Monday, August 25

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How to Speak With a Real Person at Best Buy Customer Service
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How to Speak With a Real Person at Best Buy Customer Service

Sometimes the help you need doesn't fit in one of the pre-recorded number dial options, and speaking with a human on the other line is really what you need. With Best Buy's Black Friday in July sale on the horizon, many shoppers will likely need some assistance. I have found that it's easy to get a hold of someone in customer service to help you—here is the easiest way to do so.How to speak to a Best Buy customer service representativeBest Buy's Contact Us page has a lot of different options that will make your head spin, but if you just need to talk to someone ASAP, call 1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289). When the recording picks up, say "speak with a live agent" or press "0." You'll have to narrow down your reason why you're calling to get to speak to someone, or Best Buy will hang up on y...
The Blue Screen of Death Is Dead
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The Blue Screen of Death Is Dead

Microsoft's iconic Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is dead after 40 years. RIP to the most panic-inducing screen a Windows user can encounter. Now, get ready to fear the Black Screen of Death.In a blog post on its website today, the company revealed it's ready to go live with an error screen redesign it's been testing since March. In an update to all Windows 11, version 24H2 devices coming "later this summer," the BSOD will finally be put out of its misery.It's likely to be a bittersweet moment for Windows users, who will undoubtedly have mixed feelings about the warning's fate. Despite its ominous name, getting a BSOD wasn't always as serious as it seemed—a simple crash could trigger it, and restarting could easily fix it. It could be worse than that, too, but in many cases, the old BSOD simp...
Samsung Is Offering a Few Perks to Those Who Register to Pre-Order Its New Foldables
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Samsung Is Offering a Few Perks to Those Who Register to Pre-Order Its New Foldables

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Samsung has confirmed that its event, Galaxy Unpacked July 2025, will take place on July 9. (An interesting choice to do it during Prime Day.) The event will focus on its new foldable phones, including the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, both of which you can pre-order now.People who pre-register and end up buying one of the phones will get a $50 credit, which you can use on accessories like cases or screen protectors on Samsung.com or in the Shop Samsung App. Samsung is also offering up to $1,150 in trade-in credits when you turn in a qualifying device through the Samsung Trade-In Program. You'll be able to then use that credit toward...
Three Key New Features and Changes I’m Excited About in the Second macOS Tahoe Beta
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Three Key New Features and Changes I’m Excited About in the Second macOS Tahoe Beta

I'm pretty excited about macOS Tahoe. Apple's annual operating system upgrade is poised to introduce a number of exciting new features and changes, including a fresh design and an upgraded Spotlight Search. Tahoe won't be available to the general public for a while, as the OS is still in beta testing as Apple irons out the kinks. To that end, the company dropped the second beta for macOS Tahoe this week, and it includes three key features I'm particularly interested in.AirPods beta enrollmentSpeaking of beta testing, did you know that Apple has a beta program for AirPods? If you didn't, that's probably by design, since up until now, only developers could enroll their AirPods in the beta. That's now changing: With Apple's latest releases this fall, users will be able to opt-in to the AirPod...
How to Use Self-Rising Flour for an Egg-Free Fried Chicken Crust
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How to Use Self-Rising Flour for an Egg-Free Fried Chicken Crust

The only bad fried chicken is soggy fried chicken. (And even then, honestly, a quick air fry’ll fix it right up.) However, there are indisputably great ways to get a crackling crust, and those should always be considered. For example, the karaage method or the copycat fast food method. There is another fried chicken trick that I’ve recently become aware of, and unlike the other two I mentioned, this one has no extra steps. There’s no three-part batter, and it doesn’t require a dip in a bowl of (still pricey) eggs. It’s one step with a simple flour swap, and it changes everything. Self-rising flour is keyI’ve always used regular all-purpose flour to fry, or potato flour for its superior crisping qualities, but self-rising flour was a complete surprise. This flour, ever-present on my grocery...
The TP-Link Archer BE230 Wi-Fi 7 Router Is 25% Off Right Now
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The TP-Link Archer BE230 Wi-Fi 7 Router Is 25% Off Right Now

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you're in the market for a wifi upgrade but don’t want to overspend, the TP-Link Archer BE230 (also known as the BE3600) is worth a look. It’s currently down to $89 on Amazon—$30 off its usual price. That’s a pretty good deal for a Wi-Fi 7 router, even if it’s a more entry-level option. You’re not getting every fancy new feature under the sun, but for most households, this router still covers the basics well. And if you're okay with not having the latest, you might want to check out this guide to the best Wi-Fi 6 routers.The BE230 doesn’t have a 6GHz band or support for the widest (320MHz) channels, which are two of the more prem...
The Default iPhone Ringtone Has a New Sound in iOS 26
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The Default iPhone Ringtone Has a New Sound in iOS 26

Despite a lengthy WWDC keynote, Apple didn't have time to advertise each and every new feature shipping with iOS 26. As such, we continue to learn about new features and smaller changes as beta testers explore the new OS. These testers have sniffed out one new addition that is small, but fun: Your iPhone is getting a new ringtone. Technically, it's getting a different version of an existing ringtone. At least, that's how Apple apparently sees things: Following the release of iOS 26 beta 2, Apple has, for the first time, added an alternate version of one of its signature ringtones—specifically, "Reflection," the default iOS ringtone that Apple originally introduced with the iPhone X. Provided Apple doesn't change things between now and the release of the final version of iOS 26, once you've...
This Massive Data Breach Shows Why We Need to Kill the Password Once and for All
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This Massive Data Breach Shows Why We Need to Kill the Password Once and for All

Passwords are a staple of both the internet and computing at large. Even as new authentication protocols have emerged—from passkeys to biometrics—most of us use passwords to log into our daily accounts and websites using a code made up of letters, numbers, and symbols.The problem is, the password was really a product of its time, and doesn't really belong in the modern digital age. Cybersecurity threats have evolved so far beyond the capability of a password to protect from them that they have actually become a liability—even when you follow best practices for creating them and keeping them secure. Case in point: News of the latest data breach, one of the largest ever, in which researchers discovered not millions, but billions of passwords floating around on the web. Sixteen billion passwo...
‘Godfather’ Malware Is Now Hijacking Banking Apps on Android
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‘Godfather’ Malware Is Now Hijacking Banking Apps on Android

As malware evolves to be more sophisticated, seeing should not always equal believing. A new iteration of the "Godfather" malware found on Android is hijacking legitimate banking apps, making it increasingly difficult for users (and on-device protections) to detect. An early version of Godfather utilized screen overlay attacks, which placed fraudulent HTML login screens on top of legitimate banking and crypto exchange apps, tricking users into entering credentials for their financial accounts. It was first detected on Android in 2021 and was estimated to target several hundred apps across more than a dozen countries. The new threat, uncovered by security firm Zimperium, is Godfather's virtualization, which allows the malware to create a complete virtual environment on your device rather t...
The Government Has a New Vaccine Advisory Panel, and I’m Concerned About What They Might Do Next Week
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The Government Has a New Vaccine Advisory Panel, and I’m Concerned About What They Might Do Next Week

The Centers for Disease Control used to have a vaccine advisory panel made of well-respected experts. This panel, the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (or ACIP), would meet to vote on which vaccines should be recommended by the government. An affirmative vote from ACIP means insurance companies have to cover that vaccine. But members of the panel were all abruptly dismissed earlier this month, and now their replacements are set to meet June 25, with votes planned for RSV, flu shots, and somewhat perplexingly, thimerosal. I’ll break down what this all means, why it’s likely very bad news, and what to watch for when the panel meets next week. And by the way, if you've been meaning to get any vaccines, I’d recommend scheduling those sooner rather than later, while we know they’re...