WEEKLY WHEATIES #2435
Lost Phones, AI Updates, Quick Takes, Photography
In this newsletter:
Post: Prepare Your Phone to be Lost, Stolen, or Damaged
In Case You Missed It: AI Updates
In Case You Missed It: Quick Takes
Pick of the Week: Photography and Perspectives
Featured Product: Apple iPads
Prepare Your Phone to be Lost, Stolen, or Damaged
Have you ever lost your phone? Or damaged it enough it was no longer accessible? Hopefully, you’ve never had your phone stolen! If so, I know how that can be. We’ve all probably been on the end of one of those scenarios. Below, you’ll find some tips I’d like to share on precautions you can take to keep those things from happening and steps to take to mitigate issues that follow. While everyone may do something a bit different, the point here is the process.
Remember, everything here is a delicate balance of convenience and security. The easier our phone is to use, the less secure it is - and vice versa. If you want to fully protect your phone in case it’s lost, stolen, or damaged, we have to pay a convenience charge. At least to some extent. That may be by ease of use or physically paying for a service.
First, let’s start off with a PIN or passcode. If your phone doesn’t have one of these in use, that should be something you do. Like now! You may very well use Touch or Face ID, but please set some level of security to even use your phone. I would also caution against using the top 61 pin codes as they represent one-third of all codes guessed. Here’s a graphic showing hot spots of all PINs in use, too. You don’t have to use an alphanumeric passcode here, a PIN is generally sufficient. The purpose here is to get hackers to keep looking. Meaning they will take the least difficult path. And if they can’t get into your phone without the PIN, it becomes a brick and is then useless.
Along the same lines, many privacy-type apps - think bank accounts, messaging, and location-based - sometimes give an option to add a layer of security on the login page once these apps are opened. I highly suggest this, too. Again, we’re weighing convenience for security.
Second, I’ve talked about this ad nauseam, but having and using a password manager and multi-factor authentication is key. Using a password manager in tandem with MFA can be a hassle for sure. However, it is the most secure way of even protecting yourself from yourself. I don’t even know close to 90% of my passwords as each one is unique and copy/pasted for each use directly from my password manager. Without access to these, access can be very limited.
Which brings up another hassle. Make sure you have two or more devices that can access your password manager and function as your MFA device. MFA codes can be sent via text or accessed within an authenticator-style app. Try to connect your text messages to another device and install your MFA app where able. I suggest the app option over text when you can. It’s more secure and easier to access on another device (including cross platform devices). Again, this may come at a monetary charge of having to purchase another device, but that is another convenience fee we pay.
Third, similarly, backup anything and everything you can. This can typically include settings, app installs, text messages, and, most importantly - photos! Photos are the odd one out here. Everything else mentioned can typically be backed up through iOS or Android cloud options, which generally take up minimal space. Except I’ve seen some large text message backups - to the tune of 50+ gigabytes. Take this as another suggestion to clear out your text messages as able. Consider paying a small convenience charge here, too. Apple’s iCloud drive/storage backup can cost as little as $1/month and will easily save most of these settings automatically for you.
Photos are where it may get expensive. Of course, I have another post specifically talking about how to backup your photos in Weekly Wheaties #2337. Put short, try to have 3 copies of your photos, in 2 ways, with 1 offsite. Having them in the cloud, on your phone, and on a hard drive (or USB) would suffice here. This is another place where it is absolutely worth paying to store your photos in a cloud service of your choice. Most, if not all, of them will backup your photos as they’re taken, too!
Something else worth backing up is the QR codes for all of your multi-factor authentication apps. To add MFA to your account, you usually have to scan a QR code first. I screenshot these QR codes and place them in a password-protected folder within my backup service of choice.
A quick bonus tip. Consider emailing yourself things for quick access in the moment that may be easily accessible from another device. For example, boarding passes, tickets, coupons, codes, etc. You could also email things that need long-term storage but aren’t too personal - as email can still be hacked. This means don’t email your QR codes, social security card, tax documents, or anything with personal identifiers as best you can. And when I say ‘hacked’ - I do mean someone can access your email account, but I also mean hackers can intercept email in real time. Last year I made a post about the security of email in Weekly Wheaties #2321. Essentially, your email is similar to a postcard going through the mail system. Anyone at any point in line can see the information coming through.
Fourth, use a tracking service. I know this may sound a bit scary, but if you only allow your partner, family member, or close friend track you, you should trust them enough to do so. Some apps even have the option to have a delayed update and/or only update when you’ve changed locations or are prompted. This means that the person with access can’t necessarily track you live 24/7. I’m not fully up to date on these types of apps, but I do know they exist. Common apps in the generic location space may include: Find My [Device], Life 360, Microsoft Family Safety, and FamiSafe, among others. Choose the one that works for you, your family, and your devices.
A couple of years ago, when vacationing at Disney World, I was holding my wife’s phone and put it down on top of a trash can while buckling my son in his stroller. The bus came, and away we went. Without her phone. After realizing where it was, I was able to track it on my phone, take another bus back, and walk right to the location of the phone. Which, luckily for us, was turned into security. After walking up to the building, showing them our phone was at their location, describing the phone, and proving I could unlock it, I then had possession. Crisis averted.
If you live by yourself, this can be useful for your safety as well. A close family member who lives in another state called me after misplacing their phone one day. I was able to pull up their location on my phone and let them know the exact location where it was currently located. By knowing the location, going back there, and calling their phone, they were able to find it.
With any lost device, we may retrace our steps where we think our phone may be, but depending on the time it has been misplaced, that could take a while and doesn’t guarantee we also won’t overlook somewhere it may be at one of many locations along the route. I had a friend who drove off with their phone on the roof of their vehicle, only to find their phone on the side of the road miles from home, and nowhere near their destination.
Lastly, consider purchasing Apple’s AppleCare, Google Preferred Care, or your mobile phone provider’s version of a similar service. This will allow you to walk into a local store and replace any lost, stolen, or damaged phone. There is also a charge for this service, which has a monthly cost that ranges based on the type of device you have. Replacing the device through this service will essentially wipe your other phone if lost or stolen, making it useless if someone were to find it or try to use it. So, there is a level of security and safety here, too.
If you phone happens to be lost, stolen, or damaged beyond repair, once receiving a new phone, you will be able to restore your apps and settings, still have access to your photos. There will be a time of aggravation of adding and logging into all of your accounts, but hopefully, that’s the most inconvenient part. Aside from the whole losing your phone part…
What other steps do you put into practice to prepare your phone for this unfortunate situation?
ICYMI: AI Updates
For image generation, a popular service received a major update - Midjourney. Previously, users could only generate images through the Discord channel. Now, in the web app, users can create images from a simple prompt. However, what sets Midjourney apart from most other image generators is what you can do after generation. There are options to create four new variations - either subtle or strong or generate the images in a higher resolution by upscaling them. Users can even prompt what type of photography settings to use, the style of image, and much more. There’s a short video explaining the process on Vimeo, too.
In musical news, Suno AI is a piece of software developed by a team of experts (including musicians) who help users create songs and musical compositions based on genre and more. It has produced multiple songs that have gained popularity on some streaming platforms, and even a Norse-style emo rock song causing some on Reddit to state they officially cannot tell what is AI generated music anymore.
ICYMI: Quick Takes
With all the current streaming apps partering up or going under, Chick-fil-A is reportedly launching their own streaming service this fall.
If you use Patreon, prepare to modify your payment method or potentially pay a premium, as Apple says Patreon must switch to its billing system or risk removal from the App Store.
In its run to become more of a super app, TikTok comes for messaging apps with the addition of group chats.
As students prepare to use ChatGPT to help write their papers, OpenAI admits there’s a tool to catch students cheating, but it hasn’t been released.
After continued success with their first patient, Elon Musk shares a bit about Neuralink installing its brain implant into a second human patient on a recent podcast.
POTW: Photography and Perspectives
I’m sure at some point, everyone either wishes they were a photographer or takes that perfect picture they could use to persuade others to believe a professional took it. I definitely fall into both categories while knowing I’m not near to being on par with the many who do this for a living. That said, I think it’s also been proven sometimes it’s not the camera, but the photographer who makes the shot. We can see that in the 2024 Annual iPhone Photography Awards. I still think it’s incredible what photographers can do with a phone. It’s all about perspective and telling the story. This is shown to be even more true in this thread on X.com of alternative views of iconic landmarks you (probably) haven’t seen before.
Featured Product
If you are in the iOS family and looking for an inexpensive backup device or just a basic tablet. Consider the 9th and 10th generation iPads. The Apple iPad (9th Generation) can be had for $200 new, which is the lowest price of a new iPad in probably its lifetime. The Apple iPad (10th Generation) comes with a higher price tag of around $330 but pairs great with the Apple Pencil (USB-C), has a better screen, and is the first base model to start using Touch ID on the side/top versus the round thumb Touch ID on the bottom of the screen. It also utilizes USB-C for charging, as most devices appear to start moving towards. Both should still receive updates for the next five years or so and will function great for a basic web or social media browser or streaming device. If you are using them for basic gaming, you won’t be upset either - calling out the Candy Crush/puzzle crowd here. Personally, I wind down playing Screw Puzzle and am currently at level 330.
