Posts

A Brief History of PPTP PPTP is a network tunneling protocol that was developed in 1999 by a vendor consortium formed by Microsoft, Ascend Communications (today part of Nokia), 3Com, and other groups. PPTP was designed to improve on its predecessor Point-to-Point Protocol, a data link layer (Layer 2) protocol designed to connect two routers directly. How PPTP Works PPTP is an outgrowth of PPP, and as such, is based on its authentication and encryption framework....

Tethering Benefits Tethering offers internet connectivity to devices that lack a built-in mobile data plan. It’s especially helpful in situations where no other means of internet access are available: when, for example, there’s no Wi-Fi hotspot around, your cable modem goes on the fritz, or you’re on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere and need an online map. If you’re already paying for data on your cell phone and your wireless provider doesn’t require any extra fees for using your cell phone as a modem for your laptop, tethering can also save you money, since you won’t have to pay for separate mobile broadband service or buy additional hardware just to get your laptop connected....

Calling Alexa Skills You can also take advantage of Alexa skills. With tens of thousands of skills or tasks Alexa can perform, you can ask Alexa to help with almost anything you can imagine. Ask Alexa to add a skill you need to customize your experience to your needs, and new Alexa skills are being added continuously. More Than a Smart Alarm Clock Sometimes called a “smart alarm clock,” the Spot is capable of so much more....

How S4S Works on Instagram If you follow popular, branded Instagram accounts (fitness, food, fashion, makeup, etc.), you may have noticed that some of them also include “S4S” in their bios, captions, and even in the comments in their posts. S4S involves two users who have agreed to give each other a shoutout on their own Instagram accounts. Each user posts a photo or video featuring the other user’s account, and they encourage their followers to follow the featured account....

Because AirPlay seems to work magically, it can seem confusing to troubleshoot, but AirPlay works on simple principles. Solving AirPlay connection problems is usually simple as well. Making an AirPlay Connection When everything is working correctly, you access AirPlay by pulling down on the upper right side of the iPad or iPhone screen (in iOS 12 or iOS 11) to open the Control Center. Pull up from the bottom of the screen to open Control Center in earlier versions of iOS....

There are four things to try when your Google Assistant won’t play your movies. Check Your Google Assistant Permissions For Playing Movies When Google Assistant isn’t able to play movies, the first thing you should check is whether it has the correct permissions. On an Android phone, permissions are the way that you can allow an app to access various things like your microphone, local storage, and your contact information....

Check Your Permissions One problem might be with your permissions. Google Assistant can’t work properly if it doesn’t have access to the Google app and other core functions. For example, Google Assistant needs access to your phone’s microphone to hear voice commands. Here’s how to check permissions on your Android device and make sure Google Assistant has the access it needs. Check Your Linked Google Account The problem might stem from mismatched Google accounts....

What Is a Hidden Network Used For? In the past, users frequently created hidden networks to add an extra layer of security because no one could see they existed. In reality, it doesn’t add much protection, and most users should have secure passwords in place instead. However, a hidden network can still be used for various purposes. These can be to keep a network list tidy such as in a busy apartment building where you don’t wish to advertise a network you only use for a couple of your own devices....

Our buying guide will help you figure out which gaming laptop to buy, looking at your specific needs, your budget, and other features you may need to consider. What Is a Gaming Laptop? Much like when researching gaming PCs, gaming laptops initially seem like regular laptops. However, laptops designed without gaming in mind don’t provide users with a dedicated graphics card. They often have pretty limited cooling systems, so they can’t handle the heat generated when playing games....

WhatsApp detailed that you still can only have one phone connected to your WhatsApp account at a time and that you’ll need to manually link your new devices with your phone using the proper WhatsApp account. The company also mentioned that the multi-device feature doesn’t support tablets at this time, so you can’t use WhatsApp on your iPad. However, WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart previously confirmed to WABetaInfo that WhatsApp on iPad would happen eventually....

Overall Findings Both offer everything you might want for secure communication and file sharing. Your best approach might be to download both on your smartphone and see which interface you prefer. WhatsApp and Viber both offer: Support for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows platforms on mobile and desktop platforms, as well as the web. Group functionality, which could use improvement in both cases. End-to-end encryption, so no one can see or hear your communications but you and the recipient....

Gmail Account Deletion Policy History In years past, you could keep your Gmail account as long as you used it in a sensible manner. You had to use it, though. Google automatically deleted Gmail accounts after nine months of inactivity. Not only were the folders, messages, and labels deleted, the account’s email address was also deleted. Nobody, not even the original owner, could set up a new Gmail account with the same address....

There are a lot of ways to answer that question, but in the end, there are three factors that you want to look at to determine which 3d marketplaces are worth your time and effort: Keep in mind, we’re looking at non-exclusive royalties. Almost all these sites offer higher payment in exchange for an agreement that you won’t sell a specific model anywhere else. Exclusivity contracts are something you definitely want to consider once you’ve established yourself, but in the beginning, we recommend you don’t limit your options....

How to Change iPad’s Sounds Settings If you have searched through your iPad’s keyboard settings looking for a way to turn this sound back on, you’ve been looking in the wrong place. Apple decided to put this particular setting in the Sounds category, even though it might make more sense for it to be in the keyboard settings. What Else Can You Do From This Screen? While you are in the Sounds settings, you might want to take the time to customize your iPad....

All the apps I use are available on Chrome, and it’s a much calmer experience than other operating systems. Like most people, the majority of what I do on a PC is word processing, email, and the occasional movie streaming. You don’t need a $2,000 laptop to do any of these things. The problem is that most Chromebooks are either cheaply made or too expensive. There are some exceptions to this rule, such as Google’s own highly rated Pixelbook Go lineup that starts at $649....

A recent study found a link between happiness and a term that the researchers coined, “relational diversity.” Researchers found a relationship between having connections with many different people and people’s satisfaction. The same may hold true for doing things like posting on Reddit. “Talking to strangers online can be a form of escapism for people,” Beth Ribarsky, a professor of interpersonal communication at the University of Illinois Springfield and who was not involved in the study, told Lifewire in an email interview....

I will say I was initially excited about Instagram opening the feature to all users last week, since I’m no stranger to comparison fatigue on social media. Social media has trained our brains to find validation in the number of likes we get on a post about our lives, so maybe taking away that artificial number might help ease the stress of it all. However, hiding the like counts on two new posts didn’t provide me with the sense of ease on my self-esteem I was hoping it would, and instead just seemed like a gimmick....

While you should take any alarm seriously, carbon monoxide detectors often beep or chirp in non-emergency situations. Here are the most common reasons why a carbon monoxide detector beeps, and what to do when it happens. Causes of Carbon Monoxide Detectors Beeping When a carbon monoxide detector beeps or chirps at regular intervals, it is usually because of a problem with the battery or an internal malfunction. Battery problems: Most carbon monoxide detectors are designed to warn residents of a decaying battery....

While for the most part corrected in later patches and updates, several initial system stability issues plagued Vista—this was a major contributing factor to its poor public image. Windows Vista Release Date Windows Vista was released to manufacturing on November 8, 2006, and made available to the public for purchase on January 30, 2007. It’s preceded by Windows XP, and succeeded by Windows 7. The most recent version of Windows is Windows 11, released on October 5, 2021....

The specific plans for which this policy applies include all Magenta plans, T-Mobile Essentials, ONE Plan, or a Simple Choice plan activated after November 15, 2015, as well as voice and mobile internet. Domestic roaming eligibility varies for prepaid plans and postpaid plans activated before November 15, 2015. Data Roaming Data roaming is available to you as a convenience when you are out of reach of the T-Mobile network. It is not designed to be the primary source of your data coverage....