Soluții

How to factory reset your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Make sure to back up your device so that you can restore your data later.
  • Tap Settings > General > Transfer or Reset [Device]
  • Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
Tap Erase All Content and Settings

If asked, enter your passcode or Apple Account password. Forgot your passcode or Apple Account password?

Confirm that you want to erase your device

If you have an eSIM, you can choose to erase your eSIM or keep it. If you erase your eSIM, you need to contact your carrier to reactivate your cellular plan.

Confirm that you want to erase your device

Wait for your device to erase

It might take a few minutes to completely erase your data.

If you can’t erase your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

  • Learn what to do if you don’t remember your passcode for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, or your device is disabled.

  • If you forget your Screen Time passcode, you can reset it. Restoring your device using a backup won’t remove the Screen Time passcode.

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How to check if Windows Firewall is blocking an App

The most obvious sign will be a Windows Security alert notifying you that the firewall is blocking some features of the app and giving you the option to allow it access.

If this doesn’t pop up, look for the following signs that the firewall is interfering with the app:

  • An in-app error message that tells you the firewall is blocking some of its features.
  • Connection errors and time-outs.
  • The app does not connect to the internet.
  • Features dependent on network access not working.

The easiest way to see if an app is being blocked by the firewall is to check its list of allowed apps. It shows the apps it lets through or blocks on networks that are public (e.g., coffee shop or library Wi-Fi) or private (e.g., home or office Wi-Fi).

To do that, press Win + i to open the Settings app, go to Privacy & Security > Windows Security, and click the “Open Windows Security” button.

Opening Windows Security in Windows 11.

In Windows Security, select “Firewall & Network Protection” in the left sidebar and click the “Allow an App Through Firewall” link in the right panel.

Opening the Allowed Apps window for the firewall in Windows 11.

Find the app you think the firewall is blocking and check the checkboxes in the Private and Public columns next to it. If one of them is unchecked, it means that the app is being blocked on that network.

To let the app through the firewall, click the “Change Settings” button (you might need to ask for administrative privileges if you don’t have them). Then, tick its checkbox on the network you’re connected to (Public or Private) and click the “OK” button to apply the changes.

Unblocking an app in the Allowed Apps list in the Windows firewall.

You can also try opening a port on Windows Firewall to prevent it from interfering with certain apps.Once an app is unblocked, the firewall won’t interrupt it when it uses its network features, especially those that require internet access. However, this poses a potential security risk since malicious entities can now access the app.

Always make sure any app you allow through the firewall is trusted and secure to prevent malicious entities from using it to exploit your system. If you’re unsure about an app, don’t let it through or install it. Furthermore, enable Smart App Control and tweak Windows Security features to make your computer more secure.

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How to Securely Delete Sensitive Files on Windows 11

When you delete a file on Windows, it doesn’t vanish from your drive immediately. Instead, Windows marks the file’s storage space as free, signaling that it can be overwritten by new data in the future. Until this happens, bits of your files still exist on the drive, making it relatively easy to retrieve them with the right tools and knowledge.

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How to Future-Proof Your CPU: choosing a Processor that will last 5+ years

Future-proofing your CPU is possible as long as you keep your expectations in check. While a 5+ year-old CPU can deliver competitive performance in games and productivity tasks, it won’t match the latest and greatest models.

Glance over the Gamers Nexus review of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, and you’ll see the 5800X3D achieving great results in games such as Starfield, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Baldur’s Gate 3; all CPU-heavy titles. Its successors, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and the recently released Ryzen 7 9800X3D, are the best CPUs for gaming at the moment. Period.

I’m trying to say that if you’re a gamer and want to future-proof your CPU for the next half a decade or longer, just get an X3D chip and start thinking about which GPU to pair it with.

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

If you’re a gamer and want the fastest gaming CPU on the market, get the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, you won’t regret it. Those in need of a CPU for productivity workloads should look elsewhere. If your budget doesn’t allow you to splurge on an X3D CPU, no sweat. Many modern mid-range CPUs are great at gaming. To pick the right one, just look at Hardware Unboxed or TechPowerUp CPU reviews, since those two outlets offer the most comprehensive gaming benchmark suites in my opinion. They include dozens of different titles, so check the performance of each CPU in games you play using these benchmarks, and choose accordingly.

Just keep your expectations in check. A mid-range CPU that’s great for gaming right now will most likely be able to deliver more than 60 frames per second on average in most games five years from now. However, you shouldn’t expect it to deliver the same level of performance with all visual effects, including ray tracing, maxed out, and in future games that will be considered CPU hogs in the late 2020s. It will most likely struggle in some games, unable to deliver a constant 60 FPS or higher, and that’s okay.

For example, I got a Ryzen 5 5600X in late 2020, and four years later, the CPU is still pretty solid in most games, very rarely bottlenecking my RTX 3070. Its biggest weakness is ray tracing, since it can fail to deliver 60 frames per second on average when you enable RT in certain games. In Marvel’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man Miles Morales, I had 100+ FPS on average without ray tracing, but turning it on and increasing the quality to 8/10 or higher led to sub-60FPS drops and low GPU utilization when web-slinging near the street level, filled with cars and pedestrians. The lack of full GPU usage is the smoking gun that shows us the CPU is holding things back.

The 5600X can bottleneck my RTX 3070 in some CPU-demanding games that don’t include ray-tracing effects, too. In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, I get subpar GPU utilization in many levels filled with massive enemy hordes, as you can see below, that leads to noticeable frame rate drops. The same happens in Dragon’s Dogma 2 when I’m in towns with lots of NPCs. That said, the performance usually stays above 60 frames per second, which is still a great result for a four-year-old mid-ranger.

In most other games, though, the 5600X can deliver way over 60 FPS on average, and I’m positive it will stay that way at least until we get PlayStation 6 and the next Xbox, which will most likely up the ante of CPU requirements in games.

In other words, the Ryzen 5600X will stay competitive for gaming for at least six years. If you get a modern mid-range CPU that excels at gaming, such as the Ryzen 7 7700X, Ryzen 7 7700, or the newer Ryzen 7 9700X, you should also be fine for half a decade or longer.

For Office Work and Lightweight Tasks, A Quality Quad-core CPU Will do the Trick

Building a PC for office and “everyday” tasks? Just get a modern Quad-core CPU, such as the Intel Core i3-12100F, and you can forget about replacing it for at least half a decade.

Even a more-than-decade-old part such as the legendary Intel Core i5-2500K that came out in early 2011 can tackle any office and lightweight computing task you throw at it without issues even today. So, it’s safe to say that any modern budget CPU that packs at least four cores will stay up to snuff for office and other work that doesn’t strain the CPU too much for the next decade.

Intel Core I3-12100F

The Intel Core I3-12100F is an amazing CPU for $100 or less. It’s perfect for any home PC and more than a decent choice for an entry-level gaming PC.

If you’ve got the cash, you can even get something like the Ryzen 5 7500F (as long as you can find it for $180 or less) or the Ryzen 5 7600 (both six-core designs) and ride that PC until it can no longer handle running a text editor alongside multiple browser tabs or large spreadsheets—which probably won’t happen until, like, 2044, assuming PCs as we know them are still in use by then.

Professionals Ought to Look for High-end and Flagship CPUs

If you earn a living with your PC and want a CPU that will stay competitive for over five years, you should splurge on a high-end or flagship CPU that eats heavy multithreaded CPU loads for breakfast.

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X

A superb choice for gamers and professionals, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X justifies its flagship status. Its 16-core design is coupled with impressive power efficiency and surprisingly lightweight cooling requirements.

Now, I wouldn’t recommend Intel’s 13th and 14th-gen CPUs here since they suffer from overvolting issues. Intel claims it fixed the problems, but I’d still err on the side of caution if planning to get a long-term CPU upgrade.

So, you’re left with AMD’s Zen 4 and Zen 5 and Intel’s 15th-gen CPU lineups, all offering great productivity performance. Here, I’d look at reviews and focus on use cases important for your workflow. For example, if you need the best CPU for video editing in Premiere Pro, just look at those benchmarks and ignore the rest.

In general, the Ryzen 9 9950X, Ryzen 9 7950X, Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, and Intel Core Ultra 9 285K are the best consumer-grade productivity CPUs on the market. You ought to pick one of those for your next PC build if you want it to stay competitive for at least half a decade.

If you’re ready to pay much more, consider getting an AMD Threadripper CPU. Here, the situation’s very clear: the more you pay, the better performance you’ll get. In other words, settle on your CPU budget and then get the best CPU that fits into said budget.

Modern CPUs are incredibly powerful, and many of them will keep delivering solid gaming and productivity performance in the late 2020s and early 2030s. All you’ve got to do in order to future-proof your CPU is read and watch reviews, cull the CPUs that perform the best relative to your budget, and make your pick.

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How to Safeguard your Windows PC against Ransomware

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts a victim’s data and files, making them inaccessible until a ransom, usually in the form of bitcoin, is paid. Once a ransom is paid, the cybercriminal sends a decryption key for the victim to access their data. The data is unlocked, but sometimes the stolen data is held for a second ransom (this is referred to as double extortion) to prevent the data from becoming public. The ransom can range from a couple of hundred dollars to millions of dollars in bitcoin, depending on the target.

According to Chainalysis, ransomware payments in 2023 surpassed the $1 billion mark, the highest number ever observed. It is an extremely lucrative form of cybercrime, and the techniques used by cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Ransomware actors usually target businesses and institutions that provide critical services such as healthcare and education. This not only prevents these institutions from delivering essential services, but their data is compromised, which can severely affect the company’s reputation, no matter how big or small it is.

However, some actors also target the average internet user, which can compromise their personal and confidential data. A common technique used by ransomware actors is to pose as an official government agency and claim that the system lockdown is necessary for legal security reasons, and demand a fine to be paid to get your data back.

Best Tip to Keep Your Windows PC Protected

Often, these cybercriminals will use reconnaissance tools to locate weaknesses in scanned computers. If a computer has a vulnerability, like if it’s running on an older version of Windows or the operating system is unpatched, it can be exploited. Cybercriminals often target older unpatched versions of Windows, so it’s important to keep your Windows PC up to date with the latest version.

Not only should you keep your Windows machine up to date, but also any apps and browsers you may use.

Avoid Getting Infected in the First Place

One of the most prevalent methods by which ransomware is spread is via phishing. This can happen if a victim accidentally clicks on a link on a phishing email or opens an email attachment, which can infect the computer with ransomware. Phishing could be in the form of emails, but you may also encounter it in messages on social media or SMS. Avoid clicking on suspicious links or downloading attachments from unfamiliar sources. Given the risk of being infected by ransomware, it is essential that you learn how to spot phishing emails.

Turn on Windows Ransomware Protection

Ensure that Windows Security is turned on, as this can provide ransomware protection. To do this, click the Windows Start menu (or press Windows+i on the keyboard), search for controlled folder access, and press Enter.

Windows search button searching controlled folder access.

When the window appears, you toggle the button to “On” under Controlled Folder Access.

Toggle on controlled folder access for ransomware protection.

This feature can protect important local folders from any unauthorized programs or malware, including ransomware. Controlled Folder Access on Windows is not the be-all and end-all for protecting against ransomware. Be cautious about other entry points into the system.

Stay One Step Ahead of Ransomware by Having Backups

It’s important to have a strong data backup process since ransomware relies on you not having access to your data and files. A solid backup system means that if the original data is ever encrypted by ransomware, you still have access to the data.

Microsoft recommends storing important files on Microsoft OneDrive since OneDrive includes multi-factor authentication (MFA), built-in ransomware detection and recovery, as well as file versioning, so you can restore the previous version of a file if you ever lose access.

Windows Backup is an additional option for local backups. Once this is set up, Windows will back up your info in the cloud via your Microsoft account and automatically keep it up to date, even if something happens to your PC. Windows Backup does not offer encryption, so it could still be targeted by ransomware unless stored on an external hard drive and disconnected after the backup is complete.

I’d also recommend making physical backups of your data and transfering it to an external hard drive, which provides another layer of protection in case your cloud backups are ever targeted by advanced ransomware.

Simple Habits to Protect Your Windows PC

Maintaining healthy security practices also helps protect against ransomware and other cyberattacks. Here are some good practices:

  • Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) as much as possible for every service and app that you use. This can help prevent unauthorized access to your personal and sensitive data.
  • Avoid using USB sticks and hard drives that don’t belong to you, since they may contain malware and infect your device when plugged in.
  • Make sure you’re using a reputable antivirus and anti-malware solution, not just the built-in protection on Windows. Check that they are set to automatically update and run regular scans.

If you become a victim of a ransomware attack, the FBI recommends not paying the ransom, since paying the ransom doesn’t really guarantee that you’ll get your data back, or that there won’t be a second ransom. After all, there is no honor among thieves. It also encourages these cybercriminals to target more victims because of the money that they make, and offers a financial incentive for others to also get involved in this type of illegal activity.

If you are a victim of ransomware, you should file a report on the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) which is run by the FBI. Another good resource to be aware of is the U.S. government’s official resource to tackle ransomware .

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