Featured Articles - The Best of How-To Geek

How to Use NTFS Compression and When You Might Want To

The NTFS file system used by Windows has a built-in compression feature known as NTFS compression. With a few clicks, you can compress files, making them take up less space on your hard drive. Best of all, you can still acces...

How to Downgrade Windows 8 Pro to Windows 7

The Professional edition of Windows 8 comes with “downgrade rights.” If you’re not happy with Windows 8 on a new computer, you can downgrade it to Windows 7 for free – as long as you have Windows 8 Pro....

Don’t Have a False Sense of Security: 5 Insecure Ways to Secure Your Wi-Fi

You’ve got WEP encryption enabled, your network’s SSID is hidden, and you’ve enabled MAC address filtering so no one else can connect. Your Wi-Fi network is secure, right? Not really.

How to Clean Up the List of Apps that Have Access to Your Accounts

Facebook, Twitter, Google, Dropbox, and all the other web services out there can be accessed by various applications and other services. Here’s a couple of links that you can use to quickly remove anything that has access....

Lowell Heddings Jan 1st, 2013

The Top 25 How-To Geek Articles of 2012

We at How-To Geek appreciate all our readers and hope you have learned new and interesting things from our many articles. We’ve collected the top 25 articles published on How-To Geek in 2012.

Hardware Upgrade: Why Windows Can’t See All Your RAM

Installing RAM should be as simple as placing the new RAM into the slots and powering on your computer. However, a number of issues – both hardware and software related – can cause problems when installing new RAM....

Secure Yourself by Using Two-Step Verification on These 16 Web Services

Two-factor authentication, also known as 2-step verification, provides additional security for your online accounts. Even if someone discovers your password, they’ll need a special one-time code to log in after you enable t...

How to Fix a Stuck Pixel on an LCD Monitor

Have you ever noticed that a pixel – a little dot on your computer’s LCD monitor – is staying a single color all of the time? You have a stuck pixel. Luckily, stuck pixels aren’t always permanent....

Our Geek Trivia App for Windows 8 is Now Available Everywhere

When we first released our Geek Trivia app, it was sadly only available in the US store for Windows 8, but now you can get it no matter where you live. It’s completely free, so get your copy right now!...

Lowell Heddings Dec 4th, 2012

How To Boot Your Android Phone or Tablet Into Safe Mode

On your Windows PC, you can boot into safe mode to load Windows without any third-party software. You can do the same on Android with Android’s safe mode. In safe mode, Android won’t load any third-party applications....

6 Ways Windows 8 Is More Secure Than Windows 7

Whatever you think of it, Windows 8 isn’t just a new interface slapped on top of Windows 7. Windows 8 has seen a lot of security improvements, including an integrated antivirus, an application reputation system, and protect...

10 Awesome Improvements For Desktop Users in Windows 8

It’s easy to focus on how Windows 8’s new interface doesn’t feel at home on a traditional desktop PC or laptop. But that’s only one part of Windows 8 – the Windows 8 desktop includes a variety of useful improvements...

6 Start Menu Replacements for Windows 8

Want a Start menu on your Windows 8 desktop? While Microsoft no longer includes the Start button, opting instead for a click in a hidden corner and a new Start screen, there are quite a few Start menu replacements you can cho...

What Is the Purpose of the “Do Not Cover This Hole” Hole on Hard Drives?

From tiny laptop hard drives to beefier desktop models, traditional disk-based hard drives have a very bold warning on them: DO NOT COVER THIS HOLE. What exactly is the hole and what terrible fate would befall you if you cove...

How To Log Into The Desktop, Add a Start Menu, and Disable Hot Corners in Windows 8

If you don’t have a touchscreen computer and spend all your time on the desktop, Windows 8’s new interface can seem intrusive. Microsoft won’t allow you to disable the new interface, but Classic Shell provides the optio...

How Hackers Can Disguise Malicious Programs With Fake File Extensions

File extensions can be faked – that file with an .mp3 extension may actually be an executable program. Hackers can fake file extensions by abusing a special Unicode character, forcing text to be displayed in reverse order....

Can Dust Actually Damage My Computer?

Thousands of hours per year of fan-driven air movement combined with electrostatic charges make computers veritable dust magnets. Is all that dust simply a nuisance or is it actually harmful?

Why Enabling “Do Not Track” Doesn’t Stop You From Being Tracked

The “Do Not Track” option is enabled by default in Windows 8’s Internet Explorer 10 and available in Firefox, Safari, and Opera. Google is even adding it to Chrome. There’s just one problem: it doesn’t actually prev...

Chris Hoffman Oct 16th, 2012

How To Get a Better Wireless Signal and Reduce Wireless Network Interference

Like all sufficiently advanced technologies, Wi-Fi can feel like magic. But Wi-Fi isn’t magic – it’s radio waves. A variety of things can interfere with these radio waves, making your wireless connection weaker and more...

8 Deadly Commands You Should Never Run on Linux

Linux’s terminal commands are powerful, and Linux won’t ask you for confirmation if you run a command that will break your system. It’s not uncommon to see trolls online recommending new Linux users run these commands a...

14 Special Google Searches That Show Instant Answers

Google can do more than display lists of websites – Google will give you quick answers to many special searches. While Google isn’t quite as advanced as Wolfram Alpha, it has quite a few tricks up its sleeve....

How to Create a Customized Windows 7 Installation Disc With Integrated Updates

Do you want to save time when installing Windows 7? You can create a customized installation disc and have it perform an installation without asking you questions, integrate updates and drivers, tweak Windows, and remove Wind...

How to Get Pro Features in Windows Home Versions with Third Party Tools

Some of the most powerful Windows features are only available in Professional or Enterprise editions of Windows. However, you don’t have to upgrade to Windows Professional to use these powerful features – use these free a...

Java is Insecure and Awful, It’s Time to Disable It, and Here’s How

As usual, there’s yet another security hole in the Java Runtime Environment, and if you don’t disable your Java plugin, you’re at risk for being infected with malware. Here’s how to do it.

How To Switch Webmail Providers Without Losing All Your Email

Do you use a webmail service you’re unhappy with because it’s where all your email is? There’s good news – you can easily switch, without losing your old email and contacts and without missing email sent to your old a...

How-To Geek is where you turn when you want experts to explain technology. Since we launched in 2006, our articles have been read more than 1 billion times. Want to know more?