How Cryptocurrency Projects Are Tackling Transparency and Security Problems

Blockchain is here to stay, but what are some ways to make it more stable?

I invested in BTC in 2010 (and sold shortly after, but have bought and sold all along since then), and have experienced a wild crypto ride. I've also advised and been working on a project that has developed the first application to bridge cryptocurrency with augmented reality.

I've seen the crypto market on both sides and witnessed the persistent problems of cryptocurrency exchanges, from hacks to insolvency. Institutions and mainstream investors are rightfully hesitant to engage with many exchanges, drawing from mainstream headlines such as the recent Binance hack to the tune of $40 million, as reported by CNBC. The security woes of centralized exchanges are not the only prominent issue that makes investors and regulators uneasy. Bitfinex’s recent misleading of investors about $850 million locked up, as reported by Coin Desk, with a shady capital firm and the bizarre and ongoing debacle of QuadrigaCX are only a recent spate in a long history of cryptocurrency exchanges mired in dilemmas. 

Fortunately, the problems of exchanges are well-known, and many projects, even some exchanges themselves, are working toward providing better trust, transparency and security. 

Improving transparency

One of the core problems with cryptocurrency exchanges, aptly demonstrated by both QuadrigaCX and Bitfinex, is transparency. 

QuadrigaCX was not solvent, and the exchange's owner was actively siphoning his own funds into customer withdrawals to appear solvent to the customers before his untimely death. Bitfinex, who dipped into its closely-related firm Tether’s reserves to cover an inaccessible $850 million of its funds, failed to disclose this information to customers -- and subsequently led to the New York Attorney General filing an injunction against it.

Add in the notion that the vast majority of cryptocurrency exchange actively engage in wash trading and report fake volumes, and transparency clearly is a cardinal issue in the exchange ecosystem.

Transparency primarily involves two areas: proof of solvency and proof of legitimate trading volumes. Proof of solvency is critical because investors need to know the risk of engaging with a financial entity that holds their funds. However, the issue that exchanges take with this is that they do not want to publicly disclose the financial details of their internal operations.

While various degrees of "proof of solvency" has been speculated as a potential scaling advantage for Bitcoin as well, some intriguing technical advances have produced promising glimpses of provable exchange reserves that remain private.

For example, Blockstream -- a leading Bitcoin development company -- announced its standardized tool for ensuring exchange solvency called "proof of reserves" earlier this year. Essentially, an exchange can prove their reserves of BTC without publicly moving or spending the reserves through generating an extra valid input with a transaction of their total reserves. 

All of the UTXOs would consequently become verifiable under the exchange's ownership without them risking moving the funds since the network would reject the transaction.

However, Blockstream’s proof of reserves still does not preserve privacy entirely, and their team is working on solutions to mask the value of the exchange UTXOs, which would be publicly available. 

Other solutions, such as Arpa, take privacy as the foremost consideration. Arpa relies on a fascinating subfield of cryptography called secure multi-party computation, which applied to exchanges, would enable them to jointly compute the average solvency of their exchanges without actually exposing the full solvency data to competitors. 

“ARPA’s cutting-edge cryptographic multiparty computation (MPC) disrupts the traditional way of using data, enables privacy-preserving computation or joint analysis of secret data, and replaces trusted data aggregator that captures the most out of the current data value chain, ” as explained by Arpa founder Felix Xu on its site. “Dapps built on ARPA layer 2 solutions across industries like finance, insurance, healthcare and even personal data wallet for secure data exchange and monetization.”

Some exchanges, including Poloniex (owned by Circle), have even begun publishing quarterly reports to provide better assurances of solvency to investors. 

Gemini, who also produces the Gemini Dollars stablecoin, has continually emphasized their close relationship with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) to assure investors of both their solvency and legitimacy. And the exchange provides the issuer, banking and security audit information for the Gemini Dollar stablecoin. 

Considering the lack of regulatory control over many exchanges located in obscure jurisdictions and their unwillingness to provide better transparency due to the "dark underbelly" money machine, tools such as BTI and Messari 10 can provide better information to investors. 

Unfortunately, they still will not solve the fake volumes predicament among exchanges. 

Removing centralized custody

Many initiatives in the cryptocurrency sector strive to remove centralized exchanges entirely, or at the very least, their custody. Exchange custody over user funds is an established security threat, and a new generation of trust-minimizing technology and P2P exchanges are working on circumventing centralized custody of funds.

Projects such as Atomic Wallet, a cryptocurrency wallet, focus on deploying a technology called Atomic Swaps. Atomic swaps enable users to exchange assets without third-party custodians ever taking control. The process is entirely P2P and supports cross-chain (i.e., Bitcoin to Ethereum) swaps. 

The type of interoperability afforded by atomic swaps is a prevailing trend in the broader cryptocurrency community as well. As more cryptocurrency networks launch looking to provide better scalability, interoperability is also becoming a significant consideration. 

Some projects even bypass custody altogether by both users or exchanges. For example, Morpheris a virtual trading platform where users speculate on the market of the underlying asset via Ethereum smart contracts. Smart contracts mint and burn the Morpher token based on the performance of the underlying asset represented by the contract. 

As a result, there are no fees and there is theoretically limitless liquidity for any type of market, considering the Morpher token can "morph" into any type of asset. According to Morpher: “If the underlying market gains in value, the smart contract issues new coins to the investor proportionally. If the underlying loses, staked coins are destroyed proportionally.”

The idea of P2P exchanges has also been gaining traction recently, although decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and P2P marketplaces have been around in the crypto sphere for several years. 

Traditionally, the problem of P2P marketplaces and DEXs is that their liquidity is insufficient compared to their centralized counterparts, largely excluding them from the partialities of traders.

Despite this, some P2P marketplaces such as Bisq are quickly gathering momentum -- in both users and volume. Particularly in economically destitute regions, such as Venezuela, P2P marketplaces such as LocalBitcoins, as reported by Coin Dance, are invaluable to pegging in and out of a store of value when the Bolivar has become effectively worthless. 

P2P marketplaces and DEXs still have a long way to go in reaching an optimal level of liquidity but, parallel to the rise of scalability and interoperability, should start becoming more popular among investors in the coming years. 

Even some centralized exchanges, such as Binance, are exploring DEXs. Binance’s DEX launched last month, and although it is yet to be seen just how decentralized it will be, it is indicative of Binance’s recognition of the larger trend at hand -- users want custody over their funds because they don’t trust exchanges. 

The implicit nature of trust makes trusting exchanges all the more difficult considering their history peppered with controversy, but at least projects and the overall industry are beginning to take a hard look at how to improve transparency and remove the need for custody of user funds.

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Score Career Advice From an Award-Winning Venture Capitalist

Skip the night classes and become a master financial analyst from the comfort of your own home.Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you'll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

Whether you're seeking a better understanding of risk management when it comes to investments or you're starting your own business, this Ultimate MBA in 1 Bundle is the next best thing to a degree in finance. Featuring Chris Haroun, a successful hedge fund founder, Colombia MBA graduate, and award-winning professor, this learning bundle boasts nearly 50 hours of in-depth financial training you'll find nowhere else.

Wondering what exactly The Ultimate MBA in 1 Bundle entails? First up, is The Complete Financial Analyst Training & Investing Course consisting of over 22 hours of invaluable content. In this initial course, you'll learn the basics of financial analyzation from how to build financial models and advanced Excel sheets to studying how to pitch long and short ideas to portfolio managers.

After understanding the basics, you can venture over to the bundle's Complete Job, Interview, Resume, LinkedIn & Networking Guide, where you'll not only learn to build the perfect resume, but you'll also have access to 12 hours of content and 250 lectures by man who knows this stuff best: award-winning professor and TEDx Talk speaker, Chris Haroun. Over the remaining three courses in the bundle, you'll explore how to build a comprehensive business plan (which provides you with over 50 templates), get the skinny on 101 things they don't typically teach you in business school, and a course Calhoun claims is an "entire MBA in one course"! Pretty impressive stuff for never having to step foot into a classroom, isn't it?

Individually, these courses can add up to somewhere around $1,000. But for a limited time, you can have access to The Ultimate MBA in 1 Bundle Ft. Chris Haroun with nearly 50 hours of content and hundreds of lessons for a mere $28.99 — you don't have to be a financial expert to know that's an incredible investment.

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LG Gram 17 Notebook Launched With Huge 16GB RAM & Fingerprint Sensor

LG has introduced a bigger PC with a 17-inch display which is very rare to see these days. The PC rocks a huge RAM and it comes in a portable body design and weighs average. The LG Gram 17 has a screen size of 17.3-inch screen with a resolution of 2560×1600 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. The Laptop weighs traditional 1.33kg which is the same with other laptops with 13 inches. It’s a big laptop though and it’s built with dark silver Carbon Magnesium alloy chassis that is only 17.8 mm thick. In addition to this, the LG Gram is powered by quad-core Intel Core i7-8565U processor and ’s UHD Graphics 620 iGPU graphics.

The inbuilt memory includes a huge 16 GB of DDR4-2400 RAM as well as 512 GB SATA SSD. The battery capacity on the inside is said to last up to 19.5 hours on a single charge. The connectivity options on the laptop are 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth module, three USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a USB Type-C connector that can be used for charging the PC. It also has a dedicated power connector which you can use to power the PC as well. You will get an HDMI output, a microSD slot, and a TRRS jack for headsets.
Other features include a webcam fitted with an IR sensor for Windows Hello which also serves as a fingerprint scanner for security.

• LG Grammy 17 Price And Availability

The LG Gram 17 is not a budget PC. It cost at a whopping price of $1,699 and you can buy it at BestBuy.
In Nigeria, The LG Gram 17 will sell at a price of 618,000 Naira.

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How Much Can Technology Be Trusted?

Since the industrial revolution, technology has changed society continually. Largely due to innovations in semiconductor electronics, software and computer technology, the pace of technological development has continued to accelerate over the past 50 years.

Personal computers now fit into your pocket. You have access to people and information all over the world through the Internet. Anything up to the size of a small building can be printed. Just about everything -- from your house to your car -- is becoming intelligent.

Yet every leap forward in technology is accompanied by concerns over its potential use or misuse. Most recently, concerns have ranged from the use of artificial intelligence to create smart weapons and unstoppable hacking bots, to 3D printed guns that are undetectable by traditional security scanners.

Unfortunately, much like the news itself, by the time people grow concerned about the possible negative applications or misuse of the technology, that misuse already is possible.


Innovation Begets Innovation

Innovation itself is a catalyst for future innovation. As a result, an innovation by one person or organization enables and encourages innovations by others.

Consider that initial innovation in 3D printing, using plastics, enabled innovation in printing using a wide variety of materials, ranging from ceramics to metals and glass. Likewise, 3D printing spawned innovations in printing cars, buildings and, yes, even guns.

The process happened so fast that plans for 3D printed weapons were available well before the airing of recent concerns about the release of plans for such weapons. This topic is just now becoming a focus of government bodies and various organizations. The fact is, regulations have not curbed the development of the technology, nor are they likely to prevent its proliferation.

Additionally, many innovations are the result of research for malicious purposes -- or as we like to call them, defense. I have been in the tech industry for over 30 years and spent a considerable amount of time working around military and aerospace applications. What most people don't realize is that many of the innovations in our lives are a direct result of military and aerospace applications and other government-funded research.

Everything from wireless communications to the predecessor of the Internet to autonomous vehicles has been a focus of government research. In the U.S., funding comes from multiple sources, including the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, NASA and many other organizations.

As a result, a new technology often is developed and implemented in a variety of applications long before society becomes aware of it, or expresses concerns about it -- long before it is utilized in consumer applications. Government applications often include weapons.

Note that this pattern is not limited to electronics. The same is true for energy, chemical, biomedical and other forms of technology. Additionally, advances in one form of technology often enable advances in other forms of technology.

Advances in AI are rapidly accelerating advances in other technologies by enabling the ability to build models and simulations larger and faster than humans are capable of processing. As a result, technology is moving so fast that it is impossible to see all the potential consequences, much yet the applications, in advance.

This may be one reason that the entertainment industry often depicts the future so negatively -- and so often as the result of technology. It reflects our collective fear of those unintended consequences.
Regulator Ignorance

Yet today, technology impacts just about every aspect of our lives. Technology is also a key driver in economic growth and the generation of wealth. Technology companies are driving advances in global stock markets, and the technology they develop is powering the markets and the investors in those markets.

So, despite some of the negative ramifications of technology, the world generally benefits from continued advances.

While many believe that there should be some curbs or control over certain technologies, the reality is that regulators often are ignorant about technology, and bureaucracies cannot react fast enough to have any significant impact on its progress.

Given the impacts of technology on the economy and society, it's not clear that regulators should be interfering with the pace of technological innovation.

Innovation comes from everything from garage tinkerers to multibillion-dollar organizations. Where would we be if regulators tried to control the founders of Apple and Microsoft, or current tech leaders like Amazon and Google?

The rate of technological innovation is increasing, and concerns over the use of technology often lag the innovation. As a result, many people put an inherent trust in the technology.

Society wants to believe that technology will be used for the common good. However, technology can and will continue to be used for any and all possible applications. The trust really should be in the belief that people and society will use technology in a positive manner -- not for malicious purposes. Further, people should not fear the pace of technology, but accept that the future still holds enormous possibilities. 

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Three Steps For Combating Cybercrime

In this digital age, we all need to be aware of the threat of cybercriminals and their ability to get through our systems. While we are all aware of the need for antivirus software, there are also many other ways that we can combat the threat of hacking or other forms of cybercrime. Here we are going to look at some of those ways and discuss their value.

Photo by VISHNU-KV from Pixabay
1. Recognize a Threat

One of the most important things that we should all be able to when it comes to cybercrime is recognizing a threat when it arises. So let’s go through what can of threats you can expect.

First of all, malware and spyware. These are types of software that hackers will use to access your computer to either steal passwords or other personal information. You’ll be able to pick on these kinds of attacks by performing regular checks on your machine and noting any unusual redirects to websites, pop-up adverts or irregular activity on your accounts.

Phishing is another form of cybercrime that you should be aware of. This is when fraudsters will send you an email asking you to click on a link and provide personal information. Some of these emails have become more sophisticated in recent years so good practice is to treat emails that ask for private data with extreme caution.



2. Deal With A Problem

As referenced above, you should make sure that you have antivirus software installed and a good firewall. However, these won’t always protect you against all types of scams that are being pulled online. You should treat unsolicited links and pop-ups with a careful eye and report spam emails to your provider as soon as possible.

One way to deal with a problem is to take preventative measures before you fall victim. That means having strong passwords, keep abreast of the latest internet security news and explore the option of a VPN.

A VPN is a virtual private network that provides you with an extremely secure connection. These services are usually paid for, but they do offer an extra level of security to the user.

Photo by xresch from Pixabay

3. Be The Security You Want to See

If you’re tech-savvy, then something you can do is join the fight against cybercrime. There is an ever growing need for people with the skills to create systems and software to combat evolving malware, phishing scams and other forms of digital security breaches. If that sounds like something you can do or would like to look into, you should invest your time in an online masters in cyber security online and be the change you want to see.

As we all move towards a more computer literate and dependent society, the need for people who are able to do things like coding, programming, and think outside the box to provide solutions are becoming more important than ever before.

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Top 5G Phones Are Coming : Most Expected 2019 5G Smartphones

5G smartphones are coming and you can’t do anything about it.




5G smartphones

To be honest 2018 like all other years changed how our mobile phones looked.

We saw phones like the
Xiaomi Mi Max 3
Hauwei Mate 20 Pro
Samsung S9
Google Pixel 3

and so many more great smartphones out there. We also got to see brands like Oppo and Vivo push design trends to a totally different level with the Vivo Nex and Oppo Find X respectively. Not to forget the in-display fingerprint scanner on most of the flagship smartphones.

2019 is just around the corner and there’s one thing we all are certainly excited about – “5G”.

5G smartphones are definitely going to be taking over in 2019, with many of the biggest Android OEMs already confirming that they are working on 5G-ready phones.





Also confirming this is Qualcomm chief, Christiano Amon, has confirmed that “every Android vendor is working of 5G right now”, and it becomes increasingly clear that by the end of 2019 5G is going to be well and truly here.

At Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Technology Summit in Hawaii this month, Amon stated that:


“By the holidays next year, every flagship handset – at least when it comes to those running Google’s Android software and using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor – will tap into 5G.”

Considering the current technologies we have around us, we can’t deny the fact that we need more speed. Besides, who even likes slow internet. Things like Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality ,iOT and even self driving cars need such speed and considering they all would be easily controlled from our phones speed is a necessity

In this post I’ll be talking about the best 5G phones we’re expecting in 2019, with brands like Samsung, Sony, OnePlus ,Xiaomi and Huawei giving us the best to expect but before that –


What Is 5G And How Does It Work?

5G is the successor of 4G LTE . Once phones are built to support 5G we can definitely expect faster internet speed.
How much Faster?

It actually depends on your device , location, and network, but you should expect improvements of around 15-50 percent . 5G can actually improve on 4G many more times than that in lab conditions, so there’s definitely a lot room to grow: just imagine full 4K movies downloading in a minute or two, and you’re in the right area.

5G is not just about faster internet , It’s also about capacity, and being able to get a strong network signal in extremely crowded areas. In other words, you wouldn’t lose network reception at a crowded arena or a music concert.


MOST ANTICIPATED 5G SMARTPHONES


1. SAMSUNG GALAXY S10







South Korean OEM , Samsung has just given a sneak peak of its incoming 5G flagship at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit in Maui, which ran from December 4 – 6.

The sneak peak showed a Galaxy S10, streameing native 4K movies from Netflix without any issues whatsoever, as well as simultaneously outputting the video to a connected 4K TV.

And, simply put, the transition to 5G for the Galaxy S10 would make a lot of sense as it would add dramatically to its list of features that will have Apple very worried.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 is slated for launch at Mobile World Congress 2019, taking place at the end of February, it would also cement Samsung’s position at the fore of the 5G charge, leaving many of its rivals playing catch up.




2. HUAWEI P30 OR MATE 30







Just watching by Walter Ji, President of Huawei’s Western European Consumer Business Group speaking at an exclusive interview to T3 , I can confirm that Huawei is working on 5G

The senior Huawei exec confirmed that 5G would feature “if not for P30, then for sure it will be in the Mate series next September”.

According to Mr Ji –


“We have two flagship products. In March, we have the P series, and in October, we have the Mate series. So it will depend on how the chipset develops, because the 5G needs high power consumption.”

Considering that battery life is one of the smartphone industry’s biggest challenges right now and most flagship phones delivering at most a day and half of battery life between charges, clearly companies are going to have to find ways to increase their handsets’ internal batteries, or streamline and optimise how energy is used.
3. ONE PLUS 7 / 7T



OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed at the Mobile World Congress held in Shanghai that the company is “working with US carriers” to bring a 5G smartphone to market next year.

That means that either the OnePlus 7 or possibly the OnePlus 7T is going to be that 5G phone

Also,considering that OnePlus really knows what they are doing in terms of hardware too, I expect them not to fall back in 2019.

OnePlus usually releases its flagship phones around May or July, so the OnePlus 7 would likely be among the second wave of 5G devices, coming directly after Samsung, Sony and Huawei.


4. OPPO 2019 5G FLAGSHIP



Oppo is definitely one of my favorite brands and I really like what they are cooking up for consumers in 2019.

Oppo has reportedly confirmed that it has successfully made a connection between a customised Oppo R15 smartphone and a 5G network. Although this connection was made in Oppo’s 5G communication protocol laboratory, it is still a very positive sign that they have 5G in their books.

In January , Oppo concluded a deal with Qualcomm to use its components for devices, while in May 2018 it also showed the world’s first 5G video call, too. Expect a March or April release date for Oppo’s first 5G phone based on the launch window of 2018’s Oppo R15.


5. XIAOMI MI MIX 3





Another of my favorite brands – Xiaomi . They launched the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 in late October and, iis currently set for a Q1 2019 release date. This would put it near the front of the 5G smartphone release schedule which is not suprising since they’re known for spearheading new trends.

5G aside, the Mi Mix 3 is a pretty solid device, with a magnetically sliding 6.39-inch OLED display embedded in a sleek bezel-less design (93.4% screen-to-body ratio), and a suite of hardware that includes a maximum of 10GB of RAM and 256GM of storage space, as well as a dual rear camera system (24MP + 2MP). It’s expected to cost around N280,000 (565 Pounds) .



The big question on my mind is – Is Nigeria Ready For 5G? Considering that MTN has been making some moves in that direction I guess we should keep our fingers crossed

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Setting up Your New Macbook

If you just got a new MacBook and do not have a FileVault backup, you have to set things up from scratch. If you’re just moving from Windows and this is your very first time with macOS, there are certain settings you need to change to make it easier using your new laptop.

This post lists 11 basic settings and features you need to tweak to improve your user experience with your new machine.
1. Enable battery percentage

You’re going to be looking at lot at your battery level, but the percentage is hidden by default. To enable battery percentage on macOS:

– Click the battery icon at the top-right.






– Click Show Percentage.
2. Add shortcuts to Finder sidebar

To make finding files easier, you need to customize your Finder UI. By default, lots of needed shortcuts are hidden from the sidebar. To quickly access your hard drive, music and movies folder, you can add them as shortcuts to the sidebar.

– Look for Finder on the dock and open.

– On the menu bar, click Finder > Preferences.



– Select the Sidebar tab.

– Select the items you intend to show every time on Finder’s sidebar.
3. Show file extensions

You may not really need this. As a matter of fact, you should only enable it if you know exactly what you’re doing. If you intend to see every file extension, you sure need it. For instance, I want to be able to differentiate PNG images from JPEG images within the same folder. To do this:

– Launch Finder.

– On the menu bar, click Finder > Preferences

– Select the Advanced tab.



– Check show all filename extensions.
4. Enable Finder tab, path and status bar

Since you’re going to be spending lots of time within Finder, you should do all it takes to make it a very effective tool. Personally, I always like to know exactly where I am when I’m within a folder and the only way to know this is by enabling Finder path and status. I also want to be able to create Finder tabs easily.

– Launch Finder.



– On the menu bar, click Show Path Bar, Show Status Bar, Show Tab Bar.
5. Adjust Trackpad settings

By default, a new MacBook’s touchpad is not fun to use. You can’t simply tap to click. You might also want to adjust the tracking speed and customize the trackpad to taste.

– Go to System Preferences > Trackpad.

– Check Tap to click.

– You might also adjust the tracking speed if the default isn’t perfect for you.
6. Install apps from 3rd party

Chances are that you’re going to install a lot of third-party apps from outside the App Store. Apple seems to discourage this by only allowing to install from the App Store and verified developers by default. To be able to install apps from anywhere:
On macOS Sierra and newer versions

– Go to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.

– Type (or simply paste) this:

sudo spctl --master-disable

– This should disable Gatekeeper and let you install apps from anywhere.
On older versions of OS X

– Go to System Preferences > Security.

– Under Allow applications downloaded from, check Anywhere.

Note: Changing this setting might pose a security risk. Be sure you know what you’re doing before allowing your machine to install apps from just anywhere.
7. Customize the Touch Bar

If your MacBook comes with the Touch Bar, you should consider customizing available shortcuts if you’re going to be using it a lot. To do this:

– Go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Customize Control Strip.

– Remove items you don’t need from the Touch Bar and add new ones using the simple drag and drop interface.



– Click Done when you’re satisfied with the new look.
8. Make menu bar and dock dark

Even though a better dark mode is coming with macOS Mojave, I’ve been using the inbuilt dark theme for my menu bar and dock as seen in the screenshots above. If this appeals to you, it can be enabled easily:

– Go to System Preferences > General.

– Check Use dark menu bar and Dock.


9. Enable Night Shift

It has been proven that blue light from mobile devices and laptops might mess with your sleep pattern. To let your MacBook automatically filter out blue light at night, you should enable Night Shift from the settings.

– Go to System Preferences > Displays > Night Shift.

– Choose your preferred schedule (but Sunset to Sunset is recommended).
10. Show Emoji shortcut

If you use emojis a lot, you might want to have a shortcut on your menu bar. To do this:

– Go to System Preferences > Keyboard.

– Check Show keyboards and emoji viewers in menu bar.
11. Customize dock

You’re definitely going to be launching applications mostly from the Dock. Chances are that you won’t be using most of the apps added by default. To remove items from the Dock, you can simply drag them off.

To add new items, go to your applications folder, then drag and drop new items to the dock.

By going to System Preferences > Dock, you can also customize the general look

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Computer Tricks Every Computer Geek Should Know

Smartphones have already taken over the gadgets world, but mobile technology is yet to reach the point where the computer would no longer be needed. The truth is this: there are tasks that can only be performed on a proper computer which is unattainable on a mobile device. The ability of computers to perform tasks easier and faster than smartphones has made the use of the computer a necessity in some aspects.


Most computer geeks already know that life without a computer is impossible. Once you own a personal computer (laptop/desktop), you will always be eager to work on it instead of a mobile device. While we have some individuals that usually keep their computers indoor, only for them to check it about once in a month to confirm if it is still in good health or not, there are still a group of people who only make use of their computers to watch movies. I must tell you this, there are still more you can do with your gadgets, specifically your computer, rather than just keeping it indoors or watching movies alone. And if you are the type that always makes use of your computer, there are some simple hacks or tricks I will be introducing to you.
1. Change Windows password without knowing the previous password

A. For Windows 7, Vista, and XP Users, locate and right-click on My Computer shortcut on your desktop. Then click on Manage to enter into Computer Management. For Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 users, move your mouse to the bottom left corner of your monitor, right click there and enter into Computer Management.








B. Now navigate to Local Users and Groups >> Users. You will be presented with the list of users on your computer. Right-click on any user you want to change its password and choose Set Password.


C. A Popup may come up, just click on proceed. Another page will appear asking for the new password. Just enter the password and click OK.


2. Check your computer full details



Press Windows + R buttons on your keyboard. A box will come up at the bottom left, just type MSINFO32 and click OK.


3. Shortcut to enter Task Manager

Open Task Manager straight away by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC. Another alternative is using CTRL+ALT+DEL and selecting Task Manager from the list.
4. Securing certain file/folder with password

a. Navigate to the file or folders you want to secure. Right-click on the file or folder, a menu list appear just click on properties.

b. A small popup will show up with the file/folder properties just click on Advanced.


c. Tick the box beside of Encrypt contents to secure data.


d. Click OK and then Click Apply. If “confirm attribute changes” show up, just choose to apply changes to this folder, sub-folders and files.
So the file or folder that pass through the above process will only be accessible to anyone that enters the correct encryption password.
Note: If you don’t have encryption set up on your system before a popup will display on the windows taskbar to complete the setup process.
5. Add checkboxes to icons

Just open File Explorer, switch to the view tab at the top and tick the box beside item check boxes.
With this little trick, there will be no need of holding shift button to select multiple files or folders.


6. Block browsers from opening websites

Did you know that you can block all your browsers from opening a particular website or list of websites? Yes you can by simply following the below steps:

A. Press Windows Button + R, input %windir%\system32\drivers\etc in the box and click OK. You can do this alternatively by navigating to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc


B. If you right-click on hosts and open with notepad, you won’t be allowed to save changes. So the best way is to open notepad as administrator from Windows Start Menu and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc then open the hosts file.


c. Now if you want to block a website, e.g. we want to block http://example.com. Just input
127.0.0.2 example.com
127.0.0.3 www.example.com

Note: The last number after 127.0.0. should be increased depending on the number of websites you want to block. You have to re-edit the hosts file and remove the code to unblock the websites.
7. Redirect a website to another domain on your PC

There are instances you wouldn’t like friends using your PC to visit a particular website. If you don’t want to block the website you can also redirect the website to another domain on your PC. e.g. You want to redirect someone trying to visit google.com to twitter.com.

A. Open Command Prompt (cmd), input tracert google.com and hit enter. The website IP Address will be displayed to you. Just note it somewhere.


B. Open notepad as administrator from Windows Start Menu and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc then open the hosts file.


c. Input the website IP address you noted earlier followed by a space and the website it should be directed to i.e google.com to twitter.com will be 172.217.23.14 twitter.com


d. Just save the input and the website will be redirected to the new address you specified.
8. Screenshot certain part of your display screen



There are instances you will just need to take a screenshot of a certain part of the screen. i.e. just small portion of the screen and not the full page. To get this done, go to start menu and search for Snipping Tool.



This lets you take a full or partial screenshot of your display.

There are several other computer tricks not covered in this article but these are definitely those every Windows user should know.

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Samsung's Galaxy S phones are usually announced in the first quarter of the year

Samsung's Galaxy S phones are usually announced in the first quarter of the year, so we're still a few months out from the unveiling. We already have an idea of what the device will look like, though, thanks to renders from OnLeaks at 91mobiles.

91mobiles identifies this devices as the "Galaxy S10 Plus," and it lines up well with previous rumors about the S10. There are a whopping four cameras on the back (rumored to be a wide-angle lens, a telephoto lens, a main camera, and a depth camera for bokeh effects) and two cameras on the front. The front design gets dramatically slimmer bezels compared to the Galaxy S9, and for the front camera Samsung is going with a new "hole punch" design. A camera hole shouldn't have much functional difference compared to a camera notch. It will be a dead area of the screen, and while you could just have the area above the camera be dead space, Samsung is flexing its display technology and surrounding the camera with pixels. Again there's a lot of corroboration here: Samsung previously announced this "Infinity-O" display technology.

Having a hole in the screen will be a new thing for an Android device, but in the software it will most likely work the same way as a camera notch. Android will extend the status bar around the display hole, giving apps a normal, uninterrupted rectangular area to play in, while only the system deals with the awkward display shape at the top. In the case of these Galaxy S10 renders, it looks like the status bar will need to be twice as tall as normal to surround the display hole.



It also looks like there's still a heart rate sensor at the end of the rear camera bar, but you won't see fingerprint reader hardware anywhere. The S10 is still expected to have an in-screen fingerprint reader: an invisible, in-screen sensor from Qualcomm. Sure enough, this week Qualcomm announced the "3D sonic sensor," its ultrasonic fingerprint component. We've already seen the OnePlus 6T with an in-screen optical fingerprint reader, but that only took a 2D picture of your fingerprint. Qualcomm's ultrasonic sensor will be able to map the ridges and valleys of your finger in 3D, so it should be more secure. With the move to an in-screen reader, Samsung is dumping the iris scanning technology the company debuted in the Galaxy Note 7 in 2016.

One other thing that was indicated in these renders: Samsung is keeping the headphone jack! The universally compatible 3.5mm jack is still there on the bottom of the phone, along with a USB-C port and speaker. This will make it one of the only flagships (along with LG, possibly) to keep the headphone jack around. It looks like there is also still a Bixby button.

Between having a rumored three different S10 sizes, plus a 5G version, plus a move into foldable devices, Samsung is rumored to release five flagship

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What’s the Deal with Virtual Reality?

Has all the hype about virtual reality intrigued you? What’s going on with this virtual reality stuff anyway?

By now, virtual reality (VR) has probably made it on to your radar screen in some way. Maybe you’ve only heard about it in bits and pieces, or maybe you’ve tried it yourself. Whatever the case, virtual reality feels like it could be the new generation of advanced technology.

Source: BagoGames // Flickr

So, what’s going on with virtual reality? How does it work? What impact is it having on your brain?

Though I have tried a virtual reality headset before, I realized I really didn’t know that much about it, or what is possible with this technology. I’d never really had virtual reality explained to me in a way I was able to understand.
So what do you think, would you give VR a try?

Now, you may have been thinking to yourself how isolating virtual reality seems. As fun as it is to watch your friend crawl around your living room with funny goggles on their face, wouldn’t VR be much more fun if more people could be involved and experiencing the same thing?

Luckily, I wasn’t the only one with this line of thought, and The Good Stuff created another great video in their series exploring VR that tackles the ultimate in virtual reality, creating a real life Holodeck.

I am most excited by all the possibilities that advanced technology like virtual reality present. The opportunities for connecting people across cultures, bringing worlds wonders to our homes, enriching the teaching power of classrooms, and so much more are boundless.

We are only in the early stages when it comes to fleshing out the broader applications for VR, and where it ends up taking us is unimaginable. It is fascinating to think about where this kind of technology will take us in the next 100 years, and the innovative thinkers that will move us forward.

Another beauty of Virtual Reality? It isn’t just for kids. Spend a little time with this article to see a wonderful video on how it can help us revisit our memories.

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5G the future is here

It all started with GPRS, then progressed to 2G, then gradually, 3G came to life and we thought we had it all. Then came the 4G, which really wowed everyone because it was really super fast. Almost all devices made this year featured the 4G network.
 But now, 5G is going to change everything! Well, at least change our definition of the word fast!

But would mobile devices be able to run on the 5G network?

No for now!



But that isn’t a problem for now. 5G mobile networks are already being built. Verizon even just launched a 5G service for home internet.

What Needs to be in Place?

For the 5G to be fully functional and operational, providers need to build a new set of cell towers that are smaller in size and closer together than the ones the 4G is currently using. This would enable the 5G signals to get around obstacles like trees and buildings, with a speed 257 times faster than the 4G! Wow!



But your phone can’t just connect to the 5G network (because of compatibility issues), but we hope phone manufacturers would debut 5G compatible phones at the February’s Mobile World Congress.

Sadly, a new report says Apple would not adopt this new technology till 2020. But this is not all bad news because the technology would not be fully developed and functional till 2020.

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D-Link gets on the 5G train with a new home router

CES 2019 hasn’t officially started yet, but it’s clear that 5G is going to be a big theme at this years show. Case in point: D-Link’s new 5G NR Enhanced Gateway(also known as the DWR-2010), a home router that instead of plugging into a traditional cable jack or modem, instead will use 5G mobile broadband to supply Wi-Fi for a house.

D-Link isn’t offering a whole lot of information just yet as to how much the device will cost, which carriers it’ll be working with, and what data prices will look like compared to traditional broadband, but it’s certainly an intriguing concept considering the promises of 5G, particularly if it really can deliver comparable speeds without requiring the same level of building-by-building infrastructure.

That said, D-Link is offering a few promising details: according to the company, the DWR-2010 will offer speeds up to 40 times faster than the average broadband speed in the US of 70 Mbps (which some quick math works out to 2.8 Gbps). Additionally, the DWR-2010 is expected to support both the sub-6 GHz and mmWave portions of the 5G standard, whenever it does release to carriers to sell sometime in the second half of 2019.

Along with the new 5G router, D-Link is also announcing a few new smart home acccessories under the company’s mydlink line. There’s a pair of new smart plugs: the Indoor Wi-Fi Smart Plug (DSP-W118) and the Outdoor Wi-Fi Smart Plug (DSP-W320), both of which support Google Assistant, Alexa, and the mydlink app without the need for a central hub. (The indoor DSP-W118 is designed to avoid blocking other outlets, while the outdoor plug offers two outlets and a weatherproof, IP44-rated design.) The two smart plugs should go on sale sometime in Q2 2019, although no price has been announced yet.

There’s also a new Wi-Fi water sensor, which helps warn against flooding by detecting water. And in an improvement over last year’s model, the new DCH-S161 model is now powered off AA batteries this time, making it far more versatile to place in areas that would need flood monitoring that aren’t near a power outlet (D-Link says the the batteries should last roughly a year and a half). Additionally, the new sensor also supports Google Assistant, making it one of the first smart water sensors to do so. It’ll go on sale later in Q1 2019 for $49.99.

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