How to make your desktop look cool and clean
Here are a few ways to make it look clean and cool!
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How to Update Arch Linux
Has the time come to update your Arch Linux system? Whether you’re on pure Arch or an Arch-based distro like Manjaro and Garuda Linux, we’ll show you how to safely update your system with one or two simple commands. Keeping packages up-to-date is important on any Linux distro. Arch operates on a rolling release model, delivering bleeding-edge updates to your virtual door as soon as they’re ready. Because of that, frequent updates (combined with effective backups) are necessary to avoid a broken system and corrupt packages.
Most Arch-based distros use the pacman package manager to download and install updates, a process technically referred to as “syncing.” You’ll use pacman commands to keep your packages synced and operational.
Note: Your user account needs sudo access to follow these instructions.
Apply a System Update on Arch Linux
To begin an update of all installed packages, open any terminal app and pass the following command:
sudo pacman -Syu
You’ll be prompted for your password before the command can proceed. This command checks for available updates. If there are any, it will list the packages, along with their new version numbers.
You’ll then be prompted to confirm that you want to apply a full upgrade. Type y and hit Enter to confirm, or use n to cancel.
If you have packages that you suspect are corrupt, you can force a database download with your update to take care of those issues. Even if no updates are available, pacman will verify the integrity of your currently installed packages. Add a second y to the string to make that happen.
sudo pacman -Syyu
How to Update a Specific Package in Arch Linux
If you only want to update a specific package, use the same command that you used to install it, replacing package_name with your choice.
sudo pacman -S package_name
Warning: We don’t recommend upgrading specific packages while ignoring other available updates often. Because of Arch’s rolling release process, cherry-picking updates can cause issues.
If you’re not sure what the name of a package is, you can search your installed packages using the -Qs flag.
pacman -Qs string
Be sure to replace string with your search term. This will search both package names and descriptions, so you should find what you’re looking for easily.
How to Sign Up for a VPN Anonymously
VPNs are advertised as the best—even the only—way in which you can be anonymous while browsing. However, there are two big ways you could lose anonymity: The first is the logs some VPNs keep, and the second is the VPN sign-up process itself.
How VPNs Know Who You Are
Even if you’re using the best VPN out there, with up-to-date protocols, state-of-the-art encryption, and a privacy advocate’s dream of a no-log agreement, the VPN itself knows who you are for two reasons: your email address and your payment information. Most VPNs (We’ll talk about the exceptions later.) require that you submit your email address to create an account. You probably signed up to your email provider with your real name and are using it in correspondence, giving the VPN at least one data point to connect with your account activity.
There’s also a chance that you used your email publicly somewhere, meaning that all anybody would need to do to find out more about you is to plug your email address into a Google search bar and watch the results roll in.
However, the data that can be gathered from your email address is small compared to what can be gleaned from your payment information. Most people default to their credit card or PayPal when buying stuff online, and, well, these companies know a lot about you, and they can share the information with whomever you make a payment to. They can share not just your name and email, but also, your physical address and any secondary addresses that you use. This data can be a treasure trove to the wrong company, and there are plenty of untrustworthy VPN services out there.
Change the Way That You Pay
The best way to avoid a paper trail on your payments is to use either cryptocurrency, cash, or even gift cards. As a general rule, cryptocurrency can’t be traced—not in the same way that credit card transactions can be traced, at least—meaning that you can spend it wherever and whenever and that nobody should be able to find out that it was you waving fat stacks around.
Most VPN services will accept the big names of crypto, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, or services like Bitpay that let you pay with Bitcoin at a set exchange rate. It definitely pays to check your VPN of choice first, as there are no hard and fast rules regarding which services accept what cryptocurrency. Our favorite VPN is ExpressVPN, and it lets you pay with Bitcoin, Etherium, and other cryptocurrencies.
That being said, crypto comes with two drawbacks. One is that its value relative to existing fiat currencies is unstable, meaning that you could be overpaying or underpaying from hour to hour (It pays to stay alert.). The second issue is that most cryptocurrencies aren’t anonymous so much as pseudonymous. If you use a transparent address when making your transactions, you can still be tracked.
A much more stable method and private alternative is cold, hard cash, but that comes with difficulties of its own, most notably how to get it over to your VPN provider. The only good way to get physical banknotes over to your provider is by mail, which some people might be a bit leery about thanks to the age-old advice to never send cash through the mail. However, few actual postal services seem to repeat this advice: USPS, for example, lets you insure cash if you send it registered. Unless you live in an area where mailboxes are regularly broken into, it seems safe enough to send banknotes by mail. We figure that, if it was really that bad of an idea, no VPNs would offer it as an option at all.
Still, though, only three VPN services that we know of accept cash, namely, Mullvad, IVPN, and ProtonVPN. Mullvad and IVPN only need you to send the activation token (more on that later) and the appropriate amount in any number of currencies (euros are the default), and you’ll be signed up once the payment arrives. ProtonVPN requires you to work out your cash payment details beforehand over email.
If you really want to avoid sending cash through the mail and don’t like any of the other options we mentioned, you could go old-school and use a USPS money order to pay for a service called Ghost Path. As far as we can tell, this is the only service that offers this option. Obviously, it only applies if you live in the U.S. Although we found some mention of using gift cards, paid for with cash, to sign up to several VPNs, only Private Internet Access seems to accept them. It seems that no other providers accept gift cards from any issuer anymore.
Use Disposable Email Accounts
Using an anonymous form of payment is the first and most important step to staying hidden when signing up for a VPN. The other is to hide your email address. After all, if you use crypto but also use your regular email address, then you’re not anonymous. You can fix this by using a fake account by creating a throwaway account with Gmail or Yahoo Mail without using your real name when doing so.
If you don’t fancy doing this, you can also use a service designed for throwaway email, like 10 Minute Mail or Guerilla Mail. These kinds of disposable email accounts are enough for VPN services, although you’ll need to make sure that your account info is safe (A password manager like Bitwarden or KeePass is a good option.), as you won’t be able to use the service if you ever lose your account credentials or the like.
VPNs That Don’t Need Email
If you don’t want to bother with email at all, there are a few VPN services that don’t require an email address to sign up. Examples include the aforementioned Mullvad and IVPN as well as Windscribe and cryptostorm, although that last one isn’t recommended for newbies, as it’s not exactly user-friendly.
In all cases, your account with the VPN service doesn’t use an email address, but a randomly generated code instead. Signing up to them and using either cash or crypto should mean that there’s no trace of you whatsoever, meaning that you can use your VPN in perfect anonymity—as long as you use Incognito Mode and take other measures.
[mai mult...]How to Add a Password to Your Kindle
How to Set a Kindle PIN
On the Home Screen, tap the three little dots in the top-right corner.
Next, tap “Settings” in the menu that pops up.
Then, tap “Device Options.”
From the options, choose “Device Passcode.”
Enter a passcode between 1 and 12 digits long, enter it again to confirm it, and then tap “OK.”
Now, when you unlock your Kindle, you’ll be prompted to enter your passcode.
How to Turn Off or Change a Kindle Passcode
Go to Settings > Device Options > Device Passcode.
To stop using a passcode, tap “Turn Off Passcode,” enter your passcode, and then tap “OK.” To change your passcode, tap “Change Passcode,” enter your current passcode, tap “OK,” and then enter and confirm a new passcode.
[mai mult...]How to Apply a Color Scale Based on Values in Google Sheets
With conditional formatting, you can apply a two- or three-color scale quite easily. Plus, you can take advantage of the preset color gradients or use your own custom colors. We’ll show you how to do both.
Apply a Quick Conditional Formatting Color Scale
If you want to quickly apply a color scale in Google Sheets, you can use one of the nine presets. Select the cells that you want to format by clicking the first cell and dragging through the rest. Then, head to Format in the menu and choose “Conditional Formatting.”
This opens the Conditional Format Rules sidebar, where you’ll set up everything that you need. At the top of the sidebar, click the Color Scale tab. You’ll immediately see your selected cells with the default color scale applied. This gives you a nice example of how your data will look with the gradient.
In the Apply to Range box, confirm the cells that you want to format and make edits if necessary.
Then, to use a preset, click the color scale below Preview. Here, you’ll see your nine gradient options. You can try out each option if you like by selecting one and then viewing your data.
By default, the values use minimum and maximum for the color scale without a midpoint, but you can adjust these values in the next area. You can choose a number, percent, or percentile for each and include the midpoint if it applies. Then, type in the values for these other options in the boxes to the right.
When you finish setting up your rule, click “Done” at the bottom of the sidebar.
Create a Custom Conditional Formatting Color Scale
Maybe you’d like to use specific colors for your scale. It could be your school colors or those in your company logo. Google Sheets lets you tailor the color scale exactly as you like. You’ll follow the same steps to set up your formatting rule. Select the cells, click Format > Conditional Formatting from the menu, and confirm the cell range in the sidebar.
Click the color scale below Preview and this time, choose “Custom Color Scale” at the bottom. To get a head start, you can choose a preset as the base for your custom scale.
the right of each value, Minpoint, Midpoint, and Maxpoint, use the color button to display the palette. You can select a color or click “Custom” at the bottom. Then, enter a Hex code or use the slider and shade tool for the color that you want.
When you finish, click “Done” at the bottom of the sidebar to apply the rule.
Whether you use a preset or a custom color scale, the conditional formatting rule adjusts if you change your data. So, when you make edits, the formatting accommodates those changes.
If you want to apply your color scale rule to additional cells in your spreadsheet, you can copy the formatting in Google Sheets easily.
[mai mult...]How to Accept a Previously Declined Event in Microsoft Outlook
Have you ever declined an event request only to discover that you need to accept and attend after all? What happens to those declined invitations? We’ll explain where they go and how to accept a previously declined event in Outlook. When you receive an invitation in Outlook, it pops onto your calendar as tentative. This is a handy indicator that you need to respond and either accept or decline it. If you accept, it stays on your calendar. But if you decline, the invitation disappears.
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