Quick Links The holiday season isn’t just busy for those traveling to see friends and family. It’s also a busy time of the year for thieves. And unfortunately, those boxes you throw out on the curb for that big screen TV or new PlayStation 5 Pro show thieves exactly what you have inside the house. Right now, high-end gadgets are under Christmas trees everywhere, just waiting to be unwrapped. We’re talking about a new 75-inch Samsung TV, the latest iPad Pro,game consoles, cameras, and much more....

iOS 17 is here and, in addition to larger changes likeStandBy viewandcontact posters, there are lots of little changes that can be easy to miss. Here are some of our favorites. Automatically Clean Up Verification Codes in Messages and Mail Two-factor authentication works better with an authenticator app (and you can even use iCloud Keychain for this). Not all services support authenticators, in which case you’ll bedealing with verification code SMSand email messages instead....

Not every game shows its true colors right out of the gate. Some games take a little while before they blossom, and some need a little more help from their developers to smooth out the rough patches. Once you give them a fair chance, however, they might just end up being one of your personal favorites, or even widely acclaimed. There are too many games that fall into this category than I could ever actually list, but these are ones that offer both a variety of genres, and some of the more shocking turnarounds in gaming history....

If you have a confidential PDF you want to password protect, you have a few ways to do that on your Windows 11 PC. You can use a desktop app or a web-based tool to encrypt your PDF files. Windows 11 doesn’t have a built-in feature for adding password protection to PDFs. You’ll have to use a third-party solution to accomplish the task. Add Password-Protection to a PDF Using a Free App The easiest way to password-protect aPDFis to use one of the manyfree PDF editingapps....

Quick Links Excel is a great tool for presenting and analyzing information, but frustrations arise when the data isn’t appropriately laid out. Re-typing the data into the preferred layout takes time and is certain to result in errors. Luckily, there are ways to rearrange data in just a few simple steps. There are many different ways to reorganize data in Excel, but we’ve listed some of the most useful and efficient methods....

Ever wondered what you’re missing by sticking to Windows and not trying out Linux? As a dual booter, I jump between Linux and Windows every day, and I find Linux far more feature-rich compared to Windows. I useLinux for my personal projectsand Windows for my professional responsibilities. This puts me in a unique position where I get to do the same tasks in two different ways—and, from my personal experience, I find the Linux way superior....

Quick Links iPhone notifications can be incredibly useful, but when you get too many of them, it’s easy to lose sight of the ones that really matter. Here’s how I took back control of my iPhone notifications. 1Turn Off Notifications You Never Read It’s all too easy to grant permission for an app to send you notifications, and then end up ignoring all the notifications that it sends. Before you know it, yourNotification Centeris full of useless notifications that make it hard to spot the ones that actually matter....

Quick Links Does your Windows laptop take ages to charge? Slow charging can be frustrating. Unless your laptop battery is near the end of its lifespan, you can follow a few simple practices to get your laptop powered up faster. So what are these practices, and how do they boost charging speed? 1Use the Original Charger and Cable Do you use a third-party charger to charge your laptop? If so, that could be the reason behind slow charging....

Summary I’ve been using the Steam Deck since launch day, and I picked up an iPhone 16 Plus on release day. The time I spend with both has led me to discover something surprising: these seemingly mismatched devices are closer competitors than you’d think. A Gaming Console Versus… an iPhone? I wouldn’t blame you if your first reaction to the title at the top of the page was to ask why I’m comparing a smartphone to a handheld gaming PC....

Smart homes that utilize more than one Blink camera can now enjoy Moments, a feature that automatically combines several camera clips to show a person or pet’s movements around your property. Amazon says that Moments is currently rolling out, though the feature requires a paid Blink Subscription Plus Plan membership. Blink Moments aims to reduce the labor involved in home security. Let’s pretend that a suspicious man wandered around your home while you were at work....

Summary The difference between a fridge and an electric cooler is smaller than you might think. TheBougeRV CR 12V Mini Fridgesure looks like a cooler, even though it doesn’t need ice to chill. Instead, the pastel fridge plugs into an outlet and might be the best of both worlds. BougeRV CR 12V Mini Fridge With ECO energy saving mode, this 23 Qt portable refrigerator’s operating power is less than 36W. Even running on MAX mode(45W), it consumes far less than 1kWh/day for its intelligent cycle work....

ChargePoint has announced a new home installation program for its ChargePoint Home Flex residential charger in the United States. The all-in-one solution promises a simple, hassle-free installation and setup process for EV owners to streamline home EV charging. The service is available exclsuively via ChargePoint’s website. You only need to answer three short questions to get an estimated installation quote and date, without a pre-installation visit required. There’s no need to hire an electrician, as ChargePoint takes care of that via its network of certified installation partners....

Quick Links Google has several fun Easter eggs squirreled away in obscure corners of Search. But did you know that some of them reference your favorite TV shows and movies? From classics to new releases, Google’s got a bit of everything. Here are some of the best ones we’ve managed to unearth. Hang Out With Your Favorite “Friends” Character Name a TV show with a bigger global pop culture impact than “Friends....