Chris Hoffman

chris@howtogeek.com

@chrisbhoffman

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Chris Hoffman is Editor in Chief of How-To Geek. He oversees all How-To Geek's content to ensure it's as accurate and in-depth as possible. Since 2011, Chris has personally written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than 500 million times---and that's just here at How-To Geek.

With nearly a decade of writing experience in the field of technology, Chris has written for a variety of publications including The New York Times and IDG's PCWorld, where his work was syndicated on Computerworld, Network World, CIO, CSO Online, Greenbot, TechHive, ITNews, and ChannelWorld, to websites like Digital Trends and MakeUseOf. His work also appeared in PCWorld's print magazine, specifically in the August 2013 and July 2013 editions, where his story was on the cover.

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.

Chris has attended the Computer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas for five years running, starting in 2015. 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.

About How-To Geek

How-To Geek is an online technology magazine and one of the top 500 websites in the US. Since it was created more than a decade ago, the site’s 10,000+ in-depth articles have been read over 1 billion times. More than 15 million people read our articles every month.

We're the people you turn to when you want someone to explain technology, whether that means detailed troubleshooting guides or in-depth explainers on the latest tech. Our team of expert writers and editors have decades of experience in journalism and technology. Beyond the web, they've written books for publishers like Microsoft Press and have been published in print magazines like PCWorld and Consumers Digest.

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. Our writers have been interviewed as experts on TV and radio programs. We're an independent company that remains fully owned by our founders, too.

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What is “Other” Storage on an iPhone or iPad?

Connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to your computer, open iTunes, and you’ll see a large amount of space used by “Other” storage. iTunes won’t let you delete any of this “Other” data ...

What’s the Difference Between Main, Restricted, Universe, and Multiverse on Ubuntu?

Ubuntu provides four different software repositories, all of them official — Main, Restricted, Universe, and Multiverse. Main and Restricted are fully supported by Canonical, while Universe and Multiverse don’t r...

Chris Hoffman Aug 7th, 2014

How to Find Your Computer’s Uptime and Installation Date

Your Windows system’s uptime is displayed in the Task Manager. Right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager or press Ctrl+Shift+Escape to open it.

What is a Windows Domain and How Does It Affect My PC?

Windows domains are typically used on large networks — corporate networks, school networks, and government networks. They aren’t something you’ll encounter at home unless you have a laptop provided by your e...

Yes, You Can Use Electronics During Takeoff and Landing: What You Need to Know

Regulatory agencies in the US, Canada, and Europe now allow you to use electronics during takeoff and landing. This is called “gate-to-gate” device use — you could be using a device the entire time you&#8217...

How to Change the Default Search Engine on Your Phone or Tablet

Search engines are becoming ever-more integrated into mobile operating systems, but you can still change your default search engine on your smartphone or tablet. You don’t have to stick with the search engine the device...

Using Firefox on Linux? Your Flash Player is Old and Outdated!

Adobe is no longer developing the Flash for Firefox on Linux. You’re still getting security updates, but that’s it — your Flash Player plug-in is already several major versions out-of-date....

21 Windows Administrative Tools Explained

Windows is packed full of system tools, and many of them are in the Administrative Tools folder. The tools here are more powerful and complex, so they’re hidden where most Windows users won’t stumble across them....

How to Make BitLocker Use 256-bit AES Encryption Instead of 128-bit AES

Windows’ BitLocker encryption defaults to 128-bit AES encryption, but you can choose to use 256-bit AES encryption instead. Using a 256-bit AES key could potentially offer more security against future attempts to access...

How to Find Drivers for Unknown Devices in the Device Manager

Unknown devices show up in the Windows Device Manager when Windows can’t identify a piece of hardware and provide a driver for it. An unknown device isn’t just unknown — it’s not functioning until you ...

How to Install and Use Another Desktop Environment on Linux

Each Linux distribution comes with a single default desktop environment chosen from the many different desktop environments available for Linux. But you don’t have to stick with the default.

What is a Custom Recovery on Android, and Why Would I Want One?

Want to install a custom Android ROM — in other words, a third-party version of the Android operating system — like CyanogenMod? You’ll probably be instructed to install a custom recovery, too....

How to Create an Encrypted Container File With BitLocker on Windows

BitLocker normally encrypts entire drives and partitions, but you can also create encrypted container files with tools built into Windows. Such encrypted VHD files can easily be moved between systems, backed up, and hidden wh...

How to Install, Remove, and Manage Fonts on Windows, Mac, and Linux

Whether you want to use a new font in a Word or just change your operating system’s system font to give it a different look, you’ll first have to install the font on your operating system.

How to Remotely Track Any Lost Smartphone, Tablet, or PC

Whether your device was stolen or simply lost, you can remotely track, lock, and wipe it. Don’t wait until you’ve lost your hardware to think about this — these features need to be enabled ahead of time....

Linux Distribution Basics: Rolling Releases vs. Standard Releases

Linux distributions tend to use two different types of release cycles: standard releases and rolling releases. Some people swear by rolling releases to have the latest software, while others like standard releases for being m...

How to Track, Disable, and Wipe a Lost iPhone, iPad, or Mac

Apple’s phone, tablet, and computer-tracking tools are the best in the business. You can remotely locate your device, disable it with a lock and message that persists through factory resets — the so-called “...

Android USB Connections Explained: MTP, PTP, and USB Mass Storage

Older Android devices support USB mass storage for transferring files back and forth with a computer. Modern Android devices use the MTP or PTP protocols — you can choose which one you prefer.

How to Monitor Your Internet Bandwidth Usage and Avoid Exceeding Data Caps

Internet connection data caps are becoming more widespread in the US. Internet service providers may claim their data limits are good for “millions of emails,” but emails are small and HD videos on Netflix are muc...

How to Remotely Turn On Your PC Over the Internet

If you use remote desktop, remote file access, or other server software, you may leave your computer on at home or work when you leave the house. This uses more power. Instead, you could remotely power on your PC whenever you...

MIME Types Explained: Why Linux and Mac OS X Don’t Need File Extensions

Coming from Windows, file extensions on Linux and Mac OS X can seem a bit strange. The operating system seems to know what files are without relying on the file extension — it does this using MIME types....

6 Upcoming Linux-Based Smartphone Operating Systems That Aren’t Android

Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry 10 aren’t the only smartphone operating systems vying for a place in your pocket. There are other smartphone operating systems in development — and they’re all Lin...

Linux Was Once Hard to Install and Use — Now It’s Easy

Linux is easier to install and use than ever. If you tried installing and using it years ago, you may want to give a modern Linux distribution a second chance.

How to Create Saved Search Folders on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X

All mainstream desktop operating systems include powerful search features. They all offer the ability to create a “saved search,” which functions as a virtual folder. The saved search folder appears to contain the...

5 Cooling Solutions to Prevent Your PC From Overheating

Computers need cooling to remove the heat their components generate during use. If you’re building your own PC — especially if you’re overclocking it — you’ll need to think about how you’ll...

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