Articles

How Alexa Can Save You Time With Simple Things…

I know that some of you love your little smart voice assistant and some of you hate the idea of technology “listening” to your every word – if you’re in the latter camp then maybe this month’s article isn’t for you.

I love Alexa and we have several of them in our home. Yes, they “listen” to everything we say but they don’t “understand” anything until we talk directly to her by using the “wake up” name, then she very usefully does a whole range of things that we have set up in advance. Read this entire article »

Online Accounts – Check Your Security NOW…

In an online world we are all more connected than ever before. For all of us, especially businesses, sometimes this is a helpful thing but also it can be a dangerous thing, unfortunately it’s the latter that I am discussing in this article.

We all know about password security but sometimes in our busy working lives we ignore the potential dangers because “everything is ok”, and we are busy getting on with day-to-day things, however occasionally problems can arise because of our lack of vigilance. We all have so many accounts nowadays (email, Facebook, What’s App, MyFitnessPro etc.) it’s very tempting to use the same details across all of them. Read this entire article »

Email Security – check it now before you need it…

It’s a common problem – one I see and hear about practically every day. You turn on your computer to check your emails and enter your username and password, (or maybe your computer has this automatically saved but this morning it’s asking you for your details). This morning, whatever you type in, the “computer says no!” Read this entire article »

Copying things from your Windows computer screen…

Have you ever wanted to take a copy of your computer screen (or part of it)? Perhaps you want to email a picture of an error to your computer technician and find that it is easier to do that than describe in detail what is going on or maybe you just need to take a copy of something you´ve seen on a website for future reference. Well, this is the tool to use and everyone who has Windows 10 has it already built into the operating system. The Microsoft snipping tool is a natty little thing that you can use to take pictures of your screen; here´s how you do it.

Read this entire article »

Installing a digital certificate on your IOS device…

In Spain the easiest way to access electronic services (SUMA, DGT, etc.) is through a digital certificate. This is a small, secure file that is usually issued to you on request through your town hall, police station or other “official” location (check your local area for where they are issued). Read this entire article »

My Computer/Internet Doesn’t work…What Can I Do?

I quite often receive phone calls and emails from people telling me that they have problems with their Internet and they don’t know whether the problem is with them (i.e. their computer / laptop / tablet) or with their Internet provider (i.e. Movistar, local wireless provider etc.) – this month we attempt to give you some tools that should help you identify where the problem is and therefore be able to contact the appropriate person with a little more confidence. Read this entire article »

Apps To Remote Control Your Life…

Do you have a “smart TV” or a Firestick or some other device that connects to your home’s Wi-Fi and Internet to get information for you? If you do, then the chances are that you can also download a remote control for it on your smart phone.

Many of us are sad enough to have our phones and tablets sitting next to us every second that we are watching the TV, and its likely that your phone can replace your TV’s remote control. This month we look at how you can integrate your smart devices into your phone. Read this entire article »

How to improve your WiFi network range…

With more and more connected devices in our homes (phone, tablet, laptop, computer and now even TV for lots of us) it’s becoming more necessary for us to have a good, reliable Wi-Fi connection throughout the house and even out into the garden for those long hot, Facebook messenger filled nights!

Whilst many of you have nice fast broadband internet connections, I am still hearing complains about the range of those networks. People are telling me that their Wi-Fi is great in the living room but maybe in the bedroom it’s not great and outside is almost impossible to use. Read this entire article »

Tracking Expenses and Expenditure…

If, like me, you have no idea where all your money goes – I think that gremlins break in at night and steal it all personally, usually after I’ve had too many vino tintos!

I’ve started to use a tool that allows me to track what I’ve spent and where and I’ve found it quite useful. It also allows me to share the expenses with Liesl, so we can both add items to each of the categories as we spend, and then we can see an amalgamated categorised summary by month. Read this entire article »

Facebook Memorialization Settings…

This month we cover the tricky ( and not very happy) subject of what happens to your social media account when you die. I know, none of us like to think about it but one of the things that does upset me is seeing Facebook notifications (birthdays etc.) from the accounts of people that I know have passed away. It’s a sad reminder that things carry on regardless of whether we’re around or not but if you decide what you want to happen before the event then at least your loved ones can close your accounts when you’ve gone. Read this entire article »