Whatever the case, whether it’s for helpdesk support or equipment inventory, here’s how to find the serial number the easy way. Find PC’s Serial Number via Command Line Prompt or PowerShell To find the serial number via PowerShell, hit the Windows key and type: powershell and run it as administrator from the search results. Next, enter the following into the PowerShell and hit Enter: That will bring up your PC’s serial number, and you can write it down....

In a recent Google Chrome update, the right-click Context Menu has been changed. The new style is more touch-friendly with extra white space between the items. However, if you’re not a fan of it, here’s how to revert to the old style. Right-click Menu on Chrome Since the update, when you right-click anything in Chrome, you’ll get this ugly-looking context menu with a white space between items. This makes navigating Chrome on touch interfaces easier but annoying on traditional computers....

Hide the Task View Button on Windows 11 Taskbar When you click the Task View button, you will see all of the open app windows on your desktop. You can also view your other virtual desktops or create a new one. To begin removing it, click the Start button and then click the Settings button from the menu. Alternately, you can use the keyboard shortcut Windows key + I to launch Settings directly....

You can use a text box to call attention to something in your document, rotate snippets of text, or create a unique appearance. Microsoft Word also provides formatting options for text boxes that give them their own nifty style or useful function. Here, we’ll show you how to add or draw a text box and then format it to your liking in Microsoft Word. Insert or Draw a Text Box in Word With Word on Windows, you can either insert a preformatted text box or draw one of your own....

If you don’t have a free Tablet from the Microsoft Build event, installing Windows 8 in a virtual environment is probably a good idea especially if you don’t have a spare tablet or PC lying around. The first step is to download a copy of Virtual Box and getting it installed. The install is very straight forward so I won’t review the step-by-step on that. From there, go download Windows 8 and copy the ....

If you’re in an audio-only channel, for instance, you might be expected to keep chatting, or you’ll be taking up space for somebody else. You can deal with this problem yourself in your own Discord server using an AFK (or away from keyboard) channel. You can move a user from a voice channel into an AFK channel automatically if they become inactive. Here’s how to make an AFK channel in Discord....

Like other recent versions of Android, you can see your notifications by swiping from the top of the screen down to display the notification shade. To manage notifications, head to Settings > Sound & Notification > App Notifications. Note that all apps will be installed with the default to display notifications. Next, scroll through the list of apps and tap the one you no longer want to see or hear notifications for....

With Collections, you can organize quizzes for each class or term, surveys for customers or employees, and forms for sign-ups or registrations. However you want to group your forms, Collections in Microsoft Forms makes it easy. How to Create a Collection in Microsoft Forms If you want to create a collection in Microsoft Forms: Add Forms to a Microsoft Teams Collection Once you create a Collection, you can quickly add surveys, quizzes, or forms....

Wear OS and Notifications A smartwatch is a great way of seeing things that happen on your phone without actually taking it out of your pocket. It also has a limited battery life. Notifications in excess will drain it in no time and, when you’ll actually need it, you’ll find yourself without power. The key is to keep a good balance between the convenience of the watch showing a lot of things and what you actually require in terms of notifications....

What is Tracking? Websites use tracking mechanisms to collect data about your browsing, likes, clicks, and shopping habits to serve up personalized ads. In fact, trackers can collect data about you across multiple sites. Even ones you haven’t visited. That’s why it seems like ads for a product or service are following you around online. And some trackers can be harmful. Ones that are detected as cryptomining or fingerprinting in the background....

What version of software is your Android device running? If you haven’t updated recently, there might be a new version available! Typically your phone carrier will provide Over-the-Air (OTA) updates so that you can upgrade automatically and wirelessly. You could drive to your carrier’s brick & mortar store to have them update it, or you could just check for for these updates yourself and save some gas money! Below we’ll show you how to check for updates, and explain what the terms PRL, Firmware, and Profile mean....

Recently I set up my Outlook Calendar to send me notifications for important events. However, I found them in my Junk email folder. That is certainly annoying, and sometimes you get legitimate emails and are sent to the Junk email folder. Mark Email as Not Junk in Outlook To ensure they are put in your Inbox, click on your Junk Email folder. Then right-click the message labeled as Junk and select Junk » Not Junk from the context menu....

While not technically a “new” feature, the Safety Check in Chrome is something you might not know exists. Find out if you have potentially harmful extensions installed if you remembered to enable Safe Browsing, and more. If Chrome is your browser of choice, it’s good to take advantage of the tools Google provides for safer browsing. Here’s how to perform a Safety Check in Chrome with this built-in feature....

On the Windows 8 Desktop, adding the classic Control Panel as a shortcut on the Desktop is easy. Just open Personalization, click “Change Desktop Icons” and check Control Panel. Adding it to the Taskbar isn’t as easy as doing a drag and drop. In fact, you simply can’t. Instead, you need to go through the process of creating a new shortcut and pointing it to Control Panel. The process is similar to pinning the Recycle Bin to the Taskbar....

Add Your Music to Spotify Launch the Spotify desktop app and head to Menu > Edit > Preferences. Then scroll down the settings page and turn on the “Show Local Files” switch. After turning it on, you will see a few other options including showing songs from your “Downloads” and “Music Library” folder. Another helpful option is a “Add a Source” button. The option to add other sources is helpful for those of us who store media on secondary drives or network locations....

If you dial 911 without realizing it, you may trigger an emergency response, as silent calls are usually treated as a sign of distress. If you want to stop these, you’ll need to prevent accidental 911 calls on your iPhone. Here’s what you’ll need to do. What is Emergency SOS on iPhone? iPhone has a built-in feature called Emergency SOS that you can use in an emergency to dial 911 if it’s difficult to talk....

If you set up a Pattern Lock on your Android device, then you’ll know why we wrote this how-to. The Android operating system doesn’t have a timeout attached to the pattern lock feature, this means that every time your screen turns off your phone will become instantly locked. This becomes so annoying that most people will opt to not even use the Pattern lock. Let’s fix it the easy way, with a free app!...

Stop Windows 10 Pro from Automatically Updating Drivers If you are running Windows 10 Pro, stopping driver updates is an easy process. Hit Windows key + R and type: gpedit.msc and hit Enter or click OK to open Local Group Policy Editor. Then head to the following path: Then double-click on “Do not include drivers with Windows Update” under the Settings list on the right. Now set the option to Enabled and click OK and close out of Group Policy Editor and restart your PC for the changes to take effect....

Steve, I changed the name in the ownership. How do I change the computer name? The process has not changed from Windows XP days through Windows 8 (those instructions are lower in the article). But the process has changed in Windows 10. Don’t forget you need to be logged in with an account that has Administrator rights. These steps also assume your computer is a member of a Workgroup or standalone, and not a Windows Domain/Active Directory (Corporate Network....

But no. That would get you fired. And there is a way–a non-destructive, unembarrassing way, using your own computer– to take a stand for individuality, something that declares I am not simply a corporate flunky! That something is an animated cursor. Not the few token animated pointers Microsoft buries in Windows. But some wild, passionate cursors like we tell you how to find in Animated Cursors Give Relief to Overworked Eyes....