📺 Psst! Most newer TVs have a secret menu: Turn on your TV and press the menu button on your remote. Go to the settings or advanced settings menu. Press the following buttons on your remote in this order: Mute, 1, 8, 2, power. This should bring up the service menu. From here, you can more accurately adjust the white balance, do a factory reset, adjust the color levels or calibrate the screen.
These shady tech loopholes let stalkers track you
Wonder why Apple and Google suddenly started rolling out anti-stalking alerts for their Bluetooth trackers? Apple’s dealing with a class-action lawsuit from victims who say abusers used AirTags to track and harass them.
Now, on iOS 17.5 and Android 14, your phone will alert you when an unknown tracker is moving with you. These alerts, though, might not pop up until it’s too late. That’s why I need to share this important information with you.
How long can a stalker track you undetected?
Apple can take up to nine hours to notify you about an unknown tracker on or near you. That’s plenty of time for a stalker to get to you, especially if they’re local.
That means if a carjacker tags your vehicle, you might lead them right to your house before you ever get alerted.
There are other loopholes, too. Older tracking devices can still follow you without an alert. Savvy creeps can even reconfigure new trackers to track you for months undetected.
Been in one of these situations recently?
Take steps to protect yourself if you’ve:
- Had an ex show up somewhere unannounced or harass you via text or voicemail.
- Driven over the border to Canada or Mexico. (Crooks tag tourists’ cars to steal or for trafficking illegal items.)
- Had a creepy interaction with a stranger at a bar or store.
Run a manual check on your phone
You can check for trackers even if you don’t get an alert.
- On iPhone, open your Find My app and then tap Items at the bottom of the screen. Tap on a nearby AirTag > Find.
- On Android, head to Settings > Safety & Emergency > Unknown tracker alerts > Scan now.
Windows 11 = Ad central: First, it was a pop-up ad to install Edge, and then ads showed up in the Start Menu. Now, you’ll see Game Pass under Settings soon. They call them “recommendations” designed to “improve your system.” It’s a money grab, plain and simple.
📱 Android app fix: Is an app crashing or behaving weirdly? Try clearing its cache. Go to Settings > Apps and select the app you want. Now tap Storage & cache or Storage and tap Clear cache. Don’t hit Clear data — that’ll delete your app settings and login details and reset the app to the default install.
Wait, what? You can reread that Android notification you didn’t fully look at the first time. Head to your Settings and tap Notifications > Notification History to view that push alert on whatever wild thing Elon Musk said this time.
None of your business: Quickly hide message previews popping up on your Android lock screen. This is an “A” and “B” conversation, so “C” yourself out, snoopers! From Settings, tap Display > Lock Screen > Privacy.
⛔ I hate when tech companies do this: Firefox’s new default feature, “privacy-preserving ad measurement,” actually gives your data to advertisers. Turn it off. Click the three-line icon in the top right corner, followed by Settings > Privacy & Security. Scroll to Website Advertising Preferences, and disable Allow websites to perform privacy-preserving ad measurement.
Beta blocker: Apple Safari 18 beta’s new Reader mode lets you read any article without ads or auto-playing videos. To use it, you’ll need to update to the Sequoia OS beta. Go to Settings > General > Software Update > toggle on Beta Updates > macOS Sequoia developer beta > Upgrade Now. Now, when you open an article in Safari, click the square icon in the URL bar, and then click Show Reader to scroll ad-free!
🌊 Stream on: Make your music flow more smoothly with crossfade. This forces your songs to transition from one into the next instead of ending abruptly, pausing and starting the next track. On Spotify, go to Settings > Playback > Crossfade. In Apple Music, head to Settings > Apple Music > Crossfade.
🔖 Easier than bookmarks: Want all your tabs to open up when you start your browser? In Chrome, click the three vertical dots, then Settings. Click On startup > Continue where you left off. Steps for Safari, Firefox and Edge here.
You better work: Android now supports creating a work profile on your device to separate your work apps and data from your personal apps. Go to Settings, search for Work Profile or similar, and follow the setup prompts. Sorry, iOS lovers, no soup for you! Apple doesn’t support this.
Go away: On Instagram, block spammers, creeps and someone you’re just done hearing from. Click More in the bottom left > Settings > Comment. You’ll see Block comments from. Choose People. Select their name, then remove.
Type to Siri: Type out your requests to Siri on macOS if you can’t (or don’t want to) use your voice. Hit the Apple logo > System Settings > Accessibility > Siri to enable the option.
Say when: The battery-saver mode on your Android kicks in at a certain battery level. You can set this up under Settings. Steps vary based on the model, but look for Battery > Battery Saver > Manage when Battery Saver turns on.
🤳 Unlock apps with your face: You can use Face ID to unlock apps on your iPhone. Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Enter Passcode > Other Apps, and toggle on the apps you want. Not every app is compatible, but this is handy for those that are.
📱 Face ID trouble? If your Apple Face ID isn’t working properly, Step 1 is to check if anything is covering your camera — smudges, the case or a screen protector. If it’s still not working, try a reset: Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Reset Face ID > Set up Face ID.
Windows user? Use “God Mode” to access all your Control Panel settings in one place. Just create a new folder anywhere, like on your desktop, and rename it to this exact string: GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} Hit “Enter,” and the folder icon will change to a Control Panel icon. Opening this new folder will give you a powerful, centralized view of virtually all settings and configuration options in Windows.
⚙️ Fast access: Find hidden shortcuts from the Start button on Windows 11. Press Windows key + X or right-click the Start button to reveal a list of shortcuts, including Settings, Task Manager and the Run prompt.
⌨️ Custom keys: Change how the touchpad and keyboard work on your Chromebook. Go to Settings > Device > Touchpad/Keyboard. Sweet options: Changing what a right-click does and treating the top row of keys as function keys.