Why do scam emails no longer have bad spelling?
The advice about poor English is now actively dangerous. What replaced it, why the old filter existed at all, and the three tests that still work when the writing is perfect.
beginner7 min3 min read
Technology
Phones, laptops, home networks and accounts — with a bias towards fixing what you have rather than replacing it, and towards security advice that is actually worth the effort.
590 guides
Why does my TV keep losing channels?
Working out whether missing Freeview channels are a retune, a weak aerial signal or a fault in the cable, and the checks that separate them without guessing.
beginner30 min4 min readWhy does my broadband drop at the same time every day?
A drop with a timetable has a cause with a timetable. How to tell a line management reset from electrical interference from a neighbour's equipment, and why repeatedly rebooting the router makes the underlying problem worse.
intermediate30 min4 min readCan I connect Bluetooth headphones to two devices at once?
Multipoint is the feature that lets one pair of headphones stay live on a laptop and a phone together. Which headphones have it, how to turn it on, and why it sometimes grabs the wrong audio.
beginner10 min3 min readCan I use my old router as a wifi extender?
Yes, and done properly it beats a plug-in extender outright — but only if you run a cable to it. What to change, in what order, and why the wireless version of the same idea is barely worth doing.
advanced45 min4 min readCan a video call be faked by someone pretending to be a person I know?
What real-time deepfakes can and cannot currently do, the weak visual tells and why you should not depend on them, and the out-of-band checks that work regardless.
beginner8 min3 min readDo I actually need a tablet as well as a phone?
A tablet earns its place when screen size is the point — reading, drawing, video, sheet music, or handing a device to someone who struggles with a phone. Otherwise a large phone covers it.
beginner15 min4 min readDoes a photo I share show where it was taken?
Every photograph carries hidden information, usually including the exact spot it was taken. What is in there, which platforms strip it and which do not, and how to remove it before you share.
beginner20 min7 min readHow do I connect old equipment to a modern TV?
Getting a video recorder, an old console or a DVD player onto a set that only has HDMI — which converter you need, why a passive adapter cannot work, and the UK-specific setting that catches people.
intermediate40 min4 min readHow do I delete an online account properly?
Actually removing an account and its data, rather than deactivating it or abandoning it.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I email a group without showing everyone's address?
Using BCC correctly, why exposing a list of addresses can be a reportable data breach in the UK, and better options for a group you email often.
beginner10 min3 min readHow do I go paperless without losing everything?
The scanning is the easy part. What decides whether it works is the naming, the retention rules and the fact that a digital archive with one copy is worse than the shoebox it replaced.
intermediate2 hr4 min readHow do I look and sound better on video calls?
The handful of changes that most improve how you come across on a video call — audio, lighting, camera position and connection.
beginner20 min2 min readHow do I make a Windows installation or recovery USB stick?
The stick that gets you into recovery when the machine's own recovery is gone. How to make one on a working computer, what size it needs, and the difference between installation media and a recovery drive.
intermediate1 hr6 min readHow do I make sure an old hard drive cannot be read?
When erasing is enough, when destruction is warranted, and the safe way to do each — including what to do with a drive from a computer that no longer starts.
intermediate45 min3 min readHow do I set up a laptop docking station so it just works?
Getting one cable to carry power, screens, network and peripherals reliably — and the reason a dock that half works is almost always the cable or the port rather than the dock.
intermediate40 min5 min readHow do I set up a second monitor?
Connecting, arranging and configuring a second screen so the mouse moves the way you expect.
beginner30 min2 min readHow do I set up and manage voicemail on a mobile?
Voicemail is a network service, not a phone feature, which is why nothing on the handset explains it. How to set it up, record a greeting, turn it off, and stop paying for calls to retrieve messages.
beginner20 min5 min readHow do I share a folder between two computers at home?
The built-in way to reach one computer's files from another over your own network — what to switch on, why it usually fails the first time, and when a memory stick or a NAS is the better answer.
intermediate35 min8 min readHow do I share photos with family without emailing them?
Shared albums, links and messaging compared on quality and privacy, and the arrangement that works when the family uses different phones.
beginner25 min3 min readHow do I sort out my digital legacy?
What happens to accounts, photographs and subscriptions, and the arrangements that spare someone a great deal of difficulty.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I undo a change that broke my computer?
There is a ladder of undo mechanisms, narrowest first. Using them in order fixes most self-inflicted problems without reinstalling anything.
intermediate45 min4 min readHow do I update software safely?
Keeping systems patched without breaking things — what to update immediately, what to delay, and what to back up first.
beginner20 min2 min readHow do I use safe mode to find the app that is breaking my Android phone?
Safe mode starts Android without any installed apps. If the fault disappears, an app is responsible, and a binary search through recent installs finds it in a few restarts.
intermediate30 min4 min read
Going deeper: DecisionHQ
Product and option comparisons with explicit criteria, rather than a single recommendation.
DecisionHQ is in development — GuideHQ covers the practical answers in the meantime.