Posting your latest vacation photos to Facebook whenever you want is easy to do now even while abroad, especially as the EU has now capped roaming costs in Europe. Maximum price caps for data roaming have been introduced at 23 euro cents per Megabyte, with an automatic cost-brake kicking in to cut off the mobile Internet connection once the limit of 59.90 euros per month has been reached. That said, roaming charges further afield can be much higher, with costs varying depending on the cellular network provider even in a few European countries like Switzerland. You really need to know the terms of your cell phone contract, even if you only want to connect to the Internet occasionally to, for example, retrieve the weather forecast. Most installed apps communicate constantly with the Internet in the background; they also collect data, send location information, and attempt to download and install their latest versions. What’s more, it’s tedious and sometimes completely impossible to deactivate these resource-hungry apps.

Protect your wallet
The best thing to do is to contact your network provider before going on vacation, as contracts are not always clear and transparent – especially those notorious bundle deals which combine SMS, talk-time, and data allowances. If you use up your allowance for data and you’re still in credit in terms of your SMS and talk-time allowances, the bundle offer remains valid, but data is charged at a much higher standard price. In such cases, it makes more sense to buy a temporary international roaming bundle. Many providers offer these and they often include cheap-rate talk-time and SMS allowances. You can now also do this while abroad. They will send you information on the current tariff conditions when you first register with the foreign network and provide you with updated conditions afterwards.

Monitor your usage
Knowledge is power, and that also applies to the costs you accumulate. Many providers offer an app which lets you see how much you’ll be charged for the talk-time you’ve used. This lets you pull the emergency brake and deactivate the mobile data connection if it gets too expensive. Another option is to use your precious data resources more economically. Opera and Chrome browsers let you compress websites before you download them, resulting in data savings of 80 to 90%. However, this method has one disadvantage: since Opera and Google servers compress the data, they can tell which websites you’ve been visiting.

Pros and cons of WiFi hotspots
Privacy and data security are important vacation topics anyway. WiFi hotspots are often used to connect cheaply to the Internet. One global company offering access is Fon, which says it has over 13 million hotspots worldwide at around 3 US dollars per day to use. This would pave the way for unrestricted surfing, were it not for one or two digital threats lurking around every corner. WiFi hotspots are notorious for their lax security. Anyone can see the wireless signals, with communication often continuing over an unsecured connection once the user has logged in. The user has no influence on this as the hotspot provider defines how the connection is secured. What’s more, anyone who has access to the hotspot provider’s Wi-Fi network and is near the hotspot can see the data.

Best approach for now
The easiest way to avoid such risks is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This encrypted tunnel protects information right from the start to the end of its transfer. To use it, you need to have software installed on your mobile phone, tablet or notebook and a node which creates the tunnel only after you have logged in correctly. Companies like OpenVPN and Hotspot Shield offer free or reasonably priced VPN connections. These types of connection are merely a restricted type of VPN where the connection between the device and the server is secured by the provider; after that, data packets escape into the Internet unencrypted. Despite this, at least third parties in the direct vicinity of the hotspot cannot eavesdrop on the network connection. That said, the question remains as to whether the VPN provider handles the information with due care; after all, it can read all the data as plain, unencrypted text.

Public PCs at hotel or Internet cafes can be extremely dangerous to use while on vacation. The computers are often infected with viruses and Trojans that log key strokes (with spyware known as ‘keyloggers’) to intercept your private data. If you absolutely need to transfer sensitive information using such a device, you should take a secure operating system environment with you on a DVD or write-protected USB stick and use this to boot the computer.

The best thing to do is to send as little personal information as possible over an unsecured connection while on vacation. In addition, you should enable the firewall on your device and install the latest version of a security software solution such as Avira Antivirus Pro, Avira Internet Security Suite or Avira Free Antivirus (also available for iOS & Android).

The post How to safely access the Internet while on vacation appeared first on Avira Blog.

Although not all things were better in the past, mobile phone batteries definitely were. The classic Nokias and Samsungs, which you could use only to make calls, would easily last for up to two weeks in standby mode. Conversely, you’ll be lucky to get a full 24 hours of battery power from one of the latest smartphones. This is due to improved and more powerful components, countless additional functions, and of course the energy consumption of dozens of apps. That said, even the most heavily used smartphones can have a bit longer battery-life if you follow a few simple tricks.

Built-in ways to save some power
A few hours of battery life can be gained by using your phone’s onboard tools. For instance, your screen is an immense consumer of energy. The screensaver should be activated as soon as possible; 30 seconds of waiting time is usually enough. Both Android and iOS offer automatic brightness controls that you should limit to lower maximum levels. One trick in particular helps save power on modern OLED and AMOLED (organic-LED) screens, such as those used on the Samsung S5: Only active pixels consume power; black pixels do not. Background images with large black areas are less draining on the battery than a colorful, bright image – so choose your images wisely.

Control larger data updates manually
Next up for making a big difference are the interfaces to the outside world. Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS consume a disproportionately high amount of power. If you don’t need to use the smartphone’s wireless connections, deactivate them. In most cases, it’s also possible to throttle the data-connection speed and save power in the process by using UMTS instead of LTE or 3G instead of UMTS. A reduced bandwidth is also more than fine if you’re just checking your emails occasionally. What’s more, push services like email and regularly staying in touch via the Internet really drain the battery. If you collect your emails at the press of a button and also update Facebook manually, your battery will last much longer.

Be discerning about the apps you use
In this respect, apps that are sponsored by ads are also fatal. Compared to paid apps, they communicate more often with the developer to share location data and other information – pushing the charging indicator into the red. Widgets for weather forecasts or audio streaming of Internet radio services are power hungry as well. It’s also worthwhile to deactivate automatic app updates. Downloading an update doesn’t just require a lot of power; the apps constantly checking to see if a new version is available also drains battery. The Google Play Store is configured by default to download app updates automatically.

Double-check app permissions
Depending on your version of iOS or Android, it can become a real game of hide and seek to find out whether apps remain active in the background. Later mobile OS versions make it easier for users to find out which apps are the most power-hungry. In most cases you can also remove the app’s permission to remain active in the background. If the operating system doesn’t reveal any (or very little) information about how power is being consumed, other apps can help. One Touch Battery Saver (Android, free) provides information on how much power apps are consuming and switches off Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS positioning automatically, according to predefined rules. Other apps like Juice Defender (Android, free) and Tasker (Android, € 4.49) use profiles for specific situations that only allow you to use essential apps and interfaces.

Apple makes it difficult for apps to save power actively. The security model implemented in iOS prevents intervening in other apps’ runtime behavior. As such, most apps primarily supply users with information, based on which they must then decide which apps they want to continue to have running. Battery HD+ (iOS, free) also does a detailed job of helping reveal the most power-hungry apps, as does Battery Doctor Pro (iOS, free). It’s worthwhile checking on a regular basis as even reliable apps suck the battery dry as a result of faulty updates. Scotty Loveless describes in even more detail all the steps for getting maximum life out of iOS devices in the “ultimate guide to solving iOS battery drain.”

The future is just… different
There is little to criticize when it comes to advancements in rechargeable batteries and technology. The memory effect of the past is no longer an issue for standard li-ion and li-polymer batteries, plus they’re charged to perfection using extremely smart charging circuits. The old rule of “only recharge the battery once it’s completely flat” is no longer valid. Modern batteries can and should be connected to the charger as often as possible. Extreme temperatures, however, are still public enemy number one, with heat in particular causing batteries to lose storage capacity rapidly. As such, never leave your smartphone or tablet in direct sunlight or in the car during summer.

And if, despite all of these tips and tricks, some of you find your battery doesn’t pack enough power to keep your smart phone running as long as you’d like, you can always buy an additional battery. These are available in stick form or as a slim gadget for handbag or briefcase. There are also some really stylish rechargeable battery packs out there which additionally serve as smartphone cases.

The post Tips and tricks how to improve smartphone battery life appeared first on Avira Blog.