Q I’ve heard public Wi-Fi is insecure. How do I improve my safety when using it? Sophie via email
A With the rise of smartphones, tablets and laptops, it has become increasingly common to use public Wi-Fi without thinking about security and privacy. Most people don’t understand how easily data can be intercepted. Wi-Fi networks that don’t have passwords don’t encrypt data, so it is relatively easy using freely available software to view information being sent to the website, and back to you. You can protect yourself by routing your data through a “virtual private network” (VPN), a secure “tunnel” that operates over a public network. Your connection to the network is encrypted, along with all your data.
VPNs are used by companies so employees can remotely access files while staying secure. The technology is also available to you and me through online organisations. Among the best I’ve found are HideMyAss and Cloak. HideMyAss works with Apple, Windows and Android devices. Cloak is aimed at Apple users. HideMyAss offers an unlimited service for $11.52 a month if you pay monthly, $8.33 a month if you pay six-monthly, and $6.55 a month for annual membership.
Q The mail app on my iPhone 4S stopped fetching mail from one of my two Googlemail accounts. I’ve checked and re-input the settings, restarted my phone etc – basically I
can only access the account online.
Any idea why? Nicola via email
A This is a problem that’s caught me out a few times over the last couple of years as email fetch settings are not saved inside the area for the individual account, but in a separate place inside settings. The fetch/pull email settings are rather confusingly placed in a separate menu inside your iPhone’s settings. If you open the settings app, select “Mail, Contacts, Calendars”, then choose “Fetch new data” — you will see options to set how often your device will fetch data as well as which accounts should use fetch in the first place.
When setting up fetch for emails, I would recommend using the least frequent setting that you can, as it can be a drain on your battery life.
Q I’ve ordered an iPhone 6 and am wondering what to do with my old 4S. I was thinking of keeping it to track my runs on Nike+ and Strava – the 6 is probably too big to strap to my arm and would be safer and drier at home. So I need a data-only sim for it. The cheapest Vodafone one is £10. I already have a Vodafone contract, a data plan for my iPad and a BT broadband contract. Is there an offer that allows you to bundle all this data/call time together, using one number and multiple devices? Ian via email
A Sim cards were designed to be swappable, so the cheapest solution would be to swap the cards in the devices, and use a nano to micro sim adaptor (available for a few pounds from Amazon, etc) to fit the sim into the larger socket of the iPhone 4S. If you do want a second sim, GiffGaff’s Goodybags don’t tie you into a contract, and you can get 1GB of data for £10, or 3GB for £12 (depending on the data usage of Strava/Nike+ and your frequency of use).
Sadly for those of us with multiple devices, there are not any plans or services in the UK for using one number across all your devices.
Q I would like to update to iOS 8 but have heard that it can break file syncing applications. Is this true and how can I fix it? Andreas via email
A IOS 8 and OS X Yosemite both introduce a new form of syncing for apps called iCloud Drive, however because Yosemite has not been released yet, enabling it at the moment will break sync between the two.
Fortunately, however, Apple lets you choose if you want to enable iCloud Drive while updating to iOS 8 or the beta of Yosemite. Just select “Not right now” during the set up process. For those who have already enabled iCloud Drive by accident, many applications also support Dropbox syncing, and it works well as a fallback option. The free plan is probably good enough until Yosemite is released, although they do now offer 1TB of storage for $10/month.
Q I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab and was wondering how to copy the pictures I’ve taken with it onto
my laptop. Jim via email
A The easiest way to transfer photos and videos from any Android device is using a USB cable. Plug the cable into your device and computer; then when prompted, select “connect device as mass storage”.
Tap “mount” and it will appear on your computer as a removable disk/USB stick. Finally, navigate to the “DCIM” folder, you should be able to copy the photos to your computer harddrive. Although slightly tedious, it can be done pretty quickly, and saves you installing any special software.
