NetGuard is a well-established app known for its highly secure firewall, which blocks unwanted web activity from individual apps that can take up both precious bandwidth and battery life. Not quite as well known, however, is the fact there's a second official version of NetGuard that comes with a hidden ad-blocking feature, which can be activated with just a little tinkering in the app's settings menu.
Starting with iOS 7, the iPhone has had a cool feature that lets you see upcoming calendar events right on your lock screen, and it only got better with iOS 10. Android used to have this feature with its lock screen widget system, but that was removed back in the Lollipop days, so there's nothing quite like iOS 10's "Today View" feature anymore.
Uh oh. With millions of devices already sold, Apple's latest blunder is bound to upset the owners of some of their brand new iPhone 7 Plus phones.
The Android Nougat preview build for Nexus devices comes packed to the brim with new functionality: multi-window mode, a dark theme, and a data-saver toggle, just to name a few. However, unless you have a Nexus device, it will be a while before you get these exciting new features by default.
We knew it was coming eventually, but this is a bit out of left field—early builds of the next version of Android have been released almost two months ahead of schedule. Android N, as it's being called for now, is already available for the last two generations of Nexus devices, though it's just an early preview build for now.
Now is the time to act if you've been in the market for some must-have Android apps but felt like the price was a little out of your range. The Google Play Store is running a sale so you can pick up some high-quality paid apps—including the popular Nova Launcher Prime and Poweramp Music Player, among many others—for just $0.99 each. While there are quite a few solid apps here you should try—and with a two-hour refund window, why not try them all—here are our favorites you should seriously con...
Making sure you have the best gallery app available for your Android device used to be as easy as just installing QuickPic. But late last year, Android's top photo-viewing app was sold to a company who is notorious for permission spamming, so QuickPic quickly lost everyone's approval.
In the wake of Apple Music making its debut on Android devices, Google has finally released its highly anticipated YouTube Music app. With these two tech heavyweights throwing their hats into the ring, the streaming music world is about to get rocked.
Back in August, Google unveiled a new YouTube Gaming service meant to compete with e-sports streaming sites like Twitch. At its launch, the service was capable of broadcasting desktop PC gameplay, but when it came to the mobile segment, users were only capable of viewing streams hosted by others.
When you have a parent who cooks—and has you act as sous chef—the kitchen automatically becomes a less intimidating place. In other words, kids who know their way around the kitchen will most likely become adults who cook for themselves, which also means that they'll eat more unprocessed whole foods, save money, and maintain a healthy weight.
If you've ever attended school or held a job, you're probably well familiar with Microsoft Office, whether you used it or not. It's the most popular office suite available, and has been for some time. Apple does have its own suite of productivity apps (iWork), but Microsoft Office has always been the industry leader for word documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
UPDATE 11/17/15 The Xposed Framework now officially supports Android 5.1 through 5.1.1 Lollipop devices as well. Everything will still work the way it has with Android 5.0 through 5.0.2, but there are a separate set of files for the newer Android version. I'll cover both below, but make sure to download the proper file for your particular version of Android.
Linux may not be the most popular consumer operating system out there, but what it lacks in consumer app variety, it definitely makes up for in flexibility and security. And if you've ever tinkered with a Linux distro, you know how easy they are to install—most of the time, I skip standard installation and boot directly from a CD.
With so much Flash content still available on the web, it's unfortunate that Google no longer supports mobile Flash Player on Android. Loading a webpage only to be met with a "Plug-in Error" is never fun, and it can inhibit your mobile browsing experience as you attempt to watch a video or play an addicting Flash game.
One thing I absolutely cannot stand is lag when I'm gaming. Every time I'm about to beat my killstreak record on Call of Duty, my internet connection drops and I'm a goner. It never fails. This usually happens because someone else on my Wi-Fi is streaming a movie or downloading a huge file.
Google's Calendar service is one of the best out there. Just because of Google's web presence, your Calendar is available to you on almost any platform, so you never miss an appointment.
Photo mosaics have interested me since I was a kid. I could never understand how someone took the time and effort to make one large masterpiece out of hundreds of smaller images. Maybe I'm too daft to grasp the concept, but it seems extremely difficult. I certainly don't have the necessary skills to make my own work of art, but luckily my Nexus 7 does.
If you have an Android device, you most definitely have the Google Play Store. It's the main hub for finding and downloading apps, games, music, movies, and more, as well as updating them. It's where all the magic happens, but you're not getting the full effect unless you're running the latest and greatest version of the Google Play Store app.
Why unlock your Samsung Galaxy S3 to use with a different SIM card? One possible reason is that you love your phone, but not your cellular provider because of the poor service or an unreliable connection. If you purchased a Samsung GS3 with AT&T, T-Mobile, etc. on a contract, it might be locked for a specific amount of time called the contract period.
You can find a ton of live wallpapers for your Android device on Google Play, but the more alluring interactive ones are a harder to come by, which can bring your home screen to life using a few finger swipes and taps.
Most of us have some sort of malware scanner or antivirus program on our computers, but what about our smartphones? A lot of people don't realize that computers aren't the only devices that are susceptible to malicious software and apps—they can follow you on your smartphone or tablet, too.
The beauty of free apps is that, well, they're free. But as we all know, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Sometimes these "free" applications are only feature-limited mini versions, or they're so littered with ads that opting to pay for it is the only way to actually enjoy it.
Windows 8, the latest version of Microsoft's flagship software has introduced the new Metro UI screen as a replacement to the classic Start menu. If you want to get rid of the Metro UI, or you want to get the Start menu back, follow the directions detailed in this video
You know what's effective against zombies? Armored tanks are effective against zombies.
Are you sick to death of waiting around night in Minecraft when you need a certain material from the overworld and can't get it without being killed by monsters? Well, Beta version 1.3 of the game is here to help. Now you can craft a bed! This video will teach you how to craft a bed out of wool and wood in Minecraft and then sleep in it, allowing you to skip the night safely and get back to harvesting your aboveground crops and such.
If you've ever wanted to make your own video games and not known where to start, try Unity3D. It's a game development engine for the PC that has a free basic version and allows you to create pretty good 3D games easily. This video series will teach you the basics of Unity, including object creation and scripting.
If you've downloaded the latest iOS version, 4.2.1, and haven't jailbroken your device yet, you've come to the right video. It will teach you how to use Redsn0w to jailbreak your device and install new firmware from here. Now you can whatever you want with your iDevice.
Beat the twentieth level of Angry Birds Seasons with three stars! On December 1st, Rovio released their version of an advent calendar—Angry Birds Seasons (aka "Angry Birds Christmas"). Each day leading up to the Christmas holiday, a new level will become available to Angry Birds enthusiasts worldwide. Stuck? No problem: YouTube's 23hathman has pledged to post a three-star walkthrough for each of the game's levels. In this, the December 20th installment, we learn how to beat level 20.
Unlocking the iPhone can save you a ton of money and irritation by getting you off AT&T and onto a better service provider. One way to do that is flashing the baseband to one that works on the iPad, and this video will show you how to do using Redsn0w that, provided you're working from a iOS 4.2.1 / 4.1 equipped iPhone 3G / 3GS on baseband 5.14 or 5.15 (about to be 6.15 when you're done).
Before you can get started recording or mixing in Pro Tools 9, you'll need to create a new session for your project. This free video software tutorial from Lynda presents a complete and thorough overview of the process. Whether you're new to Pro Tools or just new to Pro Tools 9, Avid's first native, software-only version of their popular Pro Tools DAW, you're sure to find much of value in this brief video.
The days of Skype 2.8 for Mac are over! Mac users can now rejoice and make calls with ease using the new beta version: Skype 5.0 for Mac OS X (available here). It was well worth the wait, with a revamped look and feel that simplifies navigation and provides a more Mac-like experience.
Thor is the synth of choice for many Reason 4 users, including Dave from Boyinaband.com, the maker of this video. Herein he will teach you how to use some advanced features of Thor to create new and unconventional sounds. These features include the phase mod, wavetable, and FM Pair oscillators; comb filters; and the modulation bus routing section.
Many Marvel fans were incensed when the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie turned Deadpool into what has become known as Barakapool, a synthesis of Baraka from Mortal Kombat and Deadpool that is, let's face it, not true to the original character. He's still pretty awesome though, and in this video you'll learn how to do the makeup and costume for Barakapoolette, a sexy female version of the character.
This video gives an awesome makeup tutorial for the Queen of Hearts from Tim Burton's version of "Alice in Wonderland". In Burton's film, Helena Bonham Carter plays the vicious Red Queen, a character not to be messed with. Even at Halloween. Also, you'll get some costume ideas to help compete your Queen of Hearts costume. See how to transform yourself with all of the following products:
Want to perform an unplugged version of Switchfoot's "The Sound"? See how it's done with this free video guitar lesson, which presents a complete breakdown of the song and its chords. While this tutorial is geared toward those who already have some knowledge of the guitar, players of all skill level should be able to follow along given adequate time and effort. For more information, and to get started playing "The Sound" on your own acoustic guitar, take a look!
Want to perform an unplugged version ofEagle Eye Cherry's "Save Tonight"? See how it's done with this free video guitar lesson, which presents a complete breakdown of the song and its chords. While this tutorial is geared toward those who already have some knowledge of the guitar, players of all skill level should be able to follow along given adequate time and effort. For more information, and to get started playing "Save Tonight" on your own acoustic guitar, take a look!
Want to perform an unplugged version of the James Blunt's "You're Beautiful"? See how it's done with this free video guitar lesson, which presents a complete breakdown of the song and its chords. While this tutorial is geared toward those who already have some knowledge of the guitar, players of all skill level should be able to follow along given adequate time and effort. For more information, and to get started playing "You're Beautiful" on your own acoustic guitar, take a look!
Want to perform an unplugged version of the Mumford and Sons' "Little Lion Man"? See how it's done with this free video guitar lesson, which presents a complete breakdown of the song and its chords. While this tutorial is geared toward those who already have some knowledge of the guitar, players of all skill level should be able to follow along given adequate time and effort. For more information, and to get started playing "Little Lion Man" on your own acoustic guitar, take a look!
Orange supremes are, as the name implies, supreme versions of oranges. Usually when you nom on an orange you get the thick pith and webby membrane that sticks all the orange slices together. While we don't mind getting all the extra fluff with our orange, when it comes to food presentation it's nice to get all that off.
Want to perform an unplugged version of the View's "Same Jeans"? See how it's done with this free video guitar lesson, which presents a complete breakdown of the song and its chords. While this tutorial is geared toward those who already have some knowledge of the guitar, players of all skill level should be able to follow along given adequate time and effort. For more information, and to get started playing "Same Jeans" on your own acoustic guitar, take a look!