Blog
Tech News: A Few New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 17.4
In this blog post, I will talk about what’s new in iOS 17.4 for your iPhone, including updates to Stolen Device Protection, automatic live podcast transcription, and more.
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Quick Tip: Turn Off “Use Your Google Account To Sign In” Website Pop Up Prompts
In this Quick Tip, I’m going to show you how to get rid of the fairly new and incessant “Use your Google Account to sign in” prompt on a given website. It’s in your face and hard to ignore. You can still choose to sign in with your Google account if you want to.
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Tech News: Brave Browser No Longer Forces Their VPN to Install on Your Computer
Back in October, Brave started installing its VPN program for all Windows users, despite the fact that you couldn’t use it unless you paid for it.
As Martin Brinkmann over at tech news site GHacks.net points out, most Brave browser users do not use Brave Software’s VPN service, but they still got the VPN service installed on their machines without consent or any intention of using the VPN. That is clearly NOT okay.
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Tech News: Terms of Service Update Allegedly Locks Roku TVs Until Users Agree
In recent weeks, if you have a TV with Roku built in, you’re likely seeing the a message indicating that you MUST agree to it’s updated Terms of Service to continue using YOUR TV. You know, the one you’ve already purchased and have been using. If you don’t, you can’t continue using your TV!
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Quick Tip: How to Use A Password Instead of a PIN in Windows 11
In this Quick Tip, I’m going to describe how to change your Windows PIN to a much more secure password. By default, Windows 11 asks for a PIN to login to your account, but this is a convenience at the sacrifice of good security. Better than nothing, but barely.
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Kevin’s Picks: Groupy 2
In this pick, I am focusing on Groupy 2 from Stardock. It enables tabs in File Explorer, which windows 10 does not have by default. These are similar to tabs in your browser. I literally use and depend on Groupy every single day, and it makes me more productive.
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Kevin’s Picks: Ghostery, A Browser Extension
Ghostery provides adblocking, and stops trackers from accessing your personal data, in addition to Cookie pop-ups.
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Quick Tip: Clean Up Search Suggestions and Permissions in Windows 11
Microsoft likes to clutter up search results with their “suggestions” (ads). To remove these, you’ll want to disable some settings in Privacy & Security, Here’s how to do that.
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Quick Tip: Turn Off Data Collection and Content Suggestions in Windows 11
Microsoft collects certain data right out of the box that you likely want to disable. Even if you disabled all the data collection options when setting up Windows 11, I suggest disabling these four items as well.
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Quick Tip: Customize The Windows 11 Taskbar
You may want to customize the behavior of the Windows Taskbar to turn off settings you find annoying or that you don’t want to use. In this Quick Tip, let’s take a look at those.
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Tips On How To Make Windows 11 Less Annoying and Intrusive By Disabling Upsell Notifications and Other Messages
You can do several things to change more Windows settings to minimize the number of annoying upsell notifications and “it’s time to finish setting up your PC” messages you see. What you leave on or off is up to you, but generally, these changes should make Windows feel less annoying and intrusive.
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Using Emailed Login Links When Signing Into KevinTheTechGuy.ca and What You Need to Know About Passwordless Login
Some websites offer the convenience of an email sign-in link OR a regular username and hopefully strong password. This website offers that.
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Kevin’s Picks: Windows Toolbox
Windows 11 comes bundled with several Microsoft apps that you may not have any need for, and it’s a real pain to get rid of them.
The best program I’ve found to do this so far is called the Windows Toolbox from Chris Titus Tech. It’s $10US, but I consider that a very fair bargain for what it does.
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How To Install Windows 11 Without A Microsoft Account
Here’s how to setup a Local Account, based on your computer and NOT in the cloud, during Windows 11 setup.
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How To Switch To A Local Account in Windows 11
In this blog post, I’m going to walk you through how to switch from a Microsoft Account to a Local User Account. There are many benefits with a Microsoft Account, but choice is important and if you’d prefer not to have your account tied to Microsoft, then a Local Account is an option.
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Kevin Talks Tech Episode 6 – Chris Alemany
In this episode, I talk with Chris Alemany. We “met” on the social media website called Mastodon, an alternative to Twitter. We became fast friends, He’s a University Instructor, Computer Technician, and Geek! I think you’ll really enjoy our conversation!
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Quick Tip: Keep Microsoft Store Apps Up To Date
In this Quick Tip, I will talk about how to update apps from the Microsoft Store.
When it comes to updating our computers, we often think of Windows Updates and updating programs we use, but it’s important to keep Microsoft Store apps up to date as well since many are included in Windows 10 and 11.
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Quick Tip: Get Rid of Google Search Ads with AdGuard
In this Quick Tip, I’m talking about hiding sponsored ads when you search on Google using a FREE adblocker feature called AdGuard.
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Kevin’s Picks: Control Panel for Twitter
In this pick, I’m talking about the browser extension for Firefox and Chrome called “Control Panel for Twitter”. For those of us who must still use Twitter (now X) out of necessity, in addition to possibly posting more frequently on other Social Media like Mastodon, Threads, BlueSky, etc. this makes the experience of using Twitter much more pleasant.
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System Cleanup Series: Uninstall (Remove) Apps and Programs in Windows 11
This blog post is part of my System Cleanup series. One of the best ways to free up some space in Windows 11 is to remove programs and apps you’re not using or no longer want, some of which may have come pre-installed when you purchased your computer and you might not even know are there.
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