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How to get Siri-like features on Windows Phone 8

How often do you speak to your phone? If you use Windows Phone, it might not be as often as you would like - but in fact there are several very good speech recognition options for this platform. <div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"><div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px"> Although not as advanced as Siri on iPhone, Windows Phone 8's voice recognition is surprisingly good, and can certainly aid with productivity. Some of its native features require third party apps on Android, making Windows Phone a good alternative, if good voice recognition is what you're looking for in a phone. Windows Phone 8 enables you to launch apps with your voice, open communication with contacts, take notes, and search the web. Some apps also allow additional voice interaction. Preparing your Windows Phone 8 for speech Windows Phone 8 supports speech for languages around the world, but to begin you'll need to configure the phone for this, which involves changing some settings and downloading a voice pack.muo-wp8-speech-settingsIn the Settings menu, open Speech, and view the available options. You may like to Use Speech when the phone is locked, so check this box; you may also like to the device to Read incoming text messages aloud, which can be done with Bluetooth, wired headsets, Bluetooth and headsets, or generally switched on and off. Having text messages read regardless of the situation could prove embarrassing, of course. You can also choose between a female and male Text-to-Speech voice, and once this choice is made you should proceed to the Speech language option. Depending upon your device manufacturer and/or mobile network, this should have been configured already. If not, you should see message reading "Speech is off until your language pack has been installed." To deal with this, open the menu and select your preferred language, and wait while it downloads (if you have a metered mobile Internet connection, performing this step over WiFi might be wise). With the language pack downloaded and installed, you'll be ready to start using your voice to communicate with your Windows Phone. For the best results, confirm that Enable Speech Recognition Service is checked. Launch apps with your voice Perhaps the first thing you will want to try is to open an app with your voice. All Windows Phone voice controls are initiated by tapping and holding the Start button and waiting for the prompt. You will notice that some examples are given in the voice recognition box; there is also a help button you can tap for further suggestions.muo-wp8-speech-To launch an app, simply say "Open [APPNAME]". This works for all pre-installed apps, third party apps and even games!muo-wp8-speech-appsDepending on which apps you have installed, you will find that additional voice options are available. You can check these by holding Start, tapping the voice recognition help button (labelled with a question mark) and swiping to Apps. Here you'll see a list of voice commands associated with the apps you have installed.muo-wp8-speech-dominosFor instance, I might be rather peckish after a long day writing, and still have hours to go to beat my deadline. What could I possibly do, with no time to cook? The solution, surely, would be to utter the immortal words to my phone: "Domino's I am hungry!" Moments later I'll be able to quickly order a pizza and wait for it to arrive while I carry on working! Communicate with contacts You already use your voice to communicate with people over the phone, right? Windows Phone 8 features voice recognition tools to open a conversation without manually finding and calling the contact yourself, either via phone call, text message or email.muo-wp8-speech-msgsFor instance, you can instruct the phone to call someone using the phrase "Call [CONTACTNAME]." If your contact has multiple phone numbers in your address book, then you would say something like "Call Phil Work", which would prompt Windows Phone to dial the work number saved for Phil. You might also use the following: Call Phil on speakerphone - dials a number and uses speakerphone mode. Other voice communication is possible. From the email app you can create a New message and after entering the recipient name (alternatively you might choose Send email from a contact listed in People) tap the Speak button and dictate your message. Although more suited to an office or multitasking environment than to driving, these can be very productive, and we've previously dedicated a full article to the various voice messaging options for Windows Phone 8.muo-wp8-speech-onenoteYou can even use the OneNote app to make an audio recording and then have it transcribed within the note! Do this by saying the word "Note" followed by the message. The text version will appear in the newly created note, below a play button that you can use to review the audio command. This can then be synced with your OneNote notebooks. Search The Web Verbally Much has been made of Android Jelly Bean's ability to search the web with your voice. Windows Phone 8 has a similar feature. While there is no problem solving facility (as yet) available, it is a simple matter to hold the Start button and find the information you need.muo-wp8-speech-coffeeFor instance, if I was in Manchester and wanted to grab a coffee, I could say" Find coffee in Manchester" and Windows Phone would connect to Bing to return local results, as pictured. It's also possible to search the web using your voice, although be aware that the results will come from Bing rather than that other search engine. Conclusion:  Very rarely will Windows Phone 8 answer you back. Problems such as mathematical equations cannot be solved and weather reports cannot be dictated to you (although they can be retrieved using the phrase "Find weather in [CITYNAME]"). On the other hand, it has been developed far more than the rudimentary system that was available on the old Windows Phone 7. All in all, Windows Phone 8 voice recognition isn't yet as developed as Siri on iPhone, and is roughly on par with that on the most recent version of Android. This hopefully means that the system - which can prove very useful when driving and in desk-based productivity scenarios - will be further developed with future Windows Phone updates.</div></div>

How to get Siri-like features on Windows Phone 8

How often do you speak to your phone? If you use Windows Phone, it might not be as often as you would like - but in fact there are several v...

9:36 am

Facing RSS feeds clutter? Use these tools to make reading easier

Many RSS users complain of information overload with too many RSS feeds cluttering their inbox. Fortunately, a number of RSS organization tools can tame even the wildest of feed collections. Some of the most effective methods include using "folders" and "views" in aggregators, filtering web apps, and prioritization tools.  <div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"><div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px"> This article covers some of the internet's best tools for organizing, filtering, and prioritizing feeds. In short, by combining a variety of methods, RSS use can be made more efficient, without wasting time with feeds that focus on information you don't care about. For example, Facebook articles tend to plague my RSS inbox, although I care little for it. A simply remedy is to use filtering software to eliminate all incoming articles that contain the keyword "Facebook". When used as part of a multi-pronged strategy, you can dramatically reduce the amount of time spent reading subject material you don't have an interest in.  Ways to tame your wild growth of RSS feeds  Personally, I use Feedly to manage my RSS feeds. Aside from costing nothing, Feedly also offers a wide number of Chrome and other browser extensions. These features turn it into an ideal platform for consuming RSS feeds for almost everyone. In addition to its extensibility, Feedly also combines well with a number of complementary organization methods and web apps. For the whole lowdown of this popular Google Reader replacement, go over to our unofficial Feedly guide.  I prefer using Feedly with automation enabling web apps, IFTTT, and Yahoo Pipes. It also works devastatingly well with RSS filtering apps, like the powerful Feed Rinse. However, most RSS readers will offer the same integration, so if you don't like Feedly, be sure to peruse our list of browser-based RSS readers. Or if you prefer it on the go, catch our list of Android-based RSS readers.  Using folders and views in RSS aggregators  Many RSS aggregators allow feed organization using what's known as "folders". Folders allow the grouping of similar feeds into customized categories. These categories can then be viewed or read according to the reader's preferences. This allows users to lump high priority feeds into categories that can be quickly skimmed or display images and text in magazine-like orientation.  "Views" in aggregators such as Feedly, permit users to view their RSS feeds in three ways: Magazine style, as cards and in list form. High priority feeds generally are best read in a magazine-like style, which includes the full-text and its images. Low priority feeds are best read using list view, which displays only the titles of the articles. "Cards" view offers an intermediate between list and magazine-styles, offering some visual elements with a splash of text.  The process for creating folders varies between readers. In Feedly, simply click on the "Personalize" (formerly known as "Organize") and click on "NEW CATEGORY" at the bottom of the page. After that, you can drag and drop items into each folder/category.  Filters  Several applications can narrow the number of feeds reaching you substantially, using a variety of filtering methods.  Yahoo Pipes: Yahoo Pipes provides all manner of organizational tools for RSS feeds. Out of all the RSS aggregation and filtering apps, Yahoo Pipes is easily the most powerful ever created. Unfortunately, it takes a great deal of knowledge to use properly. However, for its most basic functions, setting up a Yahoo Pipe isn't very difficult. As a side-note, Yahoo Pipes can do some pretty extraordinary things — such as saving you money or finding a job.A0_pipes_splash  Feed Rinse: Feed Rinse can either eliminate, or select articles from a feed based on keywords. For example, if I wanted to eliminate all Facebook articles from an RSS feed, I would choose the "does not contain" option with "Facebook" as the keyword. Alternatively, I could also set the feed up to only include articles containing a specific keyword, such as "Nexus 5″.feedrinse  FeedSifter: Another option is FeedSifter, which functions in the same manner as Feed Rinse. Simply plug your feed's XML or direct RSS link into the web app, and it will generate an abridged RSS feed, which you can insert into your favorite reader. From then on, you will receive feeds only including your chosen keyword.feedsifter  Prioritization tools  For many RSS users, the RSS aggregator exists to put a buffer between high priority information, such as email and text messages, and lower priority information. However, some subjects that you might find in your RSS feeds could require immediate consumption. RSS aggregation software, sadly, doesn't possess the ability to contextually parse its feeds for articles that may require greater attention. Fortunately, a variety of software can provide immediate notifications based on the presence of keywords.  For example, if you need immediate notification on articles containing the words "Nexus 5″, you can configure the notification software to shoot you a text or email whenever that particular word shows up. Out of all the apps out there, IFTTT is easily the best. It can even save or make you money. We even have a free IFTTT guide that shows you how to use it.  IFTTT: IFTTT can scan RSS feeds and shoot you either an email or text message (or both) whenever a particular keyword shows up in your feed. This requires some setting up though. You must first enter IFTTT, select "Create a Recipe" and select the RSS (it's the orange icon labeled as "Feed") icon from the list of options.IFTTT iconsFrom there simply fill out the "that" action, which IFTTT performs upon receipt of the trigger keyword. The final step to create an IFTTT recipe is to click on the "Create Trigger" link at the bottom of the page.  Conclusion  For those of you sick of a flooded RSS inbox and tons of unread articles, fear not. Tons of tools exist that can de-clutter your feeds. In particular, IFTTT, Feedly, Yahoo Pipes, and Feed Rinse can dramatically improve the quality of your feeds. The key to any good RSS collection is brevity; reading a small amount of highly useful information beats reading a large volume of largely useless information.</div> </div>

Facing RSS feeds clutter? Use these tools to make reading easier

Many RSS users complain of information overload with too many RSS feeds cluttering their inbox. Fortunately, a number of RSS organization to...

9:34 am

Tips to restore your iPhone from iTunes

By now, most iPhone users take for granted that the contents of their iPhone is backed up wirelessly to their iCloud account, and they can restore that content if need be back on their iPhone or to an upgraded iPhone model (see this article about restoring from iCloud). But it is still useful to know how to restore your iPhone from iTunes.  <div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"><div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px"> Ideally you can backup all your iPhone's data to your iCloud account, including the apps and app data, Camera Roll photos, purchased music and other media, messages, wallpaper and so on. But if you haven't noticed yet, your free iCloud account is limited to 5GB of space for all your iOS devices. If you start running out of space, you will either need to disable some data that is being synced to your iCloud account or you will need to purchase more space. Quite frankly, I don't think more space on iCloud is worth the extra fee.  I try to keep my data also backed up via iTunes to my computer so that it can be restored from there if need be. Here's what you need to know to do that.  Update latest iOS and iTunes versions  Since you're going to make a backup to your computer, make sure all your devices are updated to their latest versions of the software. This should alleviate any problems when it comes to syncing data between your devices and restoring content to your device if you ever need to. On your iPhone, check Settings > General > Software Update to see if you need to update to the latest iOS. And on your computer, check select iTunes > Check for Updates in the menu bar.  Note: iTunes does not support restoring a backup from a new version of iOS to a device using an older previous version of iOS, so update everything.  How back up to iCloud  Backing up your iPhone's data to iTunes is a pretty straightforward process. When you connect your iPhone to an electrical outlet, it should by default automatically sync with iTunes on your computer if both devices share the same Wi-Fi network. That will keep all your iPhone data in sync between both devices. If this backup has not occurred or you want to check it, open the Settings app on your iPhone and select General > iCloud and then select iCloud Backup.  How to back up to iTunes  You can check the last time you backed up your iPhone to your computer via iTunes by clicking on iTunes > Preferences > Devices.  To manually back up your iPhone to your computer, connect your iPhone to your computer via USB cable. When you open up iTunes 11 in the Library view, your iPhone should be listed under the Devices button near the top-right of the menu. If the device is not listed, try restarting iTunes.  You can also communicate with your iPhone and backup or sync via Wi-Fi, but you will need to connect your device via USB cable to do this first. To enable Wi-Fi sync and backup, check Sync with this iPhone over Wi-Fi in the Options area of the Summary tab. When iTunes detects your phone in future, it will show up here and you will have access to the same functions as if you were using a wired connection.  Under the Summary section you will see information about your iPhone and the buttons for backing it up. Typically your backups will be done to iCloud, but if you want to back up to your computer instead, select "This computer" under where it says Backups. Notice also you can enable an encrypted iPhone backup. This is recommended particularly if you're backing up data to your laptop or a shared Mac.  Note: Selecting Automatically Back Up to "This computer" will disable automatic iCloud backups, and favour your local computer instead.  Next, click the Back Up Now button and let it do its thing. This backup will store all your iPhone's data, including Camera Roll photos, voice memos, wallpapers, password info stored on your iPhone's keychain, application settings, notes, paired bluetooth devices, and in-app third-party purchases to your computer's hard drive. Be sure to keep all your most important iPhone data (contact information, email messages, calendar dates and so on) synced to your iCloud account. This manual backup does not back up your Mail messages. See this Apple support page for a list of all the information that is and is not backed up.  For good measure you should also manually transfer content you downloaded from the iTunes Store on your iPhone, just in case it was not automatically transferred to your computer. To do this, select View > Show Sidebar and then right-click (or Control-click) the device under Devices and select Transfer Purchases.  Restoring iPhone from iTunes backup  To restore data back to your iPhone's USB, connect your device to your computer. Open iTunes and select the menu bar, View > Show Sidebar or select it under Devices in the Library menu. If you're running iTunes 10.7 or earlier, right-click (or Control-click) the device in the sidebar and select Restore from Backup.  If your iPhone has iOS 7 installed you will need to turn off the Find My iPhone feature. Open Settings > iCloud > Find My iPhone. In order to turn it off, you will need your Apple ID.  If for some reason you just need to restore your contacts, calendars, notes and so on, but not the entire system, click on the Restore Backup... button under Backups. Typically this data is stored on your iCloud account.  Stay backed up  iPhone is a powerful device for storing some of your most important information, so ensuring that your data is backing up on a regular basis is extremely important. Manually backing up your device provides extra security when you need to troubleshoot your problems with your device by restoring it from the most recent backup. </div></div>

Tips to restore your iPhone from iTunes

By now, most iPhone users take for granted that the contents of their iPhone is backed up wirelessly to their iCloud account, and they can r...

9:32 am

How IE users can protect themselves from hackers

<div class="stname arttitletxt" style="font-size:1.75em;line-height:28px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;float:left;margin:0px;padding:10px 0px 5px 10px">If you have been using any version of Internet Explorer, you are potentially vulnerable to being hacked. The recent zero day exploit has now been patched with a critical security update released in recent past. The next attack, however, is just around the corner. </div> <div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"><div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px"> Incidents such as this not only are a sound reminder to enable Windows Update and make sure all critical updates are installed immediately, it also raises the question whether there are safer options. Let us recap the events and explore what you can do to protect yourself from getting hacked in future.  What happened to Internet Explorer?  On September 17, Microsoft announced that hackers were exploiting a previously unknown, unpatched vulnerability in all versions of Internet Explorer. While Microsoft was working on an official patch, they offered a temporary Fix it tool, which users could apply manually to protect themselves from the zero-day exploit.  Meanwhile, the announcement raised attention. Moreover, the attack code was integrated into Rapid7′s open source Metasploit penetration testing tool, making the code freely available to security professionals and cyber criminals alike. This move likely invited a surge of attacks, affecting unsuspecting users of Internet Explorer, who did not apply the security patch.  It took Microsoft three weeks to prepare a security bulletin. On October 8, Patch Tuesday, the critical security update was rolled out to fix the vulnerability on all machines that had Windows Update enabled. If Windows Update is enabled on your machine, you are safe; at least for the moment.  Enable automatic Windows update  The first and most important step is to enable Windows Update because Microsoft typically offers security patches in a timely manner. Both important and recommended updates can be downloaded and installed automatically. Users who disabled Windows Update to automatically install important updates, remain vulnerable to malicious attacks until they manually apply critical security patches.  Upgrade to latest version of Internet Explorer  While the recent exploit affected all versions of Internet Explorer, older versions are typically more vulnerable because they lack security features or are no longer supported by Microsoft. Presently, Internet Explorer 10 is the most recent version for Windows 7, while Windows 8 users should run Internet Explorer 11.Both recent versions of Internet Explorer are up to par with competition. IE 10 offers significant improvements, such as a 20% speed increase over IE9. Meanwhile, IE 11 introduced novel features, most notably a touch-enabled interface and the ability to sync tabs across Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone devices.  Run Internet Explorer in Protected Mode & High Security level  It took Microsoft a very long time to release a patch via Windows Update for the recent security loop hole. While a Hotfix was made available immediately, it required manual user intervention. To increase protection from malicious attacks until a patch is applied, the average user running Windows 7 or 8 can enable Internet Explorer's Protected Mode and set the security level to high.  In Windows 7, go to Start, search and open Internet Options. In Windows 8, open the Settings charm, click Settings, open the Control Panel, and find Internet Options. Switch to the Security tab and make sure Enable Protected Mode is checked for all zones. Set the security level to high for Internet and Local intranet.  To access less secure features on sites you frequently visit, manually add the URLs to your Trusted sites and set the security level to medium for that zone.  Trusted sites use a different browser All versions combined, Internet Explorer remains the most abundantly used browser worldwide. This alone makes it a prime target for hackers. Add that it is the standard browser in many corporate environments and you can be certain that any vulnerability will be exploited rigorously as soon as it becomes known. Running the latest version under the highest security standards may not be enough to protect yourself.  While you can never be completely safe, unless you unplug the Internet, your best bet is to use a less commonly used open source browser with an active user base and developer community. Chances are you will not only be alerted of a potential security risk, the community will likely work day and night to patch the exploit as soon as possible. The first alternative that comes to mind is Firefox, the open source and cross-platform browser that made tabbed browsing popular, but there are many more great browser for Windows.  Run Firefox security software & browse responsibly  Last but not least, you should run software to protect your system from viruses and other malware and use common sense when you use the computer. Software won't always be able to fend off malicious hacking attacks, but their algorithms may detect attacks based on common patterns.  How do you protect yourself from security exploits?  Internet Explorer is not the only entry point for malicious attacks. Any software and any operating system likely contains loop holes that are yet to be discovered. This is why it is important to install security software, regularly run updates, and stay alert.</div> </div>

How IE users can protect themselves from hackers

If you have been using any version of Internet Explorer, you are potentially vulnerable to being hacked. The recent zero day exploit has now...

8:46 am

How to find your lost Windows Phone

Somehow you lost your Windows Phone. It might have been stolen, or it could be down the back of a chair in your local pub. How will you get it back? Hopefully, you enabled the native Find My Phone setting before you were separated from your phone. If you did, you can now use the web-based service to retrieve it.  <div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"><div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px"> Impact of a lost Windows Phone  It might be the opinion of some that a lost Windows Phone device isn't all that big a deal. After all, they're not exactly iPhones or Samsung Galaxys, are they?  Well, that's not really an argument. Regardless of the operating system, Windows Phone 8 handsets have a high specification, especially those produced by Nokia. While the operating system isn't so bloated that it has a need for anything above a quad core CPU at present, there are other aspects to consider, such as high definition displays, storage space and battery life.  When it comes to Nokia devices, then there is also the added element of the camera, which is supported by a Carl Zeiss lens and superb image processing software and the selection of impressive camera apps. Phones such as the Nokia Lumia 920, 925, 1020 and higher have remarkable cameras as good as - if not better than - those on other devices.  Your lost Windows Phone might contain your personal data. It might have a collection of recently-snapped photos, vital emails and documents and apps that are a lifeline to your work. Losing a Windows Phone can be as devastating as losing a phone running any other productive operating system - with cloud applications installed, it could be as risky as losing a desktop computer.  Enabling the Find My Phone service  While you won't find any third party tracking apps like Prey for Windows Phone, Microsoft offers the Find My Phone service for Windows Phone owners. The service is the same for Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 devices, and requires that you enable the options in Settings > Find My Phone. The service uses triangulation technology to locate it, so you don't need to worry about having mobile Internet activated - as long as the phone isn't in airplane mode, everything should work fine.  Finding a lost or stolen Windows Phone device  With the Find My Phone option enabled (see above), you can launch the retrieval process whenever you lost sight of your device.muo-wp8-findmyphone-loginThe first thing you should do is log into <a href="http://www.windowsphone.com">www.windowsphone.com</a> and select Find My Phone via the drop-down menu.muo-wp8-findmyphone-mapYou will then see a map, and the approximate location of your phone will be displayed. Various factors affect the precision of this feature; for instance, if the phone was stolen, it might still be in transit, which makes it tricky to find until it stops moving.  Once you know where your phone is geographically, there are three things that you can do to retrieve or disable it.  Ring your phone  If your phone is somewhere close by, the sensible approach would be to ring it. Of course, on the off chance that you don't have another phone to hand, or cannot guarantee you will find it before the phone rings out, Find My Phone offers a useful Ring feature, which sends an instruction to your Windows Phone to play a special ringtone reserved for this purpose.  You shouldn't have much trouble tracking down the handset with this feature, as long as it's within hearing distance. This alert also plays at full volume, overriding vibrate mode or low volume settings.  Remotely lock your phone  Of course, the situation may be more desperate; it could be that your phone is in the hands of someone you do not trust, or has been left in a position where it can easily be found.muo-wp8-findmyphone-lockThe Lock option allows you to display a custom message on your phone's screen and set a new 4-digit PIN that will be required to unlock the device. You will also have the option to ring the phone when it is locked, so that it attracts attention.  Given that the majority of people are honest, there is a good chance that the device will be spotted, the message read and your Windows Phone will be returned. We can think of seven reasons why someone might return your lost phone, so don't be disheartened - your phone may well come back.  Erase your Windows Phone  The final option is, of course, the most devastating. In order to protect your data (including access to more information via your phone's SkyDrive app), you should use the Erase tool to remotely reset your phone. This reverts the handset to factory settings, and will result in the Find My Phone service being unable to track it.muo-wp8-findmyphone-eraseNaturally, this is only for desperate situations, and for you to use the erase option you must check the box labelled I'm sure! Please erase my phone now before proceeding with the Erase button.  Tackle thieves with this native Windows Phone app!  The Windows Phone tracking app is simple to use, enabling you to quickly find, trace and if necessary, erase your device should it be lost or stolen. If you've prepared your device correctly and perhaps sent a polite screen message, someone might find and return it. After all, it's not that hard to return a lost phone.  For the best results with this service, however, you should put yourself in a position of never having to use it.</div></div>

How to find your lost Windows Phone

Somehow you lost your Windows Phone. It might have been stolen, or it could be down the back of a chair in your local pub. How will you get ...

8:43 am

How to sync your files with SkyDrive in Windows 8.1

<div class="stname arttitletxt" style="font-size:1.75em;line-height:28px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;float:left;margin:0px;padding:10px 0px 5px 10px"> </div><div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"> <div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px">Windows 8.1 includes deep SkyDrive integration, far beyond the simple SkyDrive Modern app included with Windows 8. SkyDrive isn't just an app in the tiled interface; it's also available from the desktop. Macs have iCloud, Chromebooks have Google Drive, and Windows 8.1 PCs have SkyDrive. Microsoft wants you to consider SkyDrive your new hard drive where you store all your personal files.  Microsoft didn't just include a Dropbox-style syncing solution. SkyDrive on Windows 8.1 is smart, offering a new way of syncing files that saves on disk space. It's great for devices with small amounts of local storage.  What Is SkyDrive?  If you haven't been keeping track, SkyDrive is Microsoft's cloud storage service. Like the well-known Dropbox service, SkyDrive allows you to store your files online. They're linked to your Microsoft account and can be synced across your PCs, downloaded via a web browser, and accessed with mobile apps on smartphones and tablets — yes, Microsoft offers SkyDrive apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android, too. New Microsoft accounts get 7GB of SkyDrive space, but you can pay Microsoft a subscription fee for more space.  SkyDrive gives you a place to store all your files so you can access them from multiple devices. You won't have to worry about moving files around with USB drives. When you get a new PC or move to a different device, all your files will be right there and available to you. You can also share files with other people, making them available from your SkyDrive account.  Like a lot of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, SkyDrive is Microsoft's attempt at dragging its users into the future as Microsoft sees it.  Using SkyDrive in Windows 8.1  When you sign into Windows with a Microsoft account for the first time, you'll be prompted to enable SkyDrive integration. This only works if you sign in with a Microsoft account, not a local user account — SkyDrive is linked to the Microsoft account you log in with. If you have a local user account and want SkyDrive integration, you'll have to convert it to a Microsoft account.  With SkyDrive integration enabled, you'll see a SkyDrive option in the File Explorer app's sidebar. To save files to SkyDrive and store them in the cloud, just move them to — or save them to — the SkyDrive folder. SkyDrive attempts to sync files intelligently. Let's say you already have 5GB of files in your SkyDrive account and you get a new Windows 8.1 PC. After signing into your new PC, SkyDrive won't automatically download all your files. You'll be able to browse all your files in the SkyDrive folder, but SkyDrive will download them when you try to open them. Microsoft calls these "smart files" — SkyDrive downloads information about the files, but not the contents of the files themselves.  Windows also monitors the files you use and automatically syncs files it thinks you will open.  Luckily, you don't have to rely on Windows' instincts. You can also just tell SkyDrive to sync certain files or folders. To do this, right-click a file or folder in the SkyDrive folder and select Make available offline. SkyDrive will download the selected files — or all files contained in the selected folder — and keep them synced. They'll be available when you need them without any on-demand downloading.  Using SkyDrive on the desktop should be that simple. If you want to move the SkyDrive folder to another drive — for example, from a small solid-state drive to a larger mechanical hard drive — just right-click the SkyDrive folder in File Explorer, select Properties, and use the options on the Location tab to move it.change-location-of-skydrive-on-windows-8.1.  The modern interface  SkyDrive is now also fully integrated into the other side of Windows 8.1. While Windows 8′s settings sync features were separate from SkyDrive, all of Windows 8.1′s sync features are now powered by SkyDrive. You'll even find all the old Sync options under the "SkyDrive" category in Windows 8.1′s PC Settings app.  The SkyDrive options in PC Settings allow you to view the space you're using on SkyDrive, control whether photos from your "camera roll" folder are automatically uploaded to SkyDrive, and configure settings for metered connections such as tethered connections with a Wi-Fi hotspot.skydrive-pc-settings-app  The Modern SkyDrive app also allows you to browse, manage, and search your SkyDrive files. It's integrated with the desktop SkyDrive experience, so you can also long-press or right-click a file or folder from this app and select Make available offline. Files you make available offline will be available both on the desktop and in the Windows 8-style UI.  SkyDrive now allows you to browse your local files with a touch-optimized interface, too. Just tap or click the SkyDrive heading and select This PC to browse your local files. You no longer need to install third-party Modern File Explorer apps.  In Windows 8.1, SkyDrive also offers OCR capabilities. If you upload a picture containing recognizable words, Microsoft's servers will convert it to searchable text. When you search for files using Windows 8.1′s new Bing-powered system-wide search feature, SkyDrive will return images that contain those words.skydrive-windows-8.1-modern-appFetching Files  If you previously used SkyDrive's unique "Fetch" feature, which allowed you to fetch unsynced files from anywhere on another PC's file system, you'll be disappointed to hear that Fetch is no longer available on Windows 8.1. Even if you reinstall the standalone SkyDrive desktop sync program, Fetch does not function on Windows 8.1. It's unfortunate that Microsoft is eliminating a unique feature that separated SkyDrive from Dropbox and the rest of the pack.  SkyDrive: A well-rounded experience  SkyDrive in Windows 8.1 is a compelling experience, offering built-in, free cloud storage to Windows users. It's well-integrated into every corner of the system — the desktop, Windows 8-style interface, and Bing-powered search experience. You don't have to install anything extra to sync your files with the cloud on Windows 8.1.</div> </div>

How to sync your files with SkyDrive in Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 includes deep SkyDrive integration, far beyond the simple SkyDrive Modern app included with Windows 8. SkyDrive isn't just...

8:41 am

How to get digital radio in your car

Digital radio might seem a bit old to some, but when it comes to listening to your favourite radio station on the road, things can prove difficult. Forget FM - how can you get DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) radio in your car? <div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"><div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px"> Coming from the United Kingdom, I've struggled to enjoy digital radio while driving for some time (for those of you in the USA, the attraction is this: you have a multitude of radio stations, local and national, on traditional bands; we have about ten). First of all, the problem was due to a lack of suitable equipment; latterly, issues concerning coverage and poor reception quality have plagued my enjoyment of some superb broadcasts. Regardless of where you are based, the problems are largely the same. How do you get digital DAB radio in your car, maintain signal strength and, ultimately, enjoy trouble-free digital audio broadcasts while you travel from A to B? While packing the right tech for a long journey might seem sensible, should you let poor digital radio reception spoil your journey? Three ways to get digital radio in your car There are - strictly speaking - three ways to get digital radio. The first is a bit of a cheat, and is wildly expensive. Unfortunately, as most of you reading this will be unable to afford to buy a brand new car with audio extras simply for a wider selection of radio broadcasts, it is unlikely that this will prove practical. Second is perhaps the most popular, utilizing your smartphone's mobile internet connection and an app such as TuneIn Radio or perhaps a radio station's official app, to have the music streamed to your car audio system via your phone. There are a couple of potential problems here: the first is potential issues with high speed mobile Internet coverage, while the second is to do with the age-old issue of mounting and using your phone responsibly while driving. The third option is perhaps the most effective in the long term. Buying a new digital radio tuner and compatible head unit will solve many of the problems with using a smartphone and is of course considerably cheaper than buying a new car. However, while a new radio might come with various multimedia options in addition to the DAB receiver (such as a connector for your smartphone, an SD card slot or a USB port), this approach can be affected by problems with reception. It should be noted that DAB radios are available that can be mounted in your car that transmit the audio to your existing car stereo on the FM band. However these devices are needlessly expensive, often frustrating and still require a new antenna. As such, they are best avoided. We'll ignore any further focus on buying a new car - there are plenty of other sites offering assistance in that area - and look at using smartphones and improving reception on an in-car DAB receiver. Using your smartphone for digital radio Over the course of several Android and Windows Phones, this was the approach I used between passing my test in 2009 (yes, I'm a late developer) and finally getting a DAB receiver at the end of 2012.muo-dab-tunein-wp8There are several apps that you can use to enjoy digital radio stations - albeit streamed via the internet - on your smartphone. As mentioned above, these include TuneIn Radio, which is probably the best option on all popular mobile platforms (although if you have a better suggestion, let us know in the comments).Using your smartphone to stream digital radio through your car's audio system is a good option if the cost of a new DAB car radio is considered prohibitive, or if you're concerned about theft. However, be aware that whenever you drive through areas with poor mobile phone coverage (such as areas of the countryside with sparse cell tower numbers) you'll find that your ability to enjoy streamed radio will be restricted. To avoid this, you should focus your enjoyment to urban areas, and prepare alternative entertainment for when radio is unavailable. One way around this, if you enjoy a particular show, is to check whether or not a podcast version is available, and subscribe to this. Buying a new radio? You may need a new antenna In 2012, I was fortunate enough to get a new car stereo, complete with DAB receiver and head unit. At last I was able to enjoy digital radio in my car! Well, nearly. The problem is that in older cars, the built-in aerial is often unsuitable for digital radio signals. This might be because of the quality of the aerial is poor. More likely, however, it will be because the digital signal is filtered out between the aerial and the back of your analogue car radio. To overcome this, there are a couple of options. One is to fit an adaptor that retains the digital signal and splits it off into a separate connector for your new digital radio receiver. You can pick these up relatively inexpensively online (such as on Amazon, eBay or a specialist retailer) but you should research your car stereo model so that you choose the right adaptor. Also, be aware that such equipment can be unreliable. The second option is to fit a new antenna intended for collecting digital signals. This might be the antenna that ships with your new receiver (this was how I solved my reception problem), or if no such equipment was included, you might need to spend money on a third party antenna. For the best results, avoid glass-mounted (like the one pictured above from Amazon) or interior antennae in favour of ones that can be mounted externally with a magnet or with some minor customization to your car's bodywork. If you've previously used a smartphone for streaming digital radio on the Internet, you will already be aware that there are areas where the signal can drop out. The same is true for a digital radio receiver, so spending time and money on getting the best reception is well worth it. How do you listen to digital radio in your car? Listening to digital radio is not only a way to enjoy good sound quality - it's also a method of giving yourself as wide a choice of music and talk radio as possible. Using a dashboard-mounted smartphone or tablet is one way to enjoy digital radio in your car (in this case streamed over the Internet); using a DAB radio receiver is perhaps the best option.</div></div>

How to get digital radio in your car

Digital radio might seem a bit old to some, but when it comes to listening to your favourite radio station on the road, things can prove dif...

8:38 am

Tips to deal with CryptoLocker malware

Ransomware is an especially odious type of malware. The way it works is simple. Your computer will be infected with some malicious software. That software then renders your computer entirely unusable, sometimes purporting to be from local law enforcement and accusing you of committing a computer crime or viewing explicit pictures of children. It then demands monetary payment, either in the form of a ransom or a 'fine' before access to your computer is returned.  <div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"><div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px"> Horrible, isn't it? Well, get ready to meet CryptoLocker; the evil patriarch of the Ransomware family.  What is CryptoLocker?  CryptoLocker is a piece of malware targeting computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system. It is typically spread as an email attachment, often purporting to be from a legitimate source (including Intuit and Companies House). Some say it is also being spread through the ZeuS botnet.  Once installed on your computer, it systematically encrypts all documents that are stored on your local computer, as well as ones that are stored on mapped network drives and mounted removable storage.  The encryption used is strong, 2048 bit RSA, with the decryption key for your files being stored on a remote server. The odds of you being able to break this encryption is almost nonexistent. If you want to get your files back, CryptoLocker asks for you to fork over some cash; either two bitcoins (At the time of writing, worth almost USD $380) or $300 in either MonkeyPak or Ukash prepaid cards. If you don't pay within three days, the decryption key is deleted and you lose access to your files forever.  I spoke to popular security expert and blogger Javvad Malik; this is what he had to say about CryptoLocker.Ransomware such as CryptoLocker is not something very new - variations of Ransomware have been around for years. When you look at CryptoLocker, it predominantly comes in via phishing emails (from what I've seen). The best way to protect against it is for users to be vigilant against clicking on links within emails. Currently, it looks like there's not much that can be done once infected and I wouldn't advice anyone to pay the ransom. It goes back to having backups and data management in place.  Mitigating against it  Reports suggest that some security programs have had a hard time of preventing CryptoLocker from getting its claws onto your system before it's too late. Fortunately, American security expert Nick Shaw has created a handy piece of software called CryptoPrevent (free). This applies a number of settings to your installation of Windows that prevents CryptoLocker from ever executing and has been proven to work in Windows XP and Windows 7 environments.  It's also worth making sure that you check emails to see if they're suspect before you open up any email attachments. Do they have an email address that matches up with the purported sender? Were you expecting any correspondence from them? Is the spelling and grammar consistent with what you'd expect from the genuine sender? These are all reasons to be suspicious of an email and to think twice about poking in any attachments.  Having proper backup  In these circumstances, I'd encourage everyone to make regular backups that are isolated from your computer. Using a networked backup solution will be utterly ineffective, as CryptoLocker has been known to encrypt data stored on these volumes.cryptolocker-backup  If you use a cloud backup service like Carbonite, you can take comfort in knowing the odds are good that your files are versioned. That means if you back up an encrypted copy of a file you care about, you can revert to an earlier version. An employee of Carbonite posted this advice on Reddit.  I work for Carbonite on the operations team, and I can confirm this for most cases - I will also offer these two pieces of advice: 1) If you are affected by the virus, you should disable or uninstall Carbonite as soon as possible. If you stop backing up the files, it's more likely that Carbonite will not have overwritten a "last known good" backup set. There is a high risk of some recent data loss (you're effectively going back in time, so if we have no record of the file existing at a previous time, you won't get it back) with this method, but it's far, far better than losing all of your files. 2) When you call customer support, which you should do as soon as possible, specifically mention that you are infected with cryptolocker. It was mentioned in the post above, but I just wanted to put emphasis on it because it'll get you through the queue faster.  Edit: also, just to state the obvious, make doubly sure the infection is off your machine before you call support, please.  Should you pay the ransom?  What if your computer gets compromised? It goes without saying that brute forcing a file encrypted with 2048 bit encryption is almost impossible. Noted computer security firm Sophos has looked at a number of files that have been encrypted by this particular malware and has failed to notice any obvious means in which they can be decrypted without forking over a ransom.  With that in mind, the only way to get your data back is by paying the ransom. However, this poses a major ethical dilemma. By paying the ransom, you make this type of chicanery profitable and therefore perpetuate it. However, if you don't pay the ransom, you forever lose access to everything you've been working on which is stored on your computer.  What further complicates things is that it is impossible to ascertain who would be the recipient of any money paid. It may something so simple as a single person working from his bedroom looking to get rich at the expense at others, or it might be something much more sinister. </div> </div>

Tips to deal with CryptoLocker malware

Ransomware is an especially odious type of malware. The way it works is simple. Your computer will be infected with some malicious software....

8:35 am

4 ways to better use your smartphone camera

How often do you use your smartphone camera? With every new model that comes out, it seems like camera quality is often a huge selling point. But do you take advantage of those advancements? There are a lot of neat uses for that camera you carry around everywhere regardless of whether it's the latest and greatest or three years old. <div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"><div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px"> Personally, I use my smartphone camera maybe once or twice a year. It's pretty sad and a waste of potential, so I've been interested in figuring out how to make better use of it. If you're in the same boat as me, you may be surprised to find out that your smartphone camera is great for more than just family photos and Instagram filters. Makeshift scanner Based on what I've seen, scanners have started disappearing from homes. The only scanners I've seen are the printer-fax-scanner all-in-one machines for home offices which are bulky and eat up space. What if you don't have a scanner and want to scan a document? Nowadays, your phone camera is good enough to do that for free. With apps like CamScanner (Android, our review), Document Scanner (Android), and Genius Scan (iPhone), you can take photos of various documents and images and instantly transform them into PDFs that are ready for office consumption. In most cases, the final document quality is on par or better than home office scanners. Makeshift webcam or security cam Nowadays, most laptops and netbooks come with integrated webcams and some monitors even have webcam capabilities. However, if you don't have a webcam, you can buy a passable one these days for less than $20 if you look in the right places - or you can just hook up your smartphone and use its camera instead. There are a lot of smartphone-as-webcam apps out there, both for Android and iPhone, and the level of setup difficulty varies depending on which app you use. However, on the whole, it's pretty simple. Use your Android as a webcam or use your iPhone as a webcam, then tell us how it went and how you like it! By using your smartphone as a webcam, you could even turn it into a security cam. This can be useful in a number of situations, whether it's to watch for night intruders at home, keep tabs on your children as they sleep, or just as an extra set of eyes for various corridors at work. Proof and documentation Many of us probably know that camera photos can be useful as evidence when something goes wrong, but how many of us actually use our smartphones for that purpose? The most common example that I've heard is in the case of a car accident (snap photos of the damage and the offender's license plate), but this could be applied in so many other ways. For example, if you frequently sell items online, snap photos of the product just before shipping so you have evidence. Not only does this protect you against a buyer's retaliation, it can be used as proof against the shipping company. If you ever rent something, snap photos of any potentially incriminating marks, dents, and damages, no matter how insignificant they may seem. If you document the state of your rental at the start of your renting agreement, you can protect yourself against those who want to pull a fast one on you. This is applicable for vehicles, apartments, etc. For more personal examples, you could use smartphone photos to document any disassembly you do. When you take apart an electronic or mechanical device for the first time, these photos could prove invaluable when it's time to put things back together. And then there's price matching. If you visit a store with a robust price matching policy, you may be able to present photos of a cheaper price from another store and get them to match. Memory aid Photos were originally meant to capture a moment in time as a memory, so why not use your smartphone camera to help you remember mundane details that you might normally forget? Doing so might reduce the amount of inconvenience in your life. Before you leave on an extended trip, take a photo of all of your luggage and everything inside each bag or case. At the end of your trip, review these photos to make sure you have everything and aren't forgetting anything. Quick and easy, isn't it? Similarly, if you park in a multi-story parking garage, you could snap a photo of location signs to help you remember where you parked your car. No matter how good your memory is, there are times when you'll blank and forget where you parked. Save time and energy with a photo. "Are you taking any medication?" You'll hear this a lot when filling out medical forms or whenever you go in for a hospital checkup, but sometimes it can be hard to remember everything you're on. Take a picture of your medicine cabinet so you can pull it out whenever you need to know. Who knows, it may even save your life one day. Conclusion There is nothing wrong with taking photos of a family event or your latest trip to the beach, but your smartphone can be used for so much more than that. A few creative applications can turn your smartphone camera from an afterthought into a tool that makes your life easier - even the old spare smartphones that seem useless.</div> </div>

4 ways to better use your smartphone camera

How often do you use your smartphone camera? With every new model that comes out, it seems like camera quality is often a huge selling point...

8:32 am