ASK TECH TUESDAY: Your Questions, Answered

By Vivienne Westwood

Since this column started, quite a few of you have emailed tech@lovepoundbury.org with questions — some quick, some not so quick. So this week, instead of one topic, here's a new regular feature: real questions from readers, answered in plain English. Keep them coming.

"MY PHONE KEEPS ASKING ME TO UPDATE APPS. IS IT SAFE TO IGNORE THIS?"

Short answer: no, not for long. Updates usually include security fixes, not just new features. Ignoring them for a few days is fine; ignoring them for months leaves known gaps a scammer could use. Set your phone to update overnight automatically and you'll rarely think about it again.

"CAN SOMEONE ACTUALLY SEE ME THROUGH MY SMART CAMERA OR DOORBELL?"

Only if they have your login details — which is exactly why a strong, unique password (and two-factor authentication, if the app offers it) matters more on a camera than almost any other device in the house. If you've had the device a while and never changed the default password, that's this week's five-minute job.

"I GOT AN EMAIL THAT LOOKS LIKE IT'S FROM MY BANK. HOW DO I TELL IF IT'S REAL?"

Don't click anything in the email. Instead, open your banking app separately, or type your bank's website address in yourself. Genuine banks never ask you to "confirm your details" by clicking a link in an email. If in doubt, ring them on the number on the back of your card — not any number given in the email.

"IS IT WORTH PAYING FOR CLOUD STORAGE?"

If you have more than a few hundred photos, almost certainly yes. A few pounds a month protects years of memories from a lost or broken phone. Google Photos, iCloud, and Amazon Photos all offer straightforward paid tiers — the free versions fill up faster than most people expect.

Got a question for a future column? Send it to tech@lovepoundbury.org — no question is too basic, and yours will very likely help someone else too.

To read more Tech Tuesday articles, visit the Tech Tuesday library HERE.

Next time: Five Minutes to a Safer Phone.