locks

Google+ users can now lock their posts or disable comments before they share them, courtesy of the latest update to the social network.

Both options have been available for awhile. Disabling comments ensures that no one can respond to a post, while locking your post completely prevents someone from sharing it as well. But until this week, you could turn on these features only after you had already shared your post with your circles, a rather backwards approach.

The caps lock key is a blessing and a curse built into the same button. More often than not, it finds itself active in situations it shouldn't be. If you're looking for a permanent solution to eliminating thiS KIND OF PROBLEM, follow these five steps:

Editors' note: This How To involves editing your computer's registry. The registry plays an important role in how your computer operates, and messing around haphazardly can lead to severe problems in the future. Tread carefully.

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor from the Start Menu by typing "regedit" from the … Read more

Dogs, cats, small children, and computer keyboards: as they say on "Sesame Street," three of these things belong together. Obviously, PC keyboards are the odd man out in this group, but how can they all get along together in a world (your living room, for instance) in which three out of four respondents think "software" means plush toys? The answer may be as simple as KeyboardLock, a free tool from Booring that locks and unlocks your keyboard and mouse when you enter a password. Say you want to watch a movie on your laptop with pets … Read more

Two questions: 1) Have you ever tried to delete or rename a file or folder, only to have your own PC tell you no, you can't do that because it's locked by another program or process? 2) Don't you have enough frustration in your life without software piling on? EMCO UnLock IT takes care of Question 2 by dealing with Question 1. It's freeware that can unlock files and folders that are locked by system processes or other programs when you receive an Access Denied error message. It does this by attempting to close any processes … Read more

Do you ever lend your Android phone to someone and hope that they don't look through your image gallery? Maybe they will find pictures sent from your significant other. Or how about those pictures of you flexing or posing in front of the mirror? That would be embarrassing! Here are the two main ways to hide your pictures from exploring eyes:

If you don't have a stock file manager on your phone, you can get one from the Android Market, such as Astro File Manager, File Expert, or OI File Manager. Any of … Read more

Aside from refereeing iPad turns between my two kids, the activity I find myself doing most on the iPad is reading newspapers and magazines. Maybe I'm a slow reader or constantly interrupted by said children, but often times I don't finish a page of an article before the iPad dims on me. (Unlike on the iPhone, you can read on the iPad without scrolling every few seconds.) I then have to tap the screen to return to the normal brightness setting. And if I fail to tap the dimmed display in time, the iPad goes dark, forcing me … Read more

When you accidentally call someone from your phone, they may hear background noise in your house, or a conversation they shouldn't be privy to. Even worse, it could be an international number that is extremely expensive to call! Here are three tips to help you prevent pocket-dialing from your Android phone.

1. Install an app that confirms calls before you make them. It is unlikely that you will select someone to call and manage to hit the Call button in the confirmation window. There are many choices for this style of app, in this example Call Confirm … Read more

You're sure you've entered the correct password, yet you can't log on. Turns out, the Caps Lock was on; you just didn't notice the tiny LED or whatever is supposed to alert you to your stray thumb. Or maybe you're trying to type a line of text yet keep turning the Caps Lock on when you mean to turn it off? fRUSTRATING

DKOSD's zipped download includes a Vista Version that is compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista and Windows 7. DKOSD requires Microsoft .NET Framework, but you can download it for … Read more

Some people don't realize that the iPad's side switch can be customized, allowing them to set the switch to either lock the screen rotation or mute their iPad. This simple guide will show you how to set the behavior of the switch, and where to find a shortcut to the secondary behavior.… Read more