How-To Geek - We Explain Technology

How Windows Defender’s New Exploit Protection Works (and How to Configure It)

Microsoft’s Fall Creators Update finally adds integrated exploit protection to Windows. You previously had to seek this out in the form of Microsoft’s EMET tool. It’s now part of Windows Defender and is activated by default.

How to Make Banner Notifications Stick on Your iPhone’s Screen (Instead of Disappearing)

Almost all iOS apps show a temporary banner when you receive a notification. It appears at the top of the screen, and then after a few seconds disappears—although you can still see it in the Notification Center.

How to Fix a Sticky or Stuck Crown on the Apple Watch

The Apple Watch doesn’t have many mechanical issues, since it has very few moving parts to begin with. However, the digital crown is one part in particular that can get stuck or feel sticky, making it difficult to spin. Here’s how to fix that.

How to Access Your Router If You Forget the Password

If you’ve forgotten your router’s password, acquired a used router, or are just helping out a friend with their setup, you can reset the router’s password to its factory default.

What Can You Do With Samsung’s Bixby?

It seems like every technology company under the sun is working on a voice-controlled assistant to go up against the likes of Google’s Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, and Apple’s Siri. Samsung’s branded version gets a boost from the company’s massive smartphone market share and a somewhat less-than-graceful inclusion of an extra hardware button on its latest models. But what all can Bixby do, and how is it different from its erstwhile competitors?

How to Use a Limited Color Palette for Better Photos

Color is one of the most important aspects of photography. It can make or break your images. It’s great when nature gives you great color to work with, but you also need to deliberately manipulate colors in your photos, both while you’re shooting and in post-processing.

What’s New in Ubuntu 17.10 “Artful Aardvark”, Available Now

After quite a few unexciting releases, Ubuntu 17.10 “Artful Aardvark” is full of huge changes. Ubuntu Phone is dead, and so is Ubuntu’s dream of a converged desktop. Ubuntu’s developers are no longer working on Unity 8, and Ubuntu 17.10 ditches the old Unity 7 desktop for GNOME Shell.

How to Train Alexa to Recognize Different Voices (and Give More Personalized Answers)

Your Amazon Echo can finally recognize and differentiate voices from different household members. Here’s how to set it up in the Alexa app on your phone.

How to Quickly Make a Mac Photo Slideshow With Preview

When you double-click a photo in the Windows file browser, you can use the arrow keys to quickly browse every photo that folder. Open a photo in Preview on macOS, however, and pressing the arrow keys does nothing. This makes it hard to have a quick slideshow.

Microsoft: Please Name Windows 10 Updates After Dogs

We need to talk, Microsoft. Windows 10 is great, and we’re loving all the new features we get every six months or so. Gold stars all around.

Announcing Review Geek: A Better Solution for Tech News and Reviews

People think of How-To Geek as a place that helps them understand how to do things, or how to understand technology, and sometimes that involves specific products or services. But as a general rule, people don’t think of HTG in conjunction with products or tech news. So today, we welcome Review Geek to the family.

How to Use “My People” on Windows 10’s Taskbar

Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update includes the “My People” feature originally promised for the first Creators Update. You can now pin up to three of your favorite people to the taskbar and quickly chat with them on Skype or send them emails.

How to Disable Haptic Feedback Vibrations on Your iPhone

The iPhone 7 and 8 don’t have a physical home button. Instead, the feel of pressing a button is recreated by what Apple calls the Taptic Engine. When you touch the home button, the Taptic Engine sends out a small vibration. It feels really like pressing an actual button.

How to Protect Your Files From Ransomware With Windows Defender’s New “Controlled Folder Access”

Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update includes a new Windows Defender feature designed to protect your files from ransomware. It’s named “Controlled Folder Access”, and it’s disabled by default. You’ll need to enable it yourself if you want to try it out.

How to Use OneDrive’s Files On-Demand in Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update

The Fall Creators Update includes a new OneDrive feature called “Files On-Demand”, in which your PC now shows “placeholder” copies of your OneDrive files. When you or a program accesses them, they’re downloaded as needed. That way, even if you have 1 TB of files in your OneDrive, they can take up almost no space on your PC, and you can still browse through them in File Explorer.

Why Does ~ Represent the Home Folder on macOS and Linux?

Whether you’ve installed the Linux subsystem on Windows 10 or are getting started using the Linux Terminal, there are all kinds of shorthands you need to learn…none of which are intuitive.

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How to Get Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update Now

Microsoft has started rolling out Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update, but it will be a few months before every PC gets it. If you don’t want to wait, you can download the Fall Creators Update from Microsoft right now.

What’s New in Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update, Available Now

Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update, codenamed Redstone 3, is available to download now. Here are all the new features you’ll see in the latest version of Windows—and some big, splashy features Microsoft announced that never arrived.

Chrome Is Your OS Now, Even If You Use Windows

Yesterday, Microsoft announced they are bringing Edge to iOS and Android devices, in order to create a more seamless experience between your computer and your phone. But who cares? That seamless experience already exists through Chrome, the app you already use for everything on your PC.

CCleaner Was Hacked: What You Need to Know

CCleaner, the incredibly popular PC maintenance utility, has been hacked to include malware. Here’s how to tell if you were affected, and what you should do.

Is It Worth Upgrading to the iPhone 8 or iPhone X?

As summer turns to autumn, the leaves turn brown and the new iPhone is announced. At How-To Geek, we don’t get outside much, so we’re obviously more interested in the new iPhones than whatever trees are doing. Apple introduces the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X. We’re not going to address the profoundly weird start to the keynote, so the big question is: should you upgrade?

Equifax Got Hacked: How to Stop Identity Thieves from Opening Accounts in Your Name

Everybody is getting hacked left and right. Anthem lost 80 million records in 2015. The US government got hacked and lost personal data for millions, all the way down to fingerprint data. Now Equifax, a credit bureau, got hacked. So how can you protect yourself from criminals opening accounts in your name?

Should You Get an “Ultra HD” 4K TV?

Walk through any electronics showroom and most TVs you see will be some form of “Ultra HD” 4K. There are plenty of models available, and they’re cheaper than ever. But should you buy one?

What’s the Best Antivirus for Windows 10? (Is Windows Defender Good Enough?)

Windows 10 won’t hassle you to install an antivirus like Windows 7 did. Since Windows 8, Windows now includes a built-in antivirus called Windows Defender (which used to be available separately as Microsoft Security Essentials). But is it really the best for protecting your PC–or even just good enough?

18 Things You May Not Have Known Google Photos Can Do

Google Photos may seem like a simple image hosting service, but it’s actually quite powerful. Google Photos bridges the gap between cloud storage, image hosting, and image sharing services, giving stiff competition to Flickr, iCloud, Dropbox, and OneDrive.

Wi-Fi Security: Should You Use WPA2-AES, WPA2-TKIP, or Both?

Many routers provide WPA2-PSK (TKIP), WPA2-PSK (AES), and WPA2-PSK (TKIP/AES) as options. Choose the wrong one, though, and you’ll have a slower, less-secure network.