Tech World

There’s nothing you can do if hackers get into a database with your password in it, but you can still protect yourself for all the other worst-case scenarios involving hacking. In this video, we go over ways to make your passwords harder to crack. First, don’t make it easy on hackers by choosing a common password. Splashdata uses security breaches to gather 'most popular passwords' lists each year. The word 'password', number sequences, and other simplistic phrases or numbers fill the top spots. Also, don’t use your name, a password related to another one you might have on a different site, or a login name. Instead, experts recommend using 15 characters, upper-case letters, better yet nonsensical words with special characters and numbers inside them.

If you have a hard drive that is quickly approaching capacity, sorting through the files and folders for the ones taking up the most space can be a really time-consuming process. There’s an easier way to do it—it’s the subject of our latest Tech Tip. For help identifying space hogs, let’s turn to TreeSize Free, which is available for Windows 8, as well as Windows 7, Vista, and XP. Launch the program, go to scan, and select the drive you want to take a look at. The application shows you, in gigabytes, megabytes, and kilobytes, how big each folder is, ranked from most to least. One of the nice things you can do with TreeSize Free is drill down into subfolders to see what sort of space is being taken up. If I want to right click on a folder and see what the files are like or delete them, I can go ahead and do that. Note that TreeSize Free does not dynamically update, so after you delete the data you’ll have to run the scan again to get an accurate count of file...

None of us is a one-dimensional cutout. We work, we play, we travel, we have a family, hobbies and goals. We travel to new places, meet new people, find new jobs, and pick up new interests. For some of us, nothing is more important than spending time with the family; for others, adventure comes first. Meanwhile, technology is blurring the lines between laptop, tablet, and desktop, making it that much easier to find a device that fits your life. Whatever inspires you, there’s something out there that can turn that inspiration into reality. These empowering devices all have something in common, and it’s something you’ll probably never see: a powerful Intel processor. Intel’s leading-edge technology lets you run the apps, play the games, and do the work you want to do without interruption. And because that technology prioritizes power-efficiency, you’ll be able to work, play, and communicate for hours. Here’s a helpful guide to the many portable devices that Intel ...

Microsoft acquired Nokia earlier this year to bolster the Windows Phone platform, but it's thus far refused to snuff out Nokia's flirtation with Android, the Nokia X series. In fact Microsoft's devices group announced the latest addition to the Nokia X series of Android phones on Tuesday, the Nokia X2—the fourth entry in the Nokia X line, but the first announced under Microsoft's watch. Like the three previous Android handsets bearing the Nokia name, the X2 is really more of a "gateway device" to the hardcore Windows Phone experience than a full-fledged Android handset. The device runs the Android Opens Source Project (AOSP) version of Android that doesn't include any Google services or apps, re-skinned with a Windows Phone-like feel. The main screen is also loaded with Microsoft services including OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook.com, and Skype. Nokia services like HERE Maps are also present in place of their Google counterparts. But un...