MakeUseOf

Smart thermostats aren't the money savers we've been sold

Are smart thermostats really reducing your energy bills by what they claim to be capable of?

PowerToys has the Windows cheat sheet I’ve wanted for years

I kept forgetting Windows shortcuts I'd used for years, but then I finally tried the PowerToys feature I'd been overlooking.

Turning off one Windows setting made Search feel like it's supposed to

A few registry edits later, Search finally just searches my PC.

Hulu’s best hitman drama is only 30 minutes long, and it has a 98% audience score

Every 25 minute episode discards filler to deliver sharp, unsettling beats that make domestic tasks feel dangerous.

6 movies you've already seen that are secretly The Count of Monte Cristo

These revenge epics may span different genres, but they all take inspiration from the same classic novel.

This Samsung phone's feature costs so little battery, it's worth keeping on

A battery tip told me to turn this off. My phone barely noticed either way.

I finally fixed Home Assistant’s most annoying dashboard problem

Every device in my house finally boots to the right dashboard.

A new browser feature hides which website you're visiting from your ISP, and it has nothing to do with a VPN

Security and privacy requires layers, and this is the latest piece of the puzzle.

Don't delete photos to free Google storage — here's what's actually taking up the most space

Reclaim gigabytes from hidden files without touching your photo library.

Five billion passkeys later, passwords are still hanging around

The password-free future is here — except it isn't

September's best Kindle releases span cozy romance to epic fantasy, here's what to pre-order

Crisp autumn evenings invite haunted romance, harvest festivals, and cozy enemies to lovers for long reads.

Android 17 is getting a massive privacy upgrade your ISP won’t like

A systemwide shield hides the hostname during TLS handshakes while Private DNS keeps domain lookups private.

Samsung Internet has 5 features Chrome on Android still can’t match

Dear Google, please take notes.

4 Linux distros that are better at gaming than SteamOS

Going beyond just vanilla.

Microsoft keeps ruining Notepad, so I replaced it with this free 3KB open-source alternative

I just wanted the old Notepad back.

Android has enough theft protection features, but this missing setup step can undo all of them

It's surprisingly easy to fix.

The 1000-year-old backstory behind your phone's Bluetooth icon

A medieval king somehow ended up immortalized next to Wi-Fi and your battery percentage.

How to tell whether your Android messages are actually using RCS — and what to do when they're not

Check if your texts are on RCS and fix drops.