3 ways you can still get Windows 10 for free

There are a few tricks you can use to still get a free Windows 10 upgrade, but they're all pretty shady.

 

 Well, here we are.The free upgrade period for Windows 10 ended on July 29. You had a year to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, but you put it off, and put it off, and now it’s too late.

Or is it? There is no longer an official way to upgrade to Windows 10 without paying a cent. But there are a few loopholes making the rounds on the Internet that apparently allow you to still get a free upgrade.
We haven’t tested all of these methods to see if they’ll work. But we can tell you that all of these methods require you to check your morals at the door.

Assistive upgrade

Although the Windows 10 upgrade period is over, Microsoft is still allowing people to upgrade for free if they use assistive technologies, such as braille peripherals or a mouse requiring less dexterity. Microsoft announced in May that it would waive the July deadline for these users for an undetermined period of time.
The Verge’s Tom Warren  reports that all you have to do is download an EXE file from Microsoft’s accessibility site, run it, and you can upgrade “without any checks.”



We haven’t tested this workaround and can’t vouch for it. Microsoft told ZSNet's Ed Bott that the assistive technologies loophole was not “intended to be a workaround for people who don’t use assistive technology and who missed the deadline for the free offer.” 

Reset your clock

People on Reddit report that the classic trick for anything date related works with the Windows 10 upgrade. Apparently you can change your system clock back to July 28 and the upgrade will still work.
This is surprising considering Windows 10 upgrades activate via digital entitlements. That requires interaction with Microsoft’s servers, which you’d think would be checking for this sort of thing. If this loophole actually works—we also didn’t test this one—it seems unlikely to work for much longer.

Don’t be genuine

This last one is a little dicey and could change at any time, but you don’t have to activate Windows 10 with a product key to actually keep using it. In fact, the only real restriction Microsoft seems to put on unactivated versions of Windows 10 is the inability to change your PC’s personalization settings.
While we wouldn’t encourage you to upgrade to Windows 10 and then use it without a license, this method does seem to work. Microsoft could shut the door at any moment, however, and make Windows 10 harder to use without paying. The good news is you can go genuine and activate your version of Windows 10 with a quick trip to the Windows Store.

For a detailed explanation of how Windows 10’s “non-genuine mode” works check out How to Geek's tutorial .

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4 ways to block political posts on Facebook

The lure of political chatter is one of social media's biggest productivity pitfalls. Here's how to silence the noise.

 

The deluge of political rants, memes, and arguments in your Facebook feed is hardly ending—if anything, it’s getting louder. Whether you participate in these posts, just seeing them is proven to be wearing and stressful, and can ultimately be a drain on your productivity.
You don’t necessarily have to swear off social media completely to get relief, nor do you have to start a campaign of “unfriending” folks with offending opinions. There are several free browser add-ons that will help you purge your feed of politics—or at least keep it out of sight long enough to get your work done. Here are a few of the best.

Remove All Politics From Facebook

You’ve likely dreamed of a solution that would remove only politics-related posts from your feed, while leaving the funny pet videos and other more enjoyable content. That’s exactly what this Chrome add-on boldly promises to do.


Remove all politics from facebook installs a simple switch in your browser. If you want to hear the unfiltered voice of the American people—at least the ones in your Facebook feed—flick the switch to “on.” If you don’t, toggle it to “off.” The developer doesn’t say how the add-on identifies which posts are political and which aren’t, but my best guess based on usage is that it filters according to keywords and names. There’s no way to customize the filter, but if you want a set-it-and-forget-it solution, this one works. (Chrome)

Social Fixer

Like Remove All Politics From Facebook, Social Fixer also blocks political posts from your feed, but it gives you a little more latitude in how they’re filtered.
Social Fixer adds a wrench icon to Facebook’s toolbar. To customize your feed, click it, select Social Fixer Options and scroll down to Filters. If you just want to impose a sweeping moratorium on all political posts, enable Election/Politics 2016 from the list of predefined filters. This will hide posts about anything related to the recent presidential election.

Social Fixer uses both predefined and custom filters to block political posts—and a whole lot else.

If you only want to filter posts about a certain political party, issue, or person, click Create a New Filter. Here you can set your own conditions for what to hide using keywords.
Social Fixer can actually filter a variety of posts, including sponsored ads and spoilers, and help you customize your Facebook experience in a number of other ways, so it’s worth keeping around after the political climate calms down. (It’s going to calm down, right?) (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge, and Safari)

News Feed Eradicator for Facebook (Chrome)

Filters will go a long way toward purging your feed of political articles and their ensuing flame wars. But they can’t block snarky memes, many posters’ preferred way of voicing their opinions. To truly ensure you aren’t distracted by political posts in your feed is to block it altogether.

News Feed Eradicator for Facebook blocks access to your feed and live ticker only, while still letting you get to individual profiles

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The news feed eradicator from facebook removes your news feed and live ticker altogether. But unlike similar add-ons, it replaces them with an inspirational quote to keep you motivated and productive. You can even add your own. (Chrome)

LeechBlock

If all else fails, there’s always, if you’ll pardon the expression, the nuclear option: blocking your access to Facebook completely.

Add Facebook and other politically charged sites to Leech Block and designate times to restrict access. 

 Leechblock bars the door to any site you tell it to. You can add up to six domains—so feel free to toss Twitter, major news sites, and any other political forum into the mix as well—and block them for specific time periods you define—during work hours, for example. By keeping a lid on your feed only when you need to get things done, you’ll reduce your exposure to potentially productivity-sucking posts when it matters most.

 

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