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9 Simple Computer Hacks That Are Legitimately Useful

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By Marco Horn / Paul Petrone / Sanchit Jain / Pratik Shah / Kunal Bodke / Max Galka / Mahek Pavagadhi / Ishan Khedkarr

9 Simple Computer Hacks That Are Legitimately Useful

The Internet is full of “life hacks” that allegedly make this world easier to navigate. Unfortunately, most of them aren’t terribly useful, or only come up in very specific situations.
We decided to transcend that and find the computer hacks out there that are helpful, or at least particularly interesting. And while it’s unlikely all of the following hacks pertain to you, there’s a good chance several will, and that should make your life (slightly) easier.

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Reboot vs. Reset: What’s the Difference?

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By Marco Horn /  Tim Fisher

How reboot and reset differ and why it matters

What does it mean to reboot? Is rebooting the same as restarting? What about resetting a computer, router, phone, etc.? It might seem silly to distinguish them from each other but among these three terms are actually two entirely separate meanings!
The reason it’s important to know the difference between restart and reset is because they do two very different things, despite sounding like the same word. One is much more destructive and permanent than the other, and there are plenty of scenarios where you need to know which action to perform in order to complete a certain task.
All of this might sound cryptic and confusing, especially when you throw in variations like soft reset and hard reset, but keep reading to learn what’s really meant by these terms so that you’ll know exactly what’s being asked of you when one of these terms shows up in a troubleshooting guide or someone in Tech Support asks you to do one or the other.

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10 Bad Online Habits that Can Lead to Computer Viruses

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By Marco Horn /  Mary Landesman

10 Bad Online Habits that Can Lead to Computer Viruses

Keeping safe online takes more than just installing a few security programs. To protect both you and your computer, here are the top 10 bad habits you need to avoid.

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How to Wipe a Hard Drive

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By Marco Horn /  Tim Fisher

How to Wipe a Hard Drive

To wipe a hard drive means to completely erase the drive of all its information. Deleting everything does not wipe a hard drive and formatting does not usually wipe a hard drive. You’ll need to take an extra step to wipe the hard drive so the data cannot be easily reconstructed later.

When you format a hard drive or delete a partition, you’re usually only deleting the file system, making the data invisible, or no longer actively indexed, but not gone. A file recovery program or special hardware often recovers the information.

If you want to make sure that your private information is gone forever, you’ll need to wipe the hard drive using special software

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hard-drive

Wipe vs Shred vs Delete vs Erase: What’s the Difference?

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By Marco Horn /  Tim Fisher

Wipe vs Shred vs Delete vs Erase: What’s the Difference?

You can delete a file without erasing it, erase a drive without wiping it, shred a file without deleting it, and wipe hundreds of files at once…that were already deleted.Confused?
I’m not surprised! These four terms—wipe, shred, delete, and erase—might sometimes be used interchangeably but they shouldn’t be.
Each word implies something different being done to a file, folder, or even space that looks empty, on a hard drive, flash drive, or some other storage device

Here’s how these concepts differ and why it’s important that you understand exactly how they do:

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Why Your Laptop Is Running so Slow?

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By Marco Horn /  Tim Fisher

Why Your Laptop Is Running so Slow?

Tips to speed up your laptop so it runs like new again Is your laptop running slow?
No matter whether it’s old or new, a Windows PC or a MacBook, using a slow laptop isn’t an enjoyable experience.  If you’re looking for ways to make your laptop run faster by upgrading it with faster storage and RAM, or by removing items that could be slowing you down, such as malware, viruses, and even anti-virus apps, or you just want to streamline your laptop for optimum performance, then this is the place to start.
We’ve gathered these laptop performance-related tips that can breathe new life into your old laptop, or make your new one really take off.

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5 Simple Fixes for Most Computer Problems

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By Marco Horn /  Tim Fisher

5 Simple Fixes for Most Computer Problems

You may have already decided that the computer problem you’re dealing with is too hard to fix yourself, or at least not something you’re interested spending your time doing.
Try these simple fixes before calling tech support.

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