Setting Up Your Home Office

It hasn't been a month since the U.S. arm of TikTok came under new ownership, and already American users are getting an exclusive feature. In a surprise move, the app today introduced a new "Local Feed" specific to U.S. users, ostensibly aimed at helping Americans see content from their immediate area. Technically, it's similar to the "Nearby Feed" that was introduced in the U.K. and Europe in December, though this specific iteration might differ in the minor details, like the name, and more importantly, which data it accesses. Specifically, the company wants access to your GPS data to power the Local Feed, but it's not making it transparent how exactly it will be used. T…

Threat actors don't have to work that hard to obtain sophisticated malware to deploy against unsuspecting targets. A new spyware platform known as ZeroDayRAT is reportedly being sold on Telegram, complete with customer support and updates. According to mobile security company iVerify, this aggressive spyware grants full remote control over devices running Android 15 through 16 and iOS versions up to iOS 26. Once deployed, it allows everything from user profiling and location tracking to live surveillance and financial theft. What ZeroDayRAT can gather from your deviceThis spyware has wide-ranging capabilities that, according to iVerify, have traditionally been found on …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. For bass-heads and audiophiles, there’s arguably no more acceptable choice than bass-y over-ear headphones. They have superior immersive sound, larger drivers that produce richer sound, and bigger cups that avoid that dreaded ear-squishing feeling. Skullcandy is known for its wide range of over-ear headphones, and the Skullcandy Crusher Evo wireless headphones are a mid-range option known for their bass. Right now, they’re 52% off, down to their lowest price ever of $99.99 (originally $209.99). …

Like millions of Americans, I've been watching the news of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance with concern—so I was somewhat relieved when the FBI announced they were releasing new footage of a suspect. Finally, the case had something to go on, even if it was only doorbell video of a masked stranger. When I saw the footage, I assumed this was something the FBI had in their possession since the beginning, and had finally decided to release to the public. But that's not what happened at all. If you have been following this case closely, you may know that law enforcement had previously confirmed that Guthrie's Google Nest camera was disconnected (presumably by the perpetrator), a…

Microsoft's February security update is a big one. This latest "Patch Tuesday" fixes 58 vulnerabilities in total, six of which are zero-day flaws. As a reminder, a zero-day is a vulnerability that has been either actively exploited in the wild or publicly disclosed before an official fix is released by the developer. As BleepingComputer reports, security flaws were found in the following categories: 25 elevation-of-privilege vulnerabilities, five security feature bypass vulnerabilities, 12 remote code-execution vulnerabilities, six information disclosure vulnerabilities, three denial of service vulnerabilities, and seven spoofing vulnerabilities. Three of the elevation o…

Live translation is probably the most genuinely useful thing to come out of the AI boom, but if you want to use it during a phone call, you usually need to use a specific device or a separate app. T-Mobile is looking to change that. The carrier announced today that it will soon introduce live translation to all phones connected to its 5G or 4G networks, and to get in on the action, you're going to want to sign up for the beta now. According to a press release sent to journalists today, the new feature will kick in for you automatically once you're selected for it, no matter what phone app or device you use. All you'll need to do to access it is type in "87" on the keypad …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Cooking can be a creative outlet, a way of showing affection, and a way to take control of your health. But cooking can also be stressful and time-consuming, especially on a weeknight when you're already exhausted from a long day at work and you've got a hungry family (or just yourself) to feed. Ordering in is always tempting, but that gets expensive and can have an adverse impact on your waistline. You might already have some of the more obvious and established time-saving appliances in your kitchen, but you can always shave a few more minutes and adrenaline spikes off your nightly cook. These kitchen gadgets will make co…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Wireless open-ear earbuds are a popular choice for runners, commuters, dog owners, and anyone else who wants premium audio quality while still allowing enough ambient noise through to stay safe and aware of their surroundings. The Shokz OpenFit Air open-ear earbuds are one of the best budget open earbuds on the market; they check all those boxes. They’re a reliable, lightweight option for everyday music and podcast listening, and right now, they’re 33% off at an all-time low price of $79.95 (originally $119.95). …

The dark web is a virtual neighborhood beyond the borders of the normal, everyday internet (which includes the website you're looking at right now). It's somewhere Google and Bing don't index, and you need special tools to get to it. It's a place where you'll find data leaks and illegal trades, but also legitimate, legal online activities users want to carry out without attracting the attention of law enforcement agencies or governments. It's a part of the internet that's less regulated and more shadowy, for better and for worse. Piqued your interest? I'm going to explain how to get on the dark web and what you can find there—though Lifehacker doesn't endorse doing anythi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The 64GB refurbished Amazon Kindle Scribe is down to $278.99 right now, which is its lowest price to date, according to price trackers. A brand-new model costs $449.99, so the savings are significant. In this case, “like-new” means Amazon has cleaned, inspected, and cleared the device to function like a new unit, just without the shrink wrap. That price gap makes this Scribe more approachable, especially if you were curious about combining an e-reader with a digital notebook but did not want to pay flagship-tablet money. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. At $239, down from its usual $299, the Nothing Headphone (1) is currently at its lowest price ever, according to price trackers—and that might just be the nudge you needed if you’ve had your eye on them. Nothing Headphone (1) $239.00 at Amazon $299.00 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Many academically minded types have written at great length and with fascinating eloquence on the connection between sex and death in horror movies. We'll cut right to the chase, offering up some of the best and most potent examples of sexuality in the horror-movie genre. But first, a disclaimer: These are horror movies, spanning decades, and, thus, don't always, or often, offer up the healthiest representations of human sexuality. Whether it's vampire eroticism or horny teen campers, sex in movies is complicated, and not always sex-positive, even as we're being invited to be aroused. Some of these movies have deep and co…

The dark web has a bad reputation—one it has earned, at that. It's a complex subsection of the web, and it's not all bad by any means, but its nature does allow illicit and illegal activity to prosper anonymously. That's why hackers choose the dark web as their point of sale for stolen user data: If you're going to traffic digital contraband, you're going to do so as privately as possible. As such, you might be a bit stressed if you're told your email address was found on the dark web. Maybe you use an identity theft service, which discovered your information here. Perhaps you're noticing an uptick in spam, especially spam that seems targeted to you personally. In any ca…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Like most of the eastern United States this winter, I experienced some rough snowstorms with ice rain. Now that I've seen what can happen during any winter, I wasted no time getting myself a power station. This is a great time to get yourself one, since the Anker SOLIX C1000 Portable Power Station is 50% off right now, going for $397 (originally $799). This is the lowest price it has been, according to price-tracking tools. Anker SOLIX C1000 …

While there are a lot of chat apps out there, WhatsApp is the undeniable leader of the pack. The app has over three billion monthly active users, constantly messaging and calling one another across the globe. However, currently those calls are all happening over the mobile app, or maybe the desktop app. Though WhatsApp does have a web app, the service has never supported audio or video calls outside of its downloadable apps—until now. You can now make calls from the WhatsApp web appAccording to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is slowly rolling out audio and video calls to its web app. At launch, the functionality is coming to individual chats with users who elect to enroll in the W…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. A typical strength- or muscle-building workout happens in sets. You lift the weight a certain number of times (“reps”), then you put it down for a quick rest before going again. But how long should that rest be? The answer will depend on a few factors, including the purpose of the workout. And a lot of us aren't resting enough. Why rest times matterLet's talk about the point of rest times. If you can keep moving for an entire workout without ever stopping to rest, you're probably not doing very effective strength training. Cardio can be continuous; most forms of strength training require that you work so hard you must res…

I'm one of those folks who has completely moved from X to Bluesky, and for the most part, it's been a pretty seamless experience. It's not hard to move your following list over; you can upload (almost) all of your old tweets if you want; and the scrolling and posting experience is almost identical to what you'll remember from the old days of Twitter. The only feature I've missed? Drafts. Finally, drafts have arrived. In a post to the official Bluesky account, the company announced that it's added drafts to the platform, and that they're rolling out now. To create a draft, just start writing a post, and instead of tapping the Post button, hit Cancel or Drafts instead and c…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Beats Powerbeats Fit earbuds are currently down to $179.95 on Amazon, their lowest price yet, according to price trackers. They’ve replaced the older Fit Pro in Beats’ lineup and made some meaningful improvements, especially in sound quality and fit. Beats Powerbeats Fit Workout Earbuds $179.95 at Amazon …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In the world of exercise, variety abounds. You can lift light weights, or heavy weights, or no weights at all. If you don’t lift at all right now, it doesn’t matter much where you start. But that doesn’t mean that all of these options are equivalent. Light weights can build muscle, but they do not have the same benefit as heavier weights. It takes different workouts to get the most benefit out of light weights versus heavy weights. And heavy weights can do some things that light weights can't. I'm going to unpack all of that below, but right now the most important thing I want you to understand is that it's not correct wh…

If you tuned into Super Bowl LX on Sunday, you may have caught Ring's big ad of the night: The company tried to tap into us dog owners' collective fear of losing our pets, demonstrating how its new "Search Party" feature could reunite missing dogs with its owners. Ring probably thought audiences would love the feature, with existing users happy to know Search Party exists, and new customers looking to buy one of their doorbells to help find lost dogs in the neighborhood. Of course, that's not what happened at all. Rather than evoke heartwarming feelings, the ad scared the shit out of many of us who caught it. That's due to how the feature itself works: Search P…

Getting a little bit of extra juice into your phone before you leave your house in the morning could make the difference between the device still having power at the end of the day or not. But there are multiple factors that affect charging rate, and you might not be aware of all of them. Run through the tips here, however, and you can be sure your phone is always charging up as quickly as possible. Use a wired power source To begin with, you're going to get your phone charged a lot faster if you plug it directly into a power source rather than putting it on a wireless charger. Wireless charging offers a lot of convenience, and is gradually getting faster and faster as f…

Browser extensions, even ones from trustworthy sources, are not without privacy and security risks. I've written before about add-ons that manage to slip through official store safeguards and even some that "wake up" as malware after operating normally for several years, so it should come as no surprise that a host of AI-powered browser extensions—collectively installed by tens of millions of users—may also be invading your privacy. Researchers at data removal service Incogni looked at browser extensions available in the Chrome Web Store that included "AI" in their name or description and employed AI as part of their core functionality. By analyzing the data collected a…

If you receive an event invitation via email, verify it's legit before you RSVP, as you may not actually be invited to anything. Malwarebytes Labs has identified a new scam in which threat actors are using party invites to trick users into installing a remote access tool (RAT) that gives them full control over infected devices. (This specific campaign seems to be limited to the UK, but similar tactics could easily spread.) These malicious invites contain a ScreenConnect installerThe scam starts with an innocuous-looking email invitation with an informal "Save the Date" vibe that may appear to come from a friend or acquaintance. The message contains a link to "View Invita…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Things seemed very quiet this week in the world of youth culture, so I asked my always-connected son what kids were talking about. "Dad, the Epstein files," he said. "That's all anyone is talking about." I like to keep things light here, but it's not possible at the moment; The Epstein files are the culture right now, no matter what age you are. Younger people are trying to figure out how to fit this massive thing into their idea of the world, just like you probably are. Smaller kids are contextualizing the files by visiting/making Roblox Epstein Islands and joking about it in school (then asking their folks what it reall…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The Apple Watch is a powerful tool for following and tracking exercise. We’ve already shown you 10 hacks for all Apple Watch users, but I’m here with a follow-up on the fitness features, specifically. With these lesser-known settings, apps, and features, you can get more out of your workouts and your health data. Give your Apple Watch rings a "rest day" Credit: Beth Skwarecki The Apple Watch’s Fitness app famously includes three rings (Move, Exercise, Stand) that you can close w…