Having access to a VPN service is extremely important in today’s age. If you’ve ever used public Wifi, gotten your bandwidth throttled, needed to work remotely, or simply just don’t trust your ISP, then a VPN service might be for you. Thanks to the Android Authority Deals Store, you’ll be able to score a lifetime subscription to a number of great VPN services, starting at just $15!
Let’s take a look to see which VPN service is right for you:
IPinator VPN
IPinator VPN keeps your web browsing private and your personal data secure by installing a fake IP address in your web browser with a simple click of a button. This service will encrypt your Internet connection, prevent others from being able to see your true IP address, and allow you to bypass firewalls, geo-restricted sites and blocked websites so you browse the Internet freely.
A lifetime subscription to IPinator VPN is currently being offered for just $14.99 in the AA Deals Store. This is seriously a great deal, so head to the link below to learn more.
VPN Unlimited allows you to keep your data hidden and encrypted while you’re connected to a public Wifi network. You also don’t need to worry about traffic bandwidth, because your data usage will never slow down due to high traffic volumes. And with VPN Unlimited 3.0, you’ll get a list of fully downloadable global servers, the ability to switch servers quickly, and receive hands-on statistics for both mobile and desktop devices. Also in VPN Unlimited 3.0, servers have been added to Romania, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ukraine, Japan and Texas.
You can grab a lifetime subscription to VPN Unlimited for just $39 (70% off). Follow the link below for more information.
VPN Land will allow you to browse freely and securely while utilizing over 400 reliable servers. It also works on both desktop and mobile, so you’ll never have to browse unprotected ever again. Not only will it mask your IP address while you surf the Internet, it will also help you bypass geo-location restrictions to watch media content like Hulu and Netflix anywhere. You’ll be able to access blocked websites, use VoIP applications like Skype and enjoy fast connections wherever you are.
If you’re interested, a lifetime subscription to VPN Land is now available in the AA Deals Store for just $49.99 (74% off).
Last but certainly not least, we have a lifetime subscription to Wifi Protector VPN. This service will allow you to surf the web, wherever you are, worry-free, and will also leave your data and activity scrambled and useless to potential hackers. It will also allow you to access blocked websites so you can easily watch Netflix or Hulu when traveling abroad on your speedy, reliable Wi-Fi connection. Moreover, you can connect to servers in more than 20 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Brazil and many more.
A lifetime subscription to Wifi Protector VPN is available now in the AA Deals Store for just $49 (83% off).
You know the old saying: adapt or get left behind. It seems like just about everything in my household is evolving into a smart device. My TV, scale, alarm clock, thermostat — heck, I give it a couple of years before my toaster is connected to WiFi. If we’re leveraging the power of technology to better the devices and products in our daily lives, why wouldn’t that also apply to our security measures? Are you still carrying around tons of keys or fiddling with finicky dials on your locks? It may be time to upgrade.
Quicklock, a next-gen security device, is a nearly-indestructible lock with built-in wireless technology and one-click/one-swipe access. No codes or dials, simply use your phone, keyfob or card to easily access your protected belongings. There are no combinations to remember and you can share access with up to 50 folks with wireless NFC keys. A single charge lasts for 2 years and, right now, AndroidGuys readers get 18% off the purchase price. Order today and claim this smart lock for just $48.99
Susanne Daniels is exiting her post as programming chief at MTV to join YouTube in a newly created position leading the platform’s budding original content efforts.
As vice president of YouTube originals, Daniels will oversee development and production of content for the world’s highest-trafficked video source. The move isn’t expected to be a major shift in programming strategy for Google-owned YouTube, which is already pretty far along in its plan to expand its originals.
In April, YouTube revealed that select digital stars including the Fine Bros., Prank vs. Prank and Smosh would be part of a first wave who would get increased funding in order to realize more ambitious programming efforts than the more modest budgets that have marked the company’s efforts in the past.
Daniels will report to Robert Kyncl, global head of content and business operations at YouTube. Kyncl had spoken of needing to ramp up original efforts as YouTube prepares to take its digital native stars and take their programming efforts to the next level.
“Susanne is an executive whose incredible instincts have led her to consistently generate pop culture hits that audiences relate to and root for,” said Kyncl. “Susanne’s deep expertise in programming will be invaluable to us and our top creators and help them foster even more ambitious projects for YouTube.”
Part of what is driving YouTube’s originals efforts is the creeping challenge represented from fellow juggernauts like Facebook, which has seen its online video efforts gather considerable momentum over the last year, as well as upstarts like Vessel, led by former Hulu chief Jason Kilar. Both companies have been attempting to woo away digital celebrities from YouTube.
It’s a sign of maturation for the digital content space and its programming efforts that a seasoned TV veteran like Daniels, whose resume also includes high-profile stints at Lifetime and the WB, is taking on a new challenge at YouTube. While other digital power players like Netflix and Amazon have moved faster to advance their own premium long-form content initiatives, none have picked as prominent a TV executive as Daniels to lead their efforts.
It’s also a sign of the times that Daniels is stepping away from the helm at MTV, which was once the network perceived as being the leading brand among adolescent viewers, and joining YouTube as digital content alternatives have been blamed for stealing away younger consumers. Viacom, parent company for MTV, in particular has seen significant decreases in the Nielsen ratings among youth demos across many of its networks over the past year, though some of those losses can also be chalked up to the inability to measure changing content consumption across platforms.
Alex Carloss, who has led YouTube’s original programming efforts, will continue, with his team now reporting into Daniels.
Also among the first digital-native celebrities that will be part of the YouTube originals initiative is Joey Graceffa, who was named among the top 12 digital stars working today as part of Variety’s#Famechangers ranking.
The price of making sure that the feds aren’t reading your emails is download speeds that can be measured in weeks rather than seconds. A group of academics are hoping to change that, however, by taking the basic idea of the Tor anonymity network and slapping on more than a few go-faster-stripe decals. Hornet has been crafted by a team from universities in Zurich and London and promises to keep your information safe from prying eyes while reaching speeds of up to 93 GB/s. Phowar.
Put (very) simply, Tor works by taking a piece of data and passing it from computer to computer on a deliberately convoluted journey to its intended destination. Each time it moves from one node to another, the system adds another layer of encryption, building up a series of layers that you could imagine as an onion (hence the name, “The Onion Router”). This process, while secure, is also very time consuming as each node has to add a layer of encryption, create a fresh encryption key and send it off to the next part of the chain.
Hornet, by way of comparison, creates a set of encryption keys (and routing information) on your home machine. That way, rather than each node having to painstakingly build this info each time, it can just read off what has been called an “anonymous header” (AHDR) to know its location on the path and then forward the information. It also, at least on paper, could make the whole system that little bit more secure since the intermediate computers aren’t spending time and effort poking at the sender and receiver’s data. By removing these speed bumps, the team behind the project think they can make everything move a hell of a lot faster.
Before you start scouring the internet to sign up to Hornet, there’s more than a few caveats to consider. Most importantly, the system has only been tested between the project’s five researchers so there’s plenty of hoops that still have to be jumped through. After that, the idea will have to be peer-reviewed, not to mention being picked apart by the representatives of the Tor project to see if it’s worth adopting. Still, on the upside, at least someone’s looking out for the little guy in this surveillance-crazy world.
Talk about plucking a needle from a cosmic haystack. NASA just announced that its planet-hunting Kepler telescope has discovered Kepler 452b, an exoplanet that exists inside the habitable zone around a G-type star (that is, a star that’s awfully similar to our own sun). The planet is about 60 percent more massive than the earth, and that’s a pretty good sign — researchers obviously aren’t sure whether the Kepler 452b can support life, but the chances of it having a solid, rocky surface are “better than even”.
Beyond hazarding guesses at whether or not Kepler 452b has a solid surface, NASA researchers on a conference call estimated that the planet would have surface gravity twice that of Earth’s and a thicker, cloudier atmosphere. With any luck, though, there’s life of some sort lurking under that dense cloud cover. If we zoomed out just a little bit, we’d see that 452b orbits its star just a hair slower than our planet hurtles around the sun — think 385 days, compared to our 365. To be clear, this isn’t the first time Kepler has picked out exoplanets far enough from their stars to potentially harbor water. Thing is, previous planet discoveries were either too large to have rocky surfaces — they drifted into gas giant territory — or orbited smaller, cooler stars. With Kepler 452b now under NASA’s belt, the space organization can now crow about having discovered 4,675 possible planets, and here’s hoping that number swells once we get some shiny new telescopes up-and-running.
The latest numbers from research firm IDC reveal that the smartphone market continues to be a largely two-horse race between Samsung and Apple, which accounted for 21.7% and 14.1% market share in the second quarter respectively. The rival tech companies finished well ahead of Chinese competitors Huawei, Xiaomi and Lenovo with a combined 35.8% market share during the three-month period ending June 30.
Apple increased 2.4 percentage points to 14.1% during the second quarter compared to its 11.7% market share in the year-ago quarter, while market leader Samsung experienced a year-over-year decline as its market share slipped from 24.8% to 21.7%. Apple closed the gap on the continued strength of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with the company announcing it sold 47.5 million iPhones in the third quarter of the fiscal year earlier this week.
Apple and Samsung continue to dominate the smartphone operating system race, trailed by Huawei, Xiaomi and Lenovo with 8.9%, 5.3% and 4.8% market share in the second quarter respectively. All other platforms accounted for a combined 45.2% quarterly market share.
Developer Instanza has launched SOMA Messenger on the Google Play Store, a new, powerful, and lightning fast instant messenger. SOMA is similar to Facebook Messenger in many ways, but the developer claims it’s faster than any other messaging service available. However, one of its central focuses is to make sure your messages are kept away from prying eyes.
SOMA Messenger offers 2048bit RSA and 256bit AES encryption to ensure communications are as private and secure as they can be. In addition to security, SOMA Messenger has your usual features you’d expect in most messengers worth their salt.
Users can expect to see HD video calls packaged in SOMA. The developer claims that their video calls don’t have any buffering, but that is highly dependent on your Internet connection. You can also make free voice calls, start a group chat, and even talk with your friends overseas–their are no International charges whatsoever.
The only downside to SOMA Messenger is that your friends have to be using it in order for you to make phone calls, video calls, and even send messages.
Aside from its claim of being faster than any other messaging app, SOMA Messenger doesn’t offer a good reason as to why you should switch from Facebook Messenger and use it instead.
If you’re interested in taking it for a spin, scan the QR code or hit the download link below.
LG has announced a new headset in their Tone line of Bluetooth headsets called the Tone Active. Like the name implies, this headset is geared towards someone wanting a durable pair of headphones to work out with.
The Tone Active features a lightweight design just like the original LG Tone headset, but it’s also IPX3 certified for water and sweat resistance. It boasts up to 9.5 hours of music playback with all of the features you’d expect from a high end Bluetooth headset.
The Tone Active will be available exclusively through AT&T at first for $129.99. It’s also only available in orange, but LG will probably expand on the color schemes if it does well. You’ll be able to pick one up on July 24th through AT&T’s website or in their retail stores.
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — LG Electronics today unveiled a new Bluetooth headset in its award-winning TONE series, the LG TONE Active™. LG TONE Active will be available starting on July 24 in Orange exclusively through AT&T for a limited time. LG TONE Active will retail for $129.00.
LG recently announced that it has sold its 10 millionth LG TONE Series Bluetooth headset globally since launching the series inOctober 2010. With this achievement, LG has grown to become the number one Bluetooth wireless headset line in the U.S. in terms of units sold.1
LG TONE Active
“Since its inception, the TONE series has grown to match different consumer needs and wants whether it was enjoying premium sound or ease on the go,” said Bruce Tripido, director of accessories at LG MobileComm USA. “With TONE Active, we’re embracing the need for consumers to have a rugged, more durable companion on their latest workout.”
Compatible with any Bluetooth-enabled smartphone, the LG TONE Active has a water resistance rating of IPX32, so it can handle sweat, and earbuds that retract into the headset to alleviate tangled cords. Designed for durability to support the most active lifestyles, LG TONE Active fits snugly around the neck in a stay-put, contoured design.
Standout features of the LG TONE Active include:
IPX3 Water & Sweat Resistance Rating – Compatible for life’s toughest workouts to handle sweat in the hottest conditions in the gym or out on the trail
Durable & Lightweight – Durable yet lightweight, with a contoured, around-the-neck wearing style
Retractable Earbuds – Customized fit with two sizes of stabilizer buds for a more secure and comfortable fit and a simple, unique solution for cord management
Bluetooth® Wireless Technology – Hassle-free device connectivity, compatible with any Bluetooth-enabled smartphone
Quad-Layer Speaker Technology™ & Digital MEMS Microphone – Robust bass, crisp treble, less distortion on high frequencies and exceptional voice clarity
Key LG TONE Active technical specifications include:
1 Based on NPD (formally called National Purchase Diary) market share data Jan- April 2015 for Bluetooth units only 2 Water-resistant to spraying water based on IPX3 rating 3 The estimated maximum standby and use time may vary depending on your current usage patterns, settings, and other factors and conditions. 4SMS Reading on Android™ devices may require free download ‘LG Tone & Talk’ app on Google Play™ store for SMS reading with voice. 5aptX Compatibility required on paired device.
About LG Electronics MobileComm USA, Inc. LG Electronics MobileComm USA, Inc., based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the U.S. sales subsidiary of LG Electronics USA Inc., a global innovator and trend leader in the global mobile communications industry. LG is driving the evolution of mobile forward with its highly competitive core technologies in the areas of display, battery and camera optics and strategic partnerships with noted industry leaders. LG’s consumer-centric products — including the flagship premium G Series models — incorporate unique, ergonomic designs and intuitive UX features that enhance the user experience. The company remains committed to leading consumers into the era of convergence, maximizing inter-device connectivity between smartphones, tablets and a wide range of home and portable electronics products. For more information, please visit www.LG.com.
WhatsApp rolled out an update yesterday to add several new features to the messaging platform. The road to getting the update on to users’ devices was a bit rocky though as feedback revealed several problems that caused the team to have to release several updates to patch problems throughout the next 24 hours. With all of the dust apparently settled for now, WhatsApp users will find they have new notification options, the Mark As Unread option, and a low data usage option for voice calls. Google Drive backup also makes a return to the app, although it is part of an automated portion of the program.
For notifications, WhatsApp added options to mute a chat for 8 hours, 1 week, or 1 year. Users can also customize the notifications they receive including when notifications are displayed, whether a popup is used, and what tones, lights, ringtones, and vibrations to use. All of these settings can be applied to specific contacts or groups.
The Mark As Unread feature can be used to switch a message’s status back to green as if it were unread. However, this does not change the status of unread messages nor does it move it in the chronological listing of conversations. As a way to visually mark someone you want to respond to later though, the feature could be useful.
WhatsApp now comes with an option to reduce the amount of data used during voice calls. The Low data usage option is available through settings and may be useful if a user finds themselves in a limited data situation or they are running low on available data for the month.
Finally, in the app’s settings users will notice some statistics relative to Google Drive backups. There is no option to initiate or setup a Google Drive backup. However, when WhatsApp tries to do the 4:00 local backup users are reporting they receive an error message about the app not being able to complete the backup due to a permission issue with Google Drive. Upon granting permission, the backup will commence and will be sent to Google Drive.
You can get WhatsApp from the Play Store or check for updates using the links below.
LG has announced a new headset in their Tone line of Bluetooth headsets called the Tone Active. Like the name implies, this headset is geared towards someone wanting a durable pair of headphones to work out with.
AIVAnet 