How to Make Your Android Faster

Your Android phone or tablet probably seemed fast when you first bought it. As time goes by, particularly if you upgrade the operating system or add a lot of apps, it may seem to be running slower. There are a few simple steps you can take to improve the speed of your device.

Free Up Space

Your device will run faster if the memory isn't maxed out.

• Evaluate the apps you have on your phone or tablet and remove any of the ones you no longer need or use. This frees up space on the device. To delete an app you downloaded, go to the settings and look for the App Manager. Sometimes it's hidden but just look around for it. Tap any app listed in the App Manager that you want to uninstall to open its info screen. Tap the Uninstall button at the bottom of the screen to remove it.
• Also, disable any apps that came on your mobile device but that you don't use. In most cases, you go to the App Properties to disable an app.
• Look at your photo and music libraries. If you take several photos each time–just to get the best one–you can delete all those extra shots. If you see songs that you thought you'd listen to but haven't, get rid of them.
• Check your Downloads folder. You may find it crammed full of files you no longer need.
• Go to the settings and open the storage page. Look for an "Other" or "Misc" heading. Tap it and you'll probably see a bunch of files that apps downloaded to your phone or tablet. If you're sure you no longer need a file, delete it. If you aren't sure, leave it there.

Go Widget and Animation Free

As with apps, widgets that you don't need should be disabled. The widgets or launcher you use may provide animations and special effect look great, but they can slow down your phone or tablet.

Check in your launcher to see if you can disable these extra effects and gain a little speed.

Close Apps You Aren't Using

Keeping several apps open makes it easy to multitask, but closing open apps improve speed. Just pull up the running apps list which shows which apps are running and how much memory they are using and close the ones you don't need open.

Clear the Cache

Go got the device storage page in settings. Look for a Cached data entry topic and tap on it. You'll have an option to clear out all the cached data. 

Restart the Phone or Tablet

The trusty restart has been a problem-solver since the beginning of the computer age. Put it to use with your phone or tablet occasionally. A restart can clear caches and clean up the system for a new—hopefully faster—start.

Know Which Apps Are Power Hungry

Monitor which apps use the most battery power (usually in Settings > Battery) and be aware of which apps use the most RAM (usually in Settings > Apps or Apps Manager, depending on the device).

Download Apps that Boost Android Performance

Apps that remove duplicate files from your phone or that declutter it help keep the phone in its best operating condition. There are several of these on the market. Among them are:

• Greenify - stops background apps from draining the battery
• File Commander - displays an overview of storage and identifies the categories that are using the most storage: Videos, Music, Pictures or Downloads.
• SD Maid - includes four individual tools—CorpseFinder, System Cleaner, App Cleaner, and Databases—each of which handles a different job. There are also tools for locating and deleting duplicate files.

Turn to The Final Option

If all else fails, and your Android phone or tablet is running unbearably slow, go for a factory reset. Your apps and data disappear (yes, all of them) and the phone returns to its original factory condition. You'll need to redownload the apps you want.

Depending on your phone or tablet, look in settings for "backup" or "restore" or "privacy" to locate the factory reset option. After the reset is complete, your device should be back to running smoothly.

Troubleshooting Home Network Router Problems

You've carefully followed all the instructions in your network router's setup guide, but for whatever reason your connections aren't working as they should. Perhaps everything functioned before and just started failing suddenly, or maybe you've spent days or weeks trying to get through the initial installation. Use these troubleshooting guidelines to isolate and solve network problems related to your router: Keep in mind there may be more than one issue involved.

Mismatched Wi-Fi Security Settings

Seemingly the most common cause of wireless network setup issues, incompatibility in settings between two Wi-Fi devices (such as the router and a PC) will prevent them from being able to make a network connection. Check the following settings on all Wi-Fi devices to ensure they are compatible:

Network mode: A router must be enabled to support all versions of Wi-Fi used by the network clients. For example, routers configured to run in "802.11g only" mode will not support 802.11n or old 802.11b devices. To fix this kind of network failure, change the router to run in mixed mode.

Security mode: Most Wi-Fi devices support multiple network security protocols (typically different variations of WPA and WEP). All Wi-Fi devices including routers belonging to the same local network must use the same security mode.

Security key: Wi-Fi security keys are passphrases or sequences of letters and digits. All devices joining a network must be programmed to use a Wi-Fi key recognized by the router (or wireless access point). Many home network routers (access points) support only one key that all devices must share in common. Some newer routers can store multiple Wi-Fi security keys instead of one, however, technically allowing local devices to have different key settings (although keeping their keys all the same can simply setup and troubleshooting).

MAC Address Restrictions

Many network routers support a feature called MAC address filtering. Although disabled by default, router administrators can turn this feature on and restrict connections to only certain devices according to their MAC address number. If having difficulty getting a specific device to join the local network (particularly if it is new), check the router to ensure either (a) MAC address filtering is 'off' or (b) the device's MAC address is included in the list of allowed connections.

Loose or Disconnected Cables

Sometimes the router is turned off, or someone in the family accidentally unplugs power to it. Ensure power strips are switched on and receiving electricity from the outlet, and if applicable, that any Ethernet cables are firmly seated - the connectors should make a clicking sound when snapping into position. If the router can't connect to the Internet but is otherwise operating normally, ensure any modem cables are connected properly.

Wireless Signal Limitations

Because the range of Wi-Fi radio signals is limited, home network connections sometimes fail because a device's radio cannot reach the router's.

Some people also have had their functioning wireless network go offline as soon as anyone in the house turned on the microwave oven. Garage door openers and other consumer gadgets inside homes also can interfere with the signals of Wi-Fi networks, particularly those that use the 2.4 GHz radio bands.

It's also common in cities for the signals of several home Wi-Fi networks to intermingle with each other. Even inside their own home, a person may discover one or more of their neighbor's wireless networks when trying to connect to their own.

To work around these wireless radio interference and range limitations, change the Wi-Fi channel number on the router, or re-position the router. Finally, consider changing your router's name (SSID) if a neighbor is using the same one.

Defective or Outdated Hardware or Firmware

It's not uncommon for routers to fail after years of regular use. Lightning strikes or other electrical power surges can also damage the circuitry of network equipment. Because they have few moving parts, trying to repair network routers rarely is practical. Set aside some budget for periodically replacing your router (and any other essential network equipment). Also consider keeping some spare cables and a cheap backup router to help with emergency troubleshooting.

Before finally giving up a router, try updating the router's firmware first. Sometimes no firmware update will be available, but in other cases newer firmware may contain fixes for overloading or signaling issues.

Facebook Admits to Tracking Non-Users Across the Internet

The social media platform has been under heavy scrutiny over user privacy for the past month, after it became public knowledge that at least one firm gathered information on millions of Facebook users without their knowledge or consent. 

Over the past weeks, Facebook took various steps towards improving users’ privacy, by limiting apps’ access to user data, introducing bug bounties for data abuse, and updating its terms on privacy and data sharing. 

After Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in front of the United States Congress last week, the company on Monday shared more information on data collection practices that impact non-Facebook users. 

Indeed, the social platform can track people who don't use it, as long as they access websites and applications that do use Facebook services. In other words, when anyone browses to a page that uses such a service, Facebook knows about it, product management director David Baser explains. 

These Facebook services include social plugins such as the Like and Share buttons, Facebook Login (allows users to sign into websites and apps with their Facebook account), Facebook Analytics (offers usage data to websites and apps), and Facebook ads and measurement tools (websites and apps can show ads from Facebook advertisers and can run their own ads on Facebook or elsewhere). 

“When you visit a site or app that uses our services, we receive information even if you’re logged out or don’t have a Facebook account. This is because other apps and sites don’t know who is using Facebook,” Baser says. 

He also points out that other companies offer similar services too, including Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google, and Amazon. 

“In fact, most websites and apps send the same information to multiple companies each time you visit them,” he notes. 

The data sent to Facebook is supposedly meant to make content and ads better. Some of the information a browser sends to the visited website includes user’s IP address, browser and operating system information, and cookies, and Facebook receives the same information. Additionally, the social platform knows which website or app the user accessed. 

The information received from websites and apps, Facebook says, is used to provide services to those apps and sites, to improving the safety and security on Facebook, and to improve the social platform’s products and services. 

According to Baser, Facebook uses data such as the IP address, browser/operating system, and visited website or app to make features such as the Like button or Facebook Login work. Other information allows the platform better understand how websites, apps, and services are used, and to determine what kind of ads to show to a person. Such data also tells advertisers how many people are responding to their ads. 

The information, Baser adds, is also used for security purposes, to better protect users by identifying bad actors and determining whether an account has been compromised. This, of course, only applies to users who already have a Facebook account. 

“If someone tries to log into your account using an IP address from a different country, we might ask some questions to verify it’s you. Or if a browser has visited hundreds of sites in the last five minutes, that’s a sign the device might be a bot. We’ll ask them to prove they’re a real person by completing additional security checks,” Baser notes. 

Based on the received information, Facebook can also deliver better targeted ads, depending on the websites a user has visited. 

Baser underlines that websites and apps who use Facebook services are required to inform users that they are collecting and sharing said information with the platform, and to request permissions to do so. He also notes that users have control over “how the data is used to provide more relevant content and ads,” and that users can completely opt out of being targeted with said ads.

Casino Gets Hacked Through Its Internet-Connected Fish Tank Thermometer

Hackers are increasingly targeting "internet of things" devices to access corporate systems, using things like CCTV cameras or air-conditioning units, according to the CEO of a cybersecurity firm.

The internet of things refers to devices hooked up to the internet, and it has expanded to include everything from household appliances to widgets in power plants.

Nicole Eagan, the CEO of Darktrace, told the WSJ CEO Council Conference in London on Thursday: "There's a lot of internet-of-things devices, everything from thermostats, refrigeration systems, HVAC systems, to people who bring in their Alexa devices into the offices. There's just a lot of IoT. It expands the attack surface, and most of this isn't covered by traditional defenses."

Eagan gave one memorable anecdote about a case Darktrace worked on in which a casino was hacked via a thermometer in an aquarium in the lobby.

"The attackers used that to get a foothold in the network," she said. "They then found the high-roller database and then pulled that back across the network, out the thermostat, and up to the cloud."

Robert Hannigan, who ran the British government's digital-spying agency, Government Communications Headquarters, from 2014 to 2017, appeared alongside Eagan on the panel and agreed that hackers' targeting of internet-of-things devices was a growing problem for companies.

"With the internet of things producing thousands of new devices shoved onto the internet over the next few years, that's going to be an increasing problem," Hannigan said. "I saw a bank that had been hacked through its CCTV cameras, because these devices are bought purely on cost."

4 Tips for Making Your Smart Home Virtually Hack-Proof

As recently as a few years ago, it would’ve been impossible to imagine just how connected the modern world would become — and how quickly it would happen. The advent of smart home technology has made our lives easier in a multitude of ways. Gone are the days of worrying about whether you turned off the coffee pot, adjusted your thermostat or locked your door before you left for work or vacation.

Smart home technology offers unparalleled peace of mind, so it’s no surprise that modern home tech is seeing a light-speed growth in popularity. In fact, U.S. officials have predicted that American consumers will use almost 31 billion of these devices by 2020.

But that staggering growth also brings the question: how safe are our smart homes and the data they collect?

Heyday for Hackers

The Internet of Things (IoT) is designed to simplify life and improve efficiency for everyone, from large business conglomerates to average homeowners. But unfortunately, IoT-run smart home devices can also benefit an unintended audience: hackers.

Last year, cybersecurity leader McAfee reported on a children’s doll that could be used by hackers to open connected smart locks on homes, giving hackers entry. And the hackers’ ingenuity doesn’t stop there; they’ve been able to remotely access everything from internet-connected cameras to digital assistants and drones to compromise their victims’ closely-guarded data and possessions. Some security experts even venture to say that these devices are more insecure than they are secure.

Get Smart About Cybersecurity

Every connected device in your home represents a potential security vulnerability, so it’s important to keep yourself safe. If you’re looking to set up your own smart home, here are a few ways you can ensure that your high-tech space doesn’t turn into a playground for cyber thieves.

1. Use Strong Passwords

It may seem obvious, but strong passwords are the best way to make sure your private data stays that way.

When it comes to generating a password, the longer the better. Use a string of letters, characters and numbers, and stay as far away from “PetName123” as possible. Also, steer clear of random password generator websites; they could just be bad guys in disguise.

If you’re worried about remembering complicated passwords, there are plenty of trustworthy software solutions out there to help. Check with your cybersecurity provider to see if it offers a password manager feature. Alternatively, write your passwords down and keep them in a secure place away from connected devices.

2. Change Factory Security Settings

Most smart-home devices come preloaded with factory security presets. This means that anyone with a Wi-Fi connection can easily decipher the device name and a simple online search can provide a hacker with your factory-preset password — giving them access to your precious data.

Whenever you’re connecting a new device to your home network, be sure to change the device name and password to something that can’t be easily recognized or guessed by a stranger. When considering a new name for a device, be sure not to include any personally identifiable information (like your mother’s maiden name or a childhood phone number).

3. Use a Secure Router

If you’re looking to go all in on your smart home, you may want to consider investing in a secured router to act as a gateway between all your connected gadgets and the internet at large.

These devices can be costly, but many reputable cybersecurity companies have products that include virus and malware protection. They’ll make sure every device that’s connected to your Wi-Fi network is monitored and protected.

4. Keep Your Software Updated

No one enjoys installing software updates, but they’re more important than you think. Updating the operating systems on all your devices patches up any new cybersecurity weaknesses, meaning hackers can’t exploit defects in your software.

Next time your smart TV, tablet or computer prompts you to install updates, click “yes.” It’s worth taking the time to protect yourself from digital intruders.

Your connected devices are meant to make your home smarter and more convenient, not cause you more stress. Take these quick and easy precautions to help your smart home stay safe and sound.