Violets have long been described as having an ephemeral and almost magical scent, and with good scientific reason. The scent of violets comes from a compound called ionone which, aside from smelling very sweet, also has the peculiar property of overwhelming our scent receptors and temporarily shutting them off. This side effect means that over the course of smelling a violet several times in a row, our ability to smell it comes and goes in waves, creating the illusion that we’re smelling it anew again and again.
Your kids need internet access to do their homework, but that doesn’t mean you’re comfortable with them accessing everything online. There’s no technological substitute for proper adult supervision, but a free service called OpenDNS Family Shield makes it easy for parents to all block adult content with one simple tweak.
If you’ve been holding off on setting up a Kodi-based media center computer because they’re loud, expensive, don’t fit in your media rack, the Raspberry Pi is your savior. For only $35 (plus a few accessories you may have lying around), you can get a small, efficient computer that can play all your media from one beautiful, couch-friendly interface.
While the HomePod is great for music, it can also do some other neat things, like read your text messages to you. Be careful, though, as anyone within earshot can ask Siri to read your text messages from your phone. Here’s how to disable that feature.
You’d be forgiven if you’ve never heard of a phone “port-out” scam, because up until recently it wasn’t really a widely talked about issue. But it’s gotten serious enough that T-Mobile is sending warnings to many of its customers. Here’s a closer look at what this is and how to protect yourself from it.
If the desktop version of Skype is on your Windows computer, you’re vulnerable to a really nasty exploit. A flaw in Skype’s update tool could give attackers full control over your system, and Microsoft says there isn’t going to be a fix any time soon.
Maybe you’ve heard it before: “Security is a myth.” It’s become a common refrain after a never-ending string of high-profile security breaches. If Fortune 500 companies with million dollar security budgets can’t lock things down, how can you?
Everyone should use a password manager, and third-party password managers like LastPass, 1Password, or Dashlane work better on an iPhone or iPad than you might think. You can directly autofill passwords on websites and apps using a share sheet action. It’s just hidden by default.
You may have seen a new button in Facebook’s mobile app lately: under the Settings menu, a “Protect” option leads you to download an app called Onavo Protect. Don’t do it.
While not necessary for everyone, VPNs can be a crucial tool for online safety—especially if you use public Wi-Fi a lot. There are tons of one-click solutions out there that make it really easy to hit a toggle and activate a VPN, but for the most robust options, manual setup is key. Here’s how to do it on Chrome OS.
Google recently introduced a new feature into Android 8.1 Oreo that displays how good a public Wi-Fi network is before you connect to it. Using just simple terms like Slow, OK, Fast, and Very Fast, it will let you quickly gauge whether a network is worth connecting to, or if you’re better off just sticking with mobile data.
Despite advances in streaming technology over the years, watching the Olympics on anything but a TV with a cable subscription is still a hassle. Read on as we show you how to get your Olympics fix without resorting to signing up for a cable plan.
Fake Android apps in the Play Store are a problem. People create listings designed to look exactly like popular apps, often using the same icon and name, to trick you into downloading it—then bombarding you with ads (or worse, malware).
Two-factor authentication is important, but a hassle. Instead of typing in a code from your phone, what if you could just insert a USB key to get access to your important accounts?
When you take a photo with your smartphone (or a modern digital camera), it logs the photo’s GPS coordinates and embeds it in the image metadata, or EXIF. This is how your phone is able to show a map view of your photo library.
You’ve spend some time researching a product on your phone, then you open your laptop and find ads for that product plastered all over the place. This has happened to everyone—it’s called targeted advertising, and there are steps you can take to reduce its effect on you.
We’re at T-minus zero weeks to Super Bowl, the biggest event in American sports (sorry-not-sorry, “World” Series). What’s that? You don’t have a cable or satellite subscription? Don’t worry, you still have ways to watch.
Windows 10 automatically installs apps like Candy Crush Soda Saga and FarmVille 2 when you first sign in. It also displays more “Suggested Apps” from the Store, both at the left side of your Start menu and at the right side as live tiles. You can disable these to clean up your Start menu.
This app is tracking your every move!—a hyperbolic headline I’m sure we’ve all seen before. While the sentiment here is a over-the-top, it does raise an important question: do you know how private your location actually is?
Android may have a more open platform than Apple, but with that comes the potential for malware. Google is trying to take steps to correct it with things like Google Play Protect, but it’s still out there. WIth a little bit of care, though, it’s pretty easy to keep your phone safe and malware-free.
If you ever change your Wi-Fi password or the name of the network, you’ll also need to connect your Nest Secure security system to that new network. Luckily, it’s really easy.
Depending on how you have Nest’s Home/Away Assist feature set up, you might be receiving notifications to set you alarm even if you’re still home. Here’s how to fix it.
OnePlus hasn’t been making Android phones for a very long time, but over its four years in existence it has made numerous screw ups. This all finally led up to last week’s massive credit card breach. It’s time we stop trusting a company with such clearly low standards.
iPhones and Macs with Touch ID or Face ID use a separate processor to handle your biometric information. It’s called the Secure Enclave, it’s basically an entire computer unto itself, and it offers a variety of security features.
Back in the day, rooting Android was almost a must in order to get advanced functionality out of your phone (or in some cases, basic functionality). But times have changed. Google has made its mobile operating system so good that rooting is just more trouble than it’s worth.
The Nest Secure system comes with two Nest Detect devices, which are open/close sensors that can also act as motion detectors. They even have a small, motion-activated LED light (named Pathlight) that can light your way in a dark hallway. However, if that’s not something you need, you can disable Pathlight in the Nest app.
