Do you own a mobile device? Do you take pictures and videos? Do you chat with other people? Do you send/receive texts, videos, or images? Do you have social media accounts? Then, just like everyone, your privacy is at risk?

The biggest threat to our cyber-security is ourselves. The way we handle our mobile devices and manage the content on these devices makes all the difference.

Here Are a Few Tips to Better Protect Your Online Presence:

1- Password Protect Your Mobile Device!

Limit access to your mobile devices, and don’t share your password.
Choose a complex password, activate face-ID, enable the wipe-my-phone feature to auto-erase your phone after numerous failed password attempts.

2- Do Not Share Your iCloud, Google Account Passwords!

Your iCloud password (iPhone) or your Google Password is not just used to set up your mobile device, this is your master password.
Sharing this password means giving remote access to all your personal data: Picture, contacts, chats, files, cloud storage, and more. Sharing this password is like giving your home keys to a complete stranger.

3- Clear Your Phone Before Sending it for Repair!

I’ve seen people share their passwords with the phone repair guy!
If you absolutely have to share your device, make sure to remove all your pics, delete chats/notes, and log out of social media apps before sharing your mobile device. Reset your passwords directly after retrieving your phone and set up two-factor authentication.

4- Stop Saving Your Passwords on Notes and Memo Apps!

Nothing drives me crazy more than seeing people’s passwords unsecured and publicly displayed on their devices. People just don’t realize that their privacy, confidentiality, and money are at risk. Passwords should never be stored on the notes and memo apps but rather on specialized secure software (i.e., 1Password, Lastpass, Dashlane, etc.).

Here are a few tips on how to better choose a password:

– Stop using 123456″ or “password” as your password.
– Don’t use your name, names of your family members or birthdays
– Passwords should be at least 8-10 digits long. Make sure you are using lowercase, uppercase, and numbers together. example: Tyi8r32wQ$#@s
– Don’t use the same password across your different accounts
– Use random passwords generated by your password managers
– Use 2 step password protection when available
– Update and change your password regularly
– Use a password management solution/app (more details here)

5- Do Not Share Sensitive Pictures/Videos!

If your photo/video is of sensitive nature, do not share it with anyone, not even with your close friends. Any picture that is shared from your device is at risk of becoming public.
Make sure to regularly download photos from your phone and archive them on your computer, don’t keep all your original pics on your mobile device.

6- Don’t Connect Your Phone to Other People’s Computers!

Many people still don’t know how to download pictures from their devices, they might give their phone to a friend to download the images. This means that for a certain amount of time, that person has full access to your device and data.

7- Nothing is Private!

Private Groups or Chats are not so confidential, after all.
Let’s just agree that private chats are not so secure. What do you do when someone on the group itself screenshots the content of the conversation.

If you really have to engage in a private chat, then make sure you are chatting with a trusted person. Remember to use secure apps like Telegram or Signal. The conversations in these apps are encrypted and can be set to auto-delete after a certain amount of time.

Remember to regularly clear and delete unused, old, or confidential chats.

8- WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal?

All three apps are secure and encrypted end-to-end. But again, nothing is ever guaranteed. WhatsApp is safe and practical for all our daily usages. But, if you are looking for that extra level of security, Telegram offers a secure voice calling system that supports multiple callers. While Signal has kick*ss secure chatting platform.

9- Protect Your Credit Card Information!

Keep your credit card information safe. It is extremely dangerous to photograph your credit card and share it via WhatsApp. Never email your credit card information. Never write your credit card details on note apps.

10- Beware of Hackers and Phishing Emails!

Don’t fall for scam emails. We regularly receive emails and messages saying that our accounts got hacked and that we need to “Urgently” click here to reset our passwords. Before you click, make sure to check that the sender is a legitimate account. For example, an authentic email from Apple would be: support@apple.com – while a fake mail would be (for example) from email support@appleicloudaccounts.com

In Short:
Delete scam emails, don’t click on suspicious links, and don’t share usernames and passwords.

The post 10 Tips to Better Protect Your Online Privacy appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

The main camera is a 24MP set for the automatic shooting mode

The second camera is an 8MP wide angle

The third camera is a 5MP depth-sensing camera 

The fourth is a 10MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom capability.

The design of the device is slick and quite appealing. I love the lemonade blue color, it changes colors depending on ambient light conditions. It also comes in two different colors, pinkish and blackish.

The device comes with a 128GB built-in memory and supports an external Micro SD card up to 512GB.

It has a 6.3-inch FHD + Super AMOLED display, the process is the Snapdragon 660 Octa-core processor, and has a decent 3800mAh fast-charging battery. This product also supports the Samsung Pay mini. 

The device is available in shops with a market price of around $549 including taxes.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A9 “medium plus” level smartphone, it gives you many high-end specs and features that you can find in the higher-end devices at a less expensive price.

The post Samsung Galaxy A9 – The Quad-Camera Phone appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

1- 40 MP Leica Triple Camera:

Delivering amazing 40MP photos and 4K UHD video (check sample photos on my Instagram account)

Rear Camera: 40 MP (Wide Angle Lens, f/1.8 aperture) + 20 MP (Ultra Wide Angle Lens, f/2.2 aperture) + 8 MP (Telephoto, f/2.4 aperture)

Front Camera: 24 MP, f/2.0 aperture. Support 3D Depth Sensing Camera.

2- In-Screen Fingerprint Sensor:

As much as I find Face ID a practical feature, a lot of times you need to unlock your phone without having to hold the device and place it in front of your face. The In-Screen Fingerprint Sensor is quite innovative and practical. You still have the fingerprint experience without losing screen real estate.

3- Multiple Users / Accounts:

This is a feature that social media managers will fall in love with. The ability to set multiple users on one device is just heavenly. I manage multiple business accounts; now, every account has its independent profile (emails, social media, photos gallery, etc.) content never gets mixed up

4- Long lasting battery life:

The device packs a 4200 mAh battery that outlasts most smartphone batteries, even though it has a large 6.39 inches OLED display.

5- Reverse Charging:

This is probably one of the coolest features in the device; it can technically act as a wireless charger on the go, you can charge any other device that supports wireless charging. Simply hold the two devices back to back and it will start charging.

6- Performance / AI:

The device comes with the latest Kirin 980 chipset, that delivers optimum performance and an impressive AI, it can also support 8 GB RAM + 256 GB ROM with the possibility to add a Nano-Memory card that supports up to 256 GB of additional memory

7- Video Cinema Effects / AI Filters:

With the support of an advanced AI system, you can now create video effects on the go that previously needed equipment and professional software to be done. You’ll have lots of fun shooting videos from now on.

Overall this is a solid, high performance and reliable device, I highly recommend it.

The post 7 things I love about the Huawei Mate 20 Pro appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

iPhone 8 Overall Features

The iPhone 8 is a splash, water, and dust resistant phone. It has the A11 Bionic chip that delivers laptop-grade monster performance. The 4.7-inch device comes in two storage capacities 64GB / 256GB, as well as three colors Gold, Silver, and Space Gray. Apple is still using the lightning connector; I was expecting a transition to USB-C especially that it has become the norm on the new MacBook Pros and with other mobile Android-based brands.

Camera

The camera got a complete makeover. The new 12MP sensor coupled with the A11 bionic processor and an enhanced image stabilizer means that it will deliver stunning results.

The back camera has a f/1.8; that will make it perform a lot better in low light conditions. The camera shoots in HDR mode by default. HDR balances the picture between the darkest dark and the lights light to avoid an over/under-exposed image.

A noticeable element is the fact that images now are more vivid and colorful, This is something that Instagrammers will love and appreciate.

The selfie cam is better, although its only a 7MP camera, the iPhone front camera has always out-performed other devices especially in low light conditions even if they packed a bigger MP count.

Video

Shooting movies on the iPhone has always produced good results, and it will continue to do so with the new features. You can now shoot 4K videos at 60 frames/sec, and slow-motion videos at 1080p.

You can even adjust your frame rate to 24 frames/sec; Video producers and TV correspondents in Europe and other parts of the PAL world will love this as they occasionally use their iPhones to create on-the-move content for TV and web.

Glass Design

The all-glass phone makes it a much prettier phone, but your chances of scratching or breaking your phone are much higher now. The funny thing is that most people don’t get to enjoy the look and feel of their devices since it will end up being covered by protective cases since day one.

Wireless Charging

The glass wasn’t made for aesthetics only; it is needed for wireless charging. This is something that you need to take into consideration when buying a cover for your device. Make sure to choose a thin cover or one that is guaranteed to work with wireless charging.

The wireless charging dock does not come with the iPhone; you will need to buy it separately from third party brands as Apple doesn’t supply its “AirPower” chargers yet.

The cool part is that it works with any pad using the Qi standard. Ikea (check out their ads) has a wide variety of wireless charging devices, and there are a lot of good brands that create good quality chargers such as Anker, RavPower, Mophie or Belkin, just make sure to choose one that supports a min 7.5W

Viewable Document Types:

For those who open attachments on their mobile devices, here is the list of viewable file types on iPhone

.jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel); .zip; .ics

Battery Life

Apple claims that the iPhone 8 battery lasts as much as the iPhone 7. Up to 14 hours of talk time, 12 hours of internet use, 13 hours of video playback, 40 hours of audio playback.

Fast-Charging

Although the iPhone 8 is fast charge capable, Apple didn’t put a lot of effort communicating this particular point. Many of the Android-based phone makers pride themselves with this feature and promote it up front. When plugged via wire the phone can jump start and fill up to 50% power in 30min if using a USB-C Power Adapters and the iPhone fully drained.

iPhone 8: To Buy Or Not To Buy?

If you are a new iPhone user or upgrading from an earlier model such as the iPhone 6 / older or you are simply not ready to spend around $1200 to get the iPhone X, then the iPhone 8 is perfect for you, buy it.

If you are currently using the iPhone 7/Plus then don’t buy, put in some additional savings and wait for the iPhone X, it will not be cheap.

If you’re not sure what to do with your old device, there are some services like Gazelle for people living in the US that let you trade-in your old phone for a good price; it can be done online or via a physical drop Kiosk, you can even win an iPhone 8 in the process.

The post iPhone 8 Review: To Buy or Not To Buy? appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

It is now worth the money, and it is finally time to buy it.

When the first generation Apple Watch was released, I was the first in line to get it. I wore it around the clock for a few months until I realized it was a glorified notification device and stopped using it. It was fragile, easily damaged by water and practically useless without your phone around.

When the second generation watch came out, I did not buy it, although it was slightly better than the first one as it was geared toward the fitness enthusiasts adding GPS, workout apps, better processor and water resistance.

Apple Watch Series 3 GPS + Cellular

Today, I am ready to upgrade to the Series 3 GPS + Cellular Apple Watch. With the addition of cellular connectivity, the watch moved into a whole new level, living up to the expectations. Now you can run or swim without having to worry about carrying your phone with you all the time.

The cellular connectivity gives you the option to call, send SMS, command SIRI, navigate using maps, listen to / stream music and more. In addition to that, the Series 3 watch has an enhanced Heart Rate app, built-in GPS and altimeter to track the distance and elevation during your workout, it is swim-proof, you can pair it with several types of training equipment, and you can use your AirPods to listen to music from your watch.

What is an eSIM?

To activate the cellular connection on your Apple Watch you need a separate SIM card than that of your phone (using the same phone number). The watch supports the eSIM, it is a new form of SIM cards, it is a Virtual SIM and it is different than the ones we currently use in our mobile devices.

The eSIM is an integrated SIM chip, one that you don’t need to remove from your device; it will be the standard for many connected devices around the house and in smart cars. When the user decides to switch operators, there will be no need to replace a SIM card; it can be done remotely and over the phone.

Currently, a handful of operators support eSIM functionalities across the world. From a business point of view, the eSIM disrupts the current operating system as it makes it easy for users to switch operators. Let’s hope there are no delays in adopting this new ecosystem as change is imminent. As much as it is challenging for operators, it provides both operators and users a whole new world of opportunities in the internet of things future.

Let’s see in Lebanon when will Alfa and Touch implement this.

The post It’s Time To Buy The Apple Watch Series 3 appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

Technically, phones with an invalid IMEI number affects the performance of the network as well being a security risk, since fake devices cannot be tracked by the security forces when necessary.

Every authentic smartphone in the world is equipped with an IMEI number, which is a globally unique 15 digit number assigned to all cellular devices, it identifies your device within the mobile network.

In Lebanon, 95% of phones are legal and have a valid IMEI, but around 4% have a fake or replicated IMEI.

In an interview with MTV News, Bassel Al Ayoubi (Director General of Investment and Maintenance at the Ministry of Telecommunication) says that all phones existing and operating in the market for the past three years will be functioning properly without the need to be registered.

Tourists and people traveling to Lebanon from another country will have a grace period of 60 days/year before having to register their phones.

If you are planning to get a new phone soon, then you will need to register the device and pay the additional fees.

If you have a fake device, then you will have a few months before you are forced to change it. After a certain period, a small amount of money will be automatically reduced from your mobile account every month.

How Do I Know If My Phone is Legal and Has a Valid IMEI?

A process will be announced by the ministry and the telecom operators in which the user can validate if his device has a GSMA approved IMEI or you can simply check on this website.

When or before purchasing a new phone the user can call the operator (Alfa or Touch) or log in to a specific website (not released yet) to validate the IMEI number, learn if the device is authentic or fake and know the amount of money to be paid since the fees vary per device model.

In short, if you travel and purchase a new device from abroad, then upon arrival to Lebanon you will have 60 days to register your device and pay for it.

If you buy a new device from Lebanon, then either you will go through the same process, or the shop would have done this on behalf of his customers. Of course, this will affect the selling price.

Overall:

I am for fighting illegal and fake devices, but I am totally against charging new and additional taxes on the Lebanese people.

The post Get Ready to Pay Additional Taxes On New Phones in Lebanon appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

The app is easy to use, just set up your phone in front of your baby and open the app. It will automatically take a series of pictures when your baby smiles, all you need to do is to review the photos taken and select the ones you like.

Dimples is being developed only on iOS for the moment, it still has a few days left to complete its funding on Kickstarter, so if you like the app go ahead and back it up so that they make it happen.

The post Cool New App: Dimples – Baby Photos Triggered by a Smile appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

There are a few measures that can be taken to reduce the risks:

– Backup your data on a regular basis either on external devices or by using secure online services.
– Do not click on suspicious links contained in spam emails.
– Never input your username and password on fake apps and links.
– Download apps from trusted sources on the app store.
– Avoid connecting to unsecured WI-FI networks.
– Stop saving your passwords on notes and memo apps (read more).
– Use Anti-virus programs on your desktop and mobile devices.

On mobile, Android devices are at a higher risk of getting infected by malicious software than their iOS counterparts. This week we are featuring AVG, an Antivirus program for Android with multiple security features.

AVG Antivirus for Android:

AVG Antivirus is a highly rated cyber protection app with over 100 million downloads on the Play Store. it offers a free one-month trial of their app which enables all of the Pro versions features, this way you will have enough time to decide if the tool is good for you before making any purchases. AVG helps protect your device from harmful viruses, malware, spyware, and scamware. It scans settings, apps, and games and warns you about security risks.

In addition to the antivirus it comes with a few additional helpful features:

Camera Trap for failed password attempts:

Camera Trap takes a secret picture and emails it to you if someone tries to access your phone three times and fails.

Protection from ARP poisoning attempts:

If you click on a link from a known source, it can often be difficult to identify when you were redirected to a scam site. This feature can identify and protect you from ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) poisoning so your trusted links remain trusted and avoid being redirected to a dangerous URL.

Vault storage for private photos:

One of the disadvantages of Android is showing all pictures on your device in the photo gallery, even if you put them in separate folders. Vault gives you the ability to put your private pictures in a protected folder.

Device Lock:

This feature locks your device if anyone takes your phone and replaces the SIM card.

Battery and Performance Optimizer:

Monitor battery consumption and enable power saving and Kills tasks and processes that can slow down your phone.

The post Featured App: AVG Antivirus Protection for Android appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

I have purchased over the years more than ten long lenses for my mobile phones, and they never worked out for me. Some of them had a plastic body that breaks after a couple of uses due to the weight of the lens/phone, others you get a blurry image.

My friend Claude lives in France and travels a lot due to his work; he always tries to capture long distance photos or even aim for the moon. He didn’t want to carry with him a professional camera all day long. So we looked around and found this gadget.

An 18x mobile phone telephoto optical lens with a universal adapter that works with most one camera smartphones. Note: It will not function with the iPhone 7 Plus or the dual lens Huawei phones.

Given that this lens is a cheaply produced Chinese gadget, you might find it in different prices varying from $30 to $60 and on various online stores such as AliExpress and others

The cool thing about it is that you will manage to get decent long distance pictures using the lens. The downside is that you need to be patient while taking a photo, as its tripod is not stable enough to support the weight of the phone. You need to take you time to stabilize it as well as make sure the lens and the phone camera are properly aligned to avoid blurry images.

Remember, with similar gadgets, always use your earphones as the remote shutter release for the camera to avoid blurry photos and camera shaking when you touch the screen with your finger.

The post Cool Gadgets: 18x Mobile Phone Telephoto Optical Lens appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

Let’s admit it, in the mobile-first era; we have let go of many devices in favor of our mobile phone. Our smartphone is now a phone, a computer, a camera, a way to access the internet, connect and chat with friends, a navigator, etc.

Huawei Mate 9 Pro Features:

The Mate 9 Pro is a powerful and performing device; it has a 5.5-inch 2K curved screen, Kirin 960 processor, 4000mAh battery with SuperCharge technology, Leica dual lens (12MP RGB sensor and 20MP monochrome sensor), 8MP selfie camera, 4K video, Dual SIM support, 6GB RAM, 128GB ROM.

1- Camera:

Scroll to check all the pictures in the above gallery. The pictures are not retouched, nor color corrected, only saved in lower quality for the web.

The Huawei-Leica alliance created a hard-to-beat device. Today, when choosing a smartphone, our decision is profoundly affected by the camera/picture quality. I am an advanced photographer; I usually move around with my professional camera. For the past few weeks, I have been using the Mate 9 Pro as my camera and I have taken some cool pictures.

The camera menu is very user-friendly, you can quickly switch between automatic and fully manual control in an intuitive way to get the best out of your pictures. Huawei installed some pre-set modes to help you get better pics in different settings. My favorite is the light painting mode (check some of the pics in the above gallery)

2- Look and Feel:

Huawei is improving the l ook and feel with every device. The Mate 9 Pro is a decent looking device; its curved screen is not annoying. I was always struggling with my Samsung S7 Edge curved screen’s sensitivity especially when taking a selfie. With the Mate 9 Pro it’s not the case. The Huawei Mate 9 Pro is a little smaller in size than the iPhone 7 Plus, given that it packs almost identical features.

3- Home Button:

The home button is very responsive; it is not a press button but rather a touch sensor. The Huawei Mate 9 Pro has one of fastest fingerprint sensors; it immediately unlocks the device upon touch.

4- USB-C

If you have the new MacBook Pro then you will love the compatibility of this device with your laptop. It supports the same connectivity that was introduced with the new MacBook and requires no USB adapter in order to be connected to the laptop. You can use the native MacBook Pro power cable to connect the phone to the Laptop.

5- Battery Life and Fast Charging:

The battery life on the device is quite impressive. If you are not consuming a big amount of media, then it can last you a full day. The cool thing is that if you are running low on power a 20min charge can give you enough juice to watch a full movie and a 40min charge can give you a 100% full charge.

5- Audio and Microphone:

The Huawei Mate 9 Pro features 4 microphones equipped with noise canceling technology to eliminate background noise. It also has directional audio capture for videos which gives the movie a 360-degree audio feeling.

6- Dual SIM:

If you have two lines or you travel a lot, you can use two SIM cards with the Huawei Mate 9 Pro. SIM 1 supports 4G and SIM 2 supports 3G services. From the Dual SIM management menu, you can choose which card is the default for calling and which is the default for data. There is also a very nice feature called App Twin that lets you use two different accounts on WhatsApp and Facebook without having to download additional third party apps.

7- In The Box:

What I liked most about the box is that it contained a transparent phone cover, it’s a nice gesture from Huawei as most people won’t carry their devices without a protective case. Also included a USB-C cable and a USB-C to Micro USB adapter.

The earphones, on the other hand, are an ugly version of Apple’s earphones, they are not practical to use and constantly fall off my ears.

8- Huawei ID:

The idea of carrying an Android phone is to have a universal Google experience across all Android devices. Hardware manufacturers like Huawei tend to create their systems in parallel to Google to backup your personal data and improve the AI on the device. The downside is that this becomes problematic and confusing for users and it becomes hard to transfer data from one device to another. What I do is disable Huawei ID and make sure I am fully functioning on my Google account, this way everything including contacts is centralized on Google rather than split on both accounts.

Overall:

Huawei did an excellent job with this device. In my opinion, it is one of the best Android devices on the market. The Dual lens Leica camera is still unmatched by any other smartphone camera and will make you fall in love with photography and the device.

The post Huawei Mate 9 Pro Review: The Best Camera Phone appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.