Chris Hoffman
Contributing since August, 2010
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2888articles
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About Chris Hoffman
Chris Hoffman is the former Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. Chris has personally written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times---and that's just here at How-To Geek.
With over a decade of writing experience in the field of technology, Chris has written for a variety of publications including The New York Times, Reader's Digest, IDG's PCWorld, Digital Trends, and MakeUseOf. Beyond the web, his work has appeared in the print edition of The New York Times (September 9, 2019) and in PCWorld's print magazines, specifically in the August 2013 and July 2013 editions, where his story was on the cover. He also wrote the USA's most-saved article of 2021, according to Pocket.
Chris was a PCWorld columnist for two years. He founded PCWorld's "World Beyond Windows" column, which covered the latest developments in open-source operating systems like Linux and Chrome OS. Beyond the column, he wrote about everything from Windows to tech travel tips.
The news he's broken has been covered by outlets like the BBC, The Verge, Slate, Gizmodo, Engadget, TechCrunch, Digital Trends, ZDNet, The Next Web, and Techmeme. Instructional tutorials he's written have been linked to by organizations like The New York Times, Wirecutter, Lifehacker, the BBC, CNET, Ars Technica, and John Gruber's Daring Fireball. His roundups of new features in Windows 10 updates have been called "the most detailed, useful Windows version previews of anyone on the web" and covered by prominent Windows journalists like Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley on TWiT's Windows Weekly. His work has even appeared on the front page of Reddit.
Articles he's written have been used as a source for everything from books like Team Human by Douglas Rushkoff, media theory professor at the City University of New York's Queens College and CNN contributor, to university textbooks and even late-night TV shows like Comedy Central's @midnight with Chris Hardwick.
Starting in 2015, Chris attended the Computer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas for five years running. At CES 2018, he broke the news about Kodak's "KashMiner" Bitcoin mining scheme with a viral tweet. A wave of negative publicity ensued, with coverage on BuzzFeed News, CNBC, the BBC, and TechCrunch. The company's project was later reportedly shut down by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In addition to his extensive writing experience, Chris has been interviewed as a technology expert on TV news and radio shows. He gave advice on dark web scans on Miami's NBC 6, discussed Windows XP's demise on WGN-TV's Midday News in Chicago, and shared his CES experiences on WJR-AM's Guy Gordon Show in Detroit.
Chris also ran MakeUseOf's email newsletter for two years. Nearly 400,000 subscribers received the newsletter complete with a handwritten tip every day.
Latest Articles
You Don't Need a Product Key to Install and Use Windows 10
You probably should get a Windows key, though,
How to Compress and Extract Files Using the tar Command on Linux
Compressed Tarballs are the Linux-friendly cousin to the ZIP file.
The Complete Guide to Creating Symbolic Links (aka Symlinks) on Windows
Want to easily access folders and files from different folders without maintaining duplicate copies?
How to Check What Graphics Card (GPU) Is in Your PC
Check which GPU is in your PC with just the tools built into Windows itself.
How to Find Any Device's IP Address, MAC Address, and Other Network Connection Details
Your local IP and MAC address are essential pieces of information if you want to host anything.
How to Open HEIC Files on Windows (or Convert Them to JPEG)
Here's how to open your iPhone's photos on a Windows computer.
How to Score a Cheap Amazon Prime Subscription for Prime Day
Prime Day is almost here, but you don't have to pay $139 to shop the deals.
How to Refund a Game on Steam
Steam lets you refund a game if you've played it for less than two hours, or owned it for less than two weeks.
When Is the Next Steam Sale? Here Are the Steam Sale Dates
Prepare your wallets--the next Steam Sale is always right around the corner.
How to Stop OneDrive From Syncing Windows Desktop Shortcuts
Here's how to fix those broken desktop shortcuts OneDrive syncs between your PCs.
How to Check the Air Quality Near You (or Anywhere)
If you want to keep tabs on your local air quality---or check how bad it is elsewhere---here are several ways to do it. We'll show you how to access both crowd-sourced data and official government sources.
Tested: Should You Unplug Chargers When You're Not Using Them?
There are a lot of ways to save on your power bill, but policing your phone charger isn't one of them.
Why Do Removable Drives Still Use FAT32 or exFAT Instead of NTFS?
Why don't removable drives use NTFS, anyway?
eMMC vs. SSD: Not All Solid-State Storage Is Equal
Solid State Drives (SSDs) --- especially NVMe SSDs --- are significantly faster than eMMC.
Does a Plain Black Background Wallpaper Really Save Battery?
Does making your phone background black actually save battery?
How to Monitor Your Internet Bandwidth Usage and Avoid Exceeding Data Caps
Curious what's using up all your bandwidth? Time to dig in.
Email Attachment Size Limit: How to Send Large Files via Email
Most email services can send files up to 20 MB without a problem.