put more and more patches into it and it became a joke.  Start the computer, patch Flash, restart the computer and do your work - every single day. 

Worse, some people that I supported would simply tell the update check to go away and never come back.

You are getting closer to the day you can do that for good. Many of us already have.

My Linux computer, currently Xubuntu, is not even supported on current Flash Player, and I did an uninstall of it a couple weeks back.  I didn't see the value of keeping an old piece of software on something that was running well without it and I almost never used.

My windows computer will get the same treatment.

About the only thing I ever do with Flash is to watch videos on Youtube.  The few games that I have kept over the years will get deleted.

That's about the only problem that I see with this.  Videos can be streamed using "native tools" but the content that was created in Flash will simply go away.  Quite a lot has been created in Flash over the years, even a few Broadcast TV Programs, and many commercials as well.

After all, when was the last time you played a video tape?  Beta?  VHS?  Vinyl Records?

That is the kind of problem that Librarians have.  Content on a platform that is unsupported.  Music on Cylinder Beeswax Records from the Edison era.  78 RPM records.  Heck, I even have a few 45s floating around here.  Silly looking 7 inch donuts.

For most of us, it's simply easier to find the track elsewhere and save it on something new.  But for librarians, especially archival libraries, they have to worry about that sort of thing every day.

Anyone still have and use a zip disc?  Nope?  Didn't think so!

So the net result to you is that if you are running one of the four major browsers in one of the top four major operating systems on the desktop/laptop you're fine.  Just make sure your browser is up to date.  Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Opera all work with HTML5.

See, that's easy!

The iPhone and Android based phones will typically use the Youtube client or the browser will take care of it.

One aside though, with Android, it's usually recommended that you do not use the base browser and go out and grab either Firefox or Chrome.  The reason is that if you are on an older version of Android, Google is not going to support the old "Browser" browser.

So it's just safer that way.  Listen to big brother even if it is a bother.

Ok?

Shellshock - A BASH bug that effects Linux and Mac OSX ... and everyone on the web

Yeah, scaremongering isn't the best.  Luckily for those of us who run Linux, the fix is easy.

It also effects some Mac systems, although you will need to test and get your own upgrades.

It is possible that it effects Android systems as well.  I did the test on my tablet running CyanogenMod this morning and it was safe.  Your Mileage May Vary.

How this effects Windows is straightforward, it's another one of those low level things in a web server that can bite us later and since Linux powers many websites, you are effected indirectly.  Think of what the Heartbleed problem was and how you went in and changed all your passwords to protect yourself.  Good idea to start changing them again!

The bug is called "Shellshock".  The specifics is that it allows a ne'er do well to hack into an unpatched Linux server and gain full control via something called the BASH shell.  That is a bad thing because with control over bash, you can gain full control of the entire computer.

There is a test and full explanation of all the geekery under the hood here at this link at www.ArsTechnica.com if you care to dig deeper.  Basically, just go in and do a full update of your machine and make sure you see bash updated. 

The test is this line in terminal.

 env x='() { :;}; echo vulnerable' bash -c "echo this is a test"

If the system is vulnerable, the output will be:

vulnerable
 this is a test

An unaffected (or patched) system will output:

 bash: warning: x: ignoring function definition attempt
 bash: error importing function definition for `x'
 this is a test

Since Mac OSX is based on something called BSD and bash comes with it in their terminal.  If you have an older Mac that is acting as a server, look into a patch.

I personally did the fix last night on my Debian system while I was half asleep.  Really trivial to fix.

In a root terminal -

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade

It went out and updated my list of available updates, then upgraded those that needed it.  The package "bash" was included.

CentOS came up this morning with a bubble telling me to install updates.   It worked.  No problem.

I tried it out on my RaspberryPi machine and yes, that was affected.  The patch worked, and the picture is below. 

Here's the thing, it may effect Android tablets and phones depending on whether bash is installed.  It's a very basic and well known tool, so you will need to make sure you can patch the tablets. 

However, it's highly unlikely that some average dude walking down the street with a year old Android phone with an unpatched system will have a problem.  Someone would have to know you're there, get into your machine, and do the hack to gain control.  You aren't the person they would be looking for, it's that big web server sitting somewhere like a store or a bank that they're going to hack.

Just accept the updates if you have manual control of whatever computer you are using, phones and tablets included.

If you are "going into" your machine, set your update preferences to allow security updates automatically while you're at it since that makes it easier to administer the machines.

So how DO you know when your phone is obsolete?

I have a friend who visits about once a year.  I have a standing request that he brings his "Daily Driver" computer with him when he comes.

He calls it a tune up.  What I generally do is go through the machine, run a virus scan, uninstall spyware, and send him on his way.  It runs much faster because I've cleaned out the junk.

He's also been using that machine for longer than even I have expected.  He's gotten newer machines, but he keeps coming back to that beast of a 17 inch "laptop" because I'm able to keep it going.

Eventually, he'll have to stop using it, and then it will have a second life as either a table leveler, something to hold a shelf down in the linen closet, or I'll put Linux on it and it will be good for another 5 years of use.

I'm leaning toward Linux, but that is because I actually do like using the environment.

Computers have a longer life than the manufacturers want you to believe because they exist to make money by selling you new.  It's Planned Obsolescence.

With a phone, it appears much more clear cut.  Especially with a smartphone, things have a shelf life.  The vendor puts out a new model, it can do more, but does it really warrant you getting a new one?

Again like with my friends beast of a laptop, to me, it appears that it is software driving the decision.

There are two schools here.  Apple and Android.  Not looking at this as a fanboy of either set up, I have a preference for Android because I can do things with it like use the phone as a multimedia computer much easier than I can with iOS.  I look at it as a use case to form a decision as to which works best for me.

Your Mileage May Vary.

With Apple, there is a clear end of life with their phones.  When you can no longer run their current operating system, it is time to consider moving on.  Apple has always done this with their computers as well.  For a while their PowerPC computers were supposed to be the best thing out there.  Then they came out with Intel based computers that made their old computers look horrible and they stopped supporting them after one more upgrade.

My iPhone is an old 3GS.  It will still make calls, but as a computer, Apple is actively pushing it away.  I have software that ran on it until I updated it, then all the sudden the older software is gone, and the newer one doesn't work because I don't have the current operating system.  One after another app is going away and eventually that will be the end of it.

Of course if you have the latest iPhone 6, it's obsolete when you drop it on the ground on the first day it's out because you just broke the screen.



Android is a different animal.

Android support varies with the company that made the phone or tablet.  Typically, an Android phone will get updates within the operating system version that it was bought with.  After that you are on your own.

My tablet, a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, got updates until the current OS came out.  That doesn't mean that the tablet is unusable, it merely means that it will get more behind the times as I run into the same problem that my old iPhone had.  Software won't be written for it.

There is another problem with the older versions of Android.  The browser that shipped with every version of Android except the current one has a rather nasty bug in it.  The short of it is that if you have an older Android device, do not use the default browser.  Disable that browser, and install another.  I did that at the start and I use Firefox which is the suggestion that is made by most security groups.

Why is that a problem?  Because if you don't have a current device that runs the current Operating System, you aren't going to get an update and you are on your own.  That means you have just hit the wall with using that phone, it's now obsolete - if you want to be secure.

It all seems a bit alarmist, but considering how many people use their phones and tablets as their main computing devices these days, it really does pay to be aware of what that device is capable of doing.  It is a computer and they do need to be kept up to date.  But when you can't do that any more, you have to be aware what not being up to date can mean.

The Trainer Got Trained

I recently had the chance to sit in on a class.  If it is computer related, my own training kicks in and I quickly get things done and have the luxury of watching other people manage through things at their own paces.

I'm the one that trains the trainers when it comes to most computer software.  I've been lucky enough to have the experience of working with people of all levels but mostly the people I would work with in Corporate Education had a certain "floor" of knowledge.  

The test I ask is "How do you play a game of solitaire on this computer?".   A bit misleading, but the idea is you have to know first how to turn the thing on, then find your way into the computer, then find the program. 

If you can play a complete game without a lot of trouble, you probably are able to be trained. 

Mind you, now people are playing solitaire on a tablet, iPad, Phone, or Android Tablet.

Different story, we're talking about a "computer".  Maybe call those a Tablet vs a PC...

Being in a general audience class I was wondering why for 8 people there were three volunteers and one teacher, but I saw quickly why.

Some of you folks simply have forgotten how to use a computer.

We all surf, if you're reading this, you are surfing.  Some do it on that generic Tablet.  But those tablets simply fall short when you are working with what they call a "Data Driven" website.

If you have to type in "stuff", use a PC.   If you just occasionally click, a tablet is fine.

This was a professional website designed to do some very specific job search exercises.

We had people in the group who didn't think they would need to save their user ID.   Others that didn't understand that they were already inside of a browser on some distant website.

I guess they didn't play solitaire on the PC any more.

Having had to train people on software I wrote holding Executive Director's Titles as well as a clerk in Accounts Payable on more than one occasion, being exposed to someone who managed to become "over 40" and not know how to use a computer was an education for me. 

Being a Webmaster, you have a choice.  Make it work for the PC or make it work for the Tablets or Phones.  Those second websites being Mobile, it presents a host of other challenges.  Since most people are typically a bit lazy, they will to the "80/20" rule, make it work on the PC, then come back for the Mobile site for the Tablet/Phone later.

Hopefully they will come back later.  It's not always granted.  After all, those Tablets have a real browser now, don't they?  Can't they just use the "real website"?

My website/blog is looked at 88 percent of the time on a PC, the rest are on some sort of a Mobile device.  I'll put my time on making sure it looks readable on the PC/Mac/Linux/FreeBSD...

You get the picture.

But you folks on the iPad/iPhone/Android Tablet/Android Phone... If it looks weird, that may explain things.

Now you know why mobile shopping sites look so strange.  It's a matter of effort, and just don't get me started on the mobile Wikipedia site.  Yuck.

So if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed when you are trying to get some work done online, if that whole concept of a Mac or a PC is too much for you, there are some really basic things to try to get comfortable with it all.

First, play a game.  Doesn't have to be a card game, but they're good for this purpose.  They teach you how to actually use a mouse.   I suggest on Windows Spider Solitaire using one deck.  It's dead simple and real good at that drag and drop stuff.  I know that the Mac has a couple good games like that since I have them installed on my own Mac. 

Second, use a laptop or a desktop.  Put the tablet aside.  Actually train yourself on how to use it again, call it a refresher, but your boss will appreciate it.  They may even remember that your skills got better next time Layoffs come around.

Third, you need to know how to do some basic office "stuff".  Write a basic letter with a couple different fonts.  Bold, font size change, paragraph indenting.  Basic stuff.  Print it out to your printer.   Do the same with a spreadsheet.  Enter a column of numbers and calculate the sum.  Change the colors, make it pretty.  Print it out to your printer.

No, I'm not fond of wasting paper, but if you can do all the above, you can find your printer, you can do basic office operations and you have gone from being passed over for that entry level job to being qualified.

But no matter what, set the tablet aside.  The websites aren't there yet... yet.  Unless you work at Apple of course and most people don't.

Fourth and most importantly, open your mind to knowledge.   Once that closes up, you're stuffed.  After all, while playing Angry Birds may be fun, it won't put food on your table, and what you "learn" in flinging cartoon birds at things won't work when you have to post things to your General Ledger.

Your Software Is Secure - Or Is It?

There's a quote out there that goes:

If you're not the customer, you're the product.

That's directly applicable to any bit of "Free" software you use.  If there's an ad being shown, if it asks you to install a different browser or tool bar, if there's an offer to download 10 free MP3s - You Are The Product.

Fair enough.

There are exceptions to that rule.  There are a lot of excellent pieces of software out there that are free with no strings attached.  No phone home tricks, no advertising, and no other gotchas.   Those typically are called "GPL" or "GNU Software" or "FOSS".  I do most of what I do on Windows, however off that windows machine, I live in that FOSS world of Linux.  If I want a spreadsheet, I merely download Libre Office and I'm happily counting away my beans.

I guess the fact that there is no support network provided with most of that kind of software means I'm still the product but I'll ignore that.

Once you leave that world of Windows or Mac OSX where you pay and expect complete discretion (and you would be wrong), or Linux where the power of Open Source means you have thousands of eyes looking at the software and putting out a warning that your operating system might be spying on you (Ubuntu), it gets a bit questionable.

The assumption is that with your shiny iPad or iPhone, Apple is looking into that for you.   It's not completely clear that that is true, and rumor has it that it isn't.

On the other hand, Android does warn you when your phone or tablet is being asked to sign away your information.   You can still allow it, but it does warn you.   The idea is that the user is expected to be an educated Android user and actually stop and look at the warnings.   On the other hand, when is the last time you took the time to read an EULA (End User License Agreement)? 

Exactly, even I just skim them.   If it says it's GPL, I assume it's OK, otherwise, you may get one  of those programs that says that if you send an email to a specific address, you "win" 1000 dollars US.   Yes, that happened, once, and it took five years for anyone to find it and collect!

The most egregious use of the person being the product lately is the Jay Z app called "Magna Carta".  Download and install the app and you get to join in and help to promote his CD of his latest "songs".

Great, if you like that sort of thing.  On the other hand people did start to read what the app wanted to do to your Android phone.   It basically demanded full control, including your personal details, it wanted to start at start up time, and demanded access to your Facebook and Twitter accounts.  The assumption is that it was going to go out and put postings to those accounts in your name saying how much you were enjoying his "songs".

Rap.  Bleah.  But he's making my point for me.   It does not say that Jay Z is doing something with all that information, it merely says that the software has access to it.  He is using people as marketing tools to build the social buzz on Facebook and Twitter.  He may never use any of it, and that access may not ever be used, but it begs the question:

Is that in your benefit?
 
When you go to your app store, look around and ask yourself do you really need it?   That app will probably slow your phone or tablet down whether it is on the iPhone or a shiny new Android Tablet because it will want to start up when you turn the thing on.

Is that in your benefit?

That app may want to know who you called today, and forever.

Is that in your benefit?

That app may want access to whatever is running at any given moment.

Is that in your benefit?

The answer to all of that is no. 

Especially that last one.  If you use a smartphone to do your banking, your banking details are POTENTIALLY exposed to any app that is running at that time.   Want to share your bank account information with me?  I didn't think so, but would you with an app developer?  That answer should still be no.

The best thing you can do with that phone is to make calls with it and keep it clean of unneeded software.  That includes free or paid apps.  There's too much risk these days.

Sorry to bring bad news but there are some questionable people out there.

Go Away Priyanka, You Are A Worm.

This Priyanka has cropped up on the tech blogs, just about everywhere that I was reading, so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon.

Got Android?  Read on.
Got something called "WhatsApp"?  Read on.

WhatsApp is a chat client for SMS or other WhatsApp users.  Yes, Yet Another Chat Client has a worm running through it.  Pretty common these days.

It's an easy one to avoid, simply don't accept any messages from Priyanka, don't friend Priyanka... In short, ignore Priyanka and delete anything from it without opening it.

If you have Priyanka in your contacts, then it goes out and sends invites to all your friends on the WhatsApp platform in order to share in on the fun.

Oooh.

The instructions to get rid of them are pretty simple as well, and you can find them at this link.

I'm an admitted oddball.  I don't do SMS Texting.  At all.  It's turned off at T-Mobile, so no matter what I'm safe.

Want to talk to me, call me.  Want to send text?  Email.  Yeah I know, it's not trendy but I'm in front of a computer from 7AM until 11PM some days.  I'll leave WhatsApp on the shelf for those who are more "smartphone addicted" than I am.

Bamboo Smartphone and Tablet Docks are all done

A while back a neighbor cut down a stand of bamboo that was as thick as your wrist.  I was able to take some of the scrap and cut it to size for a dock for my smartphones and larger ones for my tablets.

After taking the time to cut the wood and try the things out, I realized I really did want to finish the project by staining the bamboo inside and out with poly-seal.   Two coats later, they actually shimmer in the sunlight.  I may go another step further, but it really is pretty much "Furniture Quality" at this point.

Basically they work like the box that the drivers for your speakers for the stereo are contained in.  Give sound a box to bang around in and you get resonance and a louder, richer, and more directed sound.  More bass and better direction.  Since we're talking about the tiny little squeakers inside of a tablet, they need the help.

Even the one that cracked worked nicely when I screwed it down to a stand to hold it together.  Now that I have all of these docks, five in total, I'm finding that they have their uses.  Why run ugly wires to the top of the medicine chest in the bathroom for speakers when you already have the phone playing music?  One of the docks lives there perched six feet above the ground.

The trick is to not make the hole where you drop the phone or tablet too large.  If the sound leaks through the top of the dock, it can't be refocused out the ports on the side.  Since the Android phone I have and the iPhone 3G are almost identical in shape at the bottom, it works for all of my phones.

Other than that, unless I find more scrap bamboo or a reason to make more of these things, I'm probably done.  Nice little diversion of a project.  I got to the point where using mostly hand tools, I could make one in about an hour.  After all, what guy doesn't want an excuse to do some woodworking and make something "cool"?

Do Not Track - It's A Start But Only A Start

In the "modern" browsers there's a setting deep down that tells advertisers that you don't want to be tracked for advertising purposes.

Internet Explorer sets that on by default.
It is also in Chrome and Firefox.

For Firefox you can set it yourself by:
Click on Tools
Click on Options
Click on Privacy

Under Tracking, there is a tick box that promises to tell advertisers that you do not want to be tracked.

Mine is checked, but I don't believe it actually works.

You see you're telling someone that you don't want to be a source of their income.  That's how advertising works, they have learned that they can watch what you surf and build a profile of what you're doing.   They can tell pretty much everything you can do.

You can lower their effectiveness but you can't eliminate what they're doing unless you do something that is fairly "heroic" by installing all sorts of software or learning another operating system and surfing from that.  There is InPrivate mode in Internet Explorer but it also breaks sites sometimes.  Better solution than most, but nothing is perfect.

When I set up a computer for myself or anyone else, I immediately install a few pieces of software.

Firefox as a browser.

Then I install an extension that is also available for Chrome called "Adblock Plus".  That breaks some more of the advertising as well as some of their tracking.   The benefit is that I do not see advertising.  I can also block that sort of thing. 

For me, browsing a website on someone else's computer is a jarring experience.  Ads blink, flash, and sometimes even scream at me.  On my own computer, it's a blissful experience.

That and it also speeds up browsing. 

I've taken it a step further by adding a hosts file onto computers that I am not doing web development on which simply tells the computer not to search any web pages that are at a certain address. 

I went so far as to add a hosts file to my Android phone and it's quite nice not having to look at ads.  It's a great "advertisement" for "Rooting" your Android phone.

The software I use on Android is Adfree to help block advertising by placing that hosts file in the right spot.  Just because I want to be "complete" I also installed a Hosts Editor but strictly speaking I don't really need that.

Both of the above only work on Rooted Android phones.  If you're not rooted, you'll need to find a guide on how to do it for your specific phone, model, carrier.   It gets complex but usually there's a step by step guide to do the work for you.  Once I found mine, it took about 10 minutes.

They can't track you if they can't find you.

What did you do with your old Smartphone

After reading this article on Lifehacker, I was left smiling.

So very much bile and grief.

Ok, so you have a smartphone.  It's older than your contract.  Get it unlocked.   You can even do that with your AT&T Phones.  Mostly, anyway.  There are some phones that are simply hardwired to be with the company you got it from.

My being the king of electronic repurposing, there area a lot of uses that you can get out of the little beasts.

You will want to remove the SIM.   That's the little chip that tells the phone to talk to the cell towers.  If you managed to get it unlocked, you still can use it for "Old Times Sake" or just give/sell/pass it on to someone else.  But that SIM is required in the new phone to make it work like a phone.

Some of the things I use my hand-me-down smartphones for are:

One of them is unlocked.   I use it when my "real" phone is dead.  Swap in my SIM and now I'm back on the air.  You can even use it when you're in a bad neighborhood so you don't lose the "good phone".

Load it up like an iPod and walk around listening to the same tracks over and over because I can't stand having iTunes on my laptop phoning home every couple hours.   At least that is easier to deal with on Android.  Fewer programs to "manage" my music preferences.

Download a copy of Magic Jack for emergencies.  You can make free phone calls in the US using your Wifi and this software.

I keep one on the nightstand for when I wake up.  Since the "regular" phone is on charge, I turn this thing on and use it to check up on Radar/Weather/News/etc. 

Internet Radio is great when you have a wifi-only no-longer phone smartphone.  I use a program called TuneIn and can listen to all those streams or radio stations from outside of the house when I'm tired and want something new.

No, this isn't earth shattering news.  But it is better than tossing it in a drawer and then in the trash in a few months.  May as well use the thing, after all you paid for it, and really you paid quite a lot for it.

CMAS is a TERRIBLE idea

Have you ever had an idea that sounded good?
You know, something that would be a great benefit but in the end turned out really terribly executed so it basically is like banging your head against the wall. 
Something you stop doing when it ceases to be theraputic?

Read on, McDuff, this is one of those ideas.

Luckily I didn't make this boneheaded mistake.

CMAS is a piece of software that runs on smartphones.
CMAS is a service that allows you to be warned, here is the wikipedia page.
It gets information from some central server somewhere that is supposed to be keyed on where you are, based on the cell towers you are near.   Yes, even if your GPS doesn't work on the cell phones, you can find out where your cell phone is at based on the old Triangulation technique.  

If there's something that happens that is an emergency in your area, a notification is pushed to your phone and ...

ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE.

Last night, in the tail of Tropical Storm Isaac, around 4PM, there were some Flash Flood Watches sounded for this part of the world.  Not like they weren't expected, we've had four days of rain in a row and a Duck and Cover Event called the Tropical Storm Watch.  Or Warning, it's never quite clear which is which. 

When you live in South Florida, these warnings are literally EVERYWHERE.  You simply can not escape it because a helpful neighbor will ALWAYS tell you about it.

Sitting in the green comfy chair, watching the rain fall, there was a Thunderstorm.   We're used to that here, the storms can be entertaining in itself.

Right as a lightning strike hits, some drone sitting in a building somewhere decided to make my phone disgorge noise.  First it started to vibrate.  Violently.  So as I reach over to grab the phone before it begins a trip to the floor, it then starts to scream like a siren.  Then back to vibrating.

Figuring it was possessed, my first thought wasn't Oh Let Me Check For An Emergency Warning, Oh no.  I wanted to Kill it with Fire.  As in accelerate it as fast as I could at the nearest Concrete Block and Stucco Wall to MAKE IT STOP.

Had this happened while I was driving, there would most likely be an automobile accident.  Mine.

Regaining composure I found the settings for this vile software.

I had three levels of Alerts. 

1. Presidential Alerts
2. Imminent Threats
3. Amber Alerts

I was able to immediately turn off Imminent Threats and Amber Alerts.  Helpfully, this evil software said "Presidential Alerts are always presented."

This piece of software may not be removed.
This piece of software may not be turned off.
This piece of software may not be modified so that the alarm sound is less offensive.
This piece of software may not be modified so that the vibrate can be turned off.

This piece of software will be the reason why I will be "rooting" my phone, then installing another "operating system" so that I won't have to experience this "feature" in the future.

Cyanogen Mod will be in its future.

You see, this is the problem with software these days.  You have a marketing drone somewhere that says Oooh We Can Give The This Feature And They Will Love It And Pay Us Money.

Remember you can't uninstall this.  You are locked out from this particular feature.

I can't even find an example of it in Google Play so that I can explain what it is. 

T-Mobile's page on this software is here if you want greater detail.  I just want to know how on earth to block this thing.   It is like killing an Ant with a Sledgehammer.

I do know in the future, my purchases of Android hardware will be governed first and foremost by whether or not there is "Locked In" software like this and if I can "root" the device.  

My Device, My Rules.

That unfortunately is a big problem with software these days, whether it be Android or Windows or what have you.  I spend more time removing software from a brand new computer than I do installing operating systems.  Spyware, useless browser toolbars, and games that report back to the writer what you are doing for more pertinent advertising are the norm on Windows.  At least you can remove them there, in the case of my little purple phone, I have to go to the level of wiping it clean and starting over. 

Sad really, because the addition of things like Twitter or Facebook are only useful on a phone if you have an account and use them.   I do not have a Twitter account and do not want one so why can't I remove the software again?

Oh right that Marketing drone.

Oh well, it will be gone too I hope.   In the meantime, while I fully support President Obama, I'm hoping that he doesn't send out an order to make the phone do that again.  It was just too much of a shock the first time.  Once in 9 months is enough.  Three times in one night was ridiculous.  Since all it did was scare the living daylights out of me and not provide me with any useful information it really does need to go.  A Cancel Box plus a one line blurb saying that there was a Flood Watch In Effect is simply scaremongering.

CMAS is currently a voluntary service that needs to end.   At least in this particular way of providing the "service".

Beginning of the end for Flash?

Steve Jobs famously would not allow Flash on his "iDevices" like the iPhone and the iPad.  It used to be a major annoyance.  It slowly became less important as newer technologies replaced it like HTML5 which does not require messy solutions like extra software.

You know, Plugins?

Flash has just been removed for Android.  Today, it no longer shows up on the Google Play store.   There is something called "Open Flash" that promises that it will play flash files on your tablet.

That means that effectively Flash is dead on phones and on tablets.  That's important because many people really could get away with only ever using a tablet to do their normal computing.

I found myself wondering whether it was a big deal or not.  I reached down and grabbed my tablet, swiped to unlock, then did a little digging.   It turns out that I never bothered to install Flash on the tablet.

At all.

Flash is on my Windows machines.   Flash is on my ancient hand me down Mac in the back room that is gathering dust.  I went through the painful install procedure to get Flash on my Linux machine. 

It's just not on the tablet or the phones.

I guess it's not going to make the transition to the "Post PC World".  It's always been a minor annoyance on Windows, demanding that it be installed if you go to Youtube to watch a video like the one below of a Golden Retriever in China guarding his owner's bike from being stolen. 

Totally safe for work, by the way.



So you can consider that as a test, I won't tell the boss.

Actually it will be nice to not have Flash on my Windows computers.   Flash is constantly demanding to be updated, almost as frequently as Adobe's other software, the PDF readers are.  It's at least once a week I get a notice telling me that there was yet another exploit that is being plugged by this particular update so please don't uninstall the software because we really do want you to use it.  

Now if we could only get Java to actually install correctly on an update, we might have a more pleasant experience.   I just can't seem to remember why I even keep Java on my machines...

Using the Camera Phone to Shop

So many people are doing this that many of the larger retailers are messing with the codes on their products so that you can't directly compare.   Many staff in smaller stores will actually challenge you if they see you taking pictures of a UPC code in order to check a price.

Tough.  Lower your prices if you don't like competition.

I hadn't realized that I was doing this until I went into my phone today looking for pictures to post.  After six of my dog, I saw this rather bland picture of a price of a desktop computer at BJ's Wholesale.

Not a very good one.  A Desktop i3 Computer with these specs should be at least 40 dollars cheaper.

I have a picture of a particular little bench from Ikea in my other phone, and on both phones there are apps that will scan your UPC bar code on the product's packaging, compare it against various lists and report back the lowest price.

Android: I use ShopSavvy
iPhone: I have  RedLaser
Both work, although 9 times out of 10, I am using my Android phone.

In the case of this PC, I wanted to research it more at home.  I had a feeling that a neighbor could use it, but we found a better deal... I hope.

Think of it as Guerrilla Shopping.  I knew things were changing when looking for a car changed from get ripped off in the store, to print out the comparable prices and bring with, then finally just quote the prices online. 

The same thing has happened for all sorts of items.  Amazon.com exists to service the "Long Tail" theory of marketing.  That is that while most folks will buy the same thing every day, there are some rare One Off purchases that you only do a few times and there aren't a whole lot of folks that can service your need for that product.  You know, the idea that you just can't find that doodad in the store because the local shops don't have it?  Need to find a Screen Protector for that camera phone?  That's where you will probably find it even if it is a 2 year old device... which reminds me I never did put mine on my Android phone.

As much as I try to shop locally, I have to admit, I can't afford to pay 25% more just to shop in a mall.  This trend is even reflected in the tendency to large strip malls instead of enclosed malls since a strip mall doesn't have to run air conditioning or heating (what's that?) in the open areas.  Lower operating costs mean lower consumer prices, and so on.

These apps tie all that together.  You're in the big box store, you have a product for $99.99.  Take a picture and find out that some other big box store down the road has the same item for $79.99.  Unfortunately for the mom and pop stores, they rarely come up lowest because they are trading on personal service.  There are some things that the mom and pop absolutely do better than a big box store. 

Bye, I'm back in the car and rolling for a sweet $20 savings.

It's changed and the Genie isn't going back in the bottle, even if he does occasionally end up in my camera phone.  In a time of austerity, that $20 means a lot. 

Business to Business sales on the other hand don't fit this model very well where bakeries baked goods are always better than the same baked goods in a big box store. 

One size doesn't always fit all but more information makes for a better deal.

Your Android Is A Little Safer With Google's Changes

Ok, fair enough, Android is pretty popular.  It's 68% of the Chinese Market for whatever that's worth.  Since people tend to do what their friends like, it may just get better since that means more people writing apps for the platform.

You know, that whole social aspect of life right?   Facebook?  Blogging?  Asking that nice teenager down the block what he uses to do things on his computer, once he crawls out of Mom's Basement that is.

The problem is that Android has always been more open to viruses because the whole software experience has been less rigid.  Apple forces a developer to submit their software so it can be deeply analyzed.  Google hasn't required that yet.

What they have done is to lay out new guidelines that say basically if we don't think you're playing to the rules, we'll pull your software.  No Rude stuff, No Hate speech, no spammy apps, no illegal apps.  

I guess that Chic-Fil-A App should go...

It doesn't say that they are forcing the backyard programmer to hand over the source of their work.  That's that code review thing that Apple does on their iPhone and iPad.  But it does say that they're watching what goes up on the "Google Play Store" now. 

Who knew they weren't?

Well for you and I, the safest way to get a new app is to wait for it to be a bit older and make sure it has a lot of positive reviews.  Make sure your virus protection is up to date.  Have fun...

If you want to read their guidelines, and they read like guidelines to me instead of hard and fast rules, click on this link. They do seem to do a good job of writing things people can actually read instead of something intractable.  Some of the technical documents that I have read in the past to do my web development work have been amazingly clear even when my mind wasn't focused on the task.

Now if I could find a decent free web alarm clock, it would be easier for me to wake up at 5:59AM.  A little BBC World Service News with the Pips at the start of the hour while I prepare to step over the dog on the way to the bathroom...

A Little Simple Security Makes an Android Go Further

Android is a strange beast.  

It's produced by Google, an advertising company, so you know that has it's own pluses and minuses. 

It's widely used, and widely rejected since many people get their first experience with Android, are confused and send it back for something like their kid is using. 

It is more configurable than anything Apple produces out of the box for the most part.  My phone announces that "You've Got Post!" by Joanna Lumley whenever my Yahoo email account gets something.  Can't do that without jumping through hoops and installing special software to do that on an iPhone.

It has about the same amount of free software as you would find on an iPad or iPhone.  Plus or Minus.  Roughly.

This is just my personal experience.  I have both Android and iOS here.  I'm currently listening to a Funk and RnB channel on an Android tablet using TuneIn, and that is available on your iPhone or iPad too.  Highly recommended.  In fact I was setting up a Linux Server and wishing TuneIn was there.

It's that new software thing that can be a wrinkle.  With anything with that half eaten Apple logo on the back running iOS, you have one place to get your software, iTunes.  Your software has been analyzed and is therefore expected to be safe from snoops and trojans and viruses.   Although it isn't warranted to be so, it is a pleasant little walled garden that has few of those weeds.

On the other hand, Android is more like a Nature Preserve.  You can install software pretty much from anywhere you like with a few clicks, you can unlock the device, "root" the device to gain full and complete control like a Mad Scientist (Boo!) and generally run wild.  Think "Jailbreaking" on iOS.

I will say that when I had Jailbroke my iPhone, shortly thereafter I installed an app that grabbed hold of the phone and began to do wonderful things for me like serve out spam.  It's unlocked but no longer jailbroke.

Every one of my Android devices are rooted.  It gives me complete control and allows me to use a program called Titanium Backup to completely back every last bit of that device up to a chip.  In fact I spent last night upgrading my tablet in order to have the latest software because it was nagging me to do so.

Am I on that proverbial Tightrope without a Net?  Why hasn't my tablet become a server for Russian Marital Aids?

I am not completely sure but I do practice some very basic security measures.  Those Security Measures are basic and form my safety net.

• I have a scanner on the thing called "Lookout Security".  It will even tell me where the machine is if lost and completely lock it down if stolen.  There are others, such as Sophos Mobile Security.  Check them both out and see which one is for you.

• I only install software from the Google Play store.  Think iTunes, but it is all web based.  There's a little shopping bag icon with a couple of abstract triangles that you tap.  Once launched, there goes a half hour as I'm looking for new "toys" and shiny objects to play with.  Amazon also has its own software library.  I'm avoiding that one since there are problems with changing devices using Amazon.

• I always, let me repeat this, ALWAYS check the reviews on the app.  If there are few reviews or the reviews are all positive I skip the app.  Here is a place it is best to step back and let "the other guy" take the bullet for you by testing the software out first. 

Like I said, Basic.  You can use a tablet just like your laptop, many do.  It just takes a little forethought to make sure that you're doing so safely.  When you're through you can relax, go play, and have a bit of fun with these things and not fret.  After all, making your life easier so you can have fun is what they're all about.

Typing With Your Voice using Google Voice Typing

This would be the first time I've ever tried to write a blog posting without ever typing. This is also third time that I've ever tried use Google Voice Typing. It's all a little bit like 'Star Trek'.  Instead of sitting at a keyboard, you are staring at a small screen speaking clearly to the program, I'm sorry everyone calls them apps see that didn't work omation point delete. See it's not quite perfect yet.

That was because for about 5 minutes while I try to convince this machine to do some basic editing that I could of done with keyboard. Still, all in all, it works fairly well. It has a little bit of trouble with my accent, whatever accent it is that I have at the moment.  I have found that I can't speak in a normal fashion, I'm doing what the Voice of America used to call Special English.

For those of us who didn't have a shortwave radio, Voice of America had programming where they would speak slowly. Each word would have an audible gap between, and sentences would be spoken in discrete words, one after another. It made for a slow listening experience, but it would make for an easier learning experience for a non English speakers.

I can't say that it's perfect but it's better than nothing. I'm finding that Google Voice Typing is good for getting rough text in that I have to go backwards and re-edit.  It also works better with some programs than others. Having seen voice recognition software progress through the years as programs got better and computers got faster I could say that this would be a lot worse in your situation certainly would of been a lot worse a few years back.

It also would help if I had the documentation so I could read the manuals and figure out how to make it do simple things like a new paragraph or a blank space, you know very basic editing. I think this is basically the pig has already been taught to sing but not terribly well, like in the Robert Heinlein quote: “Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.”

Or something or other like that.  Clearly the pig that has to be trained is the one trying to make it sing, in this case, me.  I will have to go into the settings and tell the program to try to learn my voice.   It should be an interesting exercise of reading nursery rhymes into it and speaking. slowly. into. the. microphone. one. word. at. a. time.

If you do have an Android device, find Settings, then click Language and Input, Voice Search, Personalized Recognition.  That promises to make it a little better at predicting your "turn of phrase".

I'm rapidly learning that I'm not going to be able to do list without hitting the keyboard here and there, and this text will have to be edited on a different machine. I never learned how to use on screen keyboard with any efficiency.  I am a touch typist and I'd strongly would prefer to use a clicky key keyboard that annoys the neighbors in the room any day to touching a dead cold glass service. If you saw some of the errors this was making you be laughing along with me.

I've been told that it's better on an iPad then it is on my Android tablet. I'm not that concerned about the comparison since I don't have an iPad, and the software will only get better as time goes on.  I was told that by an Apple fanboy (you know who you are!) that Siri on the Apple platform is pretty much hands free and you can do anything you wish simply by talking to the machine but that Android is not there yet.  Android is fairly good at what it's doing here, that is other than an occasional mistake it is able to put in text. I'll learn how to use the software better as time goes by.

After all I never did find that manual!  I guess they really haven't replaced the good old keyboard yet for some of us.  I see people hunting and pecking on their smartphones all day long, it just seems slow and a kludge for me, but then again I don't have to use that.  I can be entertained by talking at my phone and my tablet and when I make a mistake I can also watch the tablet type in a dirty word.  Remember, the first words you learn in a foreign language are typically the swear words!

Is your Android Smartphone Serving Up Steaming Spam?

Ok, if you've got an Apple iPhone, this isn't for you.  You have a product that is made within what they call a "walled garden".  Basically one company controls the hardware and the software that gets onto the phone - Apple.   If you want your software to be on the iPhone, you the developer have to submit your software to a review by Apple so that it's not going to do anything naughty.

You know, like serve up a steaming spam sandwich.

Android is a different beast.  Google isn't really reviewing the software that gets put onto your tablets or your phones as thoroughly.  As a result, there is a lot of software that is written by "some guy over a weekend".  That's great, given the right guy.

The problem is that when you have a spammer out there who has a desire to make money through criminal methods, they'll do all sorts of things.

The trick is that you really don't want to be the first person to install a program.  Sometimes, you don't want to be the 1000th person. 

There are a lot of apps on the "Google Play" store that are hacked versions of the real software.  That is how you get your virus installed.   You see two versions of an app and one says it's the full version and its Free! so you install the app.  Open it and now you're a spammer too.   If your device is a tablet computer using Wifi to get to the internet, it's a nuisance.  If you are using a smartphone and have a limited data contract, it's a very expensive nuisance.

So here are a few helpful hints:

• First, make sure that you aren't installing apps that are questionable.  
• Read the reviews for the apps.  
• If there are few reviews or there are a lot of low ratings (1 or 2 stars) don't install it.   
• Check the permissions and make sure that you're not giving away full access.  Most free apps are actually paid by flashing ads on the screen and will require internet access.
• Consider if you really do need that new game.
• Remember, you are safest if you don't install any apps, but if you do you have to take responsibility and do the research.

Furthermore, install an antivirus program and make sure it is updated frequently.  Just like on Windows, you need to make sure that your antivirus has the latest updates.   I use Lookout Security on Android because it was suggested to me by an Android Guru and I have seen reviews outside of the whole Google Play scene saying it was worth using.  Granted there are some bad reviews, but 23 to 1 in favor of the app.

You also should find where to check for your data usage.  On my phone, the T-Mobile app will do that for me, as long as I am not on Wifi Calling.  On newer operating systems such as Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" (or ICS), it is in your Settings at the Data Usage tab.  There's a handy graph there that I miss when I go back to the phone.   It will tell you which programs are hogging up your bandwidth.   If your newest game is now your biggest data user, you have a problem there and consider removing that program via "Google Play" immediately. 

They just put out a newer version 4.1 called Jelly Bean, so now I'll have to wait for an update if one ever becomes available.   Older devices will never run it, newer ones may or may not, it depends if the company that made it will support the older hardware.

For example, I expect "TuneIn" to have high usage since I leave it running playing music all day from a few select web radio stations.  I do NOT expect Solitaire to have high data usage at all.  It basically is a judgement call, it expects you to watch what's happening and control your own data usage.

Remember that smartphone in your pocket is a computer.  It needs to be looked after from time to time, just like the desktop or laptop computer at home or work.