ANDROID: How to protect your e-goodies in VietNam

With a fairly high theft rate of smartphones/tablets in VietNam, often through owner stupidity, ANDROID OS (Jelly Bean and above) offers some really neat security features.

Before attempting them, your Android smartphone/tablet should be powered up with a wall wart. You should also have a live InterNet connection other than your smartphone/tablet.

Anti-Theft or Loss
Login in to: [ www.google.com/android/devicemanager ].

To check the status ON your Android device: Settings > Security > Device administrator.

Encrypt confidential data
This powerful option will let you encrypt your accounts, settings, Apps and associated data, media and other files.
NOTE: Once you encrypt your smartphone/tablet, you need to type a numeric PIN or password to decrypt it each time you power it on.

Remember that you cannot decrypt your device except by performing a factory data reset which erases all your data.

This process of encryption takes an hour or more. You must keep your device plugged in until encryption is completed.

Owner information displayed on lock screen
You can set owner info on lock screen?  This is an effective feature that can increase your chances of recovering lost/stolen Android equipment.

Set your options of your Android device: Settings > Security > Owner info.  You can check the field “Show owner info on lock screen” and enter the info.

Recover notifications even after cleared
Cleared all the notifications without seeing?  Do you want to recover them?

Use your Android device: Widgets > Settings shortcut > Notifications

Developer options (Android 4.1+)
you can access the developer options by tapping on build number 7 times.  Now you will be able to see developer options in settings. 

Use your Android device: Settings > About phone > Build number (Tap quickly seven times).

Power button to end calls
The power button can end calls, instead of swiping the screen. 

Activate it by going to Settings > Accessibility> Power button ends call.

Instant photo or video
Speech activation of your phone camera, for instant photo and video operation.

Simply go to Search App, activate mic and say “take a photo” or  “take a video” to launch.

Android animation effect
To get the Android animation effects on your device, quickly tap 3 three times on Android version and you will see it.

Access Android version through Settings > About phone > Android version.

Video Autoplay & WiFi/Off
Activate it by going to Settings > App Settings > General Settings > set Auto-play to “Wi-fi only” or “Off”

Odds and Sods

SwiftKey
The SWIFTKEY keyboard application for Android is now FREE and likely the most advanced App for intelligent keyboards.

File Access
Using a file explorer (such as ES file explorer or File Manager) you can access to the complete file system of the Android device. (You can't do this in a Apple phone. Only Android, what a pity)

Block calls and SMS messages
By using SMS/call blocker on Android using Apps such as like True Caller you can make your own Blacklists and eliminate irritants. Also offers reverse number lookup for both mobile and land-line numbers.

Customise Appearance
Using  Apps like Nova, Apex and Go Launcher you can completely change the feel, look and performance of an Android.

OTG (On The Go)
With an OTG (On The Go) cable you can use your Android device as a USB host and connect a USB stick or pen drive directly to your phone

Auto WiFi turn on!
Your WiFi can turn on automatically when you are at home or some other frequent location even out of your office depending on your settings.

Remote Computer Access Apps
Sharing and accessing files and other data from your desktop. It is easier now than ever - thanks to the remote connection and control applications. By establishing a remote connection with your desktop using your android phone, you can retrieve the files and share them with others.

TeamViewer for Remote Control (Smart man's cloud)
TeamViewer is a popular tools for transferring files from your Android device to/from a desktop computer. A notable feature is that you can access your desktop from anywhere. It permits you to access, edit, transfer the documents stored on the desktop from anywhere. On addition, TeamViewer can access computers behind proxy servers and firewalls. You can also remotely reboot the computer.

(Google Play Store)

Wyse PocketCloud Remote RDP/VNC
Using PocketCloud an Android device can be to the desktop on WiFi or using 3G/4G. It has great performance on WiFi and 3G/4G. There is a Pro version which allows connection to multiple computers (the free version is limited to only a single computer).

It provides three connection options:

> Auto Discovery Process
> Remote Desktop Protocol(RDP)
> Virtual Network Computing(VNC)

PocketCloud on Android can connect directly to the system running RDP/VNC. Only IP address and host name to connect.

Splashtop 2 Remote Desktop
Splashtop is  another great App for remotely controlling the desktop. Featuring many interesting features, like TeamViewer, this App accesses the desktop easily and quickly from anywhere/any time. With Splashtop you can access the applications on your desktop, including MS Office documents, media library, full browser including flash and 3D games.

(Google Play Store)