Modern PCs ship with a feature called “Secure Boot” enabled. This is a platform feature in UEFI, which replaces the traditional PC BIOS. If a PC manufacturer wants to place a “Windows 10” or “Windows 8” logo sticker to their PC, Microsoft requires they enable Secure Boot and follow some guidelines. Unfortunately, it also prevents you from installing some Linux distributions, which can be quite a hassle. How Secure Boot Secures Your PC’s Boot Process Secure Boot isn’t just designed to make running Linux more difficult....

Winamp visualizations were a big part of the early 2000s listening experience for many people. If you’d like to add them back into the mix to enjoy alongside streaming music services and more, we’re here to help. A Brief History of Winamp Visualizations If you’re a reader of a certain age, Winamp visualizations need no introduction, and you’re already here for that sweet, sweet nostalgia fix. But for those of you that opened this article out of general curiosity and not nostalgia, a brief review is in order....

There are few things more annoying than unwanted calls and texts. Even seemingly decent companies sometimes turn to scammy tactics; or perhaps you have a former friend who keeps trying to contact you against your wishes. RELATED: How to Block Robocalls and Telemarketers With iOS and macOs, it’s pretty all or nothing. You can’t block someone from contacting you through iMessage without also blocking them from calling, FaceTiming or texting you....

The NES Classic Edition is an official clone of the original Nintendo Entertainment System, and one of the best ways to play your favorite retro games. The SNES Classic is its successor. Unfortunately, it’s so popular that it’s nearly impossible to get your hands on either. Don’t pay $300 on eBay when you can use the modestly-priced Raspberry Pi to build your own—with even more games. What Are the NES and SNES Classic, and Why Is the Raspberry Pi Better?...

If you’d like to access your Windows 11 PC remotely, it’s easy to do thanks to Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), which comes with Pro and Enterprise versions of Microsoft’s OS. Although the default RDP port is 3389, there are times when you might want to change it. Here’s how. When Should I Change My RDP Port Number? The port “3389” is the universal default port for Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol, which means that malicious actors who might want to try to compromise your system through Remote Desktop will know exactly where to look, especially if you have your Remote Desktop host PC open to the Internet....

“Where the heck is my mouse pointer?” If you’ve asked yourself that question too many times, you can change the size and color of your mouse pointer to make it easier to find on the screen. You can use either PC Settings or the Control Panel to change the mouse pointer size and color, and we’ll show you both ways. The PC Settings method can be used in Windows 10 and 8, and the Control Panel method can be used in Windows 10, 8, and 7....

If your Mac desktop is cluttered with multiple open windows, then you need a good way to quickly close them all without clicking every red x button one by one. Let’s briefly review your different options. Unfortunately, there’s no shortcut that will close all open windows at once, but you can close all of a given app’s open windows at once, making quick work of your cluttered desktop. RELATED: How to “Quit” the Finder in OS X...

In any professional environment, properly documenting your code with comments is necessary for long-term readability. For .NET code, Microsoft provides a system for XML-based comments that provide enhanced IDE support. What Are XML Comments? Essentially, XML comments are a special kind of comment denoted with a triple slash (///) and XML tags to give the comment some structure. For example, a simple summary comment would look like the following:...

Twitter made recent changes to its web interface that removes usernames from replies, but this makes it a bit more difficult to exclude certain users from a reply. Here’s how it works now. RELATED: How to Mute Someone on Twitter Let’s say I want to reply to a tweet that a friend sent out, but in their tweet they mention another user. In my reply, I’d rather not mention that other user, which Twitter includes by default....

Windows 10 starts as a very annoying operating system. The Start menu is full of games like Candy Crush, advertisements are all over the place, and useless icons like People litter the taskbar. Here’s how to eliminate all those annoyances. Get Rid of Candy Crush, FarmVille, and Other Junk Apps Out of the box, your PC includes apps you probably don’t want. Every Windows 10 install starts with a Candy Crush game like Candy Crush Soda Saga....

Instead of disabling notifications for the Messages app, just enable the Hide Alerts feature for a particular group iMessage conversation. If your iPhone or iPad is running iOS 14, iPadOS 14, or higher, this feature will behave slightly differently. RELATED: How to Start a Group Chat in iMessage on iPhone and iPad You won’t get notifications for all messages, but you’ll still get notified when someone mentions you (tags you) in particular....

We’ve all done it: you misplace something important and you spend a lot of time (with a lot of stress) backtracking to locate it again. With Bluetooth tracking devices you can make the hunt a lot easier, less stressful, and even avoid losing the thing in the first place. Read on as we highlight the pros and cons of Bluetooth trackers. What Are Bluetooth Trackers and How Do They Work?...

If you aren’t a fan of scrolling your pointer over to the lower right corner of your monitor to show the desktop, we have a cool tweak that will allow you to add the Show Desktop icon to the Quick Launch bar or anywhere on your Taskbar. If you want to easily get access to the Desktop in Windows 7, 8, or 10, you’ve undoubtedly noticed they moved the Show Desktop to the lower right corner of the screen....

A new spam scourge has descended upon unsuspecting Apple Calendar users, and boy is it annoying. Today we’re going to explain how to safely remove it, so hopefully you’re not bothered by it again. Not content with trying to sell you whatever product or service you have no intention of buying through email, now spammers have figured out how to worm their way into your itinerary. But spam sent as Apple Calendar invites can’t be detected like traditional email spam, and blocking calendar invites from everyone but known users would be overkill and undermine this feature....

Want to see what this VR thing is about, but don’t want to plop down a bunch of cash? Google Cardboard is an insanely cheap way to try it out. And, despite being a Google product, it works on iOS as well as Android. Google is fair, y’all. RELATED: How to Set Up Google Cardboard on Android Setting Cardboard up on iOS is a lot like setting it up on Android, albeit with a few minor differences....

If you want to show somebody photos on your phone but don’t want them wantonly scrolling through the rest of your camera roll, there are a few clever tricks you can employ to ensure that they see what you want them to see…and nothing else. Smartphones have become our take-everywhere, do-everything, all-in-one pocket computers that we manage (and record!) our entire lives on. Unlike handing somebody the little photo book from your wallet that we used to carry around, handing somebody your smartphone gives them access to your personal photos and more....

Use Your Existing Controllers One of the key differences between mobile games and console titles lies in the control schemes. It’s hard to get the same responsive feel out of a smartphone using touch controls, which is why Apple added controller support to the iPhone and iPad. This means you can use your Xbox One, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4 DualShock 4, and PlayStation 5 DualSense controllers with your iPhone, simply by pairing them over Bluetooth....

Want to give someone a second chance and allow them to view your Facebook profile? It’s easy to unblock someone you have blocked in your Facebook account. We’ll show you how to do this on the Facebook site and the mobile app. When you unblock someone, they can see your Facebook profile, find you on Facebook search, send you a friend request, and even message you on Facebook Messenger....

Scarcely larger than a thumb drive, Google’s new cloud-to-HDTV wonder, the Chromecast, promises cheap and dead simple video streaming. Does Google deliver? Read on as we take the Chromecast for a high-def spin. What Is The Chromecast? The Chromecast is Google’s latest foray into bridging the gap between the cloud and the living room–followers of the company and the entire cloud-to-HDTV field will surely remember their poorly received Google TV project....

What Is an Inverter? An inverter is a device that can take a Direct Current (DC) power source and convert it into Alternating Current (AC). AC power is what comes out of your wall sockets, so any device designed to plug into the wall expects AC power to function. An inverter essentially does the opposite of what the power brick for your laptop or smartphone does. Electronic devices like PCs and consoles need DC electricity, so they convert AC power into that using a component known as a rectifier....