Geek Trivia: When Employees Are Encouraged To Experiment And Develop On Company Time, It’s Called?

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How Carriers and Manufacturers Make Your Android Phone’s Software Worse

Android’s openness is a big reason for its success, but cellular carriers and phone manufacturers often use this openness to make the experience worse for its users. Android’s openness gives carriers and device manufacturers the freedom to do bad things.

Geek Trivia: Workers In Which Of These Non-Nuclear Industries Are Classified As “Radiation Workers” By The CDC?

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PC Gamers, Give Left-Handed “Gamepads” a Try

Keyboards aren’t designed to play games…but most PC games are designed to be played on keyboards. It’s an interesting bit of evolutionary dissonance in the world of PC gaming, from back when people actually worked on computers and games were a secondary consideration.

How to Enable Night Mode on the Echo Spot

If you use your Echo Spot as a bedside alarm clock, then you might benefit from turning on Night Mode. This feature changes the background to black and dims the screen so that it doesn’t blind you at night while you’re trying to sleep.

Geek Trivia: Star Wars Character Boba Fett Was First Revealed To The Public In A?

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Netflix Will Help You Send Your Kids to Bed Early With Fake New Year’s Countdowns

New Year’s Eve is a holiday for staying up late to watch the current year slowly decay until it hatches in…

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Instantly Open a Full Screen Terminal On Your Mac Using a Keyboard Shortcut

Many Mac users spend their entire lives in the Terminal, but most of us only open it occasionally. Using a mouse to open a text-based interface feels weird, however. What if there was a way to always have the Terminal at the ready, triggered by a single keyboard shortcut?

How to Add Custom User Tags to Reddit

If you’ve spent any time at all on the Internet, odds are pretty decent that you’ve encountered Reddit, the link-sharing social network and discussion platform. And if you’ve spent any time at all on Reddit, odds are approximately 100% that you’ve encountered jerks. Not that Reddit is inherently jerky, mind you—it’s just that there are millions of users posting links and comments daily. Unless you’re specifically limiting your viewing to the /r/Aww subreddit, you’re mathematically certain to encounter a certain level of dickish behavior.

Best Desk Toys for Entertaining Yourself During Conference Calls

You’re sitting there at work stuck on a conference call in desperate need of something…

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How to Change Device Names on Google Wifi

One of the most valuable features of Google Wifi for me is the ability to watch my network activity on a per-device level. The thing is, a lot of devices don’t correctly report themselves to the router, so it’s hard to tell what is what. Here’s how to figure it out, then change the name.

What’s the Difference Between a Power Strip and a Surge Protector?

Surge protectors often look just like power strips, but not all power strips are surge protectors. Only surge protections actually help protect your gadgets against power surges. Many power strips are just glorified extension cords without any protection. But you can tell whether a strip provides surge protection with just a few seconds of examination.

How to Change the Clock Face on the Echo Spot

Amazon’s Echo Spot makes for a fantastic bedside alarm clock, and there are a handful of clock faces to choose from. Here’s how to change the clock face to find one that suits your tastes.

Geek Trivia: Which Of These Early Computers Had A Critical Defect That Erased Removable Media?

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How to Clear Your MacBook’s Touch Bar and Secure Enclave Data

Planning on selling or giving away your MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar? Even if you wipe your Mac and reinstall macOS from scratch, it won’t remove everything: information about your fingerprints and other security features are stored separately, and may remain after your wipe your hard drive.

How to Manage Podcasts in Google Play Music

Hey, did you know that the Google Play Music app that comes with your Android phone can subscribe to, stream, and download podcasts? The feature works okay, though not nearly as fleshed-out as the various dedicated podcast managers out there. But if you hate having extra apps on your phone, and you’re already an avid user of Play Music, it could be the right move for you. Here’s how it works.

Google and Apple Are Killing It With Photo Tech

 

When it comes to hardware phone makers are bor…

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How to Tame Your Chromecast’s Background Data Usage

Google’s Chromecast is an excellent little streaming device that offers an easy and affordable way to get content from the little screen to the big one. The thing is, when you’re not using it, it can use over 15GB of data every month just idling. That’s a pretty significant amount for anyone on a metered connection.

How to Speed Up Your Old, Slow iPhone or iPad

Every year, Apple comes out with new iPhones and iPads and a new version of iOS. While it’s a good idea to stay current on software, not everyone can afford to buy new hardware every year. If your iPhone or iPad is showing its age, here are a few tricks to squeeze out a bit more performance.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Kwikset Kevo Smart Lock

The Kwikset Kevo smart lock comes with a clever design that lets you simply touch the lock to unlock it—but that’s not the only feature that makes it so great. Here’s how to get the most out of our Kevo smart lock.

Geek Trivia: Which U.S. State Flag Has A Union Jack On It?

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How to Block Specific Ads on YouTube

Have you ever gone on a YouTube binge, only to get the same annoying pre-roll ad over and over again? It’s a systemic issue, thanks to Google’s user-targeting advertising algorithm. The easiest way to solve this problem is to pay for YouTube Red and get rid of all the advertising. The easiest free way to do it, however, is below.

9 Great Switch Games You’ll Only Find in the Nintendo eShop

While there are plenty of great Switch games you can grab right off the shelf at your local retailer, there are some gems you can only get if y…

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How to Turn an Android or Fire Tablet Into a Kid-Friendly Device with FreeTime

Amazon FreeTime is, hands down, the most sophisticated and easy-to-use parental control tool available for tablets. Here’s how to set it up, access the vast FreeTime Unlimited media library, and set time limits for your kids.

10 Handy Uses for Your Old iPad or Android Tablet

Tablet sales are slumping at the moment, probably as a result of big smartphones and convertible laptops chip away at a tablet’s usefulness. But if you have one or more tablets at home gathering dust while you happily poke away at your giant smartphone, there are probably some good ways to put them to use rather than selling them or recycling them. Here are a few ideas.

How to Remove Ads on the PlayStation 4’s Home Screen

If you’re a PlayStation 4 owner of any variety (regular, Slim, or Pro), you probably woke up today to an annoying Destiny 2 ad right there in your recent games bar. That’s pretty obnoxious, so here’s how to prevent it from happening again in the future.

Geek Trivia: The Largest Group Of Mammals, By Species, Is Composed Of?

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How to Buy and Sell the Digital Movie Codes that Come With Your Discs

At the moment, we’re in a transition to an all-digital world of entertainment, and we’ll soon be able to more or less forget about DVDs, CDs, Blu-rays, and game cartridges. But while we sit in this transitory phase, movie studios are trying to get us to keep buying movies on disc by sweetening the pot with free codes for digital copies.

The Cheapest Ways to Get Started with 4K Streaming

If you’re buying a new 4K TV this year, you&#821…

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How to Disable Website Links When Pasting Text Into OneNote

When you paste text from a web page into OneNote, it won’t just paste the text. You’ll also get a link to the web page you got it from. You can disable this feature if you like, forcing OneNote to only paste the text you actually copied.

Why Android Phones Slow Down Over Time, and How to Speed Them Up

If you’ve had your Android device for a while, you’ve probably started to notice some lag that wasn’t there before. Apps load a bit slower, menus take a bit longer to show up. This is actually (and unfortunately) normal—here’s why.

Geek Trivia: Samsung’s First Products Weren’t Electronics But?

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So You Just Got a Chromecast. Now What?

So, you just scored a Chromecast. That’s awesome! But you can do a lot more than just watch Netflix or YouTube on that bad boy—there’s actually a load of cool stuff under its tiny hood.

How to Set Up All Your New Holiday Gadgets

It’s the holidays, which means new gadgets for everyone! Whether you’re rocking a new PC or trying to get a handle on what the Amazon Echo really does, we’ve got you covered. Here’s how to set up all your new tech gifts (and, let’s be honest: your family’s).

So You Just Got an Amazon Fire Tablet. Now What?

Hey, congratulations on your new tablet! The Amazon Fire Tablet series offers, without a doubt, some of the best bang for your buck devices you can get in today’s tablet market. You’re going to love it.

So You Just Got a Google Home. Now What?

So you scored a Google Home for Christmas. That’s awesome, because this is a killer little smart speaker that can do a lot of different things—in fact, it can be a little overwhelming. The good news is that we’ve got you covered. Here are some ideas on where to get started with your new Home.

So You Just Got an Xbox One. Now What?

The Xbox One is shaping up to be a great console. The Xbox One S offers 4K and HDR features you can’t get on the PlayStation 4 Slim, and the even newer Xbox One X is significantly faster than Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro. Here’s everything you need to know to get the most out of your new Xbox One.

So You Just Got a PlayStation 4. Now What?

Christmas has come and gone, the paper torn off of every box under the tree, and you just scored a brand new PlayStation 4 (or Pro!). Congratulations! It is, at least in this writer’s humble opinion, the best version of the PlayStation that has ever existed—especially the Pro. Let’s make the most of it, shall we?

So You Just Got a Nintendo Switch. Now What?

The Nintendo Switch is a great console—part living room system, part portable device, and all Nintendo. While the Switch isn’t as packed with extra features and apps as other modern consoles are, there are still many things it doesn’t tell you. Here’s what you need to know to get the most out of your new Switch.

How to Set Up and Configure Your Amazon Echo

So you just got an Amazon Echo, either from the recent sales or the holidays. Let’s take a look at how to set it up and some useful things you can task your Echo with.

How to Sideload Apps on the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick

Amazon’s Fire TV and Fire TV stick technically runs Android…but you wouldn’t know it from looking. Amazon has a wall of content for its set-top box, and doesn’t want Google (with its own competing platform) to crash the party. But even though the Fire TV only has official access to Amazon’s Appstore, you can install other apps too.

Geek Trivia: Which Of These Christmas Films Was Originally Released In The Spring?

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The Best Modern, Open Source Ports of Classic Games

Looking for a bit of PC gaming nostalgia? You could dig those old floppy disks out of your closet…or you could grab the new, improved, open source versions of those games online for free.

Geek Trivia: The Only Primate With A Toxic Bite Is The?

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Google, the World’s Biggest Advertising Company, Will Block Ads Soon. Is That Good?

It’s finally happening: on February 15, 2017, Google’s Chrome browser will block some ads out-of-the-box, regardless of whether you have a separate ad blocker installed.

How to Disable the Camera on the Echo Spot

The Echo Spot makes for a great bedside alarm clock with Alexa built in, but if you’re a little wary of a camera pointing directly at your bed, here’s how to disable it completely.

Geek Trivia: The Country With The Most Diverse Variety Of Breads Is?

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How to Use a Time Machine Drive for Both File Storage and Backups

When you set up Time Machine, your Mac wants to use an entire external drive exclusively for backups. Here’s how you can get around that and use a Time Machine drive both for backups and file storage.

WinX DVD Ripper Xmas Giveaway and Amazon eGift Card Contest [Sponsored]

Christmas is right around the corner and online stores are buzzing with festive promotion activity.

Great Last Minute Gifts You Can Send By Email, You Lazy Jerk

Another holiday deadline looms near and you forgot to do your gift shopping in advance. We get it.

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How to Make Your Steam Profile Private

Yesterday, fellow How-To Geek writer Eric Ravenscraft recommended a Steam game in our office chat room. It’s all about writing…and also it’s about anime-style schoolgirls and the wooing thereof.

How to Blur Faces and Text in Photoshop

There are plenty of reasons you might want to blur some part of a photo in Photoshop. Maybe you’re sharing a photo and you want to anonymize some people, or perhaps you want to show off how bad your passport photo is without revealing private information. Whatever the reason, here’s how to blur something in Photoshop.

The NVIDIA SHIELD Is the Most Powerful Set Top Box You Can Buy

There are a lot of streaming set-top boxes out there: The Apple TV, the Roku, the Amazon Fire TV…and sure, they each have their advantages. But if you want the set top box that does the absolute most, that can handle anything you throw at it and leave some room for tweaking, it’s the NVIDIA SHIELD with Android TV.

Six Things to Consider Before Installing a Smart Lock

Smart locks can offer a great deal of convenience when leaving and entering your home, but there are a few things you should be aware of before you install one on your own door.

Geek Trivia: The First Major U.S. Film Studio To Stop Distributing Movies On Film Was?

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How to Use Your Mac’s Disk Utility to Partition, Wipe, Repair, Restore, and Copy Drives

Need to create a new partition, or re-format an external drive? There’s no need to hunt down paid partition managers or disk-management boot disks: your Mac includes a built-in partition manager and disk management tool known as Disk Utility.

How to Fix Windows Explorer Showing Drives Twice in the Sidebar

When you plug in an external drive to a Windows 10 machine, it appears as a separate entry in the navigation pane in Windows Explorer. But it also appears as an entry in the nested item under “This PC,” as seen next to Deadpool here.

Subscription Crates Are a Perfect Gift for Curious Kids

Opening a gift on Christmas is pretty awesome, but opening a gift every month of the year?

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What Is the Google Pixel 2’s Visual Core?

The Google Pixel 2 has one of the best cameras you can get in a smartphone right now. But generally speaking, these “best camera” sort of ratings only apply to the stock camera app. Google is changing that thanks to the “Pixel Visual Core”—a custom image processing chip. But what does this chip do?

How to Use Emoji in Photoshop

In the last few years, Emoji have become a huge part of pop culture. There’s even a movie about them (although I’m trying my best to forget that). With Photoshop CC 2017, Adobe added proper support for Emoji, so let’s look at how to use them.

Without Google Chrome, the Windows Store Will Always Suck

Microsoft won’t allow Google Chrome in the Windows Store. Google tried to help users by putting an “installer” for Chrome in the Store instead, but Microsoft quickly tore it down. Microsoft is making the Store worse just to serve their business interests. The Store even allows other apps that use Google Chrome’s “Chromium” browser engine—just not Chrome itself.

You Can Speed Up Your Slow iPhone by Replacing the Battery

All phones slow down over time. As hardware gets older and software gets newer, it’s inevitable. But there’s another reason your iPhone might be slow: the battery.

When Does iMessage Mark a Message as “Read”?

Ever notice how iMessage will mark a message as “Read” when the other person sees it? These are called “read receipts”, and they can provide a lot of peace of mind for those that you message with. But when exactly does the other person know that you’ve read their message?

Geek Trivia: After Star Trek, James Doohan Starred In Another Sci-Fi Show Called?

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How to See What Your Mac Is Loading at Boot with KnockKnock

If you’re a Mac power user, you probably install a lot of software, only to delete it later. But how many of those applications, drivers, and customizations tools are still trying to do things when your Mac starts up?

How to Enable and Use Windows 10’s New Built-in SSH Commands

Microsoft announced it was bringing an integrated OpenSSH client to Windows in 2015. They’ve finally done it, and an SSH client is hidden in Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update. You can now connect to an Secure Shell server from Windows without installing PuTTY or any other third-party software.

PSA: Update Game Consoles Before Giving them for Christmas

The last thing you want on Christmas Day is for your kids to be unable to play the game console they’ve waited so long to enjoy. Read on as we highlight why you need to pre-game your console gift giving experience.

The Best Switch Games to Play with Friends and Family

It’s fun to play games together, and the holiday season is the perfect time of year to do that.

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The Best Non-Mechanical Keyboards

If you’re at all interested in computer accessories, you’ve no doubt noticed the trend towards mechanical keyboards. Their satisfying click-clack and deep customization options are appealing to a huge range of people. But that range doesn’t include everyone…and if you aren’t a fan of mechanical boards, you’re probably feeling a little left out.

Google’s Pixel Buds Are a Cool Translator That Make You Look Even More Like a Tourist

Google’s new headphones, the Pixel Buds,…

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If You Want Android, Just Buy Google’s Pixel Phone

Samsung may build the most popular Android phones on the market, but that doesn’t automatically mean they’re the best. In fact, there are a lot of reasons to ignore the Samsungs and LGs of the market and get your Android phone straight from the source: Google.

Geek Trivia: There’s A Popular Literary Genre In Japan Where The Works Are Composed Using?

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Give the Gift of Fast Phone Charging This Holiday Season

If you’re struggling with a last minute gift idea, here’s an easy one: buy them a fast charger for their phone.

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How to “Untrust” a Computer on Your iPhone or iPad

When you first plug your iPhone or iPad into a computer, you’ll be prompted to “trust” the computer on your device. This gives iTunes and other management tools on the computer the ability to access your photos, files, settings, contacts, and other data. Your iPhone or iPad remembers this decision and will automatically trust that computer in the future.

The Best Streaming Device For Everyone On Your Christmas List

Why Your Android Phone Isn’t Getting Operating System Updates and What You Can Do About It

Back in the early days of Android, system updates were very random: they would roll out at different times, and often several times per year. Now, Google has taken a much more streamlined approach, releasing one major Android update per year and much smaller, security-focused updates once per month.

How to Properly Thread Tweets for Your Tweetstorms

Twitter threads (aka tweetstorms), where someone posts a series of related Tweets one after the other, sit in a weird place: everyone claims to hate them, but lots of people post them anyway. Twitter has recently embraced the feature, integrating them into the platform and making them easier to do right. Here’s how to use them.

Despite Firefox Quantum’s Success, Mozilla Has Lost Its Way

Mozilla was supposed to be different. It brands itself as a non-profit organization dedicated to making the web better, one that cares about user privacy and security. But after this week, I’m starting to wonder if Mozilla really cares about its users the way they claim.

How to Enable Vacation Mode on the Schlage Connect Smart Lock

If you’re going on vacation and will be away from home for any significant amount of time, it might be a good idea to enable Vacation Mode on your Schlage Connect smart lock. Here’s how it works and how to turn it on.

Geek Trivia: Which Of These Christmas Films Became A Classic Due To A Copyright Filing Error?

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Your Amazon Wish List Is Public By Default. Here’s How to Make It Private

Amazon’s lists are helpful for keeping track of all the many ways you need to give Jeff Bezos your money. However, by default, your basic wish list is public, and anyone with your email address can look it up. That seems like something worth fixing. Here’s how to change the privacy settings on your wish list.

How to Get Detailed Information About Your PC

Sometimes, you need to find information about your PC—things like what hardware you’re using, your BIOS or UEFI version, or even details about your software environment. Join us as we take a look at a few Windows tools that can provide varying levels of detail about your system information.

What to Do If You Can’t Find the Layers Panel (or Any Other Panel) in Photoshop

Photoshop is an incredibly flexible program. To keep the interface flexible, Photoshop uses “Panels” for each tool or feature.

These 8 Subscription Boxes Are the Perfect Gift for Super Fans

 

Subscription boxes are an a…

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Seven Things You Don’t Have to Root Android to Do Anymore

For years, Android enthusiasts have been rooting their devices to do things that Android doesn’t allow by default. But Google has added many features to Android that once required root, eliminating the need for many people.

Geek Trivia: The First All Digital Film Featuring Performance Captured Actors Was?

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How Do “Surround” Sound Bars Work?

The idea behind a conventional surround sound setup is simple: the speakers surround you, and thus, so does the sound. But a new generation of sound bars, the all-in-one devices that sit below your TV and house multiple drivers in a horizontal layout, also claim to have surround sound capabilities. How can that be possible if the only speaker is directly in front of you?

Geek Trivia: Teleprompters Are A Practical Use Of An Old Illusionist’s Trick Known As?

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Why Your Kodi Box Isn’t Working, and What to Use Instead

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And Kodi boxes sound way too good to be true, offering unlimited free TV and movies for life after purchasing a single piece of hardware.

How to See Your Uber or Lyft Passenger Rating

After every Uber and Lyft ride, you can rate your driver out of five stars based on how good or bad the ride was. However, you may not know that drivers also rate you as a passenger. Here’s how to view your passenger rating for both Uber and Lyft.

Geek Trivia: The First U.S. President To Publish A Work Of Fiction Was?

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A Versatile Video Tool on 4K Video Upscaling and Downscaling [Sponsored Giveaway]

Upscale to 4K Resolution

How to Build Your Own Computer, Part Five: Tweaking Your New Computer

Congratulations, you’ve successfully selected parts, assembled your own PC, and installed Windows! Now you can get to…whatever it is that you want to get to, I guess. Do gamers still “pown noobs?” Is that still a thing?

10 Awesome Subscription Boxes for Geeks of Every Stripe

Looking for a super cool gift for a special geek on your holiday shopping list (or maybe you just really want to treat yourself in 2018)?

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How to Speed Up Animations to Make Android Feel Faster

Android devices display animations when they transition between apps, windows, and various menus. Animations oftentimes looks slick, but they do take up time—and sometimes can even cause the phone to lag if it’s low on resources.

The Best Things Google Assistant Can Do on Your Android Phone

So you got Google Assistant on your phone. Cool! …but, now what? Well, to make the most of your new Assistant, you need to actually use it. And the more you use it, the more you’ll learn about it. Here are some ideas to get you started.

How to Follow Hashtags on Instagram

Thanks to a new feature in Instagram, you can now follow specific hashtags and get the top posts for that hashtag to appear in their main feed. Here’s how to make it happen.

What Is Net Neutrality?

Net neutrality is one of the biggest policy debates around the internet, and the government has voted to officially repeal the net neutrality regulations. Here’s what net neutrality is, and how it affects you.

Geek Trivia: The Practice Of “Forest Bathing”, Walking In Woodland Areas For Health Purposes, Originated In?

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How to Build Your Own Computer, Part Four: Installing Windows and Loading Drivers

Much like configuring the BIOS, installing a new copy of Windows used to be a bit of a chore, but these days it’s been streamlined amazingly well. For most of it, you’ll simply follow the on-screen instructions, but feel free to keep this page open if you get stuck.

LEGO Stocking Stuffers

Full size LEGO sets, as any collector or parent knows, are anything but cheap.

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How to See What’s Taking Up Space on Your Android Device

When you picked up your shiny new Android device, you probably thought “yeah, this has plenty of storage. I’ll never fill it up!” But here you are, some number of months later with a full phone and no clue why. No worries: here’s how you can figure out where the space hogs are.

How Secure Are Mesh Wi-Fi Networks?

You’re considering a mesh Wi-Fi network, because you’re sick of that one spot in your house not getting any reception. But does the convenience of these systems come with the same security as other routers?

What Is a Corrupted File, and Is There a Way to Get It Back?

Corrupted files don’t happen too often on modern computers with good security measures in place. But when they do, it can be a nightmare. Let’s take a look at the common causes of corrupted files, how you can help prevent them, and what you can do when it happens.

How to Automatically Lock the Schlage Connect When You Leave the House

If your forgetfulness applies to locking your front door, you can have the Schlage Connect smart lock automatically lock behind you. So if you forget to lock it, you won’t have to worry about it in the first place.

Geek Trivia: The Deadliest Natural Disaster In U.S. History Was A?

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How to Build Your Own Computer, Part Three: Getting the BIOS Ready

So you’ve carefully picked out some parts and built a computer, but it doesn’t really do anything…yet. Before we hop into installing your operating system, we need to take a quick look at the BIOS and prepare it for our operating system.

Of Course the Nintendo Switch Sold 10 Million Units Already

What is coreauthd, And Why Is It Running on my Mac?

You’re looking through Activity Monitor to see what’s running on your Mac, when you notice something unfamilar: coreauthd. What is this process? First of all, it’s part of macOS, so don’t worry about it being nefarious. But here’s a quick look at what it does.

How to Search WhatsApp Chat Messages

Trying to find a specific message in your huge WhatsApp chat log? There are two ways to search, so you can find what you’re looking for quickly.

What Is a “Blockchain”?

If you’ve been watching the news lately, you might have heard about something called a blockchain. It’s a concept that makes data ultra-secure for specific uses. You’ve probably heard it in connection with Bitcoin, but it has applications far beyond everyone’s favorite cryptocurrencies. Here’s a quick explanation of how it works.

How to Switch Your Chromebook to “Mono” (So You Can Wear One Earbud)

On the majority of devices, audio is separated between the two speakers—this is called “stereo.” If you’re hard of hearing in one ear, or listen in an environment not conducive to clogging both ears with sound, you can easily switch your Chromebook to “mono” mode so the same audio comes from both speakers.

How to Rename Devices on Your Network in the Eero App

Eero is a fantastic mesh Wi-Fi system that can help eliminate spotty Wi-Fi in your house. However, devices can appear in the app as a jumbled-up mess. Here’s how to rename them so that it’s easier to know which device is which.

Geek Trivia: Many Medieval Manuscripts Inexplicably Feature Illuminations Of Knights Fighting?

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How to Build Your Own Computer, Part Two: Putting It Together

So you’ve selected your parts, double- and triple-checked their compatibility, and waited for economy shipping to bring them all to your door. It’s time to get to the fun part: putting them all together.

15 Geeky Stocky Stuffers for Fans of All Sorts (All Under $15)

There’s a little geek in each of us, so why not indulge your friends’ inner geek this holiday season with these 15 bargain geeky stocking stuffers?

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How to Save Photos from the iPhone Notes app to Your Photo Library

If you’re a heavy user of Apple’s Notes app on your iPhone, you’ve probably noticed a slightly weird behavior: unlike almost every other app, if you take a photo in Notes, it isn’t saved to the Photos app.

PC Companies Are Getting Sloppy With Security

Nothing is perfectly secure, and we’ll never eliminate every vulnerability out there. But we shouldn’t be seeing as many sloppy mistakes as we’ve seen from HP, Apple, Intel, and Microsoft in 2017.

How to Share a Contact Over Text Message on the iPhone

We’ve all gotten that text from a friend asking for another mutual friend’s number. You could jump into your contacts list and try to remember the number, but it’s a lot easier to just share the other person’s contact card. A couple of extra taps and boom—that person will be in your recipient’s contacts, too.

How to Edit Scenes for Your Philips Hue Lights

If you ever want to make changes to a scene that you have set up in the Hue app, you can actually edit a scene instead of deleting it and creating a new one. Here’s how to do it.

Geek Trivia: The Plant Fraxinella Is Most Notable For Its?

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How to Turn Your Computer Into a DLNA Media Server

Many boxes you plug into your TV, including the Roku, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and even some smart TVs themselves offer DLNA (“Digital Living Network Alliance”) streaming support. They can stream video files and music over the network from your PC—as long as you set up a DLNA server on the PC first.

How to Reboot Google Wifi From Your Phone

Look, sometimes routers need to be rebooted. If you’re a Google Wifi user, you could go unplug all of your units—or you could just reboot them from your phone.

Should You Buy Physical or Digital Switch Games?

Whether you’re buying Nintendo Switch games for yourself or your kids, you’re faced with the dilemma of buying physical or digital…

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How to Make Phone Calls from Your Mac Through Your iPhone

With Continuity, your Mac and iPhone work pretty well together. You can seamlessly transition between the two platforms…including make phone calls right from your computer. Here’s how.

How to Build Your Own Computer, Part One: Choosing Hardware

So you’ve decided to take the plunge and assemble your own desktop PC. Maybe you’re ready to take your PC gaming to the next level, build a tiny entertainment machine, or just save some money by assembling your own budget machine. Whatever your intentions, our five part guide is here to help you.

Geek Trivia: The First Movie Exhibition Spaces Were Called?

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Uber vs. Lyft: What’s the Difference and Which Should I Use?

Uber and Lyft are two very similar services. Both are “ride-sharing” apps you pull up on your phone to quickly get a ride somewhere from driver using their own car. These two services have become more and more similar over the years, but there are still some major differences between them.

Geek Trivia: Sideburns, The Facial Hair Style, Derive Their Name From?

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The Amazon vs. Google Feud, Explained (and How It Affects You)

Users shouldn’t have to know about tech company feuds. In an ideal world, where the user experience is the top priority, your ability to watch videos would not depend on how well two multinational corporations are getting along this month.

Geek Trivia: The First Spy Satellite Images Were Retrieved By?

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How to Turn an Old Android Tablet Into an Auto-Updating Digital Photo Frame

When’s the last time you touched your Android tablet? If it’s been more than a year or so, it might be time to find some other use for that thing—after all, it’s not like it’s getting any software updates, right? Here’s how to use it as a digital photo frame.

The Best Blu-ray Box Sets to Gift This Holiday Season

 

After the holidays are over and the snow starts falling, you’re going to need more indoor activities to keep yourself oc…

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How to Tag and Share Screenshots on the PlayStation 4 or Pro

Sometimes you just have to stop and take some screenshots while gaming, because modern games are overwhelmingly beautiful. And when you get the perfect shot, you want to show people. Or maybe those people are in it! Here’s how to tag people in screenshots when you share them directly from your PlayStation 4.

How to Share Your Location With Your Friends in WhatsApp

Meeting up with your friends in an unfamiliar spot is a pain. Once you get away from rigid grids, finding a location becomes a challenge. The best thing to do, rather than sharing an address, is to actually share your exact GPS location. Here’s how to do it with WhatsApp.

Bitcoin Is Not a Currency, It’s an (Unsafe) Investment

If the creators of Bitcoin wanted it to act like a currency, they sure made a lot of weird decisions. Bitcoin doesn’t function well as a currency, for reasons that are inherent to its design. It’s an investment people are speculating on…and even then, it’s more gambling than it is a stable investment.

How to Set Up and Use Apple Pay Cash on Your iPhone

The latest feature to hit iOS is Apple Pay Cash, which gives iPhone users a quick and easy way to send money to one another (as well as a way to spend money at stores without using a credit or debit card). Here’s how to set it up.

How to Reboot Your Eero Routers from Your Phone

Every router needs a reboot occasionally, when it’s acting wonky. If you have an Eero Wi-Fi system, you don’t have to go hunting for the plug—you can reboot your Eero routers from your phone, without even getting up from the couch.

Geek Trivia: The First Canned Dog Food In America Was Created To Dispose Of Excess?

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What Is Bitcoin, and How Does it Work?

Bitcoin. the digital currency, has been all over the news for years. But because it’s entirely digital and doesn’t necessarily correspond to any existing fiat currency, it’s not easy to understand for the newcomer. Let’s break down the basis of exactly what Bitcoin is, how it works, and its possible future in the global economy.

Your Smart Suitcase Just Became a Dumb Purchase

Major airlines are banning “smart luggage”, luggage with built-in power banks, in a move that should surprise absolutely no one.

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How to Run Sudo Commands Using Touch ID on macOS

Typing passwords is for suckers, which is why the best part of the latest MacBook Pro is Touch ID. Skipping the lock screen with a quick tap is easily my favorite feature. But there’s one place that still requires a password: the Terminal, if you want to use sudo.

Change How Long Your iPhone Screen Stays On Before Auto-Locking

By default, when you leave your iPhone or iPad unlocked, it will lock itself and turn off the display after one minute. This is great if you want to save battery life, but really annoying if you’re using it as a cookbook or other reference that you occasionally glance at. The good news is you can change how long it takes before Auto-Lock kicks in on your iPhone or iPad. Here’s how.

Top Photo Card Services for Spreading Holiday Cheer

With the holidays right around the corner, it’s time to either get those Christmas cards out…

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How to Share a Contact Over Text Message on Android

Sharing contact cards is actually the easiest way to handle situations like that—there’s no hassle of looking the number up, trying to remember it while you type it in (or jumping back and forth between apps to get it right), and then sending it. Instead, sending all of Dan’s information with a few taps is the way to go—and that way, your recipient can add them to their contacts instantly.

How to Stop Websites From Asking to Show Notifications

Web browsers now allow websites to show you notifications. On many news and shopping websites, you’ll see a popup telling you the website wants to show notifications on your desktop. You can disable these notification prompts in your web browser if they annoy you.

Smartphone Keyboards Are a Privacy Nightmare

Both Android and the iPhone allow you to replace the standard keyboard with a third-party one. By its very nature, though, a keyboard has full access to everything you type on it—from private messages to passwords and credit card numbers. Some of the keyboard’s data is often sent over the internet, where it could be stolen—or even abused by the keyboard’s developer.

How to Install and Set Up the Nest Secure Security System

Nest originally started with just a smart thermostat, but the company has grown quite a bit over the years. And now, they have their own security system called the Nest Secure. Here’s how to install it and set it up.

Geek Trivia: Which Of These Colors Appears Least Frequently In National Flags Around The World?

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There’s No Great Reason to Buy an Amazon Fire TV Anymore

Amazon has a history of using hardware platforms to make people buy stuff. The Kindle and the Echo are both useful on their own, but Amazon’s long-term plan for both is all about selling things. Amazon’s Fire TV line is no different.

How to Lock Down TeamViewer for More Secure Remote Access

TeamViewer is a great free program, whether you want to access your computer from afar or help out friends and relatives with their computer. But its default settings are remarkably insecure, instead favoring ease of use. Here’s how to lock down TeamViewer so you can make use of its features without opening yourself up to attack.

What Is Microsoft’s TruePlay Anti-Cheat System?

Hey Internet people, did you know that Microsoft makes video games? Okay, you’re probably aware of the various incarnations of the Xbox, yes. But long before the Xbox, Microsoft was a video game publisher for the PC…and still is! It even has its own distribution platform, which is the rather terrible Windows Store.

How to Charge Your iPhone or iPad Faster

If you’re using the charger that came with your iPhone or iPad, you’re getting “slow” charging speeds. You can buy a much faster charger. And, with iOS 11.2, there are now even several different speeds of wireless charging as well.

Protect Your Kids (and Your Beautiful New TV) with Inexpensive Safety Straps

Televisions are thinner than ever before and it’s incredibly easy to tip them over compared to their massive glass-tube forebearers.

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How to Make Your iPhone More Secure When Locked

Locking your iPhone does a pretty good job at keeping people away from your personal information, but there are still some things someone unscrupulous can do without typing in your passcode.

The Best “Lite” Versions of Your Favorite Android Apps

If you’re looking for a good way to speed up your phone or cut down on your data usage, there are a lot of official “lite” versions of popular apps like Facebook or YouTube. These are generally less feature-rich than their full-powered counterparts, but they’re often a great middle ground between features and function.

How-To Geek is Looking for a Freelance Product Review Writer (for Review Geek)

Think you have the perfect combination of product knowledge and writing skills? We’re looking for a few experienced freelance writers to join the team at Review Geek.

What Is Windows 10 on ARM, and How Is It Different?

Microsoft just launched a version of Windows 10 that will run on low-powered ARM hardware. Unlike Windows RT, the version of Windows 8 that powered the original Surface and Surface 2, this is a full version of Windows 10 with an emulation layer that allows it to run traditional desktop apps from outside the Windows Store.

How to Create a Game Event on the PlayStation 4 or Pro

If you like spending time gaming with others online, creating an event on the PlayStation 4 or Pro is an easy way to get everyone together at the same time, in the same game. Here’s how to set one up.

How to Automate All Your Christmas Lights

It’s that time of year when the fall directions come down and the festive Christmas decorations go up. If you’ll be hanging a bunch of Christmas lights around your house, here are several different methods for automating them, so that you never have to worry about turning them on and off manually.

Connect Your Wii to Your 4K TV with This Handy Adapter

Many newer 4K TVs have completely ditched older composite and component inputs in favor of only HDMI—which the now long-in-the-tooth Wii d…

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Geek Trivia: The Deadliest Wildfire In Recorded History Occurred In Which U.S. State?

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How to Migrate a Time Machine Backup to Another Drive

Maybe your Time Machine drive is full. Maybe you’re worried about an older hard drive dying on you, taking your backups with it. Whatever the reason, you want to migrate your Time Machine files from one hard drive to the other.

How To Check Out Library Books on Your Kindle for Free

Most libraries these days let you check out eBooks. Checking out eBooks works much like checking out regular books. Libraries have a certain number of copies to lend. If all copies of the book you want are already checked out, you have to wait for someone to check it in. Unlike regular books though, you can often schedule an automatic checkout when a copy is available, and you don’t have to worry about dropping by the library for returns.

Charge Your Android Phone Quicker with a Fast Charger

Fast charging is a relatively new feature that you might not realize your phone has.

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How to Quickly Share Your Location in a Text Message on Android

Let’s say your car breaks down and you have no idea where you are. You could call someone and tell them how to get to you…or you could just shoot them a quick text with your exact location from Google Maps.

How to Hide Specific Ads on Facebook

For a while, Facebook thought I was into basketball. Almost every ad was for something to do with basketball. The thing is, I’m not sure Ireland even has a basketball team. We certainly don’t have a professional one and I’ve never watched a game in my life. It was a confusing phase of my digital life and it took a few months before I started seeing relevant ads again.

What Is an SSID, or Service Set Identifier?

You’ll often see the acronym “SSID” when Wi-Fi networks are involved. A Wi-Fi network’s SSID is the technical term for its network name. For example, if you see a sign telling you to join a network with an SSID of “Airport WiFi”, you just need to pull up the list of wireless networks nearby and join the “Airport WiFi” network.

Is Facebook’s New “Messenger Kids” App Safe for My Kids?

Look, kids are undoubtedly drawn to technology—they’re essentially being raised on the stuff at this point. As parents, it’s our job to keep them safe online; to teach them to make good choices. But to do that, we have to have a little control over what they’re doing and who they’re talking to.

How to Enable the Alarm on the Schlage Connect Smart Lock

The Schlage Connect smart lock includes a built-in alarm system that can deter any potential thieves from breaking into your house through the front door. Here’s how to enable it.

Geek Trivia: Which Of These U.S. States’ Official Mammal Is Extinct?

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Byte Size Tips: How to Bring Libraries Back on Windows 8.1 and 10’s File Explorer

Microsoft began hiding libraries from the File Explorer’s navigation pane on Windows 8.1, and they’re still hidden by default on Windows 10. This is weird, because libraries are still used by Windows. The Photos app uses your Pictures library, the Groove Music app uses your Music library, and the media sharing server shares the contents of your media libraries, for example.

How to Stop Your Mac From Automatically Connecting to a Wi-Fi Network

Your Mac automatically reconnects to Wi-Fi networks you’ve previously connected to. Starting with macOS High Sierra, you can now tell your Mac not to automatically connect to certain Wi-FI networks. Your Mac will remember the Wi-Fi network’s passphrase and other connection details, but won’t connect unless you tell it to.

Is Wireless Charging Slower Than Wired Charging?

Look, Apple is making wireless charging cool again with the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X. I’m glad! But there are things you should know about this technology—like how fast it’s going to charge your phone. You know, practical stuff.

Best Photo Calendar Services

There are so many photo services that create personalized calendars for you, but how do you choose the right one?…

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What Is DirecTV Now, and Can It Replace Your Cable Subscription?

Streaming television is getting more and more popular, allowing users to get away from standard cable packages and into something that fits their lifestyle. DirecTV is one of the first traditional “cable” companies to get in on the action with DirecTV Now.

How to Stop Incoming Phone Calls from Ringing On Your Mac and iPad

When someone calls my iPhone, it rings, as you’d expect. But so do my Mac and my iPad. It sounds like a teenage band at their first rehearsal: everyone’s trying to play the same tune, but they’re not doing it at the same time.

Why Rebooting Your Router Fixes So Many Problems (and Why You Have to Wait 10 Seconds)

The internet is down, but you know what to do: unplug your router or modem, wait ten seconds, then plug it back in. It’s second nature at this point, but why does it actually work? And is there some magic to the ten second number?

Geek Trivia: The Black And White Gangster Film Kevin Watches in ‘Home Alone’ Is Called?

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Why You (Probably) Don’t Need a Crazy-Powerful GPU Like the GTX 1080 Ti

For us PC gamers, there’s a desire for the latest and greatest hardware, and there’s a definite cachet to having the coolest, fastest rig on the block. But in today’s PC gaming market, there’s really no reason to shell out for the most screamingly fast (and expensive) graphics card you can fit into your case.

Geek Trivia: In Japanese Animation, Sleep Is Frequently Indicated Not With “Zzzz”s But?

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What’s the Difference Between Microsoft Office’s Desktop, Web, and Mobile Apps?

Microsoft offers several different ways to run the various Office programs—as desktop apps, as mobile apps for Android or iPhone/iPad, and online in a web browser. As you might imagine, the online and mobile app versions aren’t as robust as the desktop version, but you might still find them useful. And for some of you, they might be all you need. Here’s the breakdown.

Geek Trivia: Which Country Is Second Only To The United States In Value Of Exported Foods?

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How to Customize Firefox’s User Interface With userChrome.css

Firefox Quantum‘s interface is still extremely customizable thanks to its userChrome.css file. You can edit this file to hide unwanted menu items, move the tab bar below the navigation toolbar, view multiple rows on your bookmarks toolbar, and do other things that normally wouldn’t be possible.

How to Use a Custom Background in Gmail

If you spend as much time with a Gmail window open as I do (thanks, Multiple Inbox feature!), you’re probably over the rather dull default theme. And even if you’re using one of the many custom themes available, maybe you’d prefer something else. Good news, everyone! You can use a photo from the web or your own computer as the background image, just like on your computer desktop.

Facebook Isn’t Spying On Everything You Say

There’s a persistent rumor that Facebook, using the app on your phone, is covertly listening to everything you say and using the things…

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How to Pin WhatsApp Conversations to the Top of the Chat List

WhatsApp has a neat feature where you can pin certain people to the top of the app. This means you can keep the important people in your life in the same place, above the rest of your chats. Here’s how to do it.

Stop Complaining That Your Browser Uses Lots of RAM: It’s a Good Thing

It’s been a complaint about Chrome for years: “it hogs so much RAM!” And now that Firefox Quantum is here, the fire rages on—some users see less RAM usage than Chrome, while others see similar amounts. And it seems to have a big hand in what browser people are using.