Guides & comparisons

Practical technology guides and comparisons for everyday decisions.

Illustration of RCS messaging: a phone chat with a photo, read receipt and typing indicator, beside a table comparing SMS and RCS features, with a note that Telstra starts from 16 November.

Mobile · Nov 10

RCS messaging in Australia: what changes from 16 November

Telstra switches on RCS from 16 November. What changes over SMS and how to check your phone.

Illustration of Smart App Control: an app goes through a cloud check that lets safe apps run, blocks malicious ones and checks the signature when unsure, beside the Evaluation, On and Off settings in Windows Security.

Antivirus · Nov 10

Smart App Control in Windows 11: what it blocks and why

What Windows 11 Smart App Control blocks, its three modes and how to turn it back on.

Bar chart illustration comparing Gemini usage limits for personal accounts: standard without a plan, 2x on AI Plus, 4x on AI Pro and 5x or 20x AI Pro on AI Ultra, with a 5-hour refresh and weekly cap

AI image generators · Nov 9

Gemini image generation limit: how many images you get

How Gemini's image limits work on free and paid Google AI plans, and where to see when they reset.

Illustration of a registrar's nameserver settings with the old nameserver crossed out and two new ones added, pointing to a new DNS zone holding A, CNAME, MX and TXT records

hosting · Nov 9

How to change nameservers without breaking your site

Where to change nameservers, what to copy first, why DNSSEC matters and how long the switch takes.

Timeline chart showing which earlier site versions Wix, Squarespace and Framer let you roll back to

Website builders · Nov 8

Website builder version history: how to roll back your site

What Wix, Squarespace and Framer let you roll back, what they don't, and how to keep a safety copy.

Three cards comparing how ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini start a web search and show numbered citations

ChatGPT · Nov 8

ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini web search citations compared

How ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini search the web, where citations appear and how to check them.

Illustration of a browser with the current tab shared to a Gemini side panel, beside four Gemini in Chrome settings switched off

Gemini · Nov 8

Gemini in Chrome: what it can see and how to turn it off

What Gemini in Chrome reads from your tabs, where it is stored, and the settings that switch it off on a computer.

A shared group in the Apple Passwords app holds three logins, beside a panel showing what the owner and members can do and a reminder to change passwords after removing someone.

Password managers · Nov 7

Apple Passwords app shared group: set up and share with family

Share logins with family in the Apple Passwords app: who can join, what members can change and what to do after.

Three stacked layers show account-wide Instructions for Claude, project instructions and the chat prompt, beside a checklist of what to write.

Claude · Nov 7

Claude custom instructions and preferences: what to write

Where to set Instructions for Claude, what to put in them and when project instructions or memory fit better.

Two panels compare Drive for desktop modes: streaming downloads only some files and uses little disk space, mirroring keeps every My Drive file on the computer.

Cloud storage · Nov 7

Google Drive stream vs mirror files: which desktop mode to use

Streaming saves disk space; mirroring keeps every file offline. How to choose, switch safely and keep files offline.

Illustration of a console with a USB drive and a Storage Expansion Card attached, beside a table showing both store any game and play Xbox One games, while only the card plays Xbox Series X|S optimised games at internal SSD speed.

Xbox · Nov 6

Xbox external storage: set up a drive and move games

A USB drive stores any Xbox game but plays only older ones. Set one up, choose install locations and move games.

Illustration of a laptop connected through an encrypted tunnel to a VPN server, beside a list showing VPN use on public Wi-Fi and for work as legal in Australia, pirated content as still infringing, streaming as a terms issue and overseas use as dependent on local law.

VPN · Nov 6

Is a VPN legal in Australia? What the law says

VPNs are legal in Australia. What the law does cover: data retention, site blocking, under-16 rules and travel.

Four steps of a Microsoft Defender Offline scan, from saving your work to a restart, a scan of about 15 minutes and results in Protection history, above a checklist: suspend BitLocker, WinRE enabled, admin account, x64 Windows PC.

Antivirus · Nov 5

Microsoft Defender Offline scan: when and how to run it

A restart-time scan for malware that hides from Windows. When to run it, how long it takes and where results appear.

An iPhone showing a padlock and a Lockdown Mode switch turned on, beside a list of what it limits: most message attachments, link previews, FaceTime from new callers and 2G and 3G, while calls, texts and SOS still work.

iPhone · Nov 5

iPhone Lockdown Mode: who needs it and what it limits

Apple's strictest security setting blocks most attachments and some web features. Who needs it and how to set it up.

A TPM 2.0 chip on a dark green circuit board beside three ticked checks: tpm.msc showing version 2.0, UEFI firmware that is Secure Boot capable, and PC Health Check.

Windows 11 · Nov 5

Check TPM for Windows 11: TPM 2.0, Secure Boot and PC Health Check

Run tpm.msc to see your TPM version, then check UEFI and Secure Boot before the Windows 11 upgrade.

A grid of monthly AI credits, partly used, beside a consumer licence card reading personal use only, with client work and products crossed out.

AI image generators · Nov 4

Microsoft Designer Image Creator free: credits and licence terms

How Microsoft Designer's free AI credits work, what a subscription adds and why its licence is personal use only.

A web host linked to four CDN edge copies, beside a list showing images, CSS, JavaScript and fonts cached by default while HTML pages come from the origin.

hosting · Nov 4

Do I need a CDN for my website? A small-site guide

What a CDN does, when a small site gains from one, what it caches and what to check before you switch it on.

A website page with an image and its alt text field, beside three rules: describe informative images, mark decorative ones, and say where linked images go.

website builder · Nov 4

Alt text website builder guide: Wix, Squarespace and Framer

Where to add image alt text in Wix, Squarespace and Framer, what to write and how to check it.

ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini deletion paths lead to a Delete account bin, with steps to export chats and cancel paid plans first.

ChatGPT · Nov 3

How to delete your ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini account and data

Steps to delete ChatGPT and Claude accounts, why Gemini works differently and what happens to your data.

A timeline of screen snapshots stops where the Save snapshots switch is turned off, beside Reset Recall and Pause until tomorrow options.

Microsoft Recall · Nov 3

How to turn off Microsoft Recall and what its snapshots save

Switch off Save snapshots, then reset to delete what Recall stored. What it saves and how to filter it.

Four random example words forming a passphrase, with a checklist marking long, unpredictable and unique as good and a predictable sentence as poor, and an arrow to a password vault.

Password managers · Nov 2

How to choose a master password for your password manager

Use a passphrase of four or more random words. How to build one, check it and plan for forgetting it.

A custom instructions panel with role, tone, format and guardrail entries, and an arrow showing them applied to three new chats.

ChatGPT · Nov 2

ChatGPT custom instructions: what to write and where to set them

Where to set ChatGPT custom instructions, what to write in them and how they differ from Memory.

A bin listing two files marked restore and one marked gone, beside a bar showing a 30-day restore window ending in gone, with OneDrive, Google Drive and iCloud Drive labels.

Cloud storage · Nov 2

Recover deleted files from cloud storage: OneDrive, Drive, iCloud

Check the Recycle bin, Trash or Recently Deleted first. How long each service keeps files and what can't come back.

A phone sends a browser and a chat app through a VPN tunnel to a VPN server, while an excluded banking app connects directly with the device's own IP address

VPN · Nov 2

VPN split tunnelling: choose which apps skip the VPN

Split tunnelling sends chosen apps outside the VPN. How the modes work and the kill switch and DNS catches.

Explore ULKA’s coverage of AI assistants, personal devices and digital services. Each guide starts with a question you can use to narrow a choice, understand a feature or avoid paying for something you do not need. Our comparisons explain their criteria and link to the source material behind product claims. Australian availability, relevant limitations and subscription conditions are included when they change the decision. Browse the subject collections for focused reading, or start with the latest guides below.

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