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How to set up two-step verification for your Apple ID

Apple took a big step in helping Apple ID users in securing their accounts this week with offering two-step verification.

Two-step verification (or authentication as it's commonly referred to) adds an additional barrier of security between would-be hackers and your account. The extra barrier comes in the form of a four-digit code, which will be sent to a device of your choosing via the Find My iPhone app or SMS, after you've entered your password.

Step one: To add the extra layer of security to your account you'll need to visit the Apple ID settings page on … Read more

Bring Instagram thumbnails back to Twitter in Chrome

Remember when Twitter stopped showing Instagram photo previews to users, both online and in apps? Now you can add those photo previews for Instagram and other third-party photo services back to your Twitter feed, at least on the Web.

This is done through the use of a Chrome extension called Previeweet. The extension actually works for more than just Instagram. While testing it out, I was able to see previews from Instagram, Photobucket, Facebook, Yfrog, Twitpic, Twitvid, Flickr, and Imgur -- which is great, since those are in the list of services that Previeweet says it supports.

To get started, … Read more

Fix 'Connection to Twitter failed' when tweeting from OS X

A while back Twitter announced that any URLs being shortened by its t.co service were going to cost users two extra characters. When you only have a 140 characters to begin with, the extra characters could be disastrous when trying to get your point across in a tweet.

It seems Apple didn't take the change into account with its integration of Twitter in OS X Mountain Lion. I discovered this when attempting to tweet a link from Safari. According to the tweet sheet, I had composed a perfect tweet, using up my entire 140-character allotment.

But every time … Read more

Get started with Google Keep

Google just made an announcement introducing Keep, its new note-taking service. Keep is currently available for devices running Android 4.0.3 and up, or through the Google Drive Web site. Notes will automatically sync between the Web site and the Android app.

After installing the Android app you'll be prompted to select the Google account you want to use with Keep. Once that's done, you can begin keeping notes. There are four different methods you can use to enter a note:

A quick note directly from the text box on the initial screen. Add a checklist by … Read more

How to customize your Facebook page for free

Facebook is in the process of rolling out yet another interface revamp. As Sharon Vaknin described in a post earlier this month, the new look for the Facebook News Feed provides many new options for viewing your friends' posts.

You can add your name to the waiting list for the new-look News Feed, but you don't have to wait to enliven your Facebook page's appearance.

While the company provides only a handful of options for tweaking the look of your Facebook profile, Matt Kruse's free Social Fixer browser add-on (formerly named Better Facebook) takes Facebook customization to … Read more

Use Annotary for efficient online research

The Internet is a valuable tool in today's research for papers and other projects. However, bookmarking endless Web pages is not the most efficient way to keep track of the information you need. Sure, it points you to the source where you found useful information, but you still have to go digging through the Web page to find it again.

Instead of adding to your endless bookmark collection, you should try using a service like Annotary. This service is dedicated to helping you do online research more efficiently, and it's free for individual users. If you want to … Read more

View lyrics for YouTube videos without looking them up

Sometimes the person or company responsible for uploading a music video on YouTube is kind enough to include the lyrics in the video information. If not, you probably end up opening another browser tab to find the lyrics so you can sing along (when no one else is listening). As a convenience for future song learning, there's a Web browser add-on that works with Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, which will allow you to see the lyrics while a video is playing. Here's how to get started:

For Chrome: Install a copy of YouTube Lyrics by Rob W from … Read more

Use IFTTT to get breaking news, score updates from ESPN

If you're looking to combine a bunch of unrelated Web services with each other and come up with a concoction of triggers and alerts to intertwine your online life, look no further than If This Then That (IFTTT).

The site, as we've previously told you, allows you to set triggers based off of various services such as Facebook, local weather, Instagram, package tracking, and many others -- 60 channels in total. Those triggers will then carry out an action on another channel, ranging from calling your phone to adding a line to a Google Drive spreadsheet. When you … Read more

How to get the most out of Feedly on your desktop

Google Reader is going to be retired on July 1, 2013, giving users of the RSS service about four months to find alternatives. With more than 500,000 new users since the announcement of Reader's demise, Feedly appears to be one of the more popular choices to replace Google Reader.

Feedly may be receiving a lot of interest because it's one of the few alternatives with clients on multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Kindle, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari). If you're interested in trying it out as your Google Reader alternative, we've got some tips to help you … Read more