How Things Work - Make Tech Easier

PGP Encryption: How It Works and How You Can Get Started

Crystal Crowder — Tue, 24 May 2022 21:25:00 +0000

Don’t let the name “Pretty Good Privacy” mislead you. PGP encryption is the gold standard for encrypted communication and has been used by everyone from nuclear activists to criminals since its invention in 1991. While the execution is complex, the concept is simple: you can encrypt text, making it unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have the key to decode it.

How Does PGP Encryption Work?

Imagine you want to send someone a letter but don’t want anyone except the recipient to be able to read it. The best way to... Read more

SD Card vs. SSD: What Is Really the Difference?

Miguel Leiva-Gomez — Tue, 26 Apr 2022 15:25:00 +0000

The solid state drive has given us a leap forward in the ability to open applications and read files quickly. Its storage mechanism operates under the same principles that other flash storage mediums use, namely non-volatile memory, which prevents memory from disappearing due to loss of power like it does in RAM. Since both SD cards and SSDs use solid-state storage and have no moving parts, is there any notable difference between the two types of memory? Shouldn’t a massive-capacity SD card be just about the same thing as a small SSD?

Explaining NAND Flash

Almost all the memory you use stored on a chip other than the RAM on your computer uses a technology known as NAND flash.

NAND flash memory depends on other hardware installed on the... Read more

What Is DeFi And How Does It Work

Ojash Yadav — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 05:25:00 +0000

Decentralized finance, or DeFi, is a new banking technology that aims to remove the control banks and financial institutions have over money. It allows you to hold your money in a secure digital wallet instead of keeping it in a bank. You can access and transfer your funds anywhere with internet connections and have it done instantly securely. You also don’t have to pay any kind of transaction fees in DeFi, like you would at a bank.

Content

What Is DeFi
Advantages of DeFi
Cons of DeFi
Types of DeFi Platforms
DeFi Services You Can Use Today
The Future of DeFi
Frequently Asked Questions

What Is DeFi

Decentralized Finance or DeFi is a term that describes a new financial ecosystem that provides banking services to people. The difference... Read more

What Is Web3 and How Will It Change Your Digital Life

Miguel Leiva-Gomez — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 15:25:00 +0000

The Internet went through massive shifts, starting in the ’90s, where some innovations were adopted by enough of its users and developers that they eventually became standards. Sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit all represent what we now call Web 2.0.

The definitions can get a little fuzzy, but looking in the broad strokes helps us understand what kicked off the transition between Web 1.0 and the next iteration. This will also help us understand how the emergence of Web3 will work.

Content

The Arrival of Web 2.0
What Is Web3?
The Pros and Cons
Frequently Asked Questions

The Arrival of Web 2.0

When the Internet was just starting to enter homes around the world, servers and bandwidth were expensive commodities. Getting a site... Read more

What Is Screen Resolution, and Why Does It Matter?

Crystal Crowder — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 06:25:00 +0000

Amazing video quality is what everyone wants, but do you really know what screen resolution is and what the numbers mean? While resolution definitely matters, picking the right screen, monitor, or TV means knowing how to pick the best for your needs.

Content

What Is Screen Resolution?
Screen Size vs. Screen Resolution
How Does Screen Resolution Affect You?
Do You Need HD, 4K, Etc.?
What Is Native Screen Resolution?
LED vs. OLED
Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Screen Resolution?

First, let’s define screen resolution. A computer screen uses millions of pixels to display images. These pixels are arranged in a grid horizontally and vertically. The number of pixels horizontally and vertically is shown as the screen... Read more

The Truth Behind Private Browsing or Incognito Mode

Gaurav Bidasaria — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 01:25:00 +0000

Most browsers come with a private browsing mode that promises to safeguard your privacy. Chrome calls this feature “Incognito Mode.” But just how private is this feature? How does it work and how does it protect you? In what situations does it not protect you?

There are many misconceptions about Incognito Mode and private browsing that give users the illusion of privacy and even total anonymity. This article busts some myths and sheds more light on the reality that Incognito Mode and private browsing are not so private after all.

Content

How to Use Incognito Mode
What Does Incognito Mode Do?
Who Can Track You in Incognito Mode?
When to Use Incognito Mode
Better Alternatives to Incognito Mode
Frequently Asked Questions

Who Coined the Term “Incognito Mode”?

While Apple was the first to introduce the private... Read more

What Does It Mean When Data is “Roaming?”

Mike Tee — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 20:25:00 +0000

If you’ve poked around the inside of your phone’s settings for a while, you may have come across a setting called “data roaming.” If you enabled it, you might have seen a scary pop-up message saying that turning this option on may incur significant network charges. As far as explaining what data roaming is, however, phones typically don’t tell you what it’s used for. So, what is data roaming, and why would you enable it if it could incur these charges?

Content

What "Roaming" Is
How Data Roaming Works
The Result
What Are These "Significant Charges"?
Does This Affect WiFi?
Data Roaming Between UK and EU

What “Roaming” Is

First, let’s tackle what it means when your phone is “roaming.” Roaming is when your phone leaves the range of your network... Read more

What is VSync, and Should I Turn It On or Off?

Mike Tee — Sat, 23 Oct 2021 19:25:00 +0000

If you use 3D applications or games, you may have come across a strange option in the video settings. It’s usually called “vertical sync” or “VSync” for short, and it’s not immediately obvious what it does. So why is this option here, and what does it do? What forms does it take? Here we explain what VSync is and whether you should turn it on or off.

Content

What VSync Does
Advantages of VSync
Disadvantages of VSync
The Two Main Types Of VSync
Should I Turn It On or Off?
Frequently Asked Questions

What VSync Does

To start, let’s look at how graphics are processed in your computer. Your computer or laptop has a way of rendering graphics to a screen. This may either be integrated graphics within your processor or an independent graphics card. The graphics processor’s main job is to “paint” visuals onto the screen. The reason you can... Read more

Venmo vs. Zelle: The Best Digital Wallet to Send Money Easily

Crystal Crowder — Sat, 25 Sep 2021 00:25:00 +0000

One of the best ways to send money is with a digital wallet: no pesky cash to count out and try to deliver in person. While there are many options available, for local purchases, splitting checks, and sending money to friends and family, the choice often comes down to Venmo vs. Zelle. Here we examine which one is actually the best overall?

The Purpose of Venmo and Zelle

If you’re not familiar with either of these, the purpose of digital wallets like Venmo and Zelle is to provide a simple and quick way to transfer money between banks and/or people.

While they’re similar to electronic payment systems like... Read more

What is H.266 and Why Is It Better than H.265?

Robert Zak — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 10:25:00 +0000

Also known as Versatile Video Coding (VVC) and MPEG-I Part 3, H.266 is a video compression standard designed for the newest generations of high-resolution video. It’s a successor to the widely-used H.265 codec (also called MPEG-H Part 2) and offers some major improvements over that now-aging compression scheme.

H.266 was developed by the Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC), a group of video coding experts that started working on the compression standard back in 2010.

Why Is H.266 Better than H.265?

The H.266 codec offers some major improvements over the H.265 codec, which was first developed in the hazy days of 2013. There are far more improvements that we can cover here, but these are the highlights for consumers.

Better compression

H.266 offers massively improved... Read more

Which Allocation Unit Size Is Best for Your Drive?

Robert Zak — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 21:25:00 +0000

If you’ve ever formatted a hard drive or USB thumb drive, you might have seen the “Allocation Unit Size” setting. This is set by default, but you can change it if you want. Should you? If so, what should you set it to? What does allocation unit size even mean?

There are multiple answers to the above questions, both simple and not-so-simple. With SSDs largely becoming the default drive type on many systems, the negative impact of having overly small allocation unit sizes is somewhat diminished, while on the other hand, the benefits of larger allocation unit (or cluster) sizes can increase.

What Does Allocation Unit Size Mean?

Depending on who you’re talking to, allocation unit size may also be referred to as “cluster size.” Either way, it’s pretty simple. This is the smallest possible chunk of... Read more

What Is a Nit of Screen Brightness and How Many Do You Need?

Crystal Crowder — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 15:25:00 +0000

Whatever screen you’re reading this on is probably emitting several hundred candles’ worth of light per square meter. That’s right – candles are still the base unit of light measurement, and if you’re screen-shopping, you’ll probably come across the “nit” unit, which tells you how much candlelight per square meter your screen can emit. Nits (not to be confused with head lice) can be important if you plan to use your device outdoors often, but nits brightness is just one element of a high-quality screen.

Candelas, Nits, and Lumens 101

Imagine you have a candle inside a cube with a total surface area measuring one meter by one meter (about the size of a bath towel or 20 iPads that have somehow been made into a cube). The total amount of light coming out of that candle at its source... Read more

What Is a Burner Phone and When Should You Use One?

Ryan Lynch — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 05:25:14 +0000

If you have ever watched a movie or TV show that dealt with the underbelly of crime in modern society, then you’ve heard of a burner phone. While Hollywood might suggest that burner phones are only used by criminals and other shady characters, regular law-abiding folks can benefit from using them as well.

What Is a Burner Phone?

Burner phones are usually cheap, no-contract, prepaid phones that can be discarded when no longer needed. In shows like Breaking Bad and The Wire, burner phones are used when criminals want to avoid detection by the police. The term “burner” comes from the idea that when the phone is no longer needed, it can be “burned” along with all of the other evidence of the crime.

Burner phones are usually equated with so-called “dumb” phones. These are mobile phones that do not have all of the fancy features of the latest iOS or Android device. While you certainly won’t be able to do as much with a burner phone, eliminating features like Internet access... Read more

What Is a Wi-Fi Mesh System and How Does It Work

Crystal Crowder — Tue, 18 May 2021 05:25:00 +0000

It can be annoying when your Wi-Fi isn’t available in every single area of your home. You want to sit where you put your new chair but realize you can’t connect to your Wi-Fi there. Sure, you could try an extender, but they’re not always easy to set up. A Wi-Fi mesh system can be a simpler, yet more effective solution.

All you have to do is plug it in and follow the instructions the app gives you. This is an excellent option if you don’t get along with technology very much but need your Wi-Fi everywhere.

What Is a Wi-Fi Mesh System?

With a Wi-Fi mesh system, you need two or more devices that work like routers. They’re similar to Wi-Fi extenders but without the hassle that comes with setting them... Read more

What Is Bluetooth and How Does It Work?

David Joz — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 05:25:00 +0000

The name Bluetooth has been synonymous with connected technology for years now and for good reason. When we need two devices to communicate with one another, Bluetooth is our go-to and has been for the better part of the last two decades. While Bluetooth is an incredibly valuable function that we increasingly take for granted, what is Bluetooth exactly? You may be wondering what it is and how does Bluetooth work in today’s increasingly connected world. Let’s find out.

What Is Bluetooth?

Named after a 10th century Scandinavian King, Harald Bluetooth, the history of modern day Bluetooth traces back to 1994. Ericsson, a Swedish telecommunications giant, saw the promise of using Bluetooth as a wireless connection to connect earphones with mobile devices. After testing, five companies (Ericsson, Nokia, IBM, Toshiba and Intel) formed the Bluetooth SIG in 1998 to help monitor the growth of Bluetooth. By the end of 1998, Bluetooth had more than 400 companies and more recently had more than 30,000 members.

On a more technical side, Bluetooth... Read more

What Is a Non-Fungible Token?

Ryan Lynch — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 21:25:11 +0000

Remember Nyan Cat? The pixelated cat with a Pop-Tart for a body that grooved through space while shooting a rainbow out its backside? Of course you do. The artist who originally made the Nyan Cat GIF recently sold it for $600,000. Additionally, American artist Beeple just sold an NFT called “The First 5000 Days” via the prestigious British auction house Christie’s for an unbelievable $69.4 million.

The staggering sums that some Non-fungible tokens or NFTs have sold for has led to a frenzy amongst those on the bleeding edge of technology as well as traditional investors. But what is an NFT? At first glance, NFTs may seem similar to cryptocurrencies, especially since the word “blockchain” is associated with them. That being said, they are quite different. So if they’re not a new cyrptocurrency, what the heck are they?

What You Need to Know About Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallets

Ryan Lynch — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 16:25:06 +0000

With major players in the global financial space embracing digital assets like Bitcoin, cryptocurrency has gone mainstream. With more and more people entering the crypto market, investors are seeing impressive returns. That being said, failure to secure your cryptocurrency can lead to disaster. That is why you will need to invest in a hardware wallet for your cryptocurrency.

What Is a Cryptocurrency Wallet?

A cryptocurrency wallet is exactly what it sounds like, a place to store and retrieve your cryptocurrency. The word “currency” can lead people to believe that digital assets are a tangible thing, similar to the dollars or coins that you carry around with you. In reality, what you are buying is essentially a line of code. Each “coin” or line of code is unique, which makes them impossible to counterfeit. Furthermore, this makes each “coin” easy to track as they are traded.

What Is Onion Routing and How You Can Get Your Privacy Back

Miguel Leiva-Gomez — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 01:25:00 +0000

When the word “privacy” comes to mind, you’re probably thinking about browsing the Internet through a proxy or VPN. Anyone who has tried the two knows that free proxies (and even some paid access ones) work at a snail’s pace and VPNs, although faster, tend to be centralized around one entity. Proxies and many VPNs also often keep logs of traffic that goes through them.

Between these two options, there’s one unsung hero that presents most of the advantages of a VPN without the molasses speed of old-timey proxies: Onion routing, also known as OR. We take a look at what onion routing is, how it can benefit you, and even have a look at a special tool that can connect you to the TOR network with just a few clicks.

What Is OR?

Onion routing, as the name implies, is a method of anonymous communication across the Internet that involves a chain of “nodes” that relay your messages, eventually arriving at an endpoint. When you connect to a node, everything you send gets encrypted at your computer and decrypts at the “exit node.”

What Is 6G and How Does It Work?

Miguel Leiva-Gomez — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 01:25:08 +0000

Although it hasn’t been long after the emergence of 5G, technology companies are already preemptively preparing themselves for the following generation of wireless technology, namely 6G. What exactly does this entail? How will it work?

A Clarification

Before we get to the juicy bit, we have to clarify something: at the time of writing, 6G is nowhere close to being properly tested or implemented. Reports that China launched the “first 6G satellite” in November 2020 are not false but have a tendency to sensationalize the whole ordeal slightly.

Yes, China launched a terahertz-capable testbed satellite into space, but this was only testing a part of 6G technology.

What Is 6G?

If it isn’t already obvious, 6G is the sixth generation of wireless communication technology. It’s not set in stone yet, but the standard promises to establish a more ubiquitous and reliable Internet presence across all cellular networks. To get more into the nitty gritty, we’ll have to explain what makes this standard different from its more well-known predecessors.

What Is 5G Network and How Will It Benefit You?

David Joz — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 22:25:00 +0000

If you have been following tech news lately, there is a good chance you have heard something about 5G. This next generation of wireless technology is all the buzz these days. The thing is, as many companies tout the benefits of 5G, consumers still don’t know much about what 5G really means. Sure, companies say it’s faster and better technology, but what does that mean for you?

What Is 5G?

The easy answer is that it is the next generation of wireless network technology. Currently, most of our smartphones and tablets work with 4G (or 4G LTE), which is fourth-generation technology. 5G is simply the next step and is far more evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. As part of a text definition, 5G, by design, should be able to handle more connected devices than today’s 4G networks. The hope is that it will allow new technologies that were unable to find success with 4G technologies to become mainstream.

On a technical note, 5G adds three different aspects that make it a bigger deal... Read more