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Episode 1783 March 28, 2021

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Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How Can I Get My Company to Password Protect Its Files?

Watch Karen from California Comments

Karen's work stores their data up in the cloud, but her boss wants to password protect all files because he isn't thrilled with anyone in the company having access to all their data on One Drive. Leo says that Microsoft's Sharepoint is a collaborative security service, which allows companies to provide permissions to folders, files, and other data. Microsoft One Drive for Business also has that feature. 

Why Is My Phone's GPS to Inaccurate?

Watch Bob from Warren, PA Comments

Bob is having issues with Google Assistant and the GPS in the Google Pixel 5. The accuracy is terrible. You can ask GA where you are, and it'll tell you your home address. Leo says it sounds like the phone isn't getting a GPS lock, and as such, the phone's GPS isn't able to get a track. GPS needs three satellites to triangulate your location. It could be the GPS radio isn't that good, or it's lagging. There is a switch for accuracy in the location services menu of the phone. You can make sure the slider is reflecting high accuracy as well. Turning on WIFI can also help because it can triangulate using hotspots. Also, try restarting your mobile phone or recalibrate your compass. Or maybe even doing a factory reset.

But it sounds like the GPS radio just isn't working right and could be defective. One other option is to get a GPS Dongle. You can get them on Amazon. 

From the chatroom - here's an article from GadgetFeatures.com on how to fix the Pixel 5 GPS issue. There are other articles here and here.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How Can I Make Ring Tones for My iPhone?

Watch Angela from Nova Scotia, Canada Comments

Angela has a Mac running Big Sur and an iPhone. She used to be able to get Ring Tones using an app called Ring Toner. But it doesn't work anymore with Big Sur. Leo says you can make your own ring tones with Garage Band. There's no need to use a third-party app to do it.  Garage Band is also available for the iPhone so that you can do it directly from your phone. Leo's TWiT show, Hands-on Mac Episode 19, will show you how to make a ring tone using the Apple Music app.

Third-party app options include Ringtones Maker.

How Can I Download Data From an Old Android Phone?

Watch Duane from Walnut, CA Comments

Duane has a 2010 Android phone and wants to know how to download information to a PC. Leo says you can connect it to your PC, and it could show up as a hard drive. If not, look for a program called Android File Transfer. It's free. The phone will pop up, and you can copy anything off it. If you can't do that, you can probably sync to Google Drive online and get the data there. Samsung also has a program called KIES that will do it for Samsung phones.

Why Are the Keys in My New Keyboard Sticking?

Watch Phil from Arvada, CO Comments

Phil plugged in a new Logitech wireless keyboard, but now he has a problem with repeating keys. Leo says it should recognize it as a standard keyboard device. It's most likely a physical defect that's causing the keyboard to be stuck in key repeat. You may want to look in the settings to turn up key repeat delay. That'll be a setting in Windows, under Keyboards. Also, check your accessibility settings to see if Sticky Keys has been turned on.

Is Authy Still the Best Authenticator?

Watch Scott from San Diego, CA Comments

Scott wants to know if Authy is still the authenticator of choice. Leo says he still recommends it. You should always use authenticators for things like online banking. Your phone makes an excellent authenticator device. Google Authenticator is a great app to create your authentication code. But one problem is that if you get a new phone, you have to start over. But Google is changing that now. Authy allows you to save your authentication codes on their servers. Some may be concerned about that, but Leo knows the developer of Authy, and it's good and secure. 

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How Can a Blind Person Become a Ham Radio Operator?

Watch Julian from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Julian is into ham radio, but as a blind person, it can be a challenge. But he's found some resources. With OpenGD77 firmware, a handheld radio can be made accessible with voice-activated menus and more. He found it on a community called BlindHams.com.

What's a Good Email Alternative?

Watch Herb from Rancho Santa Fe, CA Comments

Herb has been having issues with one of his AT&T email accounts just stopped working in Apple Mail, and he had to spend hours to fix it. AT&T uses Yahoo mail, and it's going through a bad patch right now.  What are his alternatives for a new email client? Leo says that Gmail is a great free email client that will also let you keep your existing email at AT&T and go get it from time to time. Gmail also has great spam filters. You can also get a third-party app called Spam Sieve to filter out spam before it gets to your mailbox. 

Does Hotspotting on My Phone Cost More?

Watch Jessie from Orange City, FL Comments

Jessie wants to know if hotspotting on her phone costs her more money. Leo says it depends on your carrier, but most are including it in the overall service now. It will count against your data though. Even if you have unlimited data, after a set amount, the data  bandwidth may slow down.

How Can I Keep Track of My Bank Activity in Quicken?

Watch Stan from Whitter, CA Comments

Stan wants to know if Quicken can download his bank data to keep track of his accounts. Leo says that Quicken bought MINT for that purpose, and it uses the same backend for the data as the banks do. So it works seamlessly and is very good for keeping track of your expenses and finances without tedious manual data entry. Quicken also has an app called Simplify: it's $3 a month when bought annually. The Wirecutter seems to like it. 

Is the YubiKey More Secure for 2 Factor Authentication?

Watch Ed from Fort Wayne, IN Comments

Ed wants to know if he can use a YubiKey authenticator with his iPhone. Leo says it works great with the iPhone. It's what he uses every day, and he thinks that a hardware key is the best two-factor option. How does it work? Leo says you can get one with a Lightning connector or use the NFC mode and tap it on the phone.

Will it work for Linux? Leo says most flavors of Linux, yes. But there are a few that don't support it, but you can add some code to it to make it work. Here's how.

Can My SSD Wear Out?

Watch Carman from Akron, OH Comments

Carman is worried that his new SSD will wear out over time as flash memory does. Leo says that modern SSDs use "wear leveling" to keep the SSD even and extend the SSD's life. It's gotten so good that they can last as long or longer than a spinning hard drive. So there's nothing to worry about.

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