Tech on Facts

How to change your Microsoft account password

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

One Microsoft account password usually covers Outlook.com, OneDrive, Xbox, Microsoft 365, Skype and signing in to Windows, so changing it updates all of them at once.

Forgot your password?

Go to account.live.com/password/reset.
Enter your email address, phone number or Skype name.
Choose how to receive a security code and enter it.
Create a new password.

If you can’t access any of your recovery options, Microsoft offers an account recovery form that asks questions only the real owner could answer.

How to check how many cores your processor has

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Task Manager isn’t just for closing frozen apps. It also shows the exact layout of your processor in two clicks.

On Windows: Task Manager

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
Click Performance (the chart icon on the left in Windows 11).
Select CPU.
Below the graph, read Cores and Logical processors.

Another way: Press Windows + R, type msinfo32 and press Enter. The Processor line lists the model, cores and logical processors in one sentence.

How to clear cache

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Browsers save parts of every site you visit so pages load faster next time. Sometimes those saved files go stale and a site looks broken or won’t update. Clearing the cache forces the browser to download a fresh copy.

How to close Game Assist

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Game Assist is a special version of Microsoft Edge built into the Windows 11 Game Bar. It lets you look up guides and tips without leaving a game, and it shares your Edge favorites and history. Useful, but it can feel stuck on screen if it’s been pinned.

How to combine PDF files

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Macs can merge PDFs out of the box. Windows can’t, which surprises a lot of people, but the free workarounds are quick.

How to combine PDF files on Mac with Preview

Open the first PDF in Preview.
Go to View > Thumbnails to show page thumbnails in the sidebar.
Drag the other PDF files from Finder into the sidebar, dropping them where you want them to appear.
Drag thumbnails up or down to reorder pages.
Go to File > Export as PDF to save the combined file under a new name.

You can also select several PDFs in Finder, right-click and choose Quick Actions > Create PDF, which merges them in the order they’re listed.

How to convert PDF to Word

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Your choice of tool depends on one question: what’s in the PDF?

Which method should you use?

Method	Cost	Best for
Microsoft Word	Included with Word	Text documents, letters, reports
Google Docs	Free	Simple text when you don’t have Word
Adobe Acrobat	Paid (limited free online tool)	Complex layouts, tables, forms

How to convert PDF to Word with Google Docs

Upload the PDF to Google Drive.
Right-click it and choose Open with > Google Docs.
In Docs, go to File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx).

Google Docs keeps the text but often drops images and complex layouts, so it’s best for plain documents.

How to copy and paste

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The shortcuts were chosen for where your fingers already are. C is for copy, X looks like scissors for cut, and V sits right next to them, like an arrow pointing down to insert.

How to delete a page in Word

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Word doesn’t really have pages to delete. It has text, and pages appear wherever the text runs. So “deleting a page” means deleting whatever is pushing content onto it, and sometimes that’s invisible.

How to download WhatsApp

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

WhatsApp needs a phone number to create an account, so you always start on a phone. Computers and tablets then connect to that account.

Where to download it

Device	Where to get it	Notes
Android phone	Google Play Store	Free
iPhone	Apple App Store	Free
Windows PC	Microsoft Store	Desktop app, linked to your phone
Mac	Mac App Store	Desktop app, linked to your phone
Any browser	web.whatsapp.com	Nothing to install

Using WhatsApp on a computer

After installing the desktop app, open Settings → Linked devices on your phone, tap Link a device, and scan the QR code on your computer screen. You can link up to four devices, and they keep working even when your phone is offline. Prefer not to install anything? WhatsApp Web works the same way in a browser. If scanning is new to you, here’s how to scan a QR code.

How to find your Windows product key

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Before hunting for a 25-character code, check whether you need one at all.

Step 1: Check your activation status

Go to Settings > System > Activation (in Windows 10: Settings > Update & Security > Activation). If it says “Windows is activated with a digital license”, you’re set. A digital license reactivates automatically after reinstalling Windows on the same PC, and if it’s linked to your Microsoft account, it can help you reactivate after replacing hardware too.

How to get help in Windows

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Windows has more help built in than most people realize, and almost none of it requires calling anyone.

The Get Help app

Get Help comes preinstalled on Windows 10 and 11. Open it from the Start menu and type your problem in plain words, such as “printer not working” or “no sound.” It suggests support articles and, for common problems, runs automated troubleshooters that can fix settings for you. If those don’t solve it, there’s an option to contact Microsoft support by chat, depending on your product and region.

How to identify a font

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The main font finders

Tool	Best for	Cost
WhatTheFont (MyFonts)	Photos and screenshots, also has a phone app	Free
Font Squirrel Matcherator	Finding free alternatives	Free
WhatFontIs	Large database including free fonts	Free with paid extras
Adobe Fonts visual search	Matching fonts in Adobe Creative Cloud	With a subscription

Fonts on a website

Websites tell your browser which font to use, so you can look it up directly:

How to identify objects with your phone camera

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The best tool for each device

Device	Tool	How to open it
Android	Google Lens	Camera app, Google app or Google Photos
Android (newer phones)	Circle to Search	Long-press the home button or navigation bar, then circle anything on screen
iPhone	Visual Look Up	Open a photo in Photos and tap the ⓘ icon with a sparkle
iPhone	Google app	Tap the camera icon in the search bar
Any computer	Bing Visual Search or Google Lens	Upload an image in your browser

What these tools can identify

Plants and flowers, and dedicated apps like PlantNet or Seek by iNaturalist go further for nature
Animals and insects
Products, with links to shops and prices
Landmarks and artworks
Text: copy it, translate it or search for it
Math problems and homework help

Tips for better results

Fill the frame with the object and use good light.
Shoot from more than one angle if the first result is wrong.
For text, hold the phone straight and steady.

A word of caution

Visual search is a great starting point, but it can be wrong. Never rely on an app to decide whether a wild mushroom or plant is safe to eat, and check important results with an expert or a reliable source.

How to learn coding online

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The biggest mistake beginners make isn’t picking the wrong language. It’s hopping between ten tutorials and finishing none.

How to recall an email in Outlook

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

It’s the email equivalent of shouting “wait!” as someone walks away. Sometimes it works. Often it doesn’t, and knowing why saves a lot of panic.

How to recall an email in new Outlook and Outlook on the web

Go to Sent Items and double-click the message to open it.
Click the ⋯ (More actions) menu, or the Recall button if it appears in the ribbon.
Choose Recall message and confirm.

Outlook then sends a recall report telling you whether each recipient’s copy was removed.

How to reinstall a Bluetooth driver

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Reinstalling clears out a driver that’s become corrupted or confused, which fixes many “Bluetooth disappeared” or “won’t connect” problems.

If Bluetooth doesn’t come back

In Device Manager, click Action > Scan for hardware changes.
Download the latest Bluetooth driver from your PC maker’s support page (Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS) or the chip maker, such as Intel, then run the installer.
If the Bluetooth section is missing entirely, check View > Show hidden devices in Device Manager.

Try these quicker fixes first

Problem	Try this
One device won’t connect	Remove it in Settings > Bluetooth & devices, then pair it again
Bluetooth switch is missing	Turn Airplane mode on and off, then restart
Connections drop at random	Make sure the device is charged and within about 10 meters (33 feet)
Nothing works at all	Open Services (press Windows + R, type services.msc), find Bluetooth Support Service, and set it to Automatic

How to restore tabs

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Closed the wrong tab? You have more than one chance to get it back.

The universal shortcut

Ctrl + Shift + T on Windows, or Command + Shift + T on Mac, works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave and Opera. Each press reopens one more tab or window from your recent history, with its back button history intact.

How to scan a QR code

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

QR codes were invented in 1994 at the Japanese company Denso Wave to track car parts on assembly lines. “QR” stands for Quick Response, and today the fastest way to read one is the camera already on your phone.

How to screen record on Windows

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

You don’t need to download anything. Windows has two free recorders built in, and each one is better for a different job.

Which built-in recorder should you use?

	Snipping Tool	Xbox Game Bar
Available on	Windows 11	Windows 10 and 11
Records	Any area of the screen	One app or game window
Desktop and File Explorer	Yes	No
Shortcut	Open the app (some versions: Windows + Shift + R)	Windows + Alt + R to start and stop
Saves to	Your chosen folder, or Videos > Screen Recordings	Videos > Captures

How to screen record with the Xbox Game Bar

Open the app you want to record.
Press Windows + Alt + R. A small timer appears in the corner.
Press Windows + Alt + R again to stop.

To include your voice, press Windows + G to open the Game Bar and turn on the microphone in the Capture widget before you start. Despite the name, it records most apps, not just games. It won’t record the desktop itself or File Explorer, which is where the Snipping Tool helps.

How to screenshot on Mac

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Every Mac shortcut starts with the same two keys, Command + Shift, and the number decides what you capture.

Shortcut	What it does
⌘ + Shift + 3	Captures the entire screen
⌘ + Shift + 4	Turns the pointer into crosshairs; drag to capture an area
⌘ + Shift + 4, then Space	Turns the pointer into a camera; click a window to capture just that window
⌘ + Shift + 5	Opens the Screenshot toolbar with all options, including screen recording
⌘ + Shift + 6	Captures the Touch Bar on MacBook Pro models that have one

How to copy a screenshot instead of saving it

Add Control to any of the shortcuts. Command + Control + Shift + 4, for example, puts the selection on your clipboard instead of creating a file, so you can paste it straight into a message or document with Command + V.

How to screenshot on Windows

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Windows has at least five built-in ways to take a screenshot, and most people only know one. Here they all are, on any Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC.

Every Windows screenshot shortcut

Shortcut	What it captures	Where it goes
Windows + Shift + S	A selected area, window or full screen	Clipboard, plus a notification to save
Windows + Print Screen	The whole screen	Saved as a file in Pictures > Screenshots
Print Screen	The whole screen	Clipboard (on many newer PCs it opens the snipping toolbar instead)
Alt + Print Screen	Only the active window	Clipboard
Windows + Alt + Print Screen	The active window or game	Saved in Videos > Captures via Xbox Game Bar

The clipboard options don’t create a file on their own. Paste the image into Paint, Word or a chat window, then save it from there.

How to start a blog

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The hard part of blogging isn’t the setup, which takes an afternoon. It’s still writing in month six. Choose your topic and platform with that in mind.

Which blogging platform should you use?

Platform	Cost	Good for	Trade-off
WordPress.com	Free plan, paid upgrades	Most kinds of blogs	Free plan shows ads and limits features
WordPress.org (self-hosted)	Hosting from a few dollars a month	Full control, plugins, ads	You handle updates and security
Substack	Free	Newsletters with a blog attached	Less control over design
Blogger	Free	Simple personal blogs	Few modern features
Ghost	Paid or self-hosted	Memberships and paid subscriptions	Costs more to start
Static site (Hugo, Jekyll)	Free hosting possible	Speed and low running costs	Needs some technical comfort

How much does it cost to start a blog?

You can start for $0 on a free plan. A realistic small budget looks like this:

How to update BIOS

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The BIOS, or on modern PCs the UEFI firmware, is the software that starts your computer before Windows loads. Updating it is usually easy, but it’s one of the few PC jobs where an interruption can cause real trouble, so it’s worth doing carefully.

How to update drivers

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A driver is the small piece of software that lets Windows talk to a piece of hardware, like your graphics card, Wi-Fi adapter or printer. Most of the time Windows keeps them current on its own. When something stops working, updating one is often the fix.

How to update Roblox

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Roblox pushes small updates often, sometimes weekly. If you see a message saying your version is out of date, or a game won’t load, an update is usually the fix.

What is a computer?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Every computer, from a supercomputer to a smartwatch, follows the same basic cycle: input → processing → storage → output. You press a key (input), the processor works out what to do (processing), the result is saved (storage), and a letter appears on screen (output).

What is AI?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

You’ve probably used AI today without noticing: in the spam filter on your email, your phone’s photo search, map directions that avoid traffic, or the recommendations on a streaming service.

What is an API?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The restaurant analogy

Think of a restaurant. You (an app) want food (data), and the kitchen (another system) can make it. You don’t walk into the kitchen; you give your order to a waiter, who takes it to the kitchen and brings back your dish. The API is the waiter: a defined way to ask for something and get a response, without needing to know how the kitchen works.

What is Anthropic?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What Anthropic makes

Anthropic’s main product is Claude, an AI assistant that can write, summarize, analyze documents and images, and help with coding. People use it through:

The Claude apps on the web, desktop and phone
Claude Code, a tool for software developers
The Claude API, which lets businesses build Claude into their own products (here’s what an API is)
Cloud platforms such as Amazon Bedrock and Google Cloud

Claude models come in different sizes, with names like Haiku, Sonnet and Opus, trading speed against capability.

What is Copilot?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

“Copilot” is Microsoft’s name for a whole family of AI assistants. They share the same idea, an assistant that works alongside you, but they live in different places.

The main versions

Version	Where you find it	What it does
Microsoft Copilot	Windows, Edge, the Copilot app, copilot.microsoft.com	General chat, answers, writing and image creation
Microsoft 365 Copilot	Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams	Drafts documents, analyzes spreadsheets, summarizes emails and meetings
GitHub Copilot	Code editors and GitHub	Suggests and writes code
Copilot+ PCs	Laptops with a built-in AI chip	Run some AI features directly on the device

What you can use it for

Asking questions and getting answers with links to sources
Writing or rewriting emails, posts and essays
Summarizing long documents or web pages
Building formulas or charts in Excel
Creating images from a text description

Is Copilot free?

The basic Microsoft Copilot chat is free with a Microsoft account. Copilot features inside Microsoft 365 apps and GitHub Copilot come with paid plans, though some include free tiers or trials. Plans and prices change often, so check Microsoft’s site for the current details.

What is GitHub?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Git vs GitHub

These two are easy to confuse:

	Git	GitHub
What it is	Software that tracks changes to files	A website and service that hosts Git projects
Where it runs	On your own computer	In the cloud
Created	2005, by Linus Torvalds	2008
Alternatives	Mercurial, SVN	GitLab, Bitbucket

Key terms

Repository (repo): A project folder with all its files and their full history.
Commit: A saved snapshot of changes, with a short message describing them.
Branch: A separate line of work, so you can try something without breaking the main version.
Pull request: A proposal to merge changes from one branch into another, where others can review and comment first.
Fork: Your own copy of someone else’s repository.
Issue: A tracked bug report, task or idea.

What people use GitHub for

Team software development, with code review and automated testing (GitHub Actions)
Open-source projects, where anyone can suggest improvements
Portfolios, since employers often look at developers’ public repos
Free websites with GitHub Pages
AI coding help with GitHub Copilot

Is GitHub free?

Yes, for most individuals. Free accounts get unlimited public and private repositories. Paid plans add team management and extra features.

What is my IP address?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Your public IP address

Checking…

Looked up by your browser via ipify.org. This site doesn't store it.

An IP (Internet Protocol) address is like a postal address for data. Every website you visit sends its reply to this address, which is how the page reaches your screen.

What is PHP?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

PHP was created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994, originally as a set of tools to track visitors to his online résumé. It grew into one of the most widely used languages on the web.

What is what3words?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Street addresses work well for houses, but not for a festival entrance, a picnic spot in a park or a car broken down on a country road. what3words was created in London in 2013 to solve that problem.

What is WhatsApp Web?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

WhatsApp Web mirrors your account in a browser, so you can type with a real keyboard, drag files from your computer and keep chats open next to your work.

Can you log in without scanning a QR code?

Yes. On the WhatsApp Web page, choose Log in with phone number instead. Enter your number, and WhatsApp shows an 8-character code on the computer. On your phone, open Linked devices > Link a device > Link with phone number instead and type the code.

What Windows version do I have?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The quickest check takes about five seconds and works on every version of Windows from the last two decades.

Method 1: winver

Press Windows + R to open the Run box.
Type winver and press Enter.
The About Windows box shows your Windows version, version number and OS build.

Method 2: Settings

Go to Settings > System > About (in Windows 10: Settings > System > About too). Under Windows specifications, you’ll see: