usb – PSafe Blog

Drawbacks of Charging a Smartphone Using USB-C

PSafe Newsroom — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 14:00:13 +0000

Although USB chargers are much smarter now than they used to be, they often aren’t smart enough to stop charging your phone when your battery has reached 100%. This can lead to overcharging your device, which can damage your phone battery and shorten its lifespan. Whenever you charge your phone, use Total Charge to monitor your phone’s charging process and prevent overcharging:

Total Charge will notify you when it’s time to disconnect your phone, in order to protect and preserve your battery life. You can also see your phone battery’s status, and which stage it is in. This will give you a better idea of your phone’s charging process, which will help to extend your battery’s life further.

USB Chargers Can Overheat

One drawback of charging a smartphone through a USB-C connection is that USB chargers can get very hot. This is especially true if you’re using an old or poor quality, cheap charger. Charging your phone then becomes a stressful process for both the charger and the phone, which can cause the phone to overheat, thus damaging your phone’s battery. It could even render your device unusable.

Not All USB Chargers Work the Same

The idea behind USB-C was to develop a charger that could charge all devices, from PCs to Androids, tablets, and even Apple products. Unfortunately, not all USB-C chargers do this well — many cannot charge other devices at all. However, universal charging has improved a lot over the years. That means that, if you’re stuck with a dead device while in class or at work, you can likely borrow someone else’s charger and it’ll work.

Still, even if you order a charger off of Amazon from a reputable source, it may not work as well as it claims. There’s also the possibility that the charger that comes with your new phone or laptop may not be a safe charger to use. In both instances, the charger could be incorrectly assembled, making it unsafe to use. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to tell if you’ve got a faulty charger or not.

USB Ports Can be Easily Infected With Malware

It’s possible that a USB cable could become infected at some point in the manufacturing process or if neglected when out in public. This becomes more complicated because USB chargers are necessary to then charge the device. Malware such as BadUSB can infect a device through a USB port without showing signs of a malware infection.

Japan is Introducing USB Charging Stations

PSafe Newsroom — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 16:00:52 +0000

It’s generally a good idea to be skeptical of all public charging stations — even on public transportation. Although charging your phone might be safe on public transit, you should generally avoid public charging stations in other locations. There were many reports last year about the possibility of hackers using public charging stations to hack into a person’s smartphone. Hackers were able to gain control of a person’s phone within minutes, and then transfer a virus onto the victim’s phone.

In order to prevent this type of situation, you’ll want to run regular virus scans on your device. That way, if you do have to use a public charging dock, you’ll be able to scan your device for any malware or security breaches. If you do have malware on your device, and you got it from a charging station, be sure to run a full virus scan on your device, and report the charging station to the authorities immediately. Click here to scan your device for malware now:

Why add public USB charging stations?

It was recently announced that Japan is testing out free USB charging stations on public transit. But how exactly does this differ from your typical outlet on a bus or train? It appears to be taking out the middleman — the “adaptor” needed to connect your micro USB cable to a wall outlet — in favor of directly utilizing a USB port to charge your phone.

Where are the USB charging stations available?

According to multiple reports, the charging stations only seem to be available on a single bus in Tokyo. As to when they’ll be available nationwide and beyond, it’s still unknown. However, London, England, and Singapore have already added USB chargers to areas of their public transit as well. London added multiple charging stations to buses on certain routes last year, and so far, they’ve been successful.

How popular are the USB charging stations?

So far, they’ve been more popular than expected. As you may have guessed, people have been using them to charge their phones or surf the Web on their commutes to and from work. That way, they don’t have to worry about their phone battery dying because they got bored on the bus.

Why DragonFly Black Will Change the Way You Hear Your Music

PSafe Newsroom — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 20:39:15 +0000

Smartphones can have dual purposes for many people: using them for their standard use (phone calls, texting, internet browsing, apps, etc.) and as an everyday portable music player. The convenience of having your entire music album at your fingertips wherever you go without having to carry a separate device is definitely one to not take for granted, but did you know that you can do more than just upload and listen to your music? With DragonFly Black, give your entire music listening experience an upgrade.

AudioQuest’s thumb-key-size DragonFly Black is a DAC and headphone amplifier all wrapped up in a USB memory stick shell. For those not in the know, DAC converts digital audio information into an analog signal that can be sent to headphones, powered speakers, amplifiers and receivers for optimal listening enjoyment. For example, the sound card that’s built into your computer and feeds through the headphone jack is an example of a DAC. Your computer isn’t built just for audio, that means that the quality is compromised to an extent. The same can be said with your smartphone, and that’s where DragonFly Black comes into play.

DragonFly uses a sophisticated “asynchronous” USB audio data transfer protocol that commands the timing of the audio data transfer, dramatically reducing digital timing errors, which results in low jitter, low resource load, minimal packet errors and reliable, world-class audio playback. The DragonFly Black works with most Android devices running on Lollipop OS and KitKat, provided that the device manufacturer has adhered to the USB specifications and supports USB-based audio. With your phone connected to a Wi-Fi network, the DragonFly application can support playback for Tidal streaming.

How to Connect a USB Flash Drive to Your Android Device

PSafe Newsroom — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 21:40:21 +0000

The more that phones resemble tablets (and the more that the line between tablet and laptop is blurred), the more we use our phones for—well, everything. We can type or read documents, take incredible photos and edit them, and even make spreadsheets or flyers. They are much lighter and smaller than a laptop, which makes it easier to use while waiting in line or commuting on the train.

If you’re storing valuable files on your phone, you’ll need to back up, copy, or transfer those files quickly and easily. While connecting your phone to a computer or else backing up your files wirelessly can achieve this, another alternative is to copy your data to a USB flash drive. This is also a great way to add files to your device, or play movies or music without storing the files on your phone. No Wi-Fi, lengthy data usage, or computer necessary!

Step 1: Buy a Flash Drive

Flash drives are small and thus very portable. Their retail price has dropped significantly over the years. You can now buy a 64GB flash drive for under $15, and a 128GB flash drive for around $25. Be cautious as to what brand of flash drive you buy, if purchasing your flash drive from Amazon, however; a cheap flash drive, if from a lesser-known source, is not always the best choice. SanDisk, Samsung, and Kingston all make good quality products that work efficiently.

Step 2: Buy an OTG (On-the-Go) Cable/Adaptor

Like flash drives, these are now incredibly cheap and tiny. You can likely snag one for $5-$10. When looking for an adaptor/cable to purchase, make sure that the device is a “male” micro USB to USB OTG adaptor. A separate cable and adaptor is usually not necessary; they should now come together, so that you only need one device. Another plus? They now make adaptors that can read both flash drives and SD cards in one device.

Step 3: View or Transfer Files

Now that you have a flash drive and an adaptor to connect your flash drive to your phone, you may need an app that will allow your phone to read the files on your flash drive. File Manager by Flashlight + Clock is a great free app for accomplishing this. It organizes and manages all of your files, from your flash drive and SD card, to internal and cloud storage.

Make sure you download PSafe Total to keep your phone running at its best and protected.

How To Connect a USB Flash Drive to Your Android Phone

PSafe Newsroom — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 14:29:22 +0000

It used to be that, when storing files on your phone or computer, you were restricted to keeping them in a single device. Moving locations of your files does not have to be limited to sending them over the Internet. Instead, exercise external resources to protect your data and ensure a successful switch.

Materials Needed to Transfer Files

The materials you will need are: a flash drive, a USB OTG (on-the-go) cable, and a MicroUSB adapter cable. This will allow one end to plug into your phone and the other to hook up to a larger USB port. All of these accessories are available on Amazon. You should have also downloaded Stickmount, a service that allows for immediate “mounting” of USB ports, on your device.

This is usually the standard for Android connections; while all of these items work, there are other advanced connection systems worth researching. Note that not all Stickmount software is compatible with Nexus platforms, so be sure to download the compatible app when making transfers. It is available in several variations for specific devices on Google Play.

How to Connect the Accessories

Plug the OTG cable in first. Next, attach the flash drive to the other end. Stickmount will appear; touch OK to launch it, and the files you wish to transfer will appear on your screen. With the USB cable and these services, you can upload photos, videos, and even ringtones to your smartphone with ease. Remember to make this process a default action, so Android will do it automatically every time.

Your Files and PSafe

Ensure that your valuable information is kept private with PSafe. When your work has successfully been transferred onto your mobile device, protect it with components of PSafe Total’s security software. Since you’ve just added more data to your device, a Memory Booster will help organize your content and dispose of unwanted files and optimize your storage space.

If there’s too much information for your device to process, the Junk Cleanup feature will sort through existing apps and files and give you the option of deleting preexisting phone components, giving you more room for your files. The PSafe Applock allows users to utilize a second password that is needed to unlock apps and information, even when the phone is unlocked. To further ensure your privacy, the anti-theft feature keeps track of your data at all times.