MSPNetworks Blog

When it comes to exclusive user features, one of the better-known ones on the Apple side of the house is FaceTime, a video chat platform. Apple has however made certain features of FaceTime available to Android users, but they come with a catch. Let’s go over how an iPhone user can FaceTime with an Android user, even if some of the features are not quite there.

It’s important to preface this blog by stating that Android users cannot initiate a FaceTime call. The user of the iPhone in question will have to start the call. Basically, what happens is that the Android user will use a specific link to join the FaceTime call in much the same way you would join any typical video conferencing call. Here’s how to get your link.

We’ll start from the iPhone user’s perspective to generate the link. They will have to go into the FaceTime application to select the option for Create Link. This will be available in the top-left menu. The user then sends the link to the Android smartphone. This can be done through text, email, or whatever other method you might use.

After the recipient has the link, they can use it to open the FaceTime web application on their device. Since it is a video call, know that it will need access to your microphone and camera in order to work properly. Once the user has added their name to the call, they can join by tapping on Continue.

Now that the Android user has gotten to this point, the iPhone user can see the option to accept or reject the call.

And now, the call can proceed as usual. The call works mostly the same way as your typical FaceTime call would, but with some feature limitations placed on the Android user. You should be able to enjoy your FaceTime calls no matter the device used by whoever is on the other end of the call!

Of course, FaceTime is far from a business-grade video chat platform, so if you’re using it to conduct business as usual, perhaps it’s time to invest in a video collaboration platform for your business instead. These platforms also won’t be nearly as restrictive or as limited by the type of device used by your workers, meaning that anyone can collaborate in the same way.

Hopefully you find this tip of some help. If you want additional assistance with collaboration platforms or further tips and tricks, be sure to call us at (516) 403-9001.

Anyone who wants to prioritize their privacy should be aware of the role the cache plays in such a thing. Your Google web browser—even on your smartphone—will store information about what you search so it can personalize your ads and recommendations, but if you would rather not have it do this all the time, you can clear your Android device’s Google search cache and set it up to auto-delete after a set amount of time has passed.

Manually Delete Your Google Search Cache

First, make sure your Android device is connected to your Google account. From your Android’s app drawer, open up the Google app. When the window opens, tap your profile image in the top-right corner. From here, you should see an option for Search history. Select which deletion option you would prefer from the list, keeping in mind that you might have to verify your identity before proceeding.

Once you have verified your identity, you should see the Delete drop-down menu unlock. In addition to the default 15 minutes, there are options for today, custom range, or all time, so pick the one that best suits your needs.

Set Up Auto-Delete

If you’d rather not mess with manual deletion, you can set your cache to automatically delete after a set amount of time has passed. You’ll see on the above drop-down menu that, under Auto-delete, it says Off by default. You can change this by tapping on the option and adjusting a couple of settings.

After you tap Auto-delete, you’ll be brought to another page where you can set the cache to Auto-delete activity older than a set amount of time. There are options under the drop-down menu for three months, 18 months, or 36 months. Tap Next and confirm your choice to complete the process.

Privacy is a serious challenge for both individuals and businesses, which is why we like to bring you tips that help you get the most out of your technology, be they consumer or otherwise. To learn more about how you can make the most out of technology for your business, be sure to contact MSPNetworks at (516) 403-9001.

Modern mobile devices are a bit of a double-edged sword for today’s businesses: on the one hand, they are critical for the productivity that is required of today’s organizations, but on the other, they also come with the very real chance of security issues. The permissions you give (or don’t) to these applications can have an impact on this risk.

Let’s take a few moments to discuss how you can manage these permissions to minimize the potential danger your Android applications might introduce to your business.

How to Manage Android App Permissions

In order to properly manage your Android permissions, it helps to know how the applications work. As a rule, any application needs to have permissions granted to it. This is what happens when you first start up a newly-installed application. Let’s say you’ve downloaded the latest hot social media application that enables photo-sharing. When first opened, the app will present you with a permissions request to access different areas of the device—in this case, your media library, camera, and the photos you’ve stored on the device.

You can then decide if and when an application is able to access the requested data or hardware on your device. For instance, in the above example, you could dictate that the new social media app can only access the camera when you are actively using the app. You can even limit these permissions to a single-use basis.

These kinds of permissions can be managed through the Settings app, which can be found in both your list of applications and in the menu that appears when you swipe down on your display (look for the gear-shaped icon). Once you’re in your settings, navigate to the Apps section.

Once there, you’ll see a list of your applications, which you may need to expand to see the full contents. Select the app you want to adjust the permissions of and select Permissions. You’ll then be presented with the permissions that can be granted to the application, including what you have already selected. Changing this selection is as simple as tapping on the option you want to use instead.

Alternatively, you can adjust your permissions en masse by instead navigating to Privacy in your Settings and from there selecting Permission Manager. This will give you a list of permissions and the applications that have them granted. From there, you can select an application and disable these permissions.

For Improved Control, Mobile Device Management Can Help

In terms of your business’ mobile device infrastructure, more control is better, which is what makes a mobile device management solution such a valuable inclusion in your IT. An MDM solution gives you greater visibility into how your organization is putting mobile devices to use while in the workplace. It also gives you the ability to manage the permissions that each user has for the various applications they’ll need, as well as other features, such as marking different apps as safe or excluded and the capability to remotely wipe said device.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for assistance in implementing mobile device management into your business. Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 to learn more.

Google’s Android operating system has about a 71.9 percent global market share, making it the most used smartphone operating system in the world. It’s well-trusted, and although the experience differs since phone manufacturers customize Android to fit their device, generally the operating system is pretty stable. This wasn’t the case for a massive number of users around March 22nd, 2021.

Around the 22nd of March, many Android users started to notice their apps crashing.

Not a particular app either. Instead, numerous apps that seemed to not be connected with each other were crashing persistently.

For instance, most users were reporting that Gmail was crashing, others noticed that doing a Google search crashed their browser app. Popular password management app Lastpass would crash for some users every time they tried opening it.

Not all apps were having an issue though. It wasn’t like all of the applications were made by Google, or some other developer. It seemed to affect a wide range of applications from communication apps to games.

Why Are My Android Apps Crashing?

This was such a sudden, immensely frustrating issue for some users. Fortunately the Internet prevailed, and a few users on Twitter figured out the culprit.

Android WebView, a system application that is powered by the Chrome browser and allows applications to view and access web-related content, had a bug in its latest update. This bug was causing your other applications to crash. The temporary fix was to uninstall the latest version of Android WebView by going into the Google Play store.

We’re not going to walk you through that process though, because Google fixed the bug in an update less than 12 hours later. Depending on when your phone searched for its updates, you may have missed the issue altogether.

It goes to show you that, while updates are generally important, an update isn’t inherently going to always go smoothly. Sometimes, updates have their own flaws that the developer doesn’t realize or didn’t experience in the testing process.

It’s important to consider when applying updates—not just to your smartphone, but to any software or hardware you use for your business. That’s why we test updates out in a test environment before deploying them, especially if they are for mission-critical applications. Google solved the Android issue in 12 hours, but that was a massive wide-spread issue. If you are running into a unique, uncommon issue due to an update, it could take days, weeks, or months for an official patch to come out. It’s better to test first, and if the test fails, determine how critical the update was, and go from there.

It’s always important to keep your hardware and software up to date, but always be prepared for something to go wrong.

If you need help keeping your IT maintained and updated, and want to reduce your overall risks for downtime and expensive problems, give MSPNetworks a call at (516) 403-9001 and ask how we can take over your technology and treat it as well as we treat our own.

Let’s face it, most people are glued to their phones when they have downtime. Many don’t look up to cross the street. With this much dedication to their individual mobile devices you’d think that people would be more careful about what they download.

Apparently, that Instagram feed is just too distracting to worry about individual data security. 

 Researchers from the mobile security firm Zimperium have discovered a malicious app that pretends to update your Android device, but is just spyware that can steal almost all of your data and monitor your search history and your location. Simply called “System Update” it has tricked many unsuspecting Android users as of this writing.

What Can “System Update” Do?

The spyware, or officially Remote Access Trojan (RAT), attached to this malicious download can only be downloaded outside of the Google Play store, which is fortuitous for many would-be victims of a malware attack like this. The spyware can effectively steal messages, contacts, device information, browser bookmarks, user search history, and can gain access to the microphone and the camera.

What’s more, it continuously tracks a user’s location, which can be really dangerous for anyone. The app starts spying everytime the device receives new information, which for any heavy user is constant. After stealing your data, the app will work to erase the evidence of it’s activity, effectively covering its tracks indefinitely.

 All-in-all, it is a pretty tough cookie. 

How Are People Accessing This Malware?

You won’t be surprised to learn that phishing is the number one way people are being exposed to the corrupt “System Update” app. Google continuously warns people to not install apps from outside the Google Play app store, but as people’s devices age, they aren’t always compatible with older operating systems found on these devices and start looking for options outside of the Google Play app store. This can lead to people downloading apps that seem useful, but are completely nefarious. “System Update” seems to be one of those apps.

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself

While there have been nefarious apps found on the Google Play store in the past, the malicious app rate is extraordinarily low when sticking to the official app store. Users should also consider questioning any situation where an app is suggested for you outside of the app store, even if it seems to redirect you to the Google Play apps store. You just never know what you are going to get when you trust third parties on the Internet.

 If you need a comprehensive plan to protect your business data from employee impulse and mobile negligence, give our technicians a call today at (516) 403-9001. We can help you with mobile device management (MDM) and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) which can have all types of benefits for your business.

Nobody intends to lose their smartphone. For some of us, our mobile device is glued to our hands for a good portion of the day—it’s hard to imagine simply leaving it somewhere, right?

Mistakes happen. It doesn’t take more than a few minutes to set your smartphone up so you can track it down easily if you lose it. 

The steps are going to be a little different depending on if you have Android or an iPhone.

Prevent Your iPhone from Being Lost Forever with Apple’s Find My iPhone

Enable Apple’s Find My iPhone.

Apple has a built-in service that is a part of iCloud that will allow you to track the location of your lost iPhone in case you accidentally lose it. This is ideal for when it slips out of your pocket in a taxi or you accidentally leave it in the booth at a restaurant. Technically, it could be useful if your iPhone was stolen, but it’s advised that you report a stolen iPhone to the police instead of trying to steal it back yourself.

Another great feature that Find My iPhone has is the ability to delete all of the data on the device so nobody can use it to steal your identity, break into your online accounts, or otherwise do what they want with your data.

Usually these features aren’t enabled by default—it’s something you need to turn on.

On your iPhone (it also works on iPads):

Open the Settings app.

Tap on iCloud

Set the Find My iPhone (or Find My iPad) slider to On.

If you haven’t already set up an iCloud account on that particular device, you’ll be walked through the steps to do so. Make sure you use a strong, secure password that you aren’t using anywhere else for your iCloud account, or else someone could potentially lock or wipe your device on you, and track your location.

You’ll then be able to log into the iCloud website and track the location of your iPhone, provided that your iPhone is on and not in Airplane mode.

Beyond that, you’ll also want to set up Touch ID or Face ID, and make sure you are always using strong passwords. Touch ID and Face ID options are presented to you when you first set up your new iPhone, but you can also find them in the Settings app. Just look for Touch ID & Passcode.

Track Down Your Lost Android Phone with Google’s Find My Device App

Android phones have a feature that is similar to Apple’s Find My iPhone. It’s called Google Find My Device. Just like Apple, it’s not typically set up by default.

To get started, open the Google Play Store and search for Google Find My Device. Install the application (you can also use this link to get there). 

Once installed, open the Google Find My Device application.

The app will ask you what account you want to log in as, typically you’ll want to use the same Google account you use for everything else on your phone. Make sure your Google account password is strong and unique.

Be sure to Allow Find My Device to access this device’s location when you are prompted.

As long as your phone is on, and its Wi-Fi and GPS is enabled, Find My Device will be able to track your phone for you.

You can sign into Google’s Find My Device site to manage and track your devices.

Of course, make sure your password for your Google account is strong, secure, and unique. Otherwise, anyone could gain access and track your location or wipe your devices.

We hope you never have to use this feature, but it never hurts to have it set up. Most smartphones are pretty expensive, and the amount of data on them and access to all of your personal information makes them practically priceless. 

For more information pertaining to your device security and other IT best practices, make sure you return to our blog!

If you’ve lost or misplaced your smartphone (or tablet), it’s critical that you act quickly. Every second counts, especially if you suspect that your device was stolen. Here are the steps you need to follow immediately, even if you think you simply left it at a restaurant or in the backseat of a taxi.

The steps are pretty similar whether you have an iPhone or Android device, but we’ll note some differences.

Step 1 - Assume the Worst

I know, this sounds bleak. While it’s possible that you are going to get your phone back, it helps to go into this assuming you will need a new one, and that the following steps you are taking are to preserve your identity (and your dignity). Getting your phone back will be a huge bonus, but right now, you need to act to protect yourself.

It sounds terrible, reading that out loud, but hear us out. Your phone has access to your email (and tons of other accounts), right? If someone gets access to your email, they can reset any password they want and log into any account tied to that email. That includes your bank account, your social media, your web hosting accounts, and literally anything else. If someone owns access to your email, they own you, figuratively speaking.

Step 2 - Remotely Lock and Wipe Your Phone

If you’ve set up Apple’s Find My iPhone setting for your iPhone or iPad, or you’ve set up Google’s Find My Device app, you can track the location of your phone, assuming it is on and the GPS/Wireless data is turned on.

For iPhones, log into your iCloud account in order to do this. For Android, go to Google’s Find My Device page. From either platform, you can usually get the exact location of your device. If it’s somewhere you recognize (at the restaurant you were just at, or at the office, for example), lock the device and call the location and have it located before someone else finds it. If you don’t recognize where the device is or it’s on the move, lock the device and wipe it if possible. 

If you didn’t set up Find My iPhone or Find My Device, you might be able to find and manage your device from your carrier or the phone’s manufacturer. Here are a few links to use as a reference:

• Apple - Find My iPhone Activation Lock: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201365  
• Verizon - Lock My Device: https://www.verizon.com/support/suspend-service-faqs/#lost-stolen
• Samsung - Find My Mobile: https://findmymobile.samsung.com
• T-Mobile - Lookout Mobile Security: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-4257

Step 3 - Report It Immediately

Tuck away your pride here, you’ll need to report that you lost your phone. If you control your phone plan (as opposed to your phone being given to you from your workplace), contact your carrier and let them know. They can stop your phone from using their network which might slow someone down for stealing your information.

Here are some of the larger U.S. carriers, as a reference:

• AT&T: 1-800-331-0500 or www.att.com/suspend
• Sprint: 1-888-211-4727 or https://www.sprint.com/en/support/solutions/device/report-that-your-device-is-lost-or-stolen.html  
• T-Mobile: 1-877-746-0909 or https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-1211  
• Verizon: 1-800-922-0204 or https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/suspend-service-faqs/#lost-stolen

If your phone is provided to you from where you work, you’ll want to contact them immediately too, so they can take proper action. If you use your phone for your job in any way (checking emails, getting messages, etc.) you’ll need to tell them. At this point, it’s a liability and not only is your data at risk, but some level of company data is at risk too. Most businesses should have the ability to revoke access to company data and email remotely, or they may even be able to remotely wipe the device or the work profile on the device.

Step 4 - Change Your Passwords

Here are the big three accounts to change IMMEDIATELY:

• Apple
• Google
• Microsoft

Log into these three accounts (if you have them) and update your passwords.

Remember, all of your passwords need to be unique, strong, and secure. Don’t EVER use the same password twice. Ever. We cannot stress this enough.

Next up, change out your passwords in this order:

• Email accounts (if you have others besides your main Apple/Google/Microsoft accounts)
• Banking/financial accounts (bank accounts, credit cards, Paypal, merchant accounts, etc.)
• Cloud storage accounts (e.g. Dropbox, Amazon, Box, iCloud, Google Drive, Onedrive, etc.)
• Hosting/Domain-related accounts (e.g. GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Cloudflare, etc.)
• Social media (e.g. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
• eCommerce stores (e.g. Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, ebay, etc.)
• Services/utilities (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, your electric company, insurance companies, etc.)

Expect to spend a lot of time doing this, and be sure to take your time. You’ll want to be extremely thorough and ensure that every password is unique, and carefully document everything you do.

If You Suspect Your Phone Has Been Stolen, Report It to Authorities

We’ve saved this for the last step, but it’s probably a good idea to do this once you’ve changed your most important passwords. That being said, this step tends to not offer much as far as getting your stolen phone back.

Here’s the thing—if you track your phone and it is where you left it (for example, at a restaurant you were just at), then go ahead and call the restaurant and have someone find it and keep it somewhere safe for you. If your phone was stolen, or appears to be on the move, or it is somewhere that you couldn’t have left it, don’t try to retrieve it. 

If someone stole your phone, they are probably aware that you can track it. Don’t risk it.

Call the police and report it. There is no guarantee that they will be able to retrieve your phone (there’s no guarantee that they will even try, even if you provide the location), but it’s still a good idea to report it. It is a crime, after all.

Maybe, just maybe, someone picked up your phone and plans on being a good Samaritan and is taking it home to try to figure out how to get it back to its owner. You can’t really depend on that though—locking it and wiping the data is still a good practice. You could try calling your phone to see who is on the other side, but be extremely cautious. Again, if someone intentionally stole your phone from you, assume it is gone.

If You Find a Lost Phone

If you find a stray phone in a public place, the most helpful thing you can do is to give it to the staff at that place. For example, if you find a phone at a store, report it to customer service. Most people will instinctively backtrack and trace their steps to try to recover it. Help them out by leaving the phone at a location they would have lost it. Don’t try to take it somewhere else to help solve the mystery, you are only adding extra complexity, even if your intentions are good.

We hope you never lose your phone, but if you have, we hope this guide helps.

Today’s smartphones are equipped with assorted ways that users can authenticate their identity, from the now old-fashioned PIN to basic biometrics. However, while these options are available on a wide range of phones, not all of them are equally secure. Let’s look a bit closer at these authentication measures to find out which is most effective.

Does Mobile Security Really Matter That Much?

In a word: yes.

Look at how much we can accomplish with a mobile device. While we’re used to the capabilities that a smartphone offers, it wasn’t too terribly long ago that these capabilities were unheard of outside of science fiction. It wasn’t until 1996 that practical PDAs came about with the Palm Pilot, followed by Blackberry in 2002 and 2004’s introduction of HTC’s Windows phones that we had a taste of what a “smart” phone would look like. It was only in 2007 that the first generally-agreed-upon smartphone, the iPhone, was released.

Just think about the difference between the devices we have today, compared to those that preceded them. While these so-called “dumb phones” were not devoid of sensitive data by any stretch, they may as well have been in comparison to today’s devices.

Now, there are applications for everything, from money management to medical data to shopping and every other purpose imaginable, many of which contain or regularly access personal data. Therefore, it is so important for these devices to be secured… the method by which a user can unlock the device being just one tiny facet of these security needs.

Evaluating Your Authentication Options

Nowadays, the authentication options present on mobile devices are designed to combine the needed security with the convenience of the user. Yet, since they aren’t all equally effective at securing the device, you need to be selective about the authentication method you use.

Let’s go over the options your device may offer and see which one is the best for your security.

Passcodes/PINs/Passwords

We’re all familiar with these authentication measures, as they’re generally the baseline authentication measure for any device, including mobile devices. They also help prevent other authentication proofs from being put in place without the user’s approval. While these security measures are far from impenetrable, they are secure enough to serve as the basis for sufficient security. This is, of course, provided that the user is responsible when they set them.

That said, many users don’t act responsibly as they should, leaving their mobile devices relatively insecure. A study conducted in 2012 revealed that the PINs people used were often of personal significance to them, were composed of repeated digits, or (most amusingly) featured the number 69. Other common numbers were those that could easily be typed in sequence, like 1234, 7890, and the like.

Another study showed that increasing the length of the PIN from four numbers to six rarely added any security benefits, again because of the user. Apparently, the added length makes the user feel more secure by default, and by doing so, gives them the comfort to slack off in how secure their PIN is.

Naturally, assuming the user has the patience to retype their password each time the device locks, this option is more secure than a PIN. Regardless, these options are generally accepted as the most secure option right now.

Biometrics

Thanks to the hardware and software that our devices now support, users can now use their physical attributes to confirm their identity, as biometric authentication has risen in popularity. Naturally, the different methods that make up biometric authentication aren’t as consistent as many would assume.

Fingerprint Sensors: The first phone to have a fingerprint sensor—the Pantech GI100—first launched in 2004, and with the Toshiba G500, the fingerprint sensor became a mainstream inclusion on smartphones. This isn’t expected to change, with projections predicting that 90 percent of devices will still have a fingerprint sensor in 2023, as compared to 95 percent in 2018.

Fingerprint sensors come in many kinds, which does impact their security somewhat. For example, Samsung has started to incorporate sensors under the screen to enable a three-dimensional image to be captured. However, this inherently secure technology can be undermined using a screen protector, as the screen protector can actually lead to any fingerprint being accepted. There is also the concern that fingerprints can be harvested from another source and transplanted to the device to unlock it, so the user needs to prioritize making sure their device is properly acclimated to their unique print.

Iris Scanning: Currently, iris scanning is seen as the most secure biometric authentication, as the iris is even more unique than a fingerprint. While these capabilities are currently present in many devices, many users don’t use them. This is generally because it takes longer to scan the iris, as the user must direct their gaze to the sensor.

Facial Recognition: Fingerprint recognition has begun to be replaced by facial recognition capabilities, particularly with the rising prevalence of full screen displays. With a decent software installed and a good set of reference data, facial recognition can make unlocking a device effectively effortless. However, that’s assuming that the software is good and that the reference images are good. If these images have blights like glare on them, it is harder for a user to unlock and easier for a hacker to crack.

Pattern Passwords/Knock Codes

Finally, we’ve come to the least secure option of all. Many Android devices offer the user the option to tap a pattern of their choosing on a grid to unlock their device. Multiple studies have disproven the security of this method, simply because it isn’t too challenging to figure out a user’s pattern.

In one study, it was found that 65 percent of the 351 participants involved created a code that followed Westernized reading patterns, starting at the top-left and progressing to the top-right. Increasing the size of the grid only led to users selecting shorter patterns. Many patterns proved common amongst the participants as well:

1. An hourglass: top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, top left, top right
2. A square: Top left, top right, bottom right, bottom left, top left, top right
3. The number seven: Top left, top left, top right, top right, bottom left, bottom left

To top it all off, the researchers found that knock codes were rapidly forgotten. 10 percent of the participants had forgotten their selected code by the time the 10-minute study was over. Plus, they’re slower: knock codes took five seconds to input, while a PIN takes four and a half.

Don’t Skip Securing Your Mobile Device

If you’ve made it this far, you’re likely a smartphone user, and as such, it plays an important part in both your professional and personal life. As you have probably gathered, you can’t afford to short-change any aspect of your security, down to the way you unlock your mobile device.

MSPNetworks can assist you in ensuring your business’ technology is adequate for your purposes, and that it has the necessary protections surrounding it. To learn more about our services, reach out to our team at (516) 403-9001 today.

How often do you find a message in your SMS inbox that has clearly come from a business, but you almost have to wonder, simply because the incoming number seems to be randomized? Google has taken notice of this challenge, and so has rolled out a means for businesses to confirm that they are in fact the ones sending a particular message. 

If you are currently using text messaging via the Android platform’s Messages application as a way to communicate, taking advantage of Verified SMS is something that you shouldn’t pass up.

How Does Verified SMS Actually Work?

Take yourself out of the role of a business owner for a moment. Instead, consider the following from the perspective of someone talking to a business as a prospect or customer.

Let’s say that you are inquiring with a business about their services, or a deal you saw advertised, and you are exercising your capability to communicate through text. At least, you hope that you’re talking to the business… each time you have a new conversation, the number it comes from changes. Weird, right?

When a business uses Verified SMS, each bit of content that they send out is verified per message to have actually come from them. Once the message is verified, the user will receive it, tagged with the business’ name, logo, and confirmed with a verification badge.

According to Google, a message’s content is never revealed to them, and all of these communications are secure.

How to Turn on Verified SMS

If you have an Android device, you can turn on Verified SMS to increase your own confidence in your own communications. Doing so is simple:

• Open the stock Android Messages app
• In the three-dot menu, access your Settings
• Access Verified SMS
• Switch on Verify business message sender 

Communication is a key part of any successful business. Find out how MSPNetworks can help you optimize yours! Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 today.

Make no mistake about it, Huawei is one of the largest technology companies in the entire world. It employs over 200,000 people and in 2018 saw revenues of over $100 billion. Over the past few years, their devices have been pushing the boundaries of what is possible in tech all while being relatively unavailable to one of the major technology markets in the world, the United States. The fact is that outside the U.S., Huawei is a major player.

The reason the tech giant has been shut out of the hungry U.S. tech market has been because there are very legitimate fears of collusion with the Chinese government. This is something that U.S. leaders clearly understand. The U.S., who has been at the forefront of digital surveillance, understands that the more data that is tracked, catalogued and analyzed, the more information is learned. For lawmakers in the U.S., providing the communist Chinese government in Beijing an in to collect information about American industry, U.S. citizens, and the like is looked on as oversharing.

On May 16, the United States doubled down. They added Huawei to their U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security’s “entity list”, effectively barring U.S. companies from doing business with Huawei unless they get explicit permission from Washington. The official reasoning? Huawei “is engaged in activities that are contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interest.” Most people in the know have made mention to the ongoing trade war with China being the actual impetus behind the move.

Whatever the reasoning, this act set off a firestorm for the Chinese manufacturer. Huawei’s smartphones run on Android, their computers run Windows 10, these are obviously products of U.S.-owned properties Google and Microsoft, respectively. This means that after August 19, the tech giant will no longer have access to the operating systems their devices run on; and, if you consider all the other U.S. companies they have agreements with (such as NVIDIA and Qualcomm), the decision to put Huawei on the entity list puts a lot of pressure on the company.

Huawei has announced that they have been developing their own OS for a while now, but by having to pivot that abruptly, it will be extraordinarily costly for the company. Since Android is an open-sourced software, they could still use a custom version of that, but they wouldn’t be supported by Google’s terms of service, meaning those customers wouldn’t have access to Google products, including the Google Play store which fuels Android mobile devices. More than any other issue, not having access to apps can sink a mobile platform, just ask Blackberry. In fact, some of the largest companies in the world have tried to create App stores, and only Apple and Google have done it proficiently.

Moreover, even if they were somehow going to figure out the App store situation, not having access to American-developed applications will leave an undeniable hole in the offering, at least in the short term. Apps like Google Chrome, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others of the like wouldn’t be available on the environment. While individual users could still use these services through their web browser, apps help mobile function.

It will be interesting to see what Huawei’s strategy will be over the upcoming months to try and mitigate a massive revenue loss; or, if it can convince the U.S. lawmakers that have taken this measure that the company isn’t in Beijing’s pocket. Only time will tell. Have you ever used any Huawei devices? What do you think of the U.S.’s plan? Leave your thoughts on these questions and more in the comments below.

Our smartphones have become an indispensable part of our personal and professional lives. As such, we often download various media to them that we want to find again later… unfortunately, this isn’t always so easy. For this week’s tip, we’ll go over where to find those files that you have downloaded.

There are actually a couple of methods you can use to do so. First, we’ll review how to use your mobile device’s built-in File Manager.

Using the File Manager

Chances are, your device came preinstalled with file management software. To find it, open the app drawer. You will then want to open a specific application. Based on the device you have, it may be called Downloads, My Files, or File Manager. Accessing this application, you should see at least one folder for your internal storage. If you’ve expanded your storage with an SD card, you will see that as well. While your Downloads are probably going to be in your internal storage, your settings might be sending them to your expanded storage. Once you’ve located your Download folder, access it. There, you will see a complete list of your downloaded materials. While they will initially be sorted in chronological order, you can change this to your preference.

Your other option is to utilize the Google Chrome application.

Finding Downloads in Google Chrome

Accessing the Chrome browser application on your device, tap the three-dot button at the top-right corner. From the menu that appears, select Downloads.

There, you will find your list of downloaded files, which you can filter through using the hamburger menu button and selecting your desired file type. If you need to find a particular file, Chrome allows you to search for it using the magnifying glass button.

When data is so important to us today, it helps to know where to find the data you’ve accessed. Are there any other smartphone tips that we should share? Leave your suggestions in the comments!

There are over two billion active devices currently using Android. Most of them that have been purchased in the past year or so have come with, or have been subsequently updated to, Android 9.0 Pie. With the introduction of their newest mobile OS, Google has ensured that their software powers more mobile phones than any other software in the world. Today, we’ll take a look at some handy tips you can use to get the most out of your Android Pie experience.

New Gestures
In the newest Android OS, Google has built a new gesture navigation system. It may not be automatically turned on. To turn it on, go to Settings > System > Gestures. Then tap on Swipe on Home Button and press the on-screen toggle switch. You will see an immediate change from the three-icon setup of previous builds to a singular pill-shaped icon.

Navigation isn’t much different than for previous builds. Tap the pill icon to return to the homescreen and long press it to bring up Google Assistant. You can now swipe up twice or long-swipe from the home icon to access your app drawer.

Another change was needed since Android 9.0 Pie removes the dedicated button for recent apps. Now users only need a singular short swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open a new carousel gallery that shows all recently-opened apps. To navigate you can swipe between apps, or use the home icon to swipe fast left and right to move through apps more quickly. If you want to clear the apps, simply swipe up on a specific app window; and, if you want to clear all of your apps, scroll all the way to the left and tap the Clear All button to exit all running apps on the device.

In Android 9.0 Pie, the software tries to predict what you’re likely to need next, and offer up actions. If you find it useful you can drag these suggestions, found at the top of your app drawer onto the screen. Lastly, you can find the shortcuts offered by each app by long-pressing on a specific app icon. This includes opening an app in split-screen mode, a major improvement from Android 8.0 Oreo.

Device Notes
One extremely useful feature for heavy smartphone users is one where if you touch your fingerprint scanner (on devices that don’t feature an in-display fingerprint reader), it will keep the screen from going dark.

Most people today use their phones as an alarm clock. Even if you don’t, there are definitely times when using the alarm feature is necessary. In Android 9.0 Pie, when your notification panel is open (swipe down from top) you only need to tap on the clock in the system tray to open your Clock app and manage your alarms.

Do you have an Android phone with 9.0 Pie on it? What new features are your favorites? Leave your thoughts in the comments.