Leaders award

DuckDuckGo is a privacy-focused search engine that’s been online since 2008. Find websites, maps, videos, news, and more—without tracking your searches and serving you targetted ads. Here’s how to make the switch from Google, Bing, or any other search engine. Most Browsers Already Include DuckDuckGo as a Search Option DuckDuckGo has been gaining ground for over a decade, finally breaking through to the “mainstream” in September of 2014 when Apple offered it as a default search engine option in Safari for iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. Later, in November of the same year, Mozilla added it to Firefox 33.1. RELATED: What Is DuckDuckGo? Meet the Google Alternative for Privacy Since then, almost every major browser has recognized DuckDuckGo by making it an optional default search engine. This includes Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera. Google Chrome Launch Chrome, click on the “three dots” menu icon in the top-right corner of the window, and click “Settings.” … [Read more...] about How to Switch to DuckDuckGo, a Private Search Engine

CES looked a bit different this year after going all-digital, but that didn’t stop companies from unveiling new products. After careful deliberation, the How-To Geek and Review Geek teams have awarded the following 11 products with How-To Geek’s Best of CES 2021 awards. Before jumping into the awards, Review Geek has been hard at work covering all of the CES 2021 announcements that you need to know about. Head on over there if you’ve missed anything from the internationally renowned trade show. Best in Show: Kensington StudioDock In order to stand out from everything announced at CES 2021 and win Best in Show, a product needs to make an entrance. The Kensington StudioDock did just that, causing most of the team to say, “I want that.” Using the StudioDock in conjunction with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, you can turn your iPad Pro or Air into an iPadOS iMac. Use the two built-in wireless chargers and the optional Apple Watch charger (which is coming soon) and … [Read more...] about Best of CES 2021: The Top Products Coming This Year

You might think that switching from Facebook Messenger to old-fashioned text messages would help protect your privacy. But standard SMS text messages aren’t very private or secure. SMS is like fax —an old, outdated standard that refuses to go away. Your Cellular Carrier Can See Your SMS Messages With SMS, messages you send are not end-to-end encrypted. Your cellular provider can see the contents of messages you send and receive. Those messages are stored on your cellular provider’s systems—so, instead of a tech company like Facebook seeing your messages, your cellular provider can see your messages. Cellular carriers store the contents of those messages for various amounts of time . Messages are often only retained for several days, but they store metadata (which number sent a message to which number, and at what time) for even longer. These records could be subject to subpoena in legal proceedings—for example, text message records are a common form of evidence in divorce … [Read more...] about Why SMS Text Messages Aren’t Private or Secure

Have you ever opened social media and realized that a complicated news story happened while you were away? That’s how it feels to be OOTL, or “out of the loop.” Out of the Loop and in the Loop OOTL and ITL stand for “out of the loop” and “in the loop,” respectively. In both of these phrases, “the loop” generally refers to being knowledgeable or aware of a topic, such as recent events. Being OOTL means that you’re ignorant about a particular subject, while being ITL means that you’re knowledgeable and a part of the conversation. Someone who isn’t ITL would therefore be OOTL. The phrases that these two acronyms come from have been in the English lexicon for a very long time and have generally retained a similar meaning. OOTL is similar to other initialisms like LTTP and ELI5, which stand for “late to the party” and “explain like I’m five,” respectively. All of them indicate that you don’t entirely know or understand something and would like it explained. On the other hand, … [Read more...] about What Do “OOTL” and “ITL” Mean, and How Do You Use Them?