Setting Up Your Home Office

Between the sheer number and the increasing sophistication of phishing campaigns, seeing should not automatically be believing when browsing online. One particularly sneaky scam is a browser-in-the-browser (BitB) attack, in which threat actors create a fake browser window that looks like a trusted single sign-on (SSO) login page within a real browser session. Because we use SSO to access many of our online accounts, we may not think twice before entering usernames and passwords on these spoofed pages. Cybercriminals are counting on this to steal user credentials. How a browser-in-the-browser attack worksRather than redirecting users to a spoofed website, threat actors ru…

You (hopefully) know by now that you can't take everything AI tells you at face value. Large language models (LLMs) sometimes provide incorrect information, and threat actors are now using paid search ads on Google to spread conversations with ChatGPT and Grok that appear to provide tech support instructions but actually direct macOS users to install an infostealing malware on their devices. The campaign is a variation on the ClickFix attack, which often uses CAPTCHA prompts or fake error messages to trick targets into executing malicious commands. But in this case, the instructions are disguised as helpful troubleshooting guides on legitimate AI platforms. How attacker…

Generative AI has advanced to the stage where you can ask bots such as ChatGPT or Gemini questions about almost anything, and get reasonable-sounding responses—and now renowned gadget repair site iFixit has joined the party with an AI assistant of its own, ready and willing to solve any of your hardware problems. While you can already ask general-purpose chatbots for advice on how to repair a phone screen or diagnose a problem with a car engine, there's always the question of how accurate the AI replies will be. With FixBot, iFixit is trying to minimize mistakes by drawing on its vast library of verified repair guides, written by experts and users. That's certainly reassu…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. My smart home routines are ready for a refresh. As new standards have emerged for connecting gadgets in the home, and Google and Amazon have been updating their respective hardware and apps, I've been lagging in keeping things sharp and running smoothly. So, I'm doing something about it now. If you've been feeling bored by your smart home and its current routines too, keep reading. These are ways to configure the smart devices around you to make them for more than just turning the lights on and off (although there's always plenty of that). Although my personal smart home is in the Google Home ecosystem, these features als…

According to a New York Times report, Meta plans to add facial recognition technology to its Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses. The feature, called “Name Tag” within Meta, would allow users to identify people and get information about them through Meta's AI. The feature could be rolling out as early as this year. Adding the feature is not a done deal, however. According to an internal document cited by The Times, the company is weighing the “safety and privacy risks" of introducing facial recognition as well as discussing how to navigate the response to a no-doubt controversial feature. A document quoted by The Times suggests Meta is deliberately timing a potential rollo…

AI-related changes to Notepad—yes, that Notepad—allowed attackers to execute arbitrary code on your computer. The vulnerability was related to Markdown support, which was added last year. Markdown is a simple way to add formatting, including links, to plaintext documents—and links were the source of the vulnerability. "An attacker could trick a user into clicking a malicious link inside a Markdown file opened in Notepad, causing the application to launch unverified protocols that load and execute remote files," according to the security response notice. Markdown has long been popular in certain parts of the internet—anyone who occasionally comments on Reddit or chats usi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Resistance bands and dumbbells are both great for strength training at home, since they don’t require much storage space and tend to be a lot cheaper than a full setup with a barbell and plates. But they each have pros and cons, so let’s talk about how to choose. Resistance bands can offer more total weightIf you buy beefy enough resistance bands, they offer a lot of resistance. A pair of “strong” bands from EliteFTS will pull on a barbell with the same force as 122 to 275 pounds of weights, depending on how far you stretch them. During the time gyms were closed because of COVID, coach Greg Nuckols told us that a set of b…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Last-minute Presidents’ Day sales are the perfect time to stock up on gaming monitors that normally have a much higher price tag, and right now, an award-winning model from Alienware (dubbed “one of the best curved gaming monitors on the market” by PCMag) is $200 off. The Alienware 34 Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor is 28% off at $499.99 (originally $699.99), marking its lowest price ever as the holiday discounts wind down. Alienware 34 Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor …

If you use Google Chrome, you should install the latest update ASAP. Google has issued a patch for a high-severity flaw that has been actively exploited in the wild—the first Chrome zero-day in 2026. What the Google Chrome patch fixesThe latest flaw, catalogued as CVE-2026-2441, is a use-after-free vulnerability in CSSFontFeatureValuesMap, Chrome's CSS font feature implementation. A use-after-free vulnerability is a flaw in which an application attempts to use memory after it has been released back to the system. This type of bug allows attackers to execute code, escalate privileges, cause app or system crashes, and leak sensitive data. CVE-2026-2441 would allow "a remo…

iOS 26.3 was a decidedly small update. It introduced a new tool to transfer data to Android, and gave some iPhones the ability to hide precise location data from cellular networks. But beyond some other small changes and security patches, that's all there was to write home about. iOS 26.4 is a different story. The update, which is currently in beta testing, adds a number of interesting new features to compatible iPhones, especially if you're an Apple Music user. As with all beta software, iOS 26.4 is currently in testing, which means these features are subject to change at any time. It's possible some won't make it to the official release of iOS 26.4, while others could l…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Soaking in a warm bath can be relaxing, but nothing beats the soothing convenience of a hot shower. Like everything else in your house, your shower will start to show its age long before it stops being useful, leaving you to have a functional but uninspiring experience every day. If you can afford to remodel, that’s not a huge problem. But if you’re stuck with a shower that’s lost its shine and you can’t afford to tear it out and start over, there are a lot of affordable, easy ways to upgrade your shower with just a few purchases and minimal effort. Spruce up tiles with this shower-safe paintIf your shower tiles are in goo…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Eufy FamiLock S3 Max is a deadbolt, a 2K video doorbell, and a small indoor monitor in one device. Right now it’s $279.98 on Amazon, down from $399.99, which price trackers list as its lowest price to date. Eufy FamiLock S3 Max $279.98 at Amazon $399.99 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Samsung HW-QS700F dropped to $355.49 in open-box condition at Woot, which is a steep cut from its $799.99 list price. Amazon currently has it for $597.99, and the lowest it has dipped there was $397.99. So this is comfortably below its previous low, according to price trackers. “Open-box” here means it may have been repackaged due to damaged packaging but you still get the full setup: soundbar, wireless subwoofer, HDMI cable, wall mount kit, rubber feet, and a remote with batteries. Samsung HW-…

We're heading toward the back half of February—and according to your weird aunt on Facebook, this is an unusual, maybe magical month. Some say it is a "miraclein," a lucky calendar configuration that only occurs once every 823 years. Others say February 2026 is a "perfect month." Some say it is the beginning of an extremely unlucky year. Some say that a late-month planetary alignment will cause great upheaval. The February 2026 "miraclein"Though it is not a word used by astronomers (or even astrologers, to my knowledge), some are describing this month as a "miraclein," a month in which every day of the week falls four times during the month. This only happens every 823 y…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Early every year, Google releases a budget-oriented a-series phone that acts like a stripped down version of its latest mainline Pixel phone. The Pixel 9a, for instance, had the same chip as the Pixel 9, reduced memory and camera specs, and most importantly, a slimmed down design that finally ditched the obtrusive camera bar. The Pixel 10a, announced today, is a bit of an outlier. Instead of upgrading to the same chip as the Pixel 10, it also has the same chip as the Pixel 9, with only slight improvements to everything else that was already in the Pixel 9a. So, is it worth an upgrade? The Pixel 10a's specsThe Pixel 10a's s…

You don’t have to want to live forever (a la the millionaire-immortality-influencer Bryan Johnson) to want to live longer. I’ve seen a larger shift in the fitness industry lately, where a focus on “longevity” has replaced where you might have once seen the words “beach body.” All around us, the language has shifted from "get shredded" to "increase healthspan," from "tone up" to "build bone density." In this new era, the goal isn't just looking good at the beach, but making sure you can still walk on that beach when you're ninety. On its face, this is a welcome change. I’ll always advocate for metrics of success that are less about how you look in a mirror, and more about…

Google Gemini can help you write text, generate images and video, and write code. Now, the AI bot can generate music too, taking on the likes of Suno when it comes to producing tunes from a simple text prompt. The update is courtesy of the new Lyria 3 audio generation model, which is built into Gemini as of today. Developed by Google DeepMind, Lyria has been accessible in other Google products (such as Vertex AI and YouTube Shorts) to a select number of users, but this is the first time Google is making the model widely available to anyone who wants to try it. There's a new Create music butto…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. As anyone who’s ever had to schlep their dirty linens to a laundromat knows, having in-house laundry is a godsend. But the convenience of doing laundry whenever you feel like it starts to feel less convenient if you're lacking in the necessary storage, shelving, or work space. If a total laundry room renovation isn't in the budget, though, don't fret: You can upgrade your home's laundry hub with just a few relatively inexpensive additions. Combined with some fresh paint and some other low-cost improvements, you can have a more beautiful and functional laundry area on a small budget. Use pedestal storage underneath your was…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Starting at the end of last month, Samsung finally started selling its first trifolding phone in the U.S. Customers who were willing to spend an eye-watering $2,900 were able to snag a 10-inch display that folds up to fit in a pocket, but as with many first-gen devices, it turns out there have been a few growing pains. Two users who took the plunge on the Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold have shared on Reddit that their screens are already unresponsive—but to Samsung's credit, the company isn't leaving them hanging. The first user, who had their phone for about a month and a half (they bought their unit while overseas) before issu…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The 75-inch LG evo AI Mini LED 4K Smart TV (75QNED85AUA) is down to $896.99 from $1,396.99 on Amazon, which is the lowest price it has hit so far, according to price trackers. It lands in the middle of LG’s QNED range, sitting above the QNED82A and below the QNED92A. In practical terms, that means you’re getting a big 75-inch screen with Mini LED backlighting and local dimming, plus LG’s latest α8 AI Processor Gen2 handling the picture. LG 75-Inch Class QNED evo AI QNED85A Series Mini LED 4K S…

You don't need to do much digging online to find complaints about the iPhone keyboard: From typos and spelling mistakes to lag and missed keystrokes, there are multiple issues being reported by users, across multiple versions of iOS. While the root causes of these problems tend to vary, there are some broad fixes you can try that should go some way to giving you an iPhone keyboard experience you can rely on—besides waiting for the next bug-squashing iOS update from Apple. Reset the keyboard dictionary on your iPhone Resetting the keyboard on iOS. Credit:…

This week, an avalanche killed eight people who were on a backcountry skiing expedition on Lake Tahoe. One person is also missing, but presumed dead. This story is tragic, but, miraculously, six members of the group survived the disaster. According to the New York Times, those skiers were rescued thanks to a standard iPhone feature, Emergency SOS via satellite, which let them connect to emergency services from where they were trapped by snow. If you have an iPhone, you probably have this feature available to you, as well. Better yet, it's not hard to activate in the event of an emergency, though it doesn't hurt to know exactly how it works ahead of time. This isn't the f…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 are down to $129.99 on Amazon, from their usual $179.99. That is their lowest price so far, according to price trackers. PCMag gave them an “excellent” rating, largely because they deliver strong sound and active noise cancellation without pushing into premium pricing. At this price, they sit in the crowded midrange category, but they offer a feature set that competes with more expensive earbuds. OnePlus Buds Pro 3 Wireless ANC Earbuds (Midnight Opus) …

The word “toning” is something of a joke in many fitness circles, because it’s a word that’s thrown around when people mean other things. Sometimes it’s a code word for being thin, as when somebody may promise you that a workout will tone your muscles rather than making you bulky. Other times it’s a moneymaking gambit, as when somebody says you can do their toning exercises at home rather than buying weights or a gym membership instead. To the extent that the word means anything, we talked about this a bit when we discussed the fear of getting bulky. Being “toned” usually means having some muscle definition while still being able to see your body as feminine or thin. "Ton…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Just about everyone has a microwave. You might not know its wattage, vintage, or what in the heck half the buttons actually do, but you know that if you pop something in there and cook it for a while, you get hot food back for your trouble. Some intrepid souls actually learn how to use a microwave properly, expertly timing out defrostings, reheatings, and popcorn by the bucket. They really are incredibly useful and powerful appliances. As amazing as your microwave is, it could be better—it just needs a little help. If you really want to get the most out of your appliance, you’ll need to pick up a few microwave gadgets that…