How to change your email address without losing your friends

Think of all the places where your old email address resides, outside of your immediate control, waiting to give people plenty of false information. There are other people's address books, old messages in people's inboxes, Web sites that use your address as your logon name, and your business cards.

Changing your email address can be quite a chore.

Smartphone buying guide 2013: Find the phone that's right for you

Few tools of modern technology have become as prevalent as the cell phone, which allows you to be in touch from almost anywhere, almost all the time. And you can do more than just talk: Today's phones let you send and receive email and text messages, surf the Web, and play music and videos. Sifting through the sea of service plans and handsets can be difficult, but we'll walk you through what you need to know to get the phone and the service plan that are right for you.

When considering a new smartphone, whether it’s the newest iPhone, an Androidsuperphone, or a business-friendly Windows Phone, it pays do a bit of research before you hit the stores so that you'll know exactly what to look for.

When Windows breaks: How to fix it, piece by piece

Windows is so customizable, it’s tempting to tinker. Don’t like Internet Explorer’s default feel? There are settings for that! Hate the way Windows 8’s Ribbon UI looks? Tweak away! And if you’re feeling truly adventurous, a veritable universe of change awaits within the easy-to-bork Windows registry.

But there’s a dangerous downside to all that freedom: You can really, really mess things up. And yes, that includes some very vital things.

Don’t swear off your courageous exploration just yet, though. Microsoft’s built a slew of granular controls into Windows that let you reset all sorts of individual aspects of theoperating system. There’s usually no need to hit an irritating fly with that great, big "clean install" sledgehammer! Read this before you burn your installation to the ground and start all over.

Speed up a slow PC without buying new hardware

If a once-fast computer has slowed to a crawl, you can't really blame the hardware. Sure, you may be able to improve speed by adding RAM, upgrading the CPU, or replacing the hard drive with an SSD. But none of those solutions--all of which cost money--address the underlying problem. Your hardware isn't underpowered. It's overloaded.

Cleaning out Windows will very likely speed up a PC. And no, I'm not suggesting reinstalling the operating system. There are less drastic fixes.

Disable Windows' logon password

In order to skip the logon screen, you must first open the Advanced User Accounts dialog box. How you get there depends on what version of Windows you're using:

• Windows 7 & Vista: Click Start, type netplwiz, and press ENTER.
• Windows XP: Click Start>Run, type control userpasswords2, and pressENTER.
• Windows 8: Use the Search Charm to search for netplwiz. In the Apps section, click or tap netplwiz.

Once you're in the dialog box, make sure that your account--the one you boot into--is selected. Then uncheck Users must enter a user name and password.