Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET Earlier this week, Secret CEO David Byttow tweeted that he would be shutting down his popular (and controversial) anonymous, secret-sharing social networking app. According to Byttow, the app no longer represents his “vision,” which is fair; his vision probably didn’t involve hacks, government bans and cyberbullying. But not everyone uses anonymous social …

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET Unless you’re still rocking an unlimited data plan, you probably know the basics of data management — no streaming, online gaming or downloading large apps when you’re not hooked up to Wi-Fi. But what if you’re being conservative with your data usage and still bumping up against your monthly limits? Here are three ways to make sure …

They’ll look different when you finally see them in iOS or Android. Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET Emoji keyboards are changing fast — Apple last month introduced multi-racial emojis and the (somewhat hidden) Vulcan salute emoji. But I’ll let you in on a little secret: that “secret” Spock emoji isn’t an Apple creation, it’s part of a new batch of emojis released …

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET After much demand from the public, Apple finally rolled out multiracial emoji symbols in its latest iOS update (but no redheads — sorry, guys). But there are still times when you can’t find the perfect emoji to express yourself. Instead of waiting for Apple’s next (likely far off) emoji update, it’s time to start making your own …

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET I certainly hope you back up your PC more than once a year, but I won’t kid myself — people are not good at keeping backups up-to-date. One of the main reasons for this is convenience, or rather, lack thereof. Backing up your data to an external hard drive is difficult and inconvenient, because you have to …

Organizing the cables behind your desk is one thing, but now it’s time to talk about that black hole you call your cable drawer. If you’re like me, you probably keep every single cable, charger, and adapter you come across – even if you already have six or seven or 100 of the same one — just in case. Just …

Have you looked at that mess of cables behind your desk lately? Yeah, me either. If you’re employing the tried-and-true “out of sight, out of mind” approach to managing your wires, there’s no better time than the present to actually do something about it. Use these tips to get your cables in order quickly, easily, and cheaply. Optimize your outlets …

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET Just a few years ago, much of what we did was soon forgotten. But thanks largely to social media, now we do. Misspelled Tweets, Facebook rants after you’ve had a bad day, and unflattering photos posted by your friends have made it difficult to manage your online reputation, especially when it’s archived for posterity. And it’s not …

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET It’s not exactly cleaning per se, but in the spirit of organization, now is a good time to go through your devices and make sure you’re up to date on your backups. After all, what’s the point of diligently backing up your iPhone or Android device, only to find that you’re a few months (and several hundred …

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET It can be difficult to remember which MacBook model you own, given that Apple doesn’t give them very distinct names. Do you have a “Mid 2010” or “Early 2011” machine? What type of processor do you have? Is it even possible to upgrade your RAM? Fortunately, finding your Mac’s basic specs in OS X is very simple …