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Check Passwords For Known WiFi Networks in Windows 10

Being able to check the password for a known WiFi network is a great convenience if you’ve forgotten it or need to set up a new device. Although it is a security liability, it does make it much easier to connect a new device to a trusted WiFi network and is especially helpful if you’re not particularly concerned about who is able to connect to that network. The process is slightly less intuitive than it is on Windows 7 but is still very simple and easy to do. It only takes a few steps to check your WiFi network’s password in the process outlined below.

1. Right-click the WiFi icon in the system tray. In the popup box, click ‘Open Network and Sharing Center’.

2. Now in the Network and Sharing Center window, under ‘View your active networks’, you should see another entry called ‘Connections’ with WiFi networks and a signal strength icon. Next to ‘Connections’ should be a link to the current known WiFi network, click the link for the network whose password you need to check.

3. Now under Wi-Fi Status, click the Wireless Properties box.

4. Now under the Wireless Network Properties window, you’ll see an entry for ‘Network security key’ along with your WiFi security settings. Below that is a box to enable ‘Show characters’ for the network key. Check the box to show the network’s password. Note that you’ll need administrator privileges to check this box which thankfully provides one layer of security against people trying to steal your password.

That’s all there is to it. It’s a simple trick but one that could be quite helpful if you ever lose your WiFi password and don’t want to reconfigure potentially dozens of devices that could have already been set up to use that password on that network.

The Apple Watch Is Surprisingly Waterproof

Apple’s official rating for the Apple Watch is IPX7 which means it is highly water resistant and can be submerged for short periods of time. One iOS developer and Apple Watch user, Craig Hockenberry, has put this rating to the test by swimming in the ocean with his Apple Watch for extended periods of time. Conditions don’t get much more grueling than that with debris, sand, salt, and rocking waves added to the stress of the watch being pulled through the water while swimming. Amazingly, he found that the Apple Watch was entirely undamaged by the process though there were some technical hiccups in terms of the watch functioning.

When underwater, the screen would reportedly register touch inputs or not function at all. This would be expected given how conductive salt water is and the water being entirely surrounded. This makes it less than ideal for monitoring ocean workouts but it is still entirely usable and more importantly, there is no discernible damage to the watch. Hockenberry recommends washing the Apple Watch after using it in the ocean or other unusual environments which is a great suggestion given that salt could crystallize and damage the surface.

The best thing about these experiments is that they prove how robust the waterproofing on the Apple Watch really is. If you had any doubts about washing your hands, splashing, brief swims in a pool, or even showering with the watch, it’s pretty safe to say that the Apple Watch should hold up just fine. It’s nice to know that Apple was conservative with their rating and the watch is better with water than advertised. Of course that doesn’t mean you should be reckless with it. It’s still prone to physical damage if you scrape or hit it on something, so don’t get too careless. Otherwise, feel free to go take a dip with your Apple Watch.

The 5 Best Apps For Android TV

Android TV is a new media platform for video and gaming that runs either on a set-top box, or integrated into newer TVs. With Android TV, you’ll be able to access popular video apps, games, and other Android apps that have been optimized for a big screen experience. Here are five great apps that are a must for any Android TV user.

1. Vevo

Vevo has one of the most impressive collections of official music videos as well as live performances, news, and a community of music lovers. You can explore old favorites or search for recommended artists and performances from friends or music critics. Curated playlists, channels, and HD music videos ensure that Vevo delivers a great music experience.

2. VLC

The legendary media player VLC is of course also available for Android and Android TV. If you ever have a pesky video file that won’t play in a standard player or you just have a huge collection of varying formats, you can be sure that somehow, someway VLC will play it. It’s essential for anyone with a large video library but is also useful for just about anyone who wants to easily play videos.

3. Madefire Comics & Motion Books

If you’re a fan of comics, Madefire is for you. Featuring archives of classic comics as well as a steady stream of brand new content, Madefire also has comics that include sound and motion for a more modern, interactive experience. Many of the biggest publishers in comics have made their content available on Madefire and it even features daily free comics.

4. PBS KIDS Video

If you have youngsters and want to keep them entertained with a touch of education, the PBS KIDS Video app is perfect. With the app, you can access hundreds of free PBS Kids shows that are fun, informative, and made specifically with kids in mind. The app is easily navigable so kids of nearly any age can use it and the content is screened and safe.

5. Netflix

The king of video streaming, Netflix is also a must have for Android TV if you’re a subscriber. You can access millions of TV shows, movies, and new content streamed instantly to your Android TV. With a huge user base, Netflix sees constant updates and the interface is smooth and intuitive. Video quality is great and loads fast. There’s a reason so many people use and adore Netflix and it’s especially at home on a TV.

Top Five Best Bookmark Managers

Bookmarks might seem like an odd relic of the early days of internet browsers. If you liked a site, you could quickly add it to your bookmarks to quickly visit anytime you used your browser. Although they’ve been around for a while and even replaced in some ways by mobile apps and more advanced browsers, the fact remains that good old fashioned bookmarks are still one of the best ways to organize, save, and revisit your favorite links on the web. Rather than fully replacing bookmarks, smartphones, tablets, newer browsers and apps make saving and using them easier and more convenient than ever. Here are some great bookmark managers to try out.

1. Pocket

Pocket lets you save links to content from nearly any device from smartphones to PCs and then access them again from any device using your master Pocket account. From browser extensions that lets you save to Pocket with a click, to apps for nearly every mobile device, Pocket’s support for a wide range of browsers is unmatched.

2. iCloud Bookmarks

For heavy users of all things Apple, the iCloud bookmark manager is great for keeping everything synced up. From your iMac, to iPhone to browser, iCloud lets you easily save, organize, and access bookmarks on any of these platforms and devices. It’s definitely recommended if you’re an iCloud and Apple fan.

3. Xmarks

Xmarks is one of the best bookmark managers if you use multiple browsers on multiple platforms. You can access everything from your Xmarks account via a web interface that stores all bookmarks you’ve ever saved on any browser. It’s great if you like to use different browsers on different computers but want to easily access a large collection of bookmarks. There are also mobile app versions with Xmarks Premium.

4. Delicious

Delicious is a combination of bookmark manager and social networking service. It has a unique feature that lets users share and rate bookmarks so you can quickly see what’s of interest to friends and other users and check it out for yourself. It’s also a top rate bookmark manager with web access to all of your bookmarks.

5. Google Bookmarks

If you’re looking for a spartan bookmark manager, Google Bookmarks is a very simple but effective one. With Google Bookmarks, you can save, label, and add notes to links on the web which will be automatically stored in Google’s cloud and tied to your Google account. You can then easily access them anywhere you can access your Google account via web browser. If you don’t want too many confusing bells and whistles, this bookmarks manager is a real humdinger.

How To Adjust Battery Saver Mode in Windows 10

One new trick Windows 10 has up its sleeve is Battery Saver, a special low power mode which disables background apps, screen brightness, etc. to maximize the amount of time your device’s battery remains functioning. This is more suited to tablets and smartphones that rely heavily on portability and having sufficient battery life though there’s no reason it won’t work on a laptop as well. Of course there are tradeoffs with using Battery Saver in that you’ll see lower performance and background tasks will not run in other apps. You can adjust some of Battery Saver’s features and decide how much is disabled when it is running. Follow these steps to adjust the settings for Battery Saver mode.

1. Launch the Settings app, then click System.

2. Now click the Battery tab. There will be an entry called ‘Battery Use‘, click it.

3. Below, you will find another entry called ‘Change battery saver settings‘. Click it to begin adjusting Battery Saver mode.

4. Here you will find all the options available to adjust how Battery Saver works. First is a bar that you can set to tell Battery Saver when to begin operating. The default is set to start Battery Saver at 20% remaining battery power, but you can adjust this to any percentage. You can disable push notifications from apps while in Battery Saver and also choose whether or not to dim the screen.

5. There is also a list of apps that you can add to. Any app in the list will be allowed to run fully, with notifications and background tasks even when using Battery Saver mode. This is ideal for certain apps that take high priority or that you will use very often and don’t want to have disabled during Battery Saver mode operation.

6. To turn off Battery Saver mode entirely, you can uncheck the box next to ‘Turn battery saver on automatically if my battery falls below:‘.

7. You can also disable the other features by unchecking the boxes next to their entries or remove an app from your list of apps that run unrestricted during Battery Saver mode.

That’s all there is to it. It’s worth experimenting with various settings to see how they affect battery life and find a balance that works for you.

Block Spam, Telemarketers and Identify Unknown Numbers With Truecaller

Although there are wonderful benefits to using smartphones, everyone has encountered the annoyance of spam, telemarketers, and calls from unknown numbers. At best these are minor inconveniences that are the cost of modern communication. At their worst, they can constitute harassment, loss of privacy and even render your phone unusable. Truecaller is an app that can help dramatically when it comes to screening, blocking, and tracking unwanted calls and spam text messages. It’s available on all major platforms, including Android.

If you’ve ever received a call from an unknown number, it’s natural to want to look it up and see if it is a legitimate contact or a telemarketer. Because there are so many numbers out there, it’s impossible to screen them all and it is always possible that you are receiving a legitimate call from an unknown number. It is also far more likely that it’s a telemarketer or wrong number. With Truecaller, you can simply go through your call history and tap a number to instantly search through a database and see relevant information on the number and check its legitimacy. When you receive a call, you can also quickly swipe the number and Truecaller will perform a search on it to see if it’s legitimate or who it is.

As a preemptive measure, you can also search for known local spammers and telemarketers and block them from calling you beforehand. Truecaller hosts an extensive database of known spam and telemarketing numbers both globally and for your local area and they can be set to be automatically blocked. If you do receive a call from such a number, the call notification will instantly show that it is not a trusted contact and even its status as a spammer, telemarketer, etc. You can also contribute to the database by reporting spam numbers.

Truecaller partly works via crowdsourcing contact data from its users so it is not foolproof and there are some privacy concerns. When you first load the app, it can pull contact data from Facebook and your phone and uses this with its own contact list database. The app promises that it does not upload your data so that it’s searchable by others but the fact that it accesses so much contact data could be a concern for some.

Source: TrueCaller On Google Play Store