Save printer ink, avoid malware, speed browsing and more
You need to get a timer fast. Do a Google search for “timer” and one appears right there for you to use. There’s a stopwatch option, too. Easy, right?
Here’s another smart tech tip I’m surprised so many people mess up. Many people write their message before filling in the email recipient. That’s a mistake. Make that your very last step — that way, there’s a much lower chance you’ll send an email before it’s truly ready to send.
Don’t stop there. Let’s dive into easy, quick tech tips you’ll use all the time.
Cybersecurity 101 – What is it? Look at the file extensions after you have downloaded a PDF. You’re looking for .pdf. If the filename ends with .exe, delete it — it’s likely malware.
Shhh: By pressing the volume up, volume down or side button on your smartphone once, you can instantly silence any incoming calls. Nice.
People are also reading…
YouTube Shortcuts Tap the keys 0-9 on your computer to jump to a certain percentage of the video. Press 5 for 50% and 8 for 80%. But wait, there’s more! Press J to go backwards and L to move forward. (“JLo” is an easy way to remember that.) Press K to pause.
Forgetful? What should you do? Are you that person who reads an email or text, mentally reminds yourself to reply later … and never does? Stop relying solely on memory! Marking the text or email unread. You’ll find this in the options of your email or convo. You can also say, “Hey Siri/Google, remind me to share Kim’s newsletter at noon.”
Skip the garage Grab your phone next time you want to hang a picture frame instead of a level. Open the Measure app on your iPhone. Hold your iPhone up to an object and tap Level. On Android, open the Google app and search for “bubble level.”
Search for text quickly You know you sent someone a pic but can’t find it. On iPhone, open Messages, tap a convo then the person’s profile photo or group name. Scroll to Photos then select See All. Open Messages and then tap on the search bar.
Take perfect action photos: If you own an iPhone X, or older, hold down the shutter button. If you have an iPhone Xs, swipe the shutter button left. In either case, you can stop the burst mode by lifting your finger. Select your best photos by tapping Burst and then Select. On Android phones, hold down your camera’s shutter button to enable burst mode.
Tab shortcuts: Here’s a faster way to navigate when you have lots of tabs open. To navigate to a specific tab, press Ctrl+1, 2, 3, and so on. On Mac, it’s Command + a number. For Windows, you can use Ctrl + Tab or Cmd + tab.
Send it later It’s 9 p.m. and you’re writing an email. You can schedule the email to go out in the morning. Click the arrow beside Send and then click Schedule send in Gmail. Most providers do something similar.
How do I get rid of my old printer? Factory reset it to erase the details of what you’ve printed over the years (like, you know, your tax forms). Find the Reset button at the bottom or back of the printer. Unplug it. Holding Reset, reconnect the printer while holding it. When the lights stop blinking, your personal data is erased.
What if you run out of black ink on your printer? Change to #010101. It’ll look black, but it’s really 99% gray. While you’re at it, knock down the font size and switch to Courier New or Garamond. These fonts are the most ink-efficient.
Hard refresh: You can quickly fix annoying loading or display issues by clearing the cache in your browser. With your browser open, hit Ctrl + Shift + R on Windows or hold down Shift + click your browser’s Refresh button.
