Home Office Setup & Equipment

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon Big Deal Days is coming October 7-8, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. Follow our live blog to stay up to date on the best sales we find. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. October’s Prime Big Deal Days don’t officially kick off until …

In the beginning, WhatsApp users could not protect their chat backups with encryption—while all communications were encrypted end-to-end, backups weren't afforded the same protection. Since 2021, however, WhatsApp has offered two ways for users to encrypt these backups: a standard password, or a 64-digit encryption key. There are security issues with both of these methods. Passwords can be secure, but let's be real, many of us use very simple passwords that are easy to remember, and, in some cases, we even repeat passwords from account to account to make things easier on our brains. If your password for WhatsApp backups is the same password you use for your email, and th…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find. Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices an…

Apple dropped iOS 26.1 on Monday, introducing some small but meaningful changes to iPhones. But just one day after changing how alarms work, and adding options to adjust the look of Liquid Glass, the company is back at it with another update: iOS 26.2. To be clear, iOS 26.2 is not currently available to the public. Instead, Apple is now beta testing this version of iOS, allowing developers to trial the software against their apps, and report any and all issues back to Apple. While anyone can technically download this new software, I wouldn't recommend it. iOS 26.2 is not intended for public use, and, as such, it might introduce problems on your device. If you'd like to be…

For me, part of the appeal of TikTok is seeing smaller, less polished videos from people who don't fashion themselves as influencers. But what do I know? The company has announced it is holding its first U.S. awards show later this year. It seems the Oscars-ification of short form video is here. In a blog over on the TikTok site, the company said the show, fittingly called the TikTok Awards, will be held in the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on Dec. 18, 2025, and will "honor the creators who have inspired, entertained, and connected communities across the country." To that end, the site also says it will invite users to "vote for their favorite creators" starting on N…

Scammers never miss an opportunity to prey on people's fear and confusion—and now they're capitalizing on the ongoing federal government shutdown to steal money and information from vulnerable targets. As Axios notes, reports of imposter scams—in which fraudsters impersonate government officials or agency representatives—rose in October as Americans experienced the loss of federal services and benefits. The Better Business Bureau's (BBB) Scam Tracker received 211 such complaints last month. Scammers are also taking advantage of shutdown stress to pull people into investment schemes and other malicious (and AI-driven) activity. Common government shutdown scams One common…

Google isn't new to adding AI to its products, and that includes Google Maps. The company already has AI tools that let you ask Gemini for directions to your destination, or get more info about it, and today, it's rolling out new features to help turn the chatbot into a (to borrow a term from Microsoft) copilot. With Gemini in Google Maps, you'll be able to ask open-ended questions and even have the AI take action for you, based on its responses. The idea is to make the app easier to work with while driving, which, yes, means you can also wake the bot with a simple "Hey Google." Let's say you get peckish while driving. You'll be able to wake the bot with your voice, ask …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Your house is supposed to be your refuge from the weather, a place where you can feel comfortable no matter how frigid it gets outside. But with rising utility costs, keeping your house warm can be more of a challenge than it used to be—and even if you’re proactive about defending against the cold, your home can still take a wintry beating. Now’s the time to take action. Home maintenance products designed to defend your home against freezing temperatures, blowing snow, and freezing damage will not only make your home more comfortable, but also hardened against winter damage. The basicsThere are a few simple purchases you…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon Big Deal Days is on October 7-8, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools. Follow our live blog to stay up to date on the best sales we find. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. Unless you plan on opening your own professional gym, there's no reason you need to…

Red light therapy devices are everywhere—from lamps, to full-body mats, to those glowing face masks flooding my social media feed. I usually see red light therapy advertised for "younger-looking skin," but I'm not interested in these devices as a means to slow down aging—I'm interested in them as a recovery-obsessed athlete with very sore muscles. These gadgets promise to boost athletic performance, speed muscle recovery, and reduce inflammation, all by bathing your body in specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light. But do these trendy tools live up to the hype, especially for muscle recovery? What red light therapy advocates claimRed light therapy devices typic…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Power tools make everything easier and your finishes more professional. You might think that connecting those power tools to an app on your phone via Bluetooth is an unnecessary upgrade—why in the world does your power drill need to be connected to your phone? The truth is that Bluetooth-connected, “smart” power tools offer a lot of real advantages, and you should definitely start thinking about upgrading your tools to include them. More controlThe biggest reason smart power tools are a good investment is the increased control they offer. If you’ve ever wasted time experimenting with the torque settings on a drill (and the…

You have probably heard of skimming, a type of fraud in which criminals install physical devices capable of capturing your payment card details on ATMs, gas pumps, and point-of-sale terminals. If you enter your debit or credit card into one of these fake card readers, your data is stored for later download or transmitted wirelessly in real time to a device controlled by scammers, who will use the information to steal from your accounts. Unfortunately, online shoppers aren't immune from this scheme. Web skimming is a type of cyberattack that uses malicious code to steal card data during checkout, and researchers have identified an ongoing campaign targeting major payment …

Spotify playlists are a surprisingly big part of my life. I make a handful of new, curated, choreographed ones for the spin classes I teach every week and otherwise meticulously maintain quarterly playlists designed to represent the overall vibe of specific, three-month periods in my life. I only edit those during the 12 weeks of the quarter, then leave them alone so I can revisit them and relive the era. This means I am constantly fiddling with the present playlist to make it just right, searching for songs that feel precisely aligned with however I'm feeling. It's actually a time-consuming hobby—but I stumbled across a feature the other day that has made creating spin p…

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. It's an exciting time to be an iPhone user. There's iOS 26, of course, which brings a number of major changes to the platform. For the daring, there's the iOS 26.1 beta, which continues to build upon the foundation of Apple's latest OS. If that weren't enough, however, it seems Apple is also working on yet another iPhone update—this time intended mostly to fix problems with the last one. The update, iOS 26.0.1, could drop any time in the coming days. These types of updates aren't necessarily unusual: Apple …

At this late stage in the streaming era, we're all overwhelmed by more digital subscriptions than we can keep track of, from fitness apps to cloud storage. Still, it certainly feels as though Netflix is one of the subscriptions that people are least likely to ditch—and that's backed up by the numbers. Perhaps it's because Netflix was the first company to really make streaming work, or perhaps it's the vast catalog of content it's amassed, or perhaps it's just because of Stranger Things and Squid Game. Whatever the reason, Netflix's churn rate is impressively low. Subscribers stick with it. Certainly it's always something I've long considered a mainstay on my streaming dev…

Perhaps you completely forgot about the “Secret Santa” gift exchange, or your estimated delivery date got pushed back to 2026. Whatever your reasons, you’re in need of a last-minute gift, and your options are limited. If you're reading this at a time when it's too late for online delivery, and in-person store options are already closed, then all that’s left is the glory of your local 24-hour drug store. If you have access to a major chain like Walgreens or CVS, you could be in surprisingly good shape for this last-minute gift. All it takes is a little ingenuity to level up this gift from "a protein bar" to "a gym bro collection," or "some loose nail polish" to a "curated …

Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. New Year’s resolutions are all about improving ourselves, right? The same goes for your best buddy—your dog. While your dog can’t physically tell you what they need to feel their best, there are simple things you can do to help set them up for success. Right now, you can save 50% off your first box of human-grade The Farmer’s Dog pet food, so that’s a great start. Check out these pup-centric resolutions and help keep their tail wagging into 2026—and for years to come. The Farmer's Dog Save…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. "Never pay full price for a MacBook Air" seems to be the takeaway from the latest Apple launches. Apple unveiled its updated lineup of M4-powered MacBook Air laptops in early March, and all the M4s saw their first discounts a few weeks later. The M4, M3, M2, and M1 MacBook Airs are all discounted right now, with some at their lowest prices ever, according to price-tracking tools. If…

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. When Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, he repeatedly promised to reduce the amount of bots on the site, and pitched plans to "authenticate all real humans." Now, in 2025, the social media site known as X's true bot numbers are unknown, although a cybersecurity firm speaking to Mashable said that 76% percent of traffic coming from X during last year's Super Bowl was fake. Toss in the fact that those plans to authenticate real users have now been replaced by a paid verification scheme, and it's clear the site …

Although OpenAI is most famous for creating ChatGPT, I've been mostly focused on their efforts with AI video generation. Sora, the company's short-form AI video generator, is already tricking people across social media with hyperrealistic AI slop. I fear we've already reached a point where it's too difficult to trust that what you seen on your feeds is actually real. But today, we're taking a break from the AI video doom, and returning our attention back to OpenAI's flagship product. On Wednesday, the company announced the latest versions of GPT, the model that power ChatGPT: GPT-5.1 Instant, and GPT-5.1 Thinking. OpenAI says Instant is the company's most-used model, but …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. Buying an unlocked cellphone means you have the liberty to choose whichever carrier offers you the best plan, and switch to another whenever it's convenient for you. I've done it this way for many years, and have been able to take advantage of some sweet deals and perks from carriers trying to convince me to switch. If this sounds fun to you, then you're going to need to start by buyin…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The PlayStation 5 Pro’s price has finally eased up a bit, dropping to $648.99 from $749.99, which is the lowest it has gone on Amazon so far according to price trackers. For anyone who has been eyeing a console upgrade but didn’t want to spend full price, this discount makes it easier to consider. Sony - PlayStation 5 Pro Console - White $648.99 …

iOS 26 is one of Apple's biggest operating system updates in years. The new "Liquid Glass" design, while controversial, offers the first major UI overhaul since iOS 7, while new features like call screening and hold assist might change the way your make and receive phone calls. If you have an iPhone, you may be tempted to install the new update—and, seeing as it has been out for a week and a half now, you might have updated already. If you haven't installed iOS 26, yet, however, think twice before you do, because you're going to be stuck with it: Apple has made it impossible to downgrade and return to iOS 18. You can't go back to iOS 18As reported by MacRumors, Apple sto…

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. Ever get a suspicious text from someone claiming to be your friend, but they appear to be texting from the right number? Well, in an era of number spoofing, which involves manipulating Caller ID to make yourself look like someone you're not, one can never be too careful. That's why Google is finally taking out of beta a Messages feature that helps you fight back. Called "Android System Key Verifier," the idea is simple, and has actually been available as a separate app before. Now, right from the Messages…

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. The latest Apple Watches now boast a sleep score, which gives you a number on a scale of 1 to 100 for how well you slept. But that’s not all—you can even get this number without the Series 11 watch, as I discovered this morning while waiting for my new watch to be delivered. To get the new sleep score, just make sure you have iOS 26 and watch OS 26 installed. Where to find the sleep scoreYou can view the sleep score on your iPhone or on your Apple Watch. On the watch (Series 6 or later), go to the Sleep app…