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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

If you use Miracast to project another device’s screen to your Windows PC , you might be surprised to learn that starting with the May 2020 update , the Connect app is no longer included with Windows 10 by default. Luckily, you can still download it from Microsoft. Here’s how. First, open Settings. To do so quickly, click the “gear” icon in your Start menu or press Windows+i on the keyboard. In “Settings,” click “Apps.” In “Apps & features,” click “Optional features.” In “Optional features,” click “Add a feature,” which has a square plus (+) button beside it. When the “Add an optional feature” window appears, scroll down until you find “Wireless Display.” Place a checkmark beside it, then click “Install.” The Wireless Display feature includes that Connect app that was once part of Windows 10 by default. After that, you’ll return to the “Optional features” screen and see a progress bar as “Wireless Display” downloads and installs. When it’s done, it … [Read more...] about How to Install the Connect App on Windows 10 (for Wireless Projection)

By default, Google Chrome does not run extensions in Incognito mode because they could potentially compromise your privacy. But, if you’d like to give an extension permission to work in private browsing mode, it’s easy to do. Here’s how. First, open “Chrome.” Click the “Extensions” icon in the toolbar, which looks like a puzzle piece. When a menu pops up, select “Manage extensions.” If you don’t see a puzzle piece button in the menu bar, click the vertical ellipses button (three vertical dots) and select More tools > Extensions from the menu. When the Extensions tab appears, locate the name of the extension you’d like to enable in Incognito mode and click the “Details” button beside it. On the extension’s details page, scroll down and locate the “Allow in incognito” option. Click the switch beside it to turn it on. Warning: Extensions you enable in Incognito Mode may record your browsing history or other private details and could potentially share that data with … [Read more...] about How to Enable an Extension in Chrome’s Incognito Mode

It can be frustrating when you need to restart Safari on your Mac and you lose what you’ve been working on because all of your tabs and windows close. Luckily, there’s an easy way to make Safari restore your session every time you start the app. Here’s how to set it up. First, launch Safari on your Mac. At the top of your screen, click the “Safari” menu and select “Preferences.” When the “Preferences” window appears, click the “General” tab, then locate the “Safari opens with” option. In the drop-down menu beside it, select “All windows from last session” if you want all of your windows—including your Private Browsing windows —to be restored. If you only want your non-Private windows to be restored, select “All non-private windows from last session” in the drop-down menu. After that, close Preferences. The next time you restart Safari, it will remember your browsing session, and all the windows and tabs you had open last time will reopen automatically. Happy browsing! … [Read more...] about How to Make Safari Always Open Your Previous Tabs on Mac

Starting in December 2020, the iPhone app store now provides “App Privacy” labels on all of its App Store listings. Using this information, you can make an informed decision about how apps track you and respect your privacy before downloading an app. Here’s how. Why Apple’s Sudden Focus on Privacy? With the launch of iOS 14 last year, Apple recently began putting a stronger public focus on privacy issues in smartphones and the apps that run on them. It’s a way for Apple to differentiate itself from its competitors, and if done well, Apple’s privacy safeguards can benefit its customers. Until recently, the ways iPhone and iPad apps could track you or use your personal data wasn’t entirely transparent to the user. Apple has set out to change that with new App Store labels that represent a sort of “Nutritional Label” for digital privacy. At a glance, you are now able to see the privacy performance of each app and decide whether it fits your personal comfort level. … [Read more...] about How to See an iPhone App’s Privacy Details Before Installing It

Version 1.0 of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard was released in January 1996. 25 years and three attempts later, we’ve gone from USB 1.0’s 12 Mbit/s speeds to USB4’s 40 Gbit/s speeds. Here’s how USB conquered the world. The Problem: Wrestling with Ports and IRQs In the early 1990s, connecting peripherals to PCs was a mess. To use set up any PC, you had to utilize a handful of different types of incompatible ports and connectors. Most commonly, those included a keyboard port, a 9- or 25-pin RS-232 serial port , and a 25-pin parallel port . In addition, PC game controllers used their own 15-pin standard, and mice often plugged into serial ports or proprietary cards. At the same time, peripheral manufacturers began bumping into data rate limits in existing ports used for peripherals on PCs. Demand for telephony, video, and audio applications was growing. Traditionally, vendors had sidestepped these limitations by introducing their own proprietary ports that could be … [Read more...] about 25 Years of Making Connections With USB (After Three Attempts)