About How-To Geek
How-To Geek is an online technology publication with tens of millions of readers each month. Since it was created more than 15 years ago, in 2007, the site’s 20,000+ in-depth articles have been read billions of times.
Our readers love How-To Geek because of its unique voice. We’re not a website for geeks—we are the geeks. We’re the people you turn to when your computer isn’t working right, you need to do something technical, or you want to understand the latest gadgets—and which are the best ones to buy. We explain it all in simple, approachable terms. How-To Geek is for everyone.
How-To Geek has been recommended as an expert resource by industry groups like the Wi-Fi Alliance and newspapers like The New York Times. Organizations like the BBC and Wirecutter have directed their readers to us for our helpful tutorials. Technology news outlets like Techmeme, The Verge, Slate, Digital Trends, TechCrunch, and John Gruber’s Daring Fireball have linked to stories we’ve broken. We’ve been cited as a source in books like Team Human by Douglas Rushkoff, a media theory professor at the City University of New York’s Queens College and CNN contributor. How-To Geek has been used as a resource for everything from university textbooks to late-night TV.
How We Review Products
We go hands-on with all the products we review at How-To Geek’s testing lab and office in Virginia. Our team benchmarks everything from the CPU in the latest Windows laptop to the battery life in the newest wireless earbuds. We also use the opportunity to capture pictures in our photo studio, allowing readers to see the device from every angle.
Products only stay in our office for a short time, as our reviewers take them out into the real world and use them just like you would. Writers evaluate everything after extensive testing in the reviewer’s homes and their day-to-day lives.
Our product reviews and recommendations come from the same team of experts that have helped hundreds of millions of people fix their gadgets for the last 15 years. Each has spent years assessing the latest technology trends and can fairly evaluate a product against the competition.
How-To Geek’s staff are on the ground at tech events, from CES in Las Vegas to press events in New York City to company headquarters in Silicon Valley. We’re always looking to go hands-on with the latest products, talking to executives about upcoming announcements, and getting our readers the details they can’t find anywhere else.
We are never paid to endorse a particular product. Our editorial team uses our hands-on experiences with the products we recommend and comprehensive research of the technology landscape to share advice we truly believe in.
Like most websites, we often use affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and purchase a product, we may earn a commission. All our product recommendations are chosen independently by our editorial team without any consideration of affiliate relationships.
Our Editorial Team
Editorial Guidelines and Ethics
We strive to write the most accurate, useful articles we can. Our team of experts brings in-depth research, hands-on experience, and decades of knowledge to everything we write. We test every piece of software we recommend and fact-check everything before it’s published. If an article has become outdated or has another issue, please contact us at contact@howtogeek.com, and we will fix it.
At How-To Geek, we adhere to strict standards of journalistic ethics. We never accept money as an incentive to write an article, never recommend products because we have an affiliate deal, and never accept guest posts from people trying to get links on our site. We sometimes receive review units from companies, but we never accept anything as a form of payment for a review. Any advertisements on our website are clearly marked with the word “Advertisement,” and any sponsored articles are clearly marked with the word “Sponsored.” Sponsored articles are not written by the editorial staff. Our editorial team is separate from the business arm of the company and maintains editorial independence.
Our Expert Writers
We’ve got a great team of writers with an immense amount of experience in the technology industry. Here are just a few of them:
Joe Fedewa has been covering consumer technology for nearly a decade. A Staff Writer at How-To Geek, Joe previously worked as the News Editor at XDA Developers. Joe has been covering Android and the rest of the Google ecosystem for years, reviewing devices, hosting podcasts, filming videos, and writing tutorials. Before that, he got his start in the industry covering Windows Phone. He’s an avid DIYer, and you’ll find him working on projects in his garage. Read Full Bio »
Dave McKay first used computers in the industry when punched paper tape was in vogue, and he has been programming ever since. His use of computers pre-dates the birth of the PC and the public release of Unix. He has programmed in everything from 6502 assembly to Lisp, and from Forth to C#. He is currently a Data Protection Officer and has worked as a freelance programmer, the manager of an international software development team, and an IT services project manager. Read Full Bio »
Ian Paul is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience writing about tech. In addition to writing for How-To Geek, he regularly contributes to PCWorld as a critic, feature writer, reporter, deal hunter, and columnist. His work has also appeared online at The Washington Post, ABC News, MSNBC, Reuters, Macworld, Yahoo Tech, Tech.co, TechHive, The Huffington Post, and Lifewire. His articles are regularly syndicated across numerous IDG sites. Read Full Bio »
Kris Wouk is a musician, DJ, and tech writer. He has over a decade of writing experience across a variety of publications, including Digital Trends, Android Authority, and Sound Guys. When he’s not making music, he reviews audio technology here at How-To Geek and writes buying guides for everything from the best stereo receivers to the best turntables. Read Full Bio »
Dave Johnson has worked as a tech journalist since the days of the Palm Pilot and Windows 95. He’s the author of almost three dozen books about tech, digital photography, small business, and robots, and he authored a children’s book that was later adapted into an interactive storybook. These days, in addition to How-To Geek, you can find him around the web on sites like Business Insider and IGN. Read Full Bio »
Nick Lewis is a Staff Writer at How-To Geek. His professional background in programming, where he programmed in Python and C++ professionally and made extensive use of Fortran while pursuing a physics degree. Nick has been using computers for more than 20 years and loves tech DIY projects, as well as repairing and replacing old computers. Read Full Bio »
Harry Guinness is a photography expert, traveler, and writer who’s been published in The New York Times and other newspapers. He’s been writing for a decade, sharing advice in publications from WIRED to Popular Science. Read Full Bio »
Alan Murray has worked as an Excel trainer and consultant for over twenty years. On most days, he can be found teaching about Excel in a classroom or seminar. He wrote detailed Microsoft Excel tutorials here at How-To Geek. Read Full Bio »
How-To Geek alumni have gone on to write for publications like The New York Times, Popular Science, WIRED, The Daily Beast, iFixit, and Ars Technica.
Fan Mail From Our Readers
Here’s some of the feedback we’ve received from our readers:
“Love your work. I read tech documents a lot, and it’s your style that sets you apart. It can be read by anyone. Thanks again.”
-Andrew, July 2016
“What an excellent and well-thought-out article. The type of misinformation this addresses is an enormous pet peeve of mine.”
-John, February 2019
“I just discovered How-To-Geek while I was troubleshooting some issues. I read one article and instantly understood the issue. Thank you for providing this service! Your articles are clear, concise, and easy to read as they don’t bombard you with unnecessary technobabble but still give you the information you need. You are now my go-to source for tech info. Thanks for simplifying my life.”
-Paul, December 2020
“I just read your posting “Fix: My Microphone Doesn’t Work on Windows 10.” Your post was the only mention I found referencing the global privacy setting for the Windows 10 microphone. It solved my problem where the microphone was auto-muting in Google Hangout meetings. I searched for more than an hour, checked all configuration, and updated drivers. Then I found your post.”
-Jason, February 2019
“I got a new computer running Windows 10 last week after using Windows 7 since 2011. Of all the pages I’ve found and articles I’ve read, yours is the most helpful. It has saved me hours of exploring and experimenting with the programs list and start menu. Thank you.”
-Jon, April 2019
“You must get a bunch of these… and you deserve every one of them. There’s just something about the way you write/explain that really connects with me. Not to mention that it’s always been correct in my experience.”
-Mark, May 2022
“How-to-Geek remains my #1 go-to for all things digital.”
-Jack, May 2022