The Windows Run Commands Cheat Sheet

If you want a quick way to launch programs, documents, settings, utilities, and other resources on your Windows machine, look no further than the Run dialog.

You don’t need to learn anything complex to use this built-in feature. Memorizing a few useful commands will do. And you’ll find the best of these Run dialog commands (commonly called Run commands) in our cheat sheet below.

To use a particular command, summon the Run dialog with the shortcut Win + R, type in the command for a particular Windows item, and hit Enter to launch that item.

FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time only. Download Essential Run Commands for Windows.

Essential Run Commands for Windows

Shortcut	Action
Common Windows Tools
explorer	Windows Explorer
c:	Open C: Drive
regedit	Registry Editor
services.msc	Windows Services (local)
taskmgr	Task Manager
msconfig	System Configuration Utility
mstsc	Remote Desktop (Microsoft Terminal Services Client)
logoff	Log Off Windows (without confirmation!)
shutdown	Shuts Down Windows (Save all your work first)
cmd	Command Prompt
notepad	Notepad
osk	On Screen keyboard
mailto:	Open Default Mail Application
Website address	Open entered URL in default browser
Other Windows Tools & Utilities
calc	Calculator
chkdsk	Check Disk
charmap	Character Map
cleanmgr	Clean Manager - Disk Cleanup Utility
clipbrd	Clipboard Viewer (not available after Windows XP)
cmd	Command Prompt
comp	Compare Files
colorcpl	Color Management
cttune	ClearType Text tuner
dxdiag	Direct X Troubleshooter
eudcedit	Private Characters Editor
fonts	Fonts
fsquirt	Bluetooth Transfer Wizard
ftp	MS-DOS FTP
iexplore	Internet Explorer
joy.cpl	Game Controllers
label	Volume Serial Number for C:
magnify	Windows Magnifier
microsoft-edge://	Edge
migwiz	Migration Wizard - Files and Settings Transfer Tool
mip	Math Input Panel
mrt	Malicious Software Removal Tool
msiexec	Windows Installer Details
msinfo32	System Information
mspaint	Paint
narrator	Narrator
powershell	Powershell
shrpubw	Create a shared folder Wizard
sigverif	File Signature Verification Tool
sndvol	Volume Control
snippingtool	Snipping Tools
stikynot	Sticky Notes
utilman	Narrator Settings
verifier	Driver Verifier Utility
was	Contacts
wf.msc	Windows Firewall with Advanced Security
wfs	Windows Fax and Scan
wiaacmgr	Scanner
winver	Windows Version (Check your Windows version)
wmplayer	Windows Media Player
write	WordPad
xpsrchvw	XPS Viewer
winword	Word
Word /safe	Word Safe Mode
Control Panel Commands
appwiz.cpl	Application Wizard (Program and Features)
control	Control Panel
control admintools	Administrative Tools
control color	Personalization - Color and Appearance
control desktop	Display Properties (Personalization)
control folders	Folders Properties
control keyboard	Keyboard Properties
control mouse	Mouse Properties
control netconnections	Network Properties
control printers	Printers Folders
control schedtasks	Scheduled Tasks
control update	Windows Update
control userpasswords	Manager current User Account
control userpasswords2	Manager all User Accounts
desk.cpl	Display - Screen Resolution
devmgmt.msc	Device Manager
firewall.cpl	Windows Firewall
inetcpl.cpl	Internet Properties (Internet Control Panel)
intl.cpl	Regional Settings (International)
mmsys.cpl	Sound Properties (Multimedia System Settings)
ncpa.cpl	Network Properties
netplwiz	To create User Account
powercfg.cpl	Power Configuration
sysdm.cpl	System Properties
timedate.cpl	Date and Time Properties
utilman	Ease of Access Utility Manager
wscui.cpl	Security Center (Windows Security Center UI)
Windows Administrative Tools
compmgmt.msc	Computer Management including System Tools, Storage, Services and Applications
defrag	Defrag Command
dcomcnfg	Component Services (Detailed Component Configuration)
devmgmt.msc	Device Management
diskmgmt.msc	Disk Partition Manager
diskpart	Diskpart Command
eventvwr.msc	Event Viewer
fsmgmt.msc	Shared Folders (File Sharing Management)
gpedit.msc	Group Policy Editor
lusrmgr.msc	Local User and Groups
perfmon.msc	Performance Monitor
rekeywiz	File Encryption
System File Checker Utility
sfc /scannow	System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately)
sfc /scanonce	System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot)
sfc /scanboot	System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot)
sfc /revert	System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Settings)
sfc /purgecache	System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache)
sfc /cachesize=x	System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to Size x)
Common Environment Variables
%AllUsersProfile%	Program Data
%ProgramFiles%	Program Files
%SystemDrive%	System Drive
%SystemRoot%	System Root
%Temp%	Temporary Folder
%UserProfile%	User Profile
%WinDir%	Windows Directory

A Powerful, Underrated Windows Feature

Run commands are time saving and easy to use, and also a satisfying way to access Windows items using only the keyboard.

Don’t worry if you can’t remember certain useful commands you need. You can replace them with custom command names that are more memorable. We’ll show you how to do that in our Run Dialog primer.

And speaking of useful commands, it’s now time to discover some of the best Windows CMD commands.

Read the full article: The Windows Run Commands Cheat Sheet

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Get Office 2019 for Dummies FREE Today (Worth $30)

If you’re one of the 1.2 billion Microsoft Office users out there, this ebook (worth $30) is a must-have. And yes, for the next few days only, you can download it free of charge!

Whether you use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, or Access, Office 2019 For Dummies will take you through all of the latest features so you can become a true expert at organizing your work and life with Microsoft Office.

Download This Ebook For Free

Inside, you will learn everything including:

• Typing, formatting, and designing documents with Word
• The basics of spreadsheets, formulas, charting, and data analysis with Excel
• Creating, formatting, and showing off a presentation  with PowerPoint
• Managing email, contacts, calendars, and tasks with Outlook
• Using databases, querying data, and making reports with Access
• Plus plenty of additional tips to get more out of Office 2019.

Want in? Simply click here to download this free ebook from TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access the ebook, but it’s well worth it!

This free offer is only available until 26 Nov 2019.

Read the full article: Get Office 2019 for Dummies FREE Today (Worth $30)

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This Week in Apps: Honey’s $4B exit, a new plan for iOS 14, Apple’s new developer resource

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support, and the money that flows through it all. What are developers talking about? What do app publishers and marketers need to know? How are politics impacting the App Store and app businesses? And which apps are everyone using?

This week, we’re looking at several major stories, including the whopping $4 billion PayPal just spent on browser extension and mobile app maker, Honey, as well as the release of the Apple Developer app, a new plan for iOS 14, Google Stadia’s launch, AR gaming’s next big hit (or flop?), e-commerce app trends, Microsoft’s exit from voice assistant mobile apps, and so much more.

Plus, did you hear the one about the developer who got kicked out from his developer account by Apple, leaving his apps abandoned?

Headlines

Apple to overhaul iOS development strategy after buggy iOS 13 launch

Apple’s iOS 13 release was one of its worst, in terms of bugs and glitches. Now Apple is making an internal change to how it approaches software development in an effort to address the problem. According to Bloomberg, Apple’s Software chief Craig Federighi and other execs announced its plans at an internal meeting. The new process will involve having unfinished and buggy features disabled by default in daily builds. Testers will then have to optionally enable the features in order to try them. While this change focuses on making internal builds of the OS more usable (or “livable”), Apple hopes that over time it will improve the overall quality of its software as it will give testers the ability to really understand what’s supposed to now be working, but isn’t. The testing changes will also apply to iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS, the report said.

Apple launches the Apple Developer App

Apple rebranded and expanded its existing WWDC app to become a new Apple Developer app that can stay with its 23 million registered developers year-round. Instead of only including information about the developer event itself, the app will expand to include other relevant resources — like technical and design articles, developer news and updates, videos and more. It also will offer a way for developers to enroll in the Apple Developer program and maintain their membership. Apple says it found many developers were more inclined to open an app than an email, and by centralizing this information in one place, it could more efficiently and seamlessly deliver new information and other resources to its community.

PayPal buys Honey for $4 billion

PayPal has made its biggest-ever acquisition for browser extension and mobile app maker, Honey. TechCrunch exclusively broke the news of the nearly all-cash deal, noting that Honey currently has 17 million monthly actives. But PayPal was interested in more than the user base — it wanted the tech. The company plans to insert itself ahead of the checkout screen by getting involved with the online shopping and research process, where customers visit sites and look for deals. Honey’s offer-finding features from its mobile app will also become part of PayPal and Venmo’s apps in the future.

Cloud gaming expands with Google Stadia launch

Cloud-based gaming could benefit from the growing investment in 5G. Google Stadia, which launched this week, is a big bet on 5G in that regard. Though the early reviews were middling, Google believes the next generation of gaming will involve continuous, cross-device play, including on mobile devices. This trend was already apparent with the successes of cross-platform games like Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, and PUBG, for example. Meanwhile, console makers like Microsoft are working to build out their own cloud infrastructure to compete. (Microsoft’s xCloud launches in May 2020.) Google could have a head start, even if Stadia today feels more like a beta than a finished product. But one question that still arises is whether Google is serious about gaming, or only sees Stadia as a content engine for YouTube?

Microsoft kills Cortana mobile apps

Microsoft this week belatedly realized it can’t compete with the built-in advantages that Siri and Google Assistant offer users, like dedicated buttons, hands-free voice commands, workflow building and more. The company decided to shut down its Cortana mobile applications on iOS and Android in a number of markets, including Great Britain, Australia, Germany, Mexico, China, Spain, Canada, and India. Any bets on when the U.S. makes that list?

SF Symbols expands

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This Week in Apps: Honey’s $4B exit, a new plan for iOS 14, Apple’s new developer resource

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support, and the money that flows through it all. What are developers talking about? What do app publishers and marketers need to know? How are politics impacting the App Store and app businesses? And which apps are everyone using?

This week, we’re looking at several major stories, including the whopping $4 billion PayPal just spent on browser extension and mobile app maker, Honey, as well as the release of the Apple Developer app, a new plan for iOS 14, Google Stadia’s launch, AR gaming’s next big hit (or flop?), e-commerce app trends, Microsoft’s exit from voice assistant mobile apps, and so much more.

Plus, did you hear the one about the developer who got kicked out from his developer account by Apple, leaving his apps abandoned?

Headlines

Apple to overhaul iOS development strategy after buggy iOS 13 launch

Apple’s iOS 13 release was one of its worst, in terms of bugs and glitches. Now Apple is making an internal change to how it approaches software development in an effort to address the problem. According to Bloomberg, Apple’s Software chief Craig Federighi and other execs announced its plans at an internal meeting. The new process will involve having unfinished and buggy features disabled by default in daily builds. Testers will then have to optionally enable the features in order to try them. While this change focuses on making internal builds of the OS more usable (or “livable”), Apple hopes that over time it will improve the overall quality of its software as it will give testers the ability to really understand what’s supposed to now be working, but isn’t. The testing changes will also apply to iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS, the report said.

Apple launches the Apple Developer App

Apple rebranded and expanded its existing WWDC app to become a new Apple Developer app that can stay with its 23 million registered developers year-round. Instead of only including information about the developer event itself, the app will expand to include other relevant resources — like technical and design articles, developer news and updates, videos and more. It also will offer a way for developers to enroll in the Apple Developer program and maintain their membership. Apple says it found many developers were more inclined to open an app than an email, and by centralizing this information in one place, it could more efficiently and seamlessly deliver new information and other resources to its community.

PayPal buys Honey for $4 billion

PayPal has made its biggest-ever acquisition for browser extension and mobile app maker, Honey. TechCrunch exclusively broke the news of the nearly all-cash deal, noting that Honey currently has 17 million monthly actives. But PayPal was interested in more than the user base — it wanted the tech. The company plans to insert itself ahead of the checkout screen by getting involved with the online shopping and research process, where customers visit sites and look for deals. Honey’s offer-finding features from its mobile app will also become part of PayPal and Venmo’s apps in the future.

Cloud gaming expands with Google Stadia launch

Cloud-based gaming could benefit from the growing investment in 5G. Google Stadia, which launched this week, is a big bet on 5G in that regard. Though the early reviews were middling, Google believes the next generation of gaming will involve continuous, cross-device play, including on mobile devices. This trend was already apparent with the successes of cross-platform games like Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, and PUBG, for example. Meanwhile, console makers like Microsoft are working to build out their own cloud infrastructure to compete. (Microsoft’s xCloud launches in May 2020.) Google could have a head start, even if Stadia today feels more like a beta than a finished product. But one question that still arises is whether Google is serious about gaming, or only sees Stadia as a content engine for YouTube?

Microsoft kills Cortana mobile apps

Microsoft this week belatedly realized it can’t compete with the built-in advantages that Siri and Google Assistant offer users, like dedicated buttons, hands-free voice commands, workflow building and more. The company decided to shut down its Cortana mobile applications on iOS and Android in a number of markets, including Great Britain, Australia, Germany, Mexico, China, Spain, Canada, and India. Any bets on when the U.S. makes that list?

SF Symbols expands

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5 Black Friday Curators to Find the Best Deals for Online and Offline Shopping

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are around the corner. Every major company and retailer will offer a host of discounts. It’s hard to track them all, so these excellent curators and aggregators help you find the best ones and not miss out on a good deal.

Some of these websites only work with online retailers, while others do a good job of mixing online and offline sales. In fact, a lot of the best deals won’t be online. You’ll find them listed in newspapers and flyers, but thankfully there are websites that track those too.

Remember, just because it’s discounted on Black Friday doesn’t mean it’s a particularly good deal. Retailers often play around with price tags to make discounts and sales look bigger than they are. Here are a few ways you can make sure your Black Friday deal is a massive bargain.

1. BFAds (Web): Scans of All Black Friday Ads

Don’t just check out Amazon during the shopping days. Black Friday is as big in offline retail stores. These retail stores usually advertise through newspapers and flyers. BFAds is a collection of scans of all of these.

You’ll be surprised by how many great deals aren’t advertised online, mainly because these retailers want you coming to their store. Once you’re already in the store, you’re bound to buy a few more things, right?

You can shop BFAds by stores and brands, check today’s hot deals, check all ad scans, or skip right over to advertised Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. A “recent activity” board lists the newest ad scans, all of which are useful for Black Friday.

2. The Black Friday (Web): Overwhelmed? Try This Deals Collector

Everyone knows BlackFriday.com is one of the must-visit sites during the shopping days. But there’s another similar-sounding website you shouldn’t miss. TheBlackFriday.com is one of the most comprehensive deal aggregators and is surprisingly easy to browse. In fact, if you’re overwhelmed by the many Black Friday deals collectors, you should try this one.

Each brand or retail outlet is its own separate tile. Categories include the latest deals, popular stores, and specialty toys and holiday catalogs. These toy and holiday catalogs can help you save big bucks if you plan your Christmas shopping in advance.

Click any brand or store, and like BFAds, The Black Friday includes scans of flyers and newspaper advertisements. Right below that are links to items on sale on the website of that store. It’s a great combination to find exactly what you’re looking for while shopping from your favorite stores.

And if you’re ready to buy, check the coupons and live deals too. There are often a few limited-time bargains that you don’t want to miss out on.

3. Clark Deals (Web): Editor-Picked Money Savers

Personal finance expert and author Clark Howard is known for recommending sound money-saving decisions to consumers. Clark Deals is a spin-off website where the team from Clark.com recommends its favorite deals.

The entire process is editor-picked, so you are assured to get good deals and not a mass curation of every tiny or fake discount that a retailer wants to push. That’s the main advantage of this consumer-oriented website.

The website also has a special “Black Friday Now!” section, where it monitors prices of different items and tells you when they reach their Black Friday pricing. After all, why should you wait till Black Friday for your shopping if you can get it as cheap right now?

Along with all that, there are the usual categories to browse, find a store or brand’s best deals and a few recommendations of the items you should consider buying.

4. Love The Sales (Web): Best for Clothes Shopping on Black Friday

Love The Sales is an aggregator of clothing items that have gone on sale, with over 850 retail partners. So instead of going to each store, you can check all the sales in one place.

The website is mainly about shopping for clothes, although there are a few tech products you can get too. Shop by categories for women, men, bags, kids, home, and activewear, each of which has sub-categories and filters to further refine your search. Once you find something you like, click to go to that store, and Love The Sales can make a commission on the referral.

Love The Sales has a special “Black Friday mode,” which is a fancier name for a watchlist. Add items you like to a shortlist, and Love The Sales will monitor them for price drops during Black Friday. It’s a handy way to get what you want at the best price possible.

5. Dealspotr and r/BlackFriday (Web): Crowd-Sourced Deals Across Brands

There are so many deals popping up during Black Friday that it’s hard to keep track of them. Often, you are relying on recommendations from websites. But you ever get the feeling they are all talking about the same deals?

A good way to break out of the bubble is to find deals that other regular people like you are recommending. SlickDeals is one of the biggest online communities and among the best sites to find daily deals. Two others you can consider are Dealspotr and Reddit’s BlackFriday forum.

Dealspotr makes it easy to find deals on brands you like. It asks you to sign up by choosing three or more brands and will track any deals about them vigorously. Dealspotr is community-based, so regular people are submitting bargains they find.

Similarly, the r/BlackFriday subreddit is thriving at this time of the year. It’s especially good at telling you when pre-sales and early events start. There’s also a dedicated thread to find small business owners and support them.

MakeUseOf’s Best Black Friday 2019 Deals

If you’re planning to buy electronics this Black Friday, our team has you covered. Whether it’s computers, laptops, phones, cameras, headphones, speakers, monitors, TVs, home theater systems, wearables, or home appliances, we’re tracking deals across them all.

Check our mega roundup of the best Black Friday 2019 deals to find bargains up to 50% lower than what you would normally pay.

Read the full article: 5 Black Friday Curators to Find the Best Deals for Online and Offline Shopping

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More than 1 million T-Mobile customers exposed by breach

T-Mobile has confirmed a data breach affecting more than a million of its customers, whose personal data (but no financial or password data) was exposed to a malicious actor. The company alerted the affected customers but did not provide many details in its official account of the hack.

The company said in its disclosure to affected users that its security team had shut down “malicious, unauthorized access” to prepaid data customers. The data exposed appears to have been:

• Name
• Billing address
• Phone number
• Account number
• Rate, plan and calling features (such as paying for international calls)

The latter data is considered “customer proprietary network information” and under telecoms regulations they are required to notify customers if it is leaked. The implication seems to be that they might not have done so otherwise. Of course some hacks, even hacks of historic magnitude, go undisclosed sometimes for years.

In this case, however, it seems that T-Mobile has disclosed the hack in a fairly prompt manner, though it provided very few details. When I asked, a T-Mobile representative indicated that “less than 1.5 percent” of customers were affected, which of the company’s approximately 75 million users adds up to somewhat over a million.

The company reports that “we take the security of your information very seriously,” a canard we’ve asked companies to stop saying in these situations.

Stop saying, ‘We take your privacy and security seriously’

The T-Mobile representative stated that the attack was discovered in early November and shut down “immediately.” They did not answer other questions I asked, such as whether it was on a public-facing or internal website or database, how long the data was exposed and what specifically the company had done to rectify the problem.

The data listed above is not necessarily highly damaging on its own, but it’s the kind of data with which someone might attempt to steal your identity or take over your account. Account hijacking is a fairly common tactic among cyber-ne’er-do-wells these days and it helps to have details like the target’s plan, home address and so on at one’s fingertips.

If you’re a T-Mobile customer, it may be a good idea to change your password there and check up on your account details.

Cybersecurity 101: Seven simple security guides for protecting your privacy

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Facebook prototypes Favorites for close friends microsharing

Facebook is building its own version of Instagram Close Friends, the company confirms to TechCrunch. There’s a lot people that don’t share on Facebook because it can feel risky or awkward since its definition of “friends” has swelled to include family, work colleagues, and distant acquaintances. No one wants their boss or grandma seeing their weekend partying or edgy memes. There are whole types of sharing, like Snapchat’s Snap Map-style live location tracking, that feel creepy to expose to such a wide audience.

The social network needs to get a handle on microsharing. Yet Facebook has tried and failed over the years to get people to build Friend Lists for posting to different subsets of their network.

Back in 2011 Facebook said that 95 percent of users hadn’t made a single list. So it tried tried auto-grouping people into Smart Lists like High School Friends and Co-Workers, and offered manual always-see-in-feed Close Friends and only-see-important-updates Acquaintances lists. But they too saw little traction and few product updates in the past 8 years. Facebook ended up shutting down Friend Lists Feeds last year for viewing what certain sets of friends shared.

Then a year ago, Instagram made a breakthrough. Instead of making a complicated array of Friend Lists you could never remember who was on, it made a single Close Friends list with a dedicated button for sharing to them from Stories. Instagram’s research had found 85% of a user’s Direct messages go to the same 3 people, so why not make that easier for Stories without pulling everyone into a group thread? Last month I wrote that “I’m surprised Facebook doesn’t already have its own Close Friends feature, and it’d be smart to build one.”

How Facebook Favorites Works

Now Facebook is in fact prototyping its version of Instagram Close Friends called Favorites. It lets users designate certain friends as Favorites, and then instantly post their Story from Facebook or Messenger to just those people instead of all their friends as is the default.

The feature was first spotted inside Messenger by reverse engineering master and frequent TechCrunch tipster Jane Manchun Wong. Buried in the Android app is the code that let Wong generate the screenshots above of this unreleased feature. They show how when users go to share a Story from Messenger, Facebook offers to let users to post it to Favorites, and edit who’s on that list or add to it from algorithmic suggestions. Users in that Favorites list would then be the only recipients of that post within Stories, like with Instagram Close Friends.

 

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to me that this feature is a prototype that the Messenger team created. It’s an early exploration of the microsharing opportunity, and the feature isn’t officially testing internally with employees or publicly in the wild. The spokesperson describes the Favorites feature as a type of shortcut for sharing to a specific set of people. They tell me that Facebook is always exploring new ways to share, and as discussed at its F8 conference this year, Facebook is focused on improving the experience of sharing with and staying more connected to your closest friends.

Unlocking Creepier Sharing

There are a ton of benefits Facebook could get from a Favorites feature if it ever launches. First, users might share more often if they can make content visible to just their best pals since those people wouldn’t get annoyed by over-posting. Second, Facebook could get new, more intimate types of content shared, from the heartfelt and vulnerable to the silly and spontaneous to the racy and shocking — stuff people don’t want every single person they’ve ever accepted a friend request from to see. Favorites could reduce self-censorship.

“No one has ever mastered a close friends graph and made it easy for people to understand . . . People get friend requests and they feel pressure to accept” Instagram director of product Robby Stein told me when it launched Close Friends last year. “The curve is actually that your sharing goes up and as you add more people initially, as more people can respond to you. But then there’s a point where it reduces sharing over time.” Google+, Path, and other apps have died chasing this purposefully selective microsharing behavior.

Facebook Favorites could stimulate lots of sharing of content unique to its network, thereby driving usage and ad views. After all, Facebook said it in April that it had 500 million daily Stories users across Facebook and Messenger, the same number as Instagram Stories and WhatsApp Status.

Before Instagram launched Close Friends, it actually tested the feature under the name Favorites and allowed you to share feed posts as well as Stories to just that subset of people. And last month Instagram launched the Close Friends-only messaging app Threads that lets you share your Auto-Status about where or what you’re up to.

Facebook Favorites could similarly unlock whole new ways to connect. Facebook can’t follow some apps like Snapchat down more privacy-centric product paths because it knows users are already uneasy about it after 15 years of privacy scandals. Apps built for sharing to different graphs than Facebook have been some of the few social products that have succeeded outside its empire, from Twitter’s interest graph, to TikTok’s fandoms of public entertainment, to Snapchat’s messaging threads with besties.

A competent and popular Facebook Favorites could let it try products in location, memes, performances, Q&A, messaging, livestreaming, and more. It could build its own take on Instagram Threads, let people share exact location just with Favorites instead of just what neighborhood they’re in with Nearby Friends, or create a dedicated meme resharing hub like the LOL experiment for teens it shut down. At the very least, it could integrate with Instagram Close Friends so you could syndicate posts from Instagram to your Facebook Favorites.

The whole concept of Favorites aligns with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s privacy-focused vision for social networking. “Many people prefer the intimacy of communicating one-on-one or with just a few friends” he writes. Facebook can’t just be the general purpose catch-all social network we occasionally check for acquaintances’ broadcasted life updates. To survive another 15 years, it must be where people come back each day to get real with their dearest friends. Less can be more.

Instagram launches Threads, a Close Friends chat app with auto-status

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Facebook prototypes Favorites for close friends microsharing

Facebook is building its own version of Instagram Close Friends, the company confirms to TechCrunch. There’s a lot people that don’t share on Facebook because it can feel risky or awkward since its definition of “friends” has swelled to include family, work colleagues, and distant acquaintances. No one wants their boss or grandma seeing their weekend partying or edgy memes. There are whole types of sharing, like Snapchat’s Snap Map-style live location tracking, that feel creepy to expose to such a wide audience.

The social network needs to get a handle on microsharing. Yet Facebook has tried and failed over the years to get people to build Friend Lists for posting to different subsets of their network.

Back in 2011 Facebook said that 95 percent of users hadn’t made a single list. So it tried tried auto-grouping people into Smart Lists like High School Friends and Co-Workers, and offered manual always-see-in-feed Close Friends and only-see-important-updates Acquaintances lists. But they too saw little traction and few product updates in the past 8 years. Facebook ended up shutting down Friend Lists Feeds last year for viewing what certain sets of friends shared.

Then a year ago, Instagram made a breakthrough. Instead of making a complicated array of Friend Lists you could never remember who was on, it made a single Close Friends list with a dedicated button for sharing to them from Stories. Instagram’s research had found 85% of a user’s Direct messages go to the same 3 people, so why not make that easier for Stories without pulling everyone into a group thread? Last month I wrote that “I’m surprised Facebook doesn’t already have its own Close Friends feature, and it’d be smart to build one.”

How Facebook Favorites Works

Now Facebook is in fact prototyping its version of Instagram Close Friends called Favorites. It lets users designate certain friends as Favorites, and then instantly post their Story from Facebook or Messenger to just those people instead of all their friends as is the default.

The feature was first spotted inside Messenger by reverse engineering master and frequent TechCrunch tipster Jane Manchun Wong. Buried in the Android app is the code that let Wong generate the screenshots above of this unreleased feature. They show how when users go to share a Story from Messenger, Facebook offers to let users to post it to Favorites, and edit who’s on that list or add to it from algorithmic suggestions. Users in that Favorites list would then be the only recipients of that post within Stories, like with Instagram Close Friends.

 

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to me that this feature is a prototype that the Messenger team created. It’s an early exploration of the microsharing opportunity, and the feature isn’t officially testing internally with employees or publicly in the wild. The spokesperson describes the Favorites feature as a type of shortcut for sharing to a specific set of people. They tell me that Facebook is always exploring new ways to share, and as discussed at its F8 conference this year, Facebook is focused on improving the experience of sharing with and staying more connected to your closest friends.

Unlocking Creepier Sharing

There are a ton of benefits Facebook could get from a Favorites feature if it ever launches. First, users might share more often if they can make content visible to just their best pals since those people wouldn’t get annoyed by over-posting. Second, Facebook could get new, more intimate types of content shared, from the heartfelt and vulnerable to the silly and spontaneous to the racy and shocking — stuff people don’t want every single person they’ve ever accepted a friend request from to see. Favorites could reduce self-censorship.

“No one has ever mastered a close friends graph and made it easy for people to understand . . . People get friend requests and they feel pressure to accept” Instagram director of product Robby Stein told me when it launched Close Friends last year. “The curve is actually that your sharing goes up and as you add more people initially, as more people can respond to you. But then there’s a point where it reduces sharing over time.” Google+, Path, and other apps have died chasing this purposefully selective microsharing behavior.

Facebook Favorites could stimulate lots of sharing of content unique to its network, thereby driving usage and ad views. After all, Facebook said it in April that it had 500 million daily Stories users across Facebook and Messenger, the same number as Instagram Stories and WhatsApp Status.

Before Instagram launched Close Friends, it actually tested the feature under the name Favorites and allowed you to share feed posts as well as Stories to just that subset of people. And last month Instagram launched the Close Friends-only messaging app Threads that lets you share your Auto-Status about where or what you’re up to.

Facebook Favorites could similarly unlock whole new ways to connect. Facebook can’t follow some apps like Snapchat down more privacy-centric product paths because it knows users are already uneasy about it after 15 years of privacy scandals. Apps built for sharing to different graphs than Facebook have been some of the few social products that have succeeded outside its empire, from Twitter’s interest graph, to TikTok’s fandoms of public entertainment, to Snapchat’s messaging threads with besties.

A competent and popular Facebook Favorites could let it try products in location, memes, performances, Q&A, messaging, livestreaming, and more. It could build its own take on Instagram Threads, let people share exact location just with Favorites instead of just what neighborhood they’re in with Nearby Friends, or create a dedicated meme resharing hub like the LOL experiment for teens it shut down. At the very least, it could integrate with Instagram Close Friends so you could syndicate posts from Instagram to your Facebook Favorites.

The whole concept of Favorites aligns with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s privacy-focused vision for social networking. “Many people prefer the intimacy of communicating one-on-one or with just a few friends” he writes. Facebook can’t just be the general purpose catch-all social network we occasionally check for acquaintances’ broadcasted life updates. To survive another 15 years, it must be where people come back each day to get real with their dearest friends. Less can be more.

Instagram launches Threads, a Close Friends chat app with auto-status

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Making sense of a multi-cloud, hybrid world at KubeCon

More than 12,000 attendees gathered this week in San Diego to discuss all things containers, Kubernetes and cloud-native at KubeCon.

Kubernetes, the container orchestration tool, turned five this year, and the technology appears to be reaching a maturity phase where it accelerates beyond early adopters to reach a more mainstream group of larger business users.

That’s not to say that there isn’t plenty of work to be done, or that most enterprise companies have completely bought in, but it’s clearly reached a point where containerization is on the table. If you think about it, the whole cloud-native ethos makes sense for the current state of computing and how large companies tend to operate.

If this week’s conference showed us anything, it’s an acknowledgment that it’s a multi-cloud, hybrid world. That means most companies are working with multiple public cloud vendors, while managing a hybrid environment that includes those vendors — as well as existing legacy tools that are probably still on-premises — and they want a single way to manage all of this.

The promise of Kubernetes and cloud-native technologies, in general, is that it gives these companies a way to thread this particular needle, or at least that’s the theory.

Kubernetes to the rescue

Photo: Ron Miller/TechCrunch

If you were to look at the Kubernetes hype cycle, we are probably right about at the peak where many think Kubernetes can solve every computing problem they might have. That’s probably asking too much, but cloud-native approaches have a lot of promise.

Craig McLuckie, VP of R&D for cloud-native apps at VMware, was one of the original developers of Kubernetes at Google in 2014. VMware thought enough of the importance of cloud-native technologies that it bought his former company, Heptio, for $550 million last year.

As we head into this phase of pushing Kubernetes and related tech into larger companies, McLuckie acknowledges it creates a set of new challenges. “We are at this crossing the chasm moment where you look at the way the world is — and you look at the opportunity of what the world might become — and a big part of what motivated me to join VMware is that it’s successfully proven its ability to help enterprise organizations navigate their way through these disruptive changes,” McLuckie told TechCrunch.

He says that Kubernetes does actually solve this fundamental management problem companies face in this multi-cloud, hybrid world. “At the end of the day, Kubernetes is an abstraction. It’s just a way of organizing your infrastructure and making it accessible to the people that need to consume it.

“And I think it’s a fundamentally better abstraction than we have access to today. It has some very nice properties. It is pretty consistent in every environment that you might want to operate, so it really makes your on-prem software feel like it’s operating in the public cloud,” he explained.

Simplifying a complex world

One of the reasons Kubernetes and cloud-native technologies are gaining in popularity is because the technology allows companies to think about hardware differently. There is a big difference between virtual machines and containers, says Joe Fernandes, VP of product for Red Hat cloud platform.

“Sometimes people conflate containers as another form of virtualization, but with virtualization, you’re virtualizing hardware, and the virtual machines that you’re creating are like an actual machine with its own operating system. With containers, you’re virtualizing the process,” he said.

He said that this means it’s not coupled with the hardware. The only thing it needs to worry about is making sure it can run Linux, and Linux runs everywhere, which explains how containers make it easier to manage across different types of infrastructure. “It’s more efficient, more affordable, and ultimately, cloud-native allows folks to drive more automation,” he said.

Bringing it into the enterprise

Photo: Ron Miller/TechCrunch

It’s one thing to convince early adopters to change the way they work, but as this technology enters the mainstream. Gabe Monroy, partner program manager at Microsoft says to carry this technology to the next level, we have to change the way we talk about it.

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Snapchat’s Time Machine Lens Makes You Look Older

Snapchat has launched a new lens that lets you age and de-age yourself before your very eyes. This new Snapchat lens is reminiscent of the FaceApp filter that went viral earlier this year. Because everyone wants to see what they’re going to look like when they get old.

From FaceApp to Snapchat

In July 2019, FaceApp went viral thanks to a filter that shows you what you’ll look like when you’re older. However, due to the way FaceApp applies filters on its (Russia-based) servers, people soon realized using FaceApp wasn’t such a great idea.

Still, that didn’t lessen people’s desire to see what they may look like when they get older. So, Snapchat has launched a new lens called Time Machine that does just that. The results aren’t as refined as FaceApp’s, but they’re still likely to freak you out a little.

How to Use Snapchat’s Time Machine Lens

To use the new Time Machine lens on Snapchat, first, open the Snapchat app. Then, open the filter carousel (the icon of a face to the right of the Capture button. Then scroll across until you see the splitscreen image of a baby and an old person.

You can then use the slider to make yourself look younger and older. Or flick between the two. Sliding the slider to the left de-ages you, while sliding it to the right ages you. Badly. Time Machine works with both front- and rear-facing cameras.

Our Guide to Snapchat Filters and Lenses

Time Machine is almost guaranteed to go viral, so expect to start seeing how your friends and family are likely to look when they’re much older. Just be careful not to look too shocked when you discover you’re going to look just like your mum or dad.

Snapchat boasts a huge number of different filters and lenses designed to jazz up your selfies. And while many are aimed at teenagers, absolutely anyone can have fun with them. So, with that in mind, here’s our guide to Snapchat filters and lenses.

Image Credit: Matthew O’Thompsonski/Flickr

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How to Customize the Login Screen on Your Mac

You’ve probably customized the menu bar, Dock, and other elements on your Mac. But did you know macOS lets you change the login screen to suit your needs as well?

Maybe you want to require both a username and password when you log in for additional security. Or maybe you forget your password often and would like to display a hint. Have a favorite quote you like to start your day? You can add that to your login screen too.

Here we’ll walk you through how to easily change the login screen on a Mac.

Change Your Mac Login Screen

Most of the login screen settings are located in your System Preferences. These settings let you make tweaks like enabling automatic login, displaying a list of users, showing control buttons, turning on VoiceOver, and more.

To get started, click on the Apple menu > System Preferences from the menu bar and select Users & Groups.

Before making changes to the login screen, you may need to unlock the Users & Groups preferences. If so, click the lock icon in the lower-left corner of the window, enter your password when prompted, and click Unlock.

Now, click Login Options at the bottom of the left pane. On the right side of the resulting page, select from the following options that you want to use on the login screen.

Mac Login Screen Settings

Automatic login: This feature lets you head directly to the desktop when you start your Mac, rather than having to enter your credentials first. Turn on automatic login and enter the user’s account name and password to enable it. It’s convenient if you’re the only user of your Mac and always keep the computer in a safe location.

If you have FileVault turned on, automatic login is disabled by default. For more on this feature, check out our helpful FileVault guide.

Display login window as: You can choose from List of users and Name and password. The former lets you pick your username and then enter your password, while the latter requires you to enter both.

If you’re concerned about security, choose Name and password since it requires you to know both the username and password.

Show the Sleep, Restart, and Shut Down buttons: Check this box to display these controls on the login screen.

Show Input menu in login window: Enabling the Input menu lets the user pick the language to use on the Mac before logging in. This is helpful if you regularly switch between languages or keyboard formats.

Show password hints: You can enable the display of password hints when you click the question mark or enter the password incorrectly three times in a row.

To add or change a password hint, click a user on the left and select Password. Next, hit the Change Password button. Enter your old password, along with a new one, and confirm. Then add your password hint at the bottom and click Change Password.

Show fast user switching menu as: This option lets you switch between users quickly from your Mac menu bar. You can choose to display full names, account names, or an icon.

When you’re done making your selections, click the lock button again to prevent further changes.

Enable Accessibility Options on the Login Screen

VoiceOver, zoom, sticky keys, and additional accessibility options are also available on the login screen. Click the Accessibility Options button and then check the boxes for those items you want to display.

When you turn on any of these accessibility features, your settings will apply for every user on the login screen. Turning off a feature will disable it for all users on the screen as well.

Add a Custom Message to the Login Screen

You can add a custom message to the login screen. For instance, you might want to set your favorite motivational quote to start your day. Or you could add your contact information, so an honest person who finds your Mac can get in touch with you to return it.

To add a message to your login screen, click the Apple menu > System Preferences from the menu bar and select Security & Privacy.

If necessary, click the lock button and enter your password to make this change. Then follow these simple steps:

1. Click the General tab.
2. Check the box for Show a message when the screen is locked box and then click Set Lock Message.
3. Enter the message you want to display on the login screen in the popup dialog box, then click OK.

The next time you lock your screen or start up your Mac, you’ll see your message at the bottom of the login screen.

Change Your Profile Picture

If you use the login screen with a list of users as described earlier, the user profile pictures display above the names. You can change your profile picture easily if you like.

To change your picture, click the Apple menu > System Preferences and choose Users & Groups. Then do the following to change your picture:

1. Select your user profile on the left.
2. Move your cursor over the profile picture and click Edit when it appears.
3. In the popup window, select the location of the image you would like to use or pick Camera to snap one with your Mac’s camera.
4. Optionally, use the zoom slider to adjust the photo.
5. Click Save.

Login With Your Apple Watch

While technically not a login screen “customization,” there is another way to log into your Mac besides the automatic login or name and password options we’ve mentioned. If you own an Apple Watch, you can log into your Mac with it too.

To enable the feature, click the Apple menu > System Preferences and choose Security & Privacy. Then walk through these steps:

1. Select the General tab.
2. Check the box for Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac. (If your Apple Watch is running watchOS 3, 4, or 5, the box will have the label Use your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac instead.)
3. Enter your Mac user password if prompted.

Once you enable this feature and land on your Mac login screen while wearing your Apple Watch, you’ll see a brief message on the screen that says Unlocking with Apple Watch.

Your Mac’s Own Look and Feel

You can experiment with any or all of these options to discover what you like best on your Mac login screen. And since the features are so easy to change, you can adjust them whenever you like.

For other macOS personalization options, take a look at how to change up your Mac desktop or customize the Terminal on Mac to make it more useful.

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How to Safely Clean Your Tablet or Mobile Phone Touchscreen

Cleaning your smartphone or tablet screen is easy—but you need to make sure you’re doing it the right way. This means employing the right type of cleaner, as well as a material suited to cleaning.

After all, if you don’t know what to avoid, you might end up damaging the touchscreen. This can potentially render the device useless. Below we cover how safely and correctly clean your mobile phone or tablet touchscreen.

How Not to Clean a Cell Phone or Tablet Touchscreen

Before we go over a quick and easy method to safely clean your device’s touchscreen, let’s cover some mistakes you should never make when cleaning a smartphone touchscreen:

• Never use harsh chemicals, including Windex, anything with ammonia, or alcohol-based cleaners. If a liquid is necessary, you should only use a small amount of water on the cloth. While you can purchase special cleaning solutions (such as iKlenz, recommended by Apple) these are not necessary.
• Never use abrasive cloths, paper towels, or tissue paper, which can scratch the touchscreen. The scratches may be small, but they will build up over time, damaging and dulling the screen. Instead, use microfiber cloths, which are specially designed to clean sensitive surfaces.
• Never use a large amount of water. If water is necessary to clean the screen, you should dampen your microfiber cloth instead. It’s a good idea to power off your device ahead of time if any water is necessary.
• Never press too hard while cleaning the screen. Excessive pressure can damage your device.

The steps outlined below are intended for cleaning glass screens. If your screen is covered in a plastic screen protector, you can use other types of cleaning solutions. Check the screen protector’s packaging or refer to the manufacturer’s website for details.

Want a Clean Tablet or Phone Screen? Use a Microfiber Cloth

To clean a touchscreen, all you really need is a microfiber cloth. For dirtier screens, you may also need a small amount of plain water (soap is not necessary).

The term “microfiber cloth” may sound a bit fancy, but they’re extremely common and cheap. If you have a pair of eyeglasses, they probably came with a microfiber cloth for cleaning the lenses.

Cloths like the MagicFiber Microfiber Cleaning Cloths safely clean sensitive glass surfaces without scratching, whether it’s a pair of glasses or a glass touchscreen. You may also have received a microfiber cloth with another device.

MagicFiber Microfiber Cleaning Cloths MagicFiber Microfiber Cleaning Cloths Buy Now On Amazon $8.99

Why are microfiber cloths suited for this task? They contain very small fibers which won’t scratch your touchscreen. The microfibers also attract dust and oils, pulling them off your device’s screen instead of rubbing them around the display. A few quick wipes with a microfiber cloth and your phone’s touchscreen should be clean.

Don’t have one? In a pinch, you can use a cotton cloth or the corner of a cotton t-shirt. However, the best results will always come from a microfiber cloth.

How to Clean a Mobile Touchscreen

Now that you have the appropriate cloth to clean your screen, the process is simple:

1. Turn off the device. This step is optional, but if plan to use any water, it’s a good idea. At the very least, turning off the device’s screen allows you to see the dirt more easily.
2. Wipe horizontally or vertically across the touchscreen in one repeating direction with the microfiber cloth. This motion sweeps grime away and is the safest way to clean the screen.
   1. For example, start at the left side of the screen and wipe straight across to the right side of the screen. Afterwards, move the cloth a bit lower and repeat this process to clean the entire screen.
3. If necessary, use a small amount of water to make a corner of the cloth slightly damp. Make sure you apply the water to the cloth, not the device. Use the damp part of the cloth to clean the screen in the same way. (Rubbing in a small circle may be necessary if the grime refuses to come off.)
   1. For particularly troublesome grease, you may consider a screen cleaning fluid, which you can buy from a store like Walmart or Amazon. You can also make your own using ten parts distilled water and one part white vinegar. Decant your mix into a suitable spray bottle—remember to spray the cloth, not the phone or tablet.
4. Wipe the screen with the dry part of the microfiber cloth. Leave any remaining moisture on on the screen to air-dry; don’t try too hard to dry it with the cloth.

While it might sound confusing, this is the most complicated way to explain the process. In most cases, simply turning the device’s screen off and giving it a few wipes across with a microfiber cloth will be enough to remove any dust and oil in just a few seconds.

To clean the microfiber cloth itself and prevent build-up of dirt, soak the cloth in warm soapy water, rinse well, and let it dry. Don’t use any harsh chemicals to clean the cloth, as they can damage it.

How to Clean Your iPad or Tablet Screen

Looking for a way to clean your iPad screen? Since the construction of most tablets resembles large phones, you can follow most of the steps to clean your tablet.

Nevertheless, the cleaning challenges facing tablet owners can differ considerably. For example, any iPad or other tablet stored in a silicon case is likely to have significant dust and dirt gathered under its edges.

As such, it is wise to remove your tablet from the case before cleaning. With a child’s tablet, the accumulated crud may require several attempts before it’s back to spotless.

Can You Clean a Touchscreen With Windex?

As noted above, you should not put standard Windex on a smartphone touchscreen. It’s unsuitable for use with phones and tablets.

This doesn’t mean that you have no options around Windex, however. The Windex range includes a vinegar glass cleaner and an ammonia-free option. Nonetheless, we recommend avoiding these as well, since they’re made for use on standard glass.

Instead, if you really want to use Windex products, try the Windex Electronics Wipes. These are intended for use on TVs, smartphones, tablets, ereaders, and more. You can use these as you would a microfiber cloth to remove fingerprints, dust, and smudges.

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While you can buy cleaning kits and expensive cleaning solutions like iKlenz and Monster CleanTouch, these aren’t necessary. A simple microfiber cloth and some water will work just as well in most situations.

Keep Your Touchscreen Clean

Once you’ve cleaned your phone or iPad touchscreen, it’s a good idea to keep it as clean as possible. Follow these tips to keep your device looking pristine:

• Wash your hands regularly. Less oil on your hands means fewer smudges on your touchscreen.
• Keep your device in a case. This will help keep it clean and a case with a soft interior can absorb some of the grease.
• Don’t let children use your phone. Doing so almost guarantees that you’ll have to spend time cleaning your tech.

Have more devices to keep nice? Here’s how to safely clean a PC or laptop screen and how to fully clean your dirty iPhone.

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