A Microsoft account is required for most things you do in the Microsoft ecosystem—signing into their various services and apps, and even into Windows itself. Here’s how to create one.
Although WhatsApp lacks a password for signing in to your account, it does, however, have a two-step verification to keep anyone from gaining access to your account if they steal your SIM card. Here’s how you’re able to reset that 6-digit PIN if you’ve forgotten it.
Windows 10’s antivirus does a good job overall, but it lets crapware through. A hidden setting intended for organizations will boost Windows Defender’s security, making it block adware, potentially unwanted programs, PUPs, or whatever you want to call this junk.
Password managers help you by saving those complex passwords that can be pretty difficult to remember. If you’ve forgotten your Snapchat password, you can’t really recover that same password, but it’s easy enough to recover your account by resetting your password to something new.
Browser extensions and phone apps used by a combined 11 million people are recording users’ complete browsing history, a clear violation of privacy.
Some PCs, including Microsoft’s Surface Laptop and the Windows on ARM PCs, run “Windows 10 in S Mode.” In S Mode, Windows can only run apps from the Store—but you can leave S Mode in a few clicks.
YouTube remembers every video you’ve ever watched, assuming you’re signed in with your Google account. YouTube uses this history for recommendations, and even encourages you to re-watch old videos. Here’s how to clean up your watch history—or stop collecting it.
The nature of Twitter allows people to amass thousands of posts after a few years of use, perhaps not all of which are well thought out. High-profile celebrities and politicians on Twitter frequently regret a poorly-phrased or simply offensive post. But going through that massive backlog of tweets can be a daunting task. Here are a few ways to do it more efficiently.
Windows 10’s Redstone 5 update, scheduled for release in Fall, 2018, includes a new “Block Suspicious Behaviors” security feature. This protection is off by default, but you can enable it to protect your PC from a variety of threats.
It’s likely that you receive a ton of irrelevant false positive motion alerts from your Nest Cam—a car driving by, a bug flying through the frame, or a bush off to the right waving around in the wind. Here’s how you can limit those kinds of notifications using Activity Zones.
Starting with iOS 11, Apple included a way to quickly disable Touch ID and Face ID on iOS. With Android P, Google is introducing a feature named “Lockdown Mode” that essentially does the same thing.
Starting with iOS 12, you will always have to unlock your iPhone or iPad to connect a USB accessory. This is because of “USB Restricted Mode,” which protects your iPhone or iPad from hacking tools like GrayKey.
Most homeowners deck out their houses with smarthome gear for the convenience and cool features, but what you may not know is that some devices come with features that can prevent problems and even potentially be life saving.
Losing your hardware is bad enough, but what happens to your personal data? Could a thief with your phone, tablet, or laptop access your apps and files? It depends on the device you lost—unfortunately, most Windows PCs aren’t encrypted.
If you ever lose your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch, you should put it in “Lost Mode.” Lost Mode locks your device to protect your personal information, tracks its location, and places a customizable message on its lock screen.
Starting with Chrome 68, Google Chrome labels all non-HTTPS websites as “Not Secure.” Nothing else has changed—HTTP websites are just as secure as they’ve always been—but Google is giving the entire web a shove towards secure, encrypted connections.
Two factor authentication (2FA) is generally a great security tool. But if you have it enabled on your Apple or Google accounts, this could really come back to bite you in the worst way. Here’s what you need to know.
Smartphones go missing all the time. I’m pretty sure my sister loses hers the second Tuesday and third Thursday of every month. We’ve already looked at what to do if you lose your smartphone so let’s take a different perspective: what to do if you find someone’s smartphone and want to return it to them.
If you don’t use a password manager, those complex passwords can be pretty hard to remember. If you’ve forgotten your Yahoo password, you can’t really recover that same password, but it’s easy enough to recover your account by resetting your password to something new.
Many websites send security codes to your phone number to confirm your identity when signing in. You may use apps that generate security codes on your phone, too. But what happens if you lose your phone?
Here’s how a CryptoBlackmail scam starts: A criminal contacts you over email or snail mail and insists they have evidence you cheated on your wife, there’s an assassin after you, or there’s a webcam video of you watching pornography.
Fingerprint readers on phones have made devices more secure and faster to unlock, at least when they work on the first try. If you have trouble unlocking your phone quickly, there are things you can do to improve your device’s fingerprint reader.
Soon Google Chrome is going to use even more of your RAM, assuming that it’s even possible to use more than it already does. This is because of Chrome 67’s new Site Isolation feature to protect against Spectre.
Apple’s iPhones are extremely secure once you’ve used TouchID or FaceID and a passcode to lock them down, but there was a loophole with specialized USB tools plugging into the lightning port. Here’s how to enable USB Restricted Mode to secure against it.
Criminals can steal your phone number by pretending to be you, and then moving your number to another phone. They’ll then receive security codes sent via SMS on their phone, helping them gain access to your bank account and other secure services.
