Life Style

When it's time to buy a new car, you don't necessarily need to stick with the one you had before. You don't lose your cloud-based photos by switching from Toyota to Subaru, nor will your friends yell at you for ruining the group chat by buying a Kia. That's not the case with smartphones: When you buy an iPhone, it's tough to switch away from it. The same goes for Android: While it's easy enough to switch within the Android ecosystem, such as between Pixel or Galaxy, moving from Android to iPhone can also be a pain. Tech companies tend to make it tempting to stick with their platform, and introduce friction when you try to leave. That, of course, is entirely business-based. Apple hasn't traditionally made it easy to move to Android, because, well, you might actually do it. It doesn't have t...

Malicious extensions do occasionally find their way into the Chrome Web Store (and similar libraries in other browsers) by posing as legitimate add-ons. They are particularly difficult to catch when they are benign to begin with, only morphing into malware after gaining user trust. That's what happened with a number of extensions on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge: researchers at Koi Security identified add-ons across both browsers that operated legitimately for several years before receiving malicious updates that allow hackers to surveil users and collect and exfiltrate sensitive data. The scheme, known as ShadyPanda, reached four million downloads and is still active on Edge. Threat actors ran a similar campaign targeting Firefox earlier this year: They gained approval for benign exten...

You may have a keen eye for spotting scams, but fraudsters are finding new ways to weaponize trusted systems to avoid detection. For example, threat actors are generating real Apple support tickets to phish two-factor authentication (2FA) codes and gain access to iCloud accounts. The scheme, detailed on Medium by a security researcher and software product manager Eric Moret, shows how social engineering tactics can sow just enough fear and confusion to trick even those who know the red flags. (The money transfer scam that conned a financial advice columnist out of $50,000 is another example.) How scammers are exploiting Apple's support systemThe Apple support scam started with a text message from Apple containing a 2FA code, followed by verification notifications across devices, indicating...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Finding a pair of headphones or earbuds that meets your needs exactly—whether you’re using them at the gym, while working from home, or even when showering—doesn’t have to mean shelling out a ton of money. The best of them can be really expensive, yes—but if you're a patient shopper, you can usually find a good deal on just about any pair of headphones.Here are the best deals, discounts, and sales you can find on earbuds and headphones right now. I'll be regularly updating this story with the best offers, but given these prices can change at any time, I would advise you not to wait if you spot one that fits your needs and budget. Ank...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Credit: René Ramos/Lifehacker/alvaro gonzalez, OsakaWayne Studios, DBenitostock/Moment Kativ/E+, kiyanochka/iStock via Getty Images Table of Contents With this live blog, you can keep up with the best deals the Lifehacker team finds every day—all in one place. Bookmark this page to keep an eye on what we're finding. As always, we use price-tracking tools to suss out the deals that are actually worth paying attention to, not just hype designed to instill a fal...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you missed out on all the best headphone deals during Black Friday, there are still some bargains to be found, including on these JBL Tune 770NC wireless headphones, currently $80 from Amazon, 47% off the usual $150 price tag. They’re a solid choice for anyone seeking over-ear headphones with decent noise cancellation and that signature JBL sound.  According PCMag's review, these headphones offer a “sculpted sound signature with palpable bass,” which you can tweak using the adjustable in-app EQ. Long battery life is a major perk: They should last up to 70 hours with ANC off, letting you go at least a week of heavy use between char...

I've been seeing a number of videos on my feeds circulating a serious, but perhaps not unbelievable, claim: The idea is, come Dec. 16, 2025, Meta will update its privacy policy to give itself permission to scrape direct messages from users on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, all in the name of training its generative AI models. While Meta is no bastion of user privacy by any stretch of the imagination, this particular claim is, fortunately, not true. You shouldn't expect the company to necessarily respect your data, but you also don't need to worry that future iterations of Meta AI will be generating text based on your Instagram DMs.If you've seen these claims on your feeds, too, you know they're often quite stark and hyperbolic. Snopes highlights one such viral Instagram post that reads...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Garmin watches have never required a subscription to access any of their core features, and that hasn't changed. But as of 2025, Garmin now offers a $6.99/month subscription called Connect+ that provides “premium features,” including AI, on top of what you already get for free with the Garmin Connect app. So far, no preexisting features have gone behind the paywall, despite some Garmin users' fears. But what does Connect+ give you, and is it worth it? I signed up for a subscription to find out.How a Connect+ subscription worksA Connect+ subscription costs $6.99/month or $69.99/year. Again, it only adds features on top of what you already get with the Garmin Connect app; after nearly a year, no preexisting features free...

Credit: Credit: Stacey Zhu; igoriss / iStock / Getty Images Plus / sellyhutapea / Moment / IgorKovalchuk / iStock / Getty Images Plus / kruwt / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Westend61 / Westend61 / Getty Images Plus / via Getty Images Considering that America was a relative latecomer to the Christmas tree—the practice didn’t really become popular here until the mid-19th century—we sure have come to love them. While plenty of Christmas traditions have entered the dustbin of history, the mighty Christmas tree has survived the years; about 25-30 million real trees are purchased each year. Unless you have zero plans to celebrate the holiday, chances are you’re one of those people.If you think finding a Christmas tree is just a matter of heading to t...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Credit: Illustration by Zain Awais and product image courtesy of Amazon. You can get thousands of free e-books over the course of 2025 if you know where—and when—to look. All year long, Amazon is offering free Kindle e-books to readers, with new opportunities popping up every month. In December, Prime members can get two free Kindle e-books from Amazon's First Reads program, one of them being this month's bonus short read.What is Amazon's First Reads?Amazon First Reads is a program aimed at Prime members that offers early access to new e-books across man...