How-To Geek

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Netflix over claims it not only spies on you by collecting data without your permission but has also designed its service to keep you hooked — and your kids.

Many Android phones now promise five, six, or even seven years of major software updates, which is great. If you're spending $1,000 on a phone, it's fair to expect it to last more than half a decade—especially now that performance and camera quality have largely plateaued.

Buying a new Wi-Fi router is equal parts exciting and frustrating. On the one hand, you're upgrading your network with better speeds, improved Wi-Fi stability, and more range. However, before you can access these improvements, you'll be stuck reconnecting every device in your home. But what if I told you that you could skip most of that hassle by simply reusing the same network name and password as I do?

Who’s up for some chills, thrills, and—more than likely—popcorn spills? There’s a unique thrill to be had when settling in for a chilling movie, and I’m not just talking about jump scares. A good chilling movie taps into something deeper to play on our fears, anxieties, and the unknown. They draw us into worlds where the tension continues to build and the unease never fully fades, and that's why we love them.

Toyota’s redesigned 2026 RAV4 Hybrid is already shaping up to be one of the hottest SUVs of the year. Between the new styling, upgraded tech, and Toyota’s hybrid reputation, it’s easy to see why buyers are piling in early.

The streaming services are loading up on their libraries with movies. Last week, the biggest additions were Send Help, a twisty thriller starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien, on Hulu and Remarkably Bright Creatures, a charming drama with Sally Field and Lewis Pullman, on Netflix.

Many modern routers give you the option to create more than one Wi-Fi network, such as a main network and a guest network. The most obvious reason to do so is for security, but that's not the only reason why I run two Wi-Fi networks in my home.

Microsoft is concerned enough about the MacBook Neo that it has commissioned a white paper to put Windows 11 PCs in a better light. While the study does raise some valid points, there are also concerns about its methods — and what it says about Microsoft's fears about Apple.

At some point, every productivity system runs into the same wall—it only works if you remember to check it. Notion doesn’t yell at you, Asana doesn’t follow you around, and your calendar reminders are easy to dismiss.

Vehicle dashboards have changed, moving from basic analog gauges to digital hubs that work much like your smartphone. Android Auto is at the center of this shift, as it's meant to connect your digital life to your driving experience. As the interface gets more features, it gets harder to tell the difference between useful help and dangerous distractions.

I'm a huge GPU enthusiast, so I may be slightly biased, but I dare say that this is a factual statement regardless of my own bias: You don't need to be a gamer in order to have some uses for a GPU. And I don't just mean all the high-end AI shenanigans that have made the RTX 5090 cost $5,800 just a couple of months ago.

There's a lot of thought that goes into owning a NAS. Which NAS do you choose? How much storage do you buy? But, there are also quite a few hidden costs to owning a NAS that you might never have considered.

It is very commonplace to hate the ways Microsoft has forced Copilot on its users. Seeing it in Notepad was bad enough, but now that I have to deal with it on my keyboard, I feel fed up. It's as if the company would rename itself to Copilot if it had the chance. If you are like me and have hated the Copilot key the moment you pressed it by accident, then you'll be happy to know it is replaceable.

Claude has a hidden project management mode most people don’t even know about—I didn’t, either. Once you enable it, it can track your tasks and surface them in a clean, visual dashboard. Here’s how to set it up and start using it.

It’s not just the serial scrollers whose batteries drain daily. With so much of what we do taking place on our phones – communication, music, trail maps, social media, shopping – it’s nearly impossible to reach dinnertime with any battery left. Plus, most of these tasks are juggled on the go, from the city to the great outdoors. So, the need for portable power is no longer a nice-to-have, but an essential part of “everyday carry.”

Apple has been promising an upgrade to Siri for so long that it feels like it will never come. The feature was announced in 2024, and we're still waiting for a smarter Apple voice assistant. I replaced Siri with Home Assistant's own voice assistant, and it's far more useful.

If you work in PowerShell regularly, you've probably retyped commands you forgot, manually checked log files, or logged into servers one by one. That ends up being annoying in the long run, and it's frustrating knowing you have to do it repeatedly. Some cmdlets can fix those problems for you, and end up being very useful for everyday users.

A NAS feels like a solved problem once it’s up and running—files go in, files come out, and everything looks fine. This is exactly why these mistakes go unnoticed for so long. Some of the most common NAS setups out there have quiet, slow-burning problems baked in. To help improve your setup, here are five of the most common NAS mistakes—and how to fix them.

Notion is one of the coolest-looking apps, because it feels like a Wiki you can easily put together. Unfortunately, that idea is exactly why it doesn't work as well as it should. I have found myself wasting too much time on irrelevant information just to make notes work. Now, I can see why the term "Jack of all trades, master of none," exists. Don't ditch your subscriptions just yet, first see if you can handle this overbloated app.

If you’re an Android power user, there’s a good chance you’ll eventually want to do something that Files by Google or Samsung My Files just doesn’t do. Thankfully, one of the best alternatives you can find just happens to be open source and free.