Josh Hendrickson
How-To Geek
Ohio, United States
Contact Josh
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
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Past articles by Josh:
Are Smart Homes Worth the Investment?
Converting to a smart home might seem expensive and complicated at first, but do the benefits outweigh the cost and hassle? Let’s check out why setting up a smart home is a good investment of your time and money. → Read More
Ask Yourself These Questions Before Setting Up a Smarthome
Are you thinking about starting up smarthome? Great! But don’t jump directly in without a plan. That’s how you end up making common smarthome beginner mistakes. Instead, before buying anything, you should ask yourself a few common-sense questions. → Read More
Wi-Fi vs. ZigBee and Z-Wave: Which Is Better?
For most of the modern smarthome era, ZigBee and Z-Wave have been the dominant communication protocols. But now, Wi-Fi is a strong contender, and more Wi-Fi smart gadgets arrive every day. So, which should you use? The answer is complicated. → Read More
Six Common Smarthome Mistakes Beginners Make
Smarthomes are becoming more common with each passing year, and smart devices are finally accessible enough for the average person. But creating your smarthome isn’t something you should go into without planning. Without forethought, you may make some common mistakes. → Read More
How to Set Up a Child’s Smart Bedroom
You may have set up your own smart bedroom, but what about your children? Kids have different needs, so you’ll want to take a different approach. With the right devices, you can give them a smart bedroom that benefits everybody. → Read More
How to Make Nearly Any Dumb Appliance Smart
Smart appliances offer voice control, smartphone apps, and powerful automations. But why spend hundreds of dollars on the latest models? With some inexpensive smart plugs, you can give your dumb devices the same features for a fraction of the cost. → Read More
How to Control Your Entire Smarthome Through One App
When you add devices to your smarthome, you usually have to download and use additional apps, which is frustrating and confusing. You can avoid all that—and you don’t need a hub to do it. You just need one app. → Read More
How to Protect Your Smarthome from Attack
Every new device you introduce into your smarthome is another device that can be attacked. You can secure your smarthome with simple steps like locking down your router and taking proper care of the gadgets in your smarthome. → Read More
How to Secure Your Synology NAS from Ransomware
Recently, some Synology owners discovered that all the files on their NAS system were encrypted. Unfortunately, some ransomware infected the NAS demanded payment to restore the data. Here’s what you can do to secure your NAS. → Read More
USB-RF vs. Bluetooth for Mice and Keyboards: Which Is Better?
When you buy a wireless mouse or keyboard, you can choose either Bluetooth or wireless peripherals that communicate through a USB dongle over radio frequencies (RF.) USB-RF has less latency, in our experience, but Bluetooth has its advantages. → Read More
5 Smarthome Devices You Shouldn’t Buy
Not all smarthome devices make sense to buy. Many are expensive, hard to use, and offer little if any benefit compared to a typical “dumb” device. Do you really need a smart pillow or a smart fridge? No, you don’t. → Read More
Where to Place Your Router for the Best Wi-Fi Speeds
If your home Wi-Fi seems slow in some rooms, your router might not be in the best location. Wi-Fi doesn’t travel far—especially through metal and concrete. So, it’s important to determine the best place for your router. → Read More
How to Add Alexa to Your Smart Mirror
If you built a smart mirror, you already have handy access to calendars, weather, and news. But you can do more than that! The Magic Mirror software lets you add modules for extra features, like Alexa for voice control. → Read More
Why Am I Getting Spam From My Own Email Address?
Have you ever opened an email only to find it’s spam or blackmail that seemed to come from your own email address? You’re not alone. Faking email addresses is called spoofing and, unfortunately, there’s little you can do about it. → Read More
How to Check Your Wi-Fi Signal Strength
If your internet seems slow or web pages won’t load, the problem could be your Wi-Fi connection. Perhaps you’re too far from the source, or thick walls are blocking the signal. Here’s how to check your precise Wi-Fi signal strength. → Read More
How to Set Up a Smart Kitchen
Your kitchen is full of appliances, but they’re dumb. Technology, like smart speakers, lights, ovens, and faucets, can make cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping easier. Creating a smart kitchen isn’t hard, and everyone in the home can benefit. Here’s how. → Read More
How to Customize the New Windows Terminal App
With the new Windows Terminal app, Windows now finally has a tabbed terminal that can run Cmd, PowerShell, and Bash prompts in the same window. It’s deeply customizable, too—you can even set animated GIFs as the background. → Read More
How to Set Up a Smart Bedroom
You may spend most of the time in your bedroom sleeping, but it can still benefit from smarthome technology. A smarter bedroom can help you get to sleep and wake up in the morning. → Read More
What to Do When Selling Your Smarthome
Selling a home is a time of many choices: what to keep, throw out, and what to leave. If you have a smarthome, you need to consider what you do with your tech before putting your house on the market. → Read More
How to Migrate a Windows User to Different Windows 10 PC
Microsoft removed Easy Transfer from Windows 10, but you can still move user profiles between PCs. Microsoft accounts are easy to transfer; you can move files manually. Transwiz (free) and PCmover (paid) also do a good job. → Read More