Even if you aren’t a huge techie, you probably know about all the big, mainstream apps that are fundamental to how we use our PCs. I’m talking Word, Outlook, Chrome, Slack, Dropbox, etc. You know, right? But there are many, many, many awesome free apps out there that can seriously improve your PC and your workflows, unlock new tools and features, and just make your PC experience better overall. If you want to wring a little more out of your PC, here are some of the best hidden gem apps that are super useful and available for free. Ferdium for centralizing all the web apps and services you use in one place Ferdium If you have a lot of permanently open browser tabs for all the different web apps you use every day, then you can make things easier for yourself by organizing them with Ferdium. (Have you heard of Rambox or Franz? Ferdium is like those except open-source and totally free.) Ferdium lets you run separate tabs for hundreds of web services, including chat apps (like Messenger, Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.) and social apps (like Slack, Discord, etc.) as well as email apps, calendar apps, media apps, AI chatbots, and more. All of those apps can reside right within Ferdium, letting you consolidate all of that to one place. I love Ferdium for how it fences everything off into its own app. I no longer have to reach for my phone to check WhatsApp or catch up on Teams notifications or pull up Gmail or Google Calendar. It’s all just one click away on my PC and it’s less distracting overall. PDFgear for PDF editing, converting, merging, annotating, and more PDFgear PDFgear is one of those diamonds in the rough, one that we’ve been evangelizing for a while now. But just because it isn’t as well-known as others doesn’t mean it isn’t an excellent PDF editor. If you’ve ever been frustrated by how difficult it is to find a high-quality offline PDF editor that doesn’t charge you for personal use, then PDFgear is the end goal you’ve been looking for. This app is super capable at editing PDFs, whether through annotations or direct file editing. It works with text, images, and graphics. It can merge PDFs together. It can convert PDFs into different file types. It can do just about anything else you’d want to do with a PDF. It even has a built-in AI assistant that can search, summarize, aid with editing, and more. SitApp for developing better posture SitApp If you work or game at your PC for hours at a time, then maintaining good posture and proper back health is something that’s well worth the effort. But maybe all you really need is a gentle prod whenever you start to slouch, in which case you could benefit greatly from SitApp. SitApp is a useful app that uses your webcam to analyze your posture and detect when you’re slouching — and when you are, the app shows a little pop-up reminder to let you know. It also tracks your posture history so you can compete against yourself to see how long you can maintain good posture. My record is 92% over eight hours. How about you? BreakTimer for regular break reminders BreakTimer If you’re always on your PC, good posture isn’t the only thing to worry about. It’s important to get up and walk around, rest your eyes, drink water, stretch, and maybe even exercise. But it’s easy to forget to do all of that, especially if you lock onto a task or get absorbed into a game. BreakTimer sits in the background and periodically reminds you to take a break. You can customize the alerts to whatever frequency you want, however long you want the breaks to be, which days you want them to be active on, and more. It’s simple but life-changing — and free! Mouse Without Borders for using one mouse and keyboard with multiple PCs Wish you could control multiple computers with one set of mouse and keyboard? One way to do that is to buy a KVM switch and go through the hassle of setting it up. Or you could just get Mouse Without Borders. Mouse Without Borders is a Microsoft Garage project that was put together by developer Truong Do during his off-hours, and it works fantastically well for controlling up to four PCs with a single mouse and keyboard. It’s not perfect, but it’s quick, easy to use, and entirely free, making it a great alternative to hardware KVMs. 4K Video Downloader Plus for downloading videos anywhere online 4K Download Lots of video downloader tools have come and gone over the years, useful for when you want to save videos from YouTube, Facebook, and other sites. But most of those tools eventually turn into malware, slow down to a crawl when they gain too many users, or simply die off overnight and leave you dry and forsaken. On the other hand, 4K Video Downloader Plus works almost flawlessly, stays regularly updated, and doesn’t suffer from malware infections, all in a fast and lightweight package. What more could you ask for? Foobar2000 for reliable music playback Foobar2000 Are you in the minority of people who haven’t yet jumped aboard the Spotify train? Do you have a large MP3 collection instead? And are you using Windows Media Player to listen to it? If so, then I have a gift for you: Foobar2000, a simple and lightweight music player. Windows Media Player has its foibles when it comes to managing large music collections, organizing playlists, customizing the interface, converting between file formats, and offering all kinds of other advanced features. Foobar2000 does it all plus more, and it’s been around since 2002, and it’s been completely free for that entire time. This streamlined music player went from super popular to obscure over the last decade or so, and these days it’s sort of a hidden gem again. Its interface is barebones out of the box, but it also has deep customization options that let you make it truly your own. MPC-BE for hassle-free video playback MPC-BE Back in the day, there used to be an open-source app called Media Player Classic that was a lightweight yet improved alternative to Windows Media Player for playing video files. MPC ceased development in 2006, but the project has been forked a few times since. MPC-BE (short for Black Edition) is my preferred successor. It’s still free and open-source, and it still carries forward the streamlined principles that made Media Player Classic so popular. You don’t have to fiddle around with codecs — it just works and it doesn’t bog down your system. It’s one of the best open-source PC apps. EarTrumpet for controlling volume on an individual per-app basis Jon Martindale / IDG If you consistently find that some apps are way too loud or way too quiet even when your system volume seems fine, then you need EarTrumpet. This quick and easy utility lets you individually adjust the volume of any audio source that’s playing on your PC. From browser windows to social apps, from local audio to online, EarTrumpet gives you fine-tuned control over your PC’s audio output. It can even let you lower the volume of everyone in a Discord chat rather than having to do it one by one. EPKL for changing your keyboard layout or customizing individual keys EPKL Here in the US, nearly every keyboard has the standard QWERTY layout that came out in 1874. But this classic keyboard layout has drawbacks, like inefficient typing and a greater susceptibility to repetitive strain injuries. That’s why people have been moving away from it. Fortunately, even if you have a QWERTY keyboard, you don’t have to use the QWERTY layout itself. Thanks to EPKL, you can easily switch over to Colemak, Dvorak, or whatever other keyboard layout you want without having to buy a special keyboard. Alternatively, you can use EPKL to move specific keys around or even rebind certain keys to perform different actions. And if you’re feeling devilish, you can even use it to prank your friends and make them think their keyboard is borked. (Just be sure to let them off afterwards, as this one could stump the less tech-savvy for hours.) Files for an improved and more effective alternative to File Explorer Files Are you tired of File Explorer’s shortcomings? Then don’t delay and install Files right away. This open-source Windows file manager feels familiar yet comes with several advanced features, like dual-pane browsing, tags for files and folders, a better preview system, custom keyboard shortcuts, seamless cloud integration, and more. Everything for a faster and more powerful way to search your Windows PC Voidtools If you feel like the built-in search in Windows is as ineffective as it is monolithic, you aren’t alone. Fortunately, you don’t have to put up with its subpar capabilities. Everything by Voidtools is a far more capable search tool, able to not only find anything on your system by its name or file type but also by its contents. Content searching takes a lot longer, of course, but it’s super effective — and if you search normally (i.e., by name or file type), it’s significantly faster than Windows’ search. Cryptomater for encrypting your data, both locally and in the cloud Skymatic “Not your keys, not your coins” is a cryptocurrency expression that highlights the importance of protecting your data. If you aren’t careful with your files, you could lose more than you expect — and your personal data is only as safe as you make it. Cryptomator is a free solution that adds an extra layer of security to your files using encryption. It works with any files, no matter where you store them, whether locally on your PC or online in the cloud. It effectively locks down your data so that even if someone were to gain access, they wouldn’t be able to do anything with what they find. Fan Control to control your PC fans Fan Control If you’re like me, you’ve probably used a number of software fan controllers over the years and always found them unintuitive, underwhelming, or frustrating. If so, then I have some good news for you: Fan Control is a breath of fresh air and the app you need. This free app gives you straightforward control over all the adjustable fans in your PC, from the rear exhaust fans to the CPU pump speed to everything in between. You can tie fan speeds to various temperature sensors, apply different fan curves and trigger points, and even integrate with third-party software through plugins. Fan Control’s interface is clean and customizable, but if you need help getting started, the app has an assisted setup that aids in labeling and organizing your fans and their associated sensors. Microsoft PowerToys for unlocking extra features and goodies in Windows Jon Martindale / IDG A worker is only as good as their tools, so why use Windows without making sure you have access to its full potential? There’s something called Microsoft PowerToys, available directly in the Microsoft Store, that freely unlocks new features and goodies. I’ve written about my favorite PowerToys features that are pretty useful, including improvements to File Explorer, a batch renaming utility, an expanded clipboard, a quick-find tool for your mouse cursor, a color palette helper, and so much more. Microsoft PC Manager for simplified maintenance of your Windows PC Microsoft If might not feel as cool to use as some of the other niche third-party or solo-dev projects on this list, but Microsoft PC Manager is a really effective system maintenance tool. It helps you free up storage space, track memory usage, monitor system startup time (which you can speed up with some tweaks), and shows you active apps for diagnostic purposes when things are acting up. WizTree for visualizing your disk space usage and finding large files Jon Martindale / IDG With multiple drives full of large apps and files, it can be hard to understand just how much space you have left on your PC and how much each existing piece of data actually takes up. You can also lose space when giant files are forgotten in corners of your drives. Disk analyzer tools like WizTree are a great way to visualize your system’s data storage, making it easier to understand which apps to uninstall or which files to delete when you need to free up some extra space. It’s fast, effective, and easy to use — as well as being entirely free. DDU for purging old and unused drivers DDU It isn’t easy staying on top of your system drivers. But even if you do keep up with installing new drivers, you probably don’t uninstall your old drivers. Maybe the installer handles that for you… but maybe it doesn’t. Even official uninstallers from AMD and Nvidia can miss them. That means you could have a bunch of old drivers still lingering around on your PC, and when old driver files build up over the years, they can rear their heads at unexpected times and cause stability issues. Most full-blown driver uninstaller tools, like Driver Magician, cost money. But there is one that’s totally free: DDU, which stands for Display Driver Uninstaller. This straightforward utility strips your PC of unused graphics drivers, which can come in handy if you’re running into graphics card issues that are seemingly impossible to troubleshoot. HWMonitor for checking the health of your PC and internal hardware Jon Martindale / IDG Want to keep an eye on your PC components and their general health? You can quickly spot overheating, performance issues, or other odd details with either HWMonitor or HWInfo. Both tools are fantastic for monitoring your PC’s various hardware components and how they’re working. HWMonitor is simpler and easier to get to grips with, while HWInfo is more advanced with a more comprehensive overview of PC stats. If you’d rather just keep an eye on the temperatures of your processor and its cores, check out the ultra-lightweight Core Temp. Parsec for streamlined remote desktop access and control from anywhere Have you ever wanted to use your PC remotely? I mean, even when you’re away from home, it’d be great if you could “remote in” to your PC and use it from anywhere, right? With remote desktop software, you can! Most remote desktop solutions are paid, and the free ones usually aren’t very good. But these days we have Parsec, a remote desktop tool that was originally built to allow for remote gaming but has since expanded to become a low-latency desktop sharing app. In layman’s terms, you can use Parsec to connect to your PC and operate it like you’re there, except you aren’t. It’s equally great for working on your hobby coding project during your lunch break as it is for playing your Steam games from a hotel while traveling. Parsec has a free Personal Use version that doesn’t come with all features, but it does have all the essentials: low-latency 60FPS desktop streaming; support for keyboards, mice, and gamepads; and encrypted connections. Further reading: Great free apps that are already installed on your PC Read...

Taiwan is the world’s biggest producer of high-end computer processors and semiconductors. The newly-minted Trump administration has announced its latest series of tariff plans, including a “25 percent, 50 percent, or even 100 percent tax” on chips produced in Taiwan. If implemented, the price of nearly all electronics imported to the US will skyrocket later in the year. President Donald Trump has pursued tariffs as an immediate and dramatic means of achieving his political goals, threatening both US allies and rivals with tariffs to force capitulation to his demands. Notably the Trump administration has immediately threatened America’s biggest and most immediate trading partners, Canada, Mexico, and China, with tariffs on all imported goods if various conditions are not met. Extra charges for finished goods from China are already expected to increase prices on a macroeconomic level, from multi-billion-dollar companies buying fleets of vehicles to consumers buying flash drives. The US Consumer Technology Association estimates that Trump’s proposed tariffs on China would make the price of individual laptops, tablets cell phones, and game consoles rise by multiple hundreds of dollars per unit. And to be clear, that’s China alone, before considering additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods. “In particular in the very near future we’re going to be placing tariffs on production of computer chips, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals to return production of these essential goods to the United States of America,” Trump announced late Monday night. “They left us and went to Taiwan, where, which is about 98 percent of the chip business by the way, and we want them to come back, and we don’t wanna give them billions of dollars like this ridiculous has, give everybody billions of dollars. They already have billions of dollars.” Trump continued, “They’ve got nothing but money, Joe! They didn’t need money, they needed an incentive, and the incentive is they’re not gonna want to pay a 25, 50, or even a 100 percent tax. They’re gonna build their factory with their own money. We don’t have to give ’em money, they’re going to come in because it’s good for them to come in.” Trump is obliquely referring to the CHIPS Act, signed into law under former president Biden in 2022. The program stimulates investment in US domestic semiconductor fabrication, notably including new chip foundries in the United States in New York, Texas, North Carolina, and Arizona, among others. Taiwan produces 70 percent of the global supply of semiconductors, with the industrial giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) accounting for the bulk of that production. TSMC partners with companies like Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, Apple, Arm, Broadcom, and dozens of others to manufacture their chip designs and ship them out to factories for electronics production. Intel is one of the only major companies that doesn’t partner with TSMC for its primary chips, but even an Intel-powered laptop will be packed with components ultimately produced in Taiwan, among other places. Following the CHIPS Act, TSMC has opened two factories in the US in Arizona with production beginning later this year, and a third under construction. While the company has already announced partnership plans with major industrial companies including Apple, the US is only expected to get a 14 percent slice of the semiconductor market by 2032. In the meantime, the bulk of chips for electronics will need to be imported. Tariffs imposed on these chips will inevitably cause prices to rise for consumers and businesses on essentially all hardware, notably including computers, smartphones, vehicles, industrial and medical equipment, and most secondary devices like monitors and headphones. In short, almost everything with a computer chip in it will rise in price. So far Trump has expressed his intentions verbally, but there is no formal declaration of policy by the US federal government. If there’s any hope of reprieve from these intentions, it will come from Trump’s apparently close ties to the US tech industry. The leaders of the country’s biggest technology players have attempted to cultivate a close relationship with the president since his election victory in November, frequently visiting him in his Florida mansion, attending his inauguration and funding it with millions in generous donations. It’s possible that their influence could convince Trump that the fallout of sweeping tariffs, for both consumers and the American tech industry, wouldn’t be worth the alleged stimulus to domestic production. Read...

At a GlanceExpert`s Rating Pros Excellent speeds Well-designed interface Unblocks all streaming services Great security and privacy practices Cons More expensive than other VPNs A little light on extra security features Our Verdict ExpressVPN provides an exceptional service with fantastic speeds, easy-to-use apps, transparent privacy practices, and solid security. Very few other VPNs right now can match it. It’s pricier than many other services, but you sure do get a lot of VPN for your money. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today When you think of VPNs, ExpressVPN is likely one of the first names that pops into your head.  That’s no surprise as the company has grown into a household name over recent years and become synonymous with online privacy. It is, and has been, one of the most trustworthy and notable VPN providers on the market from the very beginning. And with each successive year the service just keeps improving. Since our last review, ExpressVPN has undertaken two more independent security audits, launched post-quantum encryption for all apps, and added its own suite of identity-theft protection tools. It has become a one-stop privacy and security powerhouse. Further reading: See our roundup of the best VPNs to learn about competing products. ExpressVPN in brief: P2P allowed: Yes Simultaneous device connections: 8 Business location: British Virgin Islands Number of servers: 3,000+ Number of country locations: 105 Cost: $12.95 per month, or $99.95 for a year What are ExpressVPN’s features and services? ExpressVPN homescreen. Sam Singleton When you first open ExpressVPN, it has a simple single-panel interface with a connected/not connected button in the center, and the country selection below it. Then below that it shows the best smart location based on your geo data. The interface looks about the same as it has for a few iterations now and that’s because it’s simple and effective—if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. When connected, the screen remains largely the same except that ExpressVPN will now show a selection of shortcuts to websites and internet-connected apps such as Google, Wikipedia, and Gmail. You can edit these shortcuts to customize them for your uses.  If you click the drop-down menu in the upper-right corner, you can access additional things such as VPN Locations, Options, and Help & Support. The Options menu is where the meat of your settings are located. Here ExpressVPN offers a decent variety of customizable features, the highlights being a kill-switch, split-tunneling, and ability to switch protocols. All of these are fairly standard across all VPN services.  Notably, however, ExpressVPN does not offer a multi-hop feature to allow you to further obfuscate your connection by chaining it through multiple VPN servers rather than just one. This is unfortunate as many competitors already offer multi-hop connections and it’s a useful privacy enhancing feature for users. For a service as robust as ExpressVPN to not have multi-hop is disappointing—it feels like someone didn’t get the memo. ExpressVPN also offers an optional ad- and tracker-blocking service. Sam Singleton Additionally, under the Options menu, you can enable ExpressVPN’s own ad- and tracker-blocking service called “Threat Manager.” There is also the option to turn on parental controls to block adult sites in case your kids are using the service as well. This addition of extra security features on top of the VPN is something that a lot of the top VPN providers such as Surfshark and NordVPN are offering now too. It’s certainly nice to have and you won’t find me arguing against it, but at this point there are likely better stand-alone security suites that offer better blocking and protection. It’s also worth mentioning that while I focused on the Windows app for the purposes of this review, ExpressVPN does offer incredibly broad device and browser support. Besides Windows, it’s available for MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, ChromeOS, Fire Stick, Android TV, capable routers, and most recently Apple TV. Not to mention that ExpressVPN’s browser extensions from Chrome and Firefox let you fully control the app from the browser instead of acting as simple browser-only proxy connections. How much does ExpressVPN cost? ExpressVPN offers three different subscription options for its service: a monthly plan, a 1-year plan, and a 2-year plan. The monthly plan costs $12.95 per month, which makes it one of the most expensive VPNs on the market if you subscribe month-to-month. The 1-year plan becomes a bit more reasonable at $6.67 per month and throws in an extra three months for free for subscribers. The 2-year plan becomes the most affordable option—if you’re okay paying the sum total upfront—as it drops to $4.99 per month and you get an extra four free months upon sign-up. ExpressVPN offers a 7-day free trial for new members as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee on all subscription plans if you decide that it isn’t for you.  Subscriptions can be paid for via credit card, PayPal, or Bitcoin. How is ExpressVPN’s performance? When testing how fast a VPN is, I rate the service’s speeds across servers in six different countries all around the world over the course of a few days and then compare them to my baseline internet speed during that time.  In my testing, ExpressVPN server speeds were once again excellent. Across all locations tested, the average download speed was 70 percent compared to the base speed and the average upload speed was an equally impressive 80 percent compared to the base. That firmly puts it into our top five fastest VPNs, up there as one of the speed kings—the Ferrari to NordVPN’s Red Bull, if you will. The speeds this time around did drop about 1 percent from last year’s tests, but that shouldn’t be cause for concern as internet speeds are notoriously fickle. It’s still a lot faster than most services we’ve evaluated and is more than sufficient to accommodate a home user’s online activities. You aren’t likely to notice much, if any, buffering issues while streaming or lag while gaming.  ExpressVPN has long promised that it will unblock Netflix and that still holds true. In fact, it not only unblocked Netflix, but also any other major streaming service that I tested including Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney Plus, and AppleTV. As far as user privacy is concerned, there aren’t many better VPNs out there than ExpressVPN. How is ExpressVPN’s security and privacy? ExpressVPN offers two different VPN protocols: OpenVPN and its proprietary Lightway protocol. It uses this proprietary Lightway protocol to connect by default—this can be changed under the Options menu if you wish. In just the last year, ExpressVPN has made significant upgrades to the Lightway protocol, upgrading it to DTLS 1.3 for better encryption. Along with this comes post-quantum protection across all major platforms, future-proofing the VPN’s encryption standard against quantum computers. ExpressVPN offers its own Lightway and OpenVPN protocols.Sam Singleton The Lightway protocol is also open source and you can find it on GitHub. It has also undergone a security audit by the penetration testing firm Cure53. For those who don’t want to use Lightway, there is the option to use OpenVPN instead. IKEv2 and L2TP/IPSec protocols are available as well depending on your operating system. Another added privacy feature that ExpressVPN implemented recently is ShuffleIP. This feature, active by default, automatically changes your IP address for each website you visit rather than remaining static like many other VPNs. This privacy-enhancing feature makes it much more difficult for potential third parties to track your online activity. As far as user privacy is concerned, there aren’t many better VPNs out there than ExpressVPN. It claims not to log any of your browsing history, or other personal data such as DNS queries, IP addresses, connection timestamps, or session duration. It does keep diagnostic and crash reports, but one thing that I really like is that ExpressVPN’s app on Windows asks you up front if you want to contribute this data. More of these options in the future, please. The service is remarkably upfront about what it does and doesn’t track and it backs up its claims too with numerous independent audits. In 2022 alone, ExpressVPN underwent 12 audits on various parts of its service. In 2023, it undertook an additional audit and most recently in 2024 it completed two more—the latest being in June by Cure53 of its browser extension.  Surely, the sheer number of independent audits makes ExpressVPN unmatched among all VPN providers. It’s a level of transparency that can only be applauded. Furthermore, ExpressVPN is located in the British Virgin Islands which is not subject to any international signals intelligence-sharing alliance or data-retention requirements. Meaning it’s much more difficult for any government to force ExpressVPN to share any data about users or servers. Turkey even forcefully seized ExpressVPN servers in 2017 and still came up with nothing anyway—I call that the ultimate independent audit. Is ExpressVPN worth it? The short answer is, absolutely. In fact I don’t think that there are many VPN services out on the market today that rival ExpressVPN. Its combination of excellent speeds, ability to unblock every streaming service, and dedication to user privacy hits all of the right notes. Add to that an interface that is dead-simple to use and broad device support and you get a VPN that ticks just about every box. It might lack some tweakable power-user security features and other services may offer a larger catalog of nonessential security addons, but most of us won’t even notice these things. ExpressVPN isn’t the cheapest option available, but for everything that it does offer, the higher price is more than worth it. Practically everything about this service is top-tier and as a whole, ExpressVPN is still quite simply one of the best VPNs around. Editor’s note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, this review is subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict will be noted at the top of this article. Read...

At a GlanceExpert`s Rating Pros Flawless setup and client interface Fast, glitch-free performance Syncing briefcase with online editing (Pro version) or separate service Unlimited backup Cons Mac Client requires third-party software for briefcase functionality Our Verdict The adjective that Livedrive inspires is “smooth”: Smooth signup, smooth setup, and smooth operation. Offering unlimited storage backup with online/device sync, we also find the pricing more than reasonable. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Retailer Price Livedrive $119.88 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Livedrive online backup Retailer Price Livedrive $119.88 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket After two tire-kickings of the Windows version of Livedrive, I struggle to find anything about the service that isn’t first-rate. Signup was a breeze, the client installed quickly, and operation proved easy to both understand and use. Most importantly, Livedrive never glitched. In fact, it never even hinted at glitching. That inspires confidence — something that’s essential when trusting your precious data to an online backup service. It also proved far faster than I expected for a service with its data centers overseas. Sweet.  See how well Livedrive compares to the competition in our big online backup roundup.  Note: For more about data backup, see our best Windows backup software roundup. What are Livedrive’s features? While I’ve already praised Livedrive for its operational solidity, the attention to detail in the interface is also outstanding. If I had a dime for every poorly rendered, scaled, or translated GUI element I’ve seen in the backup arena, I’d be well on my way to being rich. Obviously, there’s someone at the company other than backup programmers. That said, it does use the British “centre,” rather than the American “center.” God save the Queen! (Err, King.) Live drive running on Windows 11. Though Livedrive automatically selects everything most users want to back up (read: the User folder), you can alter the selections on your own. That’s a good thing for me as I have almost 1TB of VMs, ISO, and storage test files on the desktop — few of which really need to be backed up. Yes, Livedrive provides unlimited backup, but for speed’s sake, you should always skip anything you can easily recreate and limit backup to anything that will produce negative emotions if lost. Livedrive backups may be scheduled as granularly as every hour, or in multiples of hours. There’s also a daily option that should be sufficient for most users, depending on what you’re backing up. If your data set changes more often, use the hourly. In the event you need to restore data, you my use the client software as shown below, or download the data via Livedrive’s web portal. Livedrive’s restore page. Livedrive (Pro Suite or separate) also offers sync in the form of the Briefcase, which is where backups from your mobile devices reside. It is accessed via a virtual network drive invoked by the Open Briefcase button on the Briefcase page of the client software. You may add local folders to the Briefcase via drag-and-drop or create new ones. Folders dragged in are copies of the original folder, not shortcuts — i.e., you’re not syncing the original folder as is the case with folders created inside the drive. The Livedrive Briefcase mounted as a virtual network drive in Windows. A Briefcase-related feature is LAN transfer. This is used to sync the Briefcase among computers on your network running Livedrive. This requires the Pro Suite version, or more than one seat license, and bypasses the overhead of downloading the folder from the Livedrive online repository. Probably my only complaint about Livedrive is that the Mac client requires the installation of macFuse for the Briefcase to function. It’s not alone in using that extension, but it does complicate the dead-easy vibe you get in Windows. Other Livedrive options include excluding files and folders, file-type priority (which files transfer first), bandwidth allocation (performance), proxy server support (VPNs), and an integrity check (comparing local and online files). The Livedrive client’s settings page. For security, Livedrive uses transfer layer security (TLS, the successor to the NSA-supported SSL) and two-factor authentication. The service also ensures that data is distributed across multiple locations and obfuscated so it can’t be linked to an individual account. It conforms with all EU privacy laws for Britain’s continental brethren. How this fares in light of Brexit, we can’t say. But Livedrive is secure. Livedrive also provides Android and iOS apps so you can keep your mobile devices backed up. See below The iOS Livedrive client. How much does Livedrive cost? Livedrive’s base pricing is reasonable at $10 a month for unlimited data backed up from a single PC, though it was on sale for $8.33 at the time of this review. There’s also a standalone Briefcase sync service (think iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.) with a generous 2TB of space for $17.58 a month (currently on sale for $14.66 per month). The Pro Suite offers both Backup and Briefcase as well as five seat licenses for $27.50 a month ($22.08 on sale). Nicely, according to the company, the sale prices are also the rollover prices so there’s no unexpected bump in cost when your plan renews. Note that I evaluated the Pro Suite version which also includes five seat licenses. Livedrive pricing. The non-sale prices are up just slightly from those we saw at our last look in 2021. The Briefcase options are rather pricey considering the aforementioned alternatives, many of which are free for smaller data sets. Online backup competitor iDrive offers sync as part of its standard backup plan.  Nicely, the sale prices are also the rollover prices so there’s no unexpected bump in cost when your plan renews. How fast is Livedrive? I was pleasantly surprised by the 5- to 10MBps upload rate I saw from Livedrive. The company’s data storage facilities are in the United Kingdom so it’s traveling a ways from San Francisco, CA, U.S. where I reside. Of course, that speaks as much to continual improvements in internet infrastructure as the company’s operations, but the bottom line is that you don’t have to worry about backup speed as you might have once. Livedrive starting a backup. It completed successfully in case you were wondering. Nor do you have to worry about the backup’s impact on system performance. Livedrive had backed up 34.5GB of a 250GB backup without my even noticing it. Backups that don’t disturb your computing day are nice.  Should you pay for Livedrive? Yes. Its flawless setup, minimalist interface, and smooth operation make for a superior experience. If you value impeccability, Livedrive is an excellent choice for online backup. That said, it would be nice if the client provided a secondary backup to local storage — restore from local media, when available, is far faster.   Editor’s note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, this review is subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict will be noted at the top of this article. Read...

Phones have replaced many things: computers, calculators, cameras and maps, but returning to an old-fashioned alarm clock instead of your phone might help you get up and go in the morning. Read...

I’m old enough to remember when consoles were getting seriously powerful and people were starting to wonder if PC gaming’s days were numbered. Turns out, no. Far from it. According to a recent professional survey, a shocking 80 percent of game developers are actively working on games for PC, more than double the percentage for the next platform. That’s according to the 2025 State of the Game Industry report at the Game Developers Conference (GDC). When asked, “Which platforms are being used for your current project?” About 80 percent responded with PC, followed by 38 percent for PlayStation 5, 34 percent for Xbox Series X/S, 29 percent for Android, and 28 percent for iOS. Just 23 percent were working on Mac (though it’s worth pointing out that Mac computers have access to the iPhone/iPad App Store) and 20 percent were working on the Switch. But there are a few qualifiers to put this data in perspective. Due to the Game Developers Conference being located in San Francisco, it skews attendance towards American developers and those interested in the latest PC hardware tech. (Nvidia and AMD are both just down the road in Santa Clara.) A small indie developer based in Japan and focusing on Switch games is unlikely to spend all that money to attend, especially when most of the information is made available online later. But even within that context, a definite trend is emerging. The percentage of developers answering “PC” to this same survey question has jumped up rapidly — from 56 percent in 2020 to 58, 63, 65, and 66 percent in the following years, as PC Gamer reports. Even so, the jump this year is notable, likely driven by the spread of the Steam Deck and its competitors. “When asked to name other platforms that interest them, almost half (44%) wrote in Steam Deck,” says the GDC report. The report also said that an alarming 11 percent of game developers were laid off last year. It’s not entirely unexpected since basically every major developer and publisher announced some kind of large-scale layoffs in 2024 despite the gaming industry continuing to grow at a rapid pace. On top of that, some gamers will probably be dismayed to hear that one-third of developers working for a AAA company said they’re actively developing a live service game. Read...

If you’re reading this, you’re likely one of the billions of people who work on computers all day long. Whether that’s from home or in a corporate office, the result is the same: too many hours spent each day sitting at a desk and staring at a computer screen. This can have adverse effects on your physical and mental wellbeing. Fortunately, there are some simple, healthy habits you can adopt to stay relatively healthy — and you really should adopt them sooner than later, before you’re in agony and trying to rewind time. Invest in the right setup from the start The first thing to get right is your setup, otherwise you’ll be fighting a losing battle from the start. Your setup includes everything you use while working on a PC: desk, chair, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. If you’re working in a corporate office, your options are likely limited as you’ll be stuck with the equipment provided by your company. But even then, you can always make some adjustments that improve your setup and make it better-suited to your individual needs. Tim van der Kuip / Unsplash You should make sure that your monitor is positioned correctly with the top of the screen level with your eyes. You should also invest in an ergonomic mouse that minimizes wrist stress, and you should make sure your desk, chair, keyboard, and mouse are positioned to maintain good posture throughout the day. In a nutshell, your feet should be flat on the ground, your head directly over your hips, your knees and elbows bent at 90 degrees, with your elbows touching the sides of your rib cage. If you work from home and need to kit out your own office, be sure to invest in the best equipment you can afford. Don’t cheap out on your office chair. (It’s true, those pro-tier office chairs are worth it.) It’s essential that every part of your chair is adjustable to fit your body frame and posture, especially the lumbar support for your spine. The importance of ergonomics in preventing pain and physical disorders can’t be overstated. For in-depth guidelines, check out New Hampshire’s Workplace Ergonomics Reference Guide (PDF). Maintain a proper posture Even with the right workstation setup, you still have to consciously maintain good posture at all times. The more you slack, the more you train your body into accepting bad habits. As someone who has worked from home for almost 20 years, believe me when I say this is crucial. There are plenty of times throughout the day when you probably feel like slouching your shoulders, reclining back in your chair, or even putting your feet up on your desk. But you must resist the urge! All of that will build up and lead to bad posture, even injury. Sitting like this will wreak havoc on your back, shoulders, and neck over time.Studio Republic / Unsplash The best way to maintain good posture at all times is to establish an ergonomic setup (see the previous tip) that organically encourages you to sit properly. Sitting in your chair should automatically put you in a good posture with your spine supported, your arms bent at the elbows, and the top of your monitor positioned at eye level. If your back hurts and you find yourself always slouching and leaning and sitting in bad posture no matter what you do, consider switching to a standing desk. It’s an investment, but it’s one of the best things you can do to curb back pain as a desk worker. Keep your workspace uncluttered The old adage “tidy home, tidy mind” suggests that living in a clean and well-organized environment is beneficial to mental health — and the same applies to keeping your workspace clean and tidy. Robert Bye / Unsplash According to Harvard Business Review, research suggests that maintaining a clean, tidy, and well-organized workspace can help you both physically (fewer germs and dust means you’re less likely to get sick from your work environment) and mentally (organized workspaces have been shown to reduce stress and increase productivity). Stay hydrated at all times Staying hydrated is important no matter what you’re doing, but it’s especially key when you’re trying to focus. When working at a desk all day, it’s easy to forget the need to replenish fluids. Staying hydrated generally means drinking water, but can also include tea and coffee as long as you don’t overdo the caffeine intake. Sarah Dorweiler / Unsplash Again, while proper hydration is non-negotiable no matter what you’re doing, it’s especially crucial for concentration. As numerous studies have shown, even mild dehydration can make you groggy, irritable, unfocused, unproductive, and lead to physical ailments. Take regular breaks throughout the day Taking regular breaks feels counterintuitive, but your body needs them. While you might be inclined to power through the day to get done as much as you can, you’d likely get more done with a few strategic breaks sprinkled in throughout the day. There’s conflicting advice when it comes to how many breaks you should take and how often you should take them, but don’t take that to mean nobody knows what they’re talking about. All the experts agree on this: a sedentary lifestyle shortens life and decreases quality of life. Computer workers are quite literally sitting themselves to death. Vitaly Gariev / Unsplash I do two specific things to protect myself while working on my PC: First, I schedule two extended breaks that split my day up into three blocks. Both breaks are spent away from my desk, and if possible, I try to take them outside to ensure I get some fresh air into my lungs. Second, as soon as I feel any kind of strain on my body, I stand up and move around for a minute or so. This doesn’t have to be anything too strenuous. Just the act of standing up and walking around can limber up your muscles/joints and get your blood circulating. Stretch and exercise regularly During your regular breaks, you shouldn’t be zoning out and doing nothing. Sure, grab a glass of water and hit the bathroom if you need to, but most breaks should involve stretching and exercise of some kind. Do exercises that work your abs, upper back, glutes, and hamstrings to encourage good posture and prevent muscular imbalances. Take a short walk and get those legs moving. Stretch out your hips, legs, shoulders, chest, and neck before they get too stiff. Exercises and stretches go a long way to helping you maintain fitness and flexibility. Studio Romantic / Shutterstock There’s a host of good advice online about specific stretches to do while working at your desk and how to avoid work-related injuries. But you should also supplement them with real exercise, either before or after work. That could mean going to the gym, or you could focus on bodyweight exercises from the comfort of your home. You might even try an exercise bike desk that also charges your devices. Follow the 20-20-20 rule for your eyes Here’s one aspect of health that many white collar workers often overlook, especially when you’re younger (e.g., in your 20s). You need to protect your eyes and minimize computer vision syndrome (also known as digital eye strain). G-Stock Studio / Shutterstock The 20-20-20 rule works by forcing you to relax your eyes. Your computer screen is only two or three feet from you, and it can strain your eyes to focus at that distance for extended periods. By focusing on something 20 feet away, your eye muscles can relax — and doing this regularly can help prevent tiredness, blurry vision, and headaches/migraines. It’s worth doing whether you have perfect vision or wear vision correction. Be aware of lighting and brightness levels Good lighting is a necessary element of any good workspace. This applies to both environmental lighting and the light being emitted by that screen you’re staring at for hours and hours every day. For environmental lighting, try to maximize natural light (i.e., sunlight) and supplement it with lamps if needed. Avoid going too bright or too dark, as both extremes will force your eyes to work harder. Try to position your light sources off to the side, not behind your monitor (so you aren’t staring into more light) and not behind you (so it doesn’t cast a glare on your screen that could strain your eyes). Zhyar Ibrahim / Unsplash As for your monitor brightness, there are two factors to consider: first, try to match its brightness to ambient brightness (i.e., not too dim and not too bright), and second, make sure it’s comfortable to your eyes. The best brightness for you will depend on your circumstances, and it might even change depending on the time of day. If your operating system has adaptive brightness or if your monitor has auto-brightness, consider using those features — but it’s possible they may not work well for you. If your eyes are still suffering and uncomfortable, switch to manual control and adjust your lighting as needed. Further reading: Tech gadgets that’ll supercharge your home office Read...

Up until now, whenever you signed into your Microsoft account, you’ve been asked whether you want to remain signed in. This is typical for most sites and services, where you need to manually tick a checkbox to express that you want to stay logged in the next time you visit. Starting next month, Microsoft is doing away with that. Going forward, users who sign into a Microsoft account will automatically remain signed in until they manually sign out. The Verge reports that this change is especially relevant for anyone who uses public computers, such as in a library or a computer lab. Once this change takes effect, you’ll need to remember to log out every time you use a shared device. Alternatively, if you’re logging into your Microsoft account in a browser, you can use private browsing mode. In the event that you forget to log out of your Microsoft account, you still have some recourse: log into your Microsoft account elsewhere, visit your security dashboard page, then scroll down and click Sign out everywhere. You’ll be signed out of your account on all devices (but it won’t sign you out of Xbox). Further reading: Microsoft accounts now support passkeys Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Imaging of drives and partitions One-way file sync Remote backup of other computers running ShadowMaker Disaster recovery media Free version available Cons Some odd operational omissions HiDPI scaling fills most of the screen Our Verdict ShadowMaker is a supreme bargain, while the Pro version adds a lot of features that power users need. Good stuff, though we ran into some issues with sync function. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: MiniTool ShadowMaker 4.6 Retailer Price MiniTool $36 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket My last look at MiniTool ShadowMaker was several years ago at version 3.6. It was more than competent at the time, and it remains so during my latest tire-kicking efforts. The interface has been updated to appear a bit more fetching, though there are still some foibles. That said, how many imaging programs offer a generously featured free version? What are MiniTool ShadowMaker Pro 4.6’s features? First and foremost, ShadowMaker is an imaging program. That is, it creates sector-by-sector copies of entire hard drives, or individual partitions stored in a single large file. That generally only includes sectors with data on them, but you can also copy the “blank” sectors if needs be. If you’re going to indulge in any recovery operations on drive in question or the image of it, that would indicate a “needs be” situation. Data may remain in sectors that are marked unused. Further reading: See our roundup of the best Windows backup software to learn about competing hardware. ShadowMaker Pro 4.6 offers full, incremental, and differential imaging. Either data sectors only, or all sectors. Beyond imaging, there’s a sync function that may be used to back up individual files and folders. I say back up because the “sync” function is one-way, i.e. it copies files to the destination but not from the destination back to the original folder. There is no option for two-way or mirroring (i.e., delete files from the destination that have been deleted from the source) that I could find. ShadowMaker will also clone disks, create an OS startup menu, as well as mount and unmount its images as virtual drives. A PXE network service is also provided that you can instruct other PCs to boot from so they’re on the same network as your host computer. That, dear user, is a very professional feature. ShadowMaker is able to interface with other computers running ShadowMaker on the same network. Select the Remote Control option from the Tools page, then type in the remote computer’s URL (e.g., 192.168.1.119). The program will reboot, and you’ll see all the storage devices, jobs, and logs from the remote machine. I most decidedly liked the way ShadowMaker automatically displays the drive with the most space as the first choice for the destination. It’s a little confusing at first, as there are no other real indications or notifications that this is what you’re doing. But once you see what’s going on, it’s cool, and extremely handy if you’re managing backups on several computers in the house. Simply restart the program to return to managing the host computer. You can see many of ShadowMaker Pr 4.6’s imaging options here. ShadowMaker delivers all the usual backup options such as compression, password encryption (128-bit), email notification, filters, shut down on completion, verification, and scheduling as granular as hourly. It will also fire off a backup at log-on or log-off if you so desire, and supports bare metal (divergent hardware) restore. ShadowMaker Pro 4.6’s Tools page, including the remote control and boot menu options. I like the look of ShadowMaker 4.6; however, I do have a couple of nits with the interface. There didn’t see to be a way to create a new folder at the destination. ShadowMaker creates its own folder to store your backup, which is something that will save new users from putting a bunch of junk where they might not want it, but I’d rather create my own. Also, I could find no way to refresh the file and folder list, so when I did create my own new folders using Windows Explorer, I had to reboot ShadowMaker before they would appear. An exceedingly mild complaint is ShadowMaker’s High DPI scaling. Without it, the program was rendered too tiny, but with it on, the interface took up most of my 2160p display as you see in the lead photo. A middle ground might be nice. Enough nit-picking. Generally speaking, the interface is easy and intuitive. I most decidedly liked the way ShadowMaker automatically displays the drive with the most space as the first choice for the destination. ShadowMaker also offers a Windows PE-based recovery disc that includes all the features of the main program, as shown below. The boot screen and the backup page from the ShadowMaker recovery disc. How much does MiniTool ShadowMaker 4.6 cost? Good news here. A free version of ShadowMaker is available that handles most of the chores (imaging, sync, restore, etc.) that the average user really needs. Beyond that, a perpetual license for the Professional version reviewed here is $80 and you can rent it for $36 yearly, or $10 a month. If you should opt for the yearly (the monthly is rather a bad deal), you’ll still be able to restore with the recovery disc at the very least. Also available is a $129 business version that supports server usage. 10 seats for this version will set you back $399. The differences between the versions can be viewed in their totality here. The features you might miss most with the free version are: system disk cloning (non-system disks are supported), full/differential backups (incremental is supported), backup using the recovery media, backup on events, and of course — remote control. At least those are the ones I’d miss. How did ShadowMaker 4.6 perform? ShadowMaker took 33 minutes to image 626GB, faster than our number-one ranked imaging program R-Drive Image 7.2 by a goodly margin, if not as fast as Easeus ToDo Backup. All imaging tasks to all locations and media went off without a hitch at approximately the same speed. Sync was fine for the most part, but quit during a copy of a folder on my desktop. This log entry is informative about what happened, but not why. Alas, the log didn’t provide sufficient information, saying which file caused the sync to quit, but not why. When I removed the offending folder (it continued to hang on other files in the folder), the sync could complete. Removing the offending folder allowed the job to complete. Note that I’d far prefer that the process skip the offending files rather than stop completely. I might be able to live without that folder and would like the rest of them to be backed up. As imaging is the program’s primary appeal and it was perfect at that, I didn’t knock off half a star for this little sync faux pas, but I certainly considered it. Should you buy ShadowMaker Pro 4.6? Given that it’s more expensive than the uber-reliable R-Drive Image, the pay/pro version of ShadowMaker is a bit hard to recommend for a single PC. However, the network support is unique in the category and makes the program a good choice for home networks. The free version? Have at it, folks. Read...

If you’re reading this, you’re likely one of the billions of people who work on computers all day long. Whether that’s from home or in a corporate office, the result is the same: too many hours spent each day sitting at a desk and staring at a computer screen. This can have adverse effects on your physical and mental wellbeing. Fortunately, there are some simple, healthy habits you can adopt to stay relatively healthy — and you really should adopt them sooner than later, before you’re in agony and trying to rewind time. Invest in the right setup from the start The first thing to get right is your setup, otherwise you’ll be fighting a losing battle from the start. Your setup includes everything you use while working on a PC: desk, chair, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. If you’re working in a corporate office, your options are likely limited as you’ll be stuck with the equipment provided by your company. But even then, you can always make some adjustments that improve your setup and make it better-suited to your individual needs. Tim van der Kuip / Unsplash You should make sure that your monitor is positioned correctly with the top of the screen level with your eyes. You should also invest in an ergonomic mouse that minimizes wrist stress, and you should make sure your desk, chair, keyboard, and mouse are positioned to maintain good posture throughout the day. In a nutshell, your feet should be flat on the ground, your head directly over your hips, your knees and elbows bent at 90 degrees, with your elbows touching the sides of your rib cage. If you work from home and need to kit out your own office, be sure to invest in the best equipment you can afford. Don’t cheap out on your office chair. (It’s true, those pro-tier office chairs are worth it.) It’s essential that every part of your chair is adjustable to fit your body frame and posture, especially the lumbar support for your spine. The importance of ergonomics in preventing pain and physical disorders can’t be overstated. For in-depth guidelines, check out New Hampshire’s Workplace Ergonomics Reference Guide (PDF). Maintain a proper posture Even with the right workstation setup, you still have to consciously maintain good posture at all times. The more you slack, the more you train your body into accepting bad habits. As someone who has worked from home for almost 20 years, believe me when I say this is crucial. There are plenty of times throughout the day when you probably feel like slouching your shoulders, reclining back in your chair, or even putting your feet up on your desk. But you must resist the urge! All of that will build up and lead to bad posture, even injury. Sitting like this will wreak havoc on your back, shoulders, and neck over time.Studio Republic / Unsplash The best way to maintain good posture at all times is to establish an ergonomic setup (see the previous tip) that organically encourages you to sit properly. Sitting in your chair should automatically put you in a good posture with your spine supported, your arms bent at the elbows, and the top of your monitor positioned at eye level. If your back hurts and you find yourself always slouching and leaning and sitting in bad posture no matter what you do, consider switching to a standing desk. It’s an investment, but it’s one of the best things you can do to curb back pain as a desk worker. Keep your workspace uncluttered The old adage “tidy home, tidy mind” suggests that living in a clean and well-organized environment is beneficial to mental health — and the same applies to keeping your workspace clean and tidy. Robert Bye / Unsplash According to Harvard Business Review, research suggests that maintaining a clean, tidy, and well-organized workspace can help you both physically (fewer germs and dust means you’re less likely to get sick from your work environment) and mentally (organized workspaces have been shown to reduce stress and increase productivity). Stay hydrated at all times Staying hydrated is important no matter what you’re doing, but it’s especially key when you’re trying to focus. When working at a desk all day, it’s easy to forget the need to replenish fluids. Staying hydrated generally means drinking water, but can also include tea and coffee as long as you don’t overdo the caffeine intake. Sarah Dorweiler / Unsplash Again, while proper hydration is non-negotiable no matter what you’re doing, it’s especially crucial for concentration. As numerous studies have shown, even mild dehydration can make you groggy, irritable, unfocused, unproductive, and lead to physical ailments. Take regular breaks throughout the day Taking regular breaks feels counterintuitive, but your body needs them. While you might be inclined to power through the day to get done as much as you can, you’d likely get more done with a few strategic breaks sprinkled in throughout the day. There’s conflicting advice when it comes to how many breaks you should take and how often you should take them, but don’t take that to mean nobody knows what they’re talking about. All the experts agree on this: a sedentary lifestyle shortens life and decreases quality of life. Computer workers are quite literally sitting themselves to death. Vitaly Gariev / Unsplash I do two specific things to protect myself while working on my PC: First, I schedule two extended breaks that split my day up into three blocks. Both breaks are spent away from my desk, and if possible, I try to take them outside to ensure I get some fresh air into my lungs. Second, as soon as I feel any kind of strain on my body, I stand up and move around for a minute or so. This doesn’t have to be anything too strenuous. Just the act of standing up and walking around can limber up your muscles/joints and get your blood circulating. Stretch and exercise regularly During your regular breaks, you shouldn’t be zoning out and doing nothing. Sure, grab a glass of water and hit the bathroom if you need to, but most breaks should involve stretching and exercise of some kind. Do exercises that work your abs, upper back, glutes, and hamstrings to encourage good posture and prevent muscular imbalances. Take a short walk and get those legs moving. Stretch out your hips, legs, shoulders, chest, and neck before they get too stiff. Exercises and stretches go a long way to helping you maintain fitness and flexibility. Studio Romantic / Shutterstock There’s a host of good advice online about specific stretches to do while working at your desk and how to avoid work-related injuries. But you should also supplement them with real exercise, either before or after work. That could mean going to the gym, or you could focus on bodyweight exercises from the comfort of your home. You might even try an exercise bike desk that also charges your devices. Follow the 20-20-20 rule for your eyes Here’s one aspect of health that many white collar workers often overlook, especially when you’re younger (e.g., in your 20s). You need to protect your eyes and minimize computer vision syndrome (also known as digital eye strain). G-Stock Studio / Shutterstock The 20-20-20 rule works by forcing you to relax your eyes. Your computer screen is only two or three feet from you, and it can strain your eyes to focus at that distance for extended periods. By focusing on something 20 feet away, your eye muscles can relax — and doing this regularly can help prevent tiredness, blurry vision, and headaches/migraines. It’s worth doing whether you have perfect vision or wear vision correction. Be aware of lighting and brightness levels Good lighting is a necessary element of any good workspace. This applies to both environmental lighting and the light being emitted by that screen you’re staring at for hours and hours every day. For environmental lighting, try to maximize natural light (i.e., sunlight) and supplement it with lamps if needed. Avoid going too bright or too dark, as both extremes will force your eyes to work harder. Try to position your light sources off to the side, not behind your monitor (so you aren’t staring into more light) and not behind you (so it doesn’t cast a glare on your screen that could strain your eyes). Zhyar Ibrahim / Unsplash As for your monitor brightness, there are two factors to consider: first, try to match its brightness to ambient brightness (i.e., not too dim and not too bright), and second, make sure it’s comfortable to your eyes. The best brightness for you will depend on your circumstances, and it might even change depending on the time of day. If your operating system has adaptive brightness or if your monitor has auto-brightness, consider using those features — but it’s possible they may not work well for you. If your eyes are still suffering and uncomfortable, switch to manual control and adjust your lighting as needed. Further reading: Tech gadgets that’ll supercharge your home office Read...