Hugging the Web (Part 1: Introduction)
Greetings, hackers and friends! I know it has been a while since I posted a tutorial, and hopefully I can make up for that by posting a series.
Running Google Search Results
How To: Use Windows 10's Task Manager (Everything You Need to Know)
Task Manager got revamped quite a bit in modern versions of Windows. First introduced in Windows NT 4.0, it's become pretty popular among more advanced users. In Windows 10, Task Manager is not just a task manager anymore, it's also a system monitor, startup manager, history viewer, user controller, and the list goes on.
How To: Extend Battery Power on Your Windows 10 Laptop or Surface
Historically, battery life has not been a strong suit for machines running Windows. Poor decisions by hardware manufacturers combined with the resource-hogging behavior of Windows are to blame. However, Microsoft is trying to resolve this issue, once again, with the release of Windows 10.
News: The 5 Best Free Camera Apps for Android
Practically every smartphone comes with a built-in camera app, but these apps are generally created by the device's manufacturer. And let's face it, manufacturers are hardware companies first and foremost, so they don't always produce the best software.
News: 30 Relatively Unknown Google Now Voice Commands & Easter Eggs
As Android's de facto virtual assistant, Google Now lets us speak directly to our phones in plain English to answer our questions and perform many basic tasks. With the app open, just say "Okay Google," then wait for the beep, and ask almost any question.
Tell Your Friends: How to Protect Yourself from Android's Biggest Security Flaw in Years
Researchers at the cyber security firm Zimperium have recently uncovered a vulnerability in roughly 95% of Android devices that has the potential to allow hackers to take total control over your phone with a simple picture message (MMS). The gritty details of this exploit have not been made public yet, but hackers now know the general framework for this type of attack, so you can be certain that they'll hammer out the details in no time.
How to Make Money on Android: 15 Apps That Give Rewards & Cash Back for Doing Almost Nothing
With the amount of time we spend glued to our smartphones, they could be considered a second job (if only we got paid). I spend a large part of my day scrolling through Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, and countless other apps, and burn through hours and hours without even noticing.
How To: How Anyone (Even Pirates) Can Get Windows 10 for Free—Legally
Windows 10 is due to be released on July 29th, and the majority of existing Windows users should be eligible to upgrade to the newer version for free.
How To: Share Paid Android Apps for Free (Legally)
Last year, Apple debuted a feature that allows families to share iTunes and App Store purchases across their various accounts. Us Android users, on the other hand, have to buy separate copies of apps for each of our accounts—well, at least from an official standpoint.
Google Photos: How to Transfer Pictures from Facebook, Dropbox, Instagram, Flickr, & More
Google made a huge splash this year in their annual Google I/O with an awesome announcement regarding their Photos app. Although I was primarily interested in the details surrounding Android M, my ears instantly perked up when Google announced that their Photos app will now offer free, unlimited, high-quality storage.
How To: Turn Your Device into an Android Auto Clone
Auto manufacturers are slowly starting to debut models with Google's new Android Auto software baked into the dashboard console. Starting with the 2016 model year, we should see vehicles from Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, and many others sporting the new software.
How To: Find Anything on Your Android Device by Drawing, Not Typing
We use our smart devices for pretty much everything these days, from getting directions to playing games just to kill time. They're extremely important to our daily routine, and as we use our devices more and more, things get a little bit messy.
How To: Translate Foreign Text Live in Real Time Using Your Smartphone
Early last year, Google purchased Quest Visual, acquiring the immensely popular augmented reality translator app Word Lens in the process. While Google did put the feature on the Google Glass, they spoke more about implementing Word Lens into their Translate app sometime in the future.
How To: Get Redbox Working on Incompatible Android Devices
Sitting at home alone on Friday night, I'm often in the mood to watch something more recent than the offerings on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. And since the demise of video rental stores, that leaves me with browsing through the Redbox catalogue, then strolling down to the nearest 7-Eleven to pick up my movie.
News: Exclusive & Free Albums You Can Download Right Now on Google Play Music
Google's music offerings have been on a roll lately. First they announced a new music video streaming service called YouTube Music Key, offering ad-free playback with background listening. Then they stated that the new offering would be rolled in with their Google Play Music service, with members allowed to exclusively test the Music Key beta, which just went live. And if all that wasn't enough, they're also offering free music to boot!
News: Google Calendar Gets a Huge Makeover & New Features (APK Inside)
It's been a long time coming, but Google's Calendar app for Android has finally received a visual makeover. In the spirit of Android Lollipop, Google's new Material Design permeates throughout the update.
How To: Hangouts Just Got Better with VoIP Calls for Android & iOS
It's been a long-rumored feature, but today, VoIP calling has finally started rolling out to users of Google's Hangouts service. Essentially integrating Google Voice into the popular messaging platform, Google has given Android (as well as iOS) users an easy way to make calls without eating up their plan's minutes.
How To: Google Will Replace Your Damaged Nexus 5 for Free
If you purchased your Nexus 5 from Google Play in the United States, we've got great news for you. In an unprecedented move, Google has started offering customers the chance to exchange their broken or water-damaged Nexus 5 for a new or refurbished unit—free of charge.
How to Root Android: Our Always-Updated Rooting Guide for Major Phone Models
Without a comprehensive root method for all Android phones and tablets, a device-specific approach is needed. And since we always cover new rooting methods for all the popular phones here at Gadget Hacks, we've built this always-updated guide to rooting many mainstream Android devices.
How To: Make Google Now Obey Custom Voice Commands—Even Without Root
It seems like custom Google Now commands are a dime a dozen these days. With Commandr for Google Now giving non-rooted users their first taste of custom voice commands just a couple weeks ago, you may wonder why we're covering this subject again.
How To: Fully Control Your Galaxy S5 with Google Now Commands—No Root Needed
Google Now is a wonderfully powerful service—with its predictive cards and voice search, it serves as a great starting point for any searches you need done. In fact, Samsung liked it so much that they decided to build the "Okay, Google" hotword detection right into the Galaxy S5's stock launcher.
How To: Install the New KitKat 4.4.3 Dialer on Your HTC One
Having an open-source platform like Android is great, allowing manufacturers and developers the ability to make their own skins and apps to truly customize the end-user experience. The only downside is that when an update comes to vanilla Android, many of us are left in the cold, unless you have a Google Play Edition HTC One.
Hack Like a Pro: Linux Basics for the Aspiring Hacker, Part 18 (Scheduling Jobs)
Welcome back, my aspiring hackers! In previous tutorials, I have shown you how to scan the globe for vulnerable servers and write simple scripts in BASH and Perl to perform other reconnaissance tasks. In a very recent guide, I taught how to scan vulnerable servers for Heartbleed.
News: HTC-Built Nexus Tablet & Android TV Leaked in Latest Changelog
Veering from common practice, XDA commenter, "the_commenter", discovered a changelog for the upcoming version of Android 4.4.3 tucked away on Google's servers.
News: New Google Calendar & Gmail Apps May Be Just Around the Corner
Google I/O may still be a couple of months away, and although we don't expect anything groundbreaking—no new Android versions, just fixes to KitKat—we could be treated to some new apps. No, not Pokémon inspired Maps, rather new versions of Google's Calendar and Gmail apps.
How To: Find the Latest & Greatest Chromecast Apps
Now that the Chromecast development kit has been out for over a month, more and more Android apps are being released or updated to work with the Chromecast.
How To: "Tell" Your Nexus 5 to Play Music, Toggle Settings, & Other Custom Voice Commands
When Google introduced their new launcher alongside the Nexus 5, one of the most innovative features was the "always listening" voice search, meaning that at any time you were on your home screen, triggering a Google search was as simple as saying "Okay, Google."
How To: Turn the Google Now Launcher on Your Galaxy S3 into a Home Screen Powerhouse
The new Google Now Launcher has hotword detection and one-swipe access to Google Now, but personally, it's not enough to convert me away from other launchers like Apex or Nova. Just because it's Google's official launcher for stock Android doesn't make it better than all the rest.
How To: Install the Xposed Framework on Your HTC One for Super Easy Customization
There are plenty of ways to customize your stock HTC One (or any Android device), from playing retro games to adding rotating live wallpapers. But to get the most out of your device, you need root access.
How To: Bye Bye, Inbox Zero? Gmail Is Going to Let Anyone on Google+ Email You—Here's How to Block It
As of this week, Gmail is going to start letting Google+ users email each other using a new option called "Email via Google+." There's nothing wrong with making it easier to get in touch with people you want to hear from, but the default setting allows anyone with a Google+ account to send a message to your Gmail inbox. After the feature is in use, Gmail will start to suggest Google+ connections along with your other contacts as recipients. Email addresses will not be displayed for Google+ co...
How To: Save Time Typing Your Email Address Out Using a Keyboard Shortcut on Your Galaxy S3
"Enter your email address. Confirm your email address." I absolutely hate seeing those two sentences when I'm signing up for something online, especially on my Samsung Galaxy S3. The less keyboard work I have to do on my mobile the better. Luckily, there is a way to enter your email address without having to type it all out, and I'm going to show you how it's done.
How To: Use the "Okay, Google" Hands-Free Search Directly on Your Computer
Google hasn't let the throne make them complacent. The king of search has brought one of its newest and most popular mobile features to the desktop. Folks with the latest 4.4 KitKat software available on the Nexus 5 (or those who've installed the awesome APKs we covered for the Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S3) have had the "Ok, Google" search feature for a while now.
How To: The Super Fast & Easy Way to Install CyanogenMod on Your Samsung Galaxy S3 (No Rooting)
It seems nowadays the word "easy" has taken on an alternate meaning. When I see "easy," I expect a quick and painless process, but when it comes to flashing or installing a custom ROM, easy means anything but.
How To: Diagnose & Prevent Performance Issues on Your Nexus 7 by Monitoring System Resources
I remember how fast my Nexus 7 was the first time I turned it on. Boy, do I miss it. Now my tablet is pretty buggy and crashes happen frequently, and I'm sure that goes for many of your Nexus 7s as well. Even if you upgrade to the new Nexus 7 next week, it will eventually develop similar issues.
How To: Get the GS4 Google Play Edition's New Camera & Gallery on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
Just like the HTC One Google Play Edition, the recently released Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition ditches the manufacturer's UI in favor of a pure Google experience, i.e. AOSP, but is also optimized specifically for the device's hardware.
How To: Convert Your HTC One into a Google Edition HTC One for an Enhanced Nexus Experience
Ditching Sense (HTC's stock Android Launcher) is a great way to breathe new stock-like life into your HTC One smartphone without rooting, but even that has its limitations. If you really want the full Google experience, albeit with some extras, CyanogenMod has always been the go-to ROM. In effect, this will give you an experience similar to the Google Nexus or the new HTC One Google Edition.
How To: Nexus 7 Feeling Slow? Here's How You Overclock It for Insane Speeds & Increased Performance
If you're an avid PC gamer, then you're probably well familiar with the term overclocking, which is basically just tweaking your computer hardware to run faster than it was originally intended.
How To: Can't Spare Two Fingers? Use This Secret Trick for Smooth Zooming in Google Maps with One Finger
Every single year technology companies have a little bit of fun on April Fool's Day by releasing absurd, yet almost believable stories of some new product or feature. Yesterday, Google publicized the release of Google Nose—a new project in beta—that supposedly allowed users to sniff a variety of smells through their smartphone screens.
How To: Change the Number of Search Results Displayed Per Page in Google, Bing, and Yahoo!
People use search engines for a wide variety of subjects (just look at some of the results that pop up in autofill). The results you get with each different search engine are usually different, but almost all of them display the same number of results per page by default—ten. If you find what you're looking for at the top of the first page, great. But if you have to do a lot of digging, it can be a pain to load so many different pages to find it, especially if your connection is slow.
How To: Keep the Government Out of Your Smartphone
We use smartphones for just about everything, and while that may be beneficial to us in our day-to-day lives, it can also be used against us in the court of law.