Linux is Confusing. These Articles Should Help

How to Choose the Best (and Fastest) Alternative DNS Server

Your internet service provider offers its own DNS servers, which help you turn websites like www.howtogeek.com into their respective IP addresses. Your devices use those by default, but you can set your own preferred DNS serv...

How to Get the Most Out of Your Chromebook

Chromebooks are fantastic little devices—they’re simple enough for nearly anyone to use, and often come in at prices a fraction of Windows laptops or MacBooks. Whether you’re a Chromebook veteran or a first-...

How to Set Up Whole-House Parental Controls with OpenDNS

Your kids need internet access to do their homework, but that doesn’t mean you’re comfortable with them accessing everything online. There’s no technological substitute for proper adult supervision, but a fr...

Justin Pot Feb 15th, 2018

What Are Progressive Web Apps?

Ever wish web apps behaved more like real apps? Progressive Web Apps are a new technology that’s aiming to make that happen.

What Is HEVC H.265 Video, and Why Is It So Important for 4K Movies?

It’s taking a while for this new technology to become ubiquitous, but it’s happening—4K UHD Blu-rays use HEVC, VLC 3.0 makes HEVC and 4K videos more watchable on your PC, and the iPhone can even saved recor...

How to Dock and Undock Toolbars In LibreOffice

Modern office software suites can be unnervingly complicated. Like most of its alternatives, the free and open-source LibreOffice sticks its often-used controls above the content area in various menus. But most of the availab...

Michael Crider Feb 7th, 2018

How to Secure Your Accounts With a U2F Key or YubiKey

Two-factor authentication is important, but a hassle. Instead of typing in a code from your phone, what if you could just insert a USB key to get access to your important accounts?

Chris Hoffman Feb 6th, 2018

How to Use, Customize, or Disable AutoComplete in LibreOffice Writer

LibreOffice Writer bundles in a free auto-complete system, similar to the one you’re probably familiar with on your smartphone’s keyboard. But LibreOffice’s is a lot more powerful, and a lot more customizabl...

Michael Crider Feb 6th, 2018

What to Do When Your Hard Drive Fails

Like every piece of hardware, hard drives can fail. Mechanical hard drives in particular have moving parts that can (and eventually will) stop working. Even solid-state drives, which have no moving parts, can fail. Every driv...

The Best Ways to Stream Your Games on Twitch, YouTube, and Elsewhere

There’s never been an easier time to get started with streaming your PC gameplay online. Whether you want to share your gameplay with some friends or start streaming on Twitch, streaming tools are now built into everyth...

Chris Hoffman Feb 5th, 2018

How to Prevent Videos from Autoplaying in Chrome

Look, autoplaying videos are awful. No one likes them, and I honestly don’t understand why this continues to be a thing that happens on the web. Thankfully, if you’re a Chrome user, you can easily stop this from h...

Cameron Summerson Feb 2nd, 2018

How to Stream From VLC to Your Chromecast

VLC’s developers have been working on Chromecast support for some time, and it’s finally available in version 3.0. That means now, you can stream video and audio files from VLC media player on your PC to your Chromecast...

Chris Hoffman Jan 31st, 2018

How to Take Screenshots of Your PC Games

Ever wish you could grab an image of what you’re seeing in that beautiful new video game? Well you can—in fact, some tools even let you pause the game and take a screenshot using a free-moving, in-game camera....

Chris Hoffman Jan 30th, 2018

How to Automatically Mute New Tabs in Chrome and Firefox

Let’s say you’re trying to be quiet, browsing the internet at home, work, or a public space. You’re secretly filled with dread that anything you click will open a new tab with an autoplay video or blare an o...

Eric Z Goodnight Jan 29th, 2018

How to Make LibreOffice Writer Templates

Templates let you configure all the relevant settings you want pre-applied to documents—font settings, margins and tabs, boilerplate text, and so on. You just open the template and save it under a new name to get a jump...

Michael Crider Jan 26th, 2018

How to Mute Individual Browser Tabs in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox

Modern desktop web browsers—Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari—all allow you to mute individual browser tabs in just a few clicks. Even Microsoft Edge allows you to mute browser tabs, although Micros...

Chris Hoffman Jan 23rd, 2018

How to Overclock Your Intel Processor and Speed Up Your PC

Your computer is fast. Unbelievably fast, at least compared to the PC you had ten or twenty years ago. But it could always be a little bit faster. If that statement stirs a bit of tech-flavored longing in your soul, you might...

How to See Which Groups Your Linux User Account Belongs To

RELATED: How to See Which Groups Your Windows User Account Belongs To

Lowell Heddings Jan 10th, 2018

How to Check if Your Linux System Is 32-bit or 64-bit

Most modern computers are capable of running a 64-bit operating system. But just because a computer supports it doesn’t mean that’s what’s running. Here’s how to tell whether you’re running a 32-...

Lori Kaufman Jan 8th, 2018

How to Change Your IP Address From the Command Line in Linux

This trick should work on all Debian-based Linux distros, including Ubuntu. To get started, type ifconfig at the terminal prompt, and then hit Enter. This command lists all network interfaces on the system, so take note of th...

Taylor Gibb Jan 5th, 2018

How Will the Meltdown and Spectre Flaws Affect My PC?

Computer processors have a massive design flaw, and everyone is scrambling to fix it. Only one of the two security holes can be patched, and the patches will make PCs (and Macs) with Intel chips slower....

How to Fix Blank Google Maps In Chrome

Do you ever go to Google Maps on your computer, only to see a blank mother-of-pearl grid? It’s really annoying, and it doesn’t happen for any obvious reason. It’s still possible to use Google Maps when it ge...

Michael Crider Jan 2nd, 2018

How to Set Up Your Own Home VPN Server

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are very useful, whether you’re traveling the world or just using public Wi-Fi at a coffee shop in your hometown. But you don’t necessarily have to pay for a VPN service—you ...

Lock Down Your Tech in 2019 With These Resolutions

If you’re a human person who occasionally engages in commerce, hackers are probably targeting you. This year, resolve to do something about it.

The Best Modern, Open Source Ports of Classic Games

Looking for a bit of PC gaming nostalgia? You could dig those old floppy disks out of your closet…or you could grab the new, improved, open source versions of those games online for free.