Decrypted: Police hack criminal phone network; Randori raises $20M Series A

Last week was, for most Americans, a four-day work week. But a lot still happened in the security world.

The U.S. government’s cybersecurity agencies warned of two critical vulnerabilities — one in Palo Alto’s networking tech and the other in F5’s gear — that foreign, nation state-backed hackers will “likely” exploit these flaws to get access to networks, steal data or spread malware. Plus, the FCC formally declared Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE as threats to national security.

Here’s more from the week.

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THE BIG PICTURE

How police hacked a massive criminal phone network

Last week’s takedown of EncroChat was, according to police, the “biggest and most significant” law enforcement operation against organized criminals in the history of the U.K. EncroChat sold encrypted phones with custom software akin to how BlackBerry phones used to work; you needed one to talk to other device owners.

But the phone network was used almost exclusively by criminals, allowing their illicit activities to be kept secret and go unimpeded: drug deals, violent attacks, corruption — even murders.

ENCROCHAT DISMANTLED!

An encrypted phone network used to exchange millions of messages between criminals to plan serious crimes across Europe.

A joint investigation by #Europol, @Eurojust @justice_gouv @Gendarmerie @Het_OM @Politie @EU_Justice @EUHomeAffairs @EC_AVService pic.twitter.com/t1QnY3QMno

— Europol (@Europol) July 2, 2020

That is, until French police hacked into the network, broke the encryption and uncovered millions of messages, according to Vice, which covered the takedown of the network. The circumstances of the case are unique; police have not taken down a network like this before.

But technical details of the case remain under wraps, likely until criminal trials begin, at which point attorneys for the alleged criminals are likely to rest much of their defense on the means — and legality — in which the hack was carried out.

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TikTok faces ban in the US; pulls out of Hong Kong

The world’s most popular short video app continues to be in the crosshairs of politicians globally.

On Monday night, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News that the United States is “certainly looking at” banning TikTok over concerns that it could be used by the Beijing government as a surveillance and propaganda tool.

The potential ban would deal another blow to TikTok after it recently went down in its biggest market, India.

On the heels of Pompeo’s statement, TikTok announced that it would pull out of Hong Kong, which is facing an unprecedented wave of control from the Beijing government after the promulgation of the national security law.

“In light of recent events, we’ve decided to stop operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong,” said a TikTok spokesperson. The company declined further comment on the decision.

The vagueness of the statement leaves many questions unanswered. One has to wonder whether ByteDance will relaunch a censored version of the app in Hong Kong, presumably replacing it with its sister app Douyin that’s operated by ByteDance’s Chinese team.

ByteDance, founded by Chinese serial entrepreneur Zhang Yiming, has been working to disassociate TikTok from its Chinese ownership and Beijing censorship. Efforts have ranged from keeping an overseas data center for TikTok that’s supposedly out of reach by the Chinese authority, giving outside experts a glimpse into its moderation process, through to hiring Disney’s Kevin Mayer as the app’s new global face.

But its response to Hong Kong’s circumstances, presumably made by Mayer, who is now the app’s chief executive, is a stark contrast to the decisions by Western tech giants. Facebook, Google, Twitter and Telegram uniformly said this week they would either stop or suspend data review requests from the Hong Kong government.

Many see their move as an outright rejection of Chinese censorship and surveillance, while others think they are simply buying time to ponder their next step in Hong Kong: exit voluntarily, wait and get banned or comply with Beijing rules — which seems the least likely.

TikTok said it had 150,000 users in Hong Kong as of last September, a nearly negligible share given the app had 2 billion downloads globally by April. TechCrunch understands that the app operates a very small team in Hong Kong, so the impact of this regional exit on staff looks to be limited across the company.

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How to rethink capitalism and government for a post-pandemic world | Mariana Mazzucato

How to rethink capitalism and government for a post-pandemic world | Mariana Mazzucato

In the face of three simultaneous crises -- health, the economy and climate -- do we have a chance to do capitalism differently? Economist Mariana Mazzucato explains why we shouldn't try to go back to normal after the pandemic but should instead rethink how governments work together with businesses to solve big problems. Learn more about how governments can play a dynamic, proactive role in shaping markets and sparking innovation -- instead of just responding to broken systems. (This virtual conversation, hosted by TED Global curator Bruno Giussani, was recorded June 22, 2020.)

https://ift.tt/2O58DsI

Click this link to view the TED Talk

7 Cheap PopSockets Phone Grip Alternatives

Everywhere you go, you’ll see a PopSocket stuck to the back to someone’s phone. PopSockets definitely come in handy when you want to get a better grip on your phone, but they’re not for everyone.

In case you want to distance yourself from the PopSockets trend, you’ll be happy to hear that there are plenty of cheap PopSockets alternatives. For affordable phone grips that don’t compromise quality, try out one of these awesome phone grips.

1. Syncwire Cell Phone Ring Holder Stand

Syncwire Cell Phone Ring Holder Stand Syncwire Cell Phone Ring Holder Stand Buy Now On Amazon $6.19

The Syncwire Cell Phone Ring Holder sticks to the back of your phone like a PopSocket, only this holder is shaped like a ring. Simply hook your one or two of your fingers in the ring, and you can securely hold your phone.

This cell phone grip comes with a polished ring that won’t make your fingers sore, not to mention that the ring can rotate a full 360 degrees. You can also opt to use the ring holder as a phone stand—just prop your phone on the metal ring to watch a video or movie.

Syncwire uses a strong adhesive that can stick to most surfaces. Better yet, the metal plating on the base of the grip makes it perfect for use with a magnetic phone mount.

2. LoveHandle Universal Smartphone Grip

LoveHandle Universal Smartphone Grip LoveHandle Universal Smartphone Grip Buy Now On Amazon $9.95

The LoveHandle Universal Smartphone grip is another refreshing PopSockets alternative. Instead of having to fit your fingers around a grip, the LoveHandle lets you slip your fingers through a strap to hold your phone.

Not only does the unique cell phone handle design prevent you from dropping your phone, but it also makes it comfortable to slip your phone in your pocket. Unlike most bulky phone grips, the LoveHandle lays flat against your phone, making it totally pocket-friendly.

If you have a tablet or large smartphone that needs a stronger grip, you could try the LoveHandle XL Tablet Grip instead.

3. Spigen Style Ring Cell Phone Grip

Spigen Style Ring Cell Phone Grip Spigen Style Ring Cell Phone Grip Buy Now On Amazon $13.99

The Spigen Style Ring Cell Phone Grip puts a twist on the typical phone holder. Rather than shaping its ring as a circle, it gives the ring a D shape. The flattened bottom of the phone ring grip makes it easier to use it as a kickstand.

This grip’s ring is fully rotational, and can also fold down to achieve a flat, pocket-friendly profile. It also comes equipped with a reusable gel pad attachment, making it easy to remove and place on another phone case.

To make its product even more enticing, Spigen throws in a hook mount that you can place on your car’s dashboard. At this price, it’s a great deal if you’re looking for both a grip and a car mount. Just keep in mind that this grip doesn’t support wireless charging.

4. Mobi Handle Phone Ring Holder

Mobi Handle Phone Ring Holder Mobi Handle Phone Ring Holder Buy Now On Amazon

If you want a comfortable and sturdy alternative to PopSockets, you can’t go wrong with the Mobi Handle Phone Ring Holder. Although it’s a little pricier than PopSockets, the three-year warranty and long-lasting design make it worthwhile.

Mobi Handle’s Phone Ring Holder is made for comfort—slip your middle finger through the loop and balance your index and ring finger beside it. The magnetic grip folds against the back of your phone, making it compatible with any magnetic phone holder. When you want to watch a video, you can even flip out the grip, and prop up your phone on a table.

And, no, the two holes on the phone grip aren’t there by mistake. You can actually use them to attach a strap, lanyard, or phone charm to your grip. This makes the Mobi Handle Phone Ring Holder even more versatile than most phone grips.

5. Ghostek Loop Phone Grip

Ghostek Loop Phone Grip Ghostek Loop Phone Grip Buy Now On Amazon $9.98

The Ghostek Loop Phone Grip combines two phone grip styles: a loop and a ring. In addition to having a comfortable cloth finger loop, it also comes with a metal ring kickstand.

Just like PopSockets’ interchangeable PopGrips, Ghostek lets you swap out the phone loop for different designs. Its built-in magnet also comes in handy for mounting your phone on magnetic phone holders.

Plus, you can easily remove the magnetic grip when you want to charge your phone wirelessly. Pushing the button on top of the device releases the magnetic portion of the strap, allowing you to charge your phone without any issues.

6. Fitfort Phone Ring Holder

Fitfort Phone Ring Holder Fitfort Phone Ring Holder Buy Now On Amazon $8.99

The Fitfort Phone Ring Holder is another affordable variation of the ring-style phone finger holder. It’s made with high-quality zinc alloy and stainless steel that’s resistant to scrapes, drops, and fading.

The fully rotational ring makes it ideal for just about any task—flip the ring sideways when you want to watch a YouTube video and then fold it back to scroll through your Instagram feed. If you really want to relax, prop up the phone on a table and turn on Netflix.

Just like the ring grips previously mentioned, Fitfort’s grip also comes with a magnetic base that’s compatible with magnetic phone mounts.

7. iRing Slide Ring Phone Grip

iRing Slide Ring Phone Grip iRing Slide Ring Phone Grip Buy Now On Amazon

Do you want a ring phone grip that doesn’t prevent you from using a wireless charger? If that’s the case, you’ll definitely want to look into the iRing Slide Ring Phone Grip. This innovative grip allows you to hold your phone with one finger comfortably.

When you want to charge your phone on a wireless charger, slide the ring downwards on the built-in track—this leaves room for the wireless charger and doesn’t block access to your phone. Before you invest in the iRing, just note that it’s only compatible with wireless phone chargers smaller than 3.5 inches.

You can also flip the phone finger ring in several different directions. Whether you rotate the ring 360 degrees or flip it 180 degrees, the iRing promises a secure and weightless grip.

Finding the Best Cheap PopSockets Alternatives

It’s okay to be picky with the phone grip you choose—after all, your phone’s safety depends on it. Even if you’re not a fan of PopSockets, there are still some reliable yet affordable alternatives that you should give a shot.

Does the PopSockets trend still boggle you? Find out what PopSockets are and why you should consider buying one.

Read the full article: 7 Cheap PopSockets Phone Grip Alternatives

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The Best Way to Give a Keynote Presentation Over Zoom or Skype

When working remotely, you may need to deliver a Keynote presentation over Zoom, Skype, or other video conferencing apps. This is daunting at first—especially if you aren’t tech savvy—but there are two simple methods you can use to do it.

Keynote Live is the best option, which lets you share your presentation slides with anyone online. If that isn’t available, you can share your Mac screen over Zoom or Skype instead. We’ll explain each of these methods in more detail below.

Share Your Presentation Online With Keynote Live

Keynote Live is a tool that lets you share your presentation online with up to 100 people at once. Invited members can tune in to watch your presentation from any device: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows PC, or other mobile devices. All they need to do is click the link you send them and open it in Keynote or a web browser.

Using Keynote Live, you can view the Presenter Display to keep an eye on your current slide, next slide, and Presenter Notes while only showing your current slide to people watching.

Unfortunately, Keynote Live doesn’t let you share audio with your audience. The best way to use it is to start a group call using Zoom, Skype, or other video conference apps, then direct everyone to view your presentation in a separate window.

That way, people can still listen to you over the conference call while viewing the slides in Keynote Live.

Here’s how to use Keynote Live in three simple steps.

Step 1. Invite People to Your Keynote Live Presentation

Open your presentation in Keynote and make sure your slides are ready to go. Then click the Keynote Live button in the toolbar; it looks like a laptop with two waves coming out of it.

In the popup window that appears, click Invite Viewers and send a link to your contacts over Mail, Messages, or AirDrop. Alternatively, choose to Copy Link from the dropdown menu and paste it into the chat in your Zoom or Skype call.

If needed, add a password to your presentation to keep it private. Click More Options and enable the Require Password box to do so. Make sure you give the password to everyone who needs it, alongside the invitation link.

After sharing the link for your Keynote presentation, click Play Later so you can wait for everyone to get ready before starting the presentation. This gives you time to start your conference call, invite more members, or make any final adjustments to your slides.

Step 2. Start a Conference Call Over Zoom or Skype

Since Keynote Live doesn’t let you share audio, you still need to start a call in Zoom, Skype, or any other conferencing app for people to hear you. Make sure everyone is attending your conference call before directing them to Keynote Live to watch the presentation.

Ask people to click the link in the invite you sent them or copy a new link into the chat box for Zoom or Skype. To copy a new link, click the Keynote Live button in Keynote, then click Invite Viewers > Copy Link.

Before starting the presentation, you may want to turn off your camera in the video conferencing app. This way, people can’t watch you while you’re presenting, prompting them to switch to the Keynote Live window instead.

Step 3. Start Presenting in Keynote Live

When you return to the Keynote app, you should notice the Play button has turned green. The number next to the button tells you how many people are currently waiting for your Keynote Live presentation to begin.

To start your presentation, click the Play button and choose to Play on Keynote Live.

Keynote takes a moment to load the slideshow. During this time, it uploads your slides to the cloud to reduce delays for those watching.

When the presentation starts, press the X key to switch between Presenter Display and Audience Display. In Presenter Display, you can view your current slide, next slide, Presenter Notes, and the number of viewers. Anyone viewing your presentation only sees the current slide.

Use the Left and Right arrows to navigate through your slides, or press Esc to exit.

After finishing your presentation, click the Keynote Live button and Turn Off Keynote Live. Then finish up your call in the video conferencing app.

Share Your Keynote Screen Using Zoom or Skype

If Keynote Live isn’t available to use, you can still deliver your Keynote presentation by sharing your screen over Skype or Zoom. This method isn’t as elegant as Keynote Live, but it’s a better option if you don’t want to use Keynote in fullscreen presentation mode.

Depending on the options in your video conferencing app, you can choose to share a portion of your screen, a particular app window, or your entire computer screen.

It’s best to share a portion of your screen, which means you can still view your next slide and Presenter Notes. Zoom allows you to do this, but Skype doesn’t. Instead, you need to share your entire Keynote window to deliver a presentation using Skype.

How to Share a Portion of Your Screen Using Zoom

Open your Keynote presentation and go to Keynote > Preferences in the menu bar.

From the Slideshow tab, enable the option to Allow Mission Control, Dashboard and others to use the screen. This lets you switch between apps after starting your presentation.

Now go to Play > Rehearse Slideshow from the menu bar. Press X to enable Presenter Display, which shows your current slide, next slide, and Presenter Notes.

With Keynote ready, open Zoom and start your video conference call.

Click Share Screen at the bottom of the Zoom window, then go to Advanced > Portion of Screen. Click Share to start sharing a portion of your screen.

If prompted, open the System Preferences on your Mac and go Security & Privacy > Privacy.

In the sidebar, click Screen Recording, then enable the option to allow Zoom to record your screen. You may need to restart Zoom and start sharing your screen again.

When you start sharing your screen, return to Keynote and resize the sharing box to match your Current Slide. This is what people will see in your video conference call. Click a blank space in Keynote, then use the Left and Right arrows to navigate through your presentation.

When you’re finished, click Stop Share at the top of the screen and end your Zoom call.

How to Share Your Keynote Window Using Skype

Skype and Keynote don’t work particularly well together. Although Skype lets you share your Keynote window over a video call, this stops working the moment you enter fullscreen presentation mode.

Instead, you can only share your Keynote screen from the edit view. This means your Keynote transitions and animations won’t work. It also means other people will be able to see your Presenter Notes unless you read them in a separate app.

If you plan to do this, we suggest you hide the Format window by clicking the paintbrush icon to minimize clutter on the screen. You should also adjust the zoom level to make your Keynote slides fill as much of the window as possible.

Now start your Skype call and click the two overlapping squares to share your screen.

Open the Share Screen dropdown menu and choose to Share Application Window, then select Keynote from the list of available apps.

If prompted, open the System Preferences on your Mac and go Security & Privacy > Privacy.

In the sidebar, click Screen Recording, then enable the option to allow Skype to record your screen. You may need to restart Skype and start sharing your screen again.

Don’t enter presentation mode in Keynote. Use the navigation bar or the Up and Down arrows to switch between your slides instead. If you launch your full presentation, the people in your call won’t be able to see it.

More Tools for Online Presentation

Keynote is an excellent app for creating stylish presentations with minimal effort. But it isn’t the best option for online presentations. While it’s possible to share your slides over Keynote Live, screen sharing options in the app itself are rather limited.

Fortunately, there are a wealth of other online presentation apps you can use to step up your game. Each of these apps offers better tools for delivering a presentation over Zoom, Skype, and other video conferencing apps than what you find in Keynote.

Read the full article: The Best Way to Give a Keynote Presentation Over Zoom or Skype

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How to Do More With Windows 10 Using PowerToys

PowerToys are a collection of free utilities for Windows 10 power users. It aims to streamline the Windows experience for greater productivity. PowerToys first launched for Windows 95, then Windows XP, and is now back as an open-source project for Windows 10.

PowerToys lets you bulk rename files, batch resize images, quick launch applications, and more. We’re going to show you how to download PowerToys and how to use the tools it offers.

What Are PowerToys?

PowerToys are a series of free tools that are designed to improve the functionality of the Windows operating system.

PowerToys for Windows 95 was the first version and included 15 components such as:

• CDAutoPlay to use AutoPlay on non-audio CDs
• Desktop menu to open desktop items from a taskbar menu
• Quick res to quickly change screen resolution

The second version of PowerToys was for Windows XP. Rather than being available in a single package, these were separate downloads. Various components were discontinued over its lifetime, but there were 20 components overall such as:

• Alt-Tab Replacement Task Switcher to show live window previous when switching with Alt-Tab
• Power Calculator for advanced and complex expressions
• Webcam Timershot to take webcam pictures at specific intervals

Later operating systems such as Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 didn’t receive official support for PowerToys.

In September 2019, Microsoft released the first version of PowerToys for Windows 10 to the public. These utilities are available in a single package. Although designed for power users, they can be used by anyone thanks to the easy interface.

The utilities included in PowerToys for Windows 10 are:

1. FancyZones
2. File Explorer Preview
3. Image Resizer
4. Keyboard Manager
5. PowerRename
6. PowerToys Run
7. Shortcut Guide

We’ll explore each of these in detail below.

How to Get PowerToys for Windows 10

PowerToys for Windows 10 is an open-source project. As such, information about the project can be found on the PowerToys GitHub page.

To download PowerToys, go to the GitHub releases page. This lists all the iterations of the project as it is being continually updated.

The entry at the top will be the newest and will have a “Latest release” tag. Look at the list of Assets for that entry and you will see a file named PowerToysSetup-0.18.2-x64.msi or similar.

Download and run this file to install PowerToys for your system. PowerToys also needs .NET Core 3.1 Desktop Runtime to run, but this is included in the installer.

What Are Windows 10 PowerToys and How to Use Them

Once you have downloaded PowerToys, launch it from the Start menu. To view its settings, find the icon in the taskbar and double click it. The settings interface is very easy to use and looks like the rest of Windows 10.

On the first launch, you should toggle Always run as administrator on, then click Restart as administrator.

Also, toggle Download updates automatically (except on metered connections) to the on position so that you don’t need to manually download new versions from GitHub.

By default, all the tools are enabled. You can use the menu on the left to edit the settings for each tool and disable those you don’t need.

1. FancyZones

In Windows 10, if you click and drag a window to the side or corner of the screen then it will resize according to a basic grid layout.

With FancyZones, you can create advanced layouts for resizing lots of windows.

Head to the FancyZones section in PowerToys and click Launch Zones Editor. Here you can choose the window layout from some defaults, or click the Custom tab to build your own.

Then, when dragging a window, hold the Shift key to see the zones and drag your window into a section to automatically resize it.

You can edit lots of settings for FancyZones within PowerToys, including removing the requirement of holding Shift, so familiarize yourself with them to take full advantage of this utility.

2. File Explorer Preview

File Explorer has a preview pane so that you can view the contents of some file types, like documents and spreadsheets, without opening them.

If you don’t see this when you click a file, go to the View tab on File Explorer and click Preview pane to enable it.

With File Explorer Preview in PowerToys, this functionality is now extended to SVG image files and Markdown documents.

3. Image Resizer

You can batch resize images on Mac, and now you can do the same on Windows 10.

Simply open File Explorer and select the images you want to resize, right click, and click Resize pictures.

This opens a window where you can select the new image size, along with options like resizing the original (rather than creating copies) and ignoring the orientation of pictures. When ready, click Resize.

Within PowerToys settings, you can edit the default size presets and add your own. You can also change the encoding settings and how the newly resized images are named.

4. Keyboard Manager

With Keyboard Manager, you can create your own keyboard shortcuts or remap existing ones. This is managed within the PowerToys settings, within the Keyboard Manager section.

For example, you could use uncommon keys to control your media playback or browser navigation. Alternatively, you could do something like changing the shortcut Ctrl + C (which normally copies text) to be paste instead.

There are two sections: Remap keyboard to remap a single key to another key, and Remap shortcuts to remap a shortcut to another shortcut.

Click Remap a key or Remap a shortcut. Click the plus icon to add a remapping. The left side is the existing key or shortcut, while the right is what you want to remap it to. Use the trash icon to remove any remapping. When done, click OK.

5. PowerRename

It can be difficult for the average user to bulk rename files and folders in Windows 10 without using PowerShell. With the PowerRename utility, it’s now a breeze.

In File Explorer, select the files or folders that you wish to rename. Right click and click PowerRename.

This opens a window where you can choose what term to Search for and what to Replace with. There are also helpful options like case sensitive renaming, exclude folders, item extension only, and more.

6. PowerToys Run

PowerToys Run is a search tool for quickly launching applications, files, and folders. You can also use it to switch to things you have open.

By default, press Alt + Space to open it (you can customize this in the PowerToys settings). Then simply start typing to find something on your computer. Use the Up and Down keys to move between results and Enter to launch.

If you wish, use the icons next to each result to Launch As Administrator or Open containing folder.

7. Shortcut Guide

Windows 10 is packed full of helpful shortcuts. With Shortcut Guide, you can hold down the Windows key to bring up a screen to remind yourself of some.

Within PowerToys settings, you can change the press duration (900ms by default) and the screen’s opacity and color scheme.

Become a Windows 10 Master

PowerToys is still in active development, so the existing tools could change and new utilities could be added over time. Some of them may even become part of the default Windows 10 operating system.

If you want to be the ultimate Windows 10 user, here are loads of tips and tutorials to master Windows 10.

Read the full article: How to Do More With Windows 10 Using PowerToys

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Improve Your Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness With This $35 Course Bundle

Being able to understand both yourself and other people is valuable in all walks of life. These skills come naturally to some people, but everyone can improve. The Emotional Intelligence & Decision-Making Bundle helps you develop your own mental abilities, with 13 hours of eye-opening classes. You can get the bundle now for just $34.99 at MakeUseOf Deals.

Improve Your EQ

We often think of highly successful people as having a high IQ. While some probably do, far more have a high EQ, or emotional quotient. This means they read the room and understand social signals better than most people. Research shows that people in this category earn $29,000 more on average each year than the rest of us.

If you would like to improve your EQ, this course bundle is the place to start. It includes 10 insightful courses that cover a range of mental techniques that can be applied in everyday life.

The learning begins with an introduction to the main concepts of emotional intelligence. This includes tips on recognizing your own emotions and seeing similar feelings in other people.

The training then branches out, covering a wide variety of topics: conflict management, behavioral styles, personality types, collaboration, decision-making, and more. The courses have an average rating of 4.4 stars, and lifetime access is included.

10 Courses for $34.99

You would normally pay $990 for this training, but you can grab all 10 courses now for just $34.99.

Read the full article: Improve Your Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness With This $35 Course Bundle

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5 Personal & Financial Tools for Freelancers Anywhere to Achieve Success

What do you need to have a successful freelance career? Start with these helpful resources for independent contractors and freelancers to make the most of the gig economy.

You can be your own boss with unparalleled freedom. But that elbowroom comes with its own challenges. You need to know the right tools to stay productive and hit deadlines. You need to manage finances and find job opportunities for freelance gigs.

Millions of people across the world have become successful freelancers. They’re sharing their hard-won wisdom through these tools and resources.

1. We Freelancing (Web): Curated List of Freelance Apps, Books, and Podcasts

The best independent professionals have a common mantra: keep learning. We Freelancing has a variety of freelance-oriented resources for beginners and veterans.

Jess Eddy has curated a list of books, articles, and podcasts that teaches you about how to work independently. All these resources are something she has checked out herself, and there’s a nice variety of ideas that will help you build a career. Many of the podcasts are ongoing, so you can keep learning every week.

As with most such curated lists, We Freelancing also has a section of digital apps and tools. You’ll find free resources for time-tracking, invoicing, self-promotion, freelance job boards, and more. Finally, you’ll also get rate calculators. The collection features some of the essential apps and sites every freelance professional should check out.

2. The Freelancer Toolkit (Web): Legal, Insurance, and Other Resources for Freelance

Job listings website Twine has put together a neat toolkit for freelance professionals, whether you use Twine or not. It includes country-wise breakdown for topics like finance, law, and insurance.

Freelance laws change according to the country you’re in, and can even change according to the state. Twine’s freelancer toolkit is excellent to find out how you can protect yourself legally, apply for insurance (since a company isn’t going to do it for you), and handle business administration and finances.

Using the website is straightforward. You’ll first have to choose whether you’re working in the US, UK, or the rest of the world. Then, select categories like banking, legal, work, accounting, news, productivity, environment, education, business administration, insurance, or creative.

3. FYI Templates (Web): Free Freelance Templates for Docs, Spreadsheets, and Other Apps

As an independent professional, you can use all the help you can get. FYI offers a collection of free templates for a variety of scenarios you’ll come across, and for any type of app you like to use. Find templates for Airtable, Github, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Microsoft Office, Notion, Pandadoc, and Trello.

These are user-made, free-to-use templates that FYI has curated for freelancers. You’ll find invoices, payment agreements, to-do lists, and habit trackers. There are contracts for standard freelancing, consultancy, marketing, and others. You’ll also get marketing proposals, pitch decks, scope of work agreements, and other documents that you need to use with different clients.

Click any template to open it directly in the app it’s for. You can filter the templates by category or app, and even suggest other useful ready-to-use resources you’ve found online.

4. Freelance Taxation (Web): How Taxes Work for Freelancer Professionals in the US

When you go to work and have to buy lunch, is that a business meal? What about when you go out with friends but discuss a bit of business, does that qualify and can you deduct it from your taxes? Freelance Taxation answers all the common questions about taxes and finances for freelancers, and busts some myths.

Taxes are complicated when you’re self-employed or an independent contractor. If you’re working in USA, professional financial planner Susan Lee’s website has most of the tax information you’d need to know.

Lee has planned finances for freelancers and artists in New York City for over 20 years. Her experience and essential knowledge is now available in simple terms. As a freelancer, you’ll often wonder what are deductible expenses for you, or what you can claim as a “business meal.” All her claims are linked to government resources.

The website mainly offers advice on managing expenses, deductible expenses, and managing finances. There’s a separate section for useful books and websites, and please check the New York State and City freelance links if you fall under that because they’re a bit different from the other states.

5. Going Freelance (Web): Free Online Course on How to Build a Personal Brand

One of the most repeated pieces of advice you’ll find from successful freelancers is that you need to build your personal brand. What does that really mean, and how does one go about doing it? Skillshare offers a free online e-course to teach that.

Clairse Wasserman and Justin Gignac, co-founders of creative company Working Not Working, break down what you need to do to be a successful freelance professional. They’ll take you through the steps of creating side-projects, business fundamentals, and personal portfolios.

Pay attention to the two mini-sessions on marketing yourself and authentic networking for personal brand building. Do watch the entire course. It is only 51 minutes long, and it’s remarkable that they’re sharing deep insights for free.

Apply for the Freelancers Relief Fund

A quick note for US-based freelance professionals. The Freelancers Union has put together a relief fund for those independent workers facing a threat to their livelihood, due to the effects of COVID-19. There’s a potential total of $1000 in financial assistance per household, if you qualify for their requirements. Applications are currently closed, but keep an eye on it.

Best Freelance Job Listings and Boards

So once you are ready to take on the freelance world with the above resources, how do you go about landing a gig? You look through online job listings, of course. Whether you want to work remotely or locally, it’s best to hit job boards catering to your skills.

On the internet, there are a few types of freelance jobs that get more attention than others. To increase your chances, find out which are the best freelance jobs and job listing boards for each of them.

Read the full article: 5 Personal & Financial Tools for Freelancers Anywhere to Achieve Success

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The Best Way to Give a Keynote Presentation Over Zoom or Skype

When working remotely, you may need to deliver a Keynote presentation over Zoom, Skype, or other video conferencing apps. This is daunting at first—especially if you aren’t tech savvy—but there are two simple methods you can use to do it.

Keynote Live is the best option, which lets you share your presentation slides with anyone online. If that isn’t available, you can share your Mac screen over Zoom or Skype instead. We’ll explain each of these methods in more detail below.

Share Your Presentation Online With Keynote Live

Keynote Live is a tool that lets you share your presentation online with up to 100 people at once. Invited members can tune in to watch your presentation from any device: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows PC, or other mobile devices. All they need to do is click the link you send them and open it in Keynote or a web browser.

Using Keynote Live, you can view the Presenter Display to keep an eye on your current slide, next slide, and Presenter Notes while only showing your current slide to people watching.

Unfortunately, Keynote Live doesn’t let you share audio with your audience. The best way to use it is to start a group call using Zoom, Skype, or other video conference apps, then direct everyone to view your presentation in a separate window.

That way, people can still listen to you over the conference call while viewing the slides in Keynote Live.

Here’s how to use Keynote Live in three simple steps.

Step 1. Invite People to Your Keynote Live Presentation

Open your presentation in Keynote and make sure your slides are ready to go. Then click the Keynote Live button in the toolbar; it looks like a laptop with two waves coming out of it.

In the popup window that appears, click Invite Viewers and send a link to your contacts over Mail, Messages, or AirDrop. Alternatively, choose to Copy Link from the dropdown menu and paste it into the chat in your Zoom or Skype call.

If needed, add a password to your presentation to keep it private. Click More Options and enable the Require Password box to do so. Make sure you give the password to everyone who needs it, alongside the invitation link.

After sharing the link for your Keynote presentation, click Play Later so you can wait for everyone to get ready before starting the presentation. This gives you time to start your conference call, invite more members, or make any final adjustments to your slides.

Step 2. Start a Conference Call Over Zoom or Skype

Since Keynote Live doesn’t let you share audio, you still need to start a call in Zoom, Skype, or any other conferencing app for people to hear you. Make sure everyone is attending your conference call before directing them to Keynote Live to watch the presentation.

Ask people to click the link in the invite you sent them or copy a new link into the chat box for Zoom or Skype. To copy a new link, click the Keynote Live button in Keynote, then click Invite Viewers > Copy Link.

Before starting the presentation, you may want to turn off your camera in the video conferencing app. This way, people can’t watch you while you’re presenting, prompting them to switch to the Keynote Live window instead.

Step 3. Start Presenting in Keynote Live

When you return to the Keynote app, you should notice the Play button has turned green. The number next to the button tells you how many people are currently waiting for your Keynote Live presentation to begin.

To start your presentation, click the Play button and choose to Play on Keynote Live.

Keynote takes a moment to load the slideshow. During this time, it uploads your slides to the cloud to reduce delays for those watching.

When the presentation starts, press the X key to switch between Presenter Display and Audience Display. In Presenter Display, you can view your current slide, next slide, Presenter Notes, and the number of viewers. Anyone viewing your presentation only sees the current slide.

Use the Left and Right arrows to navigate through your slides, or press Esc to exit.

After finishing your presentation, click the Keynote Live button and Turn Off Keynote Live. Then finish up your call in the video conferencing app.

Share Your Keynote Screen Using Zoom or Skype

If Keynote Live isn’t available to use, you can still deliver your Keynote presentation by sharing your screen over Skype or Zoom. This method isn’t as elegant as Keynote Live, but it’s a better option if you don’t want to use Keynote in fullscreen presentation mode.

Depending on the options in your video conferencing app, you can choose to share a portion of your screen, a particular app window, or your entire computer screen.

It’s best to share a portion of your screen, which means you can still view your next slide and Presenter Notes. Zoom allows you to do this, but Skype doesn’t. Instead, you need to share your entire Keynote window to deliver a presentation using Skype.

How to Share a Portion of Your Screen Using Zoom

Open your Keynote presentation and go to Keynote > Preferences in the menu bar.

From the Slideshow tab, enable the option to Allow Mission Control, Dashboard and others to use the screen. This lets you switch between apps after starting your presentation.

Now go to Play > Rehearse Slideshow from the menu bar. Press X to enable Presenter Display, which shows your current slide, next slide, and Presenter Notes.

With Keynote ready, open Zoom and start your video conference call.

Click Share Screen at the bottom of the Zoom window, then go to Advanced > Portion of Screen. Click Share to start sharing a portion of your screen.

If prompted, open the System Preferences on your Mac and go Security & Privacy > Privacy.

In the sidebar, click Screen Recording, then enable the option to allow Zoom to record your screen. You may need to restart Zoom and start sharing your screen again.

When you start sharing your screen, return to Keynote and resize the sharing box to match your Current Slide. This is what people will see in your video conference call. Click a blank space in Keynote, then use the Left and Right arrows to navigate through your presentation.

When you’re finished, click Stop Share at the top of the screen and end your Zoom call.

How to Share Your Keynote Window Using Skype

Skype and Keynote don’t work particularly well together. Although Skype lets you share your Keynote window over a video call, this stops working the moment you enter fullscreen presentation mode.

Instead, you can only share your Keynote screen from the edit view. This means your Keynote transitions and animations won’t work. It also means other people will be able to see your Presenter Notes unless you read them in a separate app.

If you plan to do this, we suggest you hide the Format window by clicking the paintbrush icon to minimize clutter on the screen. You should also adjust the zoom level to make your Keynote slides fill as much of the window as possible.

Now start your Skype call and click the two overlapping squares to share your screen.

Open the Share Screen dropdown menu and choose to Share Application Window, then select Keynote from the list of available apps.

If prompted, open the System Preferences on your Mac and go Security & Privacy > Privacy.

In the sidebar, click Screen Recording, then enable the option to allow Skype to record your screen. You may need to restart Skype and start sharing your screen again.

Don’t enter presentation mode in Keynote. Use the navigation bar or the Up and Down arrows to switch between your slides instead. If you launch your full presentation, the people in your call won’t be able to see it.

More Tools for Online Presentation

Keynote is an excellent app for creating stylish presentations with minimal effort. But it isn’t the best option for online presentations. While it’s possible to share your slides over Keynote Live, screen sharing options in the app itself are rather limited.

Fortunately, there are a wealth of other online presentation apps you can use to step up your game. Each of these apps offers better tools for delivering a presentation over Zoom, Skype, and other video conferencing apps than what you find in Keynote.

Read the full article: The Best Way to Give a Keynote Presentation Over Zoom or Skype

Improve Your Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness With This $35 Course Bundle

Being able to understand both yourself and other people is valuable in all walks of life. These skills come naturally to some people, but everyone can improve. The Emotional Intelligence & Decision-Making Bundle helps you develop your own mental abilities, with 13 hours of eye-opening classes. You can get the bundle now for just $34.99 at MakeUseOf Deals.

Improve Your EQ

We often think of highly successful people as having a high IQ. While some probably do, far more have a high EQ, or emotional quotient. This means they read the room and understand social signals better than most people. Research shows that people in this category earn $29,000 more on average each year than the rest of us.

If you would like to improve your EQ, this course bundle is the place to start. It includes 10 insightful courses that cover a range of mental techniques that can be applied in everyday life.

The learning begins with an introduction to the main concepts of emotional intelligence. This includes tips on recognizing your own emotions and seeing similar feelings in other people.

The training then branches out, covering a wide variety of topics: conflict management, behavioral styles, personality types, collaboration, decision-making, and more. The courses have an average rating of 4.4 stars, and lifetime access is included.

10 Courses for $34.99

You would normally pay $990 for this training, but you can grab all 10 courses now for just $34.99.

Read the full article: Improve Your Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness With This $35 Course Bundle

5 Personal & Financial Tools for Freelancers Anywhere to Achieve Success

What do you need to have a successful freelance career? Start with these helpful resources for independent contractors and freelancers to make the most of the gig economy.

You can be your own boss with unparalleled freedom. But that elbowroom comes with its own challenges. You need to know the right tools to stay productive and hit deadlines. You need to manage finances and find job opportunities for freelance gigs.

Millions of people across the world have become successful freelancers. They’re sharing their hard-won wisdom through these tools and resources.

1. We Freelancing (Web): Curated List of Freelance Apps, Books, and Podcasts

The best independent professionals have a common mantra: keep learning. We Freelancing has a variety of freelance-oriented resources for beginners and veterans.

Jess Eddy has curated a list of books, articles, and podcasts that teaches you about how to work independently. All these resources are something she has checked out herself, and there’s a nice variety of ideas that will help you build a career. Many of the podcasts are ongoing, so you can keep learning every week.

As with most such curated lists, We Freelancing also has a section of digital apps and tools. You’ll find free resources for time-tracking, invoicing, self-promotion, freelance job boards, and more. Finally, you’ll also get rate calculators. The collection features some of the essential apps and sites every freelance professional should check out.

2. The Freelancer Toolkit (Web): Legal, Insurance, and Other Resources for Freelance

Job listings website Twine has put together a neat toolkit for freelance professionals, whether you use Twine or not. It includes country-wise breakdown for topics like finance, law, and insurance.

Freelance laws change according to the country you’re in, and can even change according to the state. Twine’s freelancer toolkit is excellent to find out how you can protect yourself legally, apply for insurance (since a company isn’t going to do it for you), and handle business administration and finances.

Using the website is straightforward. You’ll first have to choose whether you’re working in the US, UK, or the rest of the world. Then, select categories like banking, legal, work, accounting, news, productivity, environment, education, business administration, insurance, or creative.

3. FYI Templates (Web): Free Freelance Templates for Docs, Spreadsheets, and Other Apps

As an independent professional, you can use all the help you can get. FYI offers a collection of free templates for a variety of scenarios you’ll come across, and for any type of app you like to use. Find templates for Airtable, Github, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Microsoft Office, Notion, Pandadoc, and Trello.

These are user-made, free-to-use templates that FYI has curated for freelancers. You’ll find invoices, payment agreements, to-do lists, and habit trackers. There are contracts for standard freelancing, consultancy, marketing, and others. You’ll also get marketing proposals, pitch decks, scope of work agreements, and other documents that you need to use with different clients.

Click any template to open it directly in the app it’s for. You can filter the templates by category or app, and even suggest other useful ready-to-use resources you’ve found online.

4. Freelance Taxation (Web): How Taxes Work for Freelancer Professionals in the US

When you go to work and have to buy lunch, is that a business meal? What about when you go out with friends but discuss a bit of business, does that qualify and can you deduct it from your taxes? Freelance Taxation answers all the common questions about taxes and finances for freelancers, and busts some myths.

Taxes are complicated when you’re self-employed or an independent contractor. If you’re working in USA, professional financial planner Susan Lee’s website has most of the tax information you’d need to know.

Lee has planned finances for freelancers and artists in New York City for over 20 years. Her experience and essential knowledge is now available in simple terms. As a freelancer, you’ll often wonder what are deductible expenses for you, or what you can claim as a “business meal.” All her claims are linked to government resources.

The website mainly offers advice on managing expenses, deductible expenses, and managing finances. There’s a separate section for useful books and websites, and please check the New York State and City freelance links if you fall under that because they’re a bit different from the other states.

5. Going Freelance (Web): Free Online Course on How to Build a Personal Brand

One of the most repeated pieces of advice you’ll find from successful freelancers is that you need to build your personal brand. What does that really mean, and how does one go about doing it? Skillshare offers a free online e-course to teach that.

Clairse Wasserman and Justin Gignac, co-founders of creative company Working Not Working, break down what you need to do to be a successful freelance professional. They’ll take you through the steps of creating side-projects, business fundamentals, and personal portfolios.

Pay attention to the two mini-sessions on marketing yourself and authentic networking for personal brand building. Do watch the entire course. It is only 51 minutes long, and it’s remarkable that they’re sharing deep insights for free.

Apply for the Freelancers Relief Fund

A quick note for US-based freelance professionals. The Freelancers Union has put together a relief fund for those independent workers facing a threat to their livelihood, due to the effects of COVID-19. There’s a potential total of $1000 in financial assistance per household, if you qualify for their requirements. Applications are currently closed, but keep an eye on it.

Best Freelance Job Listings and Boards

So once you are ready to take on the freelance world with the above resources, how do you go about landing a gig? You look through online job listings, of course. Whether you want to work remotely or locally, it’s best to hit job boards catering to your skills.

On the internet, there are a few types of freelance jobs that get more attention than others. To increase your chances, find out which are the best freelance jobs and job listing boards for each of them.

Read the full article: 5 Personal & Financial Tools for Freelancers Anywhere to Achieve Success

How to Do More With Windows 10 Using PowerToys

PowerToys are a collection of free utilities for Windows 10 power users. It aims to streamline the Windows experience for greater productivity. PowerToys first launched for Windows 95, then Windows XP, and is now back as an open-source project for Windows 10.

PowerToys lets you bulk rename files, batch resize images, quick launch applications, and more. We’re going to show you how to download PowerToys and how to use the tools it offers.

What Are PowerToys?

PowerToys are a series of free tools that are designed to improve the functionality of the Windows operating system.

PowerToys for Windows 95 was the first version and included 15 components such as:

• CDAutoPlay to use AutoPlay on non-audio CDs
• Desktop menu to open desktop items from a taskbar menu
• Quick res to quickly change screen resolution

The second version of PowerToys was for Windows XP. Rather than being available in a single package, these were separate downloads. Various components were discontinued over its lifetime, but there were 20 components overall such as:

• Alt-Tab Replacement Task Switcher to show live window previous when switching with Alt-Tab
• Power Calculator for advanced and complex expressions
• Webcam Timershot to take webcam pictures at specific intervals

Later operating systems such as Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 didn’t receive official support for PowerToys.

In September 2019, Microsoft released the first version of PowerToys for Windows 10 to the public. These utilities are available in a single package. Although designed for power users, they can be used by anyone thanks to the easy interface.

The utilities included in PowerToys for Windows 10 are:

1. FancyZones
2. File Explorer Preview
3. Image Resizer
4. Keyboard Manager
5. PowerRename
6. PowerToys Run
7. Shortcut Guide

We’ll explore each of these in detail below.

How to Get PowerToys for Windows 10

PowerToys for Windows 10 is an open-source project. As such, information about the project can be found on the PowerToys GitHub page.

To download PowerToys, go to the GitHub releases page. This lists all the iterations of the project as it is being continually updated.

The entry at the top will be the newest and will have a “Latest release” tag. Look at the list of Assets for that entry and you will see a file named PowerToysSetup-0.18.2-x64.msi or similar.

Download and run this file to install PowerToys for your system. PowerToys also needs .NET Core 3.1 Desktop Runtime to run, but this is included in the installer.

What Are Windows 10 PowerToys and How to Use Them

Once you have downloaded PowerToys, launch it from the Start menu. To view its settings, find the icon in the taskbar and double click it. The settings interface is very easy to use and looks like the rest of Windows 10.

On the first launch, you should toggle Always run as administrator on, then click Restart as administrator.

Also, toggle Download updates automatically (except on metered connections) to the on position so that you don’t need to manually download new versions from GitHub.

By default, all the tools are enabled. You can use the menu on the left to edit the settings for each tool and disable those you don’t need.

1. FancyZones

In Windows 10, if you click and drag a window to the side or corner of the screen then it will resize according to a basic grid layout.

With FancyZones, you can create advanced layouts for resizing lots of windows.

Head to the FancyZones section in PowerToys and click Launch Zones Editor. Here you can choose the window layout from some defaults, or click the Custom tab to build your own.

Then, when dragging a window, hold the Shift key to see the zones and drag your window into a section to automatically resize it.

You can edit lots of settings for FancyZones within PowerToys, including removing the requirement of holding Shift, so familiarize yourself with them to take full advantage of this utility.

2. File Explorer Preview

File Explorer has a preview pane so that you can view the contents of some file types, like documents and spreadsheets, without opening them.

If you don’t see this when you click a file, go to the View tab on File Explorer and click Preview pane to enable it.

With File Explorer Preview in PowerToys, this functionality is now extended to SVG image files and Markdown documents.

3. Image Resizer

You can batch resize images on Mac, and now you can do the same on Windows 10.

Simply open File Explorer and select the images you want to resize, right click, and click Resize pictures.

This opens a window where you can select the new image size, along with options like resizing the original (rather than creating copies) and ignoring the orientation of pictures. When ready, click Resize.

Within PowerToys settings, you can edit the default size presets and add your own. You can also change the encoding settings and how the newly resized images are named.

4. Keyboard Manager

With Keyboard Manager, you can create your own keyboard shortcuts or remap existing ones. This is managed within the PowerToys settings, within the Keyboard Manager section.

For example, you could use uncommon keys to control your media playback or browser navigation. Alternatively, you could do something like changing the shortcut Ctrl + C (which normally copies text) to be paste instead.

There are two sections: Remap keyboard to remap a single key to another key, and Remap shortcuts to remap a shortcut to another shortcut.

Click Remap a key or Remap a shortcut. Click the plus icon to add a remapping. The left side is the existing key or shortcut, while the right is what you want to remap it to. Use the trash icon to remove any remapping. When done, click OK.

5. PowerRename

It can be difficult for the average user to bulk rename files and folders in Windows 10 without using PowerShell. With the PowerRename utility, it’s now a breeze.

In File Explorer, select the files or folders that you wish to rename. Right click and click PowerRename.

This opens a window where you can choose what term to Search for and what to Replace with. There are also helpful options like case sensitive renaming, exclude folders, item extension only, and more.

6. PowerToys Run

PowerToys Run is a search tool for quickly launching applications, files, and folders. You can also use it to switch to things you have open.

By default, press Alt + Space to open it (you can customize this in the PowerToys settings). Then simply start typing to find something on your computer. Use the Up and Down keys to move between results and Enter to launch.

If you wish, use the icons next to each result to Launch As Administrator or Open containing folder.

7. Shortcut Guide

Windows 10 is packed full of helpful shortcuts. With Shortcut Guide, you can hold down the Windows key to bring up a screen to remind yourself of some.

Within PowerToys settings, you can change the press duration (900ms by default) and the screen’s opacity and color scheme.

Become a Windows 10 Master

PowerToys is still in active development, so the existing tools could change and new utilities could be added over time. Some of them may even become part of the default Windows 10 operating system.

If you want to be the ultimate Windows 10 user, here are loads of tips and tutorials to master Windows 10.

Read the full article: How to Do More With Windows 10 Using PowerToys