How-To Geek

There are two types of firewalls: hardware firewalls and software firewalls. Your router functions as a hardware firewall, while Windows includes a software firewall. There are other third-party firewalls you can install, too.

Windows 8 is more integrated with Microsoft’s services than ever. When you create a user account on your computer, you’ll be prompted to use a Microsoft account. Microsoft accounts are different from local user accounts, which are still available.

One of the first messages you’ll see after logging into Windows 8 for the first time (aside from a message about activating Windows) is a request to “Trust this PC.” But why does Microsoft want you to “trust” your PC?

There are few security problems a healthy dose of paranoia and know-how can’t take care of. Today we’re looking at how to secure your Android phone’s mobile data connection against intrusion using free software and a simple SSH tunnel.

For a long time Linux users have been able to install their OS onto a portable USB drive, but Windows just caught up. Read on to find out how you can install Windows 8 onto a USB drive so you can take it wherever you go.

Consider this a public service announcement: Scammers can forge email addresses. Your email program may say a message is from a certain email address, but it may be from another address entirely.

Have you noticed your usually speedy IE9 browser slowing down, or even crashing on you? Unnecessary plugins, extensions, and even browsing data can slow your browser down to a crawl, or make it crash. Here’s how to fix it.

Each version of Android since Gingerbread (Android 2.3) has included an Easter egg, which is always accessed in the same way. The Easter eggs in the latest versions are becoming more complex, with animations and interactivity.

Try to install an extension from outside the Chrome Web Store and Chrome will tell you that extensions “can only be added from the Chrome Web Store.” However, this message is incorrect – you can still install extensions from elsewhere.

Have you noticed your usually speedy Firefox browser slowing down, or even crashing on you? Unnecessary plugins, extensions, and even browsing data can slow your browser down to a crawl, or make it crash. Here’s how to fix it.

If thoughts of playing Maniac Mansion, The Secret of Monkey Island, Kings Quest, and other classic point-and-click adventures sends tingles of nostalgia to your mouse hand, read on as we show you how to enjoy the classics on your computer with ScummVM.

If you’ve been holding off on setting up a media center computer because they’re loud, expensive, don’t fit in your media rack, or all of the above, read on to see how you can build a $35 XBMC-based media center with plug-and-play ease.

Have you noticed your usually speedy Google Chrome browser slowing down, or even crashing on you? Unnecessary plugins, extensions, and even browsing data can slow your browser down to a crawl, or make it crash. Here’s how to fix it.

If you’re a Linux user, you may have seen zombie processes shambling around your processes list. You can’t kill a zombie process because it’s already dead – like an actual zombie.

Have you ever noticed that your browser sometimes displays a website’s organization name on an encrypted website? This is a sign that the website has an extended validation certificate, indicating that the website’s identity has been verified.

IPv4 addresses on the public Internet are running low. Microsoft paid $7.5 million for Nortel’s 666,624 IP addresses when Nortel went bankrupt in 2011 – that’s over $8 an IP address. IPv4 has technical problems, and IPv6 is the solution.

We’ve recently been hearing about tracking cookies and laws in the European Union forcing websites to explain their use of cookies to their visitors. If you’re wondering what cookies are and what all the fuss is about, you’re not alone.

When a Linux system boots, it enters its default runlevel and runs the startup scripts associated with that runlevel. You can also switch between runlevels – for example, there’s a runlevel designed for recovery and maintenance operations.

If you have a Nintendo DS there’s no need to limit yourself to just modern game releases. Read on as we show you how to turn your NDS into a retro-gaming marvel that plays old NES, Gameboy, and even Arcade games.

You’ve probably heard that it’s important to use your display’s native resolution – assuming you’re using an LCD flat-panel monitor instead of an ancient CRT monitor. With a LCD, using a lower resolution will result in inferior image quality.

New games with their fancy textures, 3D modeling, and immersive environments have their charm, sure, but what if you crave some old-school arcade gaming? Read on to see how you can turn your computer into an virtual arcade cabinet.

You’ve probably heard that you always need to use the Safely Remove Hardware icon before unplugging a USB device. However, there’s also a good chance that you’ve unplugged a USB device without using this option and everything worked fine.

AppArmor is an important security feature that’s been included by default with Ubuntu since Ubuntu 7.10. However, it runs silently in the background, so you may not be aware of what it is and what it’s doing.

The keyboard and mouse might be a good fit for many native computer games, but it feels downright weird to play emulated games that way. Whether you want to play Super Mario with a proper gamepad or try out a new PC title like Diablo III in comfort, we’ve got you covered.

The new How-To Geek Trivia application has just been approved in the Windows 8 store, so if you’re already running the release preview you can go and download it right now for free. It’ll give you a daily dose of geeky trivia right on your Windows 8 desktop.