How to Log in to a Linksys Router

howchoo   (467)

November 22, 2023

2 minutes

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• 
  Linksys Router Login
• 
  Change Linksys WiFi Password

This guide will show you how to log into your Linksys router using the router’s IP address and default login info, allowing you to manage your wireless network.

1 – Connect to your Linksys network

Use your phone, tablet, or computer to connect to your router’s wireless or wired network.

2 – Open a browser and go to 192.168.1.1

The Linksys router login IP is: http://192.168.1.1

Visit that IP address in your web browser to access the login page. If this page prompts you for an email address, select “For local access, click here” first to access the password-only login form.

3 – Enter the Linksys router default login info

Use the Linksys router login password below to log into the router admin:

Linksys router default password

Password: admin

4 – Need help?

If you’re having problems logging into your Linksys router, post in the comments section below and I’ll do my best to help you out!

Average response time: Less than 1 day.

How to Change Your Frontier WiFi Password

howchoo   (467)

November 25, 2023

How to Send and Receive Encrypted Messages Using GPG

howchoo   (467)

November 22, 2023

12 minutes

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GPG (GnuPG) is a free and complete implementation of PGP (pretty good privacy). It is a tool used for encrypting, decrypting, and signing messages (or many forms of data). In this guide, we’ll cover the steps to send and receive secure messages using GPG.

For this guide, we’ll assume you want to exchange messages with your good friend, Alice.

1 – Install GPG

First, GPG must be installed.

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt-get install gnupg

CentOS

sudo yum install gnupg

MacOS

Using Homebrew.

How to Install Homebrew on Mac

brew install gnupg

2 – Generate your public and private keys

The first thing we’ll do is generate a pair of keys. To do this run:

gpg --gen-key

You will be guided through the process of generating the key pair. Your keys will be associated with your name and email address.

The private key is protected with a password. Use a strong password, and store that password somewhere secure (password manager and/or physical safe).

Your public key is just that: public. This is the key you can share with anyone.

The private and public keys are generated as a pair, which means they can only be used with their counterpart. The public key, which can be distributed to others, is used to encrypt messages intended for you. So when Alice wants to send you a message, she’ll encrypt the message using your public key. And only the accompanying private key can decrypt that message.

At this point, Alice should follow this step and generate her key pair as well.

3 – Export your public key

Now that you’ve created your key pair, we’ll export the public key.

gpg --export EMAIL > pubkey.asc

The email address you used when you generated your key will be used to export the key as well. This command will generate a file called pubkey.asc. In the future, Alice will import this key and use it to encrypt messages for you.

Alice should follow this step and export her public key as well.

4 – Exchange public keys with Alice

Now you can exchange public keys with Alice.

Note: When sending your key, it’s important that Alice can trust that the key came from you and likewise, that you can trust that the real Alice received your key. This is a security challenge of it’s own and is outside the scope of this guide. Just be sure to use a communication channel that is trustworthy enough.

5 – Import Alice’s public key

Now that you have Alice’s key file, you can import it using:

gpg --import alicepubkey.asc

At this point, you may want to trust Alice’s public key. To do so use:

gpg --edit-key Alice

Then in the gpg prompt, type:

trust

Then select the level of trust 1-5.

6 – Review the keys in your keyring

Let’s list the keys in our keyring to verify that the correct keys exist.

gpg --list-keys

You should see output similar to this:

$ gpg --list-keys

/Users/me/.gnupg/pubring.kbx
-------------------------------
pub   rsa2048 2017-05-03 [SC] [expires: 2019-05-03]
      A43BE404BXE42BF68C3810A329BD7XBDE33C02E9
uid           [ultimate] Tyler <[email protected]>
sub   rsa2048 2017-05-03 [E] [expires: 2019-05-03]

pub   rsa2048 2017-08-01 [SC] [expires: 2019-08-01]
      975B17E6B7A17E4431145375X13E5Y76D6EAEB19
uid           [ultimate] Alice <[email protected]>
sub   rsa2048 2017-08-01 [E] [expires: 2019-08-01]

7 – Encrypt the message you want to send

Assuming your message for Alice is stored in a file called message-for-alice, we can encrypt the message with the following command:

gpg --encrypt --recipient [email protected] message-for-alice

This will encrypt your message using Alice’s public key. The encrypted message will be saved as a new file called message-for-alice.gpg.

Now you can send the encrypted message to Alice.

8 – Decrypt message you’ve received

Upon receiving a message from Alice, you can decrypt the message using your private key.

gpg --decrypt message-for-me.gpg

This will print the message to the console. To write the message to a file use:

gpg --decrypt --output message message-for-me.gpg

9 – Sign a message

Signing a message allows the recipient to verify that the message was not modified during transmission. This is especially important when the message is sent over an insecure channel.

For this example, we’ll sign the message that we encrypted for Alice.

gpg --output message.sig --sign message-for-alice.gpg

This will create a file called message.sig, which is a signed version of the encrypted message.

10 – Verify a signed message

To verify the signed message, use:

gpg --decrypt --output message.gpg message.sig

This assumes that the message was first encrypted, then signed. You should see something like the following output that verifies the digital signature:

gpg: Signature made Tue Nov 21 21:51:45 2017 PST
gpg:                using RSA key A43BE404B2E42BF68C3860A329BD72BDE33C02E9
gpg: Good signature from "Tyler <[email protected]>"

The output file, message.gpg is still encrypted. So you can use the same method to decrypt:

gpg --decrypt --output message message.gpg

11 – GPG Frontends

There are a handful of frontends listed on the gnupg.org site, and I have not tested many of them. But if you’re timid on the command line and would like to find a GUI, there are a few available for each operating system.

1Password vs NordPass: Who Wins Might Surprise You!

howchoo   (467)

September 28, 2023

How to dig holes in clay

howchoo   (467)

November 22, 2023

2 minutes

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Cordless drill x 1

Long drill bit x 1

Water x 1

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Clay can be a real pain to dig in. Whether its footers for a backyard deck or simply potted plants, this is a great way to make it easier.

1 – Mark your hole

2 – Remove the top layer of clay from the marked area

3 – Drill small holes throughout the marked area

Drill as deep as you possibly can.

4 – Fill the hole with water

5 – Wait around 3 hours

This will vary based on the specific soil.

6 – Dig away

If the soil is still hard, add water and more time.

How to Properly Dispose of a Worn or Damaged American Flag

howchoo   (467)

December 7, 2023

How to Clean Vibram Five Finger Toe Shoes Without Ruining Them

howchoo   (467)

November 22, 2023

7 minutes

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Vibram Five Finger shoes are awesome pieces of running gear. But you can also use them for hiking and looking weird around town. Unfortunately, toe shoes start to smell if you don’t wear socks with them every time you wear them. While Vibram claims that the shoes are machine washable, you will ruin them if you wash them repeatedly.

Trust us, you don’t want to be wearing these with possible bacteria and/or fungi living inside. That will not bode well for your precious feet. Read on to see the best way to clean your Vibram Five Finger toe shoes.

1 – Place your toe shoes into a bucket

I also threw my gym gloves in there while I was at it. If you’ve never washed your gym gloves before, I would clean them separately from your toe shoes; most gym gloves (even leather ones) will release dye the first time they’re washed. This could taint your pretty toe shoes.

2 – Place a weight on top of the shoes and fill with hot water

Use a weight (I used a ceramic kitchen bowl) to keep the shoes from floating. Fill the bucket with hot water until the shoes and weight are completely covered.

3 – Add denture cleaning tablets

Drop denture cleaning tablets into the water. I used 16 tablets just to be safe — the tablets are really inexpensive and I wanted to be sure that my shoes got really clean.

4 – Let your shoes soak overnight

Place the bucket somewhere out of the way and let it sit overnight.

5 – Rinse your shoes

Remove your shoes from the bucket and run them under a faucet. This will thoroughly remove any denture cleaning residue that might exist.

6 – Dry your shoes

This part is extremely important. If you do not dry the shoes properly, they will begin to smell right away. There are a few methods for doing this: – Hang them in front of a powerful fan for a few hours (this is what I did). – Hang them outside in an area where a nice breeze exists. – Air-tumble dry them in your dryer on the delicate setting; be sure not to use a large amount of heat as this may shrink the material. – Place them on the floor directly in front of your refrigerator; this method is only effective for certain types of refrigerators that push air and heat out beneath the front doors.

7 – Keeping them clean moving forward

The best way to keep your toe shoes clean moving forward is to always wear toe socks with them. Toe socks aren’t terribly expensive and really pay off in the long run.

How to dig holes in clay

howchoo   (467)

November 22, 2023

How to Clear Your Browser Cache for Any Browser

howchoo   (467)

November 22, 2023

6 minutes

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Clearing your browser cache is a great way to solve common internet issues. If a webpage isn’t loading properly, one of the first things you should try is clearing your browser cache.

This guide includes steps for the most common internet browsers—Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Edge. If your browser isn’t listed, visit the developer’s website to look for instructions.

1 – Clear Chrome browser cache

The Chrome browser cache can be cleared from within the browser itself.

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. In the upper-right hand corner, select the icon that looks like three dots. This will open a menu.
3. Go to More tools.
4. Choose Clear browsing data.
5. Select a time period to remove data from, or opt to delete everything.
6. There are boxes next to the type of cached data you can delete—Browsing History, Cookies and other site data, and Cached images and files. Check the boxes to remove the data.
7. To delete the cache, click Clear data.

2 – Clear Firefox browser cache

Firefox has a built-in feature to help remove the cache from your browser.

1. Open Firefox.
2. In the upper-right hand corner, open the menu using the icon that looks like three lines.
3. Go to Options.
4. On the left, choose Privacy & Security.
5. Scroll until you see Cookies and Site Data. Choose Clear Data….
6. Place a checkmark in the box next to each type of cached data you want to remove.
7. Click Clear and close the page.

3 – Clear Safari browser cache

You can clear the cache in Safari using the Develop drop-down menu.

1. Open Safari.
2. Open the Develop drop-down menu.
3. Choose Empty Cache.

You can also use the extension Option + Command + E

If you’re missing the Develop drop-down menu, you may need to make it visible.

Show the Develop menu in Safari

1. Open Safari.
2. Under the Safari drop-down menu, go to Preferences.
3. Go to the Advanced tab.
4. Select Show Develop menu in menu bar.

4 – Clear Internet Explorer

The cache in Internet Explorer can be cleared from the browser window.

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click on the gear-shaped icon in the upper-right hand corner of the browser.
3. Go to Safety.
4. Choose Delete Browsing History….
5. Check the boxes next to the data you want to delete or options you want to use. You may not want IE to preserve your favorite website data when clearing the cache.
6. Click Delete.

5 – Edge browser cache

Edge has a built-in feature to help clear the browser cache.

1. Open Edge.
2. Click the menu icon in the upper-right hand corner that looks like three dots. A drop-down menu will appear.
3. Choose History.
4. In the upper right, click Clear History.
5. Check the boxes next to the type of cached data you want to remove.
6. Choose Clear.

How to Change Your Frontier WiFi Password

howchoo   (467)

November 25, 2023

How To Save Tab Groups in Google Chrome (Two Ways!)

howchoo   (467)

November 22, 2023

4 minutes

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Google Chrome x 1

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Being able to create tab groups in Google Chrome is great, but being able to save them for the next time you open Chrome is even better. Keeping your Chrome open all the time is impractical and can negatively affect your computer’s RAM, so you need a better solution that will make accessing your tabs easy.

Great news for you: we’ve got two ways to save your tab groups in Google Chrome that you’ll be able to access whatever device you’re logged into.

1 – Changing On Startup options (Recommended)

1. Click the three dots menu.
   – Located in the top right of the window, this is where you go for Chrome settings.
2. Navigate to the settings page.
   – It will open in a new tab.
3. Change the on startup settings.
   – You can navigate there by searching “on startup” in the search box or scrolling down to the bottom for the on startup box.
   – Once there, check off the “continue where you left off” option.

2 – Bookmark your Tabs

Unlike the first option, this won’t open your tabs automatically from your last session in Google Chrome. However, it will enable you to find them again should you need them.

There are a couple of easy ways to bookmark all your tabs at once! 1. Right-click in an open space beside the tabs, then select “Bookmark all tabs.” 2. Press Ctrl+Shift+D for Windows or Cm+Shift+D on Mac to bookmark all the tabs.

Chrome will save a new folder in your bookmarks for you to click on later. You can also rename it to whatever fits!

How to Search in Google Docs (Find Words)

howchoo   (467)

December 13, 2023

How to Get Dashboard on MacOS Big Sur

howchoo   (467)

November 22, 2023

7 minutes

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With the introduction of the new macOS, Big Sur, many things like even securely emptying your trash bin have changed. Now, Apple has permanently removed the beloved Dashboard from its operating systems. For many, this caused feelings ranging from mild discontent to full-on rage!

MacOS Big Sur users—we’re here to tell you to relax—not just because it’s good for your health, but because we’ve got a decent alternative to the classic Mac Dashboard that you might grow to love even more.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to use widgets and hot corners on your Mac to simulate your previous experience with Dashboard.

What is a widget?

Widgets are small programs like a calculator that used to appear when you opened up your dashboard. They haven’t disappeared, fortunately.

What is a hot corner?

Apple created “hot corners” that activate some applications when you hover your mouse on a selected corner of your screen. We’ll be setting one up for the Notification Center.

1 – Head over to “Mission Control”

• Go to your Mac’s Settings.
• Click Mission Control.

2 – Select “Hot Corners”

Mission Control is where you used to activate your Dashboard. Now, you’ll use it to activate Hot Corners.

3 – Add “Notification Center” to your desired hot corner

Using the drop-down menu arranged at your desired “hot corner”:

• Select and add Notification Center.
• Click OK.

I chose the bottom-left of the screen because I rarely use that part of the screen on my Mac for anything else.

4 – Use the “hot corner” to bring up your Notification Center

• Hover your mouse on the corner of the screen you selected for your “hot corner.” (Mine is on the bottom-left.)

You should see the notification center pop-up on the right-hand side of your desktop.

How is Notification Center like the Dashboard?

The Notification Center contains many of the same tools and widgets to which you were accustomed on your previous Dashboard. Things like calculator, weather, stock prices, etc. can all be added or deleted from your Notification Center. In the next step, I’ll show you how to customize it with your favorite Dashboard widgets!

In addition, you can also see notifications from apps, calendars, etc. in the Notifications tab on the upper-right of the window.

5 – Customize the Notification Center

You can add and remove widgets from your Notification Center.

• Click the small edit button at the bottom of the Notification Center.

• Click and drag the widgets you want into your Notification Center
• Drag the ones you want to remove outside.
• Click Done.

What about other widgets?

Don’t see the widget you want? You can download more widgets in the Apple App store by clicking the App Store button at the bottom of the editing screen.

Right now there aren’t too many widgets from which to choose. There are some new ones coming out soon, however, like the addition of the universal clipboard. But we’re certain that developers will be making many more widgets in the near future.

Enjoy your new Dashboard-like Notification Center!

How to Enable the “Popping” Sound When Adjusting the Volume on Your Mac

howchoo   (467)

December 13, 2023

How to Sculpt in Blender

howchoo (467)

November 21, 2023

11 minutes

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1 – Make sure Blender is up to date

2 – Start a new file

3 – Choose the sculpting tab

4 – Familiarize with the sculpting tools

5 – Blender Sculpting Tools List

• Draw – This tool allows you to paint with a 3D brush, moving vertices either in or out.
• Clay – The clay tool paints inward or outward but only on a specific plane.
• Clay Strips – The Clay Strips tool works just like the Clay tool but uses a cube-shaped brush instead of a spherical one.
• Layer – With the layer tool, the height of each brush stroke is capped. Letting go of the button and starting a new stroke will reset the height cap.
• Inflate – This tool expands (or contracts when using Deflate mode) vertices based on the direction of their normals.
• Blob – Using this tool will round meshes outward or inward into a spherical shape.
• Crease – This tool makes sharp crevices.
• Smooth – The Smooth tool evens out vertices touched by the brush.
• Flatten – With Flatten, you can make solid, flat, planes on an otherwise bumpy surface.
• Fill – This tool pulls vertices up level with others to fill in gaps. The Deepen mode will push them down.
• Scrape – The Scrape tool is similar to both Flatten and Fill by moving vertices in relation to a plane. Its inverse is the Peak tool which pushes vertices upwards and away from a given plane.
• Pinch – Wherever the brush is placed when pressing the mouse button will attract vertices to the center of that point. The inverse of the tool is Magnify which moves them away from the brush center.
• Grab – The Grab tool allows you to pick and move vertices by clicking and dragging.
• Snake Hook – Vertices are pulled along each brush stroke to form a snake-like pattern.
• Thumb – When using the Thumb tool, vertices within the brush area are flattened towards the direction of the stroke.
• Nudge – The Nudge tool lets you push vertices with the stroke of a brush.
• Rotate – Clicking and dragging will rotate the vertices within the brush. Moving the brush will determine how far and which direction the rotation goes.
• Simplify – This tool will address any short edges by collapsing them but only if dynamic topology is enabled under the Brush > Sculpt Tool menu.
• Mask – Use this tool to select vertices that you don’t want to be affected by other brushes.
• Annotate – Annotate offers a selection of annotation tools including lines, free-hand, and polygonal options.

6 – Sculpt your object

How to Enable the “Popping” Sound When Adjusting the Volume on Your Mac

howchoo (467)

December 13, 2023

How to Save a Word Document as a Google Doc

howchoo   (467)

November 21, 2023

5 minutes

What you’ll need

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Many people choose to convert a Word file because it’s much easier to share it in Google Docs.

To save a Word document as a Google Doc, it must first be converted via Google Drive. Word docs generally convert pretty well into Google Docs, so you shouldn’t have to make too many edits once it’s complete. Once it’s a Google Doc, then it will be saved as one, too. Note that this process works for saving both .doc and .docx files to Google Docs.

We’ll walk you through the steps to save a Word document as a Google Doc.

1 – Open the Word document in Google Docs

On the main Google Docs screen, select the “Open file picker” folder icon.

2 – Select your Word file

Either drag the Word document file into the selector or click select file from your device to search through your computer for the Word doc file.

Once you upload it, Google Docs will automatically convert the Word document and open it.

3 – Change the file name and fix any formatting issues

Now that your Word document is open in Google Docs, it is automatically saved in Google Docs under the file name of the Microsoft Word doc.

Change Google Doc file name

You may want a different file name for the Word document that you converted to a Google Doc. If so, simply click the file name on the top-left and edit it how you wish.

Fix formatting issues from conversion

While Google does a great job converting Word documents to Google Docs, it’s still not a perfect process. You should go through your new Google Doc to ensure that the formatting is the way you want it. You may find that you need to change the margins, double-space, or make other changes to the Google Doc.

How to Double-Space in Google Docs
What’s better than one space…that’s right.

How to Change Margins in Google Docs
There’s two options for changing a page’s margins.

Can I convert it back to a Word document?

Sure! If you need to convert a Google Doc to a Word document, then we have a guide for that.

How to Save a Google Doc as a Word Doc (.docx)
Choose “Download.”

How to Search in Google Docs (Find Words)

howchoo   (467)

December 13, 2023

How to Remove a Background in Illustrator

howchoo   (467)

November 21, 2023

5 minutes

What you’ll need

Interests

Adobe Illustrator x 1

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Adobe Illustrator has a few tools available that allow users to remove the background from their work. This process makes it possible to create artwork with transparent areas anywhere they want. In guide this, I’ll go over the easiest ways to do this, as there are more complex processes don’t always apply to general use cases.

I’ll provide a simple example as we go along, but be aware that’s possible to create more complex images with a little bit of patience and familiarity with Illustrator.

1 – Enable transparency

You’ll first need to ensure the image you’re working with is a vector. If it’s a picture, you can turn it into a vector by going to the top menu and choosing Window > File Trace.

Next, we need to enable transparency in order to delete the background, otherwise it defaults to a plain white background. To do this, go to the top menu and navigate to View > Show Transparency Grid. The Shift + Ctrl/Command + D keyboard shortcut will also enable transparency.

2 – Select the background

Select the image and go to Object > Expand from the top menu to show all of the points in your vector image. Select only the points that pertain to the background you want to remove.

3 – Delete the background

Once you’ve selected the background, press Delete on your keyboard. This will remove anything that was selected and replace it with transparency.

Now that your background is removed, you can save and export the image or continue your work in Illustrator.

4 – Alternative method: us a clipping mask

Alternatively, you can use a clipping mask to remove the background. You will need to enable transparency from step one and then follow our guide on how to use a Clipping Mask in Illustrator to make the background transparent.

How to Make a Clipping Mask in Illustrator
Cut out images with custom shapes in Illustrator.

How to Resize an Image in InDesign

howchoo   (467)

December 7, 2023