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Even if you know you need to secure your Wi-Fi network (and have already done so), you probably find all the security protocol acronyms a little bit puzzling. Read on as we highlight the differences between protocols like WEP, WPA, and WPA2—and why it matters which acronym you slap on your home Wi-Fi network. What Does It Matter? You did what you were told to do, you logged into your router after you purchased it and plugged it in for the first time, and set a password....

So, what exactly is VRR, how does it work, and will you need a new TV to use it? Why VRR Is Awesome The refresh rate is the number of times a display can update per second. Most TVs and mobile devices refresh at 60 Hz, which means 60 individual frames can be viewed in one second. The latest TVs hit 120 Hz, while specialized gaming monitors can reach a whopping 360 Hz....

After a June 2020 reveal, iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 are finally available for public download today, September 16, 2020. As usual, Apple’s latest iPhone and iPad OS updates are available free of charge, and they can be downloaded and installed wirelessly over the air. Here’s how to get it. iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 Availability and Features Apple released iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 for public download on compatible iPhone and iPad devices today, September 16, 2020, beginning at 10 a....

Wyze has announced two new Wi-Fi mesh systems, the first routers sold by Wyze. Both are mesh systems, so they can expand network coverage by placing additional stations around your home. Wyze will sell them in packs of one or two units, and the company says you can have up to ten nodes on a single network — mixing and matching the two systems won’t work, though. First is the Wyze Mesh Router, which will cost $93....

Keyboard shortcuts are essential for being productive on any device with a keyboard, whether it’s a Windows PC or a Mac. Use these keyboard shortcuts to get around your Mac more quickly. Many Mac keyboard shortcuts work just like the Windows ones but use the Command and Option keys. Other keyboard shortcuts are entirely different. Launching and Quitting Applications RELATED: How the Command and Option Keys Work on a Mac...

Mechanical keyboards are all the rage among gamers and writers. Most people who try them love the increased response and tactility of mechanical switches… and some people really, really like them. Communities like Reddit’s /r/MechanicalKeyboards board and the GeekHack forum are great places to really dig into the myriad options and technologies available to enthusiasts—but they’re not very easy to understand for beginners. RELATED: If You Haven’t Tried a Mechanical Keyboard Yet, You’re Missing Out...

So, is the iPad finally ready for the big time in 2020? Well, it depends. iPad Pro, iPad Air, or iPad? Despite many similarities, the iPad Pro, iPad Air, and standard iPad are quite different tablets. If you want to replace a full-fledged computer with a tablet, the iPad Pro comes much closer in terms of features and hardware capability. Starting at $799, the iPad Pro is also a lot more expensive than a regular iPad, which starts at $329....

How Secure Is Your Linux Computer? Lynis performs a suite of automated tests that thoroughly inspect many system components and settings of your Linux operating system. It presents its findings in a color-coded ASCII report as a list of graded warnings, suggestions, and actions that should be taken. Cybersecurity is a balancing act. Outright paranoia isn’t useful to anyone, so how concerned should you be? If you only visit reputable web sites, don’t open attachments or follow links in unsolicited emails, and use different, robust, passwords for all the systems you log in to, what danger remains?...

Today’s technology makes email tracking very easy. Surprisingly detailed information gets sent back to that business or person to further their marketing efforts thanks to something called “tracking pixels.” We’ll show you how to block them in Apple Mail. What Are Tracking Pixels? Tracking pixels do what it says on the tin — they’re pixels embedded in the body of an email that track your activity. They might be part of an image, but sometimes they’re part of a link or invisible to the naked eye....

CuriosityStream is a streaming service with content that focuses on scientific topics. For some, this may not be worth the high subscription fee, and canceling the service may seem a little intimidating. Here’s how to cancel your CuriosityStream membership. After opening the CuriosityStream website in your browser of choice and logging in to your account, select your profile in the top right-hand corner. Once the drop-down menu populates, click the “My Account” option....

If you don’t like the Wi-Fi network name and password your router came with, you can change them to anything you want in just a few clicks. Your Wi-Fi router comes with a default network name and password. Often, both are printed on the case of the router itself. Changing your default network name gives you a chance to use something more personalized than “NETGEAR30” or “Linksys.” You could also use a password that’s easier to remember....

An iPhone’s IMEI number is a 15-17 digit identifier that distinguishes it from all other iPhones, and it can sometimes be helpful to find out what it is. Here’s why—and how to do it. What Is an IMEI Number? Cellular carriers use International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers to verify that a mobile phone is not stolen or being used on an unauthorized account. Knowing your iPhone’s IMEI number can be helpful in a number of situations....

Some people are especially sensitive to vibrations from their iPhone, whether for personal or medical reasons. Thanks to a special accessibility feature, you can completely disable all vibrations on your iPhone, including those caused by emergency alerts. Here’s how. First, a Disclaimer Normally, you can disable most vibrations on your iPhone in the “Settings” app under the “Sound & Haptics” section. There you can decide whether you want your iPhone to “Vibrate On Ring” or “Vibrate On Silent....

RELATED: How to Copy and Paste Text into the Linux Terminal Copy Files and Directories in Linux cp and rsync are two of the most popular commands that you can use to quickly copy files and directories in Linux. We’ll introduce you to both of them. Using the cp Command cp stands for copy and is, you guessed it, used to copy files and directories in Linux. You can use cp to copy files to a directory, copy one directory to another, and copy multiple files to a single directory....

You can delete your WhatsApp account from the iPhone or Android app within seconds. But before you do that, you should know that this action is irreversible. If you’re simply moving to a new phone, you don’t need to delete your account. RELATED: How to Seamlessly Transfer Your WhatsApp Messages to Your New Phone Once your WhatsApp account is deleted, you will lose access to all your messages and media....

The Shortcuts app is the hub of automation on your iPhone, but it also sends a lot of notifications. Disabling notifications for Shortcuts isn’t straightforward, and we’re going to show you how to get that done. Like us, if you have several automations set up on iPhone, your Notification Center may be full of alerts telling you that an automation is running. In case you tend to forget that you’ve set up automations, these alerts act as useful reminders....

Microsoft Edge now has vertical tabs, which can be a great tool on modern widescreen displays. Here’s how to get a vertical tab sidebar in the Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge. As of October 27, 2020, this feature was not yet available in the stable version of Microsoft Edge. It was available in the unstable Dev and Canary versions of Microsoft Edge. Vertical tabs will likely make it to the stable version of Edge later in 2020 or in early 2021, perhaps when Edge 88 launches to the stable channel around January 19, 2021....

gocryptfs Offers Protection From Data Breaches Privacy is big news. Hardly a week goes by without the announcement of a breach at one organization or another. Companies either report recent incidents or disclose breaches that happened some time ago. In both cases, it’s bad news for those whose data has been exposed. Because millions of people use services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive, a seemingly never-ending stream of data is pushed to the cloud every day....

RELATED: How to Print to PDF on Any Computer, Smartphone, or Tablet On the “Your Orders” page, find the order for which you need a receipt. Then, in that order’s top-right corner, click “View Invoice.” You’ll see a web page with the details of your order. To print or save this receipt, then at the top of the receipt, click the “Print This Page for Your Records” link. On the following page, at the top, tap “Your Orders....

Your Excel formulas can occasionally produce errors that don’t need fixing. However, these errors can look untidy and, more importantly, stop other formulas or Excel features from working correctly. Fortunately, there are ways to hide these error values. Hide Errors with the IFERROR Function The easiest way to hide error values on your spreadsheet is with the IFERROR function. Using the IFERROR function, you can replace the error that’s shown with another value, or even an alternative formula....