This post is about the other side of Facebook apps, the side you probably don’t even know about. Here’s the scoop. When you add an app, it asks for certain permissions. One of those permissions is access to your personal information. Did you know that Facebook shares your information with apps even if you don’t use those apps? Unless you say no, Facebook share your personal data with apps that your friends use. Here’s how to limit this theft of your private details.
1. Same as yesterday, go to the top right corner of any Facebook page, click the down arrow and choose Settings. Next, click Apps. On the page that comes up, look for this section underneath the list of apps that you use:
‘Apps others use’ is where we are headed today.
2. This is what you see next. Remember that these are not even apps that you use, just apps that your friends use:
Make sure all of these are unchecked.
Make sure you uncheck everything on this menu. Everything. Don’t be surprised that you didn’t know about all of this. Facebook tends to hide such things, hoping you won’t be able to find them. That’s why we’re here.
Facebook tells you that sharing all of this data is to ‘make their experience better and more social’. What do you think? How will letting an app know everything you share with Facebook make things better for your friend’s Facebook experience? It won’t. All this does is give advertisers a fuller picture of your friend’s friends…in other words you!
Not only does Facebook hide the fact that foreign apps use your data, they penalize you for trying to increase your privacy. Sure, you can turn off all Platform apps but ‘you will not be able to use any games or apps yourself’. To us, this seems downright petty. Let us know what you think about all of this.
Thanks for reading! Comments, questions, suggestions are all welcomed. Use the form at the bottom or Like our Facebook page. Here’s the link: Computers Made Simply on Facebook
Facebook has made it very easy, almost too easy, for users to add apps to their profile. As you know, many apps hit you up even when you’re quietly surfing around outside of your Facebook profile? Want to comment on something? Sure, just let this app access your Facebook account. Want to sign a petition? Easy! Just give us clearance to snoop around your Facebook profile. Before you let apps access your data, you’d better find out what kind of things they can see. You might be surprised at the extent and the duration of this access.
1. From any page on Facebook, click on the tiny icon on the very top right, it looks like an arrow pointing down, and choose ‘Settings’ on the menu that pops out:
Settings is where we’re headed.
2. Next, look for the word Apps on the left side. Click on it:
‘Apps’ is next.
3. The next part is a bit tricky so read this carefully. Facebook only shows you the most recent apps that you’ve used on the Apps menu that comes up. What you’re going to do here is to edit all of your apps, once you see how to do it, but note that you have to click on ‘Show All Apps’ down at the bottom to access the full list of ones that you use. For now, click on the word Edit on any app that’s on this page:
Some apps are here, including games, but more are hidden. Make sure you edit them all.
4. It doesn’t matter which one you choose but click Edit on one. Here’s what you see next:
You might be surprised at everything a Facebook app says that it needs.
5. Surprised yet? Apps need to use just about everything, at least they say they do. You can change the visibility, remove the ‘posting on your behalf’ ability and change when the app notifies you. We have ours set to ‘Never’. You can also see when the app last accessed your data. Make sure you are comfortable with all of this ‘information sharing’ before you click Close at the top. If you’re not comfortable with it all, maybe you should remove the app. Click ‘Remove app’ to see what surprises lurk behind that link:
Did you think it would be that easy? It seems that apps may keep your information even though you have deleted them.
Can you see why we’re concerned about these seemingly simple apps? Not only do they tell you that they require access to all of your personal information, they keep this data even after you remove their permissions. Think about it. Facebook collects your personal details and markets this data to many different kinds of apps. Something that seemed fun and innocent at the time has suddenly changed its tone, hasn’t it?
We hope that we’ve opened your eyes a bit about Facebook’s apps. Share this with your friends and family. There’s no reason why you should feel obligated to share your personal info with anyone you don’t know. If you’re hooked on the games that Facebook offers, think about what the games get out of it all. They’re free, right? Maybe, just maybe, the games take your personal data and fine tune the ads that you see on their pages. Your personal details are helping the apps, not you. We suggest that you create a totally fake Facebook account just to play games. Let your friends know that it’s you and play away all day, free from sharing your personal details with strangers.
Thanks for reading!
(Just so you know, if you want to comment here, you don’t have to sign up through Facebook. We do ask for an email address but you can use a fake one, we will never know. Your email is never shown to anyone. We only ask for it in order to send you a personalized response. This response is automatic, we don’t actually use it ourselves. Also, liking our Facebook page doesn’t require any data sharing. We get a notice that you’ve liked our page, that’s it. All we can see is whatever information a stranger sees when someone searches for you. We cannot access any other information than that, nor do we want to.)
Windows Explorer is pretty handy, isn’t it? One click and you can see your whole file system. Um, not quite. By default, you can only see what Microsoft wants you to see. We’re here to change that. Let’s get started.
1. Click on the folder icon on your taskbar. (TIP: If you have one copy of Windows Explorer open already, right click the icon and choose Windows Explorer to get a second one. You can drag and drop files between the windows that way.)
Here’s what you want:
No, not Internet Explorer, this is Windows Explorer.
2. On the window that opens up, look up to the top left and click on the word ‘Organize’. On the menu that pops down, choose ‘Folder and search options’:
This is where you can customize the Windows Explorer interface.
3. The next menu has some settings that we won’t get into today. What we want now is the View tab:
Click on ‘View’.
4. You will want your menu to look exactly like ours. The two things that we think are the most important are ‘Show hidden files, folders and drives’ as well as unhiding extensions for known file types. We’ll tell you why after the photo:
Make your menu look exactly like this one then click Apply then OK.
5. Here’s why we want to change the default settings. First, we don’t want any hidden files, folders or drives. If something is on our computer, we want to see it. Second, we want to know how large a file is. That’s pretty basic but, for some reason, Microsoft wants to hide this from you. Third, we live by file extensions here at Computers Made Simple. You’ve read our posts about .avi or.jpg files and maybe you’ve wondered what the heck we’re talking about. Well, unhide the file extensions and you’ll see what type each file is.
There’s one more little trick to show you about Windows Explorer. Icons are great but sometimes you just want to see the file name and how large it is. Up on the top right of your Windows Explorer window, look for the third icon from the right. Far right is a question mark, middle is a small icon of the Explorer window itself then to the left is the one we want. This is where you change your view. You have choices that include Details, Medium Icons and so on. Like this:
The Details view shows you a file’s info, not it’s contents.
6. Here’s what you see when you choose the Details view:
Everything you wanted to know about a file but were afraid to ask.
On the far left side we’ve got the drives and main folders. A single click on any of those will bring up its contents on the right side. As you can see, the details view shows you many things about a file or folder: the file name, the date is was created, what type of tile it is, the size, etc. If you right click on the white section just below the light blue area, you’ll bring down a menu that allows you to choose other organizational parameters. Did you change a file yesterday? Put a check beside ‘Date modified’ then look for yesterday’s date. By the way, clicking on any of the parameters, things like Name, Date, Type, Size etc., will organize the whole folder or drive into whatever order you choose. Let’s say you want to find the largest files in a folder. Click on Size to arrange files from the largest to smaller size. Click Size again to toggle that view to smallest to largest.
There are a few other details that we will leave for another post but we think you’ll feel more comfortable using Windows Explorer after reading this post. If you’re nervous about all of this, just take a look around until you feel comfortable with this tool. Once you gt to know Windows Explorer, you’re on your way to becoming a power user. Stick with us and we’ll show you the way.
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Short and sweet today. We just set up a new computer and realized that we haven’t done a ’10 Best’ free software post in a while. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that we love free! There’s no need to pay for any software these days, believe it or not, other than a basic version of Windows or iOS. Heck, you can even get a free OS by downloading Ubuntu. If you go that route, Linux has hundreds of very cool, very free apps but that’s another story. Today, let’s move on to free software for Windows.
1. Irfanview
Irfanview
We’ve written many posts about Irfanview. Here’s one, complete with links: Post on Irfanview . We use Irfanview EVERY day for viewing pics, doing screen caps as well as bulk renaming and resizing PLUS making PDFS. You’ll wonder what you ever did without it. Make sure you get the main program as well as the plugins. Install Irfanview first, then the plugins.
2. VLC Media Player
VLC Media Player
VLC will play any video file there is, hands down. Again, we use it every day. VLC will do more than play videos but the other things it does can get quite complicated. We prefer to use it as a player as opposed to a video tool. Here’s the link to the homepage: VLC Media Player
3. Windows Movie Maker
When we’re going to upload a video to Youtube, WMM is what we use to create it. Forget about using the Youtube tools, they’re not worth trying. Download WMM, get to know the easy interface, then create your masterpieces with it. It’s free but it’s powerful too. If you’re not into video, use WMM to create slideshows from your holiday pics. Here’s the link: Windows Movie Maker (If you have downloaded the old MSN Live Essentials, you should have WMM already. If not use the link.)
4. The GIMP
The Gnu Image Manipulation Program is just as powerful as Adobe Photoshop but it’s free. This powerful tool will take your plain pics and turn them into works of art, all the adjustments are at your fingertips. Here’s the link: GIMP
5. Burnaware
Archiving data to DVDs is simple and fast with Burnaware. The GUI is very intuitive, point and click and you’re soon creating DVDs (both normal and BluRay) in minutes. Get it here: Burnaware
6. Dropbox
Dropbox…you need it.
This should be number one on your list. We use Dropbox on every computer we own, and we have lots, keeping all of our current projects synced from on each one. Here is a link to one of our many posts on Dropbox:
Although not completely compatible with Microsoft Office, LibreOffice is extremely robust…and free. With six components (Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Math and Base), LibreOffice has all of your office suite bases covered. Here’s where you can get it: LibreOffice
8. Recuva
If you’ve accidentally deleted data from a flash drive or an external hard drive, download Recuva and get it back. Read the instructions, they’re simple, and copy the deleted files to another drive. You’ll be breathing easier in no time. Get it and learn to use it now so you’ll be an expert when you need to be. Recuva
9. 7-Zip
Windows has its own zip utility which is pretty good and only a right click away but, and this is a big but, it doesn’t have a password locking feature, at least not an easy one. If you have a file(s) that you need to keep private, 7-Zip is quick, free and easy to use. 7-Zip site
10. Calibre
Calibre – Ebook management.
If you are into Ebooks, you need Calibre to manage them. This software catalogues all the ebooks on your computer, no matter which folder they’re in, then changes everything into a format that your reader can use when the time comes to upload them to your device. You can also use Calibre as an ereader, too. iTunes works fine as far as getting books to your Apple device, but you still need Calibra to get those books into the format that your reader can handle. It’s a big download but it’s worth it. Calibre – Ebook Managment
That’s our ten. What do you use that is indispensable? Let us know in a comment or on our Facebook page: Computers Made Simple on Facebook
Sometimes, music just doesn’t cut it, right? You’re on a bus or subway train, maybe sitting on an airplane waiting for takeoff or in a boarding lounge waiting for your plane to load; wouldn’t it be cool to watch a movie while you wait? Virtually every mobile device out there will play both audio and video files. Today’s post will tell you how to get your favorite Youtube videos from your computer to your mobile device.
Tip: This post is NOT for Apple users. iTunes handles all transfers, video and audio, from your computer to any Apple device. Get to know iTunes and let it do the work for you. For the rest of the world:
‘Download Flash and Video’ is the answer!
We’ve written about Download Flash and Video before. Check out this post before you go any further: Download Youtube Videos Revisited
DFV is a plugin or extension for Mozilla Firefox. While we normally recommend Google Chrome, we think Firefox is pretty good too, although we only use it when downloading videos. Follow the installation process described in the post above. Once everything is ready and you’ve found something on Youtube that you want to add to your mobile device, follow these steps:
1. Get the video page loaded and the video playing.
2. Up on the top right, look for the blue and white icon of an arrow pointing down. Here’s what you will see when you click it:
Lots of choices here. Which is the right one?
Ignore the flash files at the top. Instead, look at the row of ‘Videos to Download’. (We’ve chosen Eurotrip for this lesson. It’s a bit trashy at the start but, overall, it’s a very funny film. If you missed Matt Damon as a rocker, it’s worth seeing just for that.) Somewhere in that list is the file you need but, you ask, which one?
You have two variables here. The first is the question of how much storage you have on your device. The second is almost as important, that being the size of your display. Although it might not seem obvious to you, the various files listed in the photo above are arranged by size AND screen resolution. Check out the last one, for instance.
We can see that the file size is the smallest at 53.49 megabytes. The resolution is also the lowest, that being 144p. Ignore what those numbers mean, just remember that the lowest resolution is meant for smaller screens. There are two 3gp files but each has a different file size and a different resolution. Confused? Don’t be. Think of the display on your mobile device. Is it tiny? Medium? Large? If you’re running around with an old Nokia, for instance, either one of the 3gp files might be fine for you. The 144p file would look pretty crappy on our Nexus 4 but it would be perfectly fine on one of our tiny video players, the ones with the 1.5″ screens.
Up at the top, check out the very large mp4 file. That is large enough to play on an HDTV, certainly on any computer monitor but it’s overkill for a mobile device. It is 720p, meant for large screen HDTVs. For our Nexus 4, we’d look at the smaller, 360p mp4 file.
What should you do? Download them all. Find a video that you want to use and download each version of it. Now, DFV seems quite slow, to be honest. We downloaded four versions of Eurotrip and it took a while. Be patient, it’s worth it. Once we got the videos into our Download folder, here’s what we saw:
This is the 144p 3gp file.
This is the worst quality available but on a small screen, it’s perfect. In this photo the image looks grainy but when it was playing on the computer, it looked great…tiny but great.
This is the 244p 3gp file.
244p 3gp here. See how the image is bigger in the player? The image is clearer, too.
This is the 360p mp4 file.
Much finer image, much larger in the video player and a substantially larger file. If you have the storage room, this is the one to go for but only if you have a decently large screen. For the average cell phone, specially those with the keyboard on the bottom half below the display, the 3gp files are fine.
Figure out how much storage room you have then add one or more of the downloaded video files to your device and see which one works best. That way you’ll know the size and type of file to concentrate on. If you’re using a large tablet and have scads of room, let’s say 32 gigabytes or more, the 389.8 MB mp4 file would be an excellent choice. Smaller screens and smaller storage limit your choices to the bottom four video types.
TIP: Ignore the ‘webm’ file for most or all mobile devices. While its quality is equal to the large mp4 at the top, we doubt that any mobile device would have the ability to play it. It’s a good format but only for computers at this point.
Youtube has millions of videos at your fingertips. Download them using this process and you won’t ever be bored again.
