Full Android Application And Games
Showing posts with label Guides. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guides. Show all posts
Friday, December 5, 2014
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Friday, November 28, 2014
Friday, November 14, 2014
I can’t stress enough how important it is to use a security lock screen on your mobile devices. If you ever misplace your phone or tablet, no one will be able to get into the device. However, constantly entering a code to unlock your device is a royal pain in the you know what.
Finally, Finally, Finally Google has implemented Trusted Devices in Android. With Android Lollipop and a new feature called Smart Lock, you will be able to set any Bluetooth device, NFC tag, or even your face as a way to automatically unlock your device so you won’t have to constantly enter your PIN code or swipe a pattern over 100 times per day.
In this guide, I will show you how to use Smart Lock to bypass the security lock screen when your phone or tablet is safe and in your possession. If you prefer to watch instead of reading, I included a video at the bottom of this post. Note: If you don’t have Android Lollipop, you can still get the same features, and then some, using Delayed Lock. Check out that guide here.
Bluetooth devices are probably the best to setup because you know your phone is safe when it’s connected to them. For example, if you own an Android Wear smartwatch (or any other Bluetooth smartwatch that works with your phone), it’s always on your wrist. If it’s set as a trusted device, you won’t have to unlock your phone as long as it’s connected. However, if you leave your phone in a restaurant and walk away, your phone will lose the connection with your smartwatch and your security lock screen will go back into effect. So as you go about your normal day, you will probably never have to enter your security code. But you can rest easily knowing that if your phone is stolen or you leave it somewhere, nobody will be able to get into it. Not everyone has a smartwatch so that’s why you can also set your car’s Bluetooth hands free / stereo system or even another Bluetooth headset.
You also have the option to temporarily lock you phone even when it’s connected to one of your trusted Bluetooth devices by tapping the padlock icon on the lock screen. Your device will remain locked until you enter your code.
NFC tags is other option that is probably not going to be all that helpful for most of you. First, you have to own an NFC tag, and second, it only works when your phone or tablet is resting on the tag itself, so you can’t pick it up before turning it on.
Trusted Face is another option that Google threw in. If you remember, Face Unlock was launched with Ice Cream Sandwich as one of the security lock options, but not with Lollipop. Instead, you will only find Trusted Face in Smart Lock. The procedure for recording your face is the same as Face Unlock, but they also added an option to capture more images in different lighting environments giving you better reliability. Trusted Face isn’t really unlocking your phone, it’s a means to bypass the lock screen. So say you have enabled a PIN code for your security lock. When you turn on the phone’s display, it immediately looks for your face, but you won’t see yourself on the display like you did with Face Unlock. It does it all in the background, and if your face is recognized before you swipe, the security lock will be bypassed. If it doesn’t recognize your face, you will then have to enter your security lock. It actually works pretty well, but I couldn’t really show you on the video.
The only item that is missing in Smart Lock is WiFi. I would liked to have seen the option of adding any saved WiFi network such as your home or a friend’s house. For whatever reason, Google omitted it, and we can only hope it will be added at a later date.
To set a Trusted Device or a Trusted Face, just head into your Settings, and find Security by scrolling down. For some phones, you might have to tab over to a category. For example, Samsung phones have Security under the General tab. Tap on Security and you will see Smart Lock. After tapping Smart Lock you will have to enter your security code and then you will see two options: Trusted Devices and Trusted Face. Note: Smart Lock won’t be an option unless you have a security lock such as PIN or pattern enabled.
Trusted Devices allows you to set as many Bluetooth devices or NFC tags as you want. Bluetooth devices must already be paired to your device, but it’s also very easy to add a device that you just paired. Upon pairing a device for the first time, you will get a notification asking you if you want to set it as a Trusted Device. Just tap “Add as Trusted Device,” enter your security code, and you’re all set. If for whatever reason you swiped away the notification card, you can still add it by going to Trusted Devices through the Settings.
For NFC tags, you will only need to touch your device to any NFC tag. After it’s paired, you will then enter a name for it such as Nightstand, My Car, or whatever. Now whenever your phone or tablet is touching the NFC tag (device has to be turned on and unlocked to initiate), the security lock screen will be bypassed. It’s not the greatest implementation since most people don’t have NFC tags lying around, not to mention having to keep the tag connected to the phone at all times.
The Trusted Face option will simply walk you through the process of capturing your face.
Google has introduced a new feature called Screen Pinning in Android 5.0 Lollipop. I would say it’s most useful for those of you with kids in the house or if your handing your phone or tablet to someone who has zero technical know-how.
Screen Pinning allows you to “pin” any app you want so that the user cannot do anything else but use that particular app. For example, you could start up a game and hand your phone or tablet to your child. He or she won’t be able to exit out of the game (at least easily) and send an email telling your boss to go to hell.
In this guide, I will walk you through how to pin any app. If you prefer to watch a video instead, scroll down to the bottom.
The first thing you will need to do is turn on the option for Screen Pinning. Head into Settings on your Android device, and scroll down to Security. It will be on the main screen of Settings for most Android devices, but you might have to select a tab on some devices. For example, you will find Security in the General tab on Samsung devices. Tap on Security and scroll down until you see Screen Pinning and make sure it’s turned on or checked.
Now in order to pin an app, it has to be in the Recent Apps and it has to be the last used app. This is where things are a little convoluted. Assuming you want to pin Angry Birds and hand your phone or tablet over to your daughter, you will need to open the actual app, then tap on the Recents key. Now just scroll up a little on the app, which should now be the most recent one. You should see a little Pin icon at the bottom right. Tap on that Pin and a popup will appear asking you if you want to actually pin the app. If you happen to be using a security lock screen, you will also have the option to check if you want your security of choice to be entered before unpinning. If you don’t, it’s not too hard to close the app and go anywhere else on the device. All the user has to do is tap and hold the Back and Recents keys at the same time. If you enable security, the person will also have to enter your PIN or swipe your pattern.
It’s also not like Google is hiding the procedure to get out of a pinned app either. If the user taps on the Recents or Home key while an app is pinned, they will see a popup telling them which keys to tap and hold.
Users will only have access to the Back key when using a pinned app. They won’t see your notifications or be able to get into anything else. They can access the Share menu, but it won’t function. The display can timeout and they will be able to get back into the app by simply hitting the power button. If you happen to have a security lock screen enabled, it will be bypassed since the user can’t do anything else anyway. Good thinking on Google’s part.
How to beam files and photos from one phone to another with the new Android Beam in Android Lollipop
Android Beam debuted in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which was kind of cool at the time, but not all that useful. With Android 5.0 Lollipop, Google has upped the game by adding Android Beam to the Share menu and allowing you to send files, documents, or even photos from one phone to another phone by simply touching the two devices together. It will even work for files or photos that are stored in the cloud, as in not physically on your device. Assuming both devices have NFC, and at least the sending device has Android Lollipop or higher, it’s quite easy to do.
If you prefer to watch the video, scroll down to the bottom to see how the new Android Beam works.
Beaming a file or photo is as simple as opening the app that’s associated with it and tapping on the Share icon. You should see Android Beam as an option. Just tap on Android Beam to initiate the process. All you need to do it touch the backs of both phones together, and the file or photo will be transferred. So for example, let’s say you want to send a photo. Just open the Gallery app and find the photo. Tap on the Share icon, tap on Android Beam, and touch the backs of both devices. Both devices will get a notification that the Beam was successful.
For files, you might have to use an app like Astro File Manager or ES Filer Explorer. If it’s something that is already in your download folder, you can simply use the Downloads app found on many Android devices. However, some manufacturers offer their own version of a file manager that will also work.
Astro File Manager Example
Downloads App Example
The other cool thing about Android Beam is that it will work with stuff that’s in the cloud. Say you want to share a photo or document that is in Dropbox, but it’s not physically on your phone. Just use the Export feature and select Android Beam, and you will send the photo or document to another phone the same way as if it was literally on your phone. It’s pretty slick. Note: you can’t use the Share feature in Dropbox since it sends a link to the image or file rather than the actual file itself.
Dropbox Example
You can also use Google+ photos as well as pretty much any other cloud service. The majority of them should work with the Share menu, including Google+ photos.
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