Android Lock Screen Security Options

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Since your phone is with you at all times, the likelihood of it getting left behind at a bar, restaurant, gym, or other location that you previously visited is probably pretty high. And since we live in a world that isn’t always filled with angels, the chances of that left-behind-phone getting stolen and fondled deeply without your approval is probably even higher. Your first line of defense against evil doers is your lock screen. 
In stock Android, you have six different options to choose from for your lock screen, all of which offer their levels of security. If you use a non-stock Android device like the Galaxy S3, you may see some differences in functionality between the types we’ll talk about in a minute, but for the most part they all act in a similar fashion.
First, to access your lock screen options, the universal location tends to be in Settings>Security. From there, you should see an option towards the top called “Screen lock,” which then takes you to your lock screen options once tapped.
As you can see in the screenshot below, stock Android offers options for None, Slide, Face Unlock, Pattern, PIN, and Password. Let’s talk briefly about each.

Slide to Unlock

Slide is probably the most commonly used lock screen of all – it’s basically the default. This lock screen is not secure by any means, and only asks that the user of the phone grab the circle with a lock inside and slide it outside of a larger circle to unlock the phone. There are no passwords or patterns, it’s simply a way to keep your phone from turning itself on and then accessing all sorts of info in your pocket or purse without your knowing.
The nice thing about using Slide, is that you can still access your notification pulldown without having to fully unlock your phone. None of the other lock screen options allow for this, as they are technically “secure.”

Face Unlock

Face Unlock was introduced back in Ice Cream Sandwich as a fun way to unlock your phone using your face. In order to set this option up, you have to place your face inside of a face-shaped ring of dots using your front facing camera until the device decides that it knows your face enough to be able to unlock with it. Once approved, you’ll also be asked to provide a backup option in case the device cannot recognize your face. The two backup options are PIN or pattern.
With Face Unlock setup, you wake your phone and then set point your front facing camera at your face. If it recognizes you, it will unlock almost immediately. If not, it will ask that you complete your backup PIN or Pattern unlock.
People have found ways to trick Face Unlock from time to time, so I’d say that while it’s more secure than Slide, it’s not as secure as the next three.

Pattern, PIN, and Password Unlock

Pattern, PIN and Password unlocks are exactly as they sound – you either create a pattern, a numeric PIN, or an alpha-numeric password that needs to be entered in order to unlock your phone. These are likely the most secure of them all. If you don’t know the pattern, PIN, or password, you are not allowed to access the phone.

( Kellex )

How to organize App icons into folders on the Samsung Galaxy S3

If you have been downloading apps like crazy since you got your new Galaxy S III, you need to organize them in folders to help find them in the future. 

The Samsung Galaxy S III ships with TouchWiz – Samsung’s own skin to the stock Android software. Out of the box, there is little organization or rhyme or reason as to how your apps wind up where they do. This can make finding them a bit of a challenge.
Organizing your apps into folders can help by combining like apps in one place, which makes future retrieval much easier.  If you are used to previous Android phones where you simply drag one app on top of another to create a folder – you might be frustrated that Samsung has changed that intuitive approach with the Galaxy S III

Start by making your first folder

Start by tapping the Apps icon, which by default is at the lower right hand corner of the Home screen in the Bottom dock of icons.

1. Touch the Apps icon
2. Locate the first app you want to put into a folder
3. Touch and hold the app
4. Drag the app to the lower left hand corner of the screen to the Create folder icon
5. A new folder is created on the screen

  

Now, we need to give that folder a name. In this example, I want to create a folder for all my Google apps, so I start with Google Drive, create the folder as noted above and name the folder Google.

Once the folder is created, I now want to add apps into that folder to help me stay organized. I will start with trying to get my Google Chrome app into the Google folder I just created.

1. Touch and hold an icon (in this case Chrome)
2. You will see the folder you just created
3. Drag the icon into the folder
4. Tap the folder to see that it now contains multiple App icons

  

I repeated this procedure to add my Google +, Gmail, Google Voice, Google Play, Google Music and Google Search apps to my new Google folder.

Add the folder to the Bottom dock

Now that I have put all my Google apps into one folder, I want easy access to all those apps I use so often. One way to do this is to actually put the entire folder into the Bottom dock of icons.
Before I can do this, I need to make some room and remove one of the icons from the Bottom dock. Since I usually use Chrome as my browser on my Galaxy S III, I will move the Internet icon out of the Bottom dock:

1. Touch and hold the App icon (in this case, Internet)
2. Drag the icon upwards
3. Touch and hold the folder (in this case, the Google folder)
4. Drag the folder down into the Bottom dock of icons
5. I now have a folder with eight apps instead of just one app in the Bottom dock

  

Make a Home screen just of folders

You can repeat this process for all of your apps. I make folders for Games, Social Networking, News, Weather and other categories where I have multiple apps on my phone. All the folders are on one Home screen, so I quickly have access to my most important apps – all in one place.

Using folders saves screen real estate and makes it more convenient to make one Home page with most of my folders so I don’t have to search around for my apps.