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What’s the status of your IRS tax refund? Here’s how to check online

What’s the status of your IRS tax refund? Here’s how to check online

by ben patterson | Apr 5, 2017 | how-tos, online services

Expecting a refund from the tax man this year, but still no sign of a check in your mailbox? There’s a quick and easy way to check with the Internal Revenue Service about the status of your tax refund, including when it’ll arrive  in the mail or dropped...
Google Maps tip: How to go time travelling with Street View

Google Maps tip: How to go time travelling with Street View

by ben patterson | May 5, 2014 | how-tos, online services

It’s easy to get lost in Street View, the click-and-drag, 360-degree panorama of city streets that remains one of the coolest features in Google Maps. And if you’ve wasted as much time as I have taking virtual strolls around the streets of New York,...
Google tip: 4 ways to lock down your Google account

Google tip: 4 ways to lock down your Google account

by ben patterson | Apr 23, 2014 | how-tos, online services, security

Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this, but I’ve entrusted a big chunk of my digital life to Google—so much so, in fact, that I’d be in serious trouble if anyone ever hacked my account. If a hacker did manage to hijack my Google account, they’d have...
Security tip: 5 ways to keep your passwords (mostly) safe from hackers

Security tip: 5 ways to keep your passwords (mostly) safe from hackers

by ben patterson | Apr 15, 2014 | how-tos, online services, security

If the scary Internet security bug Heartbleed has taught us anything, it’s that none of our passwords are ever truly safe. Discovered only a few weeks ago, Heartbleed is the code name for a gaping hole in a commonly used security protocol that’s supposed...
Google tip: Download a giant archive of all your Google data

Google tip: Download a giant archive of all your Google data

by ben patterson | Dec 12, 2013 | how-tos, online services, security, the cloud

So, how long have you been using Google? A few years? Ten? A dozen? (In my case, more than a dozen—yikes!) And in all that time, how many Gmail messages, contacts, calendar events, YouTube videos, and more have you saved, sent, uploaded and otherwise stored on its...
Gmail tip: 12 gotta-know Gmail keyboard shortcuts

Gmail tip: 12 gotta-know Gmail keyboard shortcuts

by ben patterson | Mar 29, 2013 | desktops, how-tos, laptops, online services, the cloud

Want to check your Gmail inbox without pointing and clicking? You’ll barely have to touch your mouse with these handy keyboard shortcuts at your fingertips. You can compose a new message, archive old ones, jump back and forth between email threads, and more, all...
6 telltale signs that a friend’s email account’s been hacked

6 telltale signs that a friend’s email account’s been hacked

by ben patterson | Apr 16, 2012 | online services, security

So, one of your closest friends just emailed, warning you that someone’s posting very, very bad things about you online. Whatever you do, though, don’t click that all-too-tempting link in the body of the message. Why not, you ask? Because your pal probably...
“Try-before-you-buy” Ybuy service: Like Netflix, but for gadgets

“Try-before-you-buy” Ybuy service: Like Netflix, but for gadgets

by ben patterson | Jan 18, 2012 | news, online services, online shopping

Want to try a wireless body scale, a floor-sweeping Roomba, or even the iPad 2 at home without plunking down the full retail price? A new, online shopping site lets you do just that, provided you’re willing to fork over $25 a month. Billing itself as an online...
10 money-saving tips for Groupon and other daily-deal sites

10 money-saving tips for Groupon and other daily-deal sites

by Staff Writer | Oct 20, 2011 | household, how-tos, online services, online shopping

Delving into online coupons can be a little like getting cheap air fare for a 3 a.m. flight. At the time, you’re psyched. But sitting in the terminal with the cleaning crew at 2:00 a.m., you realize you should have paid the extra money to sleep in. Sometimes the...
Price prediction site Decide.com zeroes in on smartphones

Price prediction site Decide.com zeroes in on smartphones

by ben patterson | Sep 13, 2011 | news, online services, phones

Circling a new Android phone—or the iPhone, for that matter—but worried that a newer model or a price drop is on the horizon? Enter Decide.com, an online shopping site that now offers pricing predictions for dozens of the latest smartphones. The...
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