Guide

Using Gatekeeper to help secure your Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated May 23, 2019

macOS comes with a security feature known as Gatekeeper, which can help prevent unwanted apps from launching on your Mac without your permission. It can also prevent potentially malicious apps from launching because it can be used to limit the kinds of apps that are allowed to open on your Mac.

In lieu of the recent Sparkle updater framework vulnerability having been uncovered in a variety of popular macOS apps, now is a great time to set up your Gatekeeper settings to prevent potential issues with malware on your Mac in the future.

In this tutorial, we'll be showing you how Gatekeeper works and how you can configure it to keep your Mac just as secure as you want it to be.

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Why and how to use a VPN on your iOS device or Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated August 1, 2018

A virtual private network, commonly referred to as a VPN, is a type of connection you can use over the internet that helps to secure your identity as you surf the web.

Often times, they're used to improve your security and privacy on public Wi-Fi networks, but they're also used for a wide variety of other reasons. If you've been considering using a VPN on your iOS device(s) or Mac(s), then you've come to the right place. We're going to tell you all about why you should consider using one and how to use a VPN on iPhone, iPad, or Mac to your advantage.

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How to manage multiple accounts in Instagram

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated August 23, 2018

Instagram officially announced support for logging into more than one Instagram account at a time in its free iOS and Android apps on Monday, and many of you that use Instagram on a daily basis are probably wondering how you can get your hands dirty with the feature.

Although signing in with multiple Instagram accounts is a feature that is still currently rolling out to all users, it's possible to force your app to allow you to sign in with multiple accounts right now.

Once you get your Instagram app updated to the latest version and are ready to get started with using multiple user accounts in the app, you can follow this tutorial on how to manage all your Instagram accounts from the app.

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How to rotate a video on your Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated May 9, 2019

Every so often, you may come across the need to rotate a video after you've recorded it with your camera or iOS device because it didn't quite come out how you expected it to.

Fortunately, Apple's QuickTime app, which is built into the macOS operating system on your Mac, is powerful enough to do just that; and it's very easy to do.

In this tutorial, we'll be showing you how to rotate a video in any direction on your Mac using the QuickTime app.

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Link your Spotify account with Shazam to enable full song previews & more

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated May 29, 2019

The Shazam app for iOS comes with the ability to link your Spotify account so you can stream the music you tag via Spotify directly from the Shazam app itself. A recent update to the app included a complete rewrite for this feature, so it's now more stable than ever before.

All you have to do is connect your Spotify account to the Shazam app, and the app will take care of the rest for you, allowing you to listen to full tracks in Shazam instead of just 30-second song previews.

In this tutorial, we'll be showing you how to link your Spotify account to the Shazam app in iOS.

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How to view your download history in the Mac App Store

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated April 29, 2019

Heavy Mac App Store users will download, install, and delete apps from their Mac all the time. It may be because you're interested in experimenting with new utility releases, downloading games to get a thrill, or checking out the productivity apps that developers claim to be the "best" out there.

Through all this downloading, installing, and deleting, you may want to check out one of the apps you remember using from a long time ago to see if it got any cool new updates, and sometimes you don't particularly remember what the name of said app might be.

Fortunately, the Mac App Store comes with a way to see your purchase history, allowing you to see all of the apps you've ever downloaded from the Mac App Store whether they were free or paid ones. In this tutorial, we'll show you how to see your Mac App Store's download history.

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How to stop ‘Up Next’ videos from autoplaying on YouTube

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 26, 2023

One of my pet peeves with YouTube is how after completing a video, the service shoves a new video down your throat with a feature called "Up Next," which gives you a 15-second time frame to click the "X" button at the top right of the video before the next video starts to play.

Sounds familiar? If you feel the same way, then you've stumbled upon the right tutorial, because we're going to be showing you how you can disable this feature right from the YouTube website without installing any plug-ins, hacks, or other crazy stuff.

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How to reset NVRAM on your Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 23, 2018

Macs are nice computers, but they're not without their issues that can spur up at random times. Fortunately, troubleshooting problems on a Mac isn't incredibly difficult and there are tons of simple steps you can take as a Mac user before calling AppleCare for support.

One of the easiest troubleshooting steps is resetting your Mac's NVRAM, a step which can solve an array of problems. In this tutorial, we'll explain what the NVRAM is responsible for and how to reset it to fix common problems.

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GarageBand: a beginner’s guide to Live Loops [video]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

In addition to the iPad Pro support brought forth in the GarageBand 2.1 update, the app comes with a new killer feature called Live Loops. Live Loops makes music creation accessible to anyone. Creating songs using Live Loops features a low barrier to entry, but a high ceiling and virtually endless possibilities.

In this video walkthrough, I'm going to share with you 20 basic GarageBand Live Loops tips for getting started with this awesome new feature. I'll even make a song, and rap to it on the fly! If GarageBand has always seemed intimidating to you, then I guarantee that after watching this video, you'll be ready to roll your sleeves up and start creating your own musical masterpieces.

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How to turn any photo scene into a snowy one with Snow Daze

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated April 3, 2024

Winter may be coming to an end next month, making room for the Spring season, but that doesn't mean you can't keep enjoying the snow!

Snow Daze is a wonderful app that can be had from the App Store for $1.99. The app can turn any photograph scene into a snowy wonderland. With all of the different filters, configurable snow settings, and color options, you can make even the least suspecting photograph look like it was taken in the middle of a blizzard storm.

In this tutorial, we'll be showing you how the app works.

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