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Alfred is a fantastic Spotlight Search replacement for macOS, but it also comes with a secondary feature that can turn your iPhone or iPad into a shortcut keyboard of sorts. That feature is named Alfred Remote. Granted, you could use a program like Keyboard Maestro to set up shortcuts and assign them to certain keys on your keyboard. But if you’re already using Alfred anyway, then there’s no point in using an extra utility program when Alfred can pretty much do the same thing, albeit with your iPhone or iPad....

You can fix your various sound issues and possibly get general audio enhancements by updating your audio drivers. You can do this using Device Manager, Windows Update, and your audio card maker’s website. We’ll show you how to do this on your Windows 10 or 11 PC. RELATED: When Do You Need to Update Your Drivers? Use Device Manager to Update Sound Drivers The easiest way to update your audio drivers is to use Windows’ built-in Device Manager tool....

Sets is one of the biggest changes to the Windows desktop interface in years. Almost every application now has tabs in its title bar. You can have tabs from different applications—like File Explorer, Microsoft Word, and Edge—in the same window. This feature is available now in the Redstone 5 Insider Preview builds. Redstone 5 will be released sometime in Fall 2018 with a different final name. Microsoft says Sets will only be released when it’s ready, so it may or may not arrive this year....

The free Command The free command prints a quick summary of memory usage in a terminal window. it doesn’t have many options or tricks up its sleeves, and it doesn’t take much time or effort to learn how to use it. To learn to correctly interpret the information it provides, however, is another story. It is too easy to become confused by what free is telling you. Partly this is due to terminology—like the difference between “free” and “available”—and partly it is due to the inner workings of the memory and file system management routines of the Linux kernel....

If you’re afraid that your smartphone is spying on you…well, you’re right. But that’s kind of a non-optional part of modern living: amassing huge amounts of consumer data is how companies like Google operate. But recently some third-party apps have been found taking a few more liberties than they should, like a HAL 9000 in your pocket. The New York Times reported in late December that hundreds of Android apps have been found snooping on their users with the built-in microphones on smartphones....

The fourth-generation Apple TV was a big step up from previous generations, but now that 4K is becoming more popular, Apple is joining the party with its new Apple TV 4K. However, should you upgrade your current fourth-gen Apple TV to the new one? What’s New with the Apple TV 4K? As you probably guessed, the biggest new feature in the latest model is 4K. Whereas earlier Apple TV models maxed out at 1080p, the Apple TV 4K has the capability to play…well…4K content....

You will want to comment out the bind-address line by making it look like this: Next, you will need to restart the database server:

If you’re considering making the switch from a traditional PC (or Mac) to a Chromebook, you may be concerned about the transition. Not to worry—moving to a Chromebook is simple, and these tips will help ease the move. First Things First: Is a Chromebook Right for You? If you’re only considering making the jump over to a Chromebook, you may be curious whether a Chromebook is even feasible for you....

Some of the coolest new features in the upcoming macOS 10.13 High Sierra are in Safari, and you can try them out now without upgrading your entire operating system. During WWDC 2017, Apple bragged about faster Safari performance, showed off a new block feature for any and all autoplaying videos, and talked about blocking ads from tracking your movements. You can try these features out with Safari Technology Preview. This free download is primarily intended for web developers, who can use the tool to confirm their sites will work on upcoming versions of Safari for macOS and iOS....

More Than One System Cross-platform is a term used to refer to a piece of software that is compatible with more than one system. For example, the popular media player VLC is compatible with the three major desktop operating systems: Microsoft, Mac OS, and Linux. Cross-platform support can also extend to mobile devices, with many apps available on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Depending on how a particular software is coded, it may require the developer to re-code and repackage the software entirely....

Windows 10 includes SmartScreen, a feature that helps protect your PC from downloaded malware and malicious websites. The “SmartScreen” process—with the filename “smartscreen.exe”—that you see in Task Manager is responsible for this feature. RELATED: What Is This Process and Why Is It Running on My PC? This article is part of our ongoing series explaining various processes found in Task Manager, like Runtime Broker, svchost.exe, dwm.exe, ctfmon.exe, rundll32.exe, Adobe_Updater.exe, and many others....

Why Email Spoofing Happens Email spoofing is a form of impersonation, and usually, it forms part of a different type of scam or attack. Spoofing plays a major role in email-based phishing or so-called 419 scams. An email arrives in your mailbox purporting to be from your bank, an online payment processor, or in the case of spear phishing, someone you know personally. The email often contains a link you’re asked to click, which takes you to a fake version of a real site where your username and password are harvested....

Windows 10’s October 2018 Update includes a new “Block Suspicious Behaviors” security feature. This protection is off by default, but you can enable it to protect your PC from a variety of threats. What Does “Block Suspicious Behaviors” Do? This feature has a pretty vague name. However, Microsoft’s documentation clarifies that “Block Suspicious Behaviors” is just a friendly name for the “Windows Defender Exploit Guard attack surface reduction technology.” This security feature was introduced in the Fall Creators Update, but was only available in Windows 10 Enterprise....

Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update, codenamed Redstone 3, is available to download now. Here are all the new features you’ll see in the latest version of Windows—and some big, splashy features Microsoft announced that never arrived. RELATED: How to Get Windows 10’s April 2018 Update Now The update will be rolling out gradually over the next few weeks, but you can skip the wait and upgrade now using these instructions....

Multiple people I know are convinced that Facebook is listening to their phone calls and in-person conversations. Call it the Microphone Myth. But why do these myths continue to persist despite there being no hard evidence? People are paranoid about Facebook, but they don’t know where to put that paranoia. Conspiracy theories are the inevitable result. Believers of the Microphone Myth point to mostly coincidental ads they’ve seen as evidence....

You probably didn’t notice, but macOS High Sierra keeps an ongoing list of recurring locations. The feature is called Significant Locations, and according to Apple is used by Maps, Calendar, and Photos to “provide useful location-related information.” RELATED: What’s New in macOS 10.13 High Sierra, Available Now This location information is locally encrypted, and not shared with Apple, but you might want to review, delete, and even disable the feature....

It’s never been a better time to be a music fan. Streaming services like Spotify serve up the latest hits, but you can dive deep and listen to true indie music. Here are some of the best places to get free, legal music. SoundClick With 5,000,000 songs from 600,000 artists, SoundClick has a lot of properly independent music. Some of their stuff are badly-produced homemade demos, but there are some gems in there as well....

It’s iconic, but Microsoft wishes it wasn’t. In the 90s it was as core to the Windows experience as Paint and Solitaire, but these days it’s not seen very often. I’m talking, of course, about the Blue Screen of Death. Younger PC users have no idea how common this panic-inducing screen once was, or what it meant. Whatever you were working on was gone, and your computer needed to restart, something that took ten minutes at the time....

It’s worth noting that a lot of people in the US have Prime. In fact, 76.6 million households are expected to have Prime by 2022. That means you’ll have a lot of completion for these consoles. RELATED: Looking for a PS5? Sony Might Sell You One

That’s the theory, anyway. At the moment the system isn’t displaying on all PC hardware components, and it’s somewhat iffy even on parts from major brands. For example, after entering my ThinkPad T450s on the Part Finder for a Samsung 850 SSD, the tool says “We’re not sure this item fits your computer.” Which is odd, because that’s a pretty standard 2.5-inch form factor going into a full-sized laptop…and I’ve made and documented that exact upgrade here on How-To Geek....