From The Tips Box: Admin Privileges, Telemarketers, Tracking Walks

From The Tips Box: Admin Privileges, Telemarketers, Tracking Walks

Lifehacker readers offer their best tips for getting around administrator privileges, banishing telemarketers, and tracking your walks.

Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favourites. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments or send it using the contact tab on the right.

Get Around Admin Privileges With Portable Apps

From The Tips Box: Admin Privileges, Telemarketers, Tracking Walks

Joe works around his work computer’s limitations:

My company was recently acquired by another firm. The new company has much tighter IT policies, and as a result, I no longer have administrative privileges on my computer. This is frustrating when you can’t access your must-have apps.

There is an easy workaround. You can access many of your favourite applications that you thought were off limits by using portable versions. Portable apps are standalone executables that do not require installation. They’re designed so that you could carry them with you on a USB stick and use them on any machine. You can also just store them on your local drive. There are lots of sources for portable apps and it is easy to find free, legal copies. This has been a lifesaver for me, as I can now use Google Chrome, Dropbox, and my favourite password manager- all without the need to officially install anything. Admittedly, you should check your IT policy first to make sure you don’t break any rules.

Photo by USBMemoryDirect.com.

Use the Magic Words on Telemarketers

From The Tips Box: Admin Privileges, Telemarketers, Tracking Walks

Zigbigidorlu, a former telemarketer himself, shares his magic words for dealing with telemarketers:

I used to be a telemarketer, and I can tell you out of experience, we hate doing it as much as you hate getting it. Most telemarketers have no choice — it’s a job and they need to stay afloat just as much as you do. The trick is to use what we call the “Magic Phrase,” which is used universally with all human telemarketing centres:

“Please Remove Me From Your Calling List.”

This will instantly cause any responsible telemarketer to stop their pitch, place your name into the list removal queue, and bid you a fair day.

Photo by State Farm.

View Your Walks in the Countryside with Google Earth

From The Tips Box: Admin Privileges, Telemarketers, Tracking Walks

BishopBlaize shares a clever use for Google Earth:

If you take walks off the beaten path and want to track them, you can combine Google Earth with the brilliant and underrated My Tracks app for Android. I use My Tracks to record my country walks and then view them later in their full glory on Google Earth.

Photo by scalespeeder.

Make a DIY Wall-Mounted Jewellery Container

From The Tips Box: Admin Privileges, Telemarketers, Tracking Walks

Helena shares her DIY fix for hanging her jewellery:

I needed something to hang all my necklaces, and didn’t feel like buying a necklace hanger, so I just took an empty can of Pringles, and nailed it to my wall.


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