Your Computer Weekly

January 25th, 2012 - How to Sideload Android Apps: You've found that hot new app on the Android Market, and you can't wait to click the Install button. But you're getting the message that the app isn't compatible with your device. Being the good Maximum user that you are, you'd rather find out for yourself. Those messages are sometimes wrong, after all. Or perhaps you want to take advantage of the daily giveaways in the Amazon Appstore. Or, if you're one of the millions of Kindle Fire owners, you may want more choices than the limited Amazon Appstore provides. All of the above comprise sufficient reason to start sideloading apps to your Android device. Step 1: Get Some Apps to Sideload The reason you sideload apps in the first place is because you're sourcing them from a place other than the sanctioned method, which is usually the Android Market or some device-specific boutique app store. Android Apps come in the form of .apk files. You can procure such files from a prior device backup, straight from a developer's website, and of course from… the Internet (you know the deal). Next, transfer those .apk files from your PC to your Android however you like: on a microSD card (image above), through a cloud service such as Dropbox, via a USB transfer, etc. Just remember what directory those files end up in, so you don't have to root through too many folders looking for them later. Step 2: Tweak Applications Settings The default setting in Android is to not allow the installation of non-Market applications. Fie on that! Go to your Android device's Settings, and under Applications, check the "Unknown sources" box (image below), allowing you, in effect, to sideload. Some unfortunate souls may have tyrannical devices that have modded the Android OS to not allow sideloading at all, in which case they'll have to look into rooting the device or installing custom Android ROMs. But that's a whole other How To. Step 3: Install the Apps Through a File Manager To install your .apk apps, you essentially launch the files through a file manager app. Many Android devices come with a file manager preloaded. For the rest, there are tons of file managers out there and a good handful of high-quality free ones. If you have access to the Android Market, like most Android users, we like Metago's Astro File Manager or Rhythm Software's File Manager HD for Honeycomb tablets. For folks locked into the Amazon Appstore (users of the Grid10, Kindle Fire, etc.), we prefer ES File Explorer. Because you heeded our warning to remember what folder your .apk’s are in, you just need to launch your file manager and find them (image above). If they're on a microSD card, you'll probably need to hit the file manager's Up button a couple of times to find the "Removable" directory. Touching an .apk icon will open the Package Installer, where you can touch the Install button to finish the deed (image below). Now that app, whether it will function properly or not, is ready to launch. Enjoy the sweet freedom of the gray market! @MaxTechMarkkus for relevant chirpings.

January 18th, 2012 - SOPA Protests: How To Use Google Cache To View Blacked-Out Websites: Websites with a beef against over-reaching legislation have drawn a line in the sand; today, many of them are following Reddit’s lead and going black to protest SOPA and PIPA. The controversial bills have been under heavy fire recently, and the heat’s bound to increase when 25 million Joe and Jill Everymen find Wikipedia cold, dark, and urging readers to contact their Congressional representatives. But you’re not Joe or Jill Everyman. You’re a Maximum PC reader, a tech-savvy webizen who already understands that SOPA flat-out sucks. What if you need to get your Wikipedia (or Destructoid, or Boing Boing, or…) on today? Don’t worry – there’s a way around the blackout if you know exactly what you’re looking for, thanks to the magic of Google’s all-encompassing cache. First, boot up your browser and head over to Google, where you’ll just so happen to see a link to a page outlining Google’s own SOPA/PIPA opposition. Search for whatever blacked-out page you’re looking for, but be specific: you won’t be able to browse blacked-out sites normally, so you’ll need to find deeper links to exact content, using searches like “Reddit why is morrowind so revered” or “Maximum PC Wikipedia”. Trying to click on the link will lead you to the site’s blackout message. Instead, hover over the listing, then mouse over the three arrows that appear to its right to bring up the preview pane. Underneath the direct link in the preview pane, you’ll see a URL for the page, and to the right of that, you’ll see a link to a cached version. Bingo! Click on that. You’ll be taken to a cached version of the page. A message at the top will tell you when Google took the snapshot. This method isn’t perfect, however; you won’t be able to click on links without being directed to the blackout page. (You can run another specific Google search for the linked-to content, though.) Additionally, the content might not be totally up-to-date, but content that’s a few day old beats no content whatsoever, right? Here's another useful trick for skirting Wikipedia's blackout: just disable Javascript for the site and you'll be able to browse it normally. That should work for other sites using Javascript-powered blackout methods, too, such as Wordpress.org. When you’re done circumventing blackouts, be sure to head over to AmericanCensorship.org and bug your Congressmen/women if you haven’t already. And if you don't get what all the fuss is about, check out our primer on stopping SOPA and PIPA, which includes a list of notable sites taking part in the blackout.

January 12th, 2012 - How To Permanently Turn Off G+ Personal Results In Google Search: Two days ago, Google started mixing Google+ connections with general search results. Pics, photos, shared links, posts, authored articles – if someone in your Circles shared something related to what you’re looking for, it shows up in your search results. Google calls it “Search Plus Your World;” I call it annoying. When the first page of results is dominated by “Personal Results,” that’s a problem. And to make it worse, Google doesn’t exactly make it easy to turn the “feature” off for good. The “Hide Personal Results” button on the search page is a temporary solution but the problem rears its ugly head again the very next time your search for something. If you’re drowning in useless search results suggested by your 2000-plus Circle buddies, here’s how to swing the Personal Results banhammer permanently in less than 15 seconds. First saunter over to Google.com, then open up your options by clicking on the gear icon in the upper-right hand corner of the screen. Select “Search Settings” from the list of options. (If you have a customized iGoogle setup, get to the classic Google homepage by selecting the gear icon, then the "Classic Home" option. You can return to iGoogle after disabling Personal Results. Thanks to Ghost6007 and Frances the Mute for pointing this out in the comments!) Scroll down until you see the Personal Results options. By default, “Use personal results” is selected. Click the “Do not use personal results” bubble. Now, just click “Save” at the bottom of the screen and you’ll never be bothered by those annoying and only tangentially on-topic Personal Results again! We’re interested in hearing what you think, though: do you like the inclusion of G+-related Personal Results in your everyday searches, or are you on your way to disable the feature right now? Connect with Brad on Google+, just don't expect him to see your posts in Google Search results!

January 18th, 2011 - Internet Security - Simple ways to save yourself(part 1): Do you know some very basic things to keep your information secure?  Can you pinpoint a phishing email just by the appearance of it?  Can you smell a crook's new email trick within 10 seconds of clicking on that new message? No? then something is wrong, there are some very basic common sense tactics every internet user can utilize to figure out who sent them the email, or if they are who they