This is a curated set of external help destinations that consistently produce reliable answers for everyday IT problems. We're not affiliated with any of them.
Vendor-official help portals
- Microsoft Support — first stop for Windows, Office, Teams, Edge
- Apple Support — Mac, iPhone, iPad
- Google Support — Chrome, Workspace, Android
- Dell Support — drivers, diagnostics, warranty lookup
- HP Support — printers, laptops, OMEN, Pavilion
- Lenovo Support — ThinkPad, IdeaPad, ThinkCentre
- Intel Driver Assistant — Wi-Fi and graphics driver updates
- Logitech Support — mice, keyboards, webcams
Diagnostic tools
- Speedtest.net — broadband speed and latency
- Fast.com — Netflix's no-frills speed test
- DNS Checker — verify DNS propagation worldwide
- What Is My IP Address — your public IP + geolocation
- Down Detector — is it just me or is the service down?
- SSL Server Test — diagnose HTTPS issues
- MX Toolbox — DNS / SMTP / blacklist lookups
Communities (lurk first, don't post crises)
- r/techsupport on Reddit — friendly to beginners
- Tom's Hardware Forums — long-running, deep on hardware
- Spiceworks Community — IT pros helping each other
- Stack Overflow — code / dev problems
- Super User — power-user system questions
Learning and reference
- Microsoft Learn — official docs for everything Microsoft
- How-To Geek — well-written how-tos for end users
- BleepingComputer — security news, malware removal guides
- Computer Hope — beginner-friendly explanations
- GCFGlobal Tech tutorials — free, well-paced for non-technical users
When something genuinely breaks
- Have I Been Pwned — check if your email shows up in known breaches