Setting Up Your Home Office

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 …

Stock Android added the concept of App Pairs back in Android 15. You choose two apps to use in split screen mode, add a shortcut to the paired apps to the home screen, and it's now trivially easy to trigger split screen multitasking (instead of having to perform multiple tap and drag gestures). It sounds neat, but I never really used it, because on my small Pixel 9a, using apps in 50:50 split-screen mode is hardly user-friendly. There's just not enough room on the screen for each app to take up half of it and still be usable. But that changed with Android 16, thanks to a small update to how split screen works. In Android 16, the split screen ratios for app pairs are much …

There is a rumor going around online—on Reddit, Facebook, TikTok, and (I assume) Friendster—that gravity will stop working for seven seconds on August 12. Here is part of the warning posted online: In November 2024, a secret NASA document titled "Project Anchor" leaked online. The project's budget is $89 billion, and its goal is to survive a 7-second gravitational anomaly expected on August 12, 2026, at 14:33 UTC Key facts:• Duration: 7.3 seconds.• Expected casualties: 40-60 million. What will happen: 1-2 seconds: Everything not secured will rise (people, vehicles, animals).3-4 seconds: Objects will continue to rise to 15-20 meters.5-6 seconds: Panic and chaos will ensue …

If you don't like how the internet makes you feel right now, you're not alone. The entire ecosystem seemingly exists to manipulate you, which can make finding clarity hard. I've written about how to avoid anxiety bait, which can be an important step toward healthy and productive engagement, but an important step is recognizing when you're being manipulated. RageCheck is a potentially useful tool here. Built using concepts from social science research, this website can analyze any link or screenshot. It points out examples of potentially manipulative language, from us-versus-them framing to emotionally loaded phrasing. "The system analyzes text for linguistic patterns comm…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. As is usually the case after Consumer Electronics Show (CES), older flagship tech products drop in price—including TVs like OLED models, QLEDs, and budget-friendly options. In other words, the coming weeks are a great time to upgrade if you're looking for bargains on older flagship models. One of the best deals I've found so far is on the Samsung S85F, an entry-level OLED TV that was already on the low end of the price spectrum before this latest discount. Right now, you can get the 65-inch series for $1,197.99 (originally $1,797.99) or the 77-inch…

By now, you've no doubt heard about (or experienced yourself) yesterday's massive Verizon outage. For nearly all of Wednesday, roughly two million Verizon customers could not connect to the network, and had to rely on wifi to use their smartphones, which were otherwise stuck in SOS mode. Sure, they could call 911, but they couldn't do much else. It was an ordeal, one Verizon is literally paying for: The company committed to issuing $20 account credits to affected customers. It might not be as much as some of us think the company should offer, but it's something. And if the $20 isn't a comfort, the fact that the outage is over should be—even if you needed to restart your …

After weeks of pressure from both advocacy groups and governments, Elon Musk's X says it's finally going to do something about its deepfake porn problem. Unfortunately, after testing following the announcement, some are still holding their breath. When did the X deepfake porn controversy begin?The controversy started earlier this January, after the social media site added a feature allowing X users to tag Grok in their posts and prompt the AI to instantly edit any image or video posted to the site, all without the original poster's permission. The feature seemingly came with few guardrails, and according to reporting done by AI authentication company Copyleaks, as well as…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. I've been testing portable projectors for a bunch of different use cases, but few, if any, have come close to the complete package offered by the XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro. It's my favorite of the lot, and right now, you can get a sweet bundle with the XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro portable projector and the PowerBase Stand (which you do honestly need) for $368.99, down from $500 at release. This is its all-time low price, according to price-tracking tools. XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro Bundle …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’ve had the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra on your wishlist, you’re in luck: It's now $1,079.99, a 24% discount off its regular price of $1,419.99. This marks the device's lowest price ever, according to price-tracking tools. With high praise from Lifehacker own review and an outstanding rating on PCMag, the powerful, future-proof S25 Ultra is a top choice for Android users. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Users of Supernatural got an unpleasant surprise this week: Meta has pulled the plug on its flagship virtual reality fitness app. Citing "organizational changes," Meta says it will no longer release new content or update features for Supernatural. The app is not shutting down completely however. Subscribers can still access Supernatural's existing library of Beat Saber-workouts, and Meta says it will maintain the platform and Facebook page, but no new workouts, features, or other content is planned. Both users and critics have nearly universally praised Supernatural—CNet scored it 9 out of 10, it won both Fast Company's B…

If you receive a warning on a LinkedIn post that your account has been restricted, don't engage with it. Scammers are using LinkedIn branding in official-looking "reply" comments to spread phishing links intended to harvest users' login credentials. As reported by BleepingComputer, this impersonation campaign relies on fake company pages and LinkedIn's official link shortener to trick users into "verifying" their identities on a domain run by threat actors. Here's what to look for. How LinkedIn reply comment phishing worksScammers are replying to posts on LinkedIn with messages claiming that users have in some way violated the platform's policies. The comments include a…

If you're subscribed to Spotify, start checking your inbox. The music streaming service is sending emails to customers letting them know about yet another price hike coming next month. To Spotify's credit, the price hike is pretty minor. But starting on whatever your February billing date is, individual premium plans will jump from $11.99/month to $12.99/month, while student plans will go from $5.99/month to $6.99/month. More extensive plans will see a slightly more costly jump. The Duo plan, which gives premium access to two people at the same address, is going from $16.99/month to $18.99/month. The Family plan, which gives premium access to up to six people at the same…

Yesterday, your phone might have been borderline unusable—at least, when you were away from wifi. That was due to Verizon's nationwide outage, which impacted roughly two million customers across the United States. If you were among them, you couldn't use your phone when you were on the go, which is sort of the idea behind cellphones in general. This included the ability to use navigation apps in your car, send emails or messages for work, or make calls outside of SOS mode, which basically limited you to emergency services. Worse, some users are still experiencing issues this morning following Verizon's official resolution, though there's likely a quick fix for that. I don…

If you have Verizon, yesterday might have been a bit chaotic. The wireless carrier's coverage was down for large swaths of the country for much of the day, leading to confusion, frustration, and, for some, conspiracy theories. I saw some users on X post cryptic messages like "This is how it starts," and "These are the end times." It's good to know in times of service disruption, we can all keep a level head. But despite claims to the contrary, the world didn't end yesterday, and Verizon fixed the issue. The company issued a statement at 10:20 p.m. ET, confirming the outage had been resolved, and that Verizon would contact affected customers directly to issue account cred…

Say what you will about AI (and I've said plenty) but the progress in transcription and speech-to-text software is genuinely impressive. Whereas before such software was either clumsy or expensive, there are now all kinds of great open source tools that work well. Which brings me to Pipit, a free Mac dictation app that works offline, meaning it's totally private. Even more interesting, it can be used to do more than just transcribe speech—it can launch apps, toggle settings, and even launch a web search or query an AI service. The first time you open the application, it will ask for permission to use your microphone before downloading the Parakeet model for offline transc…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. While I was covering CES, the big consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, I gave myself a side quest: try on every exoskeleton I could find. I kept seeing them at booths and events, promising to help me walk farther without fatigue, or reach my athletic potential as I'm (judging from their marketing videos) sprinting up a mountain. I ended up testing six of them—four assisted me at the hip, one at the knee, and one at the ankle. Exoskeletons first landed on my radar as I was considering products for the Best of CES awards. I was helping to judge "age tech"—devices designed to help people as they age—and devices that assist…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. JBL portable speakers are popular for two simple reasons: They sound great, and they stand the test of time. I've had my JBL Charge 3 for years, and it's still thumping powerful beats just like when I first got it. If you get a chance to buy an older JBL speaker at a discount, you can rest assured you're getting a quality product at a good price—and that's what Woot is offering right now. You can currently pick up a new JBL Flip 6 at a 46% discount, bringing it to $69.95 (originally $129.95), the lowest price it has ever reached according to price t…

Age-verification is all the rage these days. Governments around the world are putting the pressure on tech companies to make sure users are actually the age they should be in order to access their services. Sometimes, that means uploading an ID to prove your age; other times, it involves an AI system guessing how old you are based on your appearance, activity, and behavior. Roblox is the latest platform to roll out new age-verification rules, following intense criticism from parents, researchers, and even attorneys general, who, among other claims, assert that Roblox enables predators to connect with children via the platform. In response, the company announced new age-ve…

If you're a Verizon customer who's noticed your phone shifting into SOS mode throughout the day, there's now an official explanation: As confirmed by Verizon itself, the carrier has been facing a nationwide outage throughout the afternoon. "We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers," Verizon said to Lifehacker sister site Mashable. "Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly. We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience." The company also posted an acknowledgement over on X, while on popular service interruption tracking website Downdetector (whi…

It's not whoever gets to the flagpole first, but who does it with the most style. Following PlayStation and Steam, Nintendo has finally released an annual recap so you can pour over your Switch and Switch 2 stats for 2025, and as it turns out, even see your playtime data for as far back as when you first booted up a Nintendo Switch system. Mid-January is a bit of a late release for one of these annual recaps, and last year's Nintendo Switch Year in Review came out in mid-December. However, since Metroid Prime 4 came out pretty shortly before that, I can see why Nintendo might have opted to wait this year. Plus, the delay gave people who got Nintendo Switch 2 systems for t…

DIY fixes around the house can save you a lot of money and headaches—with few basic skills and a few basic tools, you can tackle a wide range of home projects while other folks pay professionals enormous amounts of money to get the same work done. But sometimes, you get what you pay for. Professionals may be pricey, but they bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge that helps them avoid simple mistakes that can lead to real trouble—including code violations. A lot of DIYers tend to skip steps like pulling permits and inspections on the assumption that they’re not necessary for minor fixes, but hacks that seem like clever solutions when you’re DIY-ing can actu…

Short form videos are addicting. They're also often low quality, AI-generated, misinformation, or some combination of the bunch, and may have a negative impact on our attention spans and mental health. In short, they're just not that good for us. It's bad enough for grown adults to control their scrolling habits, but it's another thing entirely for children, which poses quite the a challenge. It's easy enough to ban short-form video apps entirely, like TikTok. But what about apps that have short-form content as just one pillar of the overall package? Take YouTube: You might not mind your child having limited access to the app or site to watch long-form content you approve…

Scroll through TikTok or Instagram, and you'll find influencers swearing by unconventional treatments, posting dramatic before-and-after photos and glowing testimonials about their rejuvenated skin. And the skincare "It Girl" of the moment? It's salmon sperm. Yeah. As we kick off the new year—prime time for beauty resolutions!—a growing number of people are seeking out "salmon sperm facials." Before your imagination paints an extra fishy picture (pun intended), understand that people aren't really smearing straight-up salmon sperm on their face. The secret ingredient is something called PDRN, or polydeoxyribonucleotide, a compound extracted from salmon DNA. So, what exact…

Since the days when Google Gemini was still called Bard, it's been able to connect with the company's other productivity apps to help pull context from them to answer your questions—but you still had to connect those apps to the AI manually using extensions. And even after bringing your apps together, you usually had to tell Gemini where to look for your data to get much use out of its abilities. For Instance, if you wanted it to pull information from your emails, you might have started a prompt with "Search my email." Now, Google is making it easier to connect Gemini to its various services, and adding "reasoning" when pulling context from across your Google Workspace. …

As someone who regularly switches between the Mac and PC, I really can't live without the PowerToys app on Windows. It adds little missing features that I really like on the Mac, like a Spotlight Search alternative, auto dark mode, screen awake, on-screen OCR (which lets you pull text from images), and more. But the reverse is also true. When I'm on MacOS, I start to miss the little features and commands that I've been used to Windows having for decades now (I started using Windows in school, but was only exposed to macOS when I was in college). It's the little things, like not being able to cut and paste files in Finder. And why must I accidentally open the Music app eve…