#tech blah

Enable two-factor authentication if possible.

More and more websites are now using two-factor authentication to make sure it’s really you who’s logging in. Let’s utilize this option as much as we can.

Don’t use the same passwords everywhere.

I know, it’s really hard to remember passwords. But if your personal data is stored on a certain site, then remembering that password is a small price to pay.

Use a password that has one of each: small and capital letters, numbers, symbols. If possible, use random characters instead of trying to spell out words using symbols/letters.

Don’t use passwords that can easily be identified.

This is a no-brainer. Don’t use any of your or your relatives’ name, birthday, location, school, etc. Again, as much as possible, use random characters.

Change your passwords often and make sure you don’t use any old passwords.

Make sure the sites you visit starts with https://. You can also see a lock/secured icon on Chrome browser.

Although having secure connection may prevent those breaches, it is still a layer of security online.

Aside from following these, you can also check if any of your email or passwords have been leaked by a data breach by using these websites:

 Have I been Pwned (HIBP) - you can search for your email address or password and it will display information on what, when and where your data has been collected.

pwdquery - you can see here which passwords have been leaked alongside the email that you’ll search for. Don’t worry, they don’t display the entire password! 

/* DISCLAIMER: I’ve only ever owned an android device so I’m not entirely sure if these functionalities work the same in IOS. */

THE BASICS: (I bet you got this on your phone too.)

Chrome, GMail, Maps, Youtube, Google

There’s nothing really much to tell about these apps as we’ve got all of these as our staple apps. I bet even non-google phones have these on default.

Chrome: Play your youtube video on phone lock

If you want to play your youtube video while you’re screen is locked, or basically just want to not open your youtube app while playing a video, use Chrome! 

1. Open youtube.com on your chrome browser.

2. Click the button on the upper left side of the browser and tick the check box on the “Desktop Side” option.

3. Select your chosen song and press the home button on your phone. You will now see the youtube app in your Notifications Panel. Play it from there and continue listening.

Google App: Google voice commands

The most popular phone assistant is probably Siri. But Google does a very good job too! You can talk to google assistant like how you would with Siri. You could also ask Google Assistant to do stuff for you, like text your dad, or call your mom. I asked mine to send me a trivia everyday at 9PM. Try it out yourself!

My Essentials Keep, Photos, Drive

Drive has been around for years now and people are used already used to having drive as their default cloud storage. With google drive, you could also share a folder with other google user and have both your contributions in it.

Google Keep: A hidden treasure

I’ve been using this app since I had my first android one device (Cherry Mobile One G1, CM’s second generation android one device) and let me tell you how useful it is and how much it helped with my productivity.

There are thousands of note apps in the app store but this one would be my ultimate fav. It’s lite, can be accessed through web, and has great note options.

Lite - The app size is just 11MB.

Web access - access notes from your phone in your computer through keep.google.com

Great note options - Save notes, check boxes, doodles, Audio notes, and images.

You could also categorize them with Labels and/or colors! Send the note to someone, make a copy, or even add a collaborator.

This app has helped me so much especially during my time at an advertising agency where I would always take note of a lot of things. You can also pin your important notes on top of the notes dashboard. Or just freely rearrange which one you want on top. You could also use it as a widget and have it on your home screen.

GOOGLE PHOTOS: A SAVIOR

I know we’ve all been through one of these scenarios:

- Can’t download an app due to lack of storage

- Erasing photos on your gallery because of lack of storage

- Uploading photos on facebook (even if it ruins the quality) due to lack of storage

All of these I’ve avoided because of Google Photos. Also have been using this since my android one phone. Google Photos can backup your photos in high quality (as per photos: great visual quality at reduced file size) for FREE and with Unlimited Storage. There’s also an option to backup the photos in original size and resolution that would incur a cost for a larger storage.

In Photos, you could select the folders you want to back-up and have it all uploaded while you’re connected to the internet. (MAKE SURE YOU’RE ON WIFI!) This could also be be accessed on web through photos.google.com.

Photos also has an assistant that would show you photos you’ve taken that day last year, would show you collages of your recent trip photos, and sometimes even beautified and edited photos. 

Sharing could also be easier as you could easily segregate or copy your photos in different folders and share them through a link that can be accessed even without google account. You also have an option to specify which users can access that link.

We are in a time where we could watch people live through our screens. And with the rate that the technology of our world is evolving, we should catch up and utilize the good things it has to offer.