Kids of this age are born with the Internet and from an early age, they handle computers, smartphones, and tablets etc. This means that kids are way smarter than most of the adults today but it is not the complete picture. The risk of excessive consumption of screens by our children is there too such as depletion of memory. Once you get to know of this, the next idea that may come to your mind is how to stop them? Parents, teachers, researchers and we all look at these digital natives, "born with the Internet," as if it were of little green men. We know that the brain can change at high speed, what we do not know is what happens when there is more time for brain recovery.

Risks:

According to the experts, “for kids as young as 2-year, the non-interactive screens (TV and DVD) [...] pose negative effects such as weight gain, speech delay, attention deficit, and nonetheless adoption of passive attitude to the world. And if we talk about the interactive media such as smartphones and tablets etc. having one - console or a personal tablet - before the age of 6 years, means more risks than benefits." Taking the research a bit ahead, experts say that “in teenage, too exclusive use of the Internet can create a thought zapping, depleting memory, personal synthesis of capacity and interiority."

Solution:

To define the middle ground where traditional culture and that of digital mix it is recommended that that you ask your kids to exercise a reflexive awareness of their relationship to the screens and virtual worlds. Teach them the idea of “self-regulation" and once they learn it, you can take help of parental control app that enables you to assist them digitally. With any advanced parental control app such as FamilyTime, you put the access control on their digital devices which means that you schedule an automatic lock for their phone during:

• Homework Time: Schedule an automatic lock for your kid during the study hours.
• Dinner Time: Lock your kids’ devices during the set dinner time
• Bed Time: Restrict the use of digital devices during the night by setting the screen lock for the bedtime with FamilyTime.

You can download FamilyTime for free from your app store or click the buttons below:

Limiting Screen Time is Necessary!

Limiting Kids screen time is necessary if you want to save them from all the risks given above. So, use the parental control app now and help them use the digital devices safely!

Amazon offering refunds on all hoverboards sold

After several incidents being reported for the hoverboards blowing up, Amazon has finally come up to relieve parents. According to Elliot F. Kaye, Chairman of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Amazon is offering full refunds to their hoverboard customers.

In an announcement on Wednesday, Kaye referred dissatisfied hoverboard owners to Amazon's contact page to claim their refund and said he was " pleased that at least one leading retailer is erring on the side of caution”. He added, "I want to commend Amazon for voluntarily stepping up, providing a free remedy and putting customer safety first,".

Amazon itself has not given out any official articulation on the matter and has been reached for input with respect to whether the offer applies worldwide and on all hoverboards, paying little heed to the date of procurement.

FamilyTime Installation and Activation – Explained!

Holiday season is fast approaching and every company or brand is giving away crazy discounts. So if you were planning on getting some parental control apps for your teens, now is the best time. Some of best apps in the industry like FamilyTime are giving away good deals. The last time I checked on their website, they’re giving some Cyber Monday discounts. But after you buy FamilyTime, how do you install and activate it? Well, that’s what exactly I’m going to tell you. So grab a coffee and sit back relaxed; we’re going to get some stuff done!

Know the Basics:

First up, you need to know what is FamilyTime and what will it help you with. FamilyTime is a mobile monitoring app for parents who want to keep a safety check on their pre-teens and teens. It helps them to know about their kids’ whereabouts, which crowd they’re mixing in with and what kind of media they’re accessing online. So it is part location tracking and part mobile monitoring.

The interesting that that sets FamilyTime apart from other apps is that it has two versions:

Parent DashBoard         Children DashBoard

FamilyTime – Dashboard Vs FamilyTime – Dashboard for Children:

Don’t get confused with the names; there are just separate apps for parents and kids. So you need to install the app on your teen’s phone in order to get the app working.

FamilyTime – Dashboard also has an online control panel that is an exact replica of the app. So if you don’t have the access to your smartphone and you need to check on your kids, you can easily do so by logging in with same details from your online dashboard.

Both apps are fully compatible with Android and iOS which means you can install these apps on your Android smartphones or tabs or your iPhone, iPads or iPod Touch devices. If you have an iPhone and your teen has Android phone, you can still use FamilyTime. But here, we’re only discussing the Android platform.

How to Install FamilyTime on Parent’s Phone

Now comes the part where the action lies: installing and kick starting your parental controls! Here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to Google Play to download FamilyTime- Dashboard. You can click on the button below to get the app, too: 
   
2. As you launch the app after the installation, click on the Create Free Account button and enter your name and the email address you want to associate with your FamilyTime account.
   
3. Now you will get an email from FamilyTime to verify your email. There will be an activation code. Copy that code and paste in the Activation Code bar on the app.
   
4. As you get done with the account activation, you will get another email from FamilyTime and they will assign you a password. Open the app and enter that password to log in.
   
5. No you can add a child profile by taping on the + button on the top right of the app. But remember, you are not done yet, you need to install and activate the FamilyTime- Dashboard or children on your teen’s phone, too. 
   

How to Install FamilyTime on Child’s Phone

1. Open the browser on your child’s Android device and enter the link: http://download.familytime.io
2. FamilyTime download page will open; enter the email address and password of your FamilyTime account and Tap on Sign In button.
   
3. The download will begin automatically. You would only have to tap on the security prompt on your screen below. Tap Ok.
   
4. As the app gets downloaded, go to your notification panel and tap on familytime.apk
   
5. Now you will be navigated to the installation wizard. Tap on Install button to start installation.
   
6. After the installation gets done you will get an app tour where you will be asked to agree to the app accessing info like GPS location, etc. Tap Agree and Next where prompted.

Pairing up both Apps

Just before you start monitoring your child from your own mobile device, you will have to pair both the apps. Otherwise, FamilyTime will not work.

1. After you agree to the app accessing and collecting data from the child phone in the app tour, you will be asked to activate the child app. 
   
2. The activation code will be given under that child profile on your FamilyTime –Dashboard app. So open the parent’s app and note the activation code. You have to enter that code on the child’s phone and tap on Activate Child Account.

All done! Your Parent’s app has been paired up with your child’s app and now you can start monitoring your child’s phone and location details from your phone.

 To set parental controls for your child’s phone, go to your FamilyTime – Dashboard and tap on Setting under that child profile. Here you can set parental controls.

I hope the installation goes well with you. It might be a little technical but not difficult. If you any questions or issues, let me know in the comments section below. Good luck with your digital parenting!

Geo-Fencing Alleviates Parents In No Time!

“Are you back home?” “Give me a call as soon as you reach school safely” bla blah… There are dozens of concerning statement parents make every day. No matter how busy they get, calling kids to know their location stays their priority. For all the concerning parents, there is a tool available that they can use to Geo-Fence places. The tool is FamilyTime-parental control app. Using the app’s Geo-fencing feature, parents can create a virtual fence around places their kids visit frequently.

How does Geo-Fencing Help?

The feature itself is a great relief for parents. As the name suggests, Geo-fence feature helps parents create a virtual fence around places. Once Geo-fenced, parents can receive automated check-in and check-out alerts from their kids. Using FamilyTime, you can:

• Geo-fence as many places as you want just by entering the addresses.
• Set the radius say in feet or miles so that you can receive instant alerts as soon as the kid enters or exists the defined radius.
• Receive push notifications about the check-in/ check-out.

SOS:

SOS alerts are the panic alerts that your kids can send you in a single tap in emergency situations. With the alert, you can receive complete location details of your kid so you can rush to them in time.

Does this sound like a wish came true right? You can download this app anytime from iTunes and Google play and use it on all versions of iPhones, Android, and Kindle devices.

Stay Informed, Stay Relaxed!

Staying informed is the peace of mind. You can always receive automated alerts about your kids checking in and checking out using the advanced Geo-Fencing tool such as FamilyTime. Stay relaxed, stay notified and enjoy parenting!

GoPro unveils new Pocket-Friendly Hero+ action camera

 GoPro continues to be part of tech talk this year with the launching of Hero+, an action camera.

The Hero + is a new addition to the GoPro action camera lineup that already has Hero+ LCD and Hero 4 Session – ting cube shaped camera release earlier this year.

Giving its users the most bang for their buck, this latest action camera of GoPro is waterproof and has a sealed design.  It supports 8-megapixel stills, timelapse videos, burst photos at 5 fps, superview, auto low-light and built-in Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth.

Video resolution is the one big difference between the Hero+ and the Hero+ LCD and Hero. The new action camera Hero + can record in two resolutions including 1080p at 60 frames per second (fps) and 720p at 60 fps. Whereas the low-priced Hero hits at 1080p at 30 fps, though it does do 720p at 60 fps and the Hero+ LCD with built-in touchscreen, maxes out at 1080p at 60 fps and 720p at 60 fps.

With all its valuable features, the GoPro's new Hero+ action camera will be available at retailers and GoPro.com by Oct. 4.

A Watsapp Bug Could Affect 200 Million Users - Security Firm

According to security firm Check Point, a bug in WhatsApp can put almost 200 million of its users at risk. The bug lets hackers dispense malware, together with ransom- ware; which means the victim has to pay cash to get their data back. However, the bug only affects the web-version of the messaging service.

WhatsApp was informed about the problem in the end of the last month. Check Point also urged the users to update their WhatsApp software right away to take benefit of the fix. According to the stats released by the security firm, there are currently over 200 million active users of the web version in comparison to the 900 million users of the app. Check Point said that the bug sprang up due to the way WhatsApp handles contacts via vCard (virtual card).

A hacker only had to send a legitimate looking virtual business card to the targets mobile number. Once the card would be opened, it could disperse the malicious code. Mark James, a specialist at security firm ESET said, "Bearing in mind that WhatsApp is a cross-platform mobile messaging app, the chances of you opening a vCard sent to you are quite high. Once opened, it could attempt to download and infect your system with ransom-ware."

Instagram, Pinterest Users Double Over The Past 3 Years

According to a new study, the social media fireballs Pinterest and Instagram have almost doubled their users in the last 3 years. This spring Pew Research Center, surveyed 1,907 adults about their social media habits. The survey found that, 31% of the adults now use Pinterest, while 3 years ago it was just 15%. Whereas, 28% of adults use Instagram, when only 13% used it in 2012. It also found that, LinkedIn is the only social media site which actually saw its users somewhat decrease in last past year.

While 72% of teens are on Facebook, the growth rate is extremely slow as it has only increased 3% since 2012. Nonetheless, with 1.49 billion users, Facebook is still numerous times larger than any other social media site till now. Pew Research's study also found that messaging apps like Apples iMessage and Watsapp are gaining popularity among adults more than ever- 49% of adults aged 18 and 29 use these messaging apps. While some 41% adults use impermanent apps such as Wickr and Snapchat.