Featured Articles - The Best of How-To Geek

Free Download: GarageBand for iPhone and iPad Is Essential

GarageBand began life on the Mac in 2004 and quickly rose to prominence as a simple yet feature-rich music-making app. Almost two decades later, GarageBand for iPhone and iPad continues to impress. It’s s completely fre...

How the New App Library Works on iPhone

For the first time since, well, ever, Apple is bringing an Android-style app drawer to the iPhone Home screen with iOS 14. But, of course, Apple has put its own twist on it. Here’s how the new App Library works on iPhon...

Khamosh Pathak Jun 27th

Why Did the Turbo Button Slow Down Your PC in the ’90s?

In the 1980s and ’90s, many IBM PC clones included a button on the case labeled “Turbo” that actually slowed down your PC when you pressed it. We explore why it was necessary, what it did, and who put it the...

How to Stop Slack Notifications on the Weekend

Slack’s notifications can be overwhelming enough during the workday. If you have the weekend off, the last thing you need is notifications arriving on your phone at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Slack finally lets you s...

Chris Hoffman Jun 26th

How to Stop Strava From Making Your Home Address Public

Strava is one of the best running and cycling tracking apps, but it’s also a privacy nightmare. Not only have people leaked the locations of secret U.S. military bases just by using it, but it also automatically shares your...

Harry Guinness Jun 26th

How to Integrate Your iPhone with a Windows PC or Chromebook

The iPhone was designed to work best with Macs, iCloud, and other Apple technologies. However, it can be a great companion for a Windows PC or Chromebook, too. It’s all about finding the right tools to bridge the gap....

Tim Brookes Jun 26th

How to Make Google Auto-Delete Your Web and Location History

Google collects and remembers information about your activity, including your web, search, and location history. Google now auto-deletes history for new users after 18 months, but it will remember history forever if you previ...

How to Check Free Disk Space on a Mac

We all worry about hitting the limits of our Mac’s storage space. We need room for downloading new apps, installing updates, and storing our creative works. Here are the two quickest and most useful ways to see how much...

Benj Edwards Jun 25th

How iOS 14 Is About to Transform Your iPhone’s Home Screen

The iPhone Home screen hasn’t changed since Steve Jobs first showed it off in 2007. Come fall 2020, iOS 14 will drastically shake things up with a few features that will be familiar to anyone who used an Android device ...

Tim Brookes Jun 25th

Why People Look Different in Photos Taken with Different Lenses

If you’ve ever taken a close-up portrait of someone with your smartphone’s wide-angle lens, you might have noticed they look a little . . . off. Maybe their nose seemed a bit big, or their face was just a tad too wide. Yo...

How to Customize the Quick Access Toolbar in Microsoft Office Apps

Every Microsoft Office app has a quick access toolbar that shows one-click commands. Here’s how to customize this toolbar to show any command that appears on the ribbon and some that aren’t on the ribbon at all....

Rob Woodgate Jun 24th

Browser Choice Finally Comes to the iPhone with iOS 14

You might think the biggest announcement of WWDC 2020 is Apple ditching Intel processors in favor of first-party silicon, but you’d be wrong. No, the big news is that iOS and iPadOS 14 will finally let you choose your ...

Tim Brookes Jun 24th

What Is DirectX 12 Ultimate on Windows 10 PCs and Xbox?

In 2018, Nvidia rolled out its RTX graphics cards, which rocked some killer features for gaming, including ray tracing and mesh shaders. However, Microsoft needed a standard that supported these features on more than just NV...

How to Host Your Own VPN with Algo and Cloud Hosting

Companies all over the world sell VPN services to secure your online activity, but can you really trust a VPN provider? If you want, you can create your own virtual private network with the open-source Algo software, and the ...

Ian Paul Jun 23rd

What’s New in iOS 14 (and iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, AirPods, More)

People might not be able to gather in large groups, but that hasn’t stopped Apple from hosting its WWDC developer conference online. With the first day’s keynote over, we now know what new features are coming with...

What’s New in macOS 11.0 Big Sur, Arriving Fall 2020

Change is in the air. With macOS 11.0 Big Sur, Apple has used the Mac’s upcoming CPU architecture shift as an opportunity to redesign macOS from the ground up with a lively, refined interface and completely overhauled a...

How the Mac Will Switch From Intel to Apple’s Own ARM Chips

The Mac is going through another huge CPU switch. By the end of 2020, Apple will release Macs that include “Apple Silicon,” just like iPads and iPhones. Here’s what the end of Intel CPUs means for the future...

How to Zip (and Unzip) Files Using PowerShell

The ZIP file format reduces the size of files by compressing them into a single file. This process saves disk space, encrypts data, and makes it easy to share files with others. Here’s how to zip and unzip files using Pow...

Brady Gavin Jun 22nd

How to Automatically Open Links in Chrome on iPhone and iPad

Apple doesn’t let you change the default browser on your iPhone or iPad. If you tap a link, it will open in the Safari app. Instead of doing the copy-paste dance, use this shortcut to automatically open links in Chrome....

Khamosh Pathak Jun 22nd

What Is Microsoft Whiteboard, and How Do You Use It?

There’s no better visual way to express your ideas than by writing them on a whiteboard. If you’re missing it, check out Microsoft Whiteboard! It re-creates the dynamic of that loveable wall of melamine with digit...

Rob Woodgate Jun 22nd

8 Ways to Personalize Your Discord Account

Discord is the most popular gaming chatroom service on the internet. Here are a few ways you can customize your account to make your experience even better.

Vann Vicente Jun 22nd

Can Law Enforcement Really Recover Files You’ve Deleted?

When you delete a file from your computer’s hard drive, it’s never really gone. With enough effort and technical skill, it’s often possible to recover documents and photos previously thought obliterated. These computer ...