Posts

Widgets are wonderfully versatile additions to your Android home screen. They can provide access to various features of the apps you have installed, make it easier to access settings, display information about your device, and much more. Using Ultimate Custom Widget, you can turn dev and create your own widget without the need to code a single line. The widgets you create can include a combination of weather, date, time, and indicators to name but a few....

The rsync protocol can be pretty simple to use for ordinary backup/synchronization jobs, but some of its more advanced features may surprise you. In this article, we’re going to show how even the biggest data hoarders and backup enthusiasts can wield rsync as a single solution for all of their data redundancy needs. Warning: Advanced Geeks Only If you’re sitting there thinking “What the heck is rsync?” or “I only use rsync for really simple tasks,” you may want to check out our previous article on how to use rsync to backup your data on Linux, which gives an introduction to rsync, guides you through installation, and showcases its more basic functions....

A “text expander” autocorrects short combination of characters you type to longer phrases. They can be used anywhere in any operating system. For example, you could type “bbl” and have this always automatically expand to “I’ll be back later.” This is especially useful on smartphones and tablets with touch keyboards, but it can also be used to save time on a laptop or desktop with a traditional keyboard. Similar features are now being built into more operating systems....

The internet exploded Friday with the news that Google Chrome extensions are being sold and injected with adware. But the little-known and much more important fact is that your extensions are spying on you and selling your browsing history to shady corporations. HTG investigates. TL;DR version: Browser add-ons for Chrome, Firefox, and probably other browsers are tracking every single page you visit and sending that data back to a third-party company that pays them for your information....

You’re setting up a Mac firewall, or just checking what’s running using Activity Monitor, when you notice something cryptic is running: mDNSResponder. What is this process, and should you be worried? No: this is a core part of macOS. RELATED: What Is configd, and Why Is It Running On My Mac? This article is part of our ongoing series explaining various processes found in Activity Monitor, like kernel_task, hidd, mdsworker, installd, WindowServer, blued, launchd, backup, opendirectoryd, powerd, coreauthd, configd, and many others....

The Case for a USB-C iPhone People have been begging Apple to adopt USB-C for the iPhone for a while, so let’s take a look at some of the best arguments and advantages it would offer. First and foremost, Apple is already using USB-C with other product lineups. The first MacBook with USB-C charging came out in 2015. The iPad Pro gained USB-C in 2018, but to this day, not every iPad has it....

You can reinstall Windows from scratch using the product key that came with your PC, but you’ll have to find installation media yourself. Microsoft offers free ISO files for downloading; you just have to know where to look. There are a few ways to do this, but they’re all on the straight and narrow–you won’t have to visit a shady BitTorrent site to download ISOs that may be filled with malware....

A Brief History of Spotify Spotify was founded in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon in Stockholm, Sweden. At this time, file-sharing services like Napster and LimeWire were well-known ways to download music for free. Daniel told The Telegraph in 2010, “The only way to solve the problem was to create a service that was better than piracy and at the same time compensates the music industry.” That was the goal of Spotify....

Most new PCs have been shipping with the 64-bit version of Windows — both Windows 7 and 8 — for years now. 64-bit bit versions of Windows aren’t just about taking advantage of additional memory. They’re also more secure than 32-bit versions. 64-bit operating systems aren’t immune to malware, but they do have more security features. Some of this also applies to 64-bit versions of other operating systems, such as Linux....

Windows includes its own versions of many widely used system utilities. A variety of new utilities were added to Windows 8, but many of these utilities are available on Windows 7, too. If the first thing you do after setting up a new Windows installation is install all your preferred utilities, this can speed things up. Better yet, these utilities are available on every Windows computer you’ll come across....

You’re guaranteed to stumble into an occasional error page while browsing the web. This guide will help you understand exactly what each error page means and what to do when you see them. Note that each browser displays and words its error pages differently. A certificate error or malware warning looks different in each different browser, but the different types of error pages mean the same thing. Certificate Error An SSL certificate error or security certificate error indicates a problem with HTTPS encryption....

Microsoft Office costs money, except when it doesn’t. From a hidden 60 day free trial that doesn’t require payment details to web apps and mobile apps, there are many ways to get Office for free. Office is still one of Microsoft’s big cash cow, so you can’t just download a free full version of Office 2013 and use it forever. But there are ways to use Office without ever spending a dime — if only for a few months....

Your Internet service provider runs DNS servers for you, but you don’t have to use them. You can use third-party DNS servers instead, which offer a variety of features that your ISP probably doesn’t. We’ve covered third-party DNS servers like OpenDNS and Google Public DNS in the past, but now we’ll explain just why you might want to change your DNS server. Possible Speed Improvements Third-party DNS servers can be faster than your ISP’s DNS servers....

We’ve written some particularly negative things about Windows recently, focusing on the reasons why using the traditional Windows desktop can be a frustrating experience. Do we just hate Windows? Not at all. The Windows desktop is an amazing platform. Speaking personally, I have a love-hate relationship with Windows, as I imagine many Windows users do. We’ve looked at the reasons for the hate, now let’s look at the reasons for the love....

AirDrop allows you to quickly and easily send links, photos, files, and more content between nearby iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Just open up the Share panel and tap a nearby device. This works a bit like Android Beam on Android phones and tablets. However, it all works wirelessly over Bluetooth with no NFC contact required. It’s only compatible with Apple’s own devices. Why AirDrop is So Useful If you have Apple devices, AirDrop is a simple way to send content back and forth with another person — or between your devices....

What’s Different in Android 12L? Basically, Google is looking at what large-screen devices such as the popular foldable phones bring to the table and making Android 12L work with them more smoothly. The new version of Android 12 also plays nice with tablets and devices that run ChromeOS. Perhaps the most exciting thing about the Android 12L is the introduction of a taskbar. With it, you’ll be able to quickly switch between apps, much like you would on a desktop computer....

Two-factor authentication systems aren’t as foolproof as they seem. An attacker doesn’t actually need your physical authentication token if they can trick your phone company or the secure service itself into letting them in. Additional authentication is always helpful. Although nothing offers that perfect security we all want, using two-factor authentication puts up more obstacles to attackers who want your stuff. Your Phone Company is a Weak Link RELATED: Secure Yourself by Using Two-Step Verification on These 16 Web Services...

It’s one thing to just hit up SpeedTest.net to get a rough idea of your internet connection speed, but what if you want to conduct more extensive testing over time to see if you’re really getting your money’s worth from your ISP? Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites. The Question SuperUser reader KronoS is in an interesting position: he has access to his old internet connection and his new internet connection for a period of time....

Do you find that your friends’ and relatives’ emails are getting sent to your Spam folder instead of your Inbox? Outlook provides a Safe Senders list that allows you to specify which email addresses and whole domains from which you want to receive email. The Safe Senders list will prevent emails received from the email addresses in the list from going to your Spam folder. We will show you how to access the Safe Senders list and add email addresses to it....

When inserting images, tables, or equations in Word documents, you can easily add automatically numbered captions to these elements. They can contain consistent labels, such as Equation, Figure, and Table. However, you can add your own custom labels, as well. We’ve previously shown you how to add a caption to an image in Word. Now, we’ll show you how to add a custom label and delete it when you don’t need it anymore....