Featured Articles - The Best of How-To Geek

How to Use Multiple Browser Profiles in Any Browser

Web browsers store your personal data – bookmarks, history, settings, extensions, and more – in a profile. You can create separate profiles to split things up – for example, you could have one profile for work and one f...

How to Run Windows 8 Metro / Modern Apps in a Regular Desktop Window

It was only a matter of time before somebody figured out how to use Metro / Modern apps in a regular desktop window, and naturally it was Stardock who came up with the solution. It’ll cost you a couple of bucks, but you can...

Lowell Heddings Mar 6th, 2013

Geek School: Learning Windows 7 – Configuring Devices

In this edition of Geek School we are going to cover the configuration of hardware in Windows 7. Come join us.

Taylor Gibb Mar 6th, 2013

How to Play Retro NES and SNES Games on Your Nintendo Wii

If you’re looking to relive the classic titles of yesterday on the console you have today, the Nintendo Wii makes a perfect platform for emulating older Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System ...

16 Android Voice Actions to Make Android Your Own Personal Assistant

Android may not have Siri, but it does have Voice Actions. Voice Actions are a powerful way to perform actions – searching, getting directions, making notes, setting alarms, and more – with just your voice....

Geek School: Learning Windows 7 – Upgrades and Migrations

In the second installment of our new Geek School series, we walk you through Upgrades and Migrations for Windows 7, from the perspective of learning to take your certification exam.

Taylor Gibb Mar 5th, 2013

How to Turn a Raspberry Pi into a Low-Power Network Storage Device

Mix together one Raspberry Pi and a sprinkle of cheap external hard drives and you have the recipe for an ultra-low-power and always-on network storage device. Read on as we show you how to set up your own Pi-based NAS....

Introducing How-To Geek School: Learn Technology Here for Free

Most of our readers are familiar with Windows 7, but just how knowledgeable are you? Could you pass a Microsoft certification test? In our new Geek School series, we’re going to try and teach you about technology in a more ...

How to Sync Your Browser Data in Any Browser and Access it Anywhere

With browser sync enabled, you can open some tabs on your computer and access them on-the-go from your smartphone. If you have multiple computers, you can easily keep your bookmarks and settings in sync between them....

The Great Debate: Is it Linux or GNU/Linux?

You will usually see the Linux operating system referred to as “Linux” online. However, the term “GNU/Linux” is occasionally used instead. Linux and GNU/Linux refer to the same operating system and software, and there...

How to Turn An Old Android Phone into a Networked Security Camera

If the idea of a networked security camera that you can remotely view and receive alerts from appeals to you (but the $$$ of a commercial model does not), read on as we show you how to turn older generation Android phones int...

How to Find the Root Cause of Your Android Battery Problems

Android has a built-in battery stats tool that shows you what is using your battery. Unfortunately, this tool doesn’t provide all the information you need to identify the root causes of poor battery life....

Why Watching DVDs on Linux is Illegal in the USA

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) makes unlocking cell phones, ripping DVDs, removing eBook DRM, and jailbreaking tablets illegal in the USA. However, there’s another surprise: simply watching a DVD on Linux is al...

How You Can Be Infected via Your Browser and How to Protect Yourself

In a perfect world, there would be no way for your computer to be infected via your browser. Browsers are supposed to run web pages in an untrusted sandbox, isolating them from the rest of your computer. Unfortunately, this d...

Which Windows Services Can You Safely Disable?

If you want to squeeze every last drop of performance out of your PC, you might consider disabling some of the built-in Windows services. But which ones should you disable? And which ones can you safely disable?...

How to Make Your Computer’s Browser Use Less Data When Tethering

Websites – at least the desktop versions – are designed for broadband connections and are larger than ever. This isn’t normally a problem, but what if you’re tethering your computer to a smartphone with a limited data...

How to Use Android Beam to Wirelessly Transfer Content Between Devices

Many recent Android phones – and even Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets – have integrated NFC hardware and support Android Beam. Android Beam allows you to send content between devices just by pressing them back-to-back....

How to Play Retro Point-and-Click Adventures on Your Wii

If you are a fan of 1980s and 90s point-and-click adventures and you have a Wii gathering dust, well then, do we have a proposition for you. Read on to see how you can replay all your point-and-click favorites from the comfor...

How to Add “Scan with Windows Defender” to the Context Menu in Windows 8

Windows Defender replaces Microsoft Security Essentials in Windows 8, but it does not include the ability to quickly right-click folders and scan them. However, you can add this option yourself with a quick registry hack....

How to Troubleshoot Internet Explorer Crashes

If Internet Explorer is crashing and burning, your problem likely lies with a buggy browser add-on. However, Internet Explorer crashes can have a variety of other causes, including incompatibilities with hardware rendering an...

New Security Hole Found in Wi-Fi Routers: Disable UPnP to Protect Yourself

There’s some 81 million unique IP addresses that expose UPnP functionality from the internet, and more than 6900 different devices are potentially vulnerable, at least, to being hacked from the outside. This means, theo...

Lowell Heddings Jan 30th, 2013

How to Troubleshoot Google Chrome Crashes

If you are regularly seeing the “Whoa! Google Chrome has crashed” message, there is likely a problem on your system. An occasional crash can happen, but regular crashes are probably caused by something you can fix....

How to Troubleshoot Mozilla Firefox Crashes

Firefox can crash for a variety of reasons, but you can quickly fix most crashes with Firefox’s Safe Mode and Reset features. However, even these tricks won’t fix every crash.

How to Use a Windows Installer Disc to Back Up Your Files When Your Computer Won’t Boot

If Windows won’t boot, recovering your files can be a headache. You do not have to pull the hard drive or use a Linux live CD – you can use a Windows installer disc to quickly back up your files....

How to Protect Yourself From Java Security Problems if You Can’t Uninstall It

For years, Java has been the top source of browser exploits. Even after a recent emergency patch, Java is still vulnerable. To protect ourselves, we should assume that Java is always going to be vulnerable....

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