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28 useful websites you’ll want to bookmark right now
The web is a big place, but most of us visit the same websites over and over again. If you find yourself scrolling endlessly through Facebook and Twitter, it’s time for a change of pace.
Spending too much time on social media? You might be oversharing without realizing it. Tap or click here to see the top 6 social media privacy mistakes you’re making right now.
Instead of clogging your mind with bad news, clickbait stories and internet drama, try these 28 handy websites. These sites are designed to show you something cool, teach you something new or make your life easier online. And don’t worry — we’ve made sure they’re all perfectly safe to visit.
Get ready, you’ll want to bookmark these web winners.
Listen to radio from anywhere on Earth
Radio Garden makes it easy to listen to radio stations broadcasting from anywhere in the world. This little-known gem connects to stations submitted by the station or the public, and there are a ton to choose from.
Search by county, city or station. Find your local station or see what people in another country are hearing right now. You can choose your favorites so you can come back to them whenever you want.
Plus, it’s a great way to listen to The Kim Komando Show if you moved and can’t find it in your new location. Just visit the Radio Garden website and submit the call letters of the radio station where you used to listen to the show.
Take a look at the stars on the day you were born
Courtesy of the fine folks at NASA, you can browse the Hubble Space Telescope’s impressive archive of photos is to look up snaps of space taken on your birthday. Just select your birth month and date, click submit and see where in the skies the Hubble takes you.
You won’t believe some of the things that come up — and we highly recommend trying this site out with your friends and family to see what Hubble was looking at on their birthdays, too.
Get a better night’s sleep with this calculator
Did you know you can still be functional on only four hours of sleep? It’s not ideal, but in a pinch, it can be done — as long as you fall asleep at the right time, that is.
This incredible calculator from Sleepytime works by counting sleep cycles backward and to determine the ideal times for you to fall asleep. When you wake up mid-sleep cycle, you feel groggy and drained. If you wake up between cycles, you’ll feel much more alert.
A solid eight hours is always best, but this is a good resource to have up your sleeve just in case.
Pandemic or not, planes are still flying — see where they are
Even though most of us are grounded for the time being, there are still plenty of planes (including planes shipping cargo) flying around right now. If you want to keep your eyes on the sky from the comfort of your home, FlightRadar24 will not only show you all the planes and helicopters in the air but their flight paths, too.
Learn how to make just about anything
For the crafty among us, tutorials and guides can be a major help. For the best collection of creative instructions on the web, look no further than Instructables.
Click Projects at the top of the site and filter by categories like Workshop, Craft, Cooking, Living and Outside. What about making the ultimate croissant sandwich (yum) or building your own outdoor lounge chair?
This site is also perfect if you’re teaching the kids at home and need to pull out some fun new ideas. There are plenty of fun science experiments on the page you can try with the whole family.
Find alternative sites and apps similar to what you’re using
If you’re sick and tired of the current programs you’re using but not totally ready to break for something new, an alternative substitute will do just the trick. But finding a one-for-one replacement can be a pain in the neck without the right resources.
But that’s where AlternativeTo comes in, by showing you similar programs and websites to the ones you’re using now. This is a solid way to save some money, too. If you find the right free software, you can ditch paid subscriptions.
Find recipes for what you already have on hand
Most of us are cooking more at home than ever. You’re probably sick of your staple meals and ready to try new things. Instead of shopping based on recipes that require tons of ingredients, why not find recipes for what you already have on hand?
Supercook lets you look up recipes by ingredients. Use the menu on the left side of the page to choose what ingredients you have, and voila, a list of delicious meals. Super useful!
See weather like never before with Windy
Ordinary weather maps usually only show you boring graphics or forecasts over specific areas, but Windy takes a different approach. This awesome free map lets you add multiple layers that include live weather, clouds and wind patterns over your local area.
If you’re someone who loves stargazing or camping (or both), it’s a great way to get a sneak peek at the weather before it happens. Get a real-time look at weather anywhere in the world, try out 42 different map layers and zoom forward 10 days to see what the coming days will bring.
Create burner emails that can cut down on spam
Ever wanted to sign up for a website without giving away your personal email address? What you need is a burner email, and this free website lets you create temporary addresses that delete themselves after 10 minutes.
This simple, effective tool is called 10-minute-mail and it makes it easier to control your privacy by cutting down on the information you share with websites. In fact, using burner emails can drastically reduce the amount of spam you get.
See through the lies with this tool that spots fake Amazon reviews
Amazon has a major problem with fake reviews, and it’s getting to the point where customers are having a hard time making informed decisions about what to buy because of them.
Instead of playing the guessing game, you can use this handy review aggregator, ReviewMeta. It uses a learning algorithm to scan Amazon reviews for fakes. The more it’s used, the better it gets at finding phony reviews. All you have to do is paste the Amazon link in the search bar, click “Run Report” and let it hunt for robots. It’s like Blade Runner in your browser window!
Don’t waste time on a binge-watch blowout
Worried about sinking too much time into a TV show only to be disappointed with the ending? The “Game of Thrones” and “Dexter” fans among us know exactly what we mean.
It can be frustrating to spend days binge-watching a lackluster show only to miss out on better content. TV Chart takes away the guesswork by displaying critical reviews in the form of a graph. You can see if, and when, a show takes a dive. It’s definitely worth checking before you start a new series.
Purge all your unwanted accounts in one place
If you’ve ever gone on a deleting spree of all the accounts you don’t use anymore, you know what a pain it is to find the right links to click or forms to submit. Justdelete.me is the place to start. This website has a detailed directory of links that can help you disable and delete your accounts from the web’s most popular social networks.
It gives you instructions for where to find your deletion options and ranks each site by difficulty. This helpful resource makes the annoying tasks a lot less of a pain.
Do you write? This tool will cut down distractions
Take it from us writers: Distraction is everywhere, and a clean, distraction-free desktop is one of the biggest keys to success. If you like to write and want to steer clear of tempting time-wasters (hi, Twitter), you can’t go wrong with FocusWriter, a fullscreen writing app that only shows what you need most: your mouse cursor and your content.
All the best free security programs for Windows in one place
At first glance, Nirsoft.net isn’t much to look at — but looks can be deceiving. This website is a solid resource for reliable Windows downloads for all of your privacy and security needs. This includes password managers, network utilities and more!
Our favorites include Wireless Network Watcher to show everything connected to your wireless network and MyLastSearch to see who is using your computer and what they’re looking for.
Is it just you? Find out if a website is down
Sometimes sites won’t load because your Wi-Fi is down or some other glitch on your end. But you and your connection aren’t always to blame. If a speed test shows your internet is strong and the site still isn’t working, head to Downdetector.com. You can check the status of any website and see what other users are saying. That way, you’ll know for sure that it’s “not just you.”
See where 5G is booming in the U.S.
With 5G spreading across America, you will soon have access to connection speeds that make your home Wi-Fi connection look pitiful. But these updates aren’t rolling out at the same pace across the country. This helpful map from Ookla shows you all the latest 5G developments down to the city.
Send a self-destructing message for maximum privacy
Want to channel your inner spy? Privnote lets you write notes that automatically self-destruct after a recipient reads them.
You also have the ability to schedule notes that will expire at a predetermined time. All you need to do is write your note on the site, pick your self-destruct method, then copy and send out the link to whoever you want. No software download required!
Calculate the time between dates and clear up timezone mix-ups
This is a site you’ll reference again and again. (We do!) Ever wonder how many days are left until your next vacation? Or maybe you want to confirm your math is right when you’re figuring out how many days until a big event or between two dates.
This free calculator from Time and Date can put these numbers right at your fingertips. And as a nice bonus, it has a timezone converter and even a handy meeting planner you can use to make sure appointments you schedule with contacts across the country are at the right time for everyone.
Need to fax something but don’t have a fax machine? News flash: You don’t need one!
If you need to send a physical document but don’t have access to a fax machine (because let’s face it, who even has one anymore?), you need to give FaxZero a try. This free website works like a virtual secretary that will fax documents you upload to any fax number in the U.S.
There is a catch, though: You only get documents as large as three pages plus a cover page at a rate of five times per day for free. If you want to do more, it’s $2 per instance, but the documents can be as large as you’d like.
Take a screenshot of any website
Screenshot Guru captures high-resolution images of any webpage you choose. The images are in a standard format, so they can be used on social media, in news articles, photo galleries and anywhere else you can host them. It also works with long, stretched out websites so you won’t miss a detail.
Best of all, you don’t need any additional software or browser extensions to run it. But make sure you include the full web address including “https://www” or you’ll get an error.
Statista makes statistics fun and helps you win every argument
We check a lot of statistics for our stories here at Komando.com, and one of the best resources on the web to find verified statistical data is Statista.com. Here, you can find the numbers on almost any topic you can imagine — population growth, market share of certain tech, food preferences and the impact of COVID-19 on the job market.
You need a paid subscription to access all the data on Statista, but much of it is available to anyone, for free.
An encyclopedia of emoji for your home computer
Do you ever wish you had the perfect emoji at your fingertips when typing on your desktop? Or maybe you’re like our writers here at The Kim Komando Show and want access to an em dash (—) without having to type in a complicated keyboard code. CopyChar.cc contains a searchable database that helps you find any complex characters or emoji you can think of. Just click the one you want to copy it. Easy!
Count down the seconds with this virtual egg timer
We all have timers on our phones, but we don’t always have our phones on hand. And even if yours is nearby, it’s also filled with distractions you want to avoid if you’re buckling down to get something done.
If you need a simple, lightweight timer you can use in your browser window, E.ggtimer.com is your best bet — and it even contains custom timers for tasks like handwashing and toothbrushing.
Need to see if an account name is taken? Wonder no more!
With literally billions of people online, you’d be hard-pressed to figure out a truly original username or web domain. Whatever name you’re thinking, someone else has probably thought of it first — but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to make a claim for it. Namechk.com can scan a wide range of social media platforms and web domains to see if the name you want is in use.
Pixlr lets you crop, resize and adjust photos just like Photoshop
If you have basic Photoshop needs without the budget to pay for Adobe Creative Cloud, Pixlr allows you to crop, resize, filter, adjust colors and retouch photos just like the real thing. The latest version of this free software even copies Photoshop’s design aesthetic for a smooth transition for longtime users.
The best part is the app runs directly in your browser just by visiting the website, so there’s nothing new to download.
Type directly on PDFs with this useful tool
Unless you received a full-fledged PDF form made in Adobe Acrobat Pro, you’ll still need to print it out in order to fill it in. But doing it by hand is a pain — and impossible if you don’t have a printer. That’s why PDFescape is so useful. If you get a PDF that you can’t fill out on your PC, drag and drop it into PDFescape to convert the file into one that you can edit. Yes, it’s free to use.
Create logos, graphics and illustrations in a snap
Canva is a virtual graphic design tool that’s incredibly easy to use. It uses drag-and-drop controls to make creating graphics or even just resizing a photo a breeze. You can access Canva right from your browser of choice, so you can access it from just about any device.
Most of its features are free, but you can sign up for a paid subscription to get access to even more images and templates.
Want to feel old?
This one isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you have a good sense of humor, you might appreciate it. Visit you.regettingold.com, type in your birthday and you’ll see a range of startling facts about the time that has passed since then and before you were born. We love the site’s sense of humor, too.
“Do you think time is catching up with you? Perhaps it’s already overtaken you and left you in the dust. Do the years seem to be going ridiculously quickly now? There’s a reason for it. You’re getting old.”
As the name suggests, you won’t believe what your age really means. Tread cautiously!
Tags: chart, FocusWriter, Hubble Space Telescope, justdelete.me, privacy, radio, ReviewMeta, social media, websites
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