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Chris Hoffman

chrishoffman@howtogeek.com

@chrisbhoffman

Chris is Features Editor for How-To Geek. He's always tracking the latest Windows 10 news, tapping at his iPhone, and playing with all kinds of technology. But his true love is still the desktop PC.

He was formerly a columnist for PCWorld, bringing all the interesting Linux and open-source news to a wider audience. His work has also appeared on websites like Digital Trends and MakeUseOf, and even in PCWorld's print magazines on your local news stands.

With nearly a decade of writing experience and a lifetime of tinkering, Chris has been immersed in tech ever since he got an Intel 486 as a kid. He's an all-around technology geek who's always looking to learn something new, whether that means trying out the latest beta operating systems or playing with virtual reality hardware.

Chris focuses on helping people use and understand technology better, but he's always keeping an eye out for consumer-hostile behavior from tech companies. Whether it's a dubious Bitcoin miner or app store full of scams, he'll have something to say about it.

How to Sync Any Browser’s Bookmarks With Your iPad or iPhone

Apple makes it easy to synchronize bookmarks between the Safari browser on a Mac and the Safari browser on iOS, but you don’t have to use Safari — or a Mac — to sync your bookmarks back and forth....
Chris Hoffman Nov 11th, 2013

How to Force Graphics Options in PC Games with NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel Graphics

PC games usually have built-in graphics options that you can change. However, you’re not limited to the options built into games — the graphics control panels bundled with graphics drivers allow you to tweak optio...
Chris Hoffman Nov 10th, 2013

How to Use An Antivirus Boot Disc or USB Drive to Ensure Your Computer is Clean

If your computer is infected with malware, running an antivirus within Windows may not be enough to remove it. If your computer has a rootkit, the malware may be able to hide itself from your antivirus software....
Chris Hoffman Nov 9th, 2013

8 Things You Can Do In Android’s Developer Options

The Developer Options menu in Android is a hidden menu with a variety of advanced options. These options are intended for developers, but many of them will be interesting to geeks.
Chris Hoffman Nov 8th, 2013

How to Never Use iTunes With Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

iTunes isn’t an amazing program on Windows. There was a time when Apple device users had to plug their devices into their PCs or Macs and use iTunes for device activation, updates, and syncing, but iTunes is no longer n...
Chris Hoffman Nov 6th, 2013

The 20 Most Important Keyboard Shortcuts For Windows PCs

Keyboard shortcuts are practically essential for using any type of PC. They’ll speed up almost everything you do. But long lists of keyboard shortcuts can quickly become overwhelming if you’re just getting started...
Chris Hoffman Nov 4th, 2013

8 Reasons Why Even Microsoft Agrees the Windows Desktop is a Nightmare

Let’s be honest: The Windows desktop is a mess. Sure, it’s extremely powerful and has a huge software library, but it’s not a good experience for average people. It’s not even a good experience for gee...
Chris Hoffman Nov 3rd, 2013

How to Recover From a Virus Infection: 3 Things You Need to Do

If your computer becomes infected with a virus or another piece of malware, removing the malware from your computer is only the first step. There’s more you need to do to ensure you’re secure....
Chris Hoffman Nov 2nd, 2013

How to Sync Any Folder With SkyDrive on Windows 8.1

Before Windows 8.1, it was possible to sync any folder on your computer with SkyDrive using symbolic links. This method no longer works now that SkyDrive is baked into Windows 8.1, but there are other tricks you can use....
Chris Hoffman Nov 1st, 2013

How to Reduce the Size of Your WinSXS Folder on Windows 7 or 8

The WinSXS folder at C:\Windows\WinSXS is massive and continues to grow the longer you have Windows installed. This folder builds up unnecessary files over time, such as old versions of system components....
Chris Hoffman Oct 31st, 2013

Refreshing Your PC Won’t Help: Why Bloatware is Still a Problem on Windows 8

Bloatware is still a big problem on new Windows 8 and 8.1 PCs. Some websites will tell you that you can easily get rid of manufacturer-installed bloatware with Windows 8’s Reset feature, but they’re generally wron...
Chris Hoffman Oct 29th, 2013

5 Android Keyboard Replacements to Help You Type Faster

Android allows developers to replace its keyboard with their own keyboard apps. This has led to experimentation and great new features, like the gesture-typing feature that’s made its way into Android’s official k...
Chris Hoffman Oct 28th, 2013

10 Great Free Icon Packs To Theme Your Android Phone

Android allows you to customize your home screen, adding widgets, arranging shortcuts and folders, choosing a background, and even replacing the included launcher entirely. You can install icon packs to theme your app icons, ...
Chris Hoffman Oct 27th, 2013

How to Identify Which Hardware Component is Failing in Your Computer

Concluding that your computer has a hardware problem is just the first step. If you’re dealing with a hardware issue and not a software issue, the next step is determining what hardware problem you’re actually dea...
Chris Hoffman Oct 21st, 2013

How to Tell a Hardware Problem From a Software Problem

Your computer seems to be malfunctioning — it’s slow, programs are crashing or Windows may be blue-screening. Is your computer’s hardware failing, or does it have a software problem that you can fix on your ...
Chris Hoffman Oct 21st, 2013

Secure Your Wireless Router: 8 Things You Can Do Right Now

A security researcher recently discovered a backdoor in many D-Link routers, allowing anyone to access the router without knowing the username or password. This isn’t the first router security issue and won’t be t...
Chris Hoffman Oct 19th, 2013

What You Need to Know About Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 is available to everyone starting today, October 18. The latest version of Windows improves on Windows 8 in every way. It’s a big upgrade, whether you use the desktop or new touch-optimized interface....
Chris Hoffman Oct 18th, 2013

How to Use Windows’ Advanced Search Features: Everything You Need to Know

You should never have to hunt down a lost file on modern versions of Windows — just perform a quick search. You don’t even have to wait for a cartoon dog to find your files, like on Windows XP....
Chris Hoffman Oct 14th, 2013

6 Ways to Free Up Hard Drive Space Used by Windows System Files

We’ve previously covered the standard ways to free up space on Windows. But if you have a small solid-state drive and really want more hard space, there are geekier ways to reclaim hard drive space....
Chris Hoffman Oct 14th, 2013

10 Windows Tweaking Myths Debunked

Windows is big, complicated, and misunderstood. You’ll still stumble across bad advice from time to time when browsing the web. These Windows tweaking, performance, and system maintenance tips are mostly just useless, b...
Chris Hoffman Oct 13th, 2013

Windows 8.1 Will Start Encrypting Hard Drives By Default: Everything You Need to Know

Windows 8.1 will automatically encrypt the storage on modern Windows PCs. This will help protect your files in case someone steals your laptop and tries to get at them, but it has important ramifications for data recovery....
Chris Hoffman Oct 12th, 2013

Bad Sectors Explained: Why Hard Drives Get Bad Sectors and What You Can Do About It

A bad sector on a hard drive is simply a tiny cluster of storage space — a  sector — of the hard drive that appears to be defective. The sector won’t respond to read or write requests....
Chris Hoffman Oct 9th, 2013

7 Skype Tips for Power Users

Now that Skype has been merged with Windows Live Messenger, it’s more popular than ever. There’s no way to use Skype with a third-party client, but Skype does offer hidden features that can make it more powerful....
Chris Hoffman Oct 8th, 2013

How to See Which Browser Extensions Are Slowing Down Your Browser

Browser extensions are useful, but they can increase your browser’s memory consumption, make it take longer to open, and slow it down in general. But how do you measure the impact a browser extension has on your system?...
Chris Hoffman Oct 7th, 2013

Beginner Geek: Everything You Need to Know About Disabling Startup Programs on Windows

Programs that automatically start with Windows can slow down your computer’s boot time, making you wait to get a useful desktop while icon after icon loads into your system tray. Fortunately, it’s possible to prev...
Chris Hoffman Oct 6th, 2013
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