Featured Articles - The Best of How-To Geek

How to Copy and Paste Text at Linux’s Bash Shell

Want to copy and paste at the command line of the Bash shell? We’ll show you multiple techniques whether you favor the keyboard or the mouse. These work whether you’re at a graphical desktop or at a traditional te...

Dave McKay Sep 23rd

How to Remove Activation Lock on an iPhone

The Activation Lock makes iPhones less attractive to thieves. When you set up an iPhone, it’s associated with your iCloud ID. Even if someone steals it, they can’t set it up and use it unless you remove the Activa...

How to Set Up a Smarthome Without the Cloud

The easiest smarthome tech uses the cloud to do the heavy lifting. But that means you give up your privacy. And if the company shuts down, so does your smarthome. Here’s how to bypass the cloud in your smarthome setup....

How to Quickly Create Your Own Chrome Browser Theme

Chrome 77 makes it easy to create your own Chrome browser theme in just a few clicks. Choose your favorite colors for Chrome’s browser toolbar and set a snazzy background image right from the New Tab page....

How to Create Aliases and Shell Functions on Linux

Create your own Linux commands using aliases and Bash shell functions. Tame repetitive tasks, truncate long-winded processes, and configure standard commands with the options you always use and struggle to remember....

Dave McKay Sep 20th

What Is Apple Arcade? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Apple Arcade is a new gaming subscription service that will eventually provide access to over 100 games for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TV devices. It costs $4.99 per month for an entire family, and your first month is fr...

Tim Brookes Sep 20th

What Is Ultra Wideband, and Why Is It In the iPhone 11?

Apple’s new iPhone 11 devices include a “U1” chip with ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. This isn’t new technology, but it’s the first time it’s been in a modern smartphone. It’s not j...

How to Use a Mouse With Your iPad or iPhone

With the announcement of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, Apple surprised the world by adding support for mice. Mouse support is included in iOS 13 for iPhone. It will arrive on iPads with iPadOS 13, scheduled for September 24....

How to Use the XLOOKUP Function in Microsoft Excel

Excel’s new XLOOKUP will replace VLOOKUP, providing a powerful replacement to one of Excel’s most popular functions. This new function solves some of VLOOKUP’s limitations and has extra functionality. Here&...

Alan Murray Sep 18th

Browsers Are Bringing Automatic Dark Mode to Websites

Dark mode is now everywhere, including in iOS 13 and Android 10. Web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge have embraced dark mode, too. Now, browsers are bringing automatic dark mode to websites thanks to a feature...

Chris Hoffman Sep 18th

15 Special Characters You Need to Know for Bash

If you want to master the Bash shell on Linux, macOS, or another UNIX-like system, special characters (like ~, *, |, and >) are critical. We’ll help you unravel these cryptic Linux command sequences and become a hero...

How to Use the finger Command on Linux

Knowing who is using your Linux or Unix-like system is a fundamental part of managing it. Pointing at someone might be considered rude, but using your finger can still be enlightening.

Dave McKay Sep 17th

Chrome Shortcuts You Should Know

Keyboard shortcuts are the best way to speed up and increase productivity for any task, as they limit your time spent opening menus and settings. Luckily, Google Chrome has a myriad of them designed to increase efficiency bro...

Brady Gavin Sep 16th

Why You Should Overclock Your RAM (It’s Easy!)

Every program on your PC churns through RAM as it works. Your RAM operates at a certain speed set in place by the manufacturer, but a few minutes in the BIOS can bump it up far beyond its rated specification....

How to Increase Your MacBook’s Storage

Solid-state drives are fast but expensive. And high-capacity SSDs are very expensive, which is why many of us opt for the bare minimum when we purchase a MacBook. But here’s how you can add more storage....

What Is TDP for CPUs and GPUs?

You often see TDP measurements on specification sheets, and it’s important info for people with desktop PCs. But TDP definitions are like opinions—everybody’s got one. Let’s cut through the confusion and t...

How to Quickly Search Google Drive

If you haven’t gotten around to organizing your Google Drive and need to find something in a hurry, you might have difficulty finding a particular file. Here’s how to quickly search Google Drive....

Brady Gavin Sep 12th

How to Use the chgrp Command on Linux

The chgrp command on Linux changes the group ownership of a file or directory. Why use it instead of chown ? Sometimes a Swiss Army knife is great, but when you really need a scalpel, only a scalpel will do....

Dave McKay Sep 12th

Could Your Bluetooth Devices Be Hacked in 2019?

fizkes/ShutterstockBluetooth is everywhere, and so are its security flaws. But how great is the risk? How concerned should you be about Bluejacking, Bluesnarfing, or Bluebugging? Here’s what you need to know to protect ...

Can You Get Multiple User Accounts on an iPad?

Apple’s iPads only support multiple user accounts in a special education mode intended for schools. iPads are a single-user device—more like an iPhone than a Mac. However, you can share an iPad more easily with th...

Chris Hoffman Sep 11th

How to Enable a Play/Pause Button on Chrome’s Toolbar

Which tab is playing sound? With Chrome’s new Play/Pause button, you don’t have to hunt it down. You can control playback from any browser tab using a convenient button on Chrome’s toolbar....