Time flies by when you are working on your PC or even if you are just playing a game that has you really engrossed, which can sometimes ruin your schedule. If you really want to discipline yourself, it’s important that you schedule your working hours or gaming hours. And you can do that by setting up your Windows 10 PC to automatically shutdown after a period of time or at a certain point of time daily. There are a couple of ways to schedule shutdown in a Windows 10 PC. Well, without further ado, here’s how you can auto shutdown Windows 10 PC:

Method 1: Schedule auto shutdown with Task Scheduler

You can use Windows’ built-in Task Scheduler to create a task, which will automatically shutdown your Windows 10 PC with ease. Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Just hit Windows 10’s Cortana search bar and search for “Task Scheduler” and you should find the relevant result. Click on it.

2. The Task Scheduler window should open up. Here, click on “Create Basic Task…“.

3. You can then set a name for the task and add a description. Once done, click “Next”.

4. Then, you can set up whether you want the task to be active daily, weekly, monthly or you just want the task for this one time. You can choose to trigger the task when you log in to the computer, when the computer starts or when a specific event is logged in.

5. Once done, you can choose the exact time at which you want the task to start. You can also check the option to “Synchronize across different time zones”, if you travel to different countries a lot.

6. After you have selected the time of the task, you will have to choose the action you want the task to take. Choose “Start a program“. You can even choose “Display a message”, if you just want a display reminder to wake you up.

7. Then, hit the “Browse” button in the next page and go to the C:\Windows\System32 folder and select “Shutdown.exe“. In the add arguments section, type “-s -t 1800“, where 1800 is the number of seconds that the computer will take to shutdown after the prompt. Once done, click on “Next”.

8. You will then get an overview of the task. Click “Finish” to complete the task creation.

Once this task is created, you will get a notification at the time you’ve scheduled the task for, suggesting that your Windows 10 PC will shutdown after the specified time. We will recommend you to set the number of seconds in the 7th step, so that you have some time to save your ongoing tasks before your Windows 10 PC automatically shuts down.

Once the task is created, you can go to Task Scheduler->Task Scheduler Library and right-click on the task you’ve created and select “Properties“. Here, you can play around with various security options, conditions, history and more. You can also choose to run, end, delete or disable the task from the right-click menu.

Method 2: Auto Shutdown via Run or Command Prompt

If you don’t want to schedule auto shutdown for daily and you want it only for this one time use, you can use Run or Command Prompt or even Powershell to set a specific time after which the Windows 10 PC will shutdown. Here’s how to do it:

• Run

Open Run on Windows 10 with the key combo Win+R. In Run, type “shutdown -s -t 1800“, with 1800 (30 minutes) obviously being the number of seconds after which the PC will shut down. Click on “Ok”, after which you will get a notification saying “Windows will shut down in 30 minutes”.

• Command Prompt

You can just open up Command Prompt or Powershell and run the same command “shutdown -s -t 1800” to auto shutdown Windows 10 PC.

Note: You can replace “-s” with “-r” in all the shutdown commands to auto restart your Windows 10 PC. 

Ready to automatically shutdown your Windows 10 PC at a scheduled time?

If you are looking to schedule shutdown your Windows 10 PC just for the time being, you can use the second method, as it’s pretty simple. However, if you are looking for an auto shutdown solution for a long term, you should use the first method, which is elaborate and offers a plethora of options. So, try both the methods out and choose the one that suits you better. Do let us know if you face any issues. Sound off in the comments section below.

Instagram has brought a ton of new features in the past few months and well, as you might have guessed, a brand new feature dubbed “Superzoom” has made its way to Instagram. The Superzoom features is integrated within the in-app camera and it’s one of the most fun Instagram features I have used. It lets you record crisp videos of the camera zooming in on someone’s face or any other object with suspenseful music playing in the background by default. You can use this new feature to supplement your daily nuances on Instagram Stories with some casual fun and creative videos.

Use Instagram Superzoom Feature on Android or iOS

Note: I tried the Superzoom feature on Instagram v 20.0.0.29.75 (stable) on my Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 running Android 6.0 and it worked perfectly. The feature is also available for iOS devices.

If you’re in the mood for some fun and want to make your friends laugh at stuttering zoom videos, here are the steps you need to follow to make a Superzoom video and share it with your friends:

1. Open the Instagram app and tap on the “camera” icon at the top left. Under the shutter button, you can now swipe the recording options available at the bottom to find the new “Superzoom” feature sitting between the Boomerang and Rewind.

3. Now, you need to tap on the circular ‘shutter’ button to automatically record a 3-second Superzoom video to post to your Instagram story. You can, however, hold down the shutter button to record a 15-second Superzoom with an extended and slow final zoom on the object. Here’s a quick close-up shot of our bobble-head Tony Stark:

4. You can now select between two options, either share the Superzoom video with your followers by adding it to your Story or send it as a Direct Message to your friends. You’re also free to save the same to upload it elsewhere, maybe as a GIF.

While it is welcoming to see Instagram debut a new creative format, you can also still create zooming videos without the Superzoom feature. All you need to do is hold down the shutter button and drag your finger, in a vertical motion, across the screen to zoom. This video will be zoomed in but the stutter effect and suspenseful music may be missing from it.

Instagram Superzoom: Extremely up-close But Fun

This new dramatized feature, which further adds fuel to the meme culture, now joins the ranks of popular Instagram features such as Boomerang GIFs, Hyperlapse, and Layout for making collages. Superzoom lets you get up-close and personal with your subject, be it a friend, soda can or anything random in your vicinity. You can even make a crow sitting on your porch look scary with the zooming and suspenseful music in the video’s background.

Superzoom is really fun to mess around and we should see “Instagram Stories” sprawling with such close-ups. Excited to share random Superzooms with your followers? Comment your thoughts on this creative feature down below.

GIFs have become very very popular of late. The reason behind their popularity is that they are smaller in size than videos yet relay much more information than a static picture. At most 3.5 seconds long, a GIF is an infinitely looped animation which stores multiple frames of animation. You can easily get GIFs at the various popular online websites, but creating your own GIF and seeing it trending on the internet is way more fulfilling than downloading one. If you own a Mac, there are simple methods you can use to create GIFs on it. So, if there was a time in your life when you were wondering how to create GIFs on macOS, this is how you do it:

Create GIFs on Mac Using Third Party Apps

While some of you might think that you need an exceptional Photoshop skills to create those magical GIFs. It is literally not that hard. There are some great apps available on Mac App Store which make it really easy to create a GIF on your Mac. So let's check the best of them, shall we?

GIF Brewery 3

This is an excellent app, as it allows you to create a GIF out of anything, whether it be videos on your laptop or the ones on the internet.

1. To start creating a GIF, first download and install the app from the Mac App Store. Once the app is installed, launch it. When the app is launched, you will see that it gives you various ways to create a GIF. You can create a GIF by importing a video or a link, by recording your screen, and by recording from the inbuilt camera.

2. Most of us will create the GIF by importing a video or a link, so let us do that. Click on the open video link and import an existing video on your Mac.

4. On the timeline, set the start and the end timers to your required time which contains the GIF material.

5. Click on the text field to add any text if you want to. You can also crop or resize the video if you want to or you can add stickers. Everything is available in the top toolbar. When you are done, click on create and then save your GIF.

The same process will be repeated for other methods too. Click on the method you want to create GIFs with and follow the same process.

GIPHY Capture

There is one problem with GIF Brewery 3. If you want to create a GIF by inserting a link, the app first downloads the video and then lets you convert it to GIF. This can be a major problem if the video you are watching is a big one, as it will take a lot of time to download the video. This is where GIPHY Capture comes in. The app lays an overlay on your screen and records only the part you want to convert to GIF. To learn how to do that, let us create one GIF from youtube, but first download the app by visiting the App Store.

1. Open a browser and load your video, then launch the app. Adjust the app’s window to the size of the video player in the browser and click on record. Be sure to record a longer clip, so that you can trim that later. Remember, when you start recording, everything will fade out a little bit as compared to the recording window.

Pro Tip: Use the keyboard's play and pause button while you are adjusting the size of the app's window (F8).

3. Double-click on the video clip to open the editing window. Minimise the recording window and edit your clip on the editing window. Here you can set the start and end point, decide the pixel size of the GIF, select the loop type, and the frame rate. After you are done editing, you can directly upload the GIF to GIPHY or save it onto your Mac.

Ready to Make Your Own GIFs on Mac?

Creating GIFs is really easy and a fun exercise on your Mac. I tried out the aforementioned apps on my MacBook Pro 2016 running macOS High Sierra and they all worked out pretty well. So, even you can create GIFs on your MacBooks which might go viral on the internet. So, all set to create GIFs on macOS? Well, share with us your best creations and if you have any doubts or suggestions related to creating GIFs on Mac, drop them down in the comment sections.

Apart from the name, macOS Sierra brought a number of changes. Not only in terms of the features that it added, but also in terms of the things it removed. One such change is that you cannot open apps developed by unidentified developers on macOS Sierra. At least, not directly. So, if you want to run an app from an unidentified developer, you’re almost out of luck. Almost. In this guide, I’ll tell you how you can run apps from unidentified developers on macOS Sierra. So, read on!

macOS Sierra: What Changed?

Previously, in OS X El Capitan, users had the option to change the Mac Gatekeeper preferences to “Allow apps from Anywhere“. However, macOS Sierra changed this. You now only have the options to either allow apps from the App Store, or from the App Store and Identified Developers.

OS X El Capitan (top) vs macOS Sierra (bottom)

However, there is still a way to launch third party apps from unidentified developers on your Mac running macOS Sierra.

Opening Unidentified Apps in macOS Sierra

Note: Keep in mind that it is not usually recommended to use apps from unidentified developers. You should only install such apps if you’re absolutely sure that they are not harmful apps. Neither Apple, nor Beebom can be held responsible if you download a malicious app and compromise your system. Use common sense.

So, how can you open apps from unidentified developers? It’s actually not that difficult. Just follow the steps below. I’m using GIMP as an example app that can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer.

1. First, download the DMG or ZIP file containing the app. Then, copy the app into your Applications folder. Once you have done that, simply go to Applications -> GIMP. Right click on the app, and click “Open“.

2. You will be greeted with an alert box asking you if you’re sure that you want to open the app. Click “Open”, if you’re sure the app is safe.

3. The app will then open up on macOS Sierra.

You only need to do this once for each app. Subsequent launches of the app will succeed by default.

Install Any App You Want on Your Mac

With this method, you can now install and use any app that you want to, on your Mac running macOS Sierra. If you haven’t upgraded to Sierra yet, then you can simply change the settings in the Privacy settings inside System Preferences. Otherwise, you can follow this method to launch third party apps from unidentified developers on macOS Sierra.

As always, we would like to know your thoughts on Apple removing the option to allow apps from anywhere. Does this look like a step towards the infamous walled garden that most of Apple’s operating systems are? Also, if you face any issues with this method, do let us know about them in the comments section below.

Gmail for Android got a super handy function in the latest update, which lets you customize the left or right swipe gestures on the inbox to correspond to any one of five actions. There is also a ‘None’ option which allows you to deactivate the default swipe actions, which might come in handy if you are not a big fan of swipe gestures.

Plus there are separate options to customize the left and right swipe gestures and set them accordingly to perform the desired action.

Earlier, swiping over an email in the Gmail app would archive it as that was the only option, even though Google had added a delete option in one of the older versions. While useful, fans have been asking Google to add more options other than archive.

The new Gmail update on Android makes the swipe gestures even more versatile and productive. The latest update for the Gmail app on Android is now being widely rolled out. We discovered that the swipe customization feature has already made its way to even older versions like Android 5.0 Marshmallow via the update.

If you want to try the new swipe gesture customization feature on the Gmail app, here’s how you can do it

Open the Gmail app and tap on the menu button at the top left corner of the screen. Here tap on ‘Settings‘ and then choose the option ‘General Settings‘

In ‘General settings’, tap on ‘Swipe actions‘

1. Tap on the card for ‘Right swipe‘ or ‘Left swipe‘ and customize it to perform the task you want.

Hit the back button and save your settings. That’s it; you can now swipe left or right depending on the setting you have chosen. Doesn’t this make managing emails a lot easier?

The first developer preview of Android O was released some time back and we now finally have the public beta of Android O. Google I/O 2017 brought a number of announcements and as everyone expected, there were some Android related announcements as well. Android Go for low-end and entry-level smartphones was announced and yes, the first public beta of Android O with some cool new features like notification dots, smart text select, etc. has also arrived. Like the last Android N beta releases, the Android O public beta is available for Pixel and Nexus devices only. We are talking about the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X and Nexus Player.  So, if you have got one of these devices and are willing out to try out the Android O beta, here are the steps to install Android O beta on your Nexus or Pixel device:

Note: I installed the Android O public beta on the LG Nexus 5X but the process should be identical on other supported devices. Also, while Android O beta worked fine in my short duration with it, don’t be surprised if there are a number of bugs and problem. In fact, there are a number of known issues in Google’s official release notes. The point is, I would not recommend you to install the Android O preview on your daily driver. 

Installing Android O Through Android Beta Program

Getting the Android O beta on your Nexus or Pixel device is the easiest and the method I’d recommend. That’s because, once you are enrolled in the Android Beta Program, you will receive future Android O builds as OTA updates. Also, you don’t lose any data. However, if you opt out of the beta program, your device will be wiped out.

Alright then, here are the steps to install Android O beta through the Android Beta Program:

1. First, you will have to head to Android Beta Program’s official webpage to enroll your device in the beta program. Here, just make sure that you login with the same Google account that you use on your Nexus or Pixel smartphone. Once logged in, you should see your device as compatible with the program. Just click on the “Enroll device” button.

2. Then, the terms to the beta program will pop up. Just click on “Join Beta” and in a few seconds, you will get the message that “Your device is part of the Android Beta Program”.

3. Your device should then get a notification of the Android O beta update. Tap on the “Download” button to start the download process. Once the update is download, just tap “Restart now to install”.

4. Then, your device will be restarted and the Android O beta will be installed on your device. After your device restarts, your device will have Android O installed in your device.

Flash the Android O Beta Manually

Another method to install the Android O beta is by flashing the Android O system image manually. You can download factory images here and we have already detailed the steps in our article on how you can install the Android O Developer Preview. However, do keep in mind that this process wipe all your data and also, there’s no support for future OTA updates. Having said that, if you are a developer and you want to do a fresh install of Android O on your Nexus or Pixel, this is the way to go.

Ready to Try Android O on Your Nexus or Pixel Device?

Well, those are the two methods you can use to install the Android O beta on your Android device. The public beta of Android O does bring some cool features but it’s also filled with bugs and inconsistencies, so proceed with caution. So, try out Android O on your Nexus or Pixel device and do let me know your thoughts on the latest iteration of Android in the comments section below.

Google Chrome on Android is a very capable browser, however, it has always had fewer features than its desktop counterpart. While some of the missing features can be blamed onto the system restrictions of the mobile nature of the Android OS and hardware on which it is running on, some of the missing features should have been on the Chrome since the beginning. One such missing feature is the ability to see saved passwords on Chrome. This feature has been available on desktop since the beginning, but was not available on Android. Well, with its build number 62 (Chrome 62) on Android, the browser now lets you see all your saved passwords. This feature is really handy as you can just easily copy and paste your saved passwords, without the hassle of remembering them. So, if this is something that matters to you, here is how to view saved Passwords in Chrome on Android:

View Saved Passwords in Chrome on Android

Before we get started, let’s make certain restrictions clear. Firstly, the method is working on Chrome 62, hence if you are on a previous build, you will need to update your app. You can also try it on the Chrome Beta browser, if the update is not available for your device or in your region. Also, you will be able to view your saved password only if you have some kind of screen-lock security feature on your device. This is done to ensure that no unauthorized person can view your passwords. Lastly, you should be logged-in with your Gmail account in your Chrome browser for this to work. Okay, since now we know all that, let’s get started.

Note: I am using the Chrome Beta for this tutorial as the Chrome 62 update is not available for me at the time of writing this article.

1. The process is very simple, first, launch the Chrome browser and then tap on the 3-dot buttons menu at the top right corner. Now, tap on “Settings”.

2. Here, tap on “Save passwords” option. Now, you can see all the saved accounts and passwords in your browser linked to your account. Tap on the account you want to see the password of.

3. Here, you can see the website name, your username and your password. However, the password is hidden right now. If you want to see your password, tap on the eye button and then authenticate with your screen-lock password. If you don’t want to see the password and just copy it, tap on the copy button instead of the eye button. However, you will have to authenticate it in both the cases. Since mine is locked with a fingerprint, I will authenticate it using that.

 As soon as you authenticate it, you will be able to see your save password. For obvious reasons, I am not going to show you that screen, but you can try it out for yourself. Similarly, you can copy or see all the passwords that are saved inside your Chrome browser.

View Your Saved Password in Google Chrome

As you saw, it is pretty easy to see your saved password inside Chrome on Android. This feature is really handy if you use Chrome as your primary password management service. Although, if you want more security, I must suggest that you use a dedicated password manager for it. You can click here, to learn about the best password managers available today. That being said, let us know your thoughts on the subject of using Chrome as your password manager by dropping them down in the comments section below.

Privacy is a major concern when it comes to any software. Most people seem to skip the Terms of Service while installing third party software, so they really have no idea what they’re getting themselves into. Since November last year, NVIDIA has been adding Telemetry to all their graphics drivers, which involves automated collection of user data and information from your system. So far, it’s nothing big to be worried about, as the software is not really spying on you. However, in order to be on the safer side, you might want to disable the Telemetry service in their new drivers right away. So, before we take a look at how to disable NVIDIA Telemetry on Windows, let me explain what NVIDIA Telemetry actually is:

What Is NVIDIA Telemetry?

NVIDIA Telemetry makes use of the driver software that’s installed on your system to automatically collect user data and information from your system. These information might include monitoring of aggregate-level data and user-level data that might be collected and stored on their servers, usually for providing the correct driver update. So far, it cannot be considered as spying on the users, as NVIDIA is not gathering any more information that they used to. However, it’s what the company plans to do in the future with Telemetry monitors that concerns us. So, if you’re paranoid, you can make use of Microsoft Autoruns to disable NVIDIA’s Telemetry monitor.

Disabling NVIDIA Telemetry Using Microsoft Autoruns

Note: I’m disabling NVIDIA Telemetry on my laptop running Windows 10 Creators update. This method should work fine even if you have an older version of Windows.

We’ll be making use of Microsoft’s Autoruns software, which you can download from here. Once done, simply follow the steps below to disable NVIDIA’s Telemetry services:

• Once downloaded, extract the RAR file and run Autoruns if you’re using a 32-bit version of Windows or Autoruns64 if you’re using a 64-bit version of Windows. Make sure you run the software as an administrator, as you won’t be able to disable it otherwise. Leave the autorunsc and autorunsc64 untouched.

• Once the software opens up, type “nvidia” in the filter search box, and hit Enter key.

• Once done, un-check the boxes for all the services that start with \NvTm where Tm stands for Telemetry. When you’re done, exit the software.

Well, that was quick indeed. You’ve successfully disabled NVIDIA’s Telemetry services and safeguarded your information within seconds.

                   SEE ALSO: How to Set Up And Configure NVIDIA G-Sync

Safeguard Your Information By Disabling NVIDIA Telemetry

Although NVIDIA might not necessarily be spying on you, we’re not quite sure what the company plans to do with these Telemetry services in the future. That being said, it’s the company’s responsibility to let users know about these services and provide them with an option to disable it beforehand, instead of making use of a third-party software to disable it all by themselves.

So, have you disabled all the telemetry services of NVIDIA using Microsoft Autoruns? Do let us know your thoughts on services like this, by simply dropping a few words in the comments section down below.

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Sometimes we have to run an application that we do not trust, but we are afraid that it might look at or delete our personal data, since even though Linux systems are less prone to malware, they are not completely immune. Maybe you want to access a shady-sounding website. Or perhaps you need to access your bank account, or any other site dealing with sensitive private information. You might trust the website, but do not trust the add-ons or extensions installed in your browser.

In each of the above cases, sandboxing is useful. The idea is to restrict the non-trusted application in an isolated container -a sandbox– so that it does not have access to our personal data, or the other applications on our system. While there is a software called Sandboxie that does what we need, it is only available for Microsoft Windows. But Linux users need not worry, since we have Firejail for the job.

So without further ado, let us see how to set up Firejail on a Linux system and use it to sandbox apps in Linux:

Install Firejail

If you are using Debian, Ubuntu, or Linux Mint, open up the Terminal, and enter the following command:

[sourcecode]sudo apt install firejail[/sourcecode]

Enter your account password, and press Enter. If you are asked for a confirmation, type y, and press Enter again.

If you are using Fedora, or any other RedHat-based distribution, just replace apt with yum. The rest of the instructions remain the same:

[sourcecode]sudo yum install firejail[/sourcecode]

You are now ready to run Firejail.

Optional: Install the Graphical Interface

You can choose to install the official graphical front-end for Firejail called Firetools. It is not available in the official repositories, so we will have to manually install it.

1. Download the installation file for your system. Debian, Ubuntu and Mint users should download the file ending with .deb. I am on a 64-bit Mint installation, so I selected firetools_0.9.40.1_1_amd64.deb.

2. After the download is complete, open the Terminal, and navigate to your Downloads folder by running cd ~/Downloads.

3. Now install the Firetools package by running the command sudo dpkg -i firetools*.deb.

4. Enter your password, hit Enter, and you’re done.

Basic Usage

In a Terminal, write firejail, followed by the command that you need to run. For instance, to run Firefox:

[sourcecode]firejail firefox[/sourcecode]

Make sure to close all Firefox windows first. If you don’t, it will just open a new tab or window in the current session – negating any security benefit you would get from Firejail.

Similarly, for Google Chrome:

[sourcecode]firejail google-chrome[/sourcecode]

Running commands like this gives the application access to only a few needed configuration directories, and your Downloads folder. Access to the rest of the file system, and the other directories in your Home folder is restricted. This can be demonstrated by trying to access my home folder from Chrome:

As you can see, most of my folders, including Pictures, Documents, and others are not accessible from the sandboxed chrome. If I still try to access them by modifying the URL, I will get a File not found error:

Restricting Applications Further

Sometimes, you might need more restrictions, for example, you may want to use a completely fresh browser profile with no history, and no add-ons. Let’s say you don’t want your web browser to access your Downloads folder either. For that, we can use the private option. Run the application as follows:

[sourcecode]firejail google-chrome –private[/sourcecode]

This method completely restricts the application – it always starts in a fresh state, and can not even create or download any new files.

Using the Graphical Interface – Firetools

If you prefer to use a GUI instead of running a command every time, you can use the graphical front-end for Firejail called Firetools. Open the Terminal, and run the command firetools. You will see a window like this:

You can double click on any pre-configured application (Firefox and VLC here) to run it sandboxed. If you want to add an application, right click on an empty space on the Firetools app, and click on Edit:

You can now enter the name, description, and the command that you want to run. The command would be the same as you would run in a console. For instance, to create an icon for Google Chrome that you want to run in private mode, you would input the following:

Now simply double-click the icon you just created to launch the app:

Run Doubtful Applications Securely On Linux With Firejail

That is it from our side when it comes to sandboxing non-trusted apps in Linux with Firejail. If you wish to learn more about the advanced sandboxing options that Firejail offers, take a look at the official documentation. What do you use Firejail for? Has it saved you from malicious applications or websites? Make sure to let us know by dropping us a line in the comments section below.

Software related bugs are a part of computing life. Developers usually release new versions of a software either by removing some bugs, patching security vulnerabilities, or by introducing new features. If you have installed lots of apps on your Windows PC, then updating them individually can be a daunting task. Keeping up with the updates is also challenging because many developers don't communicate well with the customers. In this article, we'll show you how to update all your desktop apps without any hassle.

How to Check for Software Updates

Check for Updates in the Help Menu

Most modern desktop apps contain an update feature. The command "Check for Updates" is either located in the "Help" menu or in the "Preferences" window. Sadly, they don't all work the same way. Some check for updates every time they're launched, or on a fixed schedule. Some check for updates only on demand; those that do automatically, do not have this feature turned on. Some apps simply download an .exe file and expect you to open it and run the installer; or some do nothing but open a webpage with links to your updates. If you have installed many apps, it's not practical to check for updates. This solution works best if you've installed only few, popular apps.

Subscribe to the Developer's Blog

Every developer website has a blog where they talk about what's included in a minor or a major release. You can subscribe to their blog in your feed reader. If the developer website does not have a blog, you can subscribe to various software sites, which periodically add listings of up-to-date software. They include Filehippo, MajorGeeks, Gizmo's Freeware, SourceForge, Neowin, Softpedia, and more.

Filehippo website is intuitive and they include only the best, popular apps for Windows, Mac, and Web. They have categories for popular apps, and software categories of various types - File sharing, Compression, Messaging, Security, Multimedia, Developer, and more.

MajorGeeks is the popular website of my choice. It aims to provide only the top 1% of safe, editor tested downloads. They have categories for popular apps, and software categories of various types. They also include a section on compatibility database for apps running under various operating systems. Although the site database is small, they've been doing this from 2001.

Gizmo's Freeware, aka Tech Support Alert is a freeware review site that utilizes the help from volunteers to scrutinize apps and make recommendations to users. Gizmo has better reviews of fewer programs, run entirely by volunteers and recommends only the best freeware programs in dozens of different software categories.

While subscribing to the developer's blog and software sites will certainly help you in getting regular updates, it may feel daunting as you have to keep up with dozens of RSS feeds and news from software publishers.

Make Twitter Lists for Apps

The idea behind Twitter lists is to essentially group a number of accounts together. When you view this list, you'll see all the tweets from those accounts. There are two advantages of making a Twitter lists. First, you don't have to add the user in order to add them to a list. Second, tweets from your lists do not show up in your primary feed.

Nowadays, every developer market their apps in social media to gain traction, customer feedback, and news updates. Visit your favorite app website, and see whether they have accounts in social media link or not. Every Twitter account has a unique domain name and handle. For instance – LibreOffice (a popular, open source, office suite for Windows and Mac) has their Twitter account since 2010 and their Twitter handle is "tdforg." Search for that handle in your Twitter app, and add them to your Twitter lists.

After adding all your favorites apps on the Twitter list, you can get the updates directly from TweetDeck, and dedicate an entire column to your apps list. With Twitter lists you can get updates from your developer, report issues to them and if lucky, get discount coupons on future upgrades.

Software Update Tools

Software update tools are monitoring utilities to scan your computer for old and outdated software packages. While some tools just check or updates, some even let you install all the software updates with ease. Although there are many apps out there for this purpose, it's not possible to review each of them in this article. Before you jump to download any of these utilities, here’s what you should check:

• How many software updates does it detect? This is an important criteria because if it recommends you only a handful of updates, then the purpose of the utility gets defeated.
• Will it run at startup and automatically scan for updates?
• Will it automatically download the updates it identifies or suggest only a link to your update.
• Is the installer bundling any unwanted software (such as toolbars, add-ins, adware)?
• Can you add any custom locations to scan for installed apps? For e.g., Portable Apps directory.

Some of the popular software update checkers, tried and tested are - FileHippo App Manager, Ninite, and SuMo. While you don't have to use software update checker daily, it's a handy utility to check for the software updates in one go.

Using SuMo to Check for Outdated Apps

SuMo aka Software Update Monitor (download) is a utility for Windows to keep your PC up-to-date by installing the most recent version of your favorite software.

Note – The regular installer version of the SuMo contains an adware, called as "Relevant Knowledge." Most security software's can flag the installer as a spyware. It is best to download either the Lite or Portable installer, because they do not contain any adware.

After installing the software, allow it to scan your whole computer for outdated packages. The software scans your "Program Files," "Program Files (x86)," "Users," "Registry," and any custom folder of your choice. For e.g., Portable software folder.

Click "Options->Settings" and under "Scan" section click "Additional Folders". A new window will open, and in here click "Add" to add your portable apps folder.

Click the "Check" button to check for the availability of updated apps in your PC. SuMo highlights all the minor and major updates with different labels and arranges them accordingly. The version numbers are also clearly visible in another column, so that you can take a quick glance at all the apps. If you find some of the updates unnecessary, right-click any app and click "Skip this update".

While SuMo definitely lists out all the outdated packages in one go, when you click "Get Update", it doesn't take you to a download page directly. It directs you to a webpage with usage statistics about recent versions of the program. Although this information is interesting, it makes the app unnecessarily complicated to use.

There are definitely some advantages of using software update checker, since it makes the process of finding outdated software packages much easier but again it only notifies you of available updates.

Use Ninite to Install and Update Apps

Ninite (download) is a free tool that lets you automatically download, install, and update various desktop apps in one go. If you're setting up a PC for the first time, Ninite is the safest place to get up-to-date freeware. You don't have to worry about all the download sites full of crappy installers bundled with adware or toolbars.

Visit the website and you'll see the list of all the supported programs. Select the programs that you want to install and click on "Get Your Ninite" installer. The installer is a stub, which means that the programs you have selected will automatically download and install in the background.

By default, the programs install in their default locations. If your system is 64-bit, 64-bit version of your app will install, if available. To update your outdated apps, re-run the installer again. If a new version is available, it will automatically update the app in the background or else it will skip the installation.

Ninite is an incredible program and you should consider it in your workflow. If you're using a PC just for your basic tasks, then Ninite is the best way to install and update apps. Ninite database contains only the popular apps, so if you install apps from the indie developers frequently, use package manager to update and uninstall them.

Chocolatey – Package Manager for Windows

Chocolatey is a command line application sfor Windows based on the package manager NuGet. Just like Ninite, Chocolatey installs, updates, uninstalls programs in the background with minimal user interaction. Volunteers and project’s members create and maintain the entire package feed. Thus, their database is unique and huge.

System Requirements:

• Windows 7 and above
• Windows Server 2003 and above
• PowerShell version 2 and above
• .NET framework 4+ (if you don't have .NET 4, it will attempt to automatically install them)

Go to Chocolatey Install and under "Installing Chocolatey" section copy the command listed in the "Cmd.exe."

@powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))" && SET "PATH=%PATH%;%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\chocolatey\bin"

Press "Win + X" and choose "Command Prompt (Admin)" from the Start menu. Now, paste the command you copied into the Command prompt window and press "Enter".

Once you've got Chocolatey up and running, it's time to start installing apps. Visit Chocolatey packages website and you'll notice that there are 4343 software packages in its database. Let's assume that you want to install Google Chrome. In the command prompt window type

choco install googlechrome

If you want to install Firefox type

choco install firefox

Try out and install 7-zip, SumatraPDF, Notepad++, and more. If you think you might forget these commands, write them down in the Notepad and save it as a text file.

If you want to update any software package, simply type

choco upgrade

So for Google Chrome, it's

choco upgrade googlechrome

and for Firefox

choco upgrade firefox

To uninstall any package type

choco uninstall

Chocolatey is all-in one package manager for Windows. Once you get the basics of Chocolatey, you'll never think of installing or updating apps manually. Now when you run SuMo, check which apps require an update. As you can see in the screenshot, I have an old version of Ccleaner. Launch "Command prompt (Admin)" and type

choco upgrade ccleaner

The Chocolatey script will check for the updates, if no updates are available it will tell you that your software is up-to date.

Update All Your Software on Windows With These Tools

Updating desktop apps is still a time consuming and daunting task. As described in this article, every method has its own pros and cons. SuMo along with Chocolatey package manager is the best solution for upgrading your apps. If you want to share your experience or have trouble in any steps described in this article, let us know in the comments section below.

Fingerprint gestures have been around for quite a while now. Most devices, like the Google Pixel, feature a single swipe down gesture on their fingerprint scanner to reveal the notification shade. Other manufacturers like Motorola have gone further ahead, with the idea to completely replace the navigation bar. For example, on the Moto G5, you can swipe left to go back, tap to return home and swipe right for your recent apps. So, when Android Oreo came to the scene, many users expected the ability to customize fingerprint gestures to come as a native feature in the OS. While Android Oreo did come with a plethora of new features, customizing fingerprint gestures wasn’t one of them. Well, fret not, for if you own an Android Oreo device and wish to make more of the fingerprint sensor on your device, read on as we bring to you how to customize fingerprint gestures on your Android Oreo device:

Customize Fingerprint Gestures on Android Oreo

Note: The following method requires devices to be running on Android Oreo 8.0. I tried it on my Nexus 5X and Pixel, both running stock Android Oreo 8.0, and it worked well.

• To start off, download the Fingerprint Gestures-Selfie & Secret Pics (free) app from here to your device.

• Once you’ve downloaded the app, head over to Settings -> Accessibility. Under the heading “Downloaded services”, tap on “FingerprintGestures: Service”. In the new page that opens up, enable the toggle to turn on the Fingerprint Gesture Service.

• Now that you’ve enabled the service, open up the Fingerprint Gestures app. You’ll be presented with a menu to customize the various actions. The gestures included are swiping up, down, left or right on the fingerprint sensor.

• To assign a specific action to a swipe gesture, tap on that gesture’s entry. You’ll now be presented with a list to select from all the various actions available. Using the app, you can select a single swipe to go back, go to the home screen, switch to the last app, scroll the screen up and down, and much more. Additionally, the app also has support for Tasker, which you can use to create automated actions. Select your preferred action from the list.

• Similarly, you can assign various actions to each type of swipe on the fingerprint sensor. For example, in my case, I set the up and down swipes to be used to scroll the screen, while the left swipe to go to the home screen and right swipe to switch to the last app.

• Additionally, tapping on the gear icon in the top-right corner will take you to the settings menu of the app. Here, you can enable the app’s constant notification which will help it retain in the system’s memory. Furthermore, you can choose to enable a vibration feedback upon the use of the set gestures.

Do More With Fingerprint Gestures on Your Android Oreo Device

Fingerprint gestures certainly prove to be an easier way to go about carrying normal tasks. As opposed to using the navigation bar or going through various menus, you can use just a single fingerprint sensor on your device to carry out all these tasks. But that is what I feel about fingerprint gestures. What’s your take on fingerprint gestures? Did you customize fingerprint gestures on your Android Oreo device? Let us know in the comments section below.