Quick Links Summary You are a trackable, hackable wireless beacon, thanks to the gadgets you carry. Your phone, Bluetooth earbuds, smartwatch, key fobs, and other Bluetooth, NFC, and Wi-Fi devices can all uniquely identify you and potentially be accessed. So, is this a realistic threat, and what can you do about it? What Risks Do Your Wireless Devices Actually Pose? Currently, the risk is low and most meaningful hacks require expertise, planning, and proximity, but the wireless future does present new, realistic threats....

Summary For almost a year, I was jumping from one Linux distro to the next without ever settling on one for more than a week. Here’s how I stopped and found the right distro for me. Why I Started Distro Hopping Before I even knew what Linux was, I’d always wanted something different out of my desktop operating system. I loved how Windows worked until Windows 8 and I liked the look and feel of macOS when I tested it too....

Quick Links Summary On Windows, open your PowerPoint presentation and click File > Export > Create a Video, configure the options, and click “Create Video.” In Mac, select File > Export, set the video options, and choose “Export.” Then, insert a blank DVD in your computer. On Windows, click the disc prompt, choose “Burn Files to Disc,” select the “With a CD/DVD Player” option, click “Next,” and drag and drop your video file....

If you’re on a Linux machine and want to capture your screen, there aren’t as many options as Windows or Mac users have. What we do have, though, is one of the most powerful and also free screen capture programs out there. In this article, I show you how to get started with OBS Studio on Linux. Why Use OBS? There are some good reasons to useOBS Studioover other screen capture software....

Quick Links Clearing app cache and data can help keep your Android running smoothly, but digging through settings isn’t always fun. That’s where ADB (Android Debug Bridge) comes in—a faster, easier way to handle things from your computer. What Is ADB and Why Use It? ADB, or Android Debug Bridge, is a versatile tool that lets you communicate with and control Android devices from your computer. It’s a command-line utility that’s part of the Android SDK (Software Development Kit) and is widely used for tasks like troubleshooting, debugging, and even managing apps....

Quick Links Summary To connect your iPhone to Ethernet, you’ll need an adapter with a Lightning connector and an Ethernet cable. Plug the Lightning connector into your iPhone and connect a network cable to the adapter. The Ethernet connection will be prioritized over wireless connections. Very few circumstances would require you to connect your iPhone to Ethernet. However, connecting to Ethernet might be best if Wi-Fi isn’t available or if it’s unstable....

Summary Is your mouse still off to the side of your keyboard like it’s always been? Well, a few years ago, I changed that and decided to park it between my keyboard halves—it changed everything. I know that sounds like a sales pitch, but it’s not. Putting my mouse between my keyboard halves really changed everything for me as a work-from-home journalist that would often sit at a computer for 9 or more hours per day....

In the wake of new pet tech CES announcements, I can’t help but to be worried about pet safety. Smart pet tech seems great, in theory. All smart home tech is meant to alleviate some of the tedium of everyday life, and pet tech generally promises that so you’re able to have more time with them. For example, automatic pet feeders and pet cams are commonplace now, and companies are looking to expand into even more complex, helpful gadgets....

Some text editors and word processors have stood the test of time, thanks to unique features, nostalgia from the original users, or some combination of both. I wanted to try revisiting some of those editors, and for my first experiment, I tried doing my job in the EDIT program from early–90s MS-DOS. MS-DOS was the early operating system for IBM PC-compatible systems, before Windows fully took over the PC landscape.MS-DOS Editorwas included the 1991 release of MS-DOS 5....

Quick Links Sending and receiving text messages is one of the quickest ways to transfer information, but what if your iPhone stops receiving them? Here are some things you can try if you suspect your iPhone is not part of the conversation. Turn On iMessage If you’re not receiving messages from iPhone, iPad, and Mac users, the iMessage toggle might be disabled in the Settings app.iMessage is Apple’s proprietary message service, denoted by blue bubbles in a message window....

iStat Menus, a comprehensive system monitoring app for the Mac, has been overhauled and received new features. However, there are a few bugs and issues that haven’t been worked out yet. Bumped to version 7.0, iStat Menus brings an overhauled interface with more theme options, various new icon graphs, a bunch of new menu bar options, and much more. iStat Menus lives in themacOS menu bar, and version 7 lets you display the number of GPU frames per second, the name of the current Wi-Fi network, and stacked labels....

Summary A new monitor purchase isn’t something that happens often. It’s likely you’re going through multiple PCs for each monitor rather than the other way around. So, if you’ve just bought your first new monitor in a few years, it’s easy to forget the things you should do out of the box. Before you just sit down with your monitor and start using it, consider doing some of these basic post-purchase setup steps....

Quick Links Summary Liquid metal is much better at transferring heat than thermal paste. However, it’s a liquid, and application problems can cause a spill and kill whatever component you’re applying it on. You should only use liquid metal if you’re an expert or have expert help. Using liquid metal in place of thermal paste has been touted as an upgrade by many. And yes, there are plenty of advantages. But should you actually use it?...