iPad Productivity Tip #2: Password Keeper

For years now, I've only had to remember one password. Yep. And no, I'm not saying that I only have one password for everything. (Please, please don't have only one password for everything.) I use a password keeper. I began using Roboform, which was great. But after some research, I found LastPass and I love its functionality more than Roboform.

LastPass is a password keeper where you only need to know your one master password. Once you log in to LastPass, it will enter passwords for you each time you go to websites where you need to log in. It's very secure and it encrypts your data. You don't have to worry about your passwords being saved by some random guy who will use them to get your millions.

What I love about LastPass is that it works on computers, phones and tablets. Most phones will keep you logged into apps, so that's not always an issue. However, if you're using your browser to go to a website on your phone and need to log in - LastPass is awesome. In my experience, tablet apps will sometimes keep you logged in and other times will ask you to log in again from time to time. Again, Last Pass to the rescue.

The first thing you'll do to set up LastPass is to create your account. Then install the browser extension or the bookmarklet. Last Pass has all the details on doing this for the various browsers out there. (I always recommend Chrome, then Firefox. IE if you absolutely have to, but I prefer not to use IE.) Now, begin logging into your various websites. LP will ask you if you want it to remember your password. Say yes, every time. After a while, it will know them all and no longer harass you about it. I promise.

Here are the three major ways you will benefit from using Last Pass:

• When you're using your browser, you can log in to any website by simply logging into LastPass once.
• When you're logging into a mobile app (phone or tablet), you can open the LastPass mobile app (using the ONE and only password you need to remember, which is your LP password). The app lets you easily copy & paste passwords from there to enter in your mobile apps. Trust me, it's easier than it sounds.
• Most importantly, you will get real familiar with the "generate password" tool in LP. This way you can create secure and different passwords for all of your accounts. This is really important.

I could spend a lot more paragraphs on the little details and settings available to you, such as security measures when using a public computer, etc. But you can learn all of that from the LastPass website. Or of course, feel free to comment or email me with specific questions. I've been using this a long time & have worked out the kinks for a huge variety of scenarios.

After you set up Last Pass and have most of your passwords in there, you've graduated to the advanced level of security. So click on the link below this photo and read how to further secure you're passwords and online identity.

LastPass : The last password you'll have to remember: Want to Up Your Online Security? Follow These Steps Now.

iPad Productivity Tip #1: Add to Dropbox Work-Around

If you use a tablet, you are familiar with the re-learning curve. Even if you've used computers and smart phones for years, a tablet just doesn't always function the way we think it should. Then when you throw in different operating systems (iOS & Android), you have several more layers of learning to embark upon.

Good thing this is tons of fun for me. I've been a tinkerer ever since seventh-grade grade basic programming. On top of that, when I stumble upon something that seems "un-doable," I tend to find a way to do it anyway. So, in my quest to find a way to use my tablet for everything, I'll pass on some of these tips to you. They will mostly be work/school related tasks, but I may also show some fun stuff too. (Like how I've found ways to watch TV from virtually any device: phone, laptop, tablet, ipod, SD card...okay maybe not that last one.) 

This first one is pretty simple, but seems hidden to many people, which is why I'm sharing it with you. Dropbox is one of the most popular cloud storage services. It's so wonderful because it works with virtually any operating system - mobile or otherwise. I can add a document from my home computer and later access it from my Android phone, my tablet, or even a public computer.

Adding a document from a computer is a snap. It's also pretty easy from Android (tablet or phone), because while viewing any document, you just click "share" and you have a really long list of ways to share from any application to any application, as seen in this screenshot below. 

Some of the many Android
sharing options 

However, as I soon found out, iPad doesn't allow for easy sharing from any application to any application. The only share options are typically: email or Tweet. Within Pages, you can send to iTunes, so there's that. Oh you can also choose to use iCloud, but not everyone likes iCloud, and if you're using iCloud, then you probably wouldn't be reading this article about Dropbox anyway. But rather than be flummoxed by this lack of functionality, I chose to rise to the challenge and find away around it. 

So now for iPad Productivity Tip#1 

Let's say you've opened a document from Dropbox to make some changes to it, and you'd like to drop that document back into Dropbox for access later. But iPad won't let you add to Dropbox from Pages. Here's what you do:

• Email the document to yourself as an attachment using the built in iPad email client, not Gmail or some other email app.
• Open the email
• Press on the attachment for a few seconds until a small menu opens up that looks like this:

• Click "Open In..." If you have Dropbox installed, which I'm assuming you do if you're reading this, then Dropbox will appear in the menu. You may have to scroll the list to find Dropbox. 

• You will then be directed to Dropbox to save. Here's what that looks like:

Voila! You're done.

We could save a few steps if either (A) iOS would allow integration with Dropbox or (B) Dropbox would create an "email to Dropbox" function like Evernote. But until then, we have this workaround. It works and that's what matters to me!

There are a few other more complicated options out there, but this is the simplest way I've found. 

Let me know if you have questions or problems!

Previous iPad posts you may find helpful:
Getting Started
Dream Reading