Privacy & Security Articles

Why Your PC’s UEFI Firmware Needs Security Updates

Microsoft just announced Project Mu, promising “firmware as a service” on supported hardware. Every PC manufacturer should take note. PCs need security updates to their UEFI firmware, and PC manufacturers have don...

How to Use Windows 10’s New Sandbox (to Safely Test Apps)

Microsoft has released an Insider Preview Build that includes the new Windows Sandbox feature. If you’re on the Fast track, you can download and start using it today.

Windows 10’s New Sandbox Feature is Everything We’ve Always Wanted

Whether it’s a program you found on the Internet or something that came in your email, running executable files has always been risky. Testing software in clean systems requires virtual machine (VM) software and a sepa...

Will Credit Monitoring Services Protect Me After a Data Breach?

After a major data breach, it’s hard to know whether your information has been compromised and how to protect yourself afterward. Businesses have cropped up that offer credit monitoring services—peace of mind for...

No, You Don’t Need to Disable Password Recovery Questions on Windows 10

Recently a group of researchers described a scenario wherein password recovery questions were used to break into Windows 10 PCs. This has led to some suggesting disabling the feature. But you don’t need to do this if yo...

Josh Hendrickson Dec 17th, 2018

What’s the Difference Between Accessibility and Full Disk Access App Permissions in Mojave?

MacOS recently started using an Android-like permissions system, where apps must ask to access certain resources like your location or contacts. Two of the most permissive options are “Accessibility,” which grants...

Anthony Heddings Dec 14th, 2018

No, You Don’t Need Antivirus on a Chromebook

Recently, Malwarebytes announced an antivirus for Chromebooks (through its Android app). But here’s the thing: that’s complete bullshit. You don’t need an antivirus on Chrome OS; I don’t care how they try to sell it....

Cameron Summerson Dec 14th, 2018

Why Do So Many Apps Ask For Your Location, and Which Ones Really Need It?

When it comes to smartphone privacy concerns, location data is usually at the top of the list. The thing is, so many apps ask for your location now that we never really stop to think why they ask in the first place....

How to Install and Update Flash on Your Mac

Adobe Flash is used for certain content on websites—usually video or web apps. While it’s slowly being phased out in favor of HTML5, occasionally a website still requires you to have the Flash player installed. ...

Anthony Heddings Dec 10th, 2018

How to Look up Your Accounts and Passwords on an iPhone or iPad

We all know that password security is important, and both iPhone and iPad can save your passwords for you. That means you can see them at a moment’s notice, which is super convenient. But how do you check up on the pass...

Oliver Haslam Dec 10th, 2018

The Best Sites for Sharing Videos (Publicly or Privately)

There used to be a time when sharing a video online was a tough job. These days, the problem has morphed into having too many options. Whether you want to share a video with the world, or only show it to your friends and fami...

How to Block Phone and FaceTime calls on iPhone and iPad

Whether it’s a telemarketer or someone you know who’s annoying you, sometimes the best thing to do is block them from calling or FaceTiming you. Here’s how to do that on your iPhone and iPad....

Oliver Haslam Dec 5th, 2018

HTTPS Is Almost Everywhere. So Why Isn’t the Internet Secure Now?

Most web traffic online is now sent over an HTTPS connection, making it “secure.” In fact, Google now warns that unencrypted HTTP sites are “Not Secure.” So why is there still so much malware, phishing...

Why You Shouldn’t Trust Free VPNs

Free VPNs are too good to be true. You can download a variety of free VPN apps from Google Play or Apple’s App Store, but you shouldn’t. These apps aren’t worthy of your trust.

How to Change Your Password on a Chromebook

It’s good practice to change your password routinely. This is especially true for Chromebooks since you use your Google account to log in. Fortunately, changing your password on a Chromebook is pretty easy to do....

Tom Westrick Nov 27th, 2018

How to Enable or Disable a Windows 10 User Account

Windows lets you have multiple local users accounts on the same device. This lets every user have their own file storage, personalized desktop, and custom settings.

Brady Gavin Nov 26th, 2018

How to Turn an Echo Button into a Home Lockdown Button

Echo Buttons are simple Bluetooth devices that connect to an Amazon Echo. Until now, they’ve been relegated to simple buzzer-like buttons for use in games. Recently Amazon added the ability to connect an Echo Button to...

Josh Hendrickson Nov 21st, 2018

How to Set an Expiration Date When Sharing Files on Google Drive

Sharing a file from Google Drive is a great way to let clients and contractors access documents without having them to download them. If you only want people to have temporary access to files, you can set an automatic expira...

Brady Gavin Nov 21st, 2018

What Wi-Fi Security Cameras Let You Record Locally?

Wi-Fi Cameras are easier to install and set up compared to Wired Cameras. But they often require subscriptions to get the most out of them, and that can include cloud storage. If you don’t want to pay for a subscription...

Josh Hendrickson Nov 19th, 2018

How Do I Open a Port on Windows Firewall?

Firewalls are there to protect you from threats on the internet (both traffic from the internet and from local applications trying to gain access when they shouldn’t). Sometimes, though, you’ll want to allow other...

Brady Gavin Nov 15th, 2018

What is a “Dark Web Scan” and Should You Use One?

Experian and many other companies are pushing “dark web scans.” They promise to search the dark web for your personal information to see if criminals are selling it. Don’t waste your money....

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