Featured Articles - The Best of How-To Geek

How Windows 7’s “Extended Security Updates” Will Work

Windows 7 isn’t long for this world. On January 14, 2020, Microsoft ends “extended support” for Windows 7, and it will stop getting security updates. But there’s a way around it: Paying for “Exte...

Windows 10’s Phone Calls Will Support All Android 7+ Phones

Microsoft announced Calls on stage at a Samsung event in August, but this feature is coming for all phones with Android 7 or newer. Part of the Your Phone app, “Calling” is now rolling out to Windows Insiders....

Chris Hoffman Oct 8th

What Is Patch Tuesday for Windows, and When Is It?

Microsoft’s “Patch Tuesday” occurs on the second Tuesday of each month. This is the day when, like clockwork, Microsoft releases large update packages for Windows 10, Windows 7, Microsoft Office, and its oth...

Chris Hoffman Oct 8th

How to Disable Interactive Pop-Up Ads on Your Roku TV

Roku TVs are now displaying pop-up advertisements over commercials on live TV. Whether you’re watching cable TV or free OTA channels via an antenna, you’ll see an occasional Roku advertisement above a commercial. ...

Chris Hoffman Oct 7th

What’s New in macOS 10.15 Catalina, Available Now

Apple’s macOS Catalina arrives today, October 7. This free upgrade lets you use your iPad as a second display, draw with an Apple Pencil in Mac apps, and run more iPad apps on your Mac.

How to Work with Variables in Bash

Variables are vital if you want to write scripts and understand what that code you’re about to cut and paste from the web will do to your Linux computer. We’ll get you started!

Dave McKay Oct 7th

Does Your Computer Have a Virus? Here’s How to Check

Windows computers sometimes do get viruses and other malware, but not every slow or misbehaving PC is infected by malware. Here’s how to check if you actually have a virus—and whether that suspicious process is da...

Wi-Fi vs. ZigBee and Z-Wave: Which Is Better?

For most of the modern smarthome era, ZigBee and Z-Wave have been the dominant communication protocols. But now, Wi-Fi is a strong contender, and more Wi-Fi smart gadgets arrive every day. So, which should you use? The answe...

What Does “FWIW” Mean, and How Do You Use It?

While FWIW isn’t the most popular piece of slang on the internet, it routinely finds its way into Twitter posts, message boards, and chat rooms. But what does FWIW mean, where’d it come from, and how do you use it...

How to Automatically Delete Your YouTube History

Google now offers a tool that automatically deletes your search and activity history from YouTube. By default, your data is stored forever, but it can be wiped from Google’s servers every 3 or 18 months....

Justin Duino Oct 4th

What Is “Mixed Content,” and Why Is Chrome Blocking It?

Google Chrome already blocks some types of “mixed content” on the web. Now, Google announced it’s getting even more serious: Starting in early 2020, Chrome will block all mixed content by default, breaking s...

How to Manage Multiple Mailboxes in Outlook

A significant advantage of using Outlook on your computer is you can have multiple email accounts in one place. Here’s how you can manage everything successfully.

Rob Woodgate Oct 3rd

How to Move Your Linux home Directory to Another Drive

Want to move your Linux home folder to another drive? Here’s a straightforward and step by step way to do it that should work on any distribution. Moving your home folder means you can reinstall Linux and not have to w...

Dave McKay Oct 3rd

Just Updated to iOS 13? Change These Eight Settings Now

Did you know you can now reject all unknown calls on your iPhone to block telemarketing and scam phone calls? This is just one of the useful new settings Apple included in September’s iOS 13 update for iPhones and iPads...

How to Create a Local Account While Setting Up Windows 10

Windows 10 tries its hardest to make you use a Microsoft account. The option was already hidden, but now it’s not even offered on Windows 10 Home while you’re connected to the internet. Here’s how to create ...

Chris Hoffman Oct 2nd

What Is Windows 10X, and How Is It Different?

Windows 10X is a new edition of Windows 10 designed for dual-screen devices like Microsoft’s upcoming Surface Neo, which will be available for the 2020 holiday season next year. It offers a customized interface for thes...

Chris Hoffman Oct 2nd

How to Merge Multiple Google Drive and Google Photos Accounts

It isn’t possible to merge Google accounts directly, making it tricky to move your data from A to B. If you want to merge data across multiple Google Drive and Google Photos accounts, here’s how you do it....

Ben Stockton Oct 2nd

How to Edit Any Web Page in Chrome (or Any Browser)

Web pages are just documents your web browser displays. But what if you could type directly on any web page to modify it? You can, and you don’t need a browser extension—it’s a feature built into every moder...

Chris Hoffman Oct 2nd

Google Announces Maps Incognito Mode and More Privacy Controls

Today, Google is announcing a plethora of new privacy and security features: Incognito Mode for Google Maps, auto-deletion of your YouTube history, voice privacy controls in Google Assistant, and Password Checkup built into G...

Chris Hoffman Oct 2nd

Confirmed: Windows 10 Setup Now Prevents Local Account Creation

Windows 10 Home now forces you to sign in with a Microsoft account—unless you disconnect from the internet first. Microsoft has always wanted you to sign in with a Microsoft account, but now it’s going even furthe...

How to Back Up Your Stuff and Switch to a New Mac

The time has come to replace your Mac. Once you’ve decided on a new model, forked over the cash, and unboxed your expensive new toy, it’s time to get down to business and transfer your data....

Tim Brookes Oct 1st

Is the Mac Pro Overpriced Compared to a PC?

Apple’s Mac Pro will be made in the USA with a starting price of $6,000. You get a pretty sweet machine for that price, but how close could you get to the power of the Mac Pro if you tried to build a Windows version you...

Just Bought a Mac? 14 Essential Apps You Should Install

Apple bundles plenty of utilities with macOS, but there are some other useful tools you should download to get the most out of your Mac. Here are some picks many Mac fans swear by.

Why You Should Sign In With Google, Facebook, or Apple

Are you still creating user accounts everywhere? Maybe you should stop and sign in with your Google, Facebook, or Apple account instead. It might just be more secure—and it’s definitely more secure if you’re...

Chris Hoffman Sep 30th