Guides & comparisons

Practical technology guides and comparisons for everyday decisions.

A USB game drive branches to PS4 direct playback and PS5 copy-back before playback.

PS5 · Oct 24

PS5 USB extended storage: what you can store and play

Use USB storage for PS4 games and archived PS5 installations, with separate checks for saved progress.

Chat cards for ChatGPT and Claude marked 24-hour link and Gemini marked 7-day link, with arrows leading into a zipped archive.

ChatGPT · Oct 24

How to export ChatGPT chat history, plus Claude and Gemini chats

Download your ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini chats: where each export lives, how long it takes and when links expire.

A laptop screen showing Remove everything with a progress bar and Clean data on, above four numbered steps: back up, sign out, reset and remove device.

Windows · Oct 24

How to wipe a laptop before selling it, on Windows or Mac

Back up, reset and sign out: the Windows and Mac steps to clear a laptop properly before you sell or give it away.

An envelope labelled Gmail beside three settings rows: Gmail, Chat and Meet switched on, and Google Workspace, marked Gemini, and Other Google products switched off.

Gemini · Oct 24

How to turn off Gemini in Gmail and Google Workspace

Gemini in Gmail sits behind Google's smart feature settings. Here is which one to switch off and what else it changes.

A chat window with a Share button, a home address and an attached photo, connected by a public link to four people, labelled anyone with the link.

AI chatbots · Oct 23

How to share a ChatGPT conversation, Claude chat or Gemini chat safely

Shared AI chat links can be opened by anyone who has them. What each service includes and how to delete old links.

Three phones labelled iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy, each with a battery gauge and a status (92%, Reduced, Normal), with a dashed line marking 80 per cent capacity.

Phones · Oct 23

How to check phone battery health on iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy

Where to check phone battery health on iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy, and what 80 per cent capacity means.

A list of saved passwords with one marked leaked and one reused under a magnifying glass, beside a hash prefix being checked against a database of known breach lists.

Password managers · Oct 23

How to check if your password has been leaked, and what to do next

Your password manager can already check for leaked passwords. Where to look, how it stays private and what to change.

A computer screen with pop-up windows and a bug badge beside four steps: disconnect, run a full scan, back up and reset if still infected, change passwords from a clean device.

Malware · Oct 21

What to do if your computer has a virus: a step-by-step plan

Disconnect, scan, reset if needed, then change passwords from a clean device: the ACSC's recovery steps in order.

A laptop's VPN tunnel to the internet is cut, with a kill switch toggled on, above three stages: tunnel up, tunnel drops and internet blocked, reconnected.

VPN · Oct 21

What is a VPN kill switch, and should you turn it on?

A VPN kill switch blocks the internet when the VPN drops. Here is how the types differ and where to turn it on.

A Mac laptop labelled Time Machine and a Windows PC labelled File History both connected to one backup drive, above the versions Time Machine keeps: hourly for the past 24 hours, daily for the past month, weekly for older months.

Backup · Oct 21

Windows File History vs Time Machine: set up a local backup

File History and Time Machine both keep earlier versions of your files on an external drive. How to set each one up.

Illustration of an HTTPS address bar and a domain-validated certificate beside bars showing the maximum certificate lifetime falling from 398 days to 47 days by March 2029.

SSL · Oct 20

Free SSL certificate for your website: how it works and what to check

Most small sites can run HTTPS on a free certificate. What to check: validation, automatic renewal and mixed content.

Illustration of an image card with a Licensed for business stamp beside three checks: ownership, plan and input

AI image generators · Oct 20

Can you use AI images commercially? What the terms say

Who owns AI-generated images, and what OpenAI, Midjourney, Google and Canva let you do with them commercially.

Three documents drop into upload trays labelled ChatGPT 512 MB per document, Claude 500 MB per file in a chat and Gemini 100 MB per file.

ChatGPT · Oct 19

ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini file upload limits: size, count, types

How big a file ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini accept, how many at once, and what each reads in PDFs and spreadsheets.

A sitemap tree of pages links to a verification card with a meta tag and a tick, then to a search results list with the top result highlighted.

Website builders · Oct 19

How to add a website to Google Search Console from a website builder

Verify a Wix, Squarespace, Hostinger or Framer site in Google Search Console, then submit its sitemap.

A game controller in the centre linked to three cards: iPhone by Bluetooth, PC by cable or Bluetooth, and a console it re-syncs to.

Gaming · Oct 19

How to use an Xbox controller on iPhone, PC and console

Pair it with an iPhone, remap the buttons, then move the same controller to a PC or back to the console.

An iPhone settings screen with Apple Intelligence switches, linked to an on-device chip card and a Private Cloud card.

Apple Intelligence · Oct 18

How to turn off Apple Intelligence on iPhone, feature by feature

Switch off Siri AI, summaries and smart replies one by one, and see what your iPhone sends to the cloud.

An AI answer card with date, price and quote claims; two link to highlighted lines in a source document under a magnifier, the quote finds no source.

AI chatbots · Oct 18

How to fact-check AI answers from ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini

Get the sources, open them and find the line: how to check what ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini tell you.

A Windows 10 desktop at a three-way signpost for Windows 11, ESU and replacing the PC.

Windows 10 · Oct 18

Windows 10 End of Support Options: Upgrade, ESU or Replace?

Choose between Windows 11, Extended Security Updates and replacing a Windows 10 PC after support ended.

A download passes Gatekeeper, notarisation and XProtect before reaching a Mac, with one blocked item turned away at the first gate.

Antivirus · Oct 17

Do Macs need antivirus? What macOS already does

Every Mac has built-in malware protection. Here is what it covers, what it misses and when paying makes sense.

Three cards show the order for a lost phone: find it on a map, lock it with your passcode, then block its IMEI through your mobile provider.

Mobile · Oct 17

Lost or stolen phone in Australia: find it, lock it, block it

Find it, lock it, then block its IMEI: the order that protects your phone, your accounts and your bill.

Illustration of saved browser passwords moving through a plain-text CSV file into an encrypted vault, with a note to delete the file after import

Password managers · Oct 17

How to import passwords from Chrome into a password manager

Export, import, then delete the plain-text file: how to move Chrome passwords into a password manager safely.

A phone's Wi-Fi list shows two networks with the same café name, beside three steps: confirm the network, set it to public and add a reputable VPN.

VPN · Oct 16

VPN on public Wi-Fi: when you need one and what else to check

A VPN adds a layer on café and airport Wi-Fi, but the network name, sharing settings and HTTPS matter too.

Files and database copy from an old host to a new host, while the domain's DNS switches to the new host last.

WordPress · Oct 16

How to migrate WordPress to a new host, step by step

Copy the files and database, test the new copy, then switch DNS: a step-by-step WordPress move for small sites.

A laptop sends the same backup files to a compact external SSD and a larger portable hard drive, with a disconnected archive copy shown separately.

Backup · Oct 16

SSD vs HDD for backup: which external drive to buy

Choose an external SSD or hard drive by capacity, speed, portability and how you will keep a second copy.