Chris Hoffman-Former Editor-in-Chief

Chris Hoffman

Former Editor-in-Chief

Contributor Since August, 2010
Expertise
Windows, computer hardware, Cloud & Internet
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About Chris Hoffman

Chris Hoffman is a former How-To Geek Editor-in-Chief. Since 2011, Chris has personally written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times---and that's just here at How-To Geek.


With over a decade of writing experience in the field of technology, Chris has written for a variety of publications including The New York Times, Reader's Digest, IDG's PCWorld, Digital Trends, and MakeUseOf. Beyond the web, his work has appeared in the print edition of The New York Times (September 9, 2019) and in PCWorld's print magazines, specifically in the August 2013 and July 2013 editions, where his story was on the cover. He also wrote the USA's most-saved article of 2021, according to Pocket.


Chris was a PCWorld columnist for two years. He founded PCWorld's "World Beyond Windows" column, which covered the latest developments in open-source operating systems like Linux and Chrome OS. Beyond the column, he wrote about everything from Windows to tech travel tips.


The news he's broken has been covered by outlets like the BBC, The Verge, Slate, Gizmodo, Engadget, TechCrunch, Digital Trends, ZDNet, The Next Web, and Techmeme. Instructional tutorials he's written have been linked to by organizations like The New York Times, Wirecutter, Lifehacker, CNET, Ars Technica, and John Gruber's Daring Fireball. His roundups of new features in Windows 10 updates have been called "the most detailed, useful Windows version previews of anyone on the web" and covered by prominent Windows journalists like Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley on TWiT's Windows Weekly. His work has even appeared on the front page of Reddit.

Latest

Nvidia GeForce RTX logo on a 4070 Ti gaming GPU.
How to check what graphics card (GPU) is in your PC
Hardware

Check which GPU is in your PC with just the tools built into Windows itself.

Apple AirPods Pro 3 closeup on the back of an iPhone 17 Pro.
How to Stop AirPods From Reading Texts
AirPods

Siri announcing notifications in your ear can be useful, but it's not everyone's idea of a good time.

Serial Number Header
How to Find Your Windows PC's Serial Number
Windows 11

No sticker? No problem—your computer probably has it saved internally.

6
Selecting your Time Zone on Linux.
How to Fix Windows and Linux Showing Different Times When Dual Booting
Windows

It's one of the most annoying problems with dual booting, but you can fix it with one tweak!

2
Laptop screen showing ASUS BIOS Utility with a warning symbol and BIOS update progress bar overlayed.
How to Check Your BIOS Version and Update it
Windows 10

Updating your BIOS is risky business, so make sure you do it correctly.

1
The Android Robot on a blueish background with binary.
How to Install and Use ADB, the Android Debug Bridge Utility
Android

Looking to control your Android device from your computer?

Five flash drives on a ring on a wood desk.
How to Fix Your USB Drive Not Showing Up on Windows 11 or Windows 10
Windows 11

Sometimes when you plug a USB drive into your PC it doesn't show up. We're going to look at a few ways to fix that problem.

1
Illustration of the Tor onion logo with the text 'website.onion' in a browser bar, surrounded by lock and key icons.
How to Access .onion Sites (Also Known as Tor Hidden Services)
Privacy & Security

No onions were harmed in the making of this service.

Log in page of the Kubuntu Focus Ir14 Linux laptop.
Add a User to a Group (or Second Group) on Linux
Linux & macOS Terminal

Groups are a handy way to help keep permissions and ownership organized.

A PC running Linux.
How to Compress and Extract Files Using the tar Command on Linux
Linux & macOS Terminal

Compressed Tarballs are the Linux-friendly cousin to the ZIP file.

1
A man looking at a Windows PC screen with the Recycle Bin icon on it and a restore icon surrounding the image.
How to Recover a Deleted File: The Ultimate Guide
Backup & Recovery

It's happened to most of us.

3
A hand holding an iPhone on the dialing screen with several numbers around it.
Everything You Can Do With Your iPhone's Secret "Interrogation Codes"
iOS

Plug these secret codes into the iPhone dialer to access hidden options.

4
The GRUB2 boot loader on a laptop screen with Ubuntu as an option.
How to Configure the GRUB2 Boot Loader's Settings
Linux & macOS Terminal

Choose a default OS and even show a background image.

An iPhone in the foreground and a Windows laptop in the background.
How to Add Custom Ringtones to Your iPhone from a Windows PC
iPhone

Everyone will be jealous of your sick custom ringtone.

3
Screen of a phone showing two cars on the road viewed from above, with the Uber and Lyft logos in front of the cars.
Uber vs. Lyft: What’s the Difference and Which Should I Use?
Apps & Web Apps

Uber and Lyft are two very similar services.

The VPN settings on Windows 10.
How to Set Up Your Own Home VPN Server
VPN

A home VPN can be a handy tool if you're traveling.

Closeup of a computer monitor with a command prompt open and the tracert command being used.
How to Use Traceroute to Identify Network Problems
Command Prompt & PowerShell

Investigate your internet issues (and look cool doing it).

Person plugging an Ethernet cable into a port on the Netgear Nighthawk MK93S Tri-Band Mesh Wifi 6E System.
How to Choose the Best (and Fastest) Alternative DNS Server
Cloud & Internet

Resolved to use a faster service?

A hand using a laptop and Linux mascot coming out of the screen with a gear and some files behind.
How to Install Linux
Linux

We'll walk you through everything you need to know.

An NVIDIA 4070
How to Update Your Graphics Drivers for Maximum Gaming Performance
PC Optimization

Don't let old drivers drag down your performance.

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