When browsing through various forums and sites, you’ve probably noticed that sometimes users who comment on posts will have a little picture, or an avatar attached to their comments. At the bottom of every Online Tech Tips piece you’ll also find an avatar that belongs to this article’s author. If you’re a frequent guest of […]
Behind the scenes of every computer running Windows 10 is a whole ecosystem of intertwined processes. They control how programs communicate, how your computer interacts with peripherals like printers and cameras , and even how you connect to the internet . Windows has an Internet Protocol (IP) Helper Service, which shows up as iphlpsvc.dll in […]
Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based suite of cloud services. It used to be known as Office 365 , but now includes so much more than just the core Office functionality that it seems a rebranding was in order. The entire world of computing is moving rapidly towards SaaS (software as a service) and subscription models […]
First appearing in Windows 8, the Runtime Broker process is an important system process that continues to serve an important purpose on Windows 10 PCs. Like other major system processes, such as unsecapp.exe , the Runtime Broker process can’t be switched off or disabled. System processes like the Runtime Broker are usually hidden, so if […]
Bluetooth is the gold standard for device-to-device file transfers and close-range communications, but it has a competitor that you might not have heard of: WiFi Direct. What is WiFi Direct? This little-known alternative has been around for years but, unlike Bluetooth, you can use WiFi Direct for more than just file transfers. Windows 10 has […]
Processes like the WMI Provider Host aren’t well known to most Windows users, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not essential to the operating system. In this case, and like other critical processes such as csrss.exe , the WMI Provider Host shouldn’t be something you need to think about, unless it causes high CPU or […]
When you boot up a Windows PC or laptop, a number of different system processes kick into action. They generate the user interface you’ll use to sign in and begin working, but they’ll also be responsible for various under-the-hood actions that you won’t even be aware of, like communicating with other network devices. Unfortunately, system […]
If your computer is sluggish , one of the ways to investigate what’s causing the problem is to check the Task Manager. While Task Manager displays the running processes that could be hogging all the resources, it doesn’t necessarily explain what they mean. Wsappx is one of those unfamiliar services you’ll see in Task Manager. […]
Few computer problems are more frustrating than pressing the power button on your computer and watching as nothing happens. There are several reasons why your computer won’t boot – some are hardware-related, while others are software-related. Some of the clear symptoms your computer may exhibit in a no-boot state include: No operating system sounds No […]
Zapier is an automation tool in the same vein as IFTTT , but is arguably more powerful in many ways. While IFTTT excels at smart home applications, Zapier sees a lot of usage with regard to business and productivity related applications. Perhaps one of the most powerful Zapier features is the ability to set up […]