Best Tips and Tricks for your ZTE AWE!

Common questions!

I’ve been getting a few common questions and thought this was a good time to discuss a few of them and help you increase your productivity on your ZTE AWE phone.   Each one of these tips is good to use for your phone to help you make it easier to get what you need to get done with your phone.  This phone is 4.1.2 Android (Jelly Bean).   

TIP 1: Keep your Phone updated

If you haven’t already, you should check to make sure you ZTE AWE is updated in several areas.   You can easily do this by hitting the 3 dashes on the phone that look like a small bar graph.   Then select “System Settings” and scrolling all the way to the bottom of the screen.   You will select “System Updates”.  Once your their you will find 4 options: 

• Update PRL
• Update Profile
• Update ZTE Software
• Update Firmware

Each one these can help you in several areas.  First question people ask me is what is a PRL it is “Preferred Roaming List” and can be very useful to keep your signal strength at highest possible strength for your location.   You should do this from time to time or when you have done a hard reset to get put keep your phone updated to any new cell towers in your area.  

Updating your Profile basically helps you keep your phone validated with the network.   You should occasionally keep it updated to make sure you have the latest codes for your phone to be able to communicate with the cell towers and for you to be able to use their services.   This can be quite useful if your experiences some problems with connectivity problems with your 3g service.

Update ZTE Software is a form of drivers that you need to use to have your phone work with Jelly Bean.   I am sure there are some Cyangen Mods out there that can get around this but I am not really concerned with using a mod right now.  As you know it is another layer to the Android community for them to have some for of ownership of their phones.   Nothing you can do about it but you should keep that updated just in case there is something new you can use with your phone.

Update Firmware can be very useful if your just bought your phone and you wanted the latest version of Android on your phone.   You will get updates from the provider if there is an OTA (Over The Air) update that is available for your device but those aren’t very reliable and thus you can check manually.  Who knows you might someday be able to use the Android 4.3 or 4.4 the Kit Kat Versions!

Tip 2: Multiple Folders and Groups

The nice thing about Jelly Bean and above on the android devices is that you can now have folders on your  home screen and any other menu area you are wanting to put it.   On the ZTE you have 4 spots that you can have a permanent folder.  The Home bar as I call it can be easily used to keep those folders of apps that help you on your phone.   I’ve got a Social Folder with Facebook, Twitter, and any other social app that I want.   I also have several different phone apps that allow me to do stuff like Google Voice.   I even have a games folder so I do have to go back to the home screen to play games that I use offten on my device like Words With Friends.

If you would like to add or remove icons on the bottom bar, just press on the icon shortcut and hold for a second or two and then move it to where ever you wanted to move it to.   If you happen to delete an important shortcut just find them in the apps menu.   That is the Circle with 4 small squares in it!  

TIP 3: Adding a VPN

If your are worried about people spy on you on public or when you use your phone.   You can have a VPN on the phone.   You can use something like VPN4ALL but if your wondering what a VPN is, check out my article on the subject.   If you value your privacy you will want to read both articles to better understand how to use a VPN.   

Adding a VPN is easy, just hit the menu key (3 Bars) and then select:

System Settings  —-> More —-> VPN —-> Add VPN

There are sever different options to setting up a VPN on the ZTE AWE but I recommend the L2TP/IPSec PSK or the IPSec Xauth PSK ones.   They may not be NSA backdoor but I can’t be 100% sure about that.   I do not recommend at all to use the PTPP for VPN because that is not the best idea for keeping people out!

More to Come!

It seems this will be a good one to come back to in the coming weeks.   I will post even more tips and tricks in the coming weeks and if you haven’t subscribed to my RSS Feed or my Email list.  If you don’t you might miss a valuable tip or trick for your ZTE AWE or some other device that I’ve talked about in the past!

The FAQ's about the Acer C710-2856 and what you should know!

After buying this Acer C710-2856 and Reviewing it, people have started to ask questions about it. I thought this would be a good time to discuss these questions and help understand what this computer can be used for. I’m sure some of you have asked these sorts of questions in the past and thus you will want to verify this with other website but I am going to tell you what I can do on mine and hopefully I will answer some of your questions about the hardware!

Click to read more ...

What I have learned from Person of Interest Show!

When I first started watching this show, I thought it was unique but then last year we had the revolation of the Snowden controversy and how the government was collecting all sorts of information. Then this became so relevant to the government and how they are collecting my information. You will see in this show so much talk about how they are collecting it. It is scary and I am sure the Government has put this out to help have a plausible deniability factor to it.

Click to read more ...

Chrome OS really needs some VPN providers like VPN4ALL!

Chrome OS Has No major VPN players! I’ve been digging through the internet the last few weeks trying to find a VPN service that would work decently with Chrome. Most of the options we have are either L2TP/IPSec + Shared Or L2TP/IPSec + User Certificate. So we really don’t a whole of options in the past few weeks. I do knwo we also have an OpenVPN option but am unsure on how to use that with what information I was given when I set up my account. I sent a email to technical support about thsi and am waiting around. I did a awesome revew of VPN4ALL and still believe they are one of the ones you should use when it comes to protecting your privacy and security.

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Do VPN's keep my private information private or does it really work?

NSA tells all sorts of tales!

With the current level of people worry about their security and privacy,  I’ve found people wanting to know just how much privacy do they really have on a VPN’s like Vpn4all, which is a sponsor to this blog.  When even more leaked documents that show that the NSA was involved in encryption formulas, people stopped buying VPNS because they were told a lie!   The truth of it is that we can Trust the Math, a great quote from Bruce Schneier.  When I first heard about this blog post, I ran to it to see what it says.   Most of it I believe and some stuff I questioned.  In the end I believe he is right about how the can not possibly break encryption in anything bigger that 256 bit encryption.  There is no super computer that I know of that can do the calculations to break the encryption.  

NSA will eventually see it!

Just know that no matter what you do online securely even if its encrypted that eventually it will be broken and they will see what you did.   I am just trying to keep my privacy until I die.   Hopefully after I die nothing will matter what NSA finds out about me.   I have nothing to Hide but I do not trust the NSA.

Truth about VPNS

The common idea that since VPNS are basic encryption tunnels made people think the NSA either has all keys or can easily get in through a back door.  I would be telling a untruth if I told you I didn’t at least suspect some providers to give all access to their servers just to keep their license’s and other legal stuff!

Vpn4All is a partner to OpenVPN and they use OpenSSL Library, so everyone can see the code and keep others safe from prying eyes.   So you see NSA would be hard pressed to break the encryption.   The other truth of the mater is that most of the time the keys get thrown away and we may never know if they are thrown away or given away!

Something to Consider!

When I first started this journey into encryption, I never knew it would be so hard to grasp it.   I will however tell you why I chose VPN4ALL for my site:

• Their Business is outside of the US.  Doesn’t mean the NSA can get the key to your encryption just makes it harder.  If someone really ones something, they find a way to do it.
• AES-256 RSA 2096 Bit Encryption.   We even see RSA making a change from unlinking to the NSA Algorithm.  So it should be safe for the time being.
• Ultra Fast Connections.   Unlike other VPNS I have tried VPN4ALL made great strides in speed and privacy.
• Got Over 1,000 IPS to chose from!  Let’s face it we have can choose any one ip we want and keep the NSA guessing!

The Truth of the matter is that VPNs are my friends and they shall always be used in any situation I deem necessary to keep my privacy safe and secure!

The Untold Truth about VPN's and the NSA Prism Scandal!

Truths about Virtual Private Networks!

I’ve had a few people email me and ask the ultimate question.  “How does a VPN actually protect my privacy from the NSA?” and I thought this was a good time to answer the most important question.   Most people don’t really understand what a vpn actually does.  When I reviewed VPN4ALL, I didn’t expect so many people to sign up for the service.   Here though is the some things you need to remember.

VPN’s are like condoms!

If your not using it then you are prone to get your information sniffed.  Just using VPN4ALL and sponsors this blog, you can keep some of your information from being seen.   Here is a truth that you probably don’t know but just because you use a VPN doesn’t give your protection.   You must understand that when you use a VPN you are setting up a tunnel to another server some where.   This will stop the NSA and others from seeing your data from your local ISP and any other sniffer along the way to the exit server.   When you finally get out to the internet then you have to worry about where those servers are that the NSA is using to collect your data.   See top of the article for examples.

The problem with a VPN is that you still need an encrypted connection to the site in question because you never know if your will bounce from the exit server into a server that the NSA is tapping.  So again, you really should use something like SSL Everywhere plugin to try to protect your from the NSA and people from seeing who and what you do.

SSL Keys and the NSA!

We’ve heard about the NSA bullying and almost intimidating companies like Lavabit!  As of The last few days they have shut down their email servers and then after that Silent Circle email encryption decides to shut down in fear of what the NSA will ask of them.  So now all we have to consider is which companies in the US are being threatened or bullied for the so call encryption keys and why should we not be looking over seas for companies like VPN4ALL who an European company and is a yearly sponsor to this blog!

We basically need to be able to encrypt and  decrypt the information ourselves and implement an TNO model for all types of encryption from email to website browsing.   The problem with this is that we have yet to come up with an alternative to that.   We’ve got a few ideas like PGP but nothing where we can setup our Secret keys and use them.  

I believe in time we will see this happen but until then we will only have a to depend on programs and software that is out of reach of the NSA and other government institution which are also open source so everyone can see the program.   This is the only way we will ever have true privacy on the internet.   It will have to a concerted effort from every individual saying to the government that you don’t want to be tracked and documented.

Reviewing VPN4ALL and why you should care!

They the people at VPN4ALL, gave me a trial service and I must say “I have been nothing but happy with the service for about the last few weeks”.  Some of the things I love about this is they actually have an app for your to use on your Android device.  So you don’t have to know any code, which goes back to to their slogan “VPN made easy”.  You know I’ve talked in the past about other VPNS, and securing your device.  It isn’t always that simple with free Wifi Hotspots.   I should know, I visit them almost constantly and that is because I am constantly on the move.  I have tried the free VPN’s and I must say this service is even better than you could get with any Free service.

Mobility!

This is the key reason I decided to use this service because I am constantly going place and using other free wifi hotspots and I know it is always going to be insecure because of connections.  I will say I always worry about who might see my password or see my personal information and try to take  my identity.  I will say with the ease of use with the VPN4ALL mobile app, I can connect to a VPN in minutes and not need to know any technical data.  You will need to buy an Mobile VPN4ALL Account to use this(minimum 5$ a month).  Great value for your buck and you don’t have to worry about all those people watching you.

Reliable Service

Speed and reliability are always going top of the security tree.  I will always need to have a service where there is no interruption and this seems to fit the bill quite nicely.  I can connect to any server I want and see if it is faster or slower.  I can also set it up to switch IP(internet Protocols) every Minute to hours, if I so desire.  Could give people headaches if they were trying to watch me!

Discounts:

If you are like me and looking to save money, use my coupon code “paulstechtalk15” at VPN4ALL to save 15% on either or both Mobile and regular VPN service.  See what else I have said about this service on my other post, If you want to keep your privacy, look no further!  Give this service a try and you won’t regret it!

Library administrators just don't get it and that just bugs me!

Blocking Proxpm

At the Library!

You hit the road for your favorite library and you decide you want to protect yourself from all those snooping people who like to watch what you do.   The problem is you have an unprotected and unencrypted network.   You try as you might to get a VPN setup and you just can’t connect.  So you try to find other VPN’s that woul work and your instantly blocked.  They’ve installed websense into their serves to prevent people from using a VPN.  

Not all VPNS are bad!

When I found this out, I was really irked by them preventing me from visiting such website.  I suspect they are worried someone will use a VPN to visit porn sites or research something bad.  It wouldn’t be so bad if they woul allow people to use VPN or ones they trust but this is a blacket attempt to prevent people from using them.  

Ways they can help people wit h security!

If they want to prevent this an still monitor traffic.   That is also fine with me, I understan this.   I just don’t feel comfortable using a public wifi without some privacy protection.   What if somone gets my credit card while I am using their public wifi.  Would they be liable?  More than certain, they have some clause to prevent this.

All they would have to do is make all open wifi spots encrypted with a way for guest to login to.   They wouldn’t have to have a different password for every person login in.   A simple guest password would suffice and make every wifi connection secure to prevent someone from snooping over the air transmissions.   libraries probably won’t do this but I am asking they look into this problem and come up with a solution to help us security minded people.   If they do nothing, then nothing will be solved.  

Paul Sylvester 

Securing your android tablets in Free Wifi Hotspots!

My Acer A200 is Portable!

It isn’t like my Acer Tablet is hard to carry around, Unlike my laptop.   I just want be able to surf the net and what everyone else is doing.   I just worry about what people are seeing when they are at a open wifi hotspot.  So I am going to discuss some ways to protect your privacy and help you keep safe with your new tablet that you have or are getting.  Although if your like me, you have already added a new ROM to your Acer Tablet, so it isn’t like this is brain science to some of you.  

Android VPNS!

Finding the right VPN was never going to be easy but it is someone of a neccessity and I have in the past talk about some of the VPN’s that you could use for Windows, Mac OSX, and Android.   This time however we are going to show you some more apps that might help you with that and make it even easier for you to keep your privacy safe and secure.  If your curious what a VPN is, then please check out the old post about it and there is a great little video that talks about it even more.

Google Play VPN apps that you should look at:

• Hotspot Shield — FREE VPN for your Android Device!* Unlimited Bandwidth! Save money on your data plan. Access blocked sites. Privacy and Security. Most popular VPN with 100 million downloads worldwide.  
• Hideman VPN — 5 Hours / Week for FREE. Earn premium hours via in-app ad networks. Easy solution for privacy and protection via VPN. Connect to VPN in one click with Hideman VPN widget.
• VPN One Click — Vpn One Click protects your privacy online, unlocks all blocked services like Twitter,Facebook,Skype,etc., by connecting to a Virtual Private Network Server. 
• Open VPN for Android — Openvpn for Android. Uses the new VPNService API that requires neither Jailbreak nor root on your Telephone.

Now these are just a few that I could find.   I don’t like messing with these apps so I will give you some other options as to have free wifi VPNS.   I think it is time to share some other ways to get a free VPN service without giving out your information.

Some Sites to Try are:

• freevpnhosting.com — a How to for your Android Device can be found here!
• us.hotfreevpn.com — For Android Devices check out this page!
• justfreevpn.com — Instructions here!
• superfreevpn.com — For Android Devices Check this page out!

As you can see these require no special apps from the Google play store to use them but remember, I can’t say what these people are doing on their side but at least the people locally can’t see your data.   it just depends on what you will do. There are many Paid VPNS out there that support Android and thus it is up to you which one you want to use.   If your like me you are looking for the cheapest solution and that is free but that isn’t always the case.  

One that I recommend 100%

VPN4ALL — This is the one that I am currently using and you only pay 5 dollars a month for 5 gigabyte a month plan.  Cheaper when and if you combine it with other plans.  I strongly recommend VPN4ALL to anyone who uses Android devices!  (Use coupon code paulstechtalk15 and save 15% on your order!)

Know any Good VPN Services?

Let me know by commenting and telling the world, I might even try them out myself!

Paul Sylvester

 

How to Get a Free VPN for Ubuntu/Kubuntu!

Is there a Free VPN for Linux?

Use Coupon Code “savenow15” AND SAVE 15% on the lifetime of your account!I had to search both high and low.   It took me several hours and searching to find a viable option for me.   I wanted to share this so others wouldn’t have to work as hard to surf safer on the web.   If your like me, I like to go to free wifi spots to blog or even just surf the web.   I don’t want anyone getting my personal information so I would always have to use Windows.   I really got fustrated having to always load Windows when It was just easier to load up Kubuntu.   I know in the past this was something that was never really an option because you’d have to be a real geek to do anything like this.   Thanks to the open community of Linux, we have a viable option now for those who aren’t technically geeks but would still like to keep their web surfing secret from prying computers on an open wifi spots.

How to setup your free VPN for Kubuntu!

• If you haven’t updated to Kubuntu 11.04  or later then you will need to make sure you have that version or later for this tutorial to work.  You can also use Ubuntu 11.04 or later but the screenshots will be for Kubuntu, so there may be some difference in looks and names but should be relatively the same.


• Book Mark the FREE US PPTP VPN site — This is essential because the problem with this free VPN service is that changes every 12 hours.   This however isn’t a big problem because if your using a VPN for Wifi Hotspots.   It just means everytime you go to a wifi spot you will be unsecure until you go to the bookmark and change the password.  To Bookmark the site you can easily just press CLT-D.

If you have done those two steps then you are ready to setup your VPN.

Setting up the VPN

This is going to be relilitivly simple, because if your using the Linux you will know some of this already.

• Go to your Network Manager —  There are 2 ways to do this.   You can find it on your toolbar either being a Ethernet or Wireless icon, just right click it and choice “Network Manager Settings” or you can click the “Start > Applications > Settings > System Settings > Network Settings”.


• Once there you will want to click VPN

Click to see larger picture

• Click the Add Button

• As you can see if you have booked mark that page I told you earlier to go to.  You will need to add the Gateway, username and password(remember this password is only good for a few hours, so remember this step). Then click “Advanced”

• You will only need to do this once.   Uncheck all in the Authentaction area but the MSCHAPv2 and Check “Use MPPE Encryption” but do not check the “Use Stateful Encryption”, if it is checked uncheck it.   Then click OK!


• Hit Ok or Apply and exit out of the manager.   You may have to reboot to get the new settings to activate.   I had to with my current system but that was only when creating the new VPN, after that it work fine.

You will need to edit the password everytime you want to use the VPN but if you have made it this far than you should be all set to use the VPN to safely surf the web.   In order to change the password just remember the first 2 steps and instead of adding a new VPN just edit the one you created and change the password and hit Apply when done.   I hope this has helped other Linux users to surf the web safely on free wifi spots.   Enjoy!

*Update*

There seems to be a kde4d Bug and ntrack bug that causes the menu bar and toolbar to freeze.   Just thought you’d like to know!!

*Update #2*

There are another site that you should also check out for a Free VPN Service:

• us.hotfreevpn.com (Doesn’t require a new password)

If I find more sites that you can use to get a free VPN with PPTP then I’ll update this as soon as I find them!

Paul Sylvester

Related articles

• Kubuntu: Kubuntu 11.04 Released (kubuntu.org)


• David Wonderly: Kubuntu Council (wonderly.com)


• Harald Sitter: Kubuntu Council? What is this? (apachelog.wordpress.com)


• Harald Sitter: Kubuntu 11.10 Sneak Peak (apachelog.wordpress.com)


• With Linux, All you Really need is Google! (paulstechtalk.com)