Self-paced
The course
Seven modules of four or five minutes each, then six practice labs. Do them in order or jump to what you need. A free account saves your results.
Modules 4 to 7 and four of the labs are part of the Learner pass: $1.95 a month or $19.50 a year. Free during preview. Pricing
Modules
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1. Before you touch anything: the safe-first order
The order that fixes most everyday problems without making anything worse: look, check the simple things, restart properly, change one thing at a time, and know when to stop.
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2. Describing a problem so it can be fixed
The five facts that turn "it is broken" into something you, a friend or a repair shop can actually fix, and how to narrow down where the problem lives.
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3. Tech support scams: how they work and what to do
Free for everyone, always. The signs the Federal Trade Commission lists, what to do in the moment, and what to do if you already paid or let someone in.
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4. Wi-Fi, the router and the internet
What the boxes do, how to tell a one-device problem from a whole-house one, the restart order that works, and the one button not to press first.
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5. Updates, passwords and two-step sign-in
Three of the four steps CISA lists in Secure Our World, set up once and kept up: updates on, a password manager, and multifactor authentication.
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6. Where files live, and backups that actually work
Find a file that seems lost, understand the difference between syncing and a backup, and set up a backup you have tested.
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7. Helping a parent, a friend or a colleague
How to help without taking over, use remote help safely, leave notes that make the next problem easier, and know when to hand it to a professional.
Practice labs
- The scary pop-up A full-screen warning says the computer is infected and gives a number to call. What do you do?
- One laptop has no internet The rest of the house is online but one laptop cannot load anything.
- The computer has become slow A Windows PC that used to be fine now takes ages for everything.
- The urgent account email An email says your account will be closed today unless you confirm your details.
- The file that disappeared A document you worked on yesterday is not where you left it.
- The printer says "offline" Nothing prints, and the computer says the printer is offline.