Think you’ve seen every possible tech hack out there? Think again for this ultimate list of no common sense tech hacks that makes your life easier.
#1 – Bypass expensive airport Wi-Fi by adding “?.jpg” at the end of any URL.
Felix Geisendörfer/Debuggable
#2 – Get free Wi-Fi passwords for local places in Foursquare’s comment sections.
dirtyfries/Reddit
#3 – HotelWiFiTest.com ranks hotels’ Wi-Fi speed and shows hotels with free Wi-Fi.
#4 – Ambient musics to boost your productivity:
Believe me, you have to try this combo if you haven’t. Open these links in separate tabs:
RainyMood.com
EndlessVideo.com – Turnabout Jazz Soul – Track 8 – Godot – The Fragrance of Dark Coffee
EndlessVideo.com – Fireplace
Feel lonely? Add Coffitivity.com for some morning murmur.
Try also: Noisli.com, Soundrown.com, SimplyNoise.com, ASoftMurmur.com
tadallagash/Reddit
#5 – At website login pages, you can view masked passwords by changing the password input type as text.
Most software and web developers probably know this. So, don’t leave your PC on!
Harikrishnan Edayalil/Quora
#6 – Need to jot down something quickly? Open a temporary notepad in your browser by typing “data:text/html, <html contenteditable>” into the address bar.
You can also create a bookmark: Highlight data:text/html, <html contenteditable> and drag it to your bookmark bar. Rename it as Notepad or whatever name you like.
Jose Jesus Perez Aguinaga/coderwall
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#7 – When purchasing items online esp. airline and train tickets, use incognito mode on your browser, because the prices might increase the more you revisit the item pages.
Valendr0s/Reddit
#8 – Skiplagged.com finds “hidden city” flight tickets which may save you up to 80%.
Try also: TheFlightDeal.com, AwardWallet.com
skiplagged/Reddit
#9 – When online shopping, begin the checkout process but don’t complete it. Most online stores will send you coupons codes to encourage sales.
Doesn’t work on every online stores like Amazon, but worth trying.
surfinonthejohn/Reddit
#10 – For Amazon, use camelcamelcamel.com to get alerts when prices drop.
#11 – You can also try your luck with Honey, which automatically applies coupon codes at checkout.
#12 – Add a fake email address into your contact list. If a bot starts sending out spam using your email address, you’ll get an undeliverable mail notice.
overzealous_dentist/Reddit
#13 – Before going to a
porn
suspicious site, Google “safebrowsing:(website)” to see a 90-day history of malware attempts on its visitors.
Treregard/Reddit
#14 – Check whether a username is taken or available on popular sites using Namechk.com.
1000 Life Hacks
#15 – No Internet? No problem. In Chrome’s error page, press spacebar to start the T-Rex game.
François Beaufort/Google+
#16 – Search “Atari Breakout” on Google Images.
More Google awesomeness:
Google in 1998
do a barrel roll
tilt
pacman
zerg rush
bletchley park
festivus
blink html
webdriver torso
#17 – Search “Do the Harlem Shake” on YouTube.
More YouTube awesomeness:
beam me up, scotty
webdriver torso
doge meme
use the force luke
#18 – Some fucking awesome websites:
Where The Fuck Should I Go To Eat?
Where The Fuck Should I Go For Drinks?
What The Fuck Should I Make For Dinner?
What The Fuck Is My Social Media Strategy?
Good Fucking Design Advice
The Fucking Weather
Fucking Homepage
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#19 – Lost your Android phone? Ring, erase, or lock your smartphone remotely using Android Device Manager. Ringing works even if your phone is in silent mode.
Android/Google+
#20 – You can also Google “find my phone” to locate your Android.
Quick link for the lazy: find my phone.
Google/Google+
#21 – Forgot where you park your car? Don’t worry, Google Now remembers.
Google/Google+
#22 – Make your call anonymous by dialing “*67″ (North America) before the number. Here’s the full list of other countries:
Wikipedia
#23 – To avoid spam from certain sites, use disposable temporary email services to sign up for stuffs:
MailDrop
Spamgourmet
10 Minute Mail
Fake Mail Generator
Guerrilla Mail
ThrowAwayMail
Mailinator
#24 – AccountKiller.com guides you on how to delete your online accounts from popular websites.
Try also: Just Delete Me, Delete Your Account.
Eric Griffth/PCMag
#25 – Search recipes by ingredients you have at Supercook.com.
Try also: MyFridgeFood.com
Doug Aamoth & Jared Newman/TIME
#26 – mySupermarket.com gathers groceries at the lowest prices from leading online stores.
Doug Aamoth & Jared Newman/TIME
#27 – LOZO.com finds grocery coupons based on the grocery item names you entered.
Ken Austin/CouponsDaily
#28 – HaveIBeenPwned.com checks if your email has been compromised in a data breach.
Doug Aamoth & Jared Newman/TIME
#29 – ThisIsWhyImBroke.com finds and lists cool and unbelievable products.
Doug Aamoth & Jared Newman/TIME
#30 – FillerDeals.com is similar to ThisIsWhyImBroke.com but everything is under $15.
CHIEFKEEFBANGBANG/Reddit
#31 – Want to convert YouTube video to GIF? Add “gif” after “www.”. Here’s an example.
#32 – SumoPaint.com is the closest online free version of Photoshop.
#33 – Always accidentally close your important tabs? Pin them.
#34 – STOP TEXTING ME.
Want someone stop texting you? Send this SMS: SERVICE ERROR 305: MESSAGE DELIVERY FAILED. FURTHER MESSAGES WILL BE CHARGED TO YOUR ACCOUNT.
— Fill Werrell (@FillWerrell) June 24, 2012
#35 – Build your own theater at home. To watch Frozen of course.
CertifiedPuppyRapist/Reddit
#36 – Time to clean your email inbox. Search “unsubscribe” and unsubscribe from useless newsletters. Do it now!
Try also: Unroll.me
onanym/Reddit
#37 – WornOnTV.net sells outfits that characters wear on TV shows.
1000 Life Hacks
#38 – Writing an essay? Copy and paste it into Google Translate. Listen to it. This can help you to find errors easily.
jpplayer1/Reddit
#39 – Have a Hulu Plus account and want a free month credit? Click “cancel my account” and they’ll give you the next month free.
SheriShank/Reddit
#40 – Forgot where you parked? Amplify the car remote signal with your head.
That’s my old university by the way!
#41 – Organize and filter your Gmail by using address aliases.
_aP/Reddit
#42 – Your laptop is overheating? Place 2 forks underneath.
jacknappier/Reddit
#43 – How to talk to a human ASAP when calling customer service:
GetHuman.com shows you how to get customer service faster and easier.
Keep pressing 0.
Repeat keywords like “agent”, “representative”, and “operator”.
Speak nonsense and mumble.
Drop an F-bomb. Not when you’re speaking to a real person though.
floppybutton/Reddit
#44 – To extend laptop’s battery lifespan, try to keep the battery meter between 40% and 80%.
Chris Gaylord/The Christian Science Monitor
#45 – Test battery easily by dropping it few inches from the ground. A fully charged battery bounces very little, whereas a dead battery bounces around.
Not really sure how to conduct the battery bounce test? Here’s a demo video.
John Sullivan/Princeton University
#46 – DocumentaryHeaven.com is, well, a documentary heaven.
#47 – Put a folded up bill in the case of your phone for emergencies. Do it now!
dzt/Reddit
#48 – Text and walk at the same time.
Android: Type While Walk. iOS: Type n Walk.
#49 – Can’t wake up in the morning? Boost your smartphone’s volume by placing it into a cup.
Sam Stephenson/Twitpic
#50 – Broken keyboard feet? Replace them with binder clips.
Taryn Fiol/Apartment Therapy
#51 – Find expensive stuff for cheap on Craiglist using the following search terms:
divorce
wife
husband
new baby
pcs
Kia
health
surgery
moving
These listings are usually from Craigslist sellers trying to offload stuff for cheap.
SteelBadger/Reddit
#52 – Use clothes hanger to clip notes side-by-side with display.
Alternatively, you can get this or this.
SyedMehmeed/Reddit
#53 – In Windows, create a new folder and name it “Control Panel Shortcuts.{ed7ba470-8e54-465e-825c-99712043e01c}”. Access any control settings in the folder.
Wikipedia
#54 – Can’t use phone with gloves on? Attach a stylus to your jacket zipper pull.
You can grab a cheap one at Amazon – Stylus Pens.
jtalaiver/Reddit
#55 – Turn binoculars into smartphone zoom lens.
You can also get this crazy adapter which works for binoculars, spotting scopes, telescopes, and microscopes.
XiKiilzziX/Reddit
#56 – No description needed.
I_am_a_quitter/Reddit
#57 – Google “[food] vs [food]” to compare nutritional values.
Google/Google+
#58 – Use wall hooks to attach iPad to the wall.
etothepowerof3/Reddit
#59 – Amplify iPad speaker with tennis ball.
mcmenamin309/Reddit
#60 – Anyone can be a hacker at HackerTyper.net. Press F11 to enter full screen and ALT to show “Access Granted” message.
More prank sites: GeekTyper.com, FakeUpdate.net
totally_professional/Reddit
#61 – On calculator, the C (clear) button is to clear all entry, whereas the CE (clear entry) button is to clear the most recent entry only.
Oliver Salzburg/Super User
#62 – Project Naptha is a browser extension that allows you to select, copy, modify, erase, and translate text in images.
antimatter15/Hacker News
#63 – Not sure whether your remote control is working? Use any camera to check whether it emits light when you press a button.
#64 – Turn a paper clip into a simple phone stand.
More ways to make phone stand:
Cardboard/Credit card/Store card
Coffee cup sleeve
Binder clip
#65 – Watch age restricted YouTube videos without signing in by adding “nsfw” before “youtube”.
Example: http://www.nsfwyoutube.com/watch?v=6LZM3_wp2ps
Alternatively, replace watch?v= with v/. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LZM3_wp2ps to http://www.youtube.com/v/6LZM3_wp2ps.
fs200vids/Reddit
#66 – Roommate’s alarm going off? Calling the phone will disable the alarm.
UberBueno/Reddit
#67 – Create a book from Wikipedia articles.
Wikipedia
#68 – Can’t finish your assignment before deadline? Corrupt-a-file.net corrupts your assignment files so that you can ask for extra time.
Not every professor accepts corrupted files, but worth a try if you desperately need extra time.
Kartik Bansal/Quora
#69 – Whenever you need to study for an important test, google “site:edu [subject] exam”. You’ll find tons of sample and similar exam questions.
Reddit
#70 – Sugru is a Play-Doh-like substance, but it’s much more stronger, durable, resistant to heat, and flexible. A nifty product for life hacking.
#71 – Use LEGO minifigure as cable holder.
#72 – Sleepyti.me helps you to calculate the best time to go to bed/wake up for optimal sleep.
omgwtfbbq7/Reddit
#73 – Ninite.com helps you to install many programs at once. Just select all the apps you want. No more junk software and clicking next.
omgwtfbbq7/Reddit
#74 – To find direct download link for movies, search “[movie name] -inurl:(htm|html|php|pls|txt) intitle:index.of “last modified” (mkv|mp4|avi)”.
Example: spider man -inurl:(htm|html|php|pls|txt) intitle:index.of “last modified” (mkv|mp4|avi).
If you want to find musics, simply change the last part (mkv|mp4|avi) to (mp3|wma|aac|flac). It tells Google to show webpages with any of these terms: mp3, wma, aac, or flac. You can also replace with terms of other file formats like pdf, zip, rar, etc.
Shibu Lijack/Quora
#75 – Watch feature films and documentaries legally at Internet Archive.
antoniofm/Reddit
#76 – Use CanIStream.It to find where a movie is available at the lowest price.
Doug Aamoth & Jared Newman/TIME
#77 – Not sure what movie to watch? AGoodMovieToWatch.com randomly suggest you highly-rated yet little known movies to watch.
Try also: What is on Netflix?, InstantWatcher, Jinni, Criticker, Televisor, TasteKid
CHIEFKEEFBANGBANG/Reddit
#78 – HowLongToReadThis.com estimates time required to read a book. Pretty accurate for me.
sputnik4024/Reddit
#79 – Laptop charger keep falling out? Use Velcro.
siddv/Reddit
#80 – In-flight entertainment system.
claque/Reddit
#81 – RunPee.com tells you the best time to pee while watching a movie.
Bradm77/Reddit
#82 – PizzaCodes.com shows pizza coupon codes based on your location.
ToProvideContext/Reddit
#83 – Want to sign up for free trials? Use a gift card.
thenacho1/Reddit
#84 – BetterExplained.com explains tough math concepts in a better and intuitive way.
CraftedLove/Reddit
See also: Animagraffs.com – Animated infographics
#85 – ThePriceGeek.com shows you the market price of product you searched.
alphabytestew/Reddit
#86 – For iPhone users: If you’re signing up for Spotify Premium, do it on their website ($9.99/month) instead of mobile app ($12.99/month).
If you’re a student, signup here.
SimplyRH/Reddit
#87 – If you find a locked iPhone and Siri is still enabled, ask “Who do you belong to?” to see the owner’s contact information.
mmedesjardins/Reddit
#88 – If you haven’t seen this video, it has some pretty cool smartphone photography tips & tricks.
#89 – Currently in foreign country? Use Google.com/NCR to avoid country specific URL redirect. NCR stands for No Country Redirect.
articposts/Reddit
#90 – Read free magazines at Magastack.com.
hackmebaby/Reddit
#91 – Super glue a dot on your phone charger so at night you don’t fumble around like a fool.
nomau/Reddit
#92 – Use different color for your earphone tips to differentiate left and right side easily.
You can get white replacement earphone tips here.
defloof/Reddit
#93 – FatFingers.com finds eBay items with typos, which often have no bids because no one can find them.
CCPearson/Reddit
#94 – Forgotify.com lists music tracks that have never been played on Spotify. 4 millions of them.
Didub/Reddit
#95 – Gnoosic.com is a music recommendation engine. Enter 3 bands you like to get suggestions.
xyby/Reddit
#96 – Want to edit an online image in Paint? Paste the image URL directly into Paint to open it.
Learning25/Reddit
#97 – Send text messages by email: (For US)
Alltel: XXXXXXXXXX@message.alltel.com
Amp’d Mobile: XXXXXXXXXX@vtext.com
AT&T: XXXXXXXXXX@txt.att.net
AT&T: XXXXXXXXXX@mms.att.net (pictures, text may work)
Boost Mobile: XXXXXXXXXX@myboostmobile.com
Cingular: XXXXXXXXXX@mobile.mycingular.com
Cricket: XXXXXXXXXX@mms.mycricket.com
Einstein PCS: XXXXXXXXXX@einsteinmms.com
Nextel: XXXXXXXXXX@messaging.nextel.com
Sprint: XXXXXXXXXX@messaging.sprintpcs.com
SunCom: XXXXXXXXXX@tms.suncom.com
T-mobile: XXXXXXXXXX@tmomail.net
VoiceStream: XXXXXXXXXX@voicestream.net
US Cellular: XXXXXXXXXX@email.uscc.net (text)
US Cellular: XXXXXXXXXX@mms.uscc.net (pictures)
Verizon: XXXXXXXXXX@vtext.com (text)
Verizon: XXXXXXXXXX@vzwpix.com (pictures)
Virgin: XXXXXXXXXX@vmobl.com
For Canadian providers, refer to this.
the_boyblunder/Reddit
#98 – Pushbullet.com displays phone notifications on your computer, so that you don’t have to switch between devices everytime.
You can also send links and files with Pushbullet.
#99 – If you want to turn off your phone to avoid calls, remove the battery instead. Switching off phone will notify mobile switching centre (MSC) and callers will receive the switched off notification.
Shyam Kumar Arshid/Quora
#100 – Set “@@” as the keyboard shortcut for your email address. Now you don’t have to type your email again and again.
platt_ma/Reddit
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Huge thanks to Redditors, Quorans, and others who make this gigantic list possible.