What is smss.exe? Well, we have good news for you. smss.exe is nothing to be worried about and certainly isn’t malware. It is a process that’s been part of the Microsoft Windows family of operating systems ever since Windows NT 3.1 and it is executed during the startup process. smss.exe’s full name is the Session Manager Subsystem, it is located in the \system32 subdirectory of your Windows directory and can be classified as a Windows system file....

The good news is you can still pin a site to Start or taskbar using Chrome. Here’s how it’s done. For more on using the built-in feature, read our article on how to pin websites from Edge to the Start menu in Windows 10. Pin Websites to Windows 10 Taskbar or Start from Chrome Make sure you have the most updated version of Chrome. Launch it, and then head to the website you want to pin....

Use ModernMix But I digress, back to the desktop and modern apps. One way to make the metro-style UI and apps more useful in Windows 8.1 is to spend $4.99 on Stardock’s ModernMix. It’s a handy utility that allow you to run the modern apps in a traditional desktop style window. If you’ve followed any of my writing, you know that I’m a big fan of Xbox Music, and using ModernMix is a must for getting the most out of it from a traditional PC or laptop....

I expect most of the standard desktop keyboard shortcuts from Windows 7 will still work outside the Metro UI so I’m only going to focus on Windows 8 Metro Keyboard Shortcut keys here. If you see something missing from the list below, please drop it in the comments and I’ll add it to the chart. Also, be sure to check out our complete list of keyboard shortcuts for Windows 10 if you’re no longer on Windows 8....

If you you don’t have an SD card yet, make sure to check out our article on how to choose an SD card for best performance and compatibility. I use a Nokia Lumia 520 and popped in a SanDisk Ultra 32GB microSD card. Move Apps to SD Card in Windows Phone 8.1 My Nokia Lumia 520 has 8GB of local storage which is typical for lower-end phones. And it isn’t much once you start downloading apps, music, and videos....

Microsoft is almost certainly not going to release a new Xbox this year, so you’d better get used to the idea. Why take something that still sells quite well off the market? But even if we’re not getting one until next year, the company keeps your attention with interesting accessories. Larry Hryb, Director of Programming for Xbox Live, a.k.a. Major Nelson, has announced some interesting news for Xbox 360 fans on his blog....

The screenshot features allows you to take a shot of the screen while you’re playing a game by double-tapping the Xbox button on the controller. Then to save the shot press Y on the controller. If your Xbox One is rocking a Kinect, just say “Xbox take a screenshot” to take the shot and save it automatically. If you’re Xbox One hasn’t updated automatically yet, go to Settings > System and start the update process....

First, enable the Developer ribbon. On the Developer ribbon, click Insert » Spin Button. Next, click the cell where you want the spin button to appear. Then select the Spin Button. On the Developer ribbon, click Properties. An options box appears. Click the control tab. Enter values if you need to. The cell link value will be the cell in your spreadsheet that the spin button applies to. Comment Name * Email *...

At first glance, it’s a little bit like YouSendIt, but in reverse and a lot cleaner and simpler without the 100meg file size limit. Essentially, AirDropper lets you send a file request to a recipient via email. The email contains a link for them to upload whichever file it is that you are requesting. Once they upload it, it magically appears in your Dropbox folder. No fiddling with email attachments and digging through spam folders required....

Already in use by millions for automatic book syncing, Whispersync on the Kindle Fire tablet will let you stream video, TV and audio, too, execs said this week. Stop and resume as you like. For example, you could start streaming a movie on the Kindle Fire, stop, and resume watching on another screen. Like, say, your TV. Check out the video below. So what is Whispersync exactly? Unveiled in 2009 and significantly beefed up for the Kindle Fire, think of it as a cloud-based service for synchronizing rich media play across multiple devices....

The New Fire TV Stick with Alexa Powered Remote The new Fire TV Stick comes with a Quad-core processor, 1 GB of memory, 8 GB of internal storage. Supported resolution is up to 1080p at 60fps, a Dual-Band, Dual-Antenna 802.11ac (MIMO) for improved connectivity to your Wi-Fi network. It also includes Bluetooth 4.1, Dolby 5.1 surround sound with HDMI audio pass-through. It’s worth noting, though, there is no 4K support for this new stick....

Photo Credit: Gina Smith If you’re an Android smartphone user, one of the most annoying things is getting Google Talk messages, even when when you closed it. This happens when it’s set to sign in automatically. Here’s how to stop it. First, tap the Menu button on your smartphone and select Settings. Then, uncheck Automatically Sign In. That’s it! If you want to re-enable it, just go back into Settings and check Automatically Sign In....

What is Apple Fitness+? Ever since the first Apple Watch launched in 2015, the iPhone maker has played an increasingly active role in the overall health and wellness market. With so many of us kept largely at home during the pandemic, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the company is now bringing video-lead workouts to the masses. Fitness+ is a paid subscription service that offers a catalog of workouts across various categories....

Apple Music Web Player If you are a subscriber to Apple Music, launch your favorite browser and head to beta.music.apple.com. Then sign in with your Apple account credentials. The site offers the entire Apple Music catalog as well as tracks you’ve synced to your libraries. The site looks much like the standalone music app that Apple is launching with macOS Catalina in the coming months. It includes all the basic features....

Among a modest number of other fixes and improvements, it addresses a security issue for third-party keyboard apps. The bug could allow third-party keyboards to run entirely standalone and give “full access” and transfer data over the internet without your permission. The update also addresses a battery drain issue as well as problems with Siri requests on iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max. Full iOS 13.1.1 Release Notes: iOS 13....

Who Can Update? iOS 13 is the first iOS version that doesn’t support iPads. Instead, tablet users will have to wait until later this month when the first public version of iPadOS 13 arrives. The update is compatible with the recently announced iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. Additionally, you can install the update on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, and iPod touch (7th generation)....

Don’t get me wrong. Nobody knows for sure when the new iPhone will come out (it wasn’t at Apple’s WWDC, although there were rumors suggesting it), or what its specs will be. Still, a lot of reports, usually quoting “sources familiar with the matter”, show up every day. Anyway, the latest iPhone rumor is quite an interesting one. The Wall Street Journal says that the new iPhone is set to feature a thinner screen (it has found that out from “people familiar with the matter”, of course)....

Note: setting up Netflix is the perfect time to use the Remote App on your iDevice. From the main menu scroll to Internet and select Netflix. Sign into your Netflix account. Type in your email address and select Submit. Next, enter in your Netflix password. Select Submit. Now you can browse through the movies and TV shows available on Netflix. It also allows access to your Instant Queue. Comment Name * Email *...

Google Reader Alternatives We’ve shown you how to export and back up your current Reader OPML which contains a list of your current feeds. You can then use it to import into programs like Microsoft Outlook and use it as your RSS reader. The service I’ve already switched to is Feedly. In fact, a few days after Google made its announcement to kill Reader, over 500,00 users made the switch as well....

If RIM BlackBerry launches a new music service and nobody listens, did it really launch at all? It’s a trick question, actually. It isn’t possible to listen to the new BBM music service over the deafening sound of RIM’s stock crashing. All the way down below its book value. Now get ready for something you don’t hear journalists say too often: I had no real idea what that meant. I looked it up....