Motorola changed the way users interact with their devices when they introduced their "always listening" feature on the Moto X. When I first saw it demoed, I couldn't wait to get the same functionality on one of my handsets, and now that has finally come to fruition.
Getting things done isn't easy when you're bombarded with alert sounds and notifications all day long on your Mac. Here's how you can quickly remove those distractions with just a single click.
With all of the cool new animations and features in the upcoming Android 5.0 Lollipop release, some pretty awesome system apps may have been overlooked amidst the fanfare. Most noticeably, a new Messenger app was added to the OS, containing many touches of Material Design.
It's becoming more and more apparent that Siri continually drops the ball when it comes to lock screen security. In the past, Siri was exploited in iOS 7.0.2 to send messages without needing a passcode. Then in iOS 7.1.1, Siri was use to bypass the lock screen again to access contacts, make calls, and send emails and texts.
Sony's latest flagship, the Xperia Z3, comes with some pretty high-end hardware, but what really draws me to it are the aesthetics of its ROM, Xperia UI. Even though my HTC One M8 can still go toe-to-toe with the Z3 in a performance matchup, there is something about Sony's UI that is simply missing from my HTC.
With recent security breaches in the news, there is no better time than the present to make sure you know exactly what's happening on your device.
With root access, you're granted greater control over your device, allowing you to do things that your Android system wouldn't allow otherwise. Things like installing Xposed mods are made possible with root, but other advantages address performance and security, like stopping your Android logging, which is exactly what we'll be going over today.
The Play Store is loaded with just about any app you can imagine. While many are free or have a "lite" version of a paid app for download, often enough, these freebies have intrusive ads cluttering up your screen.
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside and the University of Michigan announced recently that they have developed a hack that works 92% of the time on Google's Gmail system on Android, as well as with the H&R Block app.
When it comes to passwords, the longer and more complex they are, the better the security. Even professional hackers say so. But if you've ever tried to type in such a password, you've surely noticed that it can be a bit of a pain. Mistype one character, and you're probably going to have to clear the field and start all over again.
Apple released iOS 7.1.2 just over three weeks ago, mostly to address some big security issues and a few minor bugs. Unfortunately, the update came with a problem of its own regarding missing contacts and iCloud syncing.
Ever use an open hotspot on your Note 3, only to find out that it's severely restricted to what sites you can access? While getting online with free Wi-Fi is great for those who have a limited data plan, when that one site you absolutely need to visit is blocked, you're left frustrated and sent back into the Wi-Fi menu for another access point.
Google, like Apple before them, no longer supports mobile Flash, but clearly there's plenty of Flash content still available on the web. From games to videos, it can be frustrating to get the most out of your mobile browsing experience without Flash functionality.
At last month's I/O event, Google demonstrated a set of cool new features that were said to be coming to the Chromecast soon. While we may not be able to set custom backgrounds or cast content without being on the same WiFi network just yet, the biggest feature of them all has started rolling out to devices today: Screen mirroring.
It's not enough for me to just listen to a mindless EDM song that can be retooled as a torturing method for Guantanamo Bay. As an actual fan of music, I yearn for substance and depth. Artists like Morrissey, Kurt Cobain, and John Lennon impacted lives with not only their music, but the subject matter of their songs.
Google announced Android L to the masses at their I/O event, and with it they introduced their new "Heads Up" notification system. These notifications are part of the new Material Design UI and are sure to change the way we interact with notifications on our devices.
Over the course of the past few years, many websites have begun offering up a mobile-friendly HTML 5 version of their content. Videos that once required Adobe's Flash can now be played on any modern mobile web browser.
Now that all variants of the Galaxy S5 have finally been rooted, we can start exploring all of the tweaks and hacks that Superuser privileges open up to us.
AT&T and Verizon customers, it's finally happened. After many long months of waiting, and a fairly significant bounty up for grabs, your Galaxy Note 3s can finally be rooted! Best of all, it may be the simplest method for achieving root we've ever encountered.
Rooting an Android device used to be a nightmarish labyrinth of .zip files and command prompts, confusing seasoned modding veterans and newbies alike. Thankfully, the process has gotten simpler over the years, with various "one-click" rooting tool kits surfacing and working for nearly every major Android flagship on the market.
Samsung's TouchWiz interface comes with tons of small features that can increase your productivity and user experience. From Mulit-Window Mode to Stress Level Monitoring, there are so many functions that some even go unnoticed.
While AT&T and Verizon may not have had a chance to screw Note 2 owners with unrootbale devices—mainly because they've screwed us over by not issuing KitKat updates—it's safe to say that they can in the future. And while Sprint and T-Mobile subscribers have been able to root, the various methods can make the process somewhat confusing, especially for first-timers.
In a era where cyber security is becoming increasingly important, Comcast has decided to use its customers' routers to provide hotspot access to the public. A new program, outlined by Dwight Silverman over on the Houston Chronicle website, seeks to provide Xfinity customers with city-wide Wi-Fi hotspots by using, well...other customers' wireless routers.
Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even older siblings have all likely dealt with handing their smartphones over to young children. No matter if they want to play games or watch cartoons or record funny noises, you're handing over a very personal device to those who can mess up what they don't know.
As I begin my move across the country, I find myself dodging all kinds of Craigslist scams, particularly in the apartments and housing classifieds. Fortunately, I've discovered a little trick that will tip me off to a scam before I lose $1,000 in a fake security deposit.
Welcome back, my budding hackers! Recently, I showed you how you could exploit the widely disseminated OpenSSL vulnerability that has to become known as "Heartbleed". Although the world has known about this vulnerability for over a month now, it will likely take many more months—or even years—for everyone to close this vulnerability.
There are a lot of mods for your Nexus 7 when it comes to improving and streamlining its overall functionality. You could add custom swipe gestures, conserve battery power, and even run multiple apps at the same time.
Unless you've been living under a rock with no internet connection, it's safe to say that you've heard of the Heartbleed flaw that allows practically anyone with the right knowledge to steal your personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, and e-mail addresses using OpenSSL.
The "Knock Knock" features on LG's G2 phone have proven popular and useful enough to spawn various apps and mods cloning these abilities for other devices. Porting the "Knock On" feature to our Samsung Galaxy S3 isn't as easily doable, since developers would need to create a modded kernel, like they did for the HTC One. The "Knock Off" function, on the other hand, is a lot more manageable.
When it comes to blocking unwanted calls, your Android device comes stocked with a native blocking feature that allows you to reject certain phone numbers. That being said, the native blocking feature on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 isn't the prettiest or the smartest, with its non-obvious setup and lack of features.
This time it's serious. Really. The largest web security vulnerability of all time went public on Monday, April 7th, 2014, resulting in widespread panic throughout the Internet as system administrators scrambled to secure their websites from the OpenSSL bug known as Heartbleed.
While you may suck at Instagram, it's likely that you manage multiple Instagram accounts, whether strictly for personal use or for managing blog and business pages.
I love my status bar. Not only does it tell what time it is and how much battery juice is left, but it gives me cellular connection info, text alerts, and app update notifications. However, one thing is does not give me is customization. Since you're looking at it all the damn time, why not personalize it?
Accessing notifications and quick settings from the lock screen just makes things move quicker and more efficiently, unless of course we're using a secure lock screen. It makes sense that if we have face, pattern, or pin security enabled, we may not want notifications accessible, but really, that should be something we decide for ourselves—and now we can.
Privacy features have become quite the hot commodity, emerging from the aftermath of the NSA scandals that rocked the United States this past year. While the NSA has the means to gather information on all of us (regardless of any security software we implement), it doesn't mean that they're the only ones looking.
Leaving your Wi-Fi radio "on" allows your smartphone to auto-connect to trusted wireless networks in lieu of using cellular data, but it also consumes battery power while it's constantly network hunting.
In the wake of the NSA controversy and its subsequent fallout, many dashed towards finding means of secure communication—using private internet browsing and encrypted text messaging applications—out of fear of being spied on.
I've said it before, but there are few things quite as annoying (or embarrassing) as having your smartphone go off at a time where it just shouldn't happen. Imagine a nice, intimate evening with your significant other; you dim the lights, snuggle up, and "this classic" comes on. Or, your phone goes off in a meeting, and your boss gives you that look.
If you're like me, then you were a little disappointed after updating your Nexus 7 to KitKat and realizing that not much has changed. The old Jelly Bean look still occupied your home screen, and there wasn't really anything noticeably new overall. All of that waiting and anticipation only to be left high and dry.
Not only does your mobile phone auto share your location. Now Windows 8 does the same thing. I'm going to show you the two (2) ways to disable that.
