Learn - Fresh From Cache (Page 4)

A grid of identical blue padlocks on a soft pink background.

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Start using a password manager

One password used everywhere is one key to every lock. A password manager fixes that, and starting is easier than you think.

5-Minute Tech Tip card: an analog clock with the question 'Could you get back into your email?'

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Check your email's recovery info before you get locked out

Password resets for everything else land in your inbox, which makes your email account the master key. The recovery phone and backup email on that account are how you get back in, and most of us set them years ago.

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Most teen safety features don't work. Here's what does.

An independent audit tested 86 safety features across TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. Most failed. These are the ones worth turning on, and the ones you can skip.

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You bought it, but do you own it?

When you click Buy on a movie, book, song, or game, you usually get a license, not the thing itself. What that means, and where you can still own what you pay for.

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Freeze your credit before someone else uses it

Breach notices arrive constantly, and most people answer with credit monitoring. A freeze is the free step that stops new accounts in your name before they open, and almost nobody sets it up.

A person's hand unplugging the yellow network cable from the back of a white Wi-Fi router on a desk.

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Why rebooting your router works, and when it won't

Restarting the router clears out clutter and starts every connection fresh. That fixes most home internet hiccups. When a reboot doesn't work, here's what to do.

5-Minute Tech Tip card: analog clock with the headline "Are your browser's strongest settings turned on?"

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Your browser can block trackers and scam sites. The strongest settings just aren't on by default.

Your browser can block trackers and warn you off scam sites. In Chrome the strongest settings are off by default; in Edge they are turned down. Five minutes fixes both.

A woman at a desk with her face in her hands, staring at her laptop with a frustrated, defeated look.

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Your computer feels slow. Here's what to do.

Most "slow computer" problems aren't the computer at all. This is how to find what's really slowing it down, and fix it for free or close to it, on a Windows PC.

Fresh From Cache 5-Minute Tech Tip card on a dark clock face, reading “Can your phone speak for you in an emergency?”

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Set up your phone to share your medical info in an emergency

Your phone can show your medical info and call your contacts without anyone unlocking it. Five minutes of setup, and you can confirm it works.

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How to capture fireworks with your phone

You have been following DSLR instructions your phone can't run. Here is the phone-native way to actually catch fireworks, plus the one manual button that finally nails the trail.

A person at a cafe table wearing dark sunglasses, looking toward the camera

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Are those smart glasses recording you? How to tell

Smart glasses look like ordinary sunglasses, but they record video and audio, and the tiny warning light is easy to miss or defeat. What they capture, where it goes, and how to tell if the pair across the table is on.

Fresh From Cache 5-Minute Tech Tip card on a dark clock face, reading “What’s the wifi password?”

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Share your Wi-Fi without ever spelling out the password

Your phone can turn your network into a QR code that any camera scans, iPhone or Android. Five minutes, and you never recite the password again.