TECHNOLOGY AIM

In many sectors of modern life, technology has made things easier (we’re looking at you robot lawn mower). But when it comes to travel, it can be a little more complicated these days to get where you’re going without having to open multiple emails, scan multiple bar codes, and use your phone’s navigation feature to figure out how to get where you need to be. The TripIt app attempts to make all of this easier for you by aggregating your travel information in one place. And the free version of the app certainly does that. But to make TripIt really sing, you will likely want to upgrade.  What you get with the free version When you sign up for a free TripIt account, you’ll be asked whether or not you want to populate the app automatically as your travel confirmations hit your inbox, which you can do if you have a GMail, Yahoo or Outlook mail account. Say yes, and the app will scan your email box every 24 hours and add any flight, hotel or car reservations it detects. If you don’t wan...

It’s not too often you check out an app’s homepage and see an endorsement by Edward Snowden. Yet that’s exactly what you get when you visit Signal’s page, and Snowden’s endorsement makes a lot of sense considering that this is a secure messaging app.  Unlike other secure messaging apps like Viber, Signal is open sourced, peer reviewed and it is funded through donations rather than through ads or purchases. Plus, Signal is a non-profit organization, so it’s not looking to impress shareholders. All of this adds up to super-secure software that’s constantly monitored for flaws and has only one focus – keeping your communications encrypted from the time they leave your device until they arrive at the intended recipient. Along the way no one – not even Signal – can read or listen to them. Installation Setting up Signal is pretty straightforward. Once downloaded to your phone or tablet, the app will ask for permission to access your contacts and other media on your phone as well as th...

LogMeIn is well-known software that allows you to access your computer from remote locations using either mobile devices or another computer. The company’s Hamachi offering is slightly less well-known, because it is tailored toward business users, but if you have the need to network multiple computers together securely as a personal user, it might be worth a look.  What it does LogMeIn Hamachi allows you to create a VPN – virtual private network. While you might be familiar with VPNs as a way to tunnel into the internet from a remote location to guard your privacy, in this case, the VPN is used to create a network accessible by a particular group of users. Upon launching the very bare-bones software, you simply navigate to Network/Create A New Network, enter a password, and click Create. Once the network is formed, clicking on Manage/Manage Networks will take you to a web-based portal where you can control the network.  One of the key elements that can be set here is the t...

When it comes to protecting your PC, you can go a bit software crazy. There’s VPN software that lets you surf securely from an offsite computer; nanny software that lets parents control what their kids can access online; anti-malware software that protects against things like ransomware and phishing attempts; ad-blocking software; and, of course, anti-virus software. Or there’s Norton 360 that wraps all of this up in a neat little software bundle. It’s not cheap, but it is complete.  Level up Norton 360 offers four different levels of protection that range from affordable to ouch. But, depending on your needs and how many other software programs you may be able to stop paying for, even the maximum subscription level might still be a bargain for you. The Standard level costs $29.99 per year and includes protection against viruses and other online threats; a secure virtual private network (VPN); ad-blocking; anonymous browsing and bank-grade encryption for all your surfing activi...

With video taking up more space on the internet than ever before, it’s becoming increasingly important to have a good video editor in your digital toolbox. Whether you want to improve the quality of casual videos of family and friends or move into having your own channel on YouTube, the right video editing software can make your work look professional, even if you’re not. One of the standout video editors in terms of its price-to-value proposition is Filmora by Wondershare. Not only does it have a truly impressive array of tools to help boost, edit and enhance your video clips, but it provides it all at a price that doesn’t require a Hollywood salary.  Image features Although you might never need it, Filmora allows you to work on up to 100 different layers – both audio and video – at one time. If you’re just starting out as a video editor, that might seem overwhelming, but as you grow in your skill, you’ll definitely appreciate the possibilities this opens up in terms of making p...

If you’re even a moderate gaming enthusiast, you’ve likely heard of Discord, a messaging app that prides itself on near-instant voice chat as well as the ability to communicate via text and instant messaging. If you don’t game, chances are you’re thinking “Discord, what?”  While the completely free app has somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 million users, somehow, in the non-gaming community, it’s pretty much unknown. And that’s a bit of a shame because in terms of free voice/video/texting software, group collaboration tools, and ease of use, it’s hard to beat. In fact, even among paid messaging software, it stands up to all of the big boys.  Getting started Head to the Discord website, and you’ll have the opportunity to either access chat right through the web, or you can download a desktop app for machines running Windows 7 and up, or MacOS 10.10 (Yosemite) and up or Linux. Alternatively, you can download the mobile apps for iOS 10.0 and above at the Apple App Store or ...

If you’re a regular reader of FileHippo’s articles, you already know that we really think you need a VPN if you have any concerns at all about being tracked or having your personal data stolen. But for those of you who might have missed it, we’ll reiterate: you need a VPN!  Put simply, a VPN is a set of servers located in different countries around the world. Once you install VPN software on your computer, you can connect to these external servers and do all your surfing from there. This hides your real IP address, and lets you browse securely and anonymously. And when it comes to VPN software, ZenMate offers the whole package at a reasonable price.   Unlimited devices/platforms Many VPN services out there limit the number of devices you can connect to their servers at any one time – or, in fact, the number of devices on which you can even download the software. ZenMate is different because with one subscription, you’re allowed to install the program on all the devices you ...