What Is a Driver and When Is Updating One Worth It?
A driver is the translator between Windows and a piece of hardware. Most should be left alone, and here are the few cases where updating matters.
7 min read
Plain-English Explainers for Everyday Tech Terms
Some tech terms you only ever meet at the moment they are causing a problem: a CAPTCHA that will not accept you, a certificate warning, a file extension nothing will open. These guides answer the question you actually asked, in the first paragraph, and then explain enough of the mechanism that the next related problem makes sense too. No prior knowledge assumed, and no padding to reach a word count.
Explainers guides(14)
What Is a Cache and Why Does Clearing It Fix Things?
A cache is a local copy kept so your device does not fetch the same thing twice. It only breaks in specific ways, and here is when clearing it helps.
7 min read
What Does Incognito Mode Actually Hide?
Private browsing hides your activity from other people using your device. It hides nothing from your employer, your provider, or the sites themselves.
7 min read
What Is an IP Address and Does It Identify You?
An IP address routes traffic to your connection, not to you personally. Here is what it reveals, what it does not, and who can link it to your name.
8 min read
What Is a MAC Address and When Do You Need It?
A MAC address identifies your network hardware on the local network only. Here is where to find it and why your phone now shows a different one per network.
7 min read
What Are SSL and TLS, and Why Certificates Expire
TLS is the encryption behind HTTPS; SSL is its obsolete predecessor. Here is what a certificate proves and why expiry warnings are so common.
7 min read
What Is HTTPS and What Does the Padlock Guarantee?
HTTPS encrypts the connection between you and a site. It proves nobody is reading in transit. It proves nothing about whether the site is honest.
7 min read
What Is a Cookie and Which Ones Should You Reject?
Cookies are small text files sites store in your browser. Some keep you logged in, some follow you around. Here is how to tell them apart.
7 min read
What Is Cloud Computing, in Plain Terms
The cloud is someone else's computer in a data centre, rented by the hour. Here is what that changes for you, and what it quietly costs.
7 min read
What Is a JSON File and How Do You Open One?
JSON is plain text holding structured data. Any text editor opens it. Here is what the brackets mean and how to make an unreadable one legible.
7 min read
Are QR Codes Safe to Scan? The Real Risk
A QR code is just text, so it cannot infect your phone. The risk is entirely in where the link goes, and in codes stuck over other codes.
7 min read
How to Scan a QR Code on Any Phone
Every phone made since about 2018 scans QR codes with the built-in camera app. No download needed, and here is where the feature lives on each platform.
6 min read
Why reCAPTCHA Keeps Asking You to Click Images
The image grid is a fallback, not the test. reCAPTCHA scores your session first. Here is what lowers that score and how to stop the loop.
7 min read
What Is a CAPTCHA and Why Do You Keep Failing It
A CAPTCHA is a test that separates people from automated scripts. Here is what it actually measures, and why some people get much harder puzzles.
7 min read
Topics in Explainers
Explainers questions
Why do I keep failing CAPTCHA tests?
Modern CAPTCHAs score your behaviour, not your answers. A VPN, a privacy-focused browser, blocked cookies or an unusual mouse pattern all lower that score, which is why you get harder puzzles than someone on a stock browser.
Does incognito mode hide my browsing?
Only from other people using your device. It stops the browser saving history, cookies and form data locally. Your internet provider, employer and the sites themselves still see exactly the same traffic.
What does the padlock in the address bar guarantee?
That your connection to the site is encrypted and nobody in between can read it. It says nothing about whether the site is honest — scam sites get the same free certificates as everyone else.