If Windows won’t boot, recovering your files can be a headache. You do not have to pull the hard drive or use a Linux live CD – you can use a Windows installer disc to quickly back up your files. We have included steps for both Windows 8 and Windows 7 here – the process is basically the same on each. You can use a Windows 7 disc to back up files from a Windows 8 system or vice versa....
Google, Dropbox, LastPass, Battle.net, Guild Wars 2 – all these services and more offer two-factor authentication apps that work on smartphones. If you don’t have a supported device, you can run an alternative application on your computer. When you log in, you’ll need to enter a time-based code from the app. Two-factor authentication prevents people who know your password – but don’t have the app and its security key – from logging in....
Wired Mice Offer a Stable Connection For gamers, having stability is key. This is especially true for those who play first-person shooters or any other game that requires constant mouse movement. Your mouse losing connection for just a second may be the difference between winning or losing a battle or match. A wired mouse will be more stable than a wireless one, as it’s connected directly to your computer. There’s no chance of interference from other devices, and you will never have to worry about your mouse losing connection unless it’s damaged....
The Limits of End-to-End Encryption You might be wondering why that matters if the data you send via the app is still end-to-end encrypted. Doesn’t that mean that your data is secure? Well, yes and no. WhatsApp does still utilize end-to-end encryption, but it collects more metadata on you than apps like Signal. WhatsApp’s encryption doesn’t protect you from that kind of data collection—and all that metadata now gets shared with WhatsApp’s parent company Facebook....
At TechCrunch they’ve complied some stats from around the web demonstrating the radical disparity between the currentness of Android and iPhone users operating systems. 90% of iPhone users have the current version of iOS (and a significant number of the remaining 10% likely have jailbroken phones and are waiting for a stable iOS 4 jailbreak). Conversely only 0.4% of Android users are on Android 2.3; even when generously adjusted to include the prior revision (2....
Note: At the time of this writing we were able to get XM free for seven days XM Satellite To setup XM Radio in Windows Media Center (WMC), from the main menu go to Extras then Extras Gallery. Next click on XM Radio. Now click on the free trial button which will open up your default browser so you can sign up for the service. You will need to enter in a user name and email address to sign up, then reply to the confirmation email they send you....
There are creatures big and small, friendly and dangerous, and combinations thereof, sprinkled all throughout the Minecraft world. Knowing what you’re up against goes a long way towards staying alive. We’ve studied the biomes and structures of Minecraft, now it’s time to turn our attention towards the mobs that populate the world. Although Minecraft can seem empty at times, it’s rare to be anywhere on a map where you can’t find creatures of some sort....
Previously, we published a list of useful tips and tricks for getting the most out of Windows 7 Explorer. Here are some additional tips to help improve your productivity when using Explorer. Easily Restart Windows Explorer in Windows 7 Generally, when you want to test an explorer shell plugin or a registry hack, you have to log off and log back in before it will work. It’s faster to kill the explorer....
In determining what to look for in an iPad stand, consider what you want to use it for and how you want to use it. Some offer adjustability with full 360-degree rotation, which is great for places like kitchen counters and work desks. Others offer universal device functionality, including phones and portable gaming consoles. Do you have many devices to charge? Some even have room for up to six ports, including HDMI and USB-C ports for charging....
Whether you’re sharing a computer with other family members or friends at home, or securing computers in a corporate environment, there may be many reasons why you need to protect the programs, data, and settings on the computers. This article presents multiple ways of locking down a Windows 7 computer, depending on the type of usage being employed by the users. You may need to use a combination of several of the following methods to protect your programs, data, and settings....
Change the Size Manually With Preview If creating Automator or Shortcuts workflows seems like too much hassle and all you want to do is resize a single image, Apple’s Preview app that comes with macOS can do what you’re looking for. Any image file that will open in Preview can be resized with Preview. If you haven’t changed the default file associations for your Mac, double-clicking on an image file should open it in Preview (alternatively you can right-click then choose Open With > Preview)....
Bokeh, that creamy out-of-focus area in photos, can be manipulated to achieve subtle and beautiful results. Today we’re going to show you how to turn some dirt cheap materials into a custom bokeh lens hood. What Is This “Bokeh” Thing and What Does It Look Like? Every photograph has what is known as a depth of field (or DOF). The depth of field, simply put, is the area of the photograph in focus....
The Software Package Data Exchange (SPDX) specification defines an open standard for communicating information about software components. SPDX is used to create Software Bill of Material lists (SBOMs), encapsulate licensing and copyright details, and provide package metadata such as version identifiers and known vulnerabilities. SPDX was originally designed over a decade ago as a way to help developers comply with open-source licenses. Since then it’s been extended with new capabilities for describing dependency trees and issuing SBOMs....
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 drive has a limited lifespan before it kicks the bucket. RELATED: What’s the Best Way to Back Up My Computer? This is why you should always have a good backup—one day, your hard drive will fail, and you may not be able to predict it....
WebAssembly (Wasm) is low-level machine code that runs in a stack-based virtual machine. This means that it’s much closer to your hardware than JavaScript. That needs to be parsed and fully interpreted before it can run. Creating Wasm is a bit more involved than writing JavaScript. Although you can hand-code it in Wasm Text Format, this is low level and equivalent to writing assembly code for native execution. More often, you’ll write in an established programming language and compile to Wasm....
Windows 10 and Windows 11 both have the option to use ‘Windows Spotlight’ wallpapers on the lock screen, which are refreshed each day. Now Windows 11 is bringing Spotlight to the desktop, too. Microsoft started rolling out a new update for Windows 11 earlier this week, which includes the ability to set the wallpaper as ‘Windows Spotlight.’ When the option is enabled (Settings > Personalization > Background > Personalize your background), your desktop wallpaper will update each day with new images selected by Microsoft....
The Ubuntu App Showdown resulted in the development of 133 new applications for Ubuntu. Soon, you’ll be able to install these apps from the Ubuntu Software Center and vote on your favorites – the voting decides which apps win. These are just some of the interesting applications that are being talked about among Ubuntu users. Feel free to browse the full list yourself; I’m sure there are some hidden gems....
The Threats Posed by USB Drives USB drives are convenient, trivially affordable, and ubiquitous. That convenience comes at the expense of security. USB drives are portable, concealable, and can be used to exfiltrate sensitive information from corporate computers and networks. For that reason, many organizations ban USB drives from the workplace and use software tools to disable USB access. Such measures are not the norm. Typically, they are deployed only in larger organizations....
DoorDash is partnering with Alphabet’s Wing division in Logan, Australia to deliver convenience and grocery items via a drone travelling at 110km/h, which will have even more pressure than usual to stick the landing. The program is open to a small number of customers, and they can expect the items to arrive in about 15 minutes, Wing claims. So the ice cream won’t be melted yet. It won’t be much different from a regular DoorDash delivery at first....
If you use the Desktop context menu often, wouldn’t it be useful if you could add program shortcuts to it so you can quickly access your favorite apps? We’ve shown you how to do this using a quick registry tweak, but there’s an easier way. DeskIntegrator is a free, portable program that allows you to quickly and easily add applications to the Desktop context menu. It does not need to be installed....
