Featured Articles - The Best of How-To Geek

You Can Now Buy Android Desktop PCs and Laptops — But Should You?

PC manufacturers are now beginning to create all-in-one Android desktop PCs. They also sell Android laptops and convertibles that transform from a laptop-with-keyboard to a tablet. But should you buy one?...

Your Home Router May Also Be a Public Hotspot — Don’t Panic!

More Internet service providers are now providing their customers with modems that function as routers — and those units may also be public hotspots. This sort of feature is common in Europe, but it’s now arriving...

How to Encrypt Your Mac’s System Drive, Removable Devices, and Individual Files

To protect your files from hackers and thieves, Macs offer excellent encryption features built-in. You can encrypt your entire hard drive, encrypt an external drive, or just create an encrypted container for your most importa...

Beginner Geek: Hard Disk Partitions Explained

Hard disks, USB drives, SD cards — anything with storage space must be partitioned. An unpartitioned drive can’t be used until it contains at least one partition, but a drive can contain multiple partitions....

How to Enable and Use Internet Explorer 11’s Enterprise Mode

Enterprise Mode is a new feature in Internet Explorer that allows businesses to use old web applications in modern versions of IE. This feature is designed to help businesses who still need Internet Explorer 8 for some reason...

Why Have Most Windows 8 Users Not Upgraded to Windows 8.1?

Windows 8.1 is a free upgrade to Windows 8. It’s what the original Windows 8 should have been, with important improvements for both desktop and tablet users. So why are more people using Windows 8 than Windows 8.1?...

Upgrading From Windows XP? Here’s What You Need to Know About Windows 7

With Windows XP reaching the end of its long support life, many businesses and individuals are avoiding Windows 8 and upgrading to Windows 7 instead. If you’re a latecomer to Windows 7, here are the basics you need to k...

Chris Hoffman Mar 13th, 2014

Why Third-Party Browsers Will Always Be Inferior to Safari on iPhone and iPad

iOS supports third-party browsers, but not like you might expect. Third-party browsers will always be inferior to Apple’s own Safari on iPhone and iPad — at least until Apple relaxes their restrictions....

Want to Browse Faster? Stop Clearing Your Browser Cache

Do you regularly erase your browsing data, run CCleaner, or use another temporary-file cleaning tool? You’re probably clearing your browser cache, and it’s slowing down your browsing.

Screenshot Tour: What’s New in Windows 8.1 Update 1

Windows 8.1 Update 1 offers some crucial improvements for mouse and keyboard users. Windows will now automatically detect whether your computer has a touch screen and do the right thing. It also provides better mouse and keyb...

Windows XP End of Support is on April 8th, 2014: Why Windows is Warning You

Microsoft won’t be releasing new security patches for Windows XP come April 8th, 2014, and they’re making sure all Windows XP users know it. You’re on your own after this point — no more security updat...

Chris Hoffman Mar 10th, 2014

Why Microsoft Makes $5 to $15 From Every Android Device Sold

Microsoft makes much more money from Android than Windows Phone. Every time you buy an Android smartphone or tablet, Microsoft is likely receiving $5 to $15. They likely make at least $2 billion per year from Android....

How to Use OneDrive as Your Default Save Location on Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 integrates OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) everywhere, even on the desktop. You may want to save all your personal files to OneDrive so they’ll be accessible everywhere, but Windows doesn’t always save to...

Who is Making All This Malware — and Why?

We’ve come a long way since the days of infected floppy disks moving between DOS computers. Malware isn’t about messing with you, joking around, or just causing damage — it’s all about profit....

How the Command and Option Keys Work on a Mac

Mac keyboards have Option and Command keys where standard PC keyboards have Alt and Windows keys. The keyboards are otherwise pretty similar, but new Mac users will need to understand these different keys....

What You Need to Know About iPhone and iPad Backups

Your iPhone or iPad automatically backs up to your iCloud account by default, but you can also create more comprehensive, local backups from iTunes. Apple only offers 5 GB of iCloud space for free, so you may need to manage y...

No, It’s Not Always Recording: What You Need to Know About Google Glass

Yet again, someone wearing Google Glass was assaulted and had the gadget ripped off their face. People are upset they’re being recorded by Google. But that’s not how Google Glass works — it’s not alway...

Chris Hoffman Feb 28th, 2014

Are PCs Dying? Of Course Not, Here’s Why

Reports of the PC’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. We’ve all heard that everyone’s just buying tablets and throwing out their keyboards and mice. But if you live in the real world, you see people usin...

A Free Microsoft Office: Is Office Online Worth Using?

Microsoft’s Office Online is a completely free, web-based version of Microsoft Office. This online office suite is clearly competing with Google Docs, but it’s also a potential replacement for the desktop version ...

How to Gracefully Shutdown Your PC with a UPS Unit (and Why You Should)

We’ve shown you how to pick the best backup battery for your computer, but what about configuring it and ensuring your computer shuts down gracefully and safely in the face of power surges, outages, and other undesirabl...

How to Collaborate on Documents Over the Internet

There’s no need to huddle around the same computer or send files back and forth over email if you want to collaborate with other people. You can all edit the same copy of the document — you can even edit it togeth...

HTG Reviews the HooToo TripMate: a Travel Battery and Wi-Fi Wonder

When you’re a geek on the move, it’s easy to get overburdened with gadgets. Today we take a look at a handy little gadget that lightens the load: a combination device that’s each an external battery pack, Wi...

How to Get Navigation Directions (Even Offline) Without Buying a GPS

Dedicated GPS devices are going the way of the dodo, and for good reason. That smartphone or tablet you have can be a capable GPS with turn-by-turn navigation. This works even if you don’t have a data connection....

How Peering Agreements Affect Netflix, YouTube, and the Entire Internet

The Internet is complicated. Never mind net neutrality — peering agreements can affect services like Netflix and YouTube, slowing down their traffic. Issues with peering agreements may be indistinguishable from an ISP t...

How to Make a Resume for Free Without Using Microsoft Office

You don’t need Microsoft Office to put together a professional-looking resume. Google Docs is completely free and offers a variety of resume templates, so you can focus on highlighting your skills instead of fiddling wi...

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