If you’re using a desktop PC, you might have heard odd noises coming from your speakers or headphones at times. It may sound like a buzzing or whining when doing basic tasks, sometimes escalating with more intense use like games or streaming movies. To solve the problem, you’ll need to figure out what’s causing it. Where Speaker Noise Can Come From There are dozens, maybe hundreds of explanations for unwanted sounds coming from your speakers....

What is Cloudflare? Cloudflare is a content delivery network or CDN – a system of many fast servers running from different places across the globe. Since being geographically closer to a server often leads to faster loading speeds, CDNs ensure that anyone loading a website from anywhere happens at a reasonable speed. Cloudflare is just one of many CDNs used by companies and websites worldwide; however, its widespread presence on many websites has made it one of the most well-known among regular internet users....

Smart Thermostats Automate Savings We can’t talk about whether or not a smart thermostat will save you money or give you a better user experience without talking about the single biggest element: human behavior. The original thermostats were completely manual, and you had to, as the name implies, manually adjust them. Many homes still have a manual thermostat. With a manual thermostat, if you want to save money by turning the thermostat down in the winter at night or while you’re at work, you’d have to do so consistently every time you go to bed or leave the house....

Docker is the best known containerization platform but it doesn’t exist in isolation. An entire ecosystem of complementary tools and spin-off projects has sprung up around the shift to containers. Here’s a round-up of 10 open-source analyzers, indexers, and orchestrators that make Docker even more convenient and useful. Whether you’re still early in your Docker journey, or you’re a seasoned practitioner using the tech in production, you might find something here that’s worth including alongside your next project....

You may have heard a lot of news recently about internet service providers (ISPs) tracking your browsing history and selling all your data. What does this mean, and how can you best protect yourself? What Happened RELATED: What Is Net Neutrality? Traditionally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been in charge of regulating ISPs. In early 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to reclassify broadband Internet access as a “common carrier” service, as part of a push for net neutrality....

CrossOver is one of the best ways to run Windows software on Mac and Linux, as it’s based on the popular Wine project. CodeWeavers has now released CrossOver 22, with significant changes to the interface and software compatibility. CrossOver is a compatibility layer for Windows applications and games, which can provide a more native experience than running a virtual machine — and you don’t need a copy of Windows. The latest update has a redesigned settings panel on all platforms with a more modern look....

A hanging indent is used to position the first line of each paragraph against the margin, with each further line indented. If you want to add hanging indents to a Microsoft Word document, here’s what you’ll need to do. You’ll see hanging indents applied when you add bibliographies in Microsoft Word to satisfy the style guide requirements of certain types of academic documents. You can use hanging indents for any reason, however, as they allow you to emphasise the start of each new paragraph for clarity....

Adding wireless headphones to your TV is a great way to watch without disturbing everyone else in the house. Here’s how to outfit your TV with wireless Bluetooth headphones. Why Would I Want to Do This? You’ll need to hook up a Bluetooth transmitter to your HDTV, since most don’t have it built in. The transmitter you select depends on what audio outputs your HTDV supports and whether you need to hook up one or two headphones....

You may want to turn your Wi-Fi off to save battery power on an airplane or somewhere else where there’s no Wi-Fi available. With Windows 10’s Creators Update, you can now have your PC automatically re-enable your Wi-Fi so you don’t have to remember to do so later. From the Taskbar This option is only available in Windows 10’s Settings application and the taskbar’s network menu. You won’t see this option when disabling your Wi-Fi interface via the old Network Connections interface in the Control Panel....

Use a VPN to Anonymize Your Connection Most surveillance, be it by marketers or governments, tracks you in several ways. One of the main ways they do so is by using your IP address—the set of numbers that is your internet connection’s “home”—to determine who you are and where you’re from. From this follows that if you were to use another IP address, you’re harder to track. Enter virtual private networks....

Using the correct spacing between the lines of your document (sometimes called “enter spacing”) is not only important but could be required. You have various line spacing options in Google Docs in addition to a custom setting to create your own. You may need to double-space a college paper or want to single-space a business letter. With several settings for the line spacing, you can pick the exact one you need....

Sometimes it’s the big changes in a new OS that really grind your gears. Other times, it’s something as simple as finding the background color to be an eyesore. Let’s take a look at how you can easily change the background/accent color in Windows 8. First, we commend you on doing some old fashioned search engine leg work to get to the bottom of your problem. Second, rest easy knowing that even though you’re failing to find the setting you’re looking for, it’s not because it’s right in front of your face....

Compared to the complexity of purchasing a new graphics card or swapping out your motherboard purchasing a USB hub is definitely a simple purchase; but that doesn’t mean you should just grab the first one off the shelf at your local electronics store. There is an enormous discrepancy between build quality, features, and even safety between the different models. Read on as we show you what you need to get the best results and find the hub that fits your needs....

If you’ve been using VirtualBox to run virtual machines and you want to switch to Parallels Desktop for Mac, you can convert your VirtualBox virtual machines to Parallels—whether you’re using VirtualBox in Windows, Linux, or macOS. VirtualBox provides a free, bare-bones way of using virtual machines on your Mac. However, Parallels is easier to use and more integrated with macOS than VirtualBox. It’s easier to transfer files between your VMs and the host macOS system, and Parallels even lets you run Windows programs directly from the macOS dock, if you choose to....

On a Mac, you can use just the built-in tools to convert specific or all pages of a PDF file to JPG. We’ll show you how to perform this conversion using the built-in Preview and Automator apps on the Mac. Convert a Single PDF Page to JPG To convert a single select page from your PDF to JPG, use Mac’s built-in Preview app. RELATED: Use Your Mac’s Preview App to Crop, Resize, Rotate, and Edit Images...

Google Photos is a huge improvement over Android’s old “Gallery” app, but it does a lot more than just keep your stuff organized and synced. You can easily manipulate your photos into some very cool, shareable collages, animations, and even movies. If you have a modern Android phone, then you likely have Google’s Photos app installed. If not, you can get it from the Play Store—and you’ll probably want to....

The built in voice commands in Alexa and Google Home can do some cool things, but Tasker gives you almost complete control over your phone. So, using AutoVoice, you could set your phone to battery saving mode, read your notifications aloud, turn your PS4 on and off, and more. Tasker may not always be the most user-friendly app in the world, but you can build some pretty awesome profiles with it....

Windows 10’s Game DVR feature can slow your gaming performance by recording video in the background. If you don’t care about recording your gameplay, disable Game DVR for performance reasons. This also disables the “Game Bar”, which often pops up when you start playing games. It’s only helpful if you want to take screenshots or record gameplay. What Are Game DVR and the Game Bar? RELATED: How to Record PC Gameplay With Windows 10’s Game DVR and Game Bar...

Microsoft is now more aggressively pushing taskbar and action center ads—some for Microsoft Edge, some for other Microsoft products. These are just one of the many types of advertising in Windows 10. Here’s how to make it stop nagging you. RELATED: How to Disable All of Windows 10’s Built-in Advertising Windows 10’s taskbar pop-ups are implemented differently from those Get Office notifications. They’re not generated by the app they’re advertising for, like Edge....

Numbered lists are perfect for items, instructions, or tasks. When you start a new numbered list in Google Docs, it often continues from the previous one. Other times, it’s the opposite. Here’s how to edit numbered lists in Google Docs. Restart a Numbered List in Google Docs While Google Docs is helpful by recognizing our lists and continuing the numbering, this isn’t always what we want. If you want separate lists instead of a continuous one, you can simply restart the numbering....