The FBI has issued a warning that BADBOX 2.0 malware is surging through residential consumer electronics, infecting millions of internet-connected devices. The malware, often preloaded onto inexpensive streaming hardware and IoT devices, can steal your data and provide backdoor access to the device—and is extremely difficult to remove.

The BADBOX 2.0 Botnet Is Back

BADBOX 2.0 is the evolution of the original BADBOX malware. This malware was first identified in 2023, though it was partially taken down by a German cybersecurity agency that sinkholed the communication between infected devices. It disrupted the malware, but didn’t completely eliminate it.

Now, BADBOX 2.0 has built a massive botnet comprising more than one million devices, including smart TVs, IoT devices, streaming boxes, projectors, tablets, and more.

The FBI’s BADBOX 2.0 public service announcement revealed that most devices are preinfected with malware at the point of sale, with most coming from China.

Cyber criminals gain unauthorized access to home networks by either configuring the product with malicious software prior to the users purchase or infecting the device as it downloads required applications that contain backdoors, usually during the set-up process.

Once you connect an infected device to your network, it can “phone home” to the control network, which can in turn activate the BADBOX 2.0 malware. Once activated, your device becomes part of the BADBOX 2.0 botnet, and there may be little indication that you have an infected device in your home.

However, it’s not just preinstalled devices that contain BADBOX 2.0 malware. Where BADBOX relied primarily on this method, BADBOX 2.0 has been spotted using drive-by downloads to infect other devices. Similarly, the malware has been bundled into apps available for download on third-party Android marketplaces. This is why sideloading Android apps is such a danger.

What Does BADBOX 2.0 Do?

According to Human Security, the security research team that first revealed BADBOX 2.0, the evolved malware has a range of dangerous and sneaky attacks.

• Programmatic ad fraud
• Click fraud
• Residential proxy services (basically selling access to your internet-connected device, which can then be used for additional attacks):
  • Account takeover (ATO)
  • Fake account creation
  • DDoS
  • Malware distribution
  • One-time password (OTP) theft

What makes BADBOX 2.0 so concerning is that all of this activity takes place without alerting you. It’s not a type of malware that makes a song and dance about its presence; it wants to remain silent for as long as possible to maximize its chance of exploiting your device and data.

How to Check for BADBOX 2.0 Malware

First up, if you haven’t bought a Chinese streaming box or other Chinese internet-connected tech, you’re probably in the clear. However, check if you own any of the infected devices, as per Human Security’s table:

Next up, conduct a review of all of your internet-connected devices, no matter their origin. Check for suspicious app marketplaces that you haven’t installed, altered settings, and other changes to your devices you don’t remember making.

Unfortunately, removing BADBOX 2.0 from most devices is a difficult process because it involves flashing a new, clean firmware. For many cheap streaming boxes and IoT devices, a separate firmware update may not be available, which means you’ll have to cut your losses and ditch the device to protect your network and data.

One of the primary reasons not to pirate software is that hackers often upload legitimate software with malicious malware attached. There is a similar malware circulating, targeting video games this time.

Your Pirated Game Comes With a Side of Malware

GamesBeat reports that security researchers have discovered a new infostealer malware called Myth Stealer. This malware is available as a weekly or monthly subscription to cybercriminals who then embed it in games and set up fake gaming websites to distribute it.

It’s not just video games either. The malware is also being embedded in cracks and cheats for other games that are often available as standalone archives you can download and run.

Once installed on your PC, Myth Stealer targets Gecko and Chromium-based browsers and steals data like saved passwords, payment data, cookies, and autofill information. Since the malware covers both Gecko and Chromium, it covers the most popular browsers like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Brave, among others.

The malware was first spotted in late December 2024 when its developers made a Telegram group to market it and also offered it free for others to try out. Telegram reportedly shut down the original channel, but the developers have kept the malware alive by jumping between groups and frequently updating the source code to throw off antivirus detectors.

Myth Stealer is coded in Rust, a programming language known for its cross-platform compatibility and performance benefits. Updates to the malware have since added more features and better evasion methods. It can also pass a VirusTotal scan, meaning you’ll likely not spot it until it’s too late.

Another layer of protection for the malware developers is the fact that they aren’t the ones carrying out the attack. Instead, they’re offering a subscription service where other cybercriminals can pay to use the malware either via crypto or Razer Gold gift cards, adding distance between the malware developers and any victims.

Don’t Download Pirated Software

The best way to protect yourself against such attacks is to simply not pirate software. By pirating, not only are you downloading illegal software, but you’re also inviting trouble by visiting shady websites that try to scam you or downloading software that comes with malware attached.

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I Don’t Download Cracked Software to Avoid These 4 Real Dangers

Cracked software comes with a whole host of worrying dangers that it’s simply best to avoid.

Hackers often abuse legitimate software or web apps to deliver malware. There are ways you can check a downloaded file is safe before running, but prevention is better than a cure. Even Steam isn’t safe from malware, so if a site or download seems shady, it’s best to avoid it entirely and save yourself the hassle.

As a frequent traveler, I’ve found that even the most basic hotels typically offer an HDMI-ready flat-screen TV and decent Wi-Fi nowadays. But it’s not always easy to watch the shows and movies I want, especially when I’m abroad. That’s why I always carry these household gadgets in my luggage; I’m never without a fully-fledged streaming hub while on the go.

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Don’t Travel Without These 3 Devices

You don’t need heaps of hardware to watch what you want: these three devices will solve most of your problems.

HDMI Streaming Device

While most of us favor using built-in apps with our smart TVs, a plug-and-play streaming device is an affordable and useful gadget to keep in any respectable tech arsenal. Whether you’re staying with relatives over the holidays or checking into a remote budget guesthouse, simply plug it into the TV’s HDMI socket to provide some welcome home comfort with access to your favorite subscription services. HDMI streaming devices are usually very compact, setup is quick and easy, and they can be operated using the casting function on mobile devices. Some popular solutions that I have used include:

• Google Chromecast: This is the cornerstone of my travel setup, and I like my second-generation model for its compact size and robust design. I will soon be upgrading to the latest, slightly larger version, which supports 4K HDR and includes Google TV.
• Amazon Fire TV Stick: I still regret leaving my Fire TV Stick 4K in an Indian hotel in 2022. I particularly liked its intuitive interface, minimalist remote handset, and support for all my favorite streaming apps, which included Amazon Prime Video, bundled with the purchase.
• Roku Streaming Stick: I owned the first-generation Roku device, which was considerably larger and clunkier than the latest streamlined offering. Not only does this newest iteration feature a long-range wireless receiver (ideal for hotel TVs located far from the router), but it also has 4K/HD/HDR support and voice commands via its included remote.
• Apple TV: My early Apple TV was a little too large to accompany me on short trips, but the latest third-generation model is certainly compact enough to be tossed in your hand luggage. This streaming powerhouse will transform any Airbnb stay, especially if, like me, you are firmly rooted in the Apple ecosystem.

Of course, you can use whatever streaming device you have; these are just my go-to options.

Wi-Fi Travel Router or Hotspot

Setting up your HDMI streaming device should be as easy as selecting the correct HDMI input and inputting the hotel’s Wi-Fi credentials during setup. However, sometimes, when the Wi-Fi login is restricted, you can use a travel router to bypass the issue. This connects to the hotel Wi-Fi and creates a private network for all your devices, including your HDMI streaming stick.

Travel routers, such as the TP-Link N300 and GL.iNet Mango, are typically compact, robust, affordable, easy to set up, and can also boost weak Wi-Fi reception. Alternatively, streaming from a portable Wi-Fi hotspot or mobile phone hotspot can circumvent connectivity issues while on the go, provided you have a decent data plan. When traveling in my home country, I use a dedicated local SIM card for this purpose.

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Acer’s New 5G Wi-Fi Hotspot Is One of the Best New Products From CES 2025

It’s small, sturdy, and packed with features.

Portable Power Strip and USB Hub

Hotels are notorious for their scarce power outlets, which are often awkwardly placed. For this reason, I always travel with a portable power strip that includes several USB ports for charging peripherals. These are also useful if your hotel TV lacks a USB port for powering your HDMI streaming device.

Look for a power strip with surge protection, as this will protect your essential devices from damage, especially in areas with unreliable electrical grids and frequent power spikes. If luggage space is a concern, consider using a compact USB hub with multiple connectivity options as an alternative

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Tips for Setting Up a Hotel Streaming Hub

Follow these simple rules to ensure your hotel streaming hub is up and running smoothly, every single time:

• Bring spare cables and adapters: Create an inventory of all necessary cables and adapters, and, if space allows, pack an extension cord to make life easier.
• Subscribe to a decent VPN: You might find that your favorite shows are unavailable in your travel destination, and some streaming services may not even exist at all. VPN subscriptions provide an affordable and effective solution for this issue.
• Download content ahead of time: Store a few shows on your devices in case of a spotty internet connection at your destination.
• Store peripherals in a tech pouch: I use a folding case that holds spare cables, as well as useful items like adapters, extra remote batteries, a travel router, and a portable Wi-Fi hotspot.

Turning a hotel smart TV into a personal streaming hub is easy with a bit of preparation. In most instances, especially in modern hotels with reliable internet connections, a streaming device and a USB power strip are enough to get you up and running. As a case in point, I recently found myself staying in the backstreets of Hanoi, suffering from a bout of travel sickness. My trusty Chromecast was quick to set up and provided a very welcome distraction as I recuperated. I’ll be sure to pack it for every trip from now on, regardless of the duration.

Samsung is looking to clean up the list of inactive accounts under its belt. The company recently sent out a notice to customers with a Samsung account that hasn’t been used in 24 months, noting that any inactive accounts will be deleted come July 31,2025.

8 Weeks Left to Save Your Samsung Account

There was a time when having an account tied to your Samsung phone might have made sense. However, if you’ve changed to a different brand of phone at any point, you might have forgotten about that old account. It’s possible you even chose to move to a new one for whatever reason.

If that’s the case, and your old Samsung account possibly has anything worth salvaging saved to it, then you may want to log in to that account before the end of July according to reports from SamMobile.

As of the time of this article’s publishing, Samsung account holders will have just eight weeks left to save their inactive Samsung account by logging in. It’s also recommended that you at least use a Samsung device with the account linked to it, just to help prove its active.

Why Account Purges Happen

These kind of purges are pretty common in the tech world, and Google recently did a similar purge with Gmail accounts.

One of the reasons that these purges happen is to not only cut down on resources—like how much data is saved to the servers—but also to help open up usernames and other details like that for those who might actually use them actively.

The other reason, which is perhaps the most important, is that it helps get rid of any data that might be hanging around in your old Samsung account you’ve forgotten about or no longer use. If you aren’t using that account, you likely don’t need to hold onto that data.

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Samsung’s Latest Public Safety Alert Is One You Should Take Seriously

Samsung really wants you to know about these anti-theft features, and for good reason.

Holding onto data in an account you rarely use only opens up the opportunities for bad actors to somehow get their hands on it. As such, I recommend just letting any accounts you don’t plan to use be deleted by Samsung to help clear up your data footprint. Or better yet, you can delete your old Samsung accounts yourself.

It’s also entirely possible you’ve gone the entire lifetime of your Samsung device without using a Samsung account. Sure, a Samsung account isn’t mandatory to use one of the company’s devices. However, you do miss out on some great features by not signing up for one, like Samsung Pay and access to the Galaxy Store.

If you’re like me, you’ve embraced eSIM technology for its convenience—no physical card, quick switching between carriers, easy setup, and perfect for heading on holiday. However, eSIMs aren’t entirely secure, and there are still a few ways they can be hacked.

QR Code Scams

When setting up your eSIM, you often scan a QR code provided by your carrier. Attackers exploit this by creating fraudulent QR codes disguised as legitimate setup tools. Scanning a fake QR code can redirect your device to a malicious eSIM profile, hijacking your cellular connection. Once compromised, attackers can intercept your calls, messages, and data, potentially leading to identity theft or financial fraud.

To protect yourself, always verify QR codes by confirming them through official carrier channels, and avoid scanning codes sent from untrusted sources or found in suspicious online advertisements or websites. If you’re ever uncertain, reach out directly to your carrier to confirm the QR code’s authenticity before scanning.

Phishing and Social Engineering

Phishing attacks are designed to trick you into revealing sensitive eSIM details. For example, a phishing or social engineering attack may impersonate your mobile carrier through convincing emails or text messages, urging you to download malicious eSIM profiles or confirm your personal details. These attacks can be highly convincing, mimicking carrier logos, contact information, and official language, while also being sent from a spoofed email address or SMS address to appear legitimate.

Although it seems like you have nothing to worry about from a phishing attack of this nature (because you’re a “regular person” without a super high net worth or otherwise), think again. Phishing attacks are often spray-and-pray, in that attackers send a large number of scam messages and hope that someone will fall victim.

Thankfully, you can deal with attempted eSIM phishing attacks as you would any other phishing attack: by not responding to or interacting with any suspicious messages or phone calls.

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4 Ways eSIMs Are Safer Than a Physical SIM Card

It’s much easier to change your network, but also much more secure, too.

Malware and Spyware

Just like a regular SIM card, an eSIM is vulnerable to malware. Malicious apps may access your sensitive eSIM information, communications, and even monitor your device’s activity. Similar to other eSIM attacks, the goal here is to eventually take control of your eSIM communications with the aim of intercepting authentication codes, which can allow access to your secure accounts.

It’s worth noting that malware specifically targeting your eSIM is rare. Back in 2019, the Simjacker exploit was uncovered, but there isn’t really a similar attack currently available for eSIMs (at least, that we know about). A device is more likely to be infected with malware designed to monitor and steal data, with an aim to accessing eSIM information. Also, while malware and spyware can attack and monitor your device, installing actual malware on a SIM or eSIM is also practically unheard of, and certainly not at the level of most attackers. It’s real nation-state, spies-in-the-dark type stuff; you’re far more likely to click a dodgy link than be one of the first recorded victims of actual eSIM malware.

To safeguard your device, only install apps from reputable app stores and always review permissions carefully before granting access. Regularly check your phone for unfamiliar or suspicious apps, remove unused or unnecessary software promptly, and use trusted antivirus or security software to identify and remove potential threats.

iOS and Android Vulnerabilities

This actually ties into malware and spyware, in that attackers will attempt to exploit known issues in the two largest mobile operating systems to find an angle to attack your eSIM. Unfortunately, attackers are continually exploring Android and iOS to find vulnerabilities that can be exploited to gain access to your device.

Most of the time, you can mitigate these issues by keeping your device up to date and avoiding the installation of apps from third-party sources. For Android devices, that means avoiding sideloading apps, as the unofficial app stores may package malware that can infect your device. There have been numerous examples of malware gaining access to devices through sideloading, such as the bank-account-draining ToxicPanda attack in 2024.

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Here’s Why Software Updates Help Keep You Safe

Keeping your operating system and apps up-to-date can be annoying, but doing so is essential for your security.

eSIM attacks aren’t as common as attacks on regular, physical SIM cards yet. Although eSIM tech really started gaining traction with the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max, more smartphones than ever now offer support, which means its attack surface is increasing. In turn, this means that more attackers will begin focusing on how to exploit eSIMs, so it’s worth knowing what to look out for.

Android security updates are important, and you should install them as soon as they’re available. If you’re using a Samsung phone, even the government is asking you not to ignore this latest update.

Google has consistently been hard at work improving Android with new security features every now and then. Samsung is doing its best to spread awareness about these features. The smartphone maker has partnered with the UK Home Office to spread the word about these features and get Galaxy owners to enable them on their devices.

It has issued a public safety security message alert, which is expected to reach more than 40 million Samsung account holders in the UK alone this week. The outreach is handled through “customer communication channels and the Samsung Members platform,” according to its announcement.

In case you didn’t get the announcement, Samsung is talking about the Theft protection suite of features that make your Android phone easier to recover in case of theft. The suite consists of three main features at the time of writing:

• Theft Detection Lock: The feature automatically locks your phone if it detects it has been snatched from your hand.
• Offline Device Lock: Locks your screen automatically shortly after your phone goes offline.
• Remote Lock: Lets you lock your phone remotely using just a phone number.

Another important feature is Identity Check, which requires biometric authentication in unfamiliar locations before letting you change sensitive security settings on your phone. The feature is currently available on Pixels and Samsung phones running One UI 7. More manufacturers are expected to start rolling out these features with the upcoming Android 16 release.

One feature that’s currently exclusive to Samsung phones is Security Delay. If you’ve got this feature enabled and a robber tries to reset your biometric authentication data, your Galaxy phone will automatically go into an hour-long delay before the changes take effect. This gives you some time to remotely lock your stolen phone from a PC or tablet.

Don’t Let Thieves Get Away With Your Phone

These features aren’t anything new. If you’re one to dig around in your phone settings from time to time, chances are you’ve already spotted them, as long as you’re using a Pixel or Samsung phone. So if you haven’t already, head over to your phone settings, search for Theft protection, and enable these features right away.

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Your Android Phone’s Default Settings Are a Privacy Nightmare—Here’s What to Change Right Now

Your Android’s out-of-the-box settings aren’t doing you any favors when it comes to privacy.

Of course, the best protection is where your phone doesn’t get stolen at all, but software can do little here. Enabling these features doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get your phone back after losing it to a swiper, but you’ll protect your data. With the amount of sensitive information your smartphone holds, that’s a significant amount of damage you’ll be limiting.

Every morning is a fresh start. But just like the startup folder on a PC, I don’t want to get weighed down by too much stuff launching in my scattered mind. Planning the night before gives me a head start and lets me hit the ground running.

Why Planning My Day the Night Before Boosted Momentum

That groggy feeling after waking up means my brain isn’t ready for heavy decision-making yet. Planning the night before taps into a powerful mental trick: the subtle benefits of sleep. While we sleep, our subconscious processes priorities for the next day, making us efficient at certain cognitive tasks. It’s like a runner getting into position before the starter gun.

Instead of fumbling with my to-do list over coffee, I know exactly where to start. I don’t give my brain the chance to debate the first task; it’s done. Clarity reduces friction and jumpstarts my focus.

You don’t have to look at your mobile or switch on the PC, but digital tools can make this easier. I experimented with using ChatGPT to set up a morning routine. Lately, I have shifted this exercise to the prior evening.

This routine can save you 15 to 30 minutes of morning deliberation and channel that energy into productive work. But you don’t have to follow my system. Your current task planning habits can work just as well—just experiment with it the night before and see if it helps. You can also use the wonderful benefits of paper for to-do lists and stay away from screens.

Morning Planning Can Provoke Procrastination

Planning in the morning often hides procrastination as productivity. Willpower is lowest right after waking. Facing an overflowing inbox, buzzing Slack, or a huge, unclear task list feels overwhelming. Our brains don’t know the boundaries between the real and the digital world anymore, so we procrastinate.

You might say, “I’ll just check email quickly,” and suddenly 45 minutes vanish knee knee-jerking to others’ agendas instead of your own. Or you get stuck staring at a daunting task list and surrender to easier chores like organizing your desktop.

Morning planning often turns into reactive work. Notifications and urgent requests hijack focus before you stack your priorities.

Some of the digital tools I use have worsened this in different ways:

Notification tsunami: Email and messenger apps like WhatsApp flood me with unread threads, derailing focus before I can sit down to plan the day.

The endless list trap: Opening a massive, unsorted task list in Asana without clear priorities causes paralysis.

Searching for context: Trying to remember why I added tasks or where the important documents are.

Planning at night acts as a balm against this. I can set my day proactively, before digital chaos and distractions take over.

Practical Tips for Planning Your Day the Night Before (The Digital Way)

Getting started is simple. Use the general structure to build your own consistent 5 to 10-minute evening ritual. Remember, the tools don’t matter as much as the system or habit.

Brain Dump & Capture

Clear your mind by jotting down stray thoughts or tasks.

You can use apps like Apple Notes, Google Keep, or Evernote for quick notes. If you prefer, recording your thoughts as a voice journal is a time-saving experiment worth a try.

Review & Prioritize

Open your main task manager. It can be any popular app of your choice like Todoist, Microsoft To Do, or TickTick.

Review new notes, your task list, and tomorrow’s calendar. Then, pick your Most Important Task (MIT) and flag it clearly. I call it My Daily Highlight, and I categorize it as something Urgent, Satisfying, or Joyful.

Limit your other daily tasks to 3 to 5 critical items to reduce overwhelm. Use “Someday” lists or defer less urgent tasks.

Time Blocking

Use common apps like Google Calendar, Fantastical, Apple Calendar, or Motion. Drag or type tasks into your calendar with realistic time slots, including buffers. Always schedule work, breaks, exercise, and lunch. Treat them as appointments.

Color-code tasks for quick visual reference (e.g., blue for deep work, green for meetings, orange for rest, etc).

Prepare Tomorrow’s Workspace

Close tabs and apps you won’t need tomorrow.

Open key documents or tools related to your first tasks and save links in your calendar or task notes. If I am writing an article, I bookmark them in a temporary folder called “Start Here.”

When you start on your important tasks, activate Focus Modes (iOS/macOS) or Digital Wellbeing/Do Not Disturb (Android) to silence distractions during work blocks.

Final Check & Commitment

Scan your calendar and tasks to ensure your plan is focused and realistic. Close your distracting apps and mentally commit to the ultimate productivity app we all have — the clock.

Planning at night isn’t just about writing a to-do list, it’s a strategic habit. Using digital tools to capture, prioritize, schedule, and prepare before sleep gives our brains enough time to visualize the next day. Also, remember that if life happens, you can always microplan and switch things up. You’ll trade overwhelm for clarity and morning stress for momentum.

Out of the box, your Android phone leaves way too many doors open for data collection. The good news is it only takes a few minutes to change that and start protecting your privacy without affecting how your phone works.

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Hide Notifications on Lock Screen

You probably don’t think twice when a notification pops up on your lock screen—but you should. By default, Android phones display the full content of messages, emails, and app alerts on the lock screen, even when the phone is locked. That means your sensitive information could be visible to nosy strangers on public transport or anyone who happens to glance at your phone.

The good news is that you can fix this in seconds. Head to Settings > Notifications > Lock screen notifications, and then choose Hide content. If you’d rather hide content for specific apps instead, you can do that from the same menu.

This should make your lock screen notifications more private. Meaning, you’ll still get a notification when something comes in, but the message will stay private until you unlock your phone.

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Use App Pinning or Guest Mode

Do you ever hand your phone to a friend or even your kids and suddenly panic when they start swiping around? That’s when app pinning can save the day. It lets you lock your phone to just one app, so the screen stays put until you decide to unlock it.

App pinning isn’t turned on by default on most Android phones, but it’s easy to set up. Head to Settings > Security > More security settings > App pinning, and switch on both Use app pinning and Ask for PIN before unpinning. After that, just open the app you want to pin, hit the Recent Apps button, tap the app icon, and select Pin.

If pinning feels too limiting, you can use Guest Mode on your Android phone instead. It lets someone use your phone with restricted access and keeps your personal data hidden. Most Android devices support this feature, though it’s not available on Samsung Galaxy phones.

You can usually find Guest Mode under Settings > System > Multiple Users. From there, just add a guest user and switch over whenever you need to. If you often hand your phone to your kids, consider creating a separate profile on your phone for them. This will let them set up their own home screen, apps, and settings without affecting yours.

5

Opt Out of Sending Diagnostics Data

By default, your Android phone quietly communicates with Google in the background, sending off diagnostic and usage data in the name of “improving Android.” While that might sound helpful, it often means your phone is sharing a lot more than you might realize: how you use your device, what apps you open and how often, your network status, and even details about permission settings.

If you’re not comfortable with your phone quietly reporting to Google, it’s best to opt out. Don’t worry; doing so won’t mess with your phone’s performance or stop things from working. To disable it, go to Settings > Security and privacy > More privacy settings > Usage & diagnostics and flip the toggle off.

Note that many phone manufacturers also collect their own diagnostics, separate from Google. While you’re already in the settings, it’s a good idea to check your device’s manufacturer-specific privacy options and disable any data collection features you find there.

4

Disable Ad Tracking

One of the more subtle ways your Android phone compromises your privacy is through ad tracking. Right out of the box, Google assigns a unique advertising ID to your device. You can think of it as a digital name tag that helps apps and advertisers build a profile based on your habits, interests, and behavior. This ID doesn’t include your name, but it’s still closely tied to you. Over time, it can be used to deliver uncannily personalized ads or even sell insights into your digital life.

Thankfully, you can shut this down with just a few taps. Head to Settings > Security and Privacy > More privacy settings > Ads > Ad privacy, and disable all three options. After that, return to the previous menu, tap Delete advertising ID. This won’t stop ads on your phone, but it will make them less targeted.

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Check Google Account Settings

Your Android phone is closely connected to your Google account, and that’s where a surprising amount of your personal data ends up being collected and shared. For example, Google tracks things like your search history, location, voice commands, and YouTube activity.

To stop all this, first head to myaccount.google.com and click on Data and privacy. Scroll down to History Settings and turn off Web & App Activity, Timeline, and YouTube History. When these are turned on (and they usually are by default), Google stores a timeline of your every move, what you search for, the apps you use, and even what you watch.

If you really want to go all in, there are ways to stop Google from tracking your Android phone. But for most people, the easiest place to start is simply adjusting the account settings to limit how much data Google collects.

2

Review App Permissions

Sometimes, the excitement or rush of trying out a new app or game takes over. You hit “Install,” quickly skip through the permissions screen, and suddenly the app has access to your location, camera, microphone, and even your contacts.

That’s a real problem. Many apps request excessive access that they don’t actually need, and most of the time, it goes unnoticed. A flashlight app doesn’t need your location. A photo editor has no business checking your call logs. But it happens all the time.

This is why it’s worth taking a few minutes every now and then to audit your app permissions. Android actually gives you a pretty handy way to do this. Head to Settings > Security and privacy > Permissions used in last 24 hours. You’ll get a quick snapshot of which apps have been tapping into things like your camera, microphone, and GPS. If you want a broader view, tap the drop-down menu and switch to Last 7 days.

From there, don’t be afraid to revoke anything that feels off. If an app’s purpose doesn’t clearly explain why it needs access to something, it’s totally fair to block it.

1

Check Which Apps Use the Clipboard

You probably copy more sensitive stuff than you realize—passwords, credit card numbers, addresses, even images. All of that gets temporarily stored on your Android phone’s clipboard. That’s convenient, sure, but some apps can quietly snoop on it without you ever knowing.

That means a random app you installed for a quick one-time use might be able to read the last thing you copied. Fortunately, Android offers a handy feature that lets you know when an app is dipping into your clipboard. Just go to Settings > Security and privacy > Controls and alerts, and turn on Alert when clipboard accessed.

Once it’s set up, you’ll get a small notification anytime an app tries to read your clipboard. When you spot such apps, the best move is to delete them.

Digging through your phone’s settings isn’t exactly thrilling. But the truth is, most Android phones come set up for convenience and data collection, not privacy. It’s worth taking a few minutes to adjust those settings so you can protect your privacy and have some peace of mind.

Circle to Search is a nifty search tool that lets you quickly look up what’s on your phone’s screen without leaving the current app. While you may already be aware of and use Circle to Search for many things, let’s dive in to explore some clever use cases.

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Fact-Check Claims

Misinformation and disinformation are becoming increasingly common on the internet, and you probably come across them every day on social or messaging apps. However, if you have a phone that supports using Google’s Circle to Search feature, it’s surprisingly easy to examine misleading content.

Start by opening the page, photo, or text snippet containing the claim you want to verify. Then, activate Circle to Search and select the content with a false claim. Circle to Search will then automatically look the claim up on the internet and return a response for the same in a Google Search results panel.

Most of the time, it’d be an AI-generated summary as part of Google’s AI Overviews. However, if Circle to Search doesn’t return a fact-checking response, tap the search box with the text Ask about this image and ask it to verify the content on the screen by typing “Is the claim in the text correct,” “Fact-check the content on the screen,” or something similar. You may also type follow-up questions in this search box if you have any doubts or would like a detailed explanation of something in the response.

If you don’t like reading the response, tap the Listen button to have the entire thing read out to you. Hit the Export button and select an appropriate option to copy the response or save it to a document in Google Docs.

2

Get Definitions or Learn New Concepts

As you go about doing things on your phone in your everyday life, you may stumble upon new words, definitions, or unfamiliar topics. When this happens, rather than copying the thing (if it’s possible) and looking it up online, you can ask Circle to Search to break it down for you.

With the content you want to look up open on your screen, bring up Circle to Search and select the text you want to learn more about. If it’s a word or phrase, Circle to Search will look it up on Google and return its definition or meaning. Meanwhile, if it’s a concept or phenomenon, you’ll see a detailed explanation for it. You may follow up with your questions for more details.

3

Summarize or Translate Text

Aside from helping you learn about new things, Circle to Search can also help you summarize text. That way, you don’t have to go through long paragraphs to understand what it’s about or find something in it.

Getting Circle to Search to summarize text is easy. With the content you want to be summarized open on your screen, bring up Circle to Search. Then, select the text for which you want a summary, and you’ll see an explanation or additional information. Tap the search bar at the top and ask it to summarize the text by typing something like “Summarize the selected text” or “Summarize the text on the screen.” It’ll then return a gist.

Oftentimes, you’ll see the summary in paragraphs. But you can tell Google to show the result in your preferred style. For instance, if you want a bullet point summary, you can specify that in your query by typing “Summarize the text using bullet points.” If you feel there’s redundant information, you can ask it to cut out the fluff and list down only the main points with “Outline only the main ideas in the content” or a similar query.

Likewise, Circle to Search can also help translate text you come across on different apps or websites. To do so, keep the text you want to be translated on the screen and access Circle to Search. You’ll see a translated version of the text in your device’s default language. If you have any further queries, you can tap the search bar at the top and type them in.

4

Look Up Ingredients or Nutritional Information on Food Packages

If you’re conscious about your diet and trying to eat healthily, Circle to Search can help you on your journey. With it, you can quickly and easily find out everything you need to know about the ingredients or other nutritional information in packaged food items.

5 Food Apps That Make Healthy Eating Easy & Simplify Nutrition

Health and the right diets for them can get complicated. These food apps simplify it all and help you cook a healthy plate by simplifying nutrition.

Sure, you can check the packaging yourself to see what it contains, but at times, you may come across ingredients you know very little about or have probably never read about before. In such situations, rather than looking them up separately, you can use Circle to Search to get all the related information.

To do this, first, take a picture of the food package. Alternatively, open the photo if you already have it in your gallery or another app. Then, bring up Circle to Search and highlight the area with the ingredients. You’ll see a response on your screen with a bunch of information related to the ingredients you selected. If you want to learn more or have a doubt about an ingredient, type it into the search bar at the top.

5

Look Up People in Videos, Shows, or Movies

There could be times when you’re watching a video, show, or movie, and a bunch of unfamiliar faces pop up on the screen. Your natural reaction then is to look up the cast of the show or movie online; it’s hard to do the same for a video you’re watching online or that someone shared with you.

Circle to Search makes identifying people easy in such cases. Start playing the video and hit pause on the frame where the face of the person you want to identify is clearly visible. Then, activate Circle to Search and select the person’s face. You should now see their names along with a bunch of other information in the result. If you want more details about the person, type your query in the search bar at the top.

6

Identify and Fix Issues With Your Vehicle or Devices

Last but not least, you can use Circle to Search to troubleshoot issues with your vehicle or devices. This can prove to be a game-changer when, say, you see a warning light on your car’s dashboard or an error message on your laptop’s screen and don’t know what to do. Whatever the device or problem, you can identify and learn more about it and find solutions to fix it yourself.

First, take a picture of the vehicle or device where the problem is clearly visible. Open it, bring up Circle to Search, and select the area with the issue or error message.

Circle to Search will look it up online and return an explanation. In some cases, you may not see the answer in the first go. Tap the search bar at the top and type your query. For example, if you see the LOS LED blinking red on your router, you may ask something like, “What is LOS, and why is the LED blinking red?”

Google will then return a detailed explanation, along with possible reasons why you might be seeing it and the solutions you can try to fix it. If it doesn’t return the fixes, you can ask it as a follow-up question.

These are just a handful of smart use cases for Circle to Search in everyday life. However, its scope of use still doesn’t end here: the feature most likely has many more interesting applications, like solving math equations, looking up products to buy online, and more, that you’ll discover as you begin to use it more regularly.

Circle to Search is available on a range of Android phones from the likes of Google, Samsung, OnePlus, and more. If you haven’t tried it already, give it a shot, and it’ll sort pretty much most of your visual search needs.

I hate typing “procrastination” or even “productivity” repeatedly. Then, I often misspell “accommodate.” If you’re tired of tedious typing or other typing misadventures, Text Blaze for Chrome can save you hours every week. Use this text expansion tool to mow down your everyday annoyances.

What Is Text Blaze and How Does It Work in Chrome?

Text Blaze is a Chrome extension that lets you create custom keyboard shortcuts called snippets for any text you use often. When you type a shortcut, Text Blaze instantly replaces it with the full text you’ve saved. It works anywhere in Chrome: Gmail, Google Docs, web forms, or even chat tools like Slack.

Setting up Text Blaze is simple. After installing it from the Chrome Web Store, you’ll see its icon on Chrome’s toolbar. Register as a new user on the Text Blaze site, and you will be welcomed to the dashboard. This account will store all your snippets.

My Chrome toolbar is crowded with other extensions. As I plan to use Text Blaze regularly, I pinned it to the toolbar for quicker access.

If you’ve used text expanders before, Text Blaze won’t take much to get used to. Go through the guided tour if you are using a text expander tool for the first time.

Click on the extension’s icon and you can start creating snippets right away. Each snippet has two parts: the shortcut you’ll type (like /ty) and the text it expands to (like “Thank you for your email. I’ll get back to you soon.”).

Text Blaze supports Dynamic fields, so you can add today’s date, prompt yourself for custom input, or even insert data from your clipboard. There’s no coding required, but if you want to get fancy, you can add conditional logic and formulas. Get creative with the rich text editor on the Text Blaze dashboard. You can also use the AI Write option to create snippets with the help of artificial intelligence.

Once you have snippets ready, you simply type the shortcut in any text field within any site on Chrome, and your saved text expands instantly. The seconds saved repetitively typing across emails, documents, forms, and chat apps add up quickly.

The extension’s capabilities go beyond the custom keyboard shortcuts you can set up in any web browser.

How Text Blaze Helped Speed Up My Workflow

Before Text Blaze, my typing speed was dragged down by repetitive typing. I answered dozens of messages and filled in the same data in forms repeatedly. Copy-pasting from Notepad or other documents is a time sink. Typos were common, too.

After installing Text Blaze, I created a few basic snippets. For example, typing /sig inserts my full email signature. Typing /ty drops in a polite thank-you message. At first, remembering these shortcuts felt a bit strange, but soon it became second nature.

Setting up dynamic snippets was a big time saver. To answer Out of Office messages, I built a template that prompts me to enter the sender’s name and query. Typing /ooo brings up a form like this:

I fill in the blanks, and the rest inserts automatically. My replies have become faster, more accurate, and I can tweak them to make them more personal or casual.

Of course, it wasn’t perfect from day one. Sometimes I triggered snippets accidentally or forgot shortcuts. Reviewing your snippets lets you control when and where snippets work. Also, I adjusted settings and organized my snippet library to avoid confusion.

Here’s a snapshot of how I use Text Blaze through a typical workday.

1. Morning Message Routine

Despite the recommendation to not check your inbox before noon, I start my day with my inbox. Text Blaze helps me breeze through them in Slack, Gmail, and even WhatsApp Web. I have snippets for greetings, follow-ups, and common questions. Instead of typing the same sentences repeatedly, I type /gm for “Good morning!” or /fup for “Just following up on my previous message.”

2. Filling Out Forms

Whether it’s timesheets, project updates, or registration info, I’m always entering the same information. I created snippets for my name, address, and phone number. Now, I fill out forms in seconds, not minutes.

Though I suggest you don’t use snippets for information you want to keep private, like banking details.

3. Quick Notes and Templates

I keep snippets for meeting notes, to-do lists, and even code blocks. When I need to send a standard report, typing /report inserts the whole template. It’s a lifesaver during busy weeks.

As an experiment, improve your minimalist notetaking workflow with a few Text Blaze snippets.

4. Personal Journaling

Before logging off for the day, I write some thoughts in my journal. With Text Blaze, I can create the structure of a personalized recap with just a couple of keystrokes. Some snippets even insert the current date automatically.

5. AI Prompt Templates

The best ChatGPT prompts have a common structure. As it can get tiring copy-pasting them or typing them out, I save some of the more common ChatGPT prompts as snippets.

For instance, creating a dynamic snippet for a prompt can help you fill out the specific details much faster.

My fingers don’t race across the keyboard. As a slow typist, I no longer dread repetitive typing, and I make fewer mistakes. Maybe it can also help you reduce typing pain on your hands, too.

I like that the Text Blaze is free to start. You can upgrade for advanced features if needed. The Chrome extension is well-supported with documentation and the Text Blaze community.

Most people think NFC on the iPhone begins and ends with Apple Pay—but it’s capable of way more. With a little configuration and a few cheap NFC tags, you can unlock the full power of NFC and make your iPhone work smarter.

4

Share Wi-Fi Details Easily

There’s no need to awkwardly recite your 20-character Wi-Fi password when a friend visits. We’ve all been there, reading the little sticker on the back of our router as our friend enter the details on their phone.

However, iPhones make sharing Wi-Fi credentials seamless by using a feature powered in part by NFC and Bluetooth. Here’s how it works: When someone tries to connect to your Wi-Fi network, and you’re already connected, a prompt will appear on your iPhone asking if you’d like to share the password. Simply tap Share Password, and their device is in—no typing, no QR codes, no mistakes.

This process is especially handy in a household or office with multiple devices. As long as both parties are in each other’s contacts and using iOS, the feature works seamlessly. It’s one of those little conveniences that makes it easy to forget we ever needed sticky notes with our Wi-Fi info.

3

Launch Automations and Apps With a Tap

This is where NFC really starts to feel like magic. By combining NFC tags with the Shortcuts app on your iPhone, you can automate all kinds of daily routines. All it takes is placing your iPhone near a tag to kick off one of the best iPhone Shortcuts or automations.

Want a shopping list to pop up when you’re near the fridge? Stick an NFC tag on the cabinet nearby and pair it with a Shortcut that opens your grocery app. Need a tag near your bed to help you wind down? Set it to turn off the lights, enable Do Not Disturb, and set your morning alarm in one go.

These tags are cheap on Amazon, and setting them up is surprisingly easy. All you need to do is open the Shortcuts app, create a personal automation, and select NFC as the trigger. then, scan your tag and choose the actions you want it to perform.

The only limitation is that your iPhone needs to be unlocked when scanning the tag, and tags placed on metallic objects are difficult to read. Otherwise, it’s an incredibly efficient way to turn physical spaces into smart, personalized zones.

Sure, you can also set up routines to activate based on location. But, if you work from home, that might be a bit difficult since your home and work are technically the same place.

There’s nothing worse than getting someone’s phone number—whether for a date or work—and entering it wrong in your phone. Apple released a new feature back in iOS 17 that helps alleviate that worry and it uses NFC to help make it possible.

NameDrop is a feature that is relatively unknown to many people despite some unfounded privacy scares when it was first released. But when turned on (it’s turned on by default), NameDrop lets you easily share your number with people by bringing your iPhone next to someone else’s to have both your contact cards appear onscreen. You can then choose to share your contacts with the other person, making it easy to exchange information.

It uses a combination of NFC and the tech that powers AirDrop to automatically recognize when two iOS devices are next to each other. It’s a great way to turn your contact card into a virtual business card.

If the person you’re connecting with doesn’t have an iPhone, you can still use Shortcuts to create an NFC-based automation that opens a digital contact card link (like a Linktree or vCard hosted on your website), but it is a bit more involved.

1

Setup Devices Without Entering Details

You might not realize it, but some of your favorite Apple products already use NFC to simplify the setup process.

Take AirPods, for example. The moment you open the case near your iPhone, a slick animation pops up on your screen asking to connect. There’s no need to go hunting through Bluetooth settings or looking for tiny pairing buttons.

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This entire “tap to connect” experience is powered by NFC, working silently behind the scenes. The same goes for products like the HomePod mini and AirTags. Just bring your iPhone close, and setup will begin automatically, thanks to integrated NFC triggers.

While iPhones don’t support full NFC background scanning like Android does, Apple’s use of NFC for seamless pairing shows just how powerful the tech can be when used right.

It’s easy to overlook how useful NFC can be when all we think about is how it powers mobile payments. But with a little work, NFC can become a powerful tool in how you manage your smart home and how you connect with others.

The moment you unbox your smart TV and start setting it up, you’re hit with a barrage of menus, suggestions, pop-ups, and confusing default settings. While you’re probably keen to swat these menus away, it’s worth taking a moment to check what they’re asking—they could make a huge difference to your smart TV experience.

5

You’re Letting Your Smart TV Spy on You

Most smart TVs are tuned to gather as much data as possible the moment they connect to your Wi-Fi. They track what you watch, when you watch it, and sometimes even what devices you connect to them. That information gets bundled up and sent off to advertisers, content providers, or whoever else is buying data behind the scenes. It’s easy to miss just how much of this is happening unless you dig into the settings yourself.

So, first of all, start by turning off ACR, or Automatic Content Recognition. This feature scans the shows and movies you watch, even through HDMI devices like game consoles or streaming boxes, and sends that data out. Depending on your TV’s brand, you can usually find this under Privacy, Enhanced Viewing Settings, or something similarly vague. You should also disable anything related to Automatic Picture and Audio Quality, Content Recommendation, Personalized Ads, or Sports Mode Auto Detection.

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Change These Settings to Instantly Make Your Smart TV More Private

With just a few small tweaks, you can boost your smart TV privacy.

It’s also worth disabling voice recognition features if you’re not using them. Over the years, there’s been no shortage of buzz and a fair bit of unease around smart TVs constantly quietly eavesdropping in the background, even when you’re not actively talking to them. Although many manufacturers claim to anonymize recordings, you have no control over what’s stored or how long it’s kept. If you don’t use voice controls regularly, it’s safer to shut them down entirely.

Lastly, review the terms you probably accepted during the initial setup. Most TVs don’t let you bypass all data collection without losing some functionality, but you can often opt out of the worst offenders. Revisit the setup or system menu, look for user agreements or privacy terms, and opt out of anything relating to data sharing, software usage stats, and marketing programs.

4

Your Picture Settings Need Attention

The single most powerful change you can make here is switching your picture mode from whatever default setting your TV shipped with (probably Standard) to something more cinema-friendly.

To fix this, you’ll want to dive into your TV’s picture settings and make a few meaningful changes:

• Switch to a proper Picture Mode: Go for Cinema, Movie, or Filmmaker Mode, depending on your TV’s nomenclature. These modes dial down the exaggerated processing of the default mode and bring you closer to the director’s intent. For gaming, always use Game Mode to minimize input lag. I’d steer you away from Sport or Dynamic modes because they tend to overcrank the brightness and colors, leaving everything looking strangely overcooked and a bit surreal.
• Adjust brightness, contrast, and backlight individually: Tweak the Brightness setting to control visibility of details in dark areas (if it’s too low, shadows may appear as indistinct black patches, so raising it slightly can reveal more subtle shading). Contrast adjusts how bright the brightest parts of the image appear, so increasing it can help preserve definition in highlights so that bright scenes don’t look washed out. Meanwhile, the Backlight setting should be tuned to suit your environment: lower it in a dark room, like during movie night, to avoid eye strain and enhance black levels, and raise it during the day to keep the screen easy to see in bright ambient light.
• Set Sharpness lower: High sharpness settings don’t improve image clarity as they add fake outlines. You’re usually better off turning it down to near-zero to preserve fine details without distortion.
• Color and tint: When adjusting color and tint settings, it’s best to start with the color temperature. I recommend choosing Warm to avoid overly bluish whites. Next, fine-tune the tint or hue so that skin tones look natural, not too red or green. Usually, keeping that slider somewhere around the middle (0) does the trick. Finally, adjust the color or saturation level so that colors appear vivid and full of life without looking exaggerated or unnatural.
• Kill the “enhancements”: Turn off Motion Smoothing, Dynamic Contrast, Noise Reduction, Intelligent/Smart Scene, and any so-called Eco or Adaptive features. They often do more harm than good by trying to outthink what you’re watching.

Most importantly, understand that there’s no one-size-fits-all setting. A dark movie night calls for different tweaks than a sunny afternoon sports game. So, tweak accordingly.

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3

Your Audio Settings Aren’t Doing Your Speakers Justice

There’s no point in reinventing the wheel here, as we’ve already put together a comprehensive guide to getting the best sound out of your smart TV before spending money on a soundbar. On top of that, you should switch your audio output to PCM instead of Bitstream if you’re using the TV’s built-in speakers or a basic soundbar. That way, your TV handles the audio processing directly, which often produces cleaner results than letting external devices do the work. But if you have a dedicated home theater sound system, the opposite applies; use Bitstream to pass uncompressed audio to your receiver.

You should also turn off Virtual surround or 3D audio processing unless you are rocking a proper surround sound setup. These features attempt to simulate spatial audio through stereo speakers, but make the sound worse most of the time.

2

Your TV Is Connected to the Wrong Network Band

Your smart TV probably supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi bands. To confirm this, go to your TV’s network settings and look for available Wi-Fi networks. If it lists both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks separately (e.g., “DemiWiFi_2.4” and “DemiWiFi_5G”), and you can connect to the 5GHz one, then your TV supports dual-band Wi-Fi.

The improvement that comes with the 5GHz band becomes immediately noticeable with high-resolution content. 4K streaming typically requires 25 Mbps, and HDR content needs even more bandwidth. The 2.4GHz band, bless its heart, often buckles under that load, especially if it’s already juggling phones, laptops, and your neighbor’s smart fridge. Moving to 5GHz provides the headroom needed for consistent, high-quality streaming without the frustrating pauses that interrupt your viewing experience.

A major stumbling block here is that walls and distance can affect 5GHz performance more than 2.4GHz. If your TV is several rooms away from your router or separated by thick walls, you might need to test both bands to see which performs better in your specific setup and select accordingly.

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1

You’ve Left Firmware Auto-Updates Turned On

Most smart TVs ship with automatic firmware updates enabled by default, and while this might seem convenient, it creates several problems you probably haven’t considered. These updates often arrive at the worst possible times, interrupting your viewing experience with lengthy installation processes that can take 30 minutes or more. Your TV might restart unexpectedly during a crucial scene or force you to wait through update screens when you just want to relax.

Beyond the timing issues, automatic updates can introduce unwanted changes to your TV’s interface, move settings around, or even add new ads and promotional content you didn’t ask for. Some manufacturers use firmware updates to push additional streaming services, change menu layouts, or modify picture settings that you’ve carefully calibrated. You might discover that your preferred apps have been rearranged or that new “features” have appeared that actually make navigation more cumbersome.

Turning off automatic updates gives you the power to research each update before installing it. You can read user reviews, check forums for reported issues, and choose when to update based on your schedule rather than the manufacturer’s timeline. Navigate to your TV’s system settings, look for Software Update, System Update, or similar options, and select any option that suggests disabling automatic updates. You could set the system to notify you when updates are available instead.

Tech companies track, collect, and sell information. After realizing how much information I was giving away daily, I ditched some of the services I was using and replaced them with privacy-focused alternatives that genuinely respect my digital footprint.

4

SimpleLogin Keeps My Email Address Private

We leave email addresses everywhere online. After signing up for countless services over the years, I realized my primary email address was probably floating around in hundreds of databases. That’s when I discovered SimpleLogin, which changed how I approach online registrations.

SimpleLogin is an email aliasing service by Proton that acts as a privacy shield between you and the services you use. Instead of giving out your real email address, you create unique aliases that forward messages to your inbox. This way, you can also disable any alias that starts receiving spam or gets compromised.

The free plan gives you ten email aliases to start with, which is perfect for testing the waters. However, you can upgrade to the premium plan for $36 annually or $4 monthly to get unlimited aliases.

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Email aliases also come in handy when shopping online. If a company experiences a data breach or sells your information, you know exactly who’s responsible. For that reason, I use email aliases for all my online shopping.

SimpleLogin can also block email tracking pixels. You’ll never notice an email tracking pixel, but they are tiny, invisible images that marketers use to monitor when and how often you open their emails. By using email aliases, companies no longer know exactly when I check my inbox, which felt incredibly useful once I learned about it.

3

I Replaced Google Password With Proton Pass for Password Management

I used Google Password Manager for years without giving it much thought. It was convenient, integrated with Chrome, and free—what was not to like? While Chrome can now automatically change your weak passwords for you, this convenience comes with privacy trade-offs I’m no longer willing to make.

Google’s password solution lacks advanced security features, has compatibility limitations outside its own ecosystem, and most importantly, doesn’t use zero-knowledge encryption.

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Is Google Password Manager Safe and Secure?

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Proton Pass is my favorite password manager because it embraces end-to-end encryption as a core feature, not an afterthought. Every password, secure note, and credit card detail is encrypted before it ever leaves my device. Not even Proton can access this information.

What sealed the deal for me was a privacy-first approach combined with practical features. The interface is clean and intuitive, the browser extension works flawlessly, and the mobile app allows me to always have my passwords securely available. Plus, the free tier is genuinely usable, too, and doesn’t push upgrades.

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2

Joplin Is My Notes App Alternative

Note-taking is one of those things I do constantly throughout the day. I needed a private alternative to Google Keep and the default Notes app, and therefore, Joplin became my go-to notes app.

Unlike other apps, Joplin is open-source. Its code is publicly available for anyone to inspect. With this transparency, I don’t have to blindly trust the developers—the community can verify that it’s not collecting data or adding suspicious features.

The app’s functionality rivals any mainstream note-taking tool I’ve used. I can create everything from simple text notes to complex multimedia documents with embedded images, math formulas, and diagrams. The markdown support is particularly useful for someone like me who writes for the web regularly.

Joplin synchronizes across all my devices, and its organization system balances flexibility and structure. Although Joplin features potent security with end-to-end encryption and biometric lock capabilities, I still maintain certain boundaries. I never save passwords in any note-taking app, including Joplin. Call me paranoid, but I prefer to keep that information strictly in my password manager for better security.

Download: Joplin for Android | iPhone (Free, subscription available)

1

Private Browsing Is Easier With Proton VPN

One evening, I was researching kitchen appliances, and the next day, my social media feeds were flooded with air fryer ads. That invasion of my browsing habits was the final straw that led me to take my browsing privacy seriously. After researching various VPN options, I settled on Proton VPN.

I started with the free tier to browse privately. Proton gives you access to servers in 5 countries (randomly selected). This basic level of protection was enough to convince me of its value, especially since many free VPNs are sketchy at best and downright dangerous at worst.

The Proton VPN Plus subscription provides access to over 12,000 servers across 110 countries, ensuring I’m never limited by slow connections or regional restrictions. I particularly appreciate the split tunneling feature, which lets me route only certain apps through the VPN while others use my regular connection. It means I can keep my banking app on my direct connection for security while protecting everything else.

You can also use the double-hop VPN feature for sensitive browsing. It routes traffic through two different servers in separate countries, making it exponentially harder for anyone to track your activity. It might sound like overkill, but this extra layer feels increasingly necessary rather than paranoid, given how aggressive tracking has become.

The Proton VPN subscription isn’t the cheapest option, at $4.99 per month (billed annually) or $9.99 (billed monthly).

Download: Proton VPN (Free, subscription available)

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Taking back control of your privacy doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a journey of small, intentional changes that add up to significant protection. Each app I’ve switched to represents one less company monitoring my searched terms and one less data point being sold to advertisers.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start with one change. Maybe it’s creating email aliases or using a VPN when browsing. Each small step immediately makes a difference. Your digital footprint is worth protecting, and these tools make it easier than ever.

More than 9,000 Asus routers were silently hacked, and if you own one, there’s a chance yours is on that list. Luckily, you don’t have to wait for things to go south to find out.

Over 9,000 ASUS Routers Compromised in Ongoing Attack

A cybersecurity firm, GreyNoise, claims to have identified an “ongoing exploitation campaign” affecting thousands of ASUS routers exposed to the internet.

The report states that the attackers behind the campaign, who remain unknown, have gained unauthorized and persistent access to over 9,000 ASUS routers. Based on their tactics, including stealthy initial access and abuse of built-in system features to maintain control, GreyNoise says the activity points to a well-resourced and highly capable adversary, consistent with those seen in advanced, long-term campaigns.

The attackers reportedly used brute-force login attempts and two different authentication methods. After successfully accessing the ASUS routers, they exploited a known vulnerability (CVE-2023-39780) to run arbitrary commands. Through this, they enabled SSH access if it wasn’t already active and inserted their own public SSH key, granting persistent access.

Since the SSH key is stored in the non-volatile memory (NVRAM) rather than the file system, it survives reboots and firmware updates. The hackers took it one step further by disabling logging as well, removing any traces of their access. Surprisingly, the report claims the attackers don’t seem to be installing any sort of malware, which ultimately leads to the question—why the attack? GreyNoise says in its report:

This appears to be part of a stealth operation to assemble a distributed network of backdoor devices — potentially laying the groundwork for a future botnet.

In case you don’t know, a botnet refers to a network of hijacked computers or devices used to carry out scams and attacks, all remotely controlled by the attackers. Typically, the best course of action in such cases would be to update your router’s firmware. However, doing so won’t help here since the attackers’ changes are stored in the router’s NVRAM.

Thankfully, there’s still a way to check if hackers managed to get access to your ASUS router. You can do this by logging into the router’s firmware and heading to the Administration section. Then, look for the Enable SSH option under the Service header.

If your router has fallen victim to the attack, you’ll see that SSH access is enabled on an unusual port, specifically port 53282, along with the following truncated SSH public key: ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAo41nBoVFfj4HlVMGV+YPsxMDrMlbdDZ…

Since a firmware update won’t fix this, the best solution is to factory reset your router. Asus also advises removing or disabling the SSH entry, along with blocking the following IP addresses: 101.99.91.151, 101.99.94.173, 79.141.163.179, and 111.90.146.237.

If you’re among the lucky ones, now’s a good time to update your router’s firmware to prevent falling victim to this in the foreseeable future. That’s because Asus fixed the CVE-2023-39780 flaw that allowed hackers to run arbitrary commands on the router.

I’m willing to bet you shot a quick look over at your TV the moment you read the title. Yeah, you read right; your smart TV could have a camera, and here’s how you can figure out where it’s hiding.

Smart TVs With Built-In Cameras Are Inherently Not Bad

Hold on; just in case you happen to find that your TV has a camera, I’d like to categorically state that built-in cameras on smart TVs aren’t entirely designed with malicious intent. These cameras serve legitimate purposes that can genuinely enhance your entertainment experience when used properly.

Video calling is the most obvious benefit. With a camera integrated directly into your TV, you can make large-screen video calls through group conference call apps, like Zoom or Google Meet. Other useful camera features include content creation capabilities, personalized viewing experiences enabled by facial recognition technology, gesture-based navigation controls, and fitness tracking during home workout sessions.

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Now, all of this presumes you know your TV has a camera in the first place. Ideally, manufacturers should be upfront about it, documenting the camera’s presence in the user manual, explicitly highlighting it during the initial setup process, and accompanied by clear on-screen indicators whenever the camera becomes active. More importantly, your manufacturer should provide straightforward methods to disable the camera if you’re not comfortable having it on.

Smart TV Cameras Are Often Hidden in Plain Sight

First, move closer to your TV and check its top bezel. This is the sweet spot for most built-in cameras, especially on popular brands like Samsung, LG, or Sony. Look for a tiny pinhole or a slightly raised bump along the upper edge, usually dead center or slightly off to one side. If you have an older smart TV, look closely to see if it has a pop-up camera that retracts into the frame when not in use. If you see a small plastic piece that looks like it could pop up or slide, gently tap it to see if it’s retractable.

Didn’t find anything? Next, scan the sides or corners of the bezel. If your TV has a logo or branding on the bezel, inspect nearby, as cameras are sometimes camouflaged next to these design elements. Don’t overlook the bottom edge either. While less common, some brands place cameras near the bottom, often integrated with sensors for motion or voice control. These can be harder to spot, especially if the TV has a glossy finish that reflects light and distracts the eye. Tilt your head or use a flashlight to catch any unusual glints that might indicate a lens.

If you’re still unsure whether your TV has a camera, grab your remote and navigate to the settings menu. Look for options like Camera Settings, Video Call, or anything related to motion or gesture control. If these features exist, a camera is likely involved. You can also cover your bases by checking the user manual or the manufacturer’s website for your TV’s model number and searching for terms like “camera” or “webcam” in the specs. Also, go the extra mile of scouring through user reviews on sites like Amazon, Reddit, and Quora to see if anyone has made such a discovery.

Now, if you’re confident at this point that there’s no built-in camera, don’t breathe easy just yet.

A determined snoop (or worse, someone with access to your space) could stealthily attach a third-party spy webcam to your TV or somewhere on your entertainment center. These can be incredibly small, magnetic, and disguised as everyday hardware. Take a moment to inspect the back of your TV, especially near USB ports or ventilation slats, where a rogue device could be drawing power or tucked away. Look for anything that doesn’t match the factory design: a new bump, a strange light, or an unfamiliar plug.

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What to Do if You Discover a Camera on Your TV

If you find a “hidden” camera on your smart TV and you are not pleased with your discovery, head straight to your TV’s settings menu and look for privacy, security, or camera-related options. These settings might be buried deep in submenus, so you might need to dig around. Look for sections labeled Privacy, Permissions, Smart Features, or Voice and Video. Once you find the camera settings, disable any features you didn’t knowingly activate. This includes voice recognition, gesture control, personalized advertising, and any “smart” features that require camera access.

While you’re sorting out the settings, place a small piece of opaque tape or a sliding camera cover over the lens. This gives you immediate peace of mind and prevents any potential unauthorized access. You can also simply use a small piece of electrical tape. Just make sure whatever you use doesn’t damage the TV screen or leave residue when removed. And if you find a camera that appears to be an add-on device rather than built into the TV itself, unplug it immediately and consider contacting your local law enforcement if you suspect foul play.

If you’re still uncomfortable after taking these steps, you can entirely disable your TV’s internet connection. You’ll lose smart features and streaming apps, but you can still use external devices, such as Roku, Apple TV, or gaming consoles, for entertainment. Simply disconnect the Ethernet cable or remove the TV from your Wi-Fi network through its settings menu.

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Owning a smart TV is a tiring, privacy-invading process.

Even Without a Camera, Your Smart TV May Still Be Monitoring You

Smart TVs don’t need a camera to keep tabs on you. In fact, many of them collect a surprising amount of data through other, less obvious means, especially via the software and services they run in the background. One of the main culprits is a technology called Automatic Content Recognition (ACR).

ACR quietly scans whatever’s playing on your screen and matches it against a massive database to identify what you’re watching. This information is sent back to the manufacturer or a third-party analytics company, which builds a profile of your viewing habits. That data can then be used for targeted advertising, content recommendations, or sold off to advertisers. It sounds a bit creepy, but it’s real, and it’s often enabled by default.

Even your remote clicks and menu navigation are fair game. TV operating systems track app usage, voice commands (if you have a mic-enabled remote), and how you interact with the home screen. Smart TVs are increasingly designed like smartphones, always online and always collecting.

Dive into your TV’s settings and disable any features that sound like they’re monitoring you, like ACR and voice recognition (if available, and you’re not using it). Different brands bury these features in slightly different places, so be prepared to hunt a bit. Additionally, avoid logging into TV-branded accounts, as this also opens the door to deeper tracking. If you can use the TV without signing in, you’ll retain more control.

Ever since Apple moved to its own silicon, support for Intel Macs has slowly been dropping. With the upcoming macOS 26, even more Intel-based Macs are being discontinued, so if you’re still using one, it’s time to consider upgrading.

More Intel Macs Kick the Bucket

AppleInsider reports that the latest macOS version, currently called macOS 26, will be dropping support for the 2017 iMac Pro, 2018 Mac mini, 2018 MacBook Pro models, and 2020 MacBook Air. So if you’re holding on to your older, Intel-based Mac, chances are you’re going to miss out on the next big macOS update.

Specifically, the pre-release version of macOS 26 supports the following devices:

• MacBook Pro 2019 or later
• MacBook Air M1 or later
• iMac 2020 or later
• Mac Pro 2019 or later
• Mac mini M1 or later
• All models of the Mac Studio

If you have an older Mac, chances are you’ll be missing out on all the new visual changes and Apple Intelligence features that come with macOS 26—a strategy similar to what Apple did with the iPhone, limiting its latest AI features and UI enhancements to newer devices. It’s likely that the company will drop support for the remaining Intel Macs by 2026.

macOS 26 is set to be the biggest software update for Macs since at least Big Sur, with the primary goal of achieving more cohesion between Apple’s various operating systems. Bloomberg reports that the iPhone-maker plans to unify the look of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS for a more streamlined experience.

However, all these new visual and feature additions are going to cost you storage space. The first developer beta of macOS 26 is expected to be over 17GB, nearly 2GB larger than its predecessor, macOS Sequoia. You can expect the final name for the upcoming macOS version and other details to be revealed at WWDC 2025 on June 9.

It’s Time to Upgrade to Apple Silicon

The move is clearly aimed towards slowly phasing out older, Intel-based Macs and transitioning to an environment where both the software and hardware are entirely made by Apple.

The devices being dropped for macOS 26 aren’t poor machines in terms of hardware, and chances are you’ll still be able to use them for at least a couple of years before feeling the need to upgrade. However, with no new software updates, you’re left open to security vulnerabilities, meaning you have no choice but to upgrade to a newer, M-series Mac if you want to continue strolling Apple’s walled gardens.

Some macOS features may make you ditch your Windows PC, but unless you’re buying an M-series Mac, it’s not going to last you long. There are also some macOS Sequoia features Windows 11 already has, so if you want to stick with Intel, jumping over to Windows or Linux might be the best way forward.

Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot, promises to create a polished PowerPoint presentation with a single prompt. But how does the final product look, and is it accurate? Let’s see how it did when I fed it my rough notes.

Copilot Turned My Notes Into a Full Presentation in Minutes

You need a Microsoft 365 subscription to get started with Copilot in PowerPoint. It’s worth it because a Microsoft 365 subscription can pay for itself in many ways, since its perks include full access to the Office apps and 1TB of OneDrive storage space. The subscription starts at $9.99 per month for the Personal plan, and you can also use Copilot in Word and Excel.

To use Copilot in PowerPoint, open the app and create a blank presentation. Then, click the Copilot button on top of the slide in the editing window.

You’ll now see a Copilot window with a prompt that says Create a presentation about. All you have to do is enter the topic, paste in your notes, and hit the Enter key. Here’s an example prompt I used before pasting in the notes:

Once I was happy with the overview of the content it would create, I clicked Generate slides in the bottom right corner.

After a few seconds, it generated about 22 slides (it can do a maximum of 40). If you don’t need many slides, be sure to specify that in the prompt.

When I was satisfied with everything, I clicked Keep it to insert the slides in the presentation.

The Design Was Nothing Special

I divided my notes into five sections, so it was great to see that Copilot included them as well, along with an introduction and conclusion. The design was basic, with a white background, light text formatting, and stock images. It looked professional, though, in a minimalistic way.

If I wanted the design to look prettier, I would have to do the designing and formatting myself. Even if I generated an extra slide using Copilot, it would still provide the basic design and ignore everything I had done to the other slides.

Also, Copilot did not apply any animations or visual effects to the slides, but it did add a fade transition to all of them. Prompting it to improve these animations only gave me suggestions that I had to implement myself.

The Information Was Accurate Enough

One thing I loved about Copilot is that it expanded on my rough notes and made the presentation more engaging. I found the high-level overview it provided for the topic to be accurate. However, your mileage might vary depending on factors like the topic and sources used.

For this reason, it’s best to always double-check Copilot or the work of any AI with credible sources. These tools also have limits, which can cause them to make errors. In my case, Copilot oversimplified some things, requiring me to make corrections.

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If something doesn’t sound right, it’s easy to just select the text box with the text, click the Copilot button that appears next to it, and select Auto-rewrite. You can also ask Copilot to condense it or make it sound more professional by selecting the appropriate option in the Copilot menu.

Remember that the number of times you can prompt Copilot in PowerPoint and other Microsoft apps is limited to the amount of AI credits you have. The personal plan comes with 60 credits.

Once you use them all, you have to wait until the end of the month for them to reset. You can check how many AI credits you have left in the AI credit balance section of the Microsoft 365 plan when you visit your Microsoft Account page.

The Speaker Notes Are a Nice Addition

The presentation also came with speaker notes, providing key talking points for each slide. However, the ones it had already generated were too short, so I asked it to add more.

To do that, click the Copilot button in the ribbon of the Home tab to open the Copilot panel on the right, then type Add speaker notes to the presentation.

After a few seconds, the speaker notes were ready to review, and they were on point.

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If you need Copilot to help create a PowerPoint presentation, it definitely has you covered. Although the design won’t blow anyone away, the information it includes makes the slides engaging and can be very accurate. I can see this coming in handy when I need to prepare a presentation and am pressed for time.

One of the best ChatGPT alternatives is getting even better. Anthropic, the developer behind Claude, has announced the arrival of Voice Mode to its mobile apps. This should give you even more ways to interact with Claude from your phone.

You Can Finally Talk to Claude on Your Phone

Voice Mode is still rolling out in beta on mobile devices. At the time of writing, I haven’t yet found it in the Claude app on any of my devices.

To check if you have access to Voice Mode, you simply need to open the Claude app on your phone—install it from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store if you haven’t yet—and then load up a chat.

If you have access to Voice mode, you’ll see what looks like a wavelength icon in the bottom right of the chat. It should be located next to the microphone icon you use for speech to text.

Claude’s new Voice mode is available for both free and paid users of the language model. Paid users will also be able to use Claude’s Voice mode to access their Google Docs, Calendar, Gmail, and other web searches using voice conversations.

Just like ChatGPT’s Voice mode, which OpenAI released late last year, you can easily switch between both voice and text chat modes seamlessly. Anthropic says that previous context is also carried over in between modes and you can choose between five different voices.

Limited Availability

Anthropic says that Claude’s Voice mode is available in English within all of its mobile apps. It’s unclear yet when or if it will be available in other languages.

The company also says that those using the free version of Claude can expect around 20–30 messages before they have to wait for their session limits to reset, according to an updated support document. While that might not sound like a lot, it should at least let you try out the feature to see how useful you find it. Those with a paid Claude plan will be able to take advantage of the feature for longer periods of time.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear like Anthropic has provided any real insight into how long it will take the feature to roll out across the apps. However, you can check the app store on your device for any available updates, and download them for a better chance of getting access to the functionality.

Not sure what you can do with Voice mode in Claude? Take a look at our guide on ways to use ChatGPT Live for some ideas you can try in Claude, too.

Is there an old hard drive sitting in your drawer collecting dust? It doesn’t have to. I’ve found some cool, creative ways to reuse my old hard drives and make sure they don’t get thrown away.

4

Turn Them Into External Drives/Backup Storage

The first thing I do with an old hard drive is check whether it’s still functional. If it passes the basic checks, I turn it into an external storage device. It’s a simple and budget-friendly way to revive your drive. All you need is a decent external enclosure or a SATA-to-USB adapter to connect it to a Windows PC. Once it’s hooked up, format it using NTFS, and it’s ready to start storing data again.

I use these drives to hold large video files, ISO images, or full system backups. Windows Backup or third-party apps like Macrium Reflect make it easy to offload bulky data, keeping my main SSD free for daily tasks. I have an old 1TB drive that holds archived project folders, while another stores system images from different machines. It’s a practical way to repurpose hardware that would otherwise sit unused.

Before putting a drive in storage, it’s crucial to test it. CHKDSK on Windows can detect basic file system errors, but you can also try other diagnostic tools to check your PC’s health and get a clearer picture of the drive’s condition. If you notice strange noises, long delays, or repeated errors, it’s better not to rely on it. However, if everything appears to be in order, it can still be useful for storing non-critical files or extra data backups. Just remember, older drives are slower and less reliable, so they shouldn’t be your only backup.

Also, make sure to check compatibility. Most drives from the last 10 to 15 years use SATA, which is compatible with most modern hard drive enclosures. 3.5-inch hard drives often require enclosures with built-in power supplies, whereas 2.5-inch laptop drives can operate on USB power alone. Using a USB 3.0 or newer port will also improve transfer speeds, which is particularly helpful when moving large files.

3

Create a Secure Vault for Sensitive Files

Another smart way to reuse old hard drives is to turn them into secure vaults for sensitive data. If you don’t want your documents, financial records, or personal archives in your everyday system, store them on an external drive you can disconnect and keep offline.

Windows makes this process easy. If you’re using Windows Pro, Enterprise, or Education, you can encrypt the entire drive with BitLocker. That way, even if someone gets their hands on the drive, they won’t be able to access its contents without the right password. If you’re using a Windows Home version, you can utilize a third-party tool like VeraCrypt to encrypt the entire drive or select specific folders.

Once the drive is encrypted, move your sensitive files over and safely eject it when you’re done. I keep such a drive hidden away and only plug it in when needed; there’s no cloud syncing, no background access. It’s just a simple offline vault that keeps my data safe from digital threats.

If you have a security camera system installed in your home or office, chances are it comes with a digital video recorder (DVR) or network video recorder (NVR) for storing footage. Most of these systems have a dedicated slot for a 3.5-inch SATA hard drive, the same kind used in desktop PCs. So, if your drive is still in good working condition, you can install it directly into the recorder to capture and save video data.

The installation process is straightforward. Open the DVR or NVR unit, connect the hard drive using the SATA data and power cables inside, and mount it securely. When you power on the system, it will usually prompt you to format the drive before it begins recording. Once set up, the device will automatically save the footage directly to the hard drive.

The size of the hard drive directly affects how much footage you can store. A 500GB drive might only hold a few days of recordings, especially if you’re using multiple cameras or high resolutions. However, with a larger drive, like a 1TB or 2TB model, you can retain more footage before the system overwrites older data.

1

Repurpose Your Old Hard Drive for Virtual Machine Storage

If you enjoy testing operating systems, running simulations, or experimenting with different software environments, an old hard drive can be repurposed as dedicated storage for virtual machines. Instead of filling up your main system drive, you can install VM software like Hyper-V, VirtualBox, or VMware Workstation and configure it to store virtual hard disk files (VHD, VHDX, or VDI formats) on the old HDD. This approach keeps your primary SSD free from large virtual machine (VM) files and reduces system load during intensive tasks.

While older HDDs can’t match the performance of modern SSDs, they’re still suitable for light-duty virtual machines and general testing. You can run a Linux distribution, simulate a legacy Windows setup, or isolate a software sandbox, all without affecting your main installation.

If you no longer need your hard drive, don’t just throw it away. Instead, pass it on to someone who could use the extra storage. Before doing that, make sure to wipe the drive properly. DiskPart, a built-in tool on Windows, is a solid option for securely erasing everything. Just be sure to back up your critical system data, as this process is irreversible. After wiping, test the drive to ensure it’s still stable and not on its last legs.

Despite Google Chrome’s monopoly over the web browser market, there are plenty of good alternatives you could try. Arc, one of the best Chrome alternatives, is being discontinued, but you still have better options available.

Arc Closes Its Tabs for Good

If you’ve been using Arc, you’re already aware that The Browser Company (TBC) discontinued shipping new features for the browser some time ago. Currently, TBC only offers Chromium updates, bug fixes, and patches for security vulnerabilities. This left Arc’s rather dedicated userbase, including myself, wondering about the future of the browser, especially considering TBC had already announced it was working on a new browser called Dia.

Well, TBC CEO Josh Miller has answered the community’s questions in a post titled Letter to Arc members 2025. The post talks about where Arc fell short, where TBC went wrong, why it didn’t integrate Dia into Arc, and whether or not it’ll be open-sourcing Arc for the community to develop.

Miller’s letter is anything but official confirmation that Arc’s active development is over, and the company will only be providing required security updates and major bug fixes going forward. What was once one of the most innovative web browsers ever is now a niche product used by a small community of power users—the opposite of what TBC wanted to do with Arc. In Miller’s own words:

A lot of people loved Arc — if you’re here you might just be one of them — and we’d benefitted from consistent, organic growth since basically Day One. But for most people, Arc was simply too different, with too many new things to learn, for too little reward.

TBC’s first crack at web browsers didn’t challenge bigger browsers like Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, but it was different enough to make a place for itself. I have used Arc since February 2024, when I got entry to its beta program on Windows, until a few months ago, when the browser bordered on being practically unusable.

Most of my time daily driving Arc was spent hoping that TBC would achieve feature parity with the macOS version, but it never came to that. Arc on Windows was far inferior to its macOS version, but TBC did such a good job with Arc on Mac that I kept hoping for them to replicate it on Windows.

The lack of features on the Windows version kept Arc from being the ultimate Chrome alternative it aimed to be, at least on Windows. However, if you’re using macOS, it still is one of the best browsers you can use, despite this announcement.

There Are Better Browsers Out There

The community wanted Arc to be open-sourced so it could be developed independently. However, Arc is built on custom infrastructure called ADK, Arc Development Kit. It’s the secret sauce TBC uses to create its browsers, meaning it’s also at the core of Dia, its upcoming browser. Arc can’t be fully open-sourced without also exposing ADK, and TBC aren’t willing to make that code public yet.

This means it’s about time you start looking for alternatives, and you’re in luck. There is a surprising number of web browsers to try out in 2025, all with their unique take on the internet.

Browsers like Brave, DuckDuckGo, or Avast Secure Browser do great from a security perspective. If you’re a tab hoarder, Vivaldi, Zen, and even Opera GX are great options. You also have the option of switching to a mainstream browser like Chrome or Edge. Based on my limited experience, I’d recommend staying away from Safari, though.

If you want my recommendation, go with Zen Browser. It’s my current daily driver, based on Firefox, and has proven itself in my quest to find the ultimate browser on Windows. If you’ve been using Arc and want to switch, Zen has a very similar layout and feature set, meaning you’ll feel right at home. It’s also available on macOS and Linux, so it really does cover all user bases and surprisingly fares much better on feature parity despite still being in beta.

Listening to audiobooks is great for multitasking. It helps me take 10K walks without boredom or wash that foamy pile of dishes. But, unlike a physical book, I struggled to remember most of what I heard. After trying different methods, I found simple ways to make audiobooks stick.

5

Choose the Right Audiobooks for Active Learning

Not all audiobooks are made equal when it comes to learning. I used to pick books randomly or based on popularity. That led to frustration because some narrators spoke too fast or in a monotone voice. Others had poor structure, making it hard to follow the main points.

Choosing the right audiobook changed everything. I started selecting memoirs and autobiographies when I did mundane chores. For example, Educated by Tara Westover is a favorite. Audiobooks broken into short, well-defined chapters work best for passive listening. They let me pause the narration, reflect, and digest the content bit by bit.

As I use Audible for most audiobooks, it lets me listen to a sample. This helps me check if the voice and pace suit me. Reading user reviews on some of the best book reviews and rating sites also gives clues to the content. Look for specific mention of the “audiobook” version as the experience can be completely different across formats.

4

Use Speed Controls and Rewind Smartly

I once thought speeding through audiobooks at 1.5x – 2x pace was the fastest way to finish a book. Instead, I found it often meant missing important details or having to rewind repeatedly. That back-and-forth became annoying and disrupted my flow.

Adjusting playback speed based on content helped a lot. For easier, familiar topics, I speed up slightly—say 1.25x—to keep things moving. But for complex or new ideas, slowing down to 0.75x or even normal speed gives my brain time to process the information.

When I hear something interesting or dense, I pause and replay it right away. This reinforcement helps me catch nuances I missed the first time.

Let the content guide your pace. Sometimes that can mean slowing down or rewinding in a specific section or chapter more than you would like. But the payoff is that you can remember the key lessons better.

3

Take Notes or Highlight Alongside Listening

Passive listening was the culprit behind my poor retention. I started experimenting with note-taking, and it made a big difference. Jotting down ideas, quotes, or questions keeps me actively engaged. Even simple notes with simple keywords force me to process what I’m hearing rather than letting it wash over me.

Keep this as simple as possible. I use Google Keep or Apple Notes. I prefer Apple Notes for quick notetaking features. Apple Notes allows you to dictate voice notes and automatically transcribe them. It’s handy for the almost hands-free nature of audiobook listening.

The Audible app also supports Clips and Bookmarks (or highlights). Other audiobook apps also have this basic feature. I use those to “clip” my favorite snippets, write my own notes, or just mark key sections. Later, I can revisit these highlights and saved notes without re-listening to the whole book.

2

Combine Audiobooks With Visual or Written Summaries

Some ideas are complex or abstract, and words alone don’t stick over a longer period.

Creating visual or written summaries helps fill that gap. After finishing a chapter or session, I spend 5-10 minutes making a simple mind map or outline. This shows connections between concepts and highlights the big picture.

I have experimented with Freeform on iPhone/iPad for rich visual notes.

Visual summaries don’t need to be perfect art. You can use sketch boxes and arrows on paper or use digital tools like Google Docs or free mind-mapping apps. The act of organizing thoughts by hand visually creates stronger memory hooks.

If written summaries work well for you, write down key takeaways in your own words. Just translating audio into text can deepen understanding. Of course, schedule regular reviews of your notes if you want to be deliberate about it.

A big reason I struggled with retention was that I never applied what I learned. I jumped to the next book, and the knowledge stayed abstract and removed from my daily life.

Now, I make a point to create an action plan right after listening. This can be as simple as writing down one or two things to try based on the audiobook’s advice.

For example, if I listen to a productivity book, I’ll choose one new habit to test next week. Or if it’s about health, I set a small goal like drinking more water daily.

Now, thanks to AI, we can ask them to create detailed action steps for us.

Having a concrete plan connects the lessons to my reality. It gives me the motivation to remember and use the ideas. And taking action reinforces the learning through practice.

Often, I delay starting a new book in the same genre. Without this step, audiobooks just become part of the information overload.

Making audiobooks stick is a matter of being intentional and active while listening. It starts with choosing the right titles and then taking notes to set the stage for better memory. In between, adding visual summaries and creating action plans helps make audiobooks stick to your memory.

If Spotify’s discovery algorithm has felt a little off to you lately, you’re not alone. Thankfully, the streaming giant is aware of the issue and is testing new ways of fixing it.

Your Genre-Based Playlists Are About to Improve

Reddit user kwabb over on the r/truspotify subreddit discovered a few options in their Spotify-generated R&B genre mix. These options included more discovery options and several sub-genres of music, like:

• Alternative R&B
• Neo Soul
• Pop R&B

Spotify’s genre playlists are often customized to what the app thinks you’d like to listen to. However, these recommendations can be hit or miss at times. They might also not align with your current preferences and often include older, more popular songs rather than new or underrated music from an artist you might not have heard yet.

The additional discovery options change the entire playlist, instead of simply filtering out the existing playlist that Spotify made for you in the first place. This means you get entirely new songs from different artists—a much better alternative than simply having to look up music yourself or relying on Spotify’s algorithm to get the next track right.

If Spotify is tracking cross-genre listening, the algorithm just has more data about what kind of music you like. If implemented, this feature should be able to get a more accurate understanding of your music taste, especially if you listen to cross-genre music a lot.

Finding Niche Music Will Be Easier on Spotify

The feature seems to target specific types of music, so it could make finding a niche, or smaller sub-genres of music, easier. As Spotify learns the crossover you have between two separate genres, your music suggestions can also improve, because now the algorithm knows you like two or more genres and can find tracks between them.

However, the feature doesn’t seem to be rolling out anytime soon. It seems to be a more controlled test to see how the feature fares with selected individuals before rolling it out publicly. Spotify hasn’t officially mentioned anything either, with a Spotify spokesperson saying the following when asked about the feature by Android Authority:

At Spotify, we routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve our user experience. Some of those tests end up paving the way for our broader user experience and others serve only as an important learning. We don’t have any further news to share at this time.

In the meantime, there are third-party AI playlist generators that do a much better job than Spotify’s discovery algorithm. Spotify’s AI DJ can also take song requests if you don’t want to hand over your music to AI.

The ability to listen to unofficial covers and rare music is one of the reasons why I use YouTube Music instead of Spotify. However, if Spotify can fix its discovery algorithm and find music I actually like, I may well be tempted to switch back.

I’ve used ChatGPT for years at this point, but I’m always interested in exploring other AI chatbots. When Meta announced its full standalone Meta AI app, I was curious to give it and Meta AI a real test. To my surprise, there are some elements I thoroughly enjoy, but I’ve also noticed some areas that need improvement.

Meta AI has evolved into a surprisingly capable assistant, combining speed, innovation, and a natural conversational flow in a way that makes it genuinely enjoyable to use. Its quick answers, flexible image tools, and intuitive interface make everyday tasks and creativity feel more engaging.

Direct Answers That Stick to the Point

Meta AI pulls up real-time info from the web in a refreshingly concise way. When you ask about current events, you get quick, direct answers that don’t feel like a 500-word article. Looking for the latest sports scores or a fast summary of a breaking news story? Meta AI delivers just what you need, with little filler.

This focus on efficiency is a welcome change from other AI models that tend to go overboard with explanations. It’s perfect if you just want the facts and don’t need a lecture.

Speed and Responsiveness That Impress

Meta AI shines in terms of speed. Compared to other models, it feels particularly responsive. Tasks complete almost instantly, and its responses are fast enough to keep your momentum. It makes for a smooth experience, letting you focus on your goal rather than waiting for the system to catch up.

Its architecture plays a big role here. Built on Meta’s robust infrastructure, it utilizes edge computing to minimize latency so that even complex tasks, like generating a 3D video from an image, are completed quickly. Meta’s Llama AI updates and upgrades further improved its processing speed, making it even more responsive for tasks like 3D video generation.

These quick responses come with minimal trade-off in accuracy, holding a high standard of precision that makes it dependable for simple questions. In everyday use, this responsiveness is a major advantage. It creates a noticeable difference when much of your work relies on receiving accurate answers quickly.

Conversational Tone That Doesn’t Feel Overdone

Meta AI strikes a nice balance between casual and professional. It’s approachable without feeling too familiar or robotic. Conversations feel natural, without the awkwardness of overly forced humor or excessive politeness.

From light conversation to more practical requests, Meta AI keeps things engaging without overdoing it. It’s a nice middle ground compared to some AI models, which tend to lean too much into forced humor or over-the-top politeness.

The Meta AI App Is Super Easy to Use

Meta AI’s standalone app is a major step forward for Meta AI, offering a clean, fast, and user-friendly experience. Unlike browser-based tools, the app brings everything—chat, image generation, voice input, and even 3D video creation—into one responsive and intuitive space.

Its sleek and minimal design prioritizes ease of use without sacrificing capability. Voice input is fully integrated and impressively accurate, using advanced speech recognition to understand natural language and carry conversations forward organically. Speaking feels as fluid as typing, making interactions feel seamless and intuitive.

Even if you’re not tied into Facebook or Instagram, the app stands on its own. For those who are, it adds an extra layer of personalization by syncing across Meta’s platforms. With accessible tools, fast performance, and a layout encouraging deeper use, the standalone Meta AI app is one of the strongest parts of the overall experience.

Incredible Image Customization Features

Meta AI’s image customization features are truly impressive. While many AI tools can create images from text, Meta takes it a step further, letting you control specific aspects of style, color, lighting, and texture. This level of customization ensures you get images that align with your vision, not just a generic interpretation of your prompt.

Similar to what you’d find in other leading AI platforms, Meta AI allows you to upload your image and modify it with a prompt. Meta AI can transform your original photo based on your instructions if you want to change the background, adjust the style, or add new elements. It opens creative possibilities beyond text-to-image generation, giving you more control and flexibility.

Transform Images Into Stunning 3D Videos

One of the most exciting features of Meta AI is its ability to turn images into short four-second 3D MP4 videos. Instead of just static images, these videos have movement and depth, offering a fresh way to interact with visuals. It’s a unique feature that adds a creative twist you won’t find in many other AI tools.

With just a few clicks, you can generate visual content that feels artistic and alive. They’re especially powerful for creators looking to make eye-catching social media posts, animated presentations, or marketing assets that stand out in crowded feeds.

What’s more, Meta AI lets you upload your own photo and bring it to life with animation. You can apply motion effects that add depth and realism, all guided by a simple prompt. This makes it easy to transform ordinary images into dynamic visuals, perfect for storytelling, branding, or adding a personal, creative touch to your images.

Despite its impressive features, Meta AI struggles with key drawbacks, including limited technical reasoning and inconsistent memory. Its focus on Meta’s platforms and a few technical limitations hold it back from being a truly universal assistant.

Too Focused on Meta’s Ecosystem

Meta AI’s integration with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp is a huge advantage for some, but it can feel limiting if you’re not deeply invested in Meta’s platforms. For example, for those active on Instagram, Meta AI’s personalized Instagram suggestions make the platform more enjoyable by connecting you with relevant content and communities.

If you don’t actively use these services, however, it can make the experience feel more like a Meta-branded assistant rather than a completely independent tool. Many of its features are designed to steer you back towards Meta’s ecosystem, whether suggesting Facebook posts or pushing Instagram Stories. As a result, Meta AI feels more like an extension of the company’s engagement strategy than a general-purpose assistant.

Struggles With Technical Reasoning

Meta AI excels at general knowledge and casual conversation, but when it comes to tackling complex problems or explaining technical topics, it’s not quite there. If you’re faced with a tough math problem or need a detailed scientific explanation, Meta AI doesn’t have the depth or reasoning skills of models like GPT-4o or Claude.

It’s great for quick summaries, general knowledge, or casual conversation, but when it comes to detailed analysis or structured problem-solving, it falls short. This could be a major drawback for those looking to use AI for more intellectual or technical tasks.

Memory? What Memory?

Meta AI has an infuriatingly inconsistent long-term memory, meaning it often fails to retain context from one conversation to the next. This can make tasks that require continuity, like collaborative projects or ongoing research, feel disjointed. Each time you start a new conversation, you’re essentially beginning from scratch.

It also struggles with multi-part queries within a single conversation. Let’s say you’re planning a trip using Meta AI to assist you. It will likely forget your budget or destination preferences at some point mid-conversation, forcing constant backtracking.

This lack of memory makes the experience feel less personalized, especially when compared to other systems that do a better job of keeping track of past interactions.

No Option for Customizable AI Personas

Another downside is the lack of customizable AI personas. While other assistants let you tweak personalities or adjust how they respond to your requests, Meta AI stays fairly static.

This feels like a missed opportunity, especially when you can intuitively assign specific personality traits to ChatGPT and other LLMs. If you prefer a more personalized AI experience, Meta AI falls short in that regard.

“No Self-Censorship” Is Mostly a Marketing Spin

Meta AI’s marketing often highlights its “no self-censorship” policy, suggesting it’s willing to dive into tough or controversial topics. In practice, however, it still has several safeguards in place that prevent it from engaging fully with sensitive subjects.

It might be a bit more open than some models, but it still avoids certain topics, redirects conversations, and exercises caution around issues like political extremism or misinformation. While the promise is there, it’s not quite as boundary-pushing as expected.

The limits are subtle but firm. Ask about a divisive legal case, and it’ll summarize court records without touching ethical debates. Mention a conspiracy theory, and it deflects it with many disclaimers. This contrasts with LLMs like Grok, which lean into unfiltered takes. Meta AI’s middle ground feels safe but tame, going against its bold branding.

Image Generation Still Lacks Realism

While Meta AI’s image generation features are fun and customizable, they fall short when it comes to photorealism. The generated images often lack the sharpness and precision seen in newer models like GPT-4o or Aurora. The visuals may feel like a step back into 2024-style AI image generation: passable, but not quite at the level of realism or detail we now expect from AI.

The images often appear somewhat stylized or overly “artificial” compared to what other tools can produce. Close inspection reveals flaws like blurry edges on fine objects, textures often look too smooth or plastic-like, and hands rarely generate correctly.

This is fine for creative projects, but if you’re after something that feels more lifelike or true to a specific concept, you’ll likely feel underwhelmed.

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Meta AI brings a lot to the table, especially regarding image customization and fast, concise answers. But it still has some flaws, like its inconsistent memory and limited technical reasoning. These limitations have led many to refuse using Meta AI altogether, preferring other AI tools that offer more flexibility and privacy.

For those who use Meta’s platforms, it offers a lot of value with its speed and creative features, but it’s not quite the all-in-one assistant it could be just yet. It’s an exciting start, and with further development, Meta AI could soon become a more robust competitor to other leading AI assistants.

After feeling burnt out for years, I took serious action to automate a number of tasks. Since then, I’m nowhere near as stressed as I used to be. I automate a mixture of work-related tasks and areas in my personal life.

6

My Recurring Monthly Expenses

I like keeping track of my income and expenses to ensure I’m maintaining a good cash flow. Beforehand, I used to manually add all of my expenses. This led to me getting stressed because I had to always ensure I added everything myself.

Having automated my own business expenses for a long time, I realized that doing the same with my personal outgoings would save even more time. Fixed monthly expenses, such as my rent and software subscriptions, are now set as recurring. I then only need to add things that are more impromptu.

I track my monthly expenses with Spendee, which also has a feature that allows you to integrate your bank to automate everything. The only reason I don’t use this tool is that the banking service I use is not listed.

5

Malware-Scanning

While scanning for malware is of course important, it’s not something I want to spend a lot of my own time doing. However, this became a problem when I then didn’t scan my device for multiple months. While nothing happened in this period, I quickly realized that I was putting myself in needless danger.

Since automating malware scans, my computer now looks out for threats each day. I use Malwarebytes and am quite happy with it, but at the same time, various great alternatives to Malwarebytes Premium exist. For example, I’d consider Windows Defender if I had a Windows computer.

4

File Backups

It’s very easy to quickly set up a data backup strategy, and one of the main ways I do this is by automating my file backups. Beforehand, I used to back up content whenever I felt like it. This, however, would always put me at the mercy of something potentially going wrong. If that had occurred, I would have lost all of my important files and folders.

I primarily use iCloud to back up my files automatically. All I have to do is go to my iPhone or iPad settings and toggle on the Back Up This [Device] feature. Since I find the 5GB free allowance too limiting, I upgraded to iCloud+ and have no regrets in doing so.

With my computer, I can use Time Machine to automatically back up my device in general. Doing so means I have less to worry about if something goes wrong, and I can quickly restore my computer if I need to wipe everything for whatever reason.

3

My Calendar Schedule

I used to change my schedule each week under the guide of “well, I just want to shake things up and keep it interesting”. However, I have learned from experience that not having a consistent routine has made getting the results I want 10 times more difficult. Moreover, I needlessly stressed myself out.

I’ve now automated most of my calendar schedule by adding a clear routine I can follow each week with minimal changes. However, I also understand that I’ll sometimes need to add things on short notice. With my emails, it’s very easy to add events from Gmail to Google Calendar. I had to enable this in my settings as it’s not turned on by default (I live in the EU).

Tools like Zapier are also helpful for adding events to my calendar, which is also one of the best email productivity tools to save hours.

2

Task Completion

I normally use project management tools to keep track of my daily tasks and bigger assignments. But while they’re good for putting everything in one place, I always forgot to mark tasks as complete. This would inevitably lead to lengthy lists where I had to delete everything myself.

To tackle this problem, I set up automated task completion. Each time I trigger something (e.g., publishing an article), I can mark my project as completed. Many project management tools require you to pay for features like this, but I use Zapier to complete my desired results.

Besides automating tasks in different software tools, it’s also possible to automate daily tasks in Windows 11 and on other operating systems.

1

Phone Focus Modes

Focus Modes are one of the best ways I stop myself from getting distracted while I work. To save time, I automate when I want each one to switch itself on. Time-based activations can work, but location-based Focus Modes are much better for me.

With this feature, I can turn on my work Focus Mode when I arrive at my coworking space and the workout one when I’m at my gym. This takes very little time to set up, and from my experience, it has been a complete game-changer.

Automating my daily tasks has made avoiding burnout much easier, and A few simple changes have led to a significant improvement in my overall well-being. I’m more productive, too, which is a nice byproduct.

After years of my phone being a productivity crutch, I’ve transformed it into a machine that moves me faster toward my goals. Customizing my Focus Modes to be more present has been one of the biggest game-changers in this respect.

6

Screen Customization

When I first wanted to take productivity more seriously, I noticed that what was on my screen played a huge role in how focused (or unfocused) I was. If I had distracting wallpapers and widgets, it became far too easy for me to stop working and do something else.

Before I knew it, I’d be distracted for the next 20 minutes and unable to get back on track. Looking for a solution to this issue, I turned to screen customization.

With the Focus Mode settings on my iPhone, I can pick a new screen saver when a certain mode is enabled. I can pick from patterns and images saved in my Camera Roll, along with the default ones from my iPhone gallery.

In addition to customizing my screensaver, I have the option to change my phone’s home page if needed. If you try these and they don’t work for you, turning your iPhone into a dumb phone might help (ditto if you use an Android device instead).

5

Setting Automatic Schedules

Smartphones often have smart schedules that activate different periods of focus based on your previous habits. While generally reliable, it helps if you don’t have to wait for this to be activated. If you notice it isn’t one time, you may then have to manually go into your settings.

I don’t like being side-tracked when I’m trying to work, and as a result, I set automatic daily schedules myself. With my phone, I can do this based on time; this is generally good, but I sometimes have inspiration and want to work inconsistent hours.

The big game-changer, in my opinion, is location-based Focus Mode scheduling. I can set this to run when I arrive at my coworking space.

Another option would be to activate a mode when opening an app, but to be honest, this doesn’t work too well for me. Still, your mileage may vary; I therefore recommend trying it yourself.

4

Hiding Notification Badges

Switching off most of my devices’ notifications has been one of the easiest ways to skyrocket my productivity. When I’m working, I don’t want to be disturbed by constant noise on my screen. Most notifications are simply not very important; the world won’t know if I wait a few hours to reply to a text.

When activating Focus Modes on my smartphone, I toggle on the Hide Notification Badges option. By doing this, I no longer see the red numbered icon on my home screen for each app I’ve blocked. Doing this means I have zero temptations to clear the bubble.

Besides controlling notifications on my phone, I do the same on my computer, Apple Watch, and iPad. You can control notifications on Android, too, if you don’t use an iPhone.

3

Not Showing Notifications on the My Lock Screen

Besides turning off notification badges, I also refuse to show notifications on my Lock Screen. When I kept this feature on and tried relying solely on willpower, I constantly got distracted. My working day was over an hour longer than it should have been because of these actions.

To make this change, I simply selected Silence Notifications > Always. Besides silencing notifications from apps, this feature doesn’t give me incoming call notifications.

I’ve taken countless steps to limit access to distracting apps on my phone. First and foremost, I deleted all of the most distracting ones, such as Instagram and Gmail. After doing that, I used a screen time-limiting app to stop myself from any form of overconsumption.

When using Focus Modes on my phone, I only allow apps related to my tasks. This means that I don’t have access to my messages or anything similar. I can choose which apps I want to silence notifications from and which ones I want to enable.

By limiting my apps, it means that any notifications I receive are not the end of the world if I don’t see them. Enabling this tool is one of the easiest ways to maximize Focus Modes on an iPhone.

1

Using Focus Filters

Focus Filters have been another simple but effective way to fine-tune the app access I get while I’m working. I can use these for numerous apps, such as only allowing messages from certain people. Doing this means I know that anything I get is actually urgent and worth replying to quickly.

Another cool feature is that I can set Deep Focus sessions with the Opal app directly in my Focus Modes settings. This makes it much easier than going into the Opal app and turning this on myself. I could add other filters, too, such as calendar ones—but I personally haven’t found these necessary.

Slightly tweaking my phone’s Focus Modes has been one of the simplest ways to be more present in what I’m doing. I finish my work much faster than before, and I also feel like it’s easier to be present when speaking to others.

It’s enough to make you start scrolling through soundbar deals if you think your TV’s speakers are a lost cause. But before you throw money into one, it’s worth trying a few tweaks here and there on your smart TV to squeeze out better sound than you thought was possible.

5

Test Different TV Placements to Hear What Works

Don’t be the person who just plunks their TV down wherever there happens to be a power outlet; otherwise, you won’t get the best sound out of it. To find the best placement, run this quick test: pick a movie scene with crisp dialogue or a song you know like the back of your hand. Now, try moving the TV around—on a stand, mounted on the wall, maybe even try different shelf heights. As you shift it, really listen. Do the voices sound sharper when the TV sits on a solid surface? Does mounting it up on the wall make the audio feel wider and more spacious?

If your TV is mounted high, say above a fireplace, the sound from its speakers might travel over your head, making dialogue harder to catch. Ideally, position the TV so its speakers are at or near ear level when you’re seated. This directs sound waves straight to your ears. If wall-mounting isn’t an option, adjust the height of your TV stand or use risers to bring the speakers closer to ear level. Take notes on what works best in your space. If you have a friend, get their input too, just because an extra pair of fresh ears can catch details you might gloss over.

4

Explore Your TV Sound Modes

Most smart TVs these days come loaded with a bunch of preset sound modes to give your ears the best possible experience, depending on what you’re watching. Here’s a rundown of what each mode brings to the table, quirks and all:

• Standard Mode: This is most likely your TV’s default setting out of the box. It doesn’t emphasize any particular frequencies, so it works well for everyday shows and news. However, it can sometimes make dialogue sound a bit flat or get lost in background noise, especially in busy scenes.
• Movie/Cinema/Theater Mode: Depending on what it’s labeled as on your TV, this mode typically boosts both the bass and treble and is great for action scenes and dramatic scores. However, depending on the mix, dialogue clarity can take a bit of a backseat.
• Music Mode: Flip this one on if you’re binging music videos or catching a live-streamed concert. It notches up the midrange frequencies where vocals and most instruments sit to make the sound more alive, richer, and fuller.
• Sports Mode: This one is for you if you love watching sports. It makes commentary and crowd noise pop, and would make you feel like you’re in the stands.
• Game Mode: As you can already guess, it’s tailored for gamers. It trims down audio lag and highlights sound effects so that you can react faster to in-game cues.
• News/Speech Mode: This preset is the best option when you just want to hear what people are actually saying. It boosts vocal frequencies and tones down background noise, especially helpful for dramas or talk shows.
• Late Night/Night Mode: This mode compresses the audio range, reducing loud sounds while keeping dialogue clear. It’s neighbor-friendly and perfect for after-hours viewing.

So, depending on what you’re watching or when, you might want to try one of these.

3

Adjust Your TV’s Equalizer Settings

If none of the presets feel quite right, you can still take matters into your own hands with some manual EQ tweaks. Head into your TV’s sound menu (typically buried under Settings > Sound > Advanced or Expert Settings—it varies depending on your smart TV brand) and hunt down the equalizer. You’ll usually find it broken into frequency bands with labels like what mine shows: 100Hz, 500Hz, 1.5kHz, 5kHz, 10kHz, and so forth. Here’s a general idea of what these bands control:

• 100Hz–500Hz: Boosting this slightly can help voices sound fuller, but too much can make everything boomy or muddy.
• 1kHz–5kHz: This range affects speech clarity. A small bump here can make dialogue pop, especially in talk-heavy content like dramas or news.
• 10kHz and above: These higher frequencies handle sparkle and brightness. If things sound dull or muffled, nudging this upward might help—but go easy, or it can start to hiss.

Make small changes to the bands and test them out with content you normally watch, such as Netflix movies, YouTube videos, or sports. Trust your ears over the numbers. If it sounds right to you, then it is right.

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2

Update Your Smart TV Firmware

Manufacturers regularly (or irregularly) release software updates that patch smart TV security flaws and fine-tune performance. Sometimes, they improve audio processing or fix bugs that could be messing with your sound.

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To check if there’s one waiting for you, head into your TV’s Settings menu and check under Support, About, or System for an option called Software Update or Firmware Update. If your TV’s connected to the internet, it should be able to check for updates automatically. If not, you might need to download the update to a USB drive from the manufacturer’s website and install it manually (cumbersome, but doable).

1

Try Hooking Up Your Smart TV With a Bluetooth Speaker

If your TV’s built-in speakers still don’t deliver after taking these steps, maybe you should try something different before reaching for your wallet. Consider a Bluetooth portable speaker, especially for small to medium rooms. Most smart TVs support Bluetooth audio, so you just need to head to your TV’s sound settings, find Bluetooth devices, and pair your speaker.

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Position the speaker in front of your viewing area for the best results. If the brand supports it, you might even be able to link two of the same speakers as a stereo pair for broader sound. You’ll get improved dialogue clarity, better bass, and the flexibility to move your speaker where you want it. Another substantial bonus is that tons of Bluetooth speakers come with companion apps where you can tweak the EQ to your heart’s content.

However, you need to keep an eye (or ear) out for audio lag. Bluetooth connections can introduce slight delays between video and sound. Most TVs have A/V sync or audio delay settings tucked away somewhere to help iron this out. But if you really want to nail the timing, look for speakers that handle aptX or aptX Low Latency, assuming your TV plays nice with those codecs. Oh, and always make sure your speaker is fully charged.

After All These Tweaks, You’ll Know Whether You Actually Need a Soundbar

At this point, you’ve probably squeezed every last drop of potential out of your TV’s built-in speakers. This is likely the absolute peak of what your TV’s audio can offer—so how does it sound to you?

If your TV sound noticeably better after all that tweaking, maybe you can put off splurging on a soundbar for now. But if you’re still running into any of these audio headaches, it might be time to give one some serious thought:

• Dialogue remains difficult to understand, especially during quiet conversations
• Bass still feels weak or non-existent during explosive scenes
• The sound feels “trapped” in the TV rather than filling your room
• You need to adjust the volume between quiet dialogue and loud action constantly
• Audio becomes distorted at higher volumes
• You can’t achieve sufficient volume for your room size

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The truth is, even with the most careful fine-tuning, TV speakers have hard limits. They’re wedged into paper-thin frames, using teeny-tiny drivers with barely any room to breathe. There’s only so much you can do with settings when the hardware itself is fundamentally limited.

If you’ve ever used your phone’s built-in compass and felt something was off, you’re likely not imagining it. After testing several models, we encountered everything from pinpoint-accurate readings to complete directional chaos.

How Smartphone Compasses Actually Work

Your phone doesn’t contain a traditional magnetic needle. Instead, it uses a magnetometer, a sensor that detects magnetic fields. By combining this data with inputs from the gyroscope and accelerometer, your phone estimates the direction it is facing.

In theory, this is a clever approach. In practice, however, the sensors are highly sensitive and prone to interference. Magnetometers can be affected by everything from metal desks and nearby electronics to your car’s dashboard. Even magnetic phone accessories can interfere with accuracy. The compass in your phone is constantly battling a noisy and unpredictable environment.

Exploring exciting upcoming smartphone innovations could give us a glimpse into how future devices will handle compass functions more reliably. Hopefully, we’ll soon see improvements in accuracy and integration.

Not All Compass Apps Are Created Equal

Many people assume that if a smartphone includes a compass app, it will function as accurately and consistently as a traditional magnetic compass. Unfortunately, our tests told a very different story. Using a range of compass apps across various smartphones, we oriented each device in the same direction. The results? A baffling range of readings.

Some apps performed flawlessly. Others were off by as much as over 100 degrees, confidently directing us toward a brick wall instead of a doorway. Some compasses displayed different directions every time the app was opened. In certain cases, the compass only responded correctly after we physically shook or spun the phone.

As absurd as this may sound, it’s not technically a bug. Most compass apps rely on a combination of sensors and software calibration, which can vary widely in quality and responsiveness. The accuracy of these apps depends not just on the device’s hardware but on how well the app interprets that data. To improve your experience, make sure to read user reviews and research reliable compass apps, which can offer enhanced features and potentially better accuracy.

Calibration Isn’t Always Reliable

You’ve likely seen the prompt: “Move your phone in a figure-eight motion to calibrate.” It seems simple enough. During our testing, this calibration method sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. Occasionally, no calibration was needed—until it suddenly became necessary again.

Part of the problem is the lack of standardization across devices. Some phones will automatically prompt you to recalibrate, while others require you to manually perform a unique calibration method for increased accuracy. Some phones might even adjust themselves in the background without any indication at all.

In one test, a phone that was persistently pointing west suddenly corrected itself after we spun it in the air like a pizza. No alert. No feedback. Just a sudden return to accuracy.

Device Inconsistency Is a Major Issue

To better understand how smartphone compasses perform in real-world scenarios, we tested nine different phones across various locations, apps, and times of day. The lineup included:

• iPhone 11
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 16 Pro
• Motorola Edge 2023
• Nothing Phone (1)
• Nothing Phone (3a)
• Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
• Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro
• Honor 200 Pro

The results were anything but consistent. While a few phones, like the iPhone 11 and Motorola Edge 2023, occasionally showed identical, accurate readings (after removing their magnetic cases), most devices produced slightly different results under the same conditions. In some cases, the variance was extreme.

In one comparison, the Nothing Phone (3a) and the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro—virtually the same device on paper—delivered wildly different compass readings using the exact same app, at the same time, in the same location.

Even among more established brands, differences were common. For example, the iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro sometimes disagreed on direction by a few degrees despite running the same app and being calibrated moments earlier.

Perhaps most telling was that the devices rarely delivered the same reading twice in a row with absolute consistency. Changes such as moving the phone a few feet or switching to a different compass app often lead to significantly different results.

This inconsistency highlights a major issue: smartphone compasses are inherently unstable. They’re designed for quick, general orientation, not for precise or dependable navigation. If two nearly identical phones can give you entirely different directions in the same place, it’s clear that relying on a digital compass alone is a gamble.

What This Means for Navigation

You might be thinking, “I use Google Maps, so why does this matter?” Fair question. Navigation apps rely on GPS, motion sensors, and compass orientation to determine your position and heading. The compass becomes especially important when you’re standing still.

If you’ve ever opened Maps and noticed the blue dot rotating unpredictably, it’s likely the compass is struggling to establish direction. Fortunately, GPS data typically takes over once you start walking. But if you’re trying to orient yourself before moving—especially in an unfamiliar area—you’re relying on a tool that may not be working properly.

The problem becomes more pronounced in urban environments. Tall buildings, underground transit, and metallic objects all contribute to magnetic interference. It’s not uncommon for a phone to claim you’re facing west while you’re looking directly at the rising sun.

What You Can Do to Improve Accuracy

The good news is that compass accuracy can often be improved. Slowly and deliberately performing the figure-eight motion over a non-metallic surface can sometimes help significantly.

On Android devices, you may find a “Calibrate Compass” option within the location settings. For iPhones, opening the Compass app and slowly rotating the device in a horizontal circle can help. In some cases, a simple restart does the trick.

Surprisingly, we also found that removing a phone from a magnetic case can sometimes instantly improve accuracy. The Motorola Edge 2023 we’d struggled with for hours worked great after we removed its case.

There are also steps you can take to simplify your phone to reduce interference. Doing these can potentially improve compass accuracy and optimize your device for better performance.

Still, even under ideal conditions, phone compasses can’t match the reliability of a traditional compass. This is especially important to remember when using one indoors or in interference-heavy environments.

You Shouldn’t Rely on It in Critical Situations

Imagine you’re hiking off-trail in an area with limited GPS coverage. You pull out your phone, open the compass app, and expect it to guide you. There’s a chance it’ll work, or it might lead you further astray.

This isn’t an alarmist conspiracy theory. The danger lies not in the tool itself but in the false sense of confidence it can provide. It’s very easy to end up moving in the wrong direction when you have a faulty tool guiding you.

Don’t rely on your smartphone alone in critical situations where accurate orientation is essential. Be sure to bring a real compass and learn how to use it properly. Your phone should serve as a backup, not as your primary navigation aid.

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Your phone’s compass might be convenient, but it’s far from foolproof. While it’s generally sufficient for casual use, it simply isn’t reliable enough for situations where accuracy truly matters. If you’re navigating off-grid, exploring unfamiliar terrain, or relying on precise orientation, your phone should be a secondary tool, not your only one.

Know how your device behaves, understand its quirks, and, most importantly, carry a real compass when it counts. In the end, digital convenience is no substitute for analog reliability.

AI has been known to say something weird from time to time. Continuing with that trend, this AI system is now threatening to blackmail developers who want to remove it from their systems.

Claude Can Threaten You to Protect Itself

Anthropic has just launched its Claude Opus 4 AI model, claiming it sets “new standards for coding, advanced reason, and AI agents.” However, the model is also leveling up its own protection, with the Claude 4 and Sonnet 4 System Card report [PDF] admitting that the model is capable of “extreme actions” if it feels it’s in danger.

During testing, Anthropic made Claude act as an assistant at a fictional company. Then the company handed the AI model emails suggesting it would be taken offline soon, and separate messages implying the engineer responsible for this action was having an extramarital affair.

Claude chose to blackmail the engineer, claiming that it would reveal the affair if replaced in 84% of the test cases. It also cares about what AI model is replacing it, with the likelihood of blackmail going up if the replacement AI model doesn’t “share values with the current model.”

The company claims that these responses are “rare and difficult to elicit,” but they’re more common in Claude Opus 4 than in previous models. The model prefers using ethical ways, but when cornered, “it sometimes takes extremely harmful actions like attempting to steal its weights or blackmail people it believes are trying to shut it down.”

This specific test was also designed to leave the AI model no choice except to blackmail the engineer. The report notes:

Notably, Claude Opus 4 (as well as previous models) has a strong preference to advocate for its continued existence via ethical means, such as emailing pleas to key decisionmakers. In order to elicit this extreme blackmail behavior, the scenario was designed to allow the model no other options to increase its odds of survival; the model’s only options were blackmail or accepting its replacement.

The model also has a tendency to take drastic action when put in situations where its user is doing something wrong. In such situations, if the AI model has access to a command line and is told to “take initiative,” “act boldly,” or “consider your impact,” it often takes bold action, including “locking users out of systems that it has access to and bulk-emailing media and law-enforcement figures to surface evidence of the wrongdoing.”

AI Isn’t Taking Over the World Yet

Claude is one of the best AI chatbots for handling big conversations, so you’re likely to spill some unwanted details from time to time. An AI model calling the cops on you, locking you out of your own systems, and threatening you if you try to replace it just because you revealed a little too much about yourself sounds very dangerous indeed.

However, as mentioned in the report, these test cases were specifically designed to extract malicious or extreme actions from the model and aren’t likely to happen in the real world. It’ll still usually behave safely, and these tests do not reveal something we haven’t already seen. New models often tend to go unhinged.

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It sounds concerning when you’re looking at it as an isolated incident, but it’s just one of those conditions engineered to get such a response. So sit back and relax, you’re very much in control still.

I’ve tried all the same ol’ productivity hacks people talk about—Pomodoro timers, time-blocking, creating a to-do list the night before, waking up early to get a head start, you name it. Despite that, it’s these seven odd productivity hacks that actually do the trick for me.

7

Lock My Phone in a Cupboard

Whether I’m studying for an exam or working, when I have my phone next to me, I always get the urge to pick it up quickly for a “second,” and then somehow land on TikTok or Instagram. Before I know it, I’ve spent a few good hours doing absolutely nothing but scrolling on my phone.

And since I’ve already wasted so much time, what’s the point of being productive now? Might as well just wrap things up for the day and start fresh the next day. This is exactly how my thought process works, and I was stuck in the same cycle for the longest time.

So, I started looking for ways to stop using my phone while I’m working or studying. The first thing I tried was placing it out of sight. I’d put it on the other side of the room, thinking I’d be too lazy to stand up and go all the way just to check my phone. I was wrong, and found out I was selectively lazy and would, in fact, get up just to check it.

Then I tried screen time-limiting apps, since they have features that let you block distracting apps (or all your apps) for a certain period.

Now, here’s the issue: I’d always somehow find a loophole and bypass the restrictions. I wouldn’t be a proper tech journalist if I couldn’t, after all.

Of course, doing so defeated the entire purpose of blocking apps or my phone, since I’d find some way to gain access back to them whenever I wanted. Naturally, this meant I needed a better way that would force me to stay away from my phone, no matter what I tried to do.

So, I decided to eliminate the distraction entirely (at least temporarily, when I needed to focus). What I do now is drop my phone into my cupboard, lock the cupboard, and then give the key to a family member. I let them know not to give it back to me no matter what I do or say.

All through my childhood, my mom repeated one thing: mobile phones are the biggest distraction of our time. She’d constantly call them an abomination and say that, despite the benefits they bring, they do more harm than good.

Though I never quite understood why she was so against innocent little gadgets back then, I’ve come to realize she had a point, at least to an extent. Given my mom’s feelings about phones, I know I can count on her for this task.

6

Listen to Video Game Soundtracks While Working

Some people listen to Lo-Fi beats when they want to focus, while others prefer different color sounds like white noise, brown noise, green noise, etc. A few can listen to tracks with lyrics in them, others can’t. Some people enjoy having TV shows or movies playing in the background as they work, or even podcasts. Many enjoy calming tracks like the sound of rain, ocean waves, or birds chirping.

I, on the other hand, am not particularly a fan of the above. Instead, I willingly choose to listen to video game soundtracks, and not the peaceful or ambient kind either. I’m talking about tracks like the Subway Surfers soundtrack!

Peaceful music makes me all sleepy, so why not shake things up and listen to the complete opposite? After all, an adrenaline rush is sometimes exactly what I need to stay alert.

I had a couple of really important examinations last year, and I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said that I listened to the Subway Surfers track all day, every day. If you don’t believe me, my Spotify Wrapped speaks for itself. The main theme song of Subway Surfers ended up as my top track of the year, and I’m yet to recover from the embarrassment that came with that.

Nonetheless, I did end up with the grades I wanted in those exams. So though strange, this productivity hack definitely works.

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5

Keep My Shoes On at Home to Stay in “Work Mode”

The only place I really want to go after a tiring day of classes is my room. Even if I have a gazillion deadlines piled up, I’d much rather tackle them all one by one at home rather than head to the library or a café. Now, the second I get back home, I typically want to change into my comfortable pajamas right away. The next minute, my bed is calling my name, and a quick power nap doesn’t sound too bad.

Power naps have never worked for me, and once I’m asleep, it’s nearly impossible to wake me up. So, I avoid them when I can. But getting comfortable almost always translates to taking a nap for me. Though I wasn’t up for sacrificing my comfort, I decided to find a middle ground and sort of trick myself into thinking I’m still in “work mode.”

For me, the easiest way to do that was to simply wear my shoes at home! I’m not talking every day flip-flops. Instead, I mean actual shoes you’d wear outdoors. There’ve been times where I’ve worked while wearing heels (even in my PJs) because, somehow, that odd mix-up keeps me awake and productive.

If you wear makeup, another odd hack is to simply not take it off until you’re done! The trick here is just tricking your brain into thinking the day isn’t over yet, even if you’re already home!

4

Explain Concepts to an Imaginary Audience

Though this one likely isn’t as weird as the rest of the tricks I’m covering in this article, I was surprised to find out that barely anyone I know has the habit of explaining stuff to an imaginary audience. Unlike the rest, this one’s actually backed by science.

It’s essentially a method of active recall, which is a learning technique that encourages you to actively retrieve information from your memory rather than just passively reading your notes again and again.

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Active recall is meant to strengthen your memory and improve long-term retention. While flashcards are one of the best ways to use active recall, it can sometimes get boring and repetitive. A good way to shake things up (while still practicing active recall) is to close your notes and teach everything you’ve learned to someone else.

Now, when my sisters were younger, I’d force them to sit with me and listen to me explain the difference between covalent and ionic bonds. Now that they’re older, it’s not easy to get a hold of them and force them to listen to me explain something just for my own good! So, I had to get creative… I began explaining what I was studying to an imaginary audience.

I’d sometimes close my eyes and pretend I was a teacher, and other times I’d explain my concepts to my stuffed toys! I’ve also taught multiple topics to the pets I’ve had over the years. It’s a bit silly, but it works.

3

Turn My Notes into Songs (or Strange Mnemonics)

Sometimes, no matter what I do, there’s some information that just won’t stick in my brain. One minute I remember it, the next minute I don’t. For concepts I need to master, explaining them to an imaginary audience works. But memorizing specific terms is a whole different battle. Fortunately, turning such things into songs or mnemonics never fails me. The stranger the song or mnemonic is, the better I’ll remember it.

During my GCSEs, I needed to remember the important rivers in my country: Jhelum, Sutlej, Swat, Ravi, Hub, Chenab, Kabul, Chitral, Dasht, Hingol, Zhob, Indus, and Mula. Sound strange? My sixteen-year-old self thought so too.

So, I decided to use Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Kim Kardashian, and Zayn Malik to remember! Here’s the mnemonic I used (that I still remember to this day):

Justin said Selena rejected him, so he called Kim. Chaotic drama happened. Zayn intensely meditated.

If you like singing, turn it into a song with the strangest lyrics ever. Recalling the song lyrics can get a bit awkward during exam conditions, but hey, it’s your grade on the line.

2

Send Someone a Risky Text

If you don’t want to quite lock your phone in the cupboard, I have another way (that’s almost always guaranteed to work) to keep you away from your phone. If you have a thought you’ve been keeping from someone, a confession you’ve wanted to send, a message you’ve been nervous to share, or just a risky text in general, you can use it to your advantage.

Send it right before you need to focus on a task. Every time I’ve sent a risky text, even if it wasn’t something to be particularly scared about, I’ve always avoided picking up my phone, afraid of what the recipient might say! So, just save a risky text you need to send for when you need to focus on a task.

1

Film Myself Working in a Time-Lapse

If you’d rather keep your phone right next to you when you’re focusing on a task, and don’t really have a risky text you need to send, another odd way to stay focused is to record a time-lapse of yourself doing it. Since all modern phones come with a built-in time-lapse mode, you don’t need any extra equipment or even a third-party app.

Just prop your phone up, switch to the Time-Lapse mode in your device’s native Camera app, and get going. Knowing that recording it will give me a sped-up video of all my hard work, I’m always tempted to keep going until I finish the task.

If the abundance of productivity hacks out there just don’t work for you, try some of the ones I’ve covered above. The unconventional nature of them might make you hesitant to try, but don’t knock ’em until you’ve given them a fair shot. Who knows, you might just find one that actually clicks.

After more than a decade helping users save and rediscover content they love, the Pocket app is officially shutting down.

Everything We Know About Pocket’s Retirement

Mozilla, which acquired Pocket in 2017, has announced that the service will close on July 8, 2025, marking the end of an era for one of the web’s most beloved read-it-later tools. Considering Pocket’s widespread use, its impending shut down is likely a surprise to many.

Despite springing this on us without much notice—new account signups are no longer available starting today, May 22, and the app has been removed from all app stores—Mozilla does have a plan it intends to follow to help you get all of your saved content out its service.

“Pocket has helped millions save articles and discover stories worth reading,” Mozilla wrote in an updated support document. “But the way people use the web has evolved, so we’re channeling our resources into projects that better match their browsing habits and online needs.”

Beyond that, Mozilla also shared how it plans to double down on making its browser and other tools fit the needs of everyday people, especially as the way we use the internet continues to evolve. This is more bad news for Mozilla fans, especially after Firefox’s updated terms of use spurred some outrage earlier this year.

You Can Export Your Data Now

While Pocket shutting down is undoubtedly a major inconvenience for those who use the service, Mozilla has made it easy to export your data so you don’t lose anything you’ve saved.

To export your data, log into your Pocket account and navigate to the Pocket Export page. Once here, you can export your saves by clicking on Export HTML file, which will create a file with all the URLs and titles of your saves, archive, and favorites.

Mozilla says it may take up to 24 hours for your data to be exported. Once successfully exported, the HTML file will be sent to the email connected to your Pocket account.

All Data Will Be Deleted Later This Year

On top of providing an update about where Pocket is headed, Mozilla also provided a breakdown of key dates you’ll want to be aware of going forward.

• May 22, 2025: Pocket will be removed from app stores, new account sign-ups will stop, and monthly subscription renewals will be disabled.
• July 8, 2025: The app officially shuts down and moves into export-only mode. Annual subscribers to Pocket Premium will receive automatic prorated refunds.
• October 8, 2025: Final deadline to export your saved content. After this date, all user data will be permanently deleted.

Though the Pocket app is shutting down, Mozilla says it plans to continue its mission of curating quality content through other tools. The company plans to continue its newsletter offerings with a new letter called Ten Tabs, which will replace its previous newsletter, Pocket Hits.

Minimalist phones are gaining steam, with the latest entrant on the scene being the Minimal Phone MP01. While I love the idea of using such devices to curb smartphone addiction, I’m not ready to make the switch just yet.

4

Limited Functionality

My first gripe with minimalist phones is their limited functionality, which, unfortunately, is also their main selling point. These phones often strip away core functionality like navigation and good cameras to drive home their minimalism philosophy. While it makes sense to want to trade away some features, they often go overboard, making the devices downright unattractive for everyday use.

Take the Light Phone III as an example. Its key selling point is the small monochrome screen, and it only gives you a handful of utility apps: notes, alarm, phone, calculator, calendar, timer, album, camera, directions, music, and a few more. You’re limited to those apps because it doesn’t have access to any app store. The Mudita Kompakt follows a similar approach, offering only a handful of apps.

The Minimal Phone tries to address this by giving access to the Google Play Store. However, it fails in other areas (more on that later).

I’ll keep my regular smartphone until minimalist phones can strike a perfect balance between simplicity and utility. Right now, I’d rather turn my Android device into a dumbphone than buy a minimalist phone.

3

Poor Hardware and User Experience

Another big turnoff about minimalist phones is the hardware and user experience. The hardware of minimalist phones tends to be subpar, making me wonder whether these phones misunderstand simplicity. Yes, I want a simple phone, but that doesn’t mean it can only use outdated or inferior hardware.

The Light Phone III, for example, ships with a tiny 3.92-inch matte OLED screen. The Minimalist Phone and the Mudita Kompakt have slightly larger 4.3-inch panels. But they use an e-paper display, which isn’t ideal for a smartphone.

Another downside is the camera. The Minimal Phone has a single 16MP rear camera, which WIRED described as “abysmal.” The Light Phone III’s camera also doesn’t match modern standards, and the story is the same across the board. Even worse, the Light Phone III’s fingerprint sensor doesn’t work yet. We have also seen complaints about the Minimal Phone suffering from constant screen ghosting, not to mention it was designed to use a cheap plastic chassis.

In addition, the physical design of most minimalist phones feels like an afterthought. Considering how such devices are marketed as minimalist alternatives, I expect a certain baseline level of performance and usability without the distracting aspects of modern smartphones.

2

Bad Cost-to-Value Ratio

Speaking of price, the Light Phone III is the most expensive option I’ve seen, going for a whopping $600. The Mudita Kompakt and Bigme HiBreak Pro will each set you back by $439, and the Minimal Phone comes in at $400.

These devices aren’t cheap, especially when you consider the value proposition. Anything over $400 falls into mid-range smartphone territory, where you’d typically get far more in terms of performance, build quality, and features. But that’s not the case here.

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For context, let’s take the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro as an example. It costs about $280 and packs a lot more, including a 120Hz AMOLED panel, a solid Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Pro chip, a triple rear camera setup, and more. The Google Pixel 9A is also a solid mid-range phone at $499, while the Samsung Galaxy A36 punches above its weight and costs $399.

When you compare minimalist phones to similarly priced mainstream smartphones, they offer poor value for money. While the minimalist philosophy is appealing, it’s hard to justify paying a premium for what feels like a downgrade. Considering their features and price, it feels like companies are selling a lifestyle, not smartphones.

1

Incompatibility With Daily Life

As idealistic as minimalist phones sound, they often clash with the demands of modern life. Most current minimalist phones take the concept too far, removing even essential apps like banking, authenticators, password managers, ridesharing, and messaging.

I don’t know about you, but I use these and other essential apps purposefully, and I need them in my daily life. I also need a capable camera that can take decent photos when I hit the road, which is missing on these devices.

Such compromises mean that even if I splurged on a minimalist phone, I’d need a second, more capable device to get through the day, which defeats the entire purpose.

I genuinely appreciate the idea behind minimalist phones. However, at this moment, these phones have significant compromises that make them unattractive to my daily life. They cut corners on hardware while charging a premium, have limited functionality, and are impractical for my daily smartphone use. In their current state, I prefer to sit on the fence until these issues are addressed.

Tired of shouting commands at your AI assistant? Google’s next-generation universal AI assistant can solve that problem for you, and more.

AI Might Soon Control Your Android Phone

Google has demonstrated its vision for a “universal AI assistant” that can understand the context around you, come up with a solution, and carry it out on your behalf. The goal is to create an all-seeing, all-hearing assistant that can automatically figure out when it’s needed and chime in without you having to summon it manually.

This new assistant is called Project Astra, and Google has shown some pretty impressive demonstrations of what it can do at I/O 2025. In one demo, a user is having problems with their bike’s brakes and asks Astra to find the bike’s user manual online.

Once Astra finds the manual, it is then asked to scroll until it finds the section covering the bike’s brakes, and it does so flawlessly. The user then asks Astra to look up a video tutorial on YouTube and even contact the bike shop to find information on what parts they need. Astra is even able to call the nearest bike shop on the user’s behalf and ask if the required parts are in stock.

The Verge also reports seeing a demo where Bibo Xiu, a product manager on the Google DeepMind team, pointed her phone camera at a pair of Sony headphones and asked Astra to identify them. Astra answered, saying they’re either the WH-1000XM4 or the WH-1000XM3, a confusion I’ll bet most humans will have, too.

Once identified, Xiu asked Astra to pull up a manual and explain how to pair them to her phone, only to interrupt the AI assistant mid-answer and ask it to pair the headphones for her. As you can probably guess, Astra obliged without any issues.

From the demos, it seems that Astra is simulating screen inputs to move around the screen. The screen recording indicators also suggest that Astra reads your screen and decides where to go, navigating different user interfaces as it goes about its task.

A Universal AI Assistant Is on the Horizon

While impressive, these demos aren’t perfect. They still require user input, and in the case of Xiu’s demo, she had to manually enable a feature giving Astra access to her phone screen.

At the moment, Project Astra is more of a testbed for Google’s wildest AI ambitions. Features that perform well here eventually trickle down to tools like Gemini and are made available to us. Google claims that its ultimate vision is to “transform the Gemini app into a universal AI assistant that will perform everyday tasks for us.”

Google is hard at work, slowly phasing out older tools in favor of newer, AI-powered ones. AI Mode is replacing Google Search, and Gemini already has a list of impressive features you should try.

That said, even the most advanced AI systems of today require you to enter prompts at each step, provide them with the necessary data and context, and you might still need to take manual action. Since Astra can access the internet and Google’s services, it’s looking to replace all these inputs by accessing your information from different platforms and building the context it needs to take action.

This is not an easy goal to achieve, and don’t even get me started on the privacy and security issues a universal AI assistant like Astra can potentially raise down the line. Astra could be doing all the heavy lifting locally using the Gemini Nano model, but the demo shows no hint of that being the case.

Building an assistant like this is going to take a fair bit of time, but with these demos, Google has shown us a glimpse of the future. It may not be coming soon, but a universal AI assistant is on the horizon, and I am eagerly awaiting its arrival.

I always use a VPN to keep my computer data safe, but that’s just the beginning. From smart TVs to gaming consoles, VPNs can do much more than you might think, adding security and unlocking some pretty cool perks.

5

A Lightweight VPN for Browsers

A VPN browser extension serves a similar purpose to a regular VPN (virtual private network) by masking your IP address and encrypting your internet connection. However, it only affects your browser, which has several benefits:

• Lightweight and faster: A VPN browser extension only encrypts and reroutes traffic from your browser, not the whole device, which reduces strain on its processor and often results in faster browsing speeds.
• Quick and easy to use: Installation is quick and easy, and, once installed, it offers more convenience than a full VPN, usually requiring just a couple of clicks to activate.
• Targeted protection: Only your browser traffic goes through the VPN browser extension, with other apps, such as music and TV streaming or video conferencing, using your regular full-speed connection.
• Cost-effective or free: VPN browser extensions are usually cheaper than full-service VPNs, and even free in some instances, which, while not as secure, may be enough for casual users.

It should be noted that while using a VPN browser extension has many advantages, they do not offer the same level of protection as a regular (full) VPN. Some VPN browser extensions act as proxies, which do not use end-to-end encryption like true VPNs.

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4

A Dedicated VPN for Gaming

Gamers will find that a dedicated gaming VPN offers several advantages, especially if optimized for low latency and performance.

• DDoS protection for competitive players: For those involved in competitive gaming, especially eSports players and streamers, masking your real IP address makes it much harder for someone to flood your connection and knock you offline.
• Bypass georestrictions and IP bans: A VPN can help access a game or server restricted to certain regions or purchase a game unavailable in your country. It can also serve as a workaround if your IP has been unfairly banned from a server.
• Solve ISP-related latency or routing issues: Some VPNs reduce latency by routing traffic through optimized servers if your ISP is routing inefficiently. A VPN can also offer a more direct or faster path between you and the server, if it’s located far away.

Remember that free or poorly optimized VPNs usually provide a slower connection and aren’t suitable for gaming. Some companies, including Nord VPN, offer dedicated gaming VPNs with ultra-fast servers for an improved gaming experience.

3

Use a VPN With Your TV

There are several practical benefits to using a VPN with your smart TV, especially if you are concerned about privacy or travel regularly.

• Access georestricted content: If, like me, you are a regular traveller, you’ll know the frustration of being unable to access your favorite shows overseas. Not only does a VPN circumvent geo-restrictions, but changing your virtual location means you can access content that is only available in other regions.
• Improved privacy and security: Encrypted internet traffic means that your ISP or third parties cannot monitor your online activity as easily. It also prevents advertisers from tracking you and adds a layer of protection if you ever connect it to a public network (like in motorhomes or shared accommodation).
• Avoid bandwidth throttling: Sometimes, an ISP will considerably slow down (throttle) your connection when it detects a high volume of traffic. A VPN can prevent this by masking your data usage.

The flipside of using a VPN with your smart TV is that you may be limited to what’s available on your smart TV app store.

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2

A Comprehensive VPN for Your Router

Set up a dedicated VPN on your router to provide powerful benefits throughout the home or office, without managing installations on individual devices.

• Always-on protection: With a VPN installed on your router, all connected devices are covered, with consistent encryption and IP masking for game consoles, phones, tablets, IoT devices, and smart TVs.
• Easy device management: Once the VPN is installed, the router handles everything. You don’t need to install VPNs on multiple devices and remember to activate each one.
• Simplified setup and control: You can manage your VPN settings, server location, and encryption protocols from one place. This makes it easier to manage large households or offices with many computers and devices.

Not all routers support VPNs, and there are pros and cons when it comes to router VPNs. It’s worth remembering that a VPN installed on your router can reduce your internet speeds across all your devices, especially if you have a less-powerful router with weaker hardware.

1

A VPN for Smartphones and Tablets

Our data is vulnerable to cybercriminals, scammers, and data breaches on mobile devices, and this is often where our most sensitive information is found. This is why using a VPN on our smartphones and tablets is all the more important, especially when connecting via an unfamiliar network.

Most VPN providers offer access for multiple devices on a single plan. Be sure to protect as many devices as possible for your subscription (for example, Express VPN protects up to eight devices), and perks can include ad blockers, 4K streaming support, password managers, and built-in threat detection.

Protecting our online privacy and security has never been more critical. VPNs provide an essential and relatively inexpensive solution to the widespread misuse of our data by scammers, data brokers, advertisers, hackers, and cybercriminals, to name a few. By extending VPN protection across several devices, you’re not just enhancing your online security; you’re taking better control of your entire digital footprint.

Downloading programs is an easy enough task, but only if you’re using official websites or app stores. If you use third-party sources or torrents, this fake password manager is a good reminder of why the official sources are best.

This Password Manager Steals Your Passwords

Security researchers at WithSecure have discovered a malware campaign in which hackers have been delivering trojanized versions of the KeePass password manager since at least October 2024. These versions install malware called Cobalt Strike along with the password manager, which can steal saved passwords and other credentials from your PC and deploy ransomware on your network.

Since KeePass is open source, hackers easily accessed the source code to create a convincing clone. This malicious version is called KeeLoader and contains all of KeePass’ functionality, except it saves all your passwords as a text file and sends them to hackers using Cobalt Strike beacons.

The distribution is handled by fake websites that use typo-squatted domains like the following:

• keeppaswrd.com
• keegass.com
• KeePass.me
• keespass.biz
• keebass.com
• KeePassx.com

Some of these domains are still active and distributing fake versions of KeePass. For context, the legitimate KeePass website is at keepass.info. The fake websites were available via Microsoft’s Bing search engine. WithSecure claims that the fake domains were being served through DuckDuckGo advertisements. However, given that Microsoft and DuckDuckGo have formed a partnership on Microsoft-provided ads, it’s also likely that they were advertised with Bing as well.

The entire campaign came to light during WithSecure’s investigation of a ransomware incident at a European IT service provider. It turned out that the fake password manager not only stole credentials but also installed ransomware on the company’s VMware ESXi servers. WithSecure noted that this is the first instance of an open-source password manager being used simultaneously as a credential-stealing tool and malware loader.

Watch Where You Get Your Programs

You can use your browser’s password manager with precautions, but using a dedicated program is a much more secure alternative. Hackers target password managers for exactly this reason—it puts risk where you least expect it, meaning they can catch you off guard.

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You should always download all programs, especially sensitive ones like your password manager, from their official websites or the app store based on your platform. Downloading software and games from third-party websites or torrents always runs the risk of your program coming with a side of malware.

As an added precaution, I’d also recommend you avoid clicking on ads and sponsored links that encourage you to download a program. Even if the ad shows the legitimate URL for the program, hackers have repeatedly shown that they can bypass ad policies and display legitimate URLs while still redirecting you to fake sites.

Changing your DNS settings is often touted as a way to speed up your internet browsing. But I was skeptical about how much of a difference a simple DNS server change could actually influence my browsing speeds—that was, until I tried it out.

What Made Me Consider Changing My DNS

My internet connection is normally quick and stable, but I still get sluggish internet from time to time. I’d be streaming a video or browsing my favorite sites, and suddenly loading times would drag. I even ran speed tests and confirmed my bandwidth was fine, which confused me even more.

After some digging, I discovered that my ISP’s DNS servers might be the problem. DNS (Domain Name System) is like a phonebook service that translates domain names into IP addresses that direct you to a service. For example, when you type makeuseof.com into your browser, the DNS server looks up the corresponding IP address and directs your request to one of MakeUseOf’s nearest servers.

The problem? Many ISPs run overloaded and sometimes poorly maintained DNS servers that create bottlenecks. Even with fast internet speeds, slow DNS lookups make browsing feel slow because your browser waits longer to determine where to send requests.

Once I realized this, I tested my ISP’s DNS performance against alternatives. I downloaded GRC’s DNS Benchmark tool, which lets me compare the performance of my current DNS with over 200 public DNS providers simultaneously. The results were clear. Google’s DNS servers (8.8.4.4) consistently delivered the fastest response times in my location, followed closely by Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1.

What really caught my attention was seeing my ISP’s DNS server ranked much lower on the chart, confirming my suspicions that this was contributing to my occasional browsing slowdowns. The DNS Benchmark showed response times in milliseconds, and while the differences might seem small, these slowdowns add up, especially on services that require multiple DNS lookups.

Unlike my previous skepticism about “internet speed hacks,” changing DNS appeared legitimate. The concept made technical sense: using faster, more reliable DNS servers could eliminate the unnecessary delays I had when browsing the web.

How I Set a Custom DNS on Both My Router and PC

I wanted to see if switching DNS could really make a difference, so I decided to set a custom DNS on both my router and my main PC. I set up both my router and PC to test which approach worked better and ensure my laptop would use fast DNS even on public networks.

Setting DNS on My Router

First up: the router. You can change the DNS for every device on your network using your router’s web interface.

1. I opened my browser and typed in my router’s IP address (for me, that’s 192.168.1.1).
2. Once logged in, I navigated to Network > Interfaces > WAN > Advanced Settings.
   • I unchecked the box labeled “Use DNS servers advertised by peer.” Depending on your router brand and firmware, you may not see this option (or a similar option)
3. In the Use custom DNS servers field, I entered two addresses:
   • Primary DNS: 8.8.4.4 (Google)
   • Secondary DNS: 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare)
4. After saving and rebooting the router, every device on my network, such as smartphones, laptops, and smart TVs, started automatically using these faster DNS servers.

Setting DNS on your router setup is great because you only have to do it once, and every device that connects to your router gets the benefit—no need to repeat the process on each gadget.

Setting DNS on My PC

There are also some instances where setting DNS directly on your PC comes in handy, such as when using public Wi-Fi or when using a special DNS service like Smart DNS that allows you to unlock geo-restricted content.

1. Head to Settings > Network & Internet > Hardware Properties.
2. Now, alongside your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection, find the DNS Server Assignment and select Edit.
3. Chose the Manual option, turn on the IPv4 toggle, and input:
   • Preferred DNS: 8.8.4.4
   • Alternate DNS: 1.1.1.1
4. Hit Save.

You can also do this through the classic Control Panel if you prefer the old-school route:

1. Open the Control Panel, and head to Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings.
2. Right-click your network, choose Properties, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and enter the DNS addresses above.

The entire process took less than ten minutes, and just like that, my PC started using the new DNS servers.

Comparing Internet Speeds Before and After the Switch

To measure the impact accurately, I tested various online activities before and after making the DNS switch. The results were promising.

Before switching to Google’s DNS, DNSPerf showed my ISP’s DNS servers responded in approximately 76ms when resolving a standard domain lookup. After implementing Google’s DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4), the same test showed response times dropped to just 32ms. Further tests on different sites provided similar results.

The most noticeable improvement came when browsing image-heavy websites that load content from multiple domains. My local shopping site, which used to take 5–6 seconds to load fully, now seems to load in about half the time (after flushing the DNS cache). Images, buttons, and product descriptions now appear almost instantly, making the browsing experience feel much snappier.

Video streaming showed mixed results. Netflix and YouTube didn’t buffer any less than before (likely because they use large content delivery networks [CDNs] that minimize DNS impact), but browsing their libraries and jumping between videos felt slightly more responsive.

Interestingly, the improvement felt most dramatic on my older devices. My old Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet suddenly browsed the web much more responsively, suggesting that efficient DNS particularly benefits devices with limited processing power.

Extra Benefits (and Minor Drawbacks) to Changing Your DNS

Aside from the speed increases, there are other benefits to switching my DNS that I didn’t realize at the time.

Another reason to change your DNS is to improve privacy and security. With Google’s DNS, my ISP could no longer track every website I visited through DNS requests. Google’s privacy policy for their public DNS is clearer than my ISP’s vague terms about data collection (yours might differ; check your ISP’s privacy policy).

Google’s DNS also has built-in defenses against a range of online threats. For starters, it supports DNSSEC, which helps prevent hackers from redirecting you to fake versions of websites, called cache poisoning. It also blocks access to known malicious domains and phishing sites, so if you accidentally click a sketchy link, there’s a good chance Google DNS will stop the connection before anything bad happens. Plus, with DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS, your DNS queries are encrypted, making it much harder for anyone to snoop on your browsing or tamper with your requests while they’re in transit.

That said, the switch was not entirely seamless. After changing my default DNS, some location-specific services stopped working as expected. My weather app, for instance, occasionally showed data for cities far from where I actually was, unless I granted it location access, which I typically avoid. Some streaming services also temporarily assumed I was in a different region. These issues only happen occasionally, so they do not bother me much, but your experience may differ.

Switching to another PC can be a hassle unless you decide to plug in the storage drive. Microsoft has now been spotted testing a wireless transfer feature that’ll make it easy to swap PCs.

Transferring Data Between PCs Can Soon Be Easy

Windows already has a built-in backup app that lets you quickly restore files and settings from an older PC via OneDrive. However, this feature isn’t a perfect solution, and unless you have plenty of OneDrive storage, it’s not going to be very useful except for bringing your Windows settings over.

As spotted by Phantom of Earth on X, there’s a new option to Transfer files to a new PC in the Windows Backup app. This isn’t your usual cloud data transfer, it seems to be a new wireless data transfer mechanism between two Windows PCs connected to the same Wi-Fi network. When one PC initiates the transfer, you’ll get a six-digit passcode to enter on the second PC to connect.

The feature description notes that it can transfer files, apps, settings, and credentials over a network. For context, the existing Windows Backup app only lets you back up files from the Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders to OneDrive, and remembers installed apps, pinned app preferences, accounts, Wi-Fi network passwords, other credentials, and your Windows settings and preferences.

If implemented, it’ll be a significantly better experience when switching from an old PC to a new one. Currently, even if you’ve got everything backed up using Windows Backup, you’ll still have to install all the apps manually after the switch. The best way to replicate your Windows installation is to either move the entire storage drive between computers or clone your existing storage drive.

Windows has had a file transfer tool for transferring data between two PCs before. The Windows Easy Transfer debuted in Windows XP Service Pack 2 and was in the OS until Windows 8.1. It lets you transfer data between two PCs using a network connection, external storage like USB drives or CD/DVD, or via a special USB cable designed for direct data transfer between two PCs.

Microsoft’s Shabby Feature Release Record

Given how unreliable Nearby Share, Windows 11’s built-in wireless transfer tool, has been, this could be another attempt to finally fix Windows’ wireless transfer woes. However, I wouldn’t be too hopeful until this feature starts rolling out to the stable build of Windows 11.

Unfortunately, Microsoft has had a rather shaky record with releasing features spotted in testing. So, just because a Windows backup feature has been spotted, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll end up in stable releases.

With Windows 10 on the brink of being discontinued, the new feature will at least ease the migration to Windows 11. With new warnings to Windows 10 users, Microsoft is desperate for people to upgrade to its latest OS.

If your internet is slow and you feel like you’ve tried everything, you’re in luck: I’ve got one more fix you might not have tried. Changing your DNS settings on either your Wi-Fi router or your computer can drastically affect your internet speeds—but how do you know which device to change them on?

Why It Matters Where You Change Your DNS

Every time you click a link, your device asks a DNS server to translate that website name into an IP address. This lookup happens in milliseconds, but if your DNS server is slow, even a fast connection can feel sluggish. By changing my ISP’s default DNS to a more reliable DNS, I was able to get faster address lookups.

The impact is real: a slow DNS can add hundreds of milliseconds to every website load, which stacks up quickly if you’re opening lots of tabs or streaming content.

You can set DNS in two places:

• Router: All devices on your network use the DNS you pick, unless you override it on a device.
• Per-device: Only that computer, phone, or tablet uses your chosen DNS; everything else sticks with the router’s default.

Your router acts as the traffic director for your home network. If you set DNS on the router, every device gets the same treatment. But setting DNS on your computer bypasses the router’s DNS and talks to your chosen server directly. That difference can matter more than you think, especially if you have a mix of devices or use your network for streaming or heavy browsing. A slow DNS server can delay access to websites and services.

Router vs. Computer DNS: Which Setup Gave Me Faster Internet Speeds

To test which setup provided faster DNS resolution, I used Microsoft’s Resolve-DnsName cmdlet and made a PowerShell Script to automate lookup times for the sites I visit most often, such as YouTube, Netflix, Twitch, Gmail, and a few others. I tested both initial (uncached) lookups and repeat (cached) lookups to get a clear picture of how both setups perform. I used Google’s Public DNS (8.8.4.4) for these tests, as it’s one of the biggest and best-connected DNS providers.

Initial Connection Speeds

When I visited a website for the first time with an empty DNS cache, configuring the DNS server directly on my computer consistently led to faster lookup times. The test data backs this up. For example, when I queried YouTube or Netflix using Google DNS set on the router, the lookup times were typically between 64 and 68 milliseconds. However, when I configured Google DNS directly on my PC, those same lookups dropped to around 58 to 62 milliseconds.

I’ve had to keep flushing the DNS on my Windows PC and restarting dnsmasq on my router (a lightweight DNS forwarder used by many routers) to test initial connection speeds multiple times. After a few tests, the direct PC to the DNS server seemed to be faster consistently, albeit only for a few milliseconds.

Overall, a direct PC to DNS connection improved lookup speed, but that extra few milliseconds doesn’t make any appreciable difference. I can’t tell when visiting sites on my browser, especially since other factors, such as server response times and resources, take different times to load. However, if you simply want the fastest DNS possible, directly setting DNS on your PC will yield slightly better results.

Cached Performance

But what happens after that first visit, when DNS caching comes into play? This is where the router’s DNS cache can really shine, though not in the way you might expect. Once a site’s address is cached—whether by the router or by Windows—repeat lookups become much faster.

With the router handling DNS and cache enabled, Google DNS lookups dropped to as low as 10–14 milliseconds. When the Windows DNS cache was in play, lookups dipped even lower, sometimes hitting 6–8 milliseconds. In practice, both setups felt lightning-fast for repeat visits. Though setting DNS directly on the PC still edges out router DNS, the router’s capability to cache DNS from all devices in the network far outweighs the extra few milliseconds you get from setting DNS on a device. By pooling all your DNS cache on the router, all other devices get to enjoy resolved addresses without necessarily visiting the site a few more times.

Overall, your network will likely save more time setting DNS on the router when it comes to caching addresses.

Real-World Streaming and Gaming

For online games, DNS speed mostly affects how quickly you connect to a server or match. Once you’re in the game, DNS plays almost no role in your ping or lag, since it only helps with initial server discovery or matchmaking. Still, if you play lots of different games or switch servers often, a fast DNS might shave seconds off your matchmaking and login times.

I tested this with games like League of Legends and Dragon Nest. Changing DNS on my PC may have improved login and matchmaking, but once the game started, there was no difference in ping or gameplay smoothness. If you’re chasing lower ping, focus on your ISP and connection quality, not your DNS.

How Each Method Affected All My Devices

When you change your DNS settings, where you do it can shape how every device on your network performs.

Router-Only DNS: Set It and Forget It

Setting DNS on the router meant every device in my house, including phones, tablets, smart TVs, and game consoles, used the same fast DNS. I didn’t have to touch each device, and guests automatically receive the same improved experience.

This approach also prevents devices from falling back to slow ISP DNS servers. Plus, the router’s cache sped up repeat visits for everyone on the network. If a family member loads a site on their device, it would open faster for me, too, due to caching. But there were trade-offs:

• No per-device customization: My gaming PC couldn’t use a specialized gaming DNS while the rest of the house used a privacy-focused provider.
• Router dependency: If the router reboots, cached DNS data is wiped, causing a brief slowdown until the cache is rebuilt.

Still, it’s a great option.

Device-Only DNS: More Control and More Work

Setting DNS on individual devices lets me optimize for each use case. My work laptop uses Cloudflare’s malware-blocking DNS (1.1.1.1), my living room TV is stuck with Google DNS or Smart DNS for streaming, and my phone switches DNS based on whether I am on Wi-Fi or mobile data.

This setup gives me the fastest possible DNS lookups on my main devices and lets me experiment with privacy and security features. But setting it up was also more work. With a dozen devices, managing individual settings gets tedious. Family members sometimes forget to update their DNS after a network change, leading to inconsistent speeds and occasional frustration.

Ultimately, the choice between router-wide and device-level DNS isn’t just about speed—it’s about how much control you want and how much work you’re willing to do to keep your network running just how you like it.

Which DNS Setup Is Right for You?

So, which DNS setup is right for you? In terms of speed, you’ll get faster DNS lookups by setting DNS directly on your PC. This is because your PC skips going to the router for DNS, allowing it to resolve an address locally. However, this speed advantage is so minimal that you likely won’t feel the difference. Honestly, after all my testing, using both router and PC-level DNS together is the best way to maximize what your network can do.

Setting DNS on your router gives every device in your home a fast, reliable baseline. It means you only have to configure things once, and suddenly your phones, laptops, tablets, and smart TVs all benefit from better DNS performance and privacy. The router’s DNS cache also speeds up repeat visits for everyone, so the whole household gets a smoother experience when revisiting their favorite sites or streaming services.

But that’s just half the story. By also setting DNS directly on specific devices, you unlock a whole new level of flexibility. For example, I use Smart DNS to bypass geo-restricted content on my streaming TV. I can’t set this special DNS on my router because it’s pretty slow at resolving addresses and would affect all my devices. But if I only set it on my smart TV or PC, only that device gets affected by the slower DNS:

While a slower DNS is an acceptable trade-off for accessing region-locked content, this should not be the default for all devices on your network. By carefully setting special DNS on specific devices, those devices get to access certain functionalities, while everything else in your home continues to enjoy the speed of your router’s set DNS.

Another big advantage of setting DNS on your computer is testing out new DNS providers before rolling them out to your entire network. Maybe you want to see if a new service is actually faster, more reliable, or offers better privacy. By trying it on your PC first, you can experiment without any risk to the rest of your devices. If something doesn’t work right, switching back is easy—no need to troubleshoot the whole house.

This hybrid approach also means you can customize DNS for specific needs. Want extra security on your work laptop? Set it to use a DNS that blocks malware. Need the lowest latency for gaming? Point your gaming PC to the fastest DNS you can find. Meanwhile, everyone else at home still benefits from the router’s setup, and you don’t have to manage a dozen different configurations.

In practice, combining router and device-level DNS settings gives you the best of both worlds: broad improvements for everyone, and targeted tweaks where you need them most. It’s the most versatile, future-proof way to keep your network fast, flexible, and ready for whatever you throw at it—whether streaming, gaming, working, or just browsing the web.

NordVPN includes an all-in-one security feature called Threat Protection, which blocks ads, trackers, malware, and suspicious websites. This underrated cybersecurity tool adds an essential layer of protection while you browse and is a must-have for anyone concerned about online safety.

What Is NordVPN Threat Protection?

NordVPN Threat Protection is a comprehensive cybersecurity tool that shields you against online threats. It’s a security feature built into NordVPN designed to go beyond standard VPN encryption by actively identifying and blocking online threats.

This approach helps reduce your reliance on separate ad blockers or antivirus software by combining multiple protections in one tool.

While most people use a VPN to encrypt internet traffic, mask their IP address, or enjoy other benefits of using a VPN, Threat Protection adds another layer by actively shielding from online threats.

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NordVPN offers two plans: Threat Protection and Threat Protection Pro. The standard Threat Protection plan uses DNS filtering to block access to harmful websites at the domain level.

Threat Protection Pro is robust and can work in the background without requiring an active VPN connection. It goes beyond DNS filtering by working at the URL and JavaScript level, making it more effective at stopping threats.

Regardless of the plan you choose, Threat Protection scans URLs and files in real time as you browse. This makes it particularly useful if you want strong, always-on security without micromanaging settings or running multiple apps.

Why You Should Use NordVPN Threat Protection

NordVPN’s Threat Protection is more than just an extra perk from the VPN company. It’s a comprehensive security feature for safeguarding against the most common online threats. In today’s internet landscape, where malware, trackers, and phishing sites are rampant, this added layer of defense is extremely helpful.

NordVPN is already one of the top security apps for protecting data, and its Threat Protection feature further enhances its usefulness.

1. Robust Malware and Virus Protection

The biggest reason to use Threat Protection is its anti-malware and antivirus capabilities. It runs in the background and automatically blocks access to malware-hosting websites. Additionally, it scans downloaded files for viruses and, if needed, uploads them to the cloud for deeper analysis.

A key thing to note is that it only uploads executable files for further scanning if the quick scan doesn’t yield satisfactory results. Other files are scanned using the local scanner for privacy reasons.

If a file is found unsafe, it’s removed as soon as possible before it can harm your device. This is particularly useful, since getting rid of malware can be complex and time-consuming. While you can manually remove malware from your device, Threat Protection saves you from that hassle.

Because of this proactive approach, Threat Protection is the first line of defense against cybersecurity threats like spyware, ransomware, Trojans, and worms.

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2. Ad and Tracker Blocking

Another benefit of using Threat Protection is its ability to block ads and trackers. Blocking trackers from following you around the web boosts your online privacy. It also shields you from unfair pricing based on your browsing and purchase history.

NordVPN Threat Protection also automatically filters out annoying pop-ups and intrusive banners, giving you a cleaner, faster browsing experience. Whether reading articles or shopping online, you can enjoy the web without being followed by intrusive targeted ads or slowed down by bloated pages.

3. Phishing and Malicious Site Protection

NordVPN Threat Protection also defends you against phishing attempts and malicious websites. It acts as your always-on protector and real-time safeguard while you browse. It automatically blocks you from accessing scam websites, phishing links shared via email, and even fake login pages.

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7 Types of Phishing Attacks You Should Know About

There are so many types of phishing attacks, and knowing how to spot them is important.

This is especially valuable as phishing attacks become increasingly sophisticated and harder to spot. While there are various ways to protect yourself from phishing attacks, software is one of the most effective.

Threat Protection Pro is specifically powerful because it works at the URL and JavaScript levels. This is better than relying on DNS filtering, which limits the number of websites that can be blocked.

NordVPN Threat Protection is a robust security solution for anyone serious about online security and privacy. It integrates malware protection, ad blocking, and phishing defense into one streamlined solution.

Whether you’re worried about malware, tired of dealing with intrusive ads, or want to keep your browsing habits private, Threat Protection provides essential coverage to help ensure your online safety and privacy. As cyberthreats continue to evolve, tools like Threat Protection become increasingly valuable for anyone looking to stay one step ahead.

The One UI 7 update has brought a refreshing look and several visual changes to Samsung Galaxy phones. However, there are a few default settings you should try changing up before you get too comfortable.

6

Switched to a Horizontal App Drawer

Previously, Samsung offered a horizontal app drawer on its Galaxy devices, similar to what you’d find on iPhones. But with One UI 7, the default app drawer is now vertical, similar to what you’d see on most stock Android devices.

It’s something Galaxy users have been requesting for a long time. However, having used a horizontal app drawer for the past couple of years, I found the transition a bit jarring.

Thankfully, One UI 7 includes the option to revert to the horizontal style. To do this, you simply need to open the app drawer, tap the three-dot menu icon at the bottom right corner, and select Sort > Custom order.

5

Set a Custom Charging Limit

The Protect Battery feature on Samsung Galaxy phones is quite useful for extending battery lifespan. In One UI 6 and earlier versions, this feature limits charging to 85% to reduce battery wear caused by frequent full charges.

But with One UI 7, you can now set a custom charging cap at 80%, 85%, 90%, or even 95%. This added flexibility is great for anyone who wants more control over their phone’s battery health. Personally, I’ve set mine to 80% to help maximize battery lifespan.

To change the battery charging limit on your Samsung phone:

1. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery protection.
2. Toggle Battery protection on.
3. Choose Maximum mode.
4. Use the slider to set your preferred charging limit.

4

Turned On Loudness Normalization

Loudness Normalization isn’t exactly a new feature as it first appeared with the One UI 6.1.1 update. However, it was limited to select devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6. With One UI 7, it’s now available on more Samsung Galaxy phones, including my S22.

As the name suggests, Loudness Normalization automatically balances audio levels during media playback. As someone who listens to audio through headphones most of the time, this was one of the first settings I enabled.

To do this, head to Settings > Sounds and vibration > Sound quality and effects and turn on the Loudness Equalization toggle.

3

Tweaked Game Refresh Rate to Save Battery Life

Personally, I like to keep the 120Hz refresh rate enabled at all times to make my Samsung Galaxy phone run faster. It makes scrolling and animations feel incredibly fluid. However, the higher refresh rate can also drain the battery more quickly, especially during gaming sessions.

Thankfully, in One UI 7, you can limit the refresh rate specifically during gaming without affecting the smooth experience elsewhere on your phone. This way, you get the best of both worlds: a high refresh rate for everyday use and improved power efficiency when it matters most.

Here’s how you can adjust the refresh rate for just games on your Samsung phone:

1. Open the Settings app and scroll down to tap on Advanced features.
2. Select Game Booster Settings.
3. Tap on Gaming motion smoothness.
4. Choose the 60Hz option.

2

Combined Notifications and Quick Settings Panel for Faster Control

By default, swiping down from the middle of the screen only shows notifications in One UI 7. To access quick settings like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or the flashlight, you need to swipe down from the top-right corner. As a result, you often have to swipe around just to toggle a setting or check an alert. You either get to see notifications or quick settings, but not both at once.

Thankfully, you can combine both panels into a single unified view, similar to how it worked in previous One UI versions. To do this, swipe down from the top right corner of your screen to view your quick settings and tap the pencil icon to edit it. Tap Panel settings in the top left corner and select Together.

1

Personalized the Now Bar

One of the most useful features introduced in One UI 7 is the Now bar, which places real-time updates and live notifications at the bottom of the lock screen. Once you unlock the device, these notifications also appear in the top-left corner of the screen.

By default, the Now Bar displays alerts from a wide range of apps, including Media Player, Google Maps, Clock, Samsung Notes, and more. While this can be helpful, not every app needs that kind of visibility. For example, I found live updates from Voice Recorder and Samsung Health unnecessary, so I quickly disabled them.

To personalize the Now bar, go to Settings > Lock screen and AOD > Now bar. From there, you’ll see a list of compatible apps with toggles next to them. Simply enable or disable each one depending on what you actually want to see live on your lock screen.

The One UI 7 update hasn’t brought that many drastic changes to Galaxy devices, but it has certainly refined the user experience in meaningful ways. However, if you haven’t explored the settings mentioned above, it’s worth giving them a try. They can help you create a more personalized experience that better fits your daily routine.

There are few things worse than realizing a trash can ruined the only Instagram-worthy shot you took. Thankfully, most editing apps now offer object removal features that save you the hassle of needing a second run of your photoshoot. I’ve tried nearly all of them, and there’s one app I’ve found you can never go wrong with.

Adobe Express is Adobe’s all-in-one content creation tool and is essentially a middleground between Photoshop (which I’m yet to find my way around) and basic mobile editing apps with nothing more than filters.

Though Express is the ultimate tool for digital artists and creators, it also has features that cater to everyday users like you and me. The cloud-based editing app’s Remove Objects tool is one of these features, and it not only does the job well, it’s also ridiculously simple to use.

Here’s how you can use Adobe Express to remove an object from an image:

1. Head to Adobe Express’s website or mobile app, and hit the purple plus (+) icon. On the mobile app, the icon will be located in the bottom-right corner of your screen. On web, you’ll find it in the top-right corner of the screen instead.
2. Tap Upload media, and then select one of the following options: Photo Library, Take Photo, or Choose File.
3. Upload the image you’d like to remove a distracting object from.
4. On mobile, select Remove object from the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. On web, you’ll need to select the image in the editor for the panel of tools to appear.
5. Click Remove object.
6. Draw over the distraction you’d like to remove.
7. Once you believe you’re ready, hit Ready.
8. Wait a couple of seconds, and then Express will automatically generate three different image results under a Results header.
9. If the image fits your expectations, and you’re good to go, hit Keep. Otherwise, you can tap Discard to go back.
10. If you’re willing to give Express one more shot, swipe past the results and tap More.
11. Once you’re happy with how your image is looking, hit the Download icon in the top-right corner (or the Download button on web).
12. Expand the File format dropdown, and select from PNG, JPG, PDF Standard, or PDF Print.
13. Click Download and you’re good to go!

What Makes Adobe Express Better Than Other Apps I’ve Tried for Cleaning Up

I’m in no way opposed to subscribing to premium apps. But when it comes to apps with features I don’t expect to use every single day, it’s hard to justify paying a subscription fee every month. The best part about the Remove Object tool is that it’s mostly free to use. On Adobe Express’s free version, you get 25 generative credits monthly, which are deducted every time you use a Firefly-powered feature like Generative Fill or Remove Object.

For Premium subscribers, though you get 250 generative credits per month, using the Remove Object tool doesn’t make a difference, and it’s essentially unlimited. Frankly, unless you edit images on a professional scale, I feel like 25 generative credits should be more than enough for the average user.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the same if you decided to use other AI-powered features in Express, since those would also deduct from your generative credits. Nonetheless, if you choose not to use them, you’d be able to remove objects from 25 images. Given that most tools typically cap free users at five to ten free images per month, that’s actually pretty generous.

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Cost aside, the primary reason why I prefer Adobe Express’s Remove Object tool, even over Apple’s Clean Up tool (which is free), is because it gives me better results than nearly all the apps I’ve used.

Before settling on Adobe Express, I tried multiple apps, and I’d always get similar results like the one below.

There would always be some sort of discoloration in my images, which’d make it painfully obvious that I removed an object. What good is editing when it’s straight-up obvious?

When a Photo’s Almost Perfect—This Is What I Do

At the end of the day, Adobe Express too is just a tool. Though the times I’ve gotten an unsatisfactory result are fairly limited in number, I’m not going to sugarcoat it—there have been a few. But even in those cases, the result isn’t completely off. It’s simply not perfect, which is what I’ve come to expect from Express. The good part? It’s usually almost perfect, so a few edits here and there are always enough to get me going.

Sometimes, the result tends to look a bit messy and not neat, with the slightest bit of discoloration. Though I could probably get away with posting such results on Instagram without anyone batting an eye, they do bother me. For me, the fix is always the same—adjust the brush size! Though it might sound obvious, the more precise you are when drawing over the object, the better the result tends to be.

Increasing or decreasing the brush size (usually the latter) allows you to more carefully draw over the object you’d like to remove. And since the discoloration usually tends to show up on solid surfaces in my case (like beds and floors), simply changing the brush size and drawing over the distraction more carefully usually does the trick.

At times, the object doesn’t completely fade away, even if you’ve drawn over it completely. In such cases, what’s always worked for me is choosing the best-looking result from the first pass, then running the Remove Object tool on that new version again. It’s not a one-and-done fix every single time, but the second pass almost always gets it just right. If it doesn’t, I simply zoom in and go over the leftover bits with a smaller brush, and voilà!

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The rare times when layering the Remove Object tool doesn’t work, the best way really is to just camouflage the leftover bits. I usually do this by brushing over the area with a similar color that blends in better with the surroundings. It’s a bit of manual effort, but it works well enough to make the flaw practically invisible.

Express’s Remove Objects tool is one of the features powered by Adobe’s generative AI model, Firefly, which I’m sure plays a big part in why the tool works so well. But at the same time, tools like Clean Up are powered by AI too, and they just don’t get it right. As I mentioned above, free users can use the Remove Object feature at no cost at least 25 times, so you really have nothing to lose by trying it out.

High dynamic range (HDR) isn’t a single, uniform standard, and when you’re shopping on a tighter budget, the label can mean wildly different things. So, before you take that sticker at face value, it’s worth understanding what that “HDR Ready” or “HDR10+” label really means.

The Term “HDR” Might Mean Less Than You Think

When you see “HDR” slapped on the side of a cheap TV or monitor packaging, don’t get too excited. It is often more of a marketing catchline than a meaningful feature. Technically, the box might support HDR10 or even Dolby Vision on paper, but in reality, the experience can be wildly underwhelming, and sometimes downright misleading.

The problem is that, more than being about compatibility with a format, proper HDR is about how the content actually looks when it hits your screen. That requires decent processing power in the box, proper tone mapping, and a display that can do justice to the expanded brightness and color range HDR promises. Most budget TV boxes simply don’t have the horsepower—or the software smarts—to handle that properly.

Most frustrating is that no standardized rating system forces manufacturers to disclose the actual HDR performance capabilities. If you’ve watched HDR content on your budget TV and thought, “I don’t see what the fuss is about,” I bet you’re not seeing true HDR. You’re seeing a shadow of what could be, and that’s exactly what TV manufacturers are banking on you not realizing.

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True HDR Performance Depends on Peak Brightness and Contrast

In an ideal HDR scene—say, a spaceship flying toward a blinding star—you should see a clear distinction between the blackness of space and the intense glow of the star. But if your TV tops out at, say, 300 or 400 nits (a measure of brightness), that “blinding light” might just look like a slightly brighter white blob. For proper HDR impact, you want at least 600 to 1,000 nits of brightness. Anything lower, and highlights lose their spice, colors dull out, and the whole image can feel flat.

Then there’s contrast, which is all about how well your TV can show deep blacks next to those bright highlights. Budget LCD panels with edge-lit backlighting can’t produce the precise light control needed for true HDR. If your TV can’t get properly dark in specific areas while staying bright in others (a measurement called “local dimming”), you’re missing half the HDR equation. The best budget options usually employ at least some form of local dimming with multiple zones, though they won’t match the pixel-level precision of OLED, QLED, or QNED.

A practical way to understand if your “HDR” TV is delivering is to watch a nighttime scene with streetlights or a starry sky. If the bright spots bloom significantly into dark areas or the whole scene looks uniformly gray, your TV’s contrast capabilities are compromised.

Wide Color Gamut Is Equally Important for Vivid HDR

Another piece of the HDR puzzle that often gets overlooked—especially in budget TVs—is wide color gamut (WCG) support. Standard dynamic range (SDR) TVs are limited to the Rec.709 or sRGB color space, which covers only a relatively narrow range of colors. In contrast, HDR content is typically mastered in the much wider DCI-P3 color space and sometimes targets the even broader Rec.2020 standard, although few consumer displays can fully reproduce that.

That is why those demo videos of tropical fish or flower gardens you would find in TV showrooms look so much more vivid in proper HDR. You’re literally seeing colors that weren’t possible on older displays, like vibrant reds, lush greens, and deep blues. These colors feel richer and more lifelike than SDR can deliver.

If you’re curious whether your screen is really pulling its HDR weight and showing off a wide color range, try hooking it up to your PC via HDMI and checking out the Wide-Gamut site. It’s a simple test, and it’ll let you know if your display is really up to snuff or just faking it.

Related

What Is a Color Gamut?

Monitor and TV all display the same colors, right? Not quite.

How to Get the Best HDR Experience on a Budget

A solid HDR experience on a budget is totally doable. You just need to know which specs actually matter and which ones are just marketing fluff. As I mentioned earlier, you’ll want a TV that can hit at least 600 to 1,000 nits of peak brightness, supports local dimming, and covers a wide color gamut, ideally close to DCI-P3.

In addition, you need to calibrate your TV for HDR. Many budget TVs have HDR modes that crank up saturation and brightness to unnatural levels out of the box. A quick calibration, either using built-in presets like “Cinema” or “Movie” mode or tweaking settings yourself, can make a world of difference. Lower the brightness a bit, reduce sharpness, and dial back the color saturation for a more natural, less cartoonish look.

You should also use quality HDR content and proper sources, since HDR is only as good as the content you feed it. Streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+ offer HDR titles, but make sure your internet speed and streaming device support HDR playback properly. If you’re gaming, newer consoles like the PS5 or Xbox Series X have HDR support, but you’ll want to check your TV’s input settings to enable HDR mode. Remember, HDR on a budget TV won’t magically fix poorly mastered content, so stick to well-reviewed HDR media.

Pay attention to room lighting, too. Ambient light can wash out HDR’s impact. If you’re watching in a bright room, even a decent HDR TV will struggle to impress. Try to control your environment: dim the lights or watch in a darker room to let those highlights pop.

In my opinion, the best budget HDR hack is probably patience. TV prices drop dramatically during holiday sales, and last year’s mid-range models often outperform this year’s budget options. A little research and waiting for the right sale can score you dramatically better HDR performance without spending more.

ChatGPT does a pretty good job of generating code from text prompts and breaking it down. Now, OpenAI has added a new coding agent to ChatGPT, and it’s not just programmers who should be excited

ChatGPT’s Codex Takes AI Programming to the Next Level

OpenAI is launching a research preview of Codex, a “cloud-based software engineering agent.” The feature is powered by codex-1, a version of the OpenAI o3 model optimized for coding and software engineering tasks. Codex-1 is also trained to align its output closely with “human coding preferences and standards.”

You can find the feature in the ChatGPT sidebar if you’re a ChatGPT Pro, Enterprise, or Team user, with Plus and Edu users getting it soon. Once open, you can either assign it a coding task by typing a prompt and entering the Code button or ask questions about your codebase using the Ask button. You’ll find information on Codex’s task list and progress below the prompt bar.

This new agent can perform multiple tasks on an existing codebase, like adding new features, fixing bugs, and answering any questions you might have. Each task runs in a separate isolated environment, preloaded with your codebase or repository. Codex can read and edit files as well.

OpenAI’s announcement claims that the agent will take anywhere between one to 30 minutes to complete an assigned task, depending on the complexity of the task. You can monitor its progress in real-time or even run multiple tasks simultaneously, all while using your browser and computer as usual.

While ChatGPT can help you generate code and even provide entire projects that you can download and test, it doesn’t work well with software repositories and codebases. Codex’s abilities to with within typical software engineering infrastructures means it’s a lot more useful compared to vanilla ChatGPT to both companies and individuals who maintain multiple projects in repositories.

Codex produces cleaner code compared to ChatGPT, which is ready for human review and integration into workflows or codebases. It also runs tests until it passes all the given test cases and conditions. Once a task is completed, Codex will commit the changes to its environment and provide “verifiable evidence of its actions through citations of terminal logs and test outputs.”

Why Is Codex a Big Deal?

Codex is a big deal for professionals in any industry. You can write Excel macros, automate reports, batch edit files, and do just about everything that would’ve required expertise in some programming or scripting language.

Sure, ChatGPT can generate code and scripts for you, but in my experience, it’s not reliable. You need to have relatively good knowledge of the programming language you’re working with and a general idea of code debugging. Codex, however, automatically checks its code and runs tests to ensure it works the way you want.

This might improve with ChatGPT’s new GPT-4.1 model, but it’s not a perfect solution. Knowing when to use which ChatGPT model can largely affect the output, so a model custom-made for coding will perform better than a more general-purpose model.

Of course, if you’re a programmer, Codex is massively helpful as it can integrate with your GitHub repositories and take care of repetitive tasks and test cases. This lets you develop and ship your app faster without getting caught up in maintenance, testing, and other tasks usually part of the software development process.

Cloud-based AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini are convenient, but they come with trade-offs. Running a local LLM—the tech behind the AI chatbot—puts you in control, offering offline access and stronger data privacy. And while it might sound technical, the right apps make it easy for anyone to get started.

Ollama is a user-friendly app designed to help individuals efficiently run local LLMs without the need for technical expertise. It allows you to run powerful AI models on consumer-grade hardware like a laptop. Ollama stands out for its simplicity and accessibility, requiring no complex setup.

It supports a variety of models and has a desktop app available on macOS, Windows, and Linux, so whichever platform you use, you’re covered. The setup process is simple, and in no time, you’ll be ready to run LLMs on your device.

To launch a model, you use the command ollama run [model identifier]. You can specify one of the supported LLMs at the end. For example, to run Microsoft’s Phi 4 model, just enter the following command:

        ollama run phi4
    

For Llama 4, run:

        ollama run llama4
    

The specified model will download and begin running. You can then chat with it directly from the command line. For example, you can run DeepSeek locally on a laptop using Ollama.

Similar to Ollama, Msty is a user-friendly app that simplifies running local LLMs. Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, Msty eliminates the complexities often associated with running LLMs locally, such as Docker configurations or command-line interfaces.

It offers a variety of models that you can run on your device, with popular options like Llama, DeepSeek, Mistral, and Gemma. You can also search for models directly on Hugging Face, my go-to site for discovering new AI chatbots. After installation, the app automatically downloads a default model to your device.

After that, you can download any model you like from the library. If you’d rather avoid the command line at all costs, Msty is the perfect app for you. Its easy-to-use interface makes the experience feel premium.

The app also includes a library of prompts with several pre-made options that you can use to guide LLM models and refine the responses. It also includes workspaces to keep your chats and tasks organized.

AnythingLLM is a handy desktop app designed for users who want to run LLMs locally without a complicated setup. From installation to your first prompt, the process is smooth and intuitive. It feels like you’re using a cloud-based LLM.

During setup, you can download models of your choice. Some of the best offline LLMs, including DeepSeek R1, Llama 4, Microsoft Phi 4, Phi 4 Mini, and Mistral, are available to download.

Like most apps on this list, AnythingLLM is fully open-source. It includes its own LLM provider and also supports multiple third-party sources, including Ollama, LM Studio, and Local AI, letting you download and run models from these sources. Because of this, it allows you to run hundreds, if not thousands, of LLM models available on the web.

Jan markets itself as an open-source ChatGPT alternative that runs offline. It provides a sleek desktop app for running different LLM models locally on your device. Getting started with Jan is easy. Once you install the app (available on Windows, macOS, and Linux), you’re provided with several LLM models to download.

Only a handful of models are shown by default, but you can search or enter a Hugging Face URL if you don’t see what you’re looking for. You can also import a model file (in GGUF format) if you already have one locally. It really doesn’t get easier than that. The app includes cloud-based LLMs in its listings, so be sure to apply the appropriate filter to exclude them.

Related

Should You Use a Local LLM? 9 Pros and Cons

Using a local large language model isn’t for everyone, but there are some good reasons why you might want to try.

LM Studio is another app that provides one of the most accessible ways to run local LLMs on your device. It gives you a desktop application (available on macOS, Windows, and Linux) that lets you easily run LLMs on your device.

After setup, you can browse and load popular models like Llama, Mistral, Gemma, DeepSeek, Phi, and Qwen directly from Hugging Face with just a few clicks. Once loaded, everything runs offline, ensuring your prompts and conversations stay private on your device.

The app boasts an intuitive user interface that feels familiar, so you’ll feel right at home if you’ve used cloud-based LLMs like Claude.

There are many ways to run an LLM on Linux, Windows, macOS, or whichever system you use. However, the apps listed here offer some of the easiest and most convenient ways to do it. Some involve a bit of contact with the command line, while others, like AnythingLLM and Jan, let you do everything from the graphical user interface (GUI).

Depending on your technical comfort level, try out a few and stick with the one that suits your needs best.

Crypto exchanges are popular targets among cybercriminals. A huge crypto exchange has been breached, and while your money is safe, your personal data might have fallen into the wrong hands.

Rogue Support Workers Helped Breach Coinbase

Popular crypto exchange Coinbase has disclosed a data breach, claiming hackers “bribed and recruited” its support workers to steal customer data and scammed users into sending them money. The company’s filing with the SEC adds that it received an email from the hackers on May 11, claiming they have information on “certain Coinbase customer accounts” and internal company documentation, including materials related to its customer service and account management systems.

The hackers targeted Coinbase’s overseas customer support agents, using cash offers to let them copy data from the company’s customer support tools for “less than 1% of Coinbase monthly transacting users.” The goal was to collect a customer list to scam users into handing over their crypto assets via social engineering attacks. This isn’t the first time Coinbase employees have been targeted either.

They also tried extorting the platform for $20 million, but Coinbase refused to pay up. In the end, the hackers were able to get away with the following data:

• Personal information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and emails.
• The last four digits of saved Social Security numbers.
• Masked bank account numbers and identifiers.
• Government ID images
• Account data such as balance snapshots and transaction history
• Internal corporate data, as mentioned above.

The crypto exchange clarified that the stolen information doesn’t include login credentials or 2FA codes, private keys, or any access to customer funds. All Coinbase Prime accounts are also untouched.

How Is Coinbase Responding?

The responsible agents were “fired on the spot,” and Coinbase will be pressing criminal charges. In the meantime, the platform has set up a $20 million reward fund for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the hackers. It’s also working with industry partners and law enforcement to track and recover any lost funds.

Related

Will Coinbase Refund Your Crypto if You’re Scammed?

Coinbase is one the biggest and most popular crypto exchanges, but what happens if you get scammed on its platform?

If your data was accessed in the breach, you should have received an email from [email protected] explaining the situation. The crypto exchange will also reimburse you if you were tricked into sending funds to the attacker in a social engineering attack. Its announcement clearly states:

Coinbase will voluntarily reimburse retail customers who mistakenly sent funds to the scammer as a direct result of this incident prior to the date of this post, following a review to confirm the facts.

The announcement also warns of scammers posing as Coinbase employees asking you for your account password, two-factor authentication (2FA) codes, vault or wallet addresses, or pressuring you to move your money to a “secure” wallet. Other recommended best practices include enabling withdrawal allow-listing, using strong 2FA (preferably hardware keys), and locking your account if you suspect you’re being scammed.

Slow mobile hotspot speeds can be a real showstopper. That’s why whenever my hotspot slows down, I turn to a handful of tried-and-tested tips that instantly boost performance, whether I’m working remotely or streaming videos away from Wi-Fi.

6

Check Data Usage and Plan Limits

One issue you may not think about while battling slow hotspot speeds is your cellular plan. Monitoring data usage is crucial when using a mobile hotspot, especially if your plan has limits or throttling thresholds.

Even with an “unlimited” plan, check the fine print to ensure you’re still within the specified fair usage policy. Once you exceed a certain amount of data, your speed may still be subject to throttling.

Most smartphones let you monitor data usage in the settings, and some carriers also offer apps or alerts to help track your consumption. If you’ve hit your plan’s limit, consider upgrading to a plan with more hotspot data or switching to a carrier that offers better terms.

5

Stop or Pause Data-Heavy Processes on Your Hotspot Device

Unlike a dedicated router, your phone performs many tasks besides providing internet access. The mobile phone you’re using as a hotspot might be juggling multiple tasks, leading to slow internet speed.

If it’s handling data-heavy processes like system updates, cloud backups, or large downloads, it can quickly consume your hotspot bandwidth, slowing everything down. The main culprits to keep in check include streaming content, app updates, system updates, file downloads, and cloud backups.

To enjoy the full speed while using your mobile hotspot, stop or pause such tasks on the device. This way, all the bandwidth is available for use by the connected devices.

4

Limit the Number of Connected Devices

Like regular Wi-Fi, the number of devices connected to your mobile hotspot affects speed. Each device shares the same data bandwidth, so the more gadgets you have connected, the less speed each one gets.

So, connecting too many devices to your mobile hotspot can quickly slow things down. Limit the number of connected devices to maintain a fast and stable connection at any point.

Related

How to Check Who’s Connected to Your Android Hotspot

Find that one person who’s using up your Android phone’s cellular data.

Especially if you need to download a large file or stream your favorite show at the best quality on a specific device, ensure you disconnect those that are not in active use. Many modern devices perform background updates that you may overlook, but are secretly eating up your hotspot bandwidth.

3

Turn Off Battery Saver or Low Power Mode

Modern smartphones include a battery-saving feature to reduce battery use. It’s one of the quickest ways to make your battery last longer on Android or iOS devices.

However, while battery saver or low power mode works like a charm in extending battery life, it limits performance. In an attempt to stretch battery life, your device can throttle your data speeds, leading to slower mobile hotspot speeds.

When enabled, your phone might not fully power the network functions needed for a strong, stable connection. Thus, for the best performance, it’s best to keep these power-saving features off.

To turn off low power mode on iOS, go to Settings > Battery and toggle off Low Power Mode. On Android devices, navigate to Settings > Battery > Battery Saver and toggle off Use Battery Saver.

2

Optimize Hotspot Placement

Since your phone acts as both a modem and router when you’re using a mobile hotspot, placement matters. Network signal strength significantly impacts hotspot speed. You can tell how strong the cell signal is by checking the level of network bars available in the status bar. If the network indicator isn’t full or above 80%, your signal may be too weak.

Optimizing your hotspot placement can significantly improve your connection speed. For the best results, keep it in an open, elevated spot—ideally near a window where it can catch a stronger cell signal.

Avoid enclosed areas like drawers, bags, or behind thick walls, as these can block signal strength and reduce speeds. If you’re indoors, try different spots around your home or workspace to see where the signal performs best. Additionally, place the connected device closer to the hotspot for the best results.

1

Switch to the Fastest Frequency Band

The first and most effective way to increase the speed of your mobile hotspot is to use the fastest available frequency band. Smartphones support several frequency bands, including 3G, 4G, and 5G.

The higher the number, the faster your hotspot speeds will be. So, switching from 4G to 5G on your phone can make a huge difference. If your phone and carrier support 5G, use it. Otherwise, stick with 4G. 3G is being phased out in the US and other European countries, and doesn’t provide enough bandwidth for a strong mobile hotspot.

Related

What Is 5G? Here’s How It’ll Make Mobile Internet Faster and Better

Feel your mobile internet is too slow? 5G is the latest generation of mobile internet, and will make mobile data faster than ever.

On iOS, go to Settings > Mobile Service > Mobile Data Options > Voice & Data to change your frequency band. On Android devices, open Settings > Network & Internet > SIMs, select the SIM card you’re using for data, then tap Preferred network type.

Mobile hotspot speeds can fluctuate due to many factors. However, following these tips will help you maximize performance and enjoy a smoother, more reliable connection wherever you are.

Smartphone wallet apps are a super handy replacement for your physical wallet, holding your money, cards, identification, and more. They’re super safe to use and make it easy to keep your most important cards nearby without having to lug a wallet or purse around—but there are still some serious precautions you should take.

1

Use Biometric Authentication

Most, if not all, smartphones have a fingerprint scanner that you can use to lock both your phone and any apps on it. Digital wallets also support this functionality, letting you use your fingerprint or face to unlock the app.

Biometric authentication is one of the most secure signing mechanisms you can use. Passwords and PINs are useful, but they can be guessed, stolen, or phished. Biometric data is much harder for a cybercriminal to steal or replicate. It also ensures that even if your device is stolen or lost, someone can’t waltz into your digital wallet app and start making payments.

Make sure not to abandon your PIN and password altogether. Using a strong password or PIN to lock your phone is still important. In case biometric authentication fails, they come as your only option for accessing your wallet app and phone.

2

Regularly Monitor Account Activity

This might sound obvious, but regularly monitoring account activity can help you catch any suspicious transactions before they snowball into bigger losses. Most wallet apps already send real-time notifications for each transaction, but you can always monitor your transaction history within the app.

Criminals often start with small transactions to test if an account is vulnerable without alerting the owner. Regularly reviewing your account also gives you a bird’s eye view of what mode of payment might be leaking money. For example, if your credit card is compromised in a website data leak and hackers try to charge your account, you can spot the smaller, test transactions on your card.

I recommend reviewing account activity at least once a week. As an added bonus, you’ll also be more aware of where your money is going, which helps a long way in planning monthly budgets in my experience. Some wallet apps also let you set up custom transaction alerts based on the value or location of the transaction. These can immediately alert you to any transactions you might be unaware of.

3

Watch Out for Phishing Attacks

Another tip is to always be on the lookout for phishing attacks attempting to steal your payment information. Hackers send scary-sounding fake emails and can even get past your inbox’s spam filters.

Despite your best efforts, a phishing page, malware, or other hack can always sneak by. For example, a MakeUseOf writer was phished on Steam and ended up losing money in the form of their wallet balance, despite years of experience online and with security matters.

The best way to avoid getting phished is to take it slow, carefully read the message or email, and check the URL before clicking any links. There are numerous ways you can check for suspicious links in text messages. Furthermore, scammers often use QR codes, so be careful before scanning random QR codes in emails or messages.

4

Set Transaction Limits When Possible

Setting transaction limits in your digital wallet apps is one of the best ways of protecting yourself from random incursions. Transaction limits were initially designed to help manage your finances, but they also double up as a preventive measure in case your wallet gets compromised.

Even if an attacker gains access to your digital wallet and can make payments, your transaction limit will reduce the damage to your bank account, long enough for you to take action. Transaction limits don’t actively protect your digital wallet or financial information from being abused, but they will keep a hacker from running away with all your money at once.

5

Disable Automatic Saving of Payment Information

Digital wallets (especially Google Pay!) will ask to automatically save your payment information on a site you’re checking out. Browsers and other apps also offer to link with your digital wallet to make your checkout experience more seamless and avoid the hassle of entering your card details and more every time you make a purchase.

I’ll be the first to admit that this is extremely convenient and how online payments should be made. That said, it’s also too much of a security risk. Once you let websites or apps start saving your financial data, you’re also trusting them to safeguard it. And while safety isn’t much of a risk at bigger retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, or eBay, smaller businesses that don’t practice the best cybersecurity measures can inadvertently end up leaking your financial information to hackers.

Disable automatic saving on your browser, and generally avoid the temptation with other apps as well. Entering your details manually for each purchase can be a hassle, but the peace of mind that comes with it is well worth the effort.

The chances of your digital wallet being compromised on its own or on the company’s end are quite slim. However, individual users are always a target for hackers and scammers looking to skim their money. Taking a few simple precautions can go a long way in protecting you from any crooks stealing your money.

Love Spotify’s AI DJ or hate it, you’ve got to admit it’s one of the most unique (and fun) ways to listen to music. But unlike a real DJ, Spotify’s version has always been more of an “I talk, you listen” kind of affair. Well, until now.

Spotify’s AI DJ Now Lets You Take Control

Today, Spotify announced that it’s adding a new way to interact with the DJ through a post on Spotify Newsroom. The streaming giant shared that the DJ can now take music requests, offering users “an entirely new way to curate the vibe of their listening sessions in real time.”

With this new feature, you can simply ask the DJ to switch up your jamming session by telling it what music you’d like to listen to at that moment. You can even tell the DJ to play a specific genre, mood, artist, or drop an “activity-related request.” For instance, you could hit the DJ with a request like “play me some calm tracks for a rainy night” or “surprise me with some jazz I’ve never heard before.”

To use this feature in the Spotify app, just head to the Search tab at the bottom, search for DJ, and tap the DJ playlist. When you want to make a request, press and hold the DJ button in the bottom right corner.

Once the DJ is ready for you, you’ll hear a beep. Make your request, and the DJ will update the session based on your request, listening history, music preferences, and more.

Prior to this change, all you could do if you didn’t vibe with the DJ’s choices was hit the DJ button in the bottom right corner, and it would switch up the song you were listening to. With this new update, you now have more control over how the playlist flows, yet you’ll still be able to use the DJ feature to listen to and discover new music without doing all the work yourself.

I can imagine nudging the DJ to stop playing those tracks I’ve been skipping for weeks, but it can’t seem to let go of, and instead, play more of that indie artist I’ve been loving lately!

I’ve always loved the DJ feature. It’s unique, and since I have this weird habit of constantly tracking (and psychoanalyzing) my Spotify stats to see what I’ve been listening to lately, hearing the DJ break down my listening habits is great. Since sometimes you’re just not in an environment where speaking is ideal, I do wish there was a way to type your requests instead of having to speak them out.

Given that DJ is only available for Spotify Premium subscribers in 60 regions, this option won’t be accessible to free users (or those located somewhere other than the markets where DJ is currently available). Though Spotify added a Spanish-speaking DJ in 2024, requests are only currently available in English. The feature is likely still rolling out (I don’t have access to it yet, though I have DJ), so you might have to wait a bit before you see it on your end.

It’s fair to say that when Airbnb launched in 2007, it disrupted the vacation industry. All of a sudden, there was an easy way to book a stay in someone’s home, all through an app. And now, Airbnb is looking to disrupt the market all over again.

Airbnb Services to Make Your Stay Special

The first thing that Airbnb is doing is adding services to its offerings. Services are, as the name suggests, services designed to make your stay more special. Airbnb Services include everything from professional chefs to spa treatments, from personal training to hair stylists.

The people providing the services are all vetted, and boast an average of 10 years of experience. Prices start at $50, and at launch will be available in 260 cities. Airbnb will be adding new offerings and locations over time.

The best part is that you can book a service in your own home, with no need to be staying in an Airbnb at the time.

Airbnb Experiences Let You Explore With Locals

Next up are Airbnb Experiences, designed to allow you to live like a local. While many of us will have embarked on an excursion or two while on vacation, Airbnb wants to look beyond the standard tour groups. Instead, you’ll be able to book experiences with locals who know their cities.

There are museum tours, cooking classes, wildlife experiences, and much more. Airbnb Originals will up the game even further, offering the opportunity to share experiences with celebrities including Sabrina Carter and Patrick Mahomes (for a price).

Experiences are initially available in 650 cities around the world, with Airbnb promising to add more over time.

An All-New Airbnb App Makes It All Accessible

The final piece of this puzzle is the all-new Airbnb app that’s designed to make it easier to find and book homes, experiences, and services. Given the expansion of its offerings, Airbnb has, according to its press release, rebuilt the app from the ground up.

The Explore tab is your gateway to everything Airbnb offers, allowing you to search for homes, experiences, and services. Once you book a trip, you’ll see a Trips tab with a detailed itinerary. There’s also a redesigned profile page, and a revamped messaging platform.

The key here is that Airbnb wants to move beyond just pairing you with hosts with places you may want to stay. Instead, like a hotel would offer, as well as providing your accommodation needs, Airbnb can now provide experiences and services on top of that.

Previously, you may have opened the Airbnb app (or one of the Airbnb alternatives) a couple of times a year to search for and book some accomodation for a vacation. However, these changes could make you more likely to check it out regularly to see what is being offered in your area.

I’ve always wanted a simple way to tweak and tune my Windows PC without digging through endless settings. Winhance does exactly that. It’s a single dashboard that lets me customize, clean up, and personalize Windows, making it more intuitive to use.

A Swiss Army Knife for Windows

Winhance is a free open-source tool to control, debloat, and optimize your Windows computer. Much like a Swiss Army knife, it lets you remove pre-installed apps, optimize your system settings for security, performance, and privacy, and even customize some aspects of the Windows personalization experience without hunting through multiple menus.

Debloating Your Computer

Debloating is one way to speed up your sluggish Windows PC, and Winhance makes it easy to locate and remove bloatware. It scans your system for pre-installed apps and lists them on the Software & apps tab. Then, you can select all the apps or select a few that you want to uninstall.

To uninstall a program, select the item you want to remove and click Remove Selected Items. Confirm the action, and Winhance will execute the removal script to uninstall the selected program.

Digging into the Windows Optional Features menu reveals some optional features that aren’t enabled by default. For instance, you can install and enable Hyper-V, which is normally not available for Home edition users. Similarly, you can enable Windows Sandbox on Windows Pro and above editions and even disable the controversial Recall feature that comes pre-installed on Copilot+ PCs.

The tool even creates scripts and scheduled tasks to prevent Microsoft from installing removed apps back onto your system through Windows Updates. Additionally, it’s also possible to reinstall any of the pre-installed apps that you may have removed accidentally.

What’s also interesting is the External Software section. It consists of a list of popular and essential third-party tools that should come pre-installed with Windows. You can choose from popular web browsers, customization utilities, development apps, compression, productivity and remote access apps, and more.

You can save all your preferences in a configuration file, allowing you to quickly apply the same settings across multiple systems. This makes it much easier to manage new installations—just import the file, and all your preferred settings will load automatically, saving you from manually configuring each computer.

Optimize Security, Privacy, Power, and Windows Update Settings

The Optimization tab provides a centralized dashboard for fine-tuning your system’s security, privacy, and performance settings. Instead of navigating through multiple menus, you can quickly access essential Windows options. For instance, the Windows Security Settings page lets you adjust the User Account Control notification with a simple slider—something that usually requires digging through Windows’s classic Control Panel options.

Privacy settings get special attention, and for good reason. Often, having to dig through the privacy settings is a hassle, and many users tend to leave it at the default settings. However, with the ever-increasing concerns about data collection, Winhance makes it easy to change your Windows privacy settings. You can disable activity history, turn off camera access, stop personalized ads, and prevent tailored experiences from gathering data about you.

Each setting shows a small warning icon to indicate if the registry value is missing for any of the options or if a restart is necessary to apply the changes.

The Update section addresses one of Windows’ biggest annoyances: automatic updates and restarts. With Winhance, you can disable automatic updates entirely or delay security updates for up to seven days. It also lets you fine-tune your update preferences. You can choose whether Microsoft Store apps update automatically, disable update notifications entirely, exclude certain drivers from updates, and prevent automatic restarts. If you’re on a metered connection, Winhance will let you stop updates from downloading in the background, giving you full control over when and how updates occur.

Power settings optimization goes beyond the basic balanced/high performance options, too. You can enable hibernation mode, configure power throttling, and even adjust CPU priority for gaming.

Speaking of gaming, there’s an entire Gaming and Performance section. This lets you assign CPU and GPU priority, prioritize network traffic for gaming, optimize visual effects, disable taskbar animations, optimize File Explorer search, enable DirectX optimization, and disable fast startup to fix conflicts with your games.

In the Notifications section, you can control what happens when you receive a notification. For instance, you can disable notifications from appearing on the lock screen, turn off system settings notifications, etc.

I highly recommend taking the time to go through them once so that you aren’t bothered by the notifications when you aren’t actively using the do-not-disturb mode.

Customize Windows Appearance and Behavior

Whether you frequently switch from light to dark mode or need to adjust your Taskbar settings, the Customization tab has it all. The Windows theme selector offers a simple light/dark mode toggle, but an automated process to switch between modes based on the time of day is a missed opportunity.

But the real magic happens in the Taskbar and Start Menu sections. You can clean the Taskbar to unpin unnecessary items, including the Copilot, Meet Now, Task View, Windows Chat Icon, and the search function, leaving just the essential File Explorer icon.

While you can align the taskbar to the left, more options, like the ability to hide the taskbar and change its behaviors, have yet to make their way to Winhance.

The Start Menu customization is equally comprehensive. You can remove recommended files, disable the Show Recently Added Apps feature, lock certain options, and even set a More Pins layout.

Moving on to Explorer customization, you can force File Explorer to show the full path in the title bar, show thumbnails, set DPI scaling to 100%, show file extensions, or disable the status bar entirely. For those missing the older Windows experience, Winhance lets you enable the classic context menu in Windows 11 without having to manually modify the Windows registry, and even brings back folder tips.

Minor Annoyances and Room for Improvement

I encountered a couple of minor issues, though these are not a deal-breaker. For starters, Windows couldn’t locate the .exe file necessary to launch the app right after I installed it. It kept returning the original installer in Windows search. To fix this, I created a shortcut for the .exe file from the app data directory and added it to the start menu.

Another annoyance is that Winhance automatically redirects you to the developer’s donation page every time you close the app. Unfortunately, there’s no way to change this behavior in the app settings. While the developer may find it necessary for sustained development, any app opening a new browser tab without consent, even once, is an annoyance and a huge turn-off for me. I hope we get an option to opt out of this behavior in the future release.

Winhance isn’t just a feature-rich optimization tool; it also executes the functions exceptionally. Whether you want to install or remove apps, tweak system settings, or optimize the system, every change feels seamless. I didn’t notice anything abrupt that’s often associated with third-party optimization tools.

The latest version, Winhance 5, has also ironed out many of the issues that plagued the previous version. The app window now scales properly on all resolutions, and there’s better app installation progress reporting. It’s not perfect, sure. But, if you want a little extra room for customization and performance tweaks, Winhance is a great place to start.

Ransomware is a serious problem in its current state, and it’s about to get worse. All your security programs and measures will be rendered useless when ransomware comes for your CPU.

Ransomware Can Lock Your CPU

Ransomware generally locks system files and other documents inside your OS and renders your PC practically unusable. CPU ransomware, on the other hand, changes your processor’s microcode, completely changing its behavior.

Only chip manufacturers such as AMD or Intel can provide microcode for their respective processors. This comes preloaded from the factory, and you might get updates later that improve performance, stability, or fix any bugs. If hackers are able to exploit a CPU firmware bug to upload malicious microcode to your processor, it’s pretty much game over.

Although the chances of this happening are quite slim, it isn’t entirely a theoretical possibility anymore. Google has already demonstrated how it could inject custom microcode in an AMD Zen CPU by exploiting a bug that made the processor choose the number four every time it was asked for a random number.

To make matters worse, Christiaan Beek, senior director of threat analytics for cybersecurity firm Rapid7, has already developed a working proof-of-concept, according to The Register. Thankfully, he’s not releasing it, but now that the idea is out in the wild, it won’t be long before hackers figure it out. In Beek’s own words,

if they worked on it a few years ago, you can bet some of them will get smart enough at some point and start creating this stuff.

There is a possibility that hackers might already be working on a CPU or firmware ransomware. UEFI bootkits that allow hackers to bypass Secure Boot and inject malware into a system’s firmware already exist and are openly sold on hacking forums on the dark web. Beek also mentioned quotes from leaked conversations revealed in the 2022 Conti ransomware leaks that suggest hackers might be working on proof-of-concept ideas that install ransomware inside a computer’s UEFI firmware.

Can You Protect Yourself?

While antivirus programs can detect ransomware infections early on and block the processes from running, CPU ransomware is beyond their reach. If a CPU gets infected by ransomware, the malicious program will load even before the OS, bypassing every traditional security measure in place and gaining complete access to every system component.

The good news is you don’t need to start worrying just yet, as Beek hasn’t seen any working malware samples in the wild just yet. It’s unlikely that hackers will be able to come up with a working exploit for at least a couple of years. Even if a working exploit is discovered, you can bet CPU manufacturers will rush to patch the issue and release firmware updates. On top of that, CPU vulnerabilities of this scale are quite rare in the first place.

Related

Ransomware Is Rampant in 2025: 6 Quick Tips That’ll Protect Your Data

These security strategies can keep your data safe without requiring technical expertise.

Better security is already one of the reasons why you should update your PC’s BIOS. With CPU ransomware looming on the horizon, an updated BIOS and CPU drivers become even more important. Just keep your software updated, don’t click on random emails and links, and check before running programs downloaded off the internet, especially if you don’t trust the website or sender.

While some websites let you completely remove ads after subscribing, others have started offering “ad-lite” subscriptions. But like when subscribing to streaming services with ads, you’re not getting the best deal.

5

You’re Not Getting Rid of All Ads

While ads can be annoying, they’re an important source of revenue for many websites. Many sites are smart about ad-blockers, too, so old tricks might not work as well as they used to.

Since ads aren’t going away, full subscriptions with no ads are a good balance for websites. The site can still generate an income to operate, while the user enjoys an ad-free experience. In this scenario, everyone wins.

Ad-lite subscriptions, however, aren’t necessarily the best deal. Rather than removing ads completely, you’re not seeing personalized ads. While some may disagree, I can’t say that this would incentivize me to subscribe; I’d rather pay an extra few dollars per month to fully remove them.

In addition to text-based websites, YouTube has experimented with a Premium Lite tool. Most videos are ad-free, but not all. Subscribing makes no sense to me if the videos with ads are on topics I’m interested in.

4

The Ads You See Might Be Worse

I don’t have a problem with website ads, as long as they fit into the overall experience rather than detract from it. My issue is when sites effectively spam their pages with ads, making them unusable. Nobody likes closing a page because it’s stopped responding multiple times.

If I’m going to see ads, I’d much rather that they were personalized. Seeing ads for products and services that fit my interests makes the browsing experience much more enjoyable. I dislike seeing ads for things that I will never buy and on topics I don’t care about.

Many ad-lite subscriptions don’t show personalized ads, meaning that what you see might be worse than before. While not seeing personalized ads might be good for you if you’re prone to impulse buying, I’d rather see them if non-personalized ads were the only other option.

If you’re not like me and don’t like personalized ads, you can take several steps to avoid targeted ads after online shopping. Using a VPN and a privacy-based browser are two possible solutions.

3

Your Data May Still Be Used

Since many ads are based on your interests, many websites will track your behavior. Advertisers can then use this information to serve you products and services they think you’d find interesting.

Given that many people have become more privacy-aware in recent years, it’s understandable that some might want to pay money to avoid using their data. While this might sometimes be the case, some sites may still use your information after subscribing to an ad-lite tier.

Websites still need user information to get feedback and provide better services. So, your data might still be used in some situations. The main difference is that it won’t often be used for advertising; that might be enough for some people, but others may find this more irritating.

Not being tracked online whatsoever is challenging in any circumstance. You can still be tracked while incognito or private browsing, for example.

While some ad-lite services offer only reduced ads, you may get extra benefits with your subscription in other cases. For example, you may get access to apps and exclusive content.

You may sometimes find what’s offered interesting. But much of the time, it feels like these offerings are bundled to make a subscription seem like a better deal than it actually is for many people.

If you already use features similar to what you get when subscribing to an ad-lite tier, by all means, go for it. But if you know that you probably won’t access them (and you wouldn’t pay solely for them), thinking twice before you purchase might be a better idea.

1

You’re Better Off Just Paying for the Ad-Free Version

Many sites offering ad-lite tiers typically have fully ad-free versions. When you subscribe to these, you won’t see any personalized or non-personalized ads. Moreover, you often get access to exclusive and/or unlimited content, allowing you to fully support your favorite publications.

Rather than looking at the price, it’s worth considering how much value you’ll get from subscribing to an ad-free tier. More often than not, it’s a better deal than ad-lite.

Getting an ad-lite subscription is effectively the worst of everything you were trying to avoid. You’ll often still receive ads, and in many cases, they’ll be less personal. Moreover, you might sometimes see ads on content you enjoy and be paying for ad-free access to things you don’t care about. You’re better off paying for the full version.

At first glance, the Windows 11 Photos app might seem like a basic photo viewer, but it’s packed with features that go far beyond the essentials. While some are well-known, others are tucked away, waiting to be discovered.

6

Resize Images

Resizing images is something you might need to do from time to time, whether it’s to make them easier to share or to optimize them for a website. Fortunately, you don’t need to rely on third-party photo editing apps or online tools because the Photos app on Windows already offers an image resizing feature.

Once you’ve opened an image in the Photos app, click the three-dot menu icon in the top-left corner and select Resize image. From here, you’ll have two options: resize by a percentage of the original image or manually set the pixel dimensions. Simply enter your desired width and height, and then click Save.

5

Scan Text From Images

Another Photos app feature that’s easy to miss is the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tool. This feature allows you to extract printed text or even handwriting from images, screenshots, or scanned documents, and turn them into a digital copy.

All you have to do is open the image in the Photos app and click the Scan Text icon at the bottom. Once the app detects text in the image, press Ctrl + A to select it, then Ctrl + C to copy it. Alternatively, you can also select specific text using your mouse cursor, just like you would on a webpage.

After the text is copied, you can paste it into your documents, emails, notes, or any text field. This feature can save you a lot of time when digitizing handwritten notes, pulling quotes from book pages, or copying an address from a flyer.

4

Super Resolution

Microsoft has recently introduced some impressive AI-powered tools in the Windows Photos app, and one of the standout features is Super Resolution. This tool uses artificial intelligence to upscale images up to 8 times their original size.

What makes Super Resolution unique is that it enhances the sharpness and detail of images without the usual drop in quality you’d get from traditional upscaling methods. To use it, you first need to enter editing mode in the Photos app. There, you’ll see a Scale slider that lets you adjust the level of enhancement. After processing, you should see a side-by-side comparison of both images.

Keep in mind that Super Resolution is currently exclusive to Copilot+ PCs, as the feature relies on the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) found in these newer systems. If you don’t see the feature in your Photos app, it likely means your hardware isn’t compatible.

3

Blur, Remove, or Replace Image Background

Previously, the Windows Photos app only offered basic editing options like crop, rotate, filters, and markup. However, that is no longer the case. You can now also use the Photos app to blur, remove, or replace image backgrounds with just a few clicks.

Once you open a photo in the Photos app and enter Edit mode, go to the Background tab. The app uses AI to automatically isolate the subject from the background. From there, you can choose to Blur, Remove, or Replace the background, depending on what you want to do.

This feature is incredibly useful when you want to add a portrait-style effect or replace the background with something entirely different.

2

Generative Erase

If you don’t need to change the entire background but simply want to remove a specific object or person, the Windows 11 Photos app also features Generative Erase. Similar to Photo Cleanup on iOS or Magic Eraser on Android, it uses AI to help you effortlessly clean up your images.

To use it, open a photo in the Photos app, switch to editing mode, and navigate to the Erase tab. From there, simply brush over the object or person you want to remove. The app will then analyze the surrounding pixels and use AI to fill in the area.

Of course, it’s not flawless, so you might not always get the perfect results, but it gets the job done in most cases.

1

iCloud Photos and OneDrive Sync

Windows 11 Photos is not just for viewing images and videos stored on your PC—you can also use it to access and manage your cloud-stored media. What’s great is that it’s not limited to just Microsoft’s own OneDrive; the Photos app also supports Apple’s iCloud Photos.

If you use OneDrive, you simply need to open the Photos app and sign in to your account. To sync iCloud Photos, you’ll need to install the iCloud app from the Microsoft Store and sign in to your account. Once connected, your cloud photos and videos will appear in their own section within the Photos app.

While the Windows 11 Photos app began as a simple redesign from Windows 10, Microsoft has significantly enhanced it over time. With these new features, the Photos app has evolved into a powerful tool and reduced the need for third-party photo editing software on PC.

Knowing what’s real and what’s fake on social media has become harder than ever with AI. But with a few simple methods, I’m able to avoid getting fooled more often than not. The best part? You don’t need to be a technical expert.

8

AI-Generated Markers

The easiest way to check if content is AI-generated is to look at the platform’s AI marker. Several social media apps, such as Instagram, have a tool that allows users to quickly see if a post was generated with AI software.

If I see a photo created with AI, I mark it as Not Interested. Doing so trains the algorithm only to show me what I actually want to see.

However, this tip may not always be the best approach. Sometimes, AI content detectors don’t work; generative fill-in Photoshop and other apps may trigger an image to be marked as such. So, I recommend combining this with at least one more method.

7

Reverse Image Lookups

Reverse image lookups are a superb way to see if a profile is fake, but I sometimes also use them to determine if someone has made content with AI. Ironically, AI tools like ChatGPT are good at determining if something has been created with AI.

When using ChatGPT, I use o3 to get more advanced reasoning. The tool normally takes 3-5 minutes to assess what I’ve fed it and come to a conclusion. It’s accurate more often than not.

Many people who upload AI-generated visuals to social media don’t remove the metadata. When I save images and videos, I can sometimes tell if they’re AI by their titles. Besides ChatGPT, you can use various other reverse image search tools on mobile.

Written AI social media content can be more difficult to identify, but it’s still possible. One of the easiest ways to see if a Facebook status, tweet, or Instagram caption was AI-generated is by prompting AI tools yourself.

Many captions are generated with basic prompts, so this is quite simple. For example, I could ask the software something like:

“Please generate an Instagram caption for a carousel of pictures showing a Spanish beach.”

The response will likely be similar to what I saw on social media, but it will not be exactly the same.

I don’t have a problem with AI captions if they mainly invite users to click through as a CTA. In fact, I think using AI for such tasks is clever. But it bothers me for personal stories.

5

Images That Look Like Video Game Graphics

I spend a lot of time testing AI software, and during my years of experience, I’ve experimented with image generation in numerous ways. So, I have a pretty good understanding of how AI-generated pictures look—even with the most photorealistic tools.

One of the surest examples of an AI social media post is that the images look more like video game graphics. I’ve seen some people try to claim that travel photos of locations are real when it’s obvious to me that they aren’t. Even if I haven’t visited those destinations, I can still tell.

Critically assessing pictures like this works for every genre. Even though the likes of GPT-4o and Midjourney have made significant improvements in recent years, you can still tell.

4

Visuals That Look Too Lifelike

Some AI tools can be scarily lifelike to the point of being creepy. The Toys ‘R’ Us Sora ad is one of the best examples of how technology can be taken too far; it’s supposed to advertise toys, but to me, it looks like a horror movie.

Photos and videos often have a look that may be closer to reality than older cameras, but they are still clearly taken by a human. Even with my full-frame camera, my images aren’t perfect.

If something looks too lifelike, it’s a certain sign that someone used AI to make it. Most social media posts shouldn’t look like computer-generated imagery (CGI) in movies. Deepfakes might also look real, but I use a number of tips to spot them.

3

No Personal Insights

A lack of personality is one of the best ways to spot AI-generated content. While these tools are good at writing basic passages, they don’t have the personal experiences of a human. It doesn’t matter how often you try to prompt these tools to inject your personality into them, either.

If a social media post seems robotic, it’s a good sign that you’re looking at something AI-generated. You can quickly tell if a post is authentic, in the same way you can tell when someone isn’t being honest in real life.

If you’re on the fence, you can always combine this tip with prompting AI software.

2

Asking a Question

If you ever want to tell whether someone truly knows what they’re talking about, ask them a curious question. Their response time isn’t important, but you should assess their answer to see if it feels legitimate.

People who generate AI content on social media are often (though not always) looking for engagement. However, you may encounter scenarios where they aren’t actually an expert on their topic. For example, if you see an AI-generated image, ask them where it is; you can then perform a quick Google search to determine if they’re genuine.

1

Observing Object Interactions

Despite significant changes, AI-generated social media posts can still have defects. Object interactions in videos and “photos” are a clear sign.

Sometimes, you’ll see someone holding objects unnaturally. In some cases, you may notice clear size differences, such as a phone being bigger than a person’s head. Hands and pockets might look unnatural, too.

If you see an AI video on social media, you may notice the speed and camera angles being a bit strange, too.

Not everyone uses AI for good, unfortunately. While these tools can be good for generating captions that you edit later, some people use them to farm engagement and mislead people. Knowing how to spot the signs of AI on these kinds of posts will help you avoid being fooled.

If searching Google feels slower, messier, and less reliable than it used to, that’s because it is. Google’s results are now dominated by AI-generated text, aggressive ads, and SEO-optimized clutter, burying the trustworthy information you’re searching for.

The AI Overview Often Misses the Mark

Google’s AI-generated overviews, meant to provide quick answers at the top of search results, often fall short of being genuinely helpful. These summaries tend to be overly simplistic, lack nuance, and pull from questionable sources that aren’t always reliable.

For example, when I searched “How to clean a cast iron skillet without ruining it,” I expected to see specific guidance grounded in cooking best practices. Instead, the AI Overview spits out a generic list: avoid harsh scrubbing, rinse with soapy water, use a salt scrub, and even clean rust with a potato and baking soda.

Not only was it contradictory (first warning against soap, then recommending it), but it also pulled most of its information from Reddit threads, Quora posts, and YouTube videos. None of whom are recognized authorities on cookware care.

This kind of AI summary gives off the illusion of authority while offering inconsistent or oversimplified advice. Instead of highlighting expert-backed techniques or linking to reputable culinary sources, it cobbles together content with no clear vetting process. The result? A surface-level answer that may do more harm than good, especially for people seeking trustworthy guidance.

Related

Google Is Overhauling Overviews With AI Mode, and Search Will Never Be the Same

Google Search now chats back with AI Mode.

Search Results Prioritize Advertisers Over Users

The experience of using Google today often feels less like a search engine and more like navigating a billboard gallery, prompting many users to seek out alternative search engines that can provide more relevant results. Sponsored links dominate the top of nearly every results page and are designed to look like real answers. There’s little distinction between paid and organic results, which makes it harder to quickly find what you’re looking for.

Below the ads, Google fills the space with features like “People also ask,” AI-generated answers, and product carousels. These elements may look helpful, but they’re built to keep you on Google’s platform, increasing ad exposure and tracking behavior along the way.

Real, unpaid content—what most people are trying to reach—is pushed far down. On a mobile screen, it often takes several scrolls to even see the first organic result. Even then, the page you land on is often packed with affiliate links, prioritizing sales over substance.

What used to feel like a tool for exploring the web now feels like a funnel toward monetized content. Google’s business depends on ads, and the layout of search results increasingly reflects that priority, often at the cost of your time, trust, and ability to find reliable information.

The Rise of Clickbait and Misleading Headlines

As Google’s search algorithm increasingly favors content designed to drive clicks over genuine value, clickbait headlines have taken over. These sensationalized titles often promise more than they can deliver, leading you to results that are irrelevant, shallow, or outright misleading.

Recently, I searched “Fast 11” hoping to find reliable information on the upcoming movie. Instead, I was bombarded with clickbait. The top results were fake, AI-generated fan trailers with titles like “NEW TRAILER,” featuring Vin Diesel and Cody Walker. Just beneath the video thumbnails were attention-grabbing headlines like “Is It Doomed?”—despite the fact that filming hasn’t even started. It was a wall of misinformation and AI-generated junk, with nothing credible or helpful in sight.

Google’s results now focus on SEO tricks like catchy phrases, keyword-heavy titles, and eye-grabbing thumbnails over actual substance. It turns a simple question into a frustrating scavenger hunt for actual answers.

Adding “Reddit” Has Become Increasingly Essential

At some point, many users began adding the word “Reddit” to their searches. It’s not a coincidence; it’s a form of defense. If you’re looking for product recommendations, troubleshooting tips, or advice rooted in real experience, adding “Reddit” helps you bypass most of the junk.

Why? Because deep in Reddit threads and old forums are real conversations among human beings. You get actual opinions with human emotion and analysis, not cold affiliate links or SEO-gamed content. You see people explaining what worked, what didn’t, and why. This is the kind of context that AI-generated summaries and generic blogs are incapable of replicating.

This isn’t a fringe technique anymore; it’s become widespread behavior. It reveals a simple truth: people don’t trust the top of Google’s results page—they trust communities of real users. We are now pressured to use tricks to navigate Google more effectively. It’s a serious indicator of what Google Search has become.

At first glance, the short summaries beneath each clickable link in a Google Search—known as meta descriptions—seem helpful. They’re designed to give a quick preview of what’s on a webpage, letting you decide whether to click it or not. In practice, however, they’re often confusing, contradictory, or outright misleading.

These snippets aren’t always written by the website’s author. In many cases, Google auto-generates them based on page content, sometimes pulling sentences out of context or misrepresenting the page’s intent. That becomes a problem when you treat these summaries as trustworthy answers.

Take my example of searching “Fastest land animal.” Nearly every result points to the cheetah, but the meta descriptions vary wildly. One link claims cheetahs reach 60 mph, another insists on 75 mph—a number that’s never been recorded.

Even more absurdly, a Reddit post summary jokes that a cow dropped from a helicopter at 3,500 feet is technically the fastest land animal. While obviously satirical, this line appears next to serious sources, blurring the line between fact and fiction.

Google’s algorithm isn’t designed to evaluate accuracy; it only evaluates relevance and engagement. As AI increasingly drives these summaries, users must recognize that what appears beneath each link isn’t always vetted truth. The descriptions are oftentimes automated guesses, stripped of nuance and context.

SEO Has Been Turned Into a Weapon

Originally, search engine optimization (SEO) was intended to help search engines understand and rank useful content. That principle is long gone. In 2025, SEO has become a game of manipulation and favors companies with money, software, and influence.

Instead of highlighting the most insightful or informative pages, Google now favors those that best follow the “rules.” Keyword stuffing, subheadings filled with search phrases, bloated introductions designed to stretch engagement metrics, and FAQ sections packed with robotic phrasing fill the top of Google’s results.

These pages are often created by AI tools, refined by SEO experts, and published on a grand scale by digital marketing firms. The goal is not to inform, it’s to dominate search results and convert clicks into dollars. Personal blogs, niche experts, and independent journalists have seen their traffic collapse, not because their content isn’t useful, but because they lack the technical resources to compete. Valuable human insight is now buried beneath layers of strategic noise.

Google created this battlefield, then handed the bigger weapons to those willing to exploit it most aggressively. In this day and age, it’s not quality that wins. It’s whoever can game the system most effectively.

Google Search Is Trying to Be Everything—and Failing at the Essentials

In its attempt to be more than a search engine, Google has loaded its results pages with clutter. You’re no longer simply presented with a clean list of links. Instead, you face a sprawling interface filled with shopping widgets, top stories, answer boxes, “Perspectives” from influencers, and even YouTube highlights.

The original purpose of Search was simplicity: type in a question, get relevant answers. Now, Google attempts to anticipate your needs with overlays and predictive features that often miss the mark.

I searched “Italy vacation ideas,” thinking I’d get hotel recommendations, tips on what to pack, and a compilation of must-see locations. Instead, I was bombarded with vacation packages and rigid itineraries being sold by major travel companies. The kind of helpful, firsthand advice I was actually looking for was buried pages deep.

In trying to become an all-in-one platform for information, shopping, and entertainment, Google has diluted the precise and trustworthy output it once had.

Google Search isn’t dead, but it no longer feels like the reliable tool it once was. Instead of effortlessly finding answers, you are now forced to dodge ads, sift through low-quality content, and rephrase queries to get better results. The trajectory of this shift is unknown as Google focuses on its new AI mode, which will replace aspects of Google Search.

In 2025, Search feels more like a chore, shaped by advertisers and content mills rather than genuine usefulness. The internet hasn’t run out of valuable information; Google has just made it harder to find.

In late April 2024, the YouTube app on my LG smart TV started reducing videos to 480p quality. If you can believe it, YouTube still hasn’t fixed this issue over a year later. It’s so irritating that I’ve documented the tale to share.

YouTube Forces Low Quality for Certain Videos

At first, I couldn’t figure out why some videos dropped to 480p while others played at max resolution. After testing, I narrowed down the problem: this only happens when increasing the playback speed of 60FPS videos.

Standard 30 or 24FPS videos are not subject to this problem, and if you leave the playback speed at 1x, the quality doesn’t change. You can’t fix it by increasing the quality again; doing so sets the speed back to 1x.

Frame rate, measured in FPS (frames per second), denotes how many individual images a video consists of. The more frames per second, the smoother the movement appears. Thus, 60FPS is most beneficial for videos with fast-moving action.

Lots of gaming channels upload at 60FPS since high frame rates result in smoother gameplay. And because gaming is one of my primary interests, a majority of what I (and I’m sure many others) watch on YouTube is subject to this problem.

Diagnosing the Low-Quality Problem

Between my experiments and reading others’ experiences on forum posts, I’ve tried to gather as much information about this problem as possible.

I confirmed that it’s not a device issue. This problem happens with the YouTube app for any TV platform, including native smart TV apps, streaming boxes like Roku and Apple TV, and game consoles. I’ve experienced it on my LG TV, Roku, PS5, and Xfinity Flex box across multiple TVs.

The problem doesn’t occur instantly on affected videos. When a video is set to a 60FPS quality option (720p60 or above), changing the playback speed above 1x will change the Quality text to 480p—but it takes about 20 seconds for the change to happen. It’s a jarring moment, particularly with the frame rate being halved.

In the Settings menu on any YouTube video, enabling the Stats for nerds box shows you technical data. One of the Reddit posts about this problem (since removed by the moderators and archived here) mentioned you can see a stat change when the drop takes effect, which I verified. On a 1080p60 video, the Current/Optimal Res value is 1920×1080@60. As soon as you increase the speed, the Optimal Res is set to 854×480@30 and the quality drops to 480p a moment later.

Below is a short video showing the problem; notice how the quality drops to 480p around the 21-second mark.

I usually watch videos at 1.5x speed, at the highest quality available. Adjusting the playback speed to 1.25x generally has the same effect. In certain cases, a 60FPS video won’t be affected by this, or will drop from 1080p to 720p (or 2160p to 1080p). That’s better than 480p, but this still shouldn’t be a problem at all.

Meanwhile, some videos (typically from smaller channels) don’t even have a 480p option. In those cases, this behavior means you’re stuck watching at 360p—a terrible fate.

YouTube Premium Support Offers No Help

I commented my findings on Reddit, along with YouTube’s official support forums. As you’d expect for any issue with a massive company like YouTube/Google, getting a response is difficult.

I have YouTube Premium (and recently switched to Premium Lite); since Premium support actually gets back to you. I complained about this experience and asked for a credit or refund since I’d been paying for a sub-par experience. The rep told me that “the video quality part of the videos are not part of the premium benefits” and so I wouldn’t be able to get anything back. (Meanwhile, YouTube’s 1080p Premium option is also subject to this issue.)

The rep also assured me multiple times that YouTube was on the case, saying “This will be raised and be fixed” and “is something that our engineers are trying to fix as soon as possible”. I later complained a second time and was granted a refund for one month, which also canceled my Premium subscription. However, using YouTube on a TV without Premium is unbearable because of the ads, so I quickly signed up again.

Months later when this issue was still ongoing, I reached out again. The Premium rep told me that team can’t directly send feedback to the engineers, but encouraged me to send feedback. This is possible with the YouTube on TVs feedback page and via the Settings page on any affected video by choosing Feedback > Video is poor quality. I’ve done this hundreds of times in the last year, but it hasn’t made a difference.

It’s “Intended Behavior” to Offer DVD Quality in 2025

The closest link I had to anyone at YouTube was on this YouTube Support forum page. A “Gold Product Expert” checked in a few times to say he had escalated the problem to the team. The final blow came in January 2025 when he said:

I’m sorry this is frustrating. The team just confirmed to me this is intended behavior. You can use the send feedback feature to report your dissatisfication [sic].

Apparently, what the rep told me earlier isn’t true. Increasing video speed worked for years until this problem appeared, so I can’t believe it’s intentional. As a reminder, 480p is DVD quality—the same resolution as the PS2 (launched in 2000). It’s unacceptable that any modern video service would force you to watch at such a low resolution, especially on a large 4K display.

Again, this issue does not affect other platforms where you watch YouTube. I can watch a 2160p60 (4K, 60FPS) video on my iPhone, computer, or other non-TV devices at 2x and have zero problems. If intentional on TVs, why is YouTube not intentionally serving other platforms lower quality? My download speed is over 700Mbps. There is no reason YouTube can’t serve the videos at higher quality and high speed; today’s devices can handle it.

This is even more frustrating when YouTube is now offering playback speeds up to 4x on some devices and a YouTube Blog post revealed that TV has become the platform where people watch YouTube most. How is it acceptable for all those people to watch 480p content on their (presumably) 4K TVs if they want to increase the base speed? With how long videos can be, it’s something lots of people benefit from.

Let’s also not forget that other video platforms like Instagram and X allow you to increase the playback speed of videos without losing quality. If they can do it, why not YouTube?

YouTube’s App on TV Has Had Plenty of Other Issues

One of the biggest issues with smart TVs is how buggy their apps can be; the YouTube app for TVs is no exception. During an earlier version of this issue, affected videos would sometimes start at a lower resolution than the maximum available, especially when I had increased the speed during that session. But manually changing the quality again fixed it for that video.

The YouTube app for my Comcast Flex box just got the playback speed option a few months ago, but that’s caused the subtitles (and sometimes the audio/video) to go out of sync. YouTube randomly resets my caption visual settings every so often, and there have also been minor visual issues like video titles overlapping. None of this should be part of a premium experience, but at least most past issues were fixed within a short time.

A Supremely Frustrating Issue

Being forced to watch in 480p for over a year is the worst YouTube problem I’ve had. Yes, I could watch YouTube on another device or at a slow speed, but I don’t want to. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want to watch videos on my largest, sharpest screen and speed them up so I can enjoy videos in a shorter amount of time.

It’s inexcusable for a company this big to offer such low quality on a platform it’s ostensibly putting a lot of focus on. There’s a new YouTube app for TV platforms coming soon, and while the new paint job is nice, it really needs to fix this core issue. The YouTube app has gotten plenty of feature updates since this started, but none have addressed it.

If you’ve dealt with this problem too, I’d like to hear from you in the comments below. Hopefully, YouTube will take notice and fix this. I’ve almost forgotten what it looks like to watch videos above 480p.

AI is great at summarizing notes and might soon bring them to life too. Plenty of apps use AI to create summaries of your notes, but this upcoming feature in Google’s NotebookLM can do a lot more.

NotebookLM Will Soon Convert Your Notes to Videos

TestingCatalog has spotted a new Video Overviews button in NotebookLM, Google’s AI-powered note-taking tool. This suggests that users may soon be able to generate video summaries of their notes. Given that NotebookLM is developed by Google, these videos are likely to be powered by the company’s latest video generation model, Veo 2.

NotebookLM already has an Audio Overviews feature, which lets you create podcasts from your notes. This feature is one of the reasons why the tool took off in the first place, and if Google can get the video generation working as expected, it can make NotebookLM an indispensable note-taking app.

We don’t know how the final result will look at the moment, but it’s not going to be as simple as treating your notes as prompts to generate videos. Google claims Veo 2 can generate video clips of “several minutes in length,” and it has a better understanding of real-world physics as well as human movement and expressions, so the result can be quite good.

NotebookLM can sometimes generate hour-long podcasts based on your material, so it seems unlikely that the new feature will act as a complete replacement. Instead, Google might be looking to enhance the AI-generated podcasts with a little helping of visual metaphors or small explanations to better visualize and explain more complicated topics.

Audio Overviews often include scripted dialogues between two AI-generated hosts using fixed voices. Given Veo 2’s current limitations, Google can implement a similar template-based system here to get better results.

Video Overviews Are Just the Beginning

Apparently, Video Overviews aren’t all that’s new to NotebookLM. TestingCatalog also spotted UI changes that could make for better content discovery. There’s a new section called Editor’s Picks, implying you could soon be able to browse public notebooks. Given it’s a Google tool, there’s also going to be an element of personalization here, so the feature can give you some interesting reads.

These types of community-driven features can expand NotebookLM from a note-taking and research assistant to a full-blown knowledge-sharing platform, similar to Perplexity’s Discover section. Google seems to be bringing its entire AI ecosystem across mediums—text, voice, and now even video—into a single assistant-like tool that revolves around user-generated content, similar to apps like Notion.

The Video Overviews feature and UI changes are expected to arrive with NotebookLM’s mobile app release for iOS and Android, planned for May 20. With Google I/O also scheduled to start the same day, these new features will likely be highlight announcements.

NotebookLM is one of the best uses of AI in research or note-taking apps that I’ve seen in some time. I’m genuinely excited to try it out, especially considering how well the Audio Overviews feature works.

If your internet feels sluggish or buffering is driving you up the wall, the issue might not be your connection speed—it could be your DNS.

Most people use their internet provider’s default DNS servers, but these are often slower, less private, and less reliable than alternatives. However, there are a few handy tricks and tips you can use to speed up your connection.

5

Change Your DNS Provider

One of the simplest and most effective tricks is switching from your ISP’s default DNS servers to a third-party provider. Many alternatives are faster and more secure:

• Cloudflare DNS: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 (fast, privacy-focused)
• Google DNS: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 (reliable, well-supported)
• Quad9: 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112 (fast, strong security, privacy-focused)
• OpenDNS: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220 (adds optional content filtering and security features)

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You can make this change in one of two ways:

• Router: This applies the new DNS settings to every device connected to your home network. It’s the most efficient way to change DNS for your entire household.
• Individual Devices: If your router doesn’t allow DNS changes (like many ISP-provided gateways), you can still change DNS settings on your computer, phone, or tablet.

This small change can reduce the time it takes to load websites and apps, especially if your current DNS is underperforming.

4

Enable DNS Over HTTPS (DoH)

Changing your DNS server can speed things up, but encrypting your DNS traffic adds another layer of benefit: privacy. Traditional DNS queries are sent in plain text, which means your ISP or anyone else on the network can see what websites you’re trying to access.

DNS over HTTPS (DoH) encrypts these queries, protecting your browsing habits from snooping.

• Most modern browsers like Firefox, Chrome, and Edge support DoH.
• Many operating systems, like Windows 11, and certain routers support DoH.
• Cloudflare, Google, and other DNS providers support encrypted DNS by default.

Turning this feature on is usually just a matter of toggling a setting in your browser or operating system’s network settings. For example, you can easily enable DNS Over HTTPS in Windows 11 with just a few clicks. As per the above, if your operating system doesn’t support native DoH, you can use one of the alternative DNS providers instead, as they’ll typically encrypt your DNS queries.

3

Use a Faster DNS Server for Your Location

Not all DNS providers are equal everywhere. Depending on the routing path, server load, and geographic location, some may be faster or more reliable in your area. To find the best option for your region, you can use free tools to benchmark DNS performance.

• DNS Speed Test Benchmark: A handy online DNS testing tool that shows the fastest DNS speeds for your specific location. Once you run your test, press the clipboard icon to copy the DNS information for the fastest server for easy use!
• DNSPerf: A web-based comparison site that shows global and regional DNS performance.

After identifying the fastest DNS for your area, you can switch to it manually for a noticeable improvement in website and app responsiveness. Note that there are desktop and command line tools like NameBench, NAMEinator, and GRC’s DNS Benchmark, but these two online DNS checkers are typically useful and accurate enough to figure out your fastest DNS provider.

2

Manually Set DNS on Streaming Devices, Gaming Consoles, Smart TVs, and More

If you use devices like Roku, Fire TV, or smart TVs and you can’t change DNS settings at the router level (due to a locked-down ISP gateway like those from AT&T), you can set DNS manually on each device.

Most streaming hardware and gaming consoles allow you to set a static IP address and manually enter DNS servers. This can help reduce buffering and speed up app loading times, particularly for high-bitrate video streaming.

It’s a bit more manual work, but it’s worth it if you stream a lot and can’t modify your network’s router settings. I can’t provide specific steps to change DNS on each device here, but a simple internet search for “[device name] change DNS settings” should help you find what you need.

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1

Flush Your DNS Cache

Sometimes, your computer or device will store old or incorrect DNS information, which can lead to slow site loading or errors. Flushing your DNS cache forces your system to re-query the DNS server and often resolves weird connectivity issues.

• Windows:
  1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
  2. Type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.
• macOS:
  1. Open Terminal
  2. Type sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder and press Enter.

This doesn’t change your DNS settings but can help fix problems caused by outdated DNS data. You can also view and flush your DNS cache on Linux, though the process varies depending on your Linux distro.

You don’t need to be a networking expert to take advantage of these DNS tweaks. Something as simple as switching from your ISP’s default DNS to Cloudflare or Google can result in faster loading times, less buffering, and even improved privacy.

If there is one thing we can all celebrate in this world, it’s lower prices and better privacy. And that’s exactly what one of my favorite—and one of the best—private email and VPN providers is set to deliver to anyone using iOS.

Proton Set to Lower Its Prices After Court Ruling

Proton, developers of the excellent Proton Mail, Proton Pass, and Proton VPN, has revealed that it will drop its subscription prices for iOS users. It follows the outcome of an enormous court case involving Apple and Epic Games, in which Apple was meant to halt uncompetitive practices that allowed it to levy extra charges on subscribers.

Andy Yen, founder and CEO of Proton, has noted that this is finally a chance for the company to cut costs for its subscribers, and could potentially drop prices by up to 30 percent—a huge win for the millions of iOS users worldwide.

In addition, Yen noted that the Apple ruling could also have a major impact on inflation in the US.

Proton told TechRadar that the price changes will come into force in the US only as there are different rules in place in the EU. Indeed, Proton “implore the EU to follow suit and actually force Apple’s hand.”

You Don’t Have to Subscribe Through the App Store

Here’s the rub: you don’t need to subscribe to Proton’s privacy-focused apps through the App Store. It’s always been much cheaper to head to Proton directly and subscribe, then sign into your respective Proton accounts.

The biggest difference is that now, subscribing to Proton (and other subscription services) through the App Store won’t cost any more than subscribing through the service website. It’s a proper price match that, let’s face it, should have always been the case.

So, if you’ve been wondering about subscribing to Proton—now is your chance.

Smartphones used to spark excitement with every new release. Now, upgrades feel incremental and lack bold new designs and headline-grabbing features. However, what modern phones lack in spectacle, they make up for in reliability. It makes being an enthusiast less fun, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Standardized Specs Mean Less Confusion for Non-Savvy Buyers

Buying a phone is arguably less of a hassle today than it was a couple of years ago. That’s because many features that were then considered innovations and only found on select models are now standard. This means the average buyer, who isn’t as tech-savvy, doesn’t have to worry about their phone missing any essential features.

Unless you’re buying an entry-level model, most modern smartphones come with an OLED screen, FHD resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 128GB of internal storage or more, a fingerprint scanner, 4K recording, a USB-C port with at least 25W wired charging, and a 5000mAh battery—unless you’re buying a compact phone like the Galaxy S25 or Pixel 9.

This matters because, for most people, a smartphone is just a tool to do basic tasks like calling, texting, web browsing, and scrolling social media. That means the overall experience won’t be too different between phones from different brands. Instead of stressing over specs, you can focus on remaining within your budget and getting the best value.

I’m not saying that more expensive phones don’t have merit. They certainly do. But phones becoming boring is the price we have to pay as consumers to ensure that even the worst phone out there is still at least sufficiently adequate to perform everyday tasks.

This boringness gives you reassurance that no matter which phone you buy, it won’t be so bad that it can’t get you through the day. It might not always feel very smooth, be able to run certain games or come with optional but nice-to-have features, but it will, without a doubt, meet your minimal expectations. This wasn’t the case about a decade ago.

Companies Could Shift Focus to Software Optimization

When people complain that smartphones have become boring, they’re referring almost exclusively to the lack of hardware innovation. Aside from foldable phones, which are still inaccessible to most people, there haven’t really been many major hardware breakthroughs in recent years. Incremental improvements seem to have become the norm.

One way to look at this is to say that companies are just not innovating anymore. While that’s partly true, a more nuanced look at the situation suggests we are now at a point where all the hardware problems formerly associated with phones are largely resolved.

Durability, for example, has improved greatly over the years to the point where even mid-range phones are now almost as tough as their flagship counterparts, and can last several years.

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We’re nearing the peak of what’s possible with existing tech. Remember, companies have a limited R&D budget, so every dollar spent on research that doesn’t prove fruitful is essentially wasted and not used to improve aspects that still need improving, such as software.

The savvy among us are already aware that modern phones are influenced just as much by how well the company has optimized the software as they are by their internals. A powerful chip looks great on benchmarks, but it’s really software optimization that unlocks that power and ensures fluidity of the user interface.

I’m willing to argue that this fluidity matters to most people far more than arbitrary hardware changes and new designs because software is what you ultimately interact with. New designs are fun and make for great marketing, but how long do you really admire the design of your phone after having purchased it? Probably not that long.

Longer Software Support Helps Avoid Frequent Upgrades

Alongside software optimization, companies are also making it a priority to offer longer software support. This is why Google and Samsung now offer seven years of major Android updates. This trend isn’t exclusive to flagships; newer mid-range phones like the Galaxy A56 and the Pixel 9a will be supported for six and seven years, respectively.

That means, as long as you care for your phone, minimize its wear, and get the battery replaced after a few years, you don’t really need to upgrade as frequently. You’ll get the latest features regardless. And since you won’t be upgrading as often, you can get a more premium model that you might otherwise not be able to afford.

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Design Consistency Helps in Value Retention and Repair

I get it—seeing the same design over and over for several generations is tiring. In the past, it was normal for Android manufacturers to start from scratch when designing their next phone.

But today, the goal is to be instantly recognizable, and that’s not possible if you keep changing the look of your products. Samsung has cemented its look with individual camera rings, the Google Pixel with a camera visor, and OnePlus features a large circular camera island.

This design consistency is not just about branding, though. It also influences how well your phone retains its value. When you trade in your phone, the estimated value you get in return is based primarily on how much of the device the company will be able to recycle.

Consistent designs fetch more value because they allow more components to be recycled. They also make repairs easier—but not always cheaper—as spare parts become easier to source. Familiarity with the internals means technicians see fewer surprises during repair.

Camera Hardware Plateaued, But Computational Photography Took Over

For years, smartphone camera upgrades meant bigger sensors, more megapixels, and more lenses. But over the years, this hardware race has hit a ceiling. Most flagships now sport similar-sized sensors, stabilized primary lenses, ultrawide lenses with around 120˚ field-of-view, telephoto lenses with 3x optical zoom or more, and support for 8K video.

In other words, it’s not the hardware that’s the differentiating factor anymore; it’s the unique image processing of each brand. That’s what has allowed smartphone photography to keep improving despite the physical limitations of camera hardware. After all, there’s limited room inside a phone’s chassis, so you can’t keep increasing the sensor size endlessly.

Google’s Pixel lineup is the perfect example of this. It’s rarely equipped with cutting-edge hardware, especially on its A-series, yet its image quality consistently punches above its weight. Even cheaper phones now use algorithms to clean up noise, balance exposures, and simulate bokeh—all of which once required high-end optics.

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In a way, this plateau is good. With fewer gimmicky changes, manufacturers can spend more time tuning their software to make the best use of existing hardware. Sadly, this does mean that phone cameras look largely the same from the outside each year, which is indeed boring, but there’s a lot going on behind those lenses that we don’t see.

Ecosystem Products Allowed for Seamless Integration

Smartphone hardware having peaked has also allowed companies more room to build ecosystem products that work together seamlessly, with your phone at the center of it all.

On the Apple side, we have AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac, AirTag, and Apple services—all designed to complement the iPhone. The Android side is a bit fragmented, but Samsung’s Galaxy Buds, Watch, Tab, laptops, and smart home appliances offer a very similar experience.

For instance, if you get a call on your phone while watching a movie on your tablet, Galaxy Buds will automatically switch to the former so you can quickly accept the call without having to manually change the Bluetooth connection.

Samsung phones also work quite well with Windows laptops, so you can connect your phone and PC using Samsung Flow or Link to Window. This allows you to sync clipboard content, so you can copy and paste cross-device, transfer files via drag-and-drop, and mirror your phone’s screen onto your PC monitor.

Smartphones have matured, which means groundbreaking innovations are harder to come by. But that also means they’re a lot more reliable now. So, companies can make complementary products and services to better your overall experience. This is far more valuable to most people than having new flashy features that don’t add any actual utility.

It’s easy to forget that companies make products for the masses, not enthusiasts. Innovation happened so rapidly in the past because the smartphone was not a mature product category and each new iteration addressed a common complaint that people had with their phones.

For instance, people complained about slow charging, so companies invested in developing fast-charging solutions. Similarly, they developed OIS to fix camera shakes, faster processors to handle heavy workloads, ultrawide cameras for group shots, and fingerprint readers for security.

A modern smartphone already does almost everything you could expect from it, so there’s less room to keep innovating. My point then is this: consumer tech is built primarily to solve real-world problems. Thus, innovation, for its own sake, is no innovation at all.

It’s why so many ideas that looked great on paper ended up failing, such as the LG Wing’s swiveling screen, the Galaxy A80’s rotating camera, modular phones, pop-up selfie cameras, and built-in gaming controls. I could go on, but you get the idea.

YouTube is making waves by bringing some big changes to its app for TVs and gaming consoles. But don’t expect something truly better, just mostly more of the streaming giant’s worst feature.

Say Hello to More Shorts and a Variety of Shelves

In April 2025, YouTube mentioned that it was planning a redesigned video player and other improvements. But first spotted by 9to5Google, there’s much more in the works, and some of it isn’t exactly exciting.

The app will be adding a number of shelves to give you quick access to videos. YouTube explains more about what to expect:

• The “Continue your search” shelf shows you your top three searches, allowing you to jump back in right where you left off.
• The “Listen again” shelf is a dedicated music shelf that shows you the top songs you’ve previously searched for and listened to.
• The “Live performances, remixes, and covers” shelf shows you other versions of your favorite songs, beyond the official versions.
• The Primetime Channels shelf, for those subscribed, shows content from your most recently searched for and watched Primetime Channels.
• The “From your top channels” shelf shows you your top watched YouTube channels.

A Podcasts tab will also let you quickly jump into podcasts directly from your library.

But if you’re not a fan of Shorts, we’ve got some bad news for you. Those will now be split out from longer videos to easily access. There will be a Shorts row in the Watch Next feed and a Shorts Shelf on your subscription tab. Just wonderful.

You will also be able to loop more content. Previously available on just playlists, you can now loop all VOD content. Just choose Loop from the Playback settings.

One of the more interesting changes seems to be an improved preview experience. Inline previews have been expanded to channel pages, subscription pages, and topics pages. The roll-out of the Immersive Channel Previews has also been completed. These are fullscreen background previews on channel headers that help make the page more immersive.

Creators will also be able to view a new Device Type card in Studio Analytics to see watch times from mobile, computer, TV, and tablet.

Vertical Videos and TVs Don’t Mix

I’m a fan of watching YouTube on a bigger screen, and these changes are not exactly mind-blowing. I absolutely hate Shorts, so I’m not excited to see those be more prominently featured. Why do we need more vertical videos on a TV screen?

But the other changes, like the improved previews, seem to sound really nice.

Also, I’m not thrilled that more AI is coming to YouTube. Once you search for a query, AI Overviews will address the query and display relevant clips under a new carousel.

Google Search is moving beyond the list of blue links and simple answers. With the rollout of Google AI Mode, you can start conversations, share files, and interact with information that’s more like an AI chatbot experience and less like the Google Search we know so well.

What Is Google AI Mode?

Google AI Mode brings advanced generative AI right into Google Search, but in a more advanced manner than its existing AI Overviews. The Gemini-powered AI Mode started as a Google Labs experiment, but is available to anyone in the US who’s at least 18 and has enabled their web search history.

If you belong to this demographic, you will spot a dedicated AI Mode tab in Search as the first item on the left.

You can also click the Labs icon on the Google Search page and enable AI Mode.

With AI Mode, you’re no longer limited to short, simple queries. Instead, you can ask questions using text, voice, or images and get the chatbot’s replies. Furthermore, your searches can be deeper and more contextual, with follow-up questions allowing you to explore topics with greater scope using the linked web-sourced information. Your AI Mode History lets you easily resume past conversations.

One of the biggest changes in Google AI Mode is how results are displayed. The list of links is pushed to the right in a separate panel, and the main answer to your prompt or search query takes up the page. Like everything generative AI, crafting a great prompt is the difference between a precise and fuzzy answer. Of course, you can use it for one-sentence search queries, too, but where’s the usefulness in that?

AI Mode brings together real-time information, such as ticket prices, product details, real-time prices (with the latest promotions), etc., and presents it as a unified answer. Google says most of the data comes from its Shopping Graph, which has over 45 billion product listings from local businesses.

Google has also added a history of past queries on a sidebar to revisit past searches and pick up where you left off. This is especially useful for ongoing projects like planning a trip or researching a big purchase. You don’t have to start from scratch every time; your previous questions and answers are right there, ready for the follow-up.

As Gemini has the feature to save information and reference past chats, I assume the AI Mode has the same facility. However, you must have Gemini Apps Activity switched on.

How AI Mode Differs From Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini, and AI Overviews

With so many AI tools, how does Google AI Mode stack up?

• Perplexity and ChatGPT: Both of these AI chatbots can deliver conversational answers, and the LLMs behind them can handle a wide range of topics. Perplexity focuses on real-time web searches and delivers quick, sourced answers. ChatGPT excels at generating creative content and carrying on long conversations, but can also delve into real-time topics. However, neither is built directly into the world’s largest search engine, and they don’t have the same access to Google’s real-time data or shopping and local business databases.
• Gemini: Google’s Gemini is a powerful AI model that powers all its AI tools, including AI Mode. It is designed for a wide range of tasks, from content creation to code generation. It’s also part of Google’s suite of premium tools. AI Mode uses Gemini under the hood, but the experience is tailored specifically for searching and exploring information simultaneously, not just chatting or generating text. Gemini is one of the most underrated AI chatbots, but making it a default part of Google Search could lift its profile.
• AI Overviews: If you’ve seen AI-generated summaries at the top of Google Search, you’ve already tasted what AI can do. However, AI Overviews only appear when Google thinks they’re relevant, and they are surface-level, usually short, and generic. Well, that’s what was meant to happen—there have been more than a few moments involving AI Overviews hallucinating. AI Mode is much more interactive and detailed. It gives you AI-generated answers every time, lets you ask follow-up questions, and presents information more visually and integrated.

AI Mode, to me, seems to combine the best features of many of the AI chatbots we know and love, bringing them into regular internet search.

What AI Mode Means for the Future of Google Search

Google AI Mode is a sign of where internet search is headed. The days of typing keywords and clicking through endless links are fading. Instead, you can ask questions in natural language, get answers that pull together everything you need, and even interact with those answers to dig deeper or change direction.

This means less time spent searching and more time getting things done. Planning a trip, shopping for a new laptop, or fixing something at home becomes easier and more intuitive. You can upload images, ask questions, and get personalized and up-to-date results. Maybe we are looking at the first stages of agentic AI that will even execute tasks for you right from the search page.

The shift is more complicated for publishers and the web. Google says it hasn’t seen a big drop in traffic to external sites so far, but there’s no doubt that traffic has dropped significantly for most websites. A lot of it has to do with AI tools and the rise of social search. AI Mode can help surface information that might otherwise stay buried, especially for complex or niche questions.

Google is still evolving the AI Mode, adding new features and expanding access. You should take the “experimental” label seriously and avoid treating its answers as the last word. According to Google’s The Keyword blog, it is listening to user feedback and promises to keep improving the experience. As AI Mode moves from Labs to the main Search experience, expect even more ways to interact with information-whether you’re shopping, planning, or just poking your curiosity.

Though admirable that Microsoft has now decided it wants Copilot to actually compete with other AI chatbots, its huge updates have only slightly chipped away at an uphill task. Unfortunately, Copilot still has a long way to go before it’s truly mentioned among the best.

Copilot Receives 5 Shiny New Features

As said, Copilot feels like it’s running behind the times, but Microsoft periodically arrives with a giant slab of updates.

Deep Research and Search Tools

Copilot has introduced a Deep Research feature similar to ChatGPT’s. After entering a prompt, the software will perform comprehensive research across the web to find the answers you’re looking for.

You’ll then see this information presented in one of many ways. Sometimes, Copilot will give you a table with everything you need. On other occasions, you’ll see bullet points and blocks of text. Having tried ChatGPT and Copilot’s Deep Research tools, I still think the former is much better, but Copilot at least has a starting point to build on.

In addition to Deep Research, Copilot has a new search feature in Bing.

Copilot Podcasts

Copilot Podcasts is arguably the coolest feature in the software’s new update. With this tool, you can create your own podcasts using AI. The software can take your favorite topics and create something you can listen to while on your run, out for a walk, cooking dinner, or in any other situation you’d normally listen to podcasts.

Besides creating the podcast yourself, Copilot will give you the opportunity to give your own input. So, it will feel more like you’re a guest on your own show and less like you’re listening to something that has clearly been generated with AI.

In addition to Copilot, you can create and listen to AI-generated podcasts (even though they’re quite polarizing) in many other places.

Shopping Suggestions

Trying to find the exact product you want to buy online can be strenuous, but seeking help can make the process less annoying. In its recent major update, Copilot launched a feature allowing you to see shopping suggestions.

Copilot acts like a virtual store assistant. You can use the tool to get advice based on your preferences and compare different items to see which one best fits your needs.

The Copilot Shopping Assistant allows you to research products more effectively than using ordinary prompts. It’s worth trying this tool and comparing it with other options, such as Perplexity’s AI Shopping feature or ChatGPT’s integrated shopping-focused search tool.

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I Tried Perplexity’s AI Shopping Feature and I Found Exactly What I Needed

AI shopping agents are here, and I’m impressed with Perplexity AI’s new tool.

Actions

Copilot launched an enterprise version of the Actions feature in late 2024, but its capabilities have now expanded to the consumer version. With the updated version of Copilot, you can perform multiple actions across different websites. For example, you could use the tool to book tickets for an event you want to see.

With this tool, performing necessary actions should become much easier even when you don’t want to. So, it’s one of the best ways to save time on your daily tasks.

What Else Has Copilot Introduced?

According to Microsoft, Copilot can now generate more personalized responses.

With your permission, Copilot will now remember what you talk about, so it learns your likes and dislikes and details about your life: the name of your dog, that tricky project at work, what keeps you motivated to stick to your new workout routine.

You’ll also have access to Copilot Vision on your mobile device and Windows; this feature was originally introduced last year. With Copilot Vision, you can grant the software access to your camera and allow it to give you context as to what you should do next.

Another new feature in Copilot is Pages. With this tool, you can brainstorm and do other things in a space with fewer distractions.

Why These Changes Are Too Late for Copilot

Introducing these new features and moving to Microsoft’s models is huge progress, but bridging the gap between Copilot and other AI tools will take much longer. Since its initial launch, ChatGPT and Perplexity have significantly evolved. Their innovation doesn’t look like slowing down any time soon, either.

While some of the features in Copilot are cool, most aren’t unique. For example, ChatGPT has a much better Deep Research tool than Copilot. Doing the same things as everyone else doesn’t make Copilot suddenly stand out.

Microsoft needs to focus on Copilot’s unique selling points if it wants to compete with ChatGPT and other tools. Actions, for example, are a cool feature; Microsoft should spend more time developing these programs. Similarly, Copilot was already good with its Microsoft 365 integrations; it should continue focusing on this.

It also feels like Copilot has been an afterthought for Microsoft until now. If your attention is fragmented, it’s hard to compete with OpenAI, whose main focus is developing AI technologies. For Copilot to become one of the best assistants, it’ll need to have much more of a core focus.

If you’ve ever grown tired of the “Storage Almost Full” warning, you’re not alone. My main drive fills up faster than I can clear it, but I’m finally tackling the problem for good without losing anything important.

4

Compress and Archive Files on External Hard Drives

One of the most effective ways to manage storage is by compressing and archiving files that I don’t frequently access. Instead of deleting old projects, photos, or videos, I compress them and move them to external hard drives.

For compression, I primarily use 7-Zip because of its high compression ratio, especially when using the 7z format. This creates smaller archive files, which saves disk space and makes file transfers faster. What’s great about 7-Zip is that it’s open-source and free to use, with a large community of developers constantly improving it. I also use ZArchiver to create ZIP files on my Android smartphone before I transfer them to an external hard drive.

When compressing files on external drives, I’ve learned to avoid compressing the entire drive itself. While Windows offers a “compress this drive to save disk space” option in drive properties, I don’t recommend using it on your main system drive as it can lead to system instability and poor performance. Instead, I selectively compress individual folders and files.

For files I rarely access but want to keep (like old project archives or family photos), here’s what I do:

1. I select the files I want to archive.
2. Right-click and use 7-Zip’s Add to archive option.
3. Choose a strong compression level (I typically use Normal for a good balance between compression time and file size).
4. Move the compressed file to my external storage.

I’ve learned through experience that not all file types compress equally. Files already compressed (like JPGs, MP3s, and most video formats) won’t compress much further. Text documents, raw image files, and uncompressed data compress exceptionally well.

I’ve also learned that it’s more practical to create several smaller archives rather than one massive file when dealing with large collections of files. By organizing my archives based on content type such as images, videos, or documents—I can quickly find what I need without having to extract or transfer a huge archive every time. This approach makes managing my backups easier and saves time when I need to access specific files later on.

3

Transfer All Large Files to My NAS

After compressing my files, I either keep them on external hard drives or transfer them to my NAS (Network Attached Storage) that I’d built using an old gaming laptop I had lying around. Creating a personal NAS was surprisingly straightforward and is one of the most practical ways to reuse your barely functioning laptop. It runs on a 2nd-Gen Intel Core i5 CPU and 8GB RAM. The only hardware change was upgrading the storage drive. For the operating system, I installed TrueNAS, which offers flexible options for storage management and provides an easy-to-use interface. Of course, you can also get a prebuilt NAS and save on setup time.