Tech Table Tuesday, April 22, 2014
April 22, 2014
Justin: Welcome to MPA’s Tech Table. I’m Justin.
Diana: And I’m Diana.
Justin: And we’re your hosts. We’ll be serving up a heaping spoonful of all things tech.
Diana: We promise, it will be easy to digest. Well, hello there, Justin.
Justin: Hello, Diana. It is Tech Table Tuesday when we talk about
Diana: Tech Table Tuesday
Justin: When we talk about tech.
Diana: We talk about tech stuff.
Justin: Yes, and this is keeping your device safe.
Diana: Hm. Very important.
Justin: What kind of device are we talking about?
Diana: I think lots of different devices.
Justin: Like phones for sure.
Diana: Like different phones, tablets
Justin: Mm-hm.
Diana: Computers
Justin: Mm-hm. Yeah.
Diana: Yeah.
Justin: Well, they’re all interchangeable these days almost, right?
Diana: Almost.
Justin: So, you know, this is one of those things which I always do. I don’t know any other way around this, but locking your phone with a code.
Diana: Oh, yes.
Justin: Additionally choose the right unlock pin. Pick numbers that no one will figure out. You’ve got to choose the right one to unlock it.
Diana: That’s tricky.
Justin: Is it?
Diana: Well, yeah! Because you’re always tempted to do something you’ll easily remember.
Justin: Like your birthday or anniversary.
Diana: Right.
Justin: Well, I remember when I was a kid, that’s what they always said. Use for this, use for that. Use your birthday and anniversary. That was in the dawn of codes. And now, everyone knows that you shouldn’t use those. So, it says, try to pick your favorite athlete’s jersey number.
Diana: Yeah? That’s a good suggestion.
Justin: Or digits that spell a word.
Diana: Right, yeah.
Justin: Or, you know, your friend’s.
Diana: Do a combination of birth dates.
Justin: Yeah, your friends.
Diana: And family members.
Justin: Yeah, your friend’s birthdays or something like that. Something that no one will really be able to figure out easily, which makes sense.
Diana: Yeah.
Justin: Yeah. What else, Diana?
Diana: Well, you can place your contact information on the lock screen in the event that you ever lose your device.
Justin: Ah, that’s interesting. Yeah.
Diana: So, keeping your device safe-, not in the sense of personal security, but if you lose it, you can get it back. So, on your lock screen, if you’ve noticed, when you just push the on button briefly, it will turn on the on screen.
Justin: Right, you’ll see the screen there even though it’s locked.
Diana: Right. And so it’s still locked, and so that’s where you would enter your code. But you can program your device to have text there, and you can have, you know, a picture of course, too. But have the text be something like: Amber’s phone. And an email address.
Justin: That’s interesting.
Diana: Where they can say, “Hey, Amber. I found your phone.”
Justin: Right. Exactly. Because people will turn these things back in sometimes.
Diana: Yeah, they will. They will.
Justin: You know, they really will. Also, never click links through your email from an untrusted source.
Diana: Mm-hm.
Justin: Yeah, which you should never do on any device. In your email, do not click on things that you do not recognize.
Diana: Yes.
Justin: Never click on anything you don’t recognize anywhere. That’s actually a good rule right there.
Diana: Yes.
Justin: Yeah, exactly.
Diana: Oh, here’s a good one.
Justin: Yes.
Diana: Stick to trusted marketplaces and vendors for your apps. So, if you’re using an Android, you might look at Google Play. Stick to that app store. And then in Apple devices, it’s the Apple app store. Because those are going to be more trusted, specifically Apple. They undergo a lot of security and testing.
Justin: So does Google for Google Play.
Diana: Exactly.
Justin: Yeah, exactly. And then never install software you did not seek out. If something begins to automatically download without you doing it purposefully, cancel it.
Diana: Mm-hm. Get that thing stopped.
Justin: Of course, I mean don’t let things download on your device. Right. Yup.
Diana: And then keep your apps and your software all up to date and current.
Justin: That’s right. Keeping your software up to date is very important to you because a lot of times those updates have security updates within them.
Diana: Right. Built in.
Justin: Yeah, and so because they’ve realized there’ s a bug with it or there’s spot, some bit of weakness. And so they fixed it in the update. So, keeping your software up to date is really important. And people forget about that. Or, you know, they just ignore it.
Diana: Get leery of it being okay.
Justin: Oh, a software update’s available and you’re like, “No, I’m not gonna do that.” So, keep your apps and software up to date.
Diana: It’s worth it.
Justin: Until next time.
Diana: Take care.
Justin: TechTable is brought to you by MPA of Bloomfield, Iowa, and God’s country radio. You can visit us online at askmpa.com
Diana: If you have questions or comments, please send them to questions@askmpa.com. That’s questions@askmpa.com.
Justin: And thanks for listening.
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