Mashable

SAVE 50%: Amazon Prime members can get a refurbished Amazon Smart Thermostat for just $34.99, down from the normal refurbished price of $69.99. That's a savings of $35.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Refurbished Amazon Smart Thermostat $34.99 at Amazon
$69.99 Save $35.00 Prime member exclusive deal Get Deal

Frosty winter days will be here shortly. Now's a great time to find those wool socks and make sure you still have a decent pair of gloves. It's also time to start thinking about heating costs, and if you haven't yet upgraded to a smart thermostat, today's deal at Amazon is meant just for you.

As of Oct. 15, Prime members can buy a certified refurbished Amazon Smart Thermostat for just $34.99, down from the usual refurbished price of $69.99. That's a 50% discount for Prime members or a savings of $35. A new Amazon Smart Thermostat sells for $79.99, which means Prime members are scoring a $45 savings compared to buying a new device.

The Amazon Smart Thermostat aims to please when it comes to keeping you at a comfortable temperature. Made with Honeywell Home Thermostat technology, the device comes backed with Amazon's stamp of approval that the refurbished device looks and functions like new.

SEE ALSO: Move over Roomba! An Apple smart home robot is reportedly in the works

With the Alexa app, you can schedule specific temperatures for specific times. With the ability to control the thermometer remotely, you can also alter the schedule or temperature when you're not home. That means you'll never need to deal with a dreaded bill if you happen to leave for a long weekend and forget to turn the thermostat down.

If you have an Alexa-enabled device at home like an Echo, you can use voice control to alter the settings of the Smart Thermostat. Keep in mind you'll need to be an Amazon Prime member to snag this discounted price. If you're not already a member, check out the benefits, which include free two-day shipping and exclusive sale offers. Prime costs $14.99 per month, or you can opt to save a bit and get an annual membership for $139.

If you're in the market for a more intelligent way to control your home's heat this winter, a refurbished Amazon Smart Thermostat is on sale for just $34.99 for all Prime members. Compared to a new model, you'll save $45.

SAVE $51.99: Our favorite pair of headphones for pounding bass is down to $148 post-Prime Day. Score a pair of off-white Sony ULT headphones for $148 for 26% off.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sony Sony ULT headphones $148.00 at Amazon
$199.99 Save $51.99 Get Deal

We're still coming down from Amazon's October sale, Prime Big Deal Days. Last week, the retailer dropped prices on headphones, laptops, and far more. If you missed out on the sale frenzy, no worries because the deals never stop rolling in. Or to be accurate, some prices just never came back up. The Sony ULT headphones just happened to be one of those products.

One of our favorite pairs of headphones, the Sony ULTs deliver pounding bass that creates a surround sound experience. It's all about bass with Sony ULTs, as these headphones, like the rest with a special ULT line-up, come with a button that punctuates the bass to even higher levels. If you like bass — you will like these headphones.

Some other things to like about these headphones includes insane battery life that tops 30 hours with ANC and 50 hours without. Plus, compared to Sony's other headphones, these are already affordable starting at $199.99.

Currently, the Sony ULT headphones in off-white are down to $148, saving you $51.99 for 26% off. This is the lowest price ever on these headphones, and considering only one color way is still on sale, we know this deal won't last long.

SAVE $10.01: As of October 15, get the noise-cancelling Apple AirPods 4 at their Prime Day price of $168.99, down from $179, a week after the sale. That's a discount of 6%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Apple AirPods 4 $168.99 at Amazon
$179.00 Save $10.01 Get Deal

There are tons of earbuds you could choose from if you're looking to buy a pair. But if you're an iOS fan, you probably gravitate more toward AirPods than any other brand. And if that's the case, you've more than likely already seen that there's a new pair of AirPods to be had: Apple AirPods 4, with or without ANC. They made their debut in late September, but they already saw a Prime Day price drop last week. If you happened to miss that discount, fear not – it's still alive and kicking.

As of Oct. 15, you can get a pair of noise-cancelling Apple AirPods 4 for just $168.99 at Amazon. That's $10.01 off their normal price of $179 and a discount of 6%. That's the same deal you could snag the AirPods for during Prime Day, so consider this your second chance at getting them for this price.

These new AirPods have been redesigned to be more comfortable and longer wear, with a shorter stem and quick-press on-board controls. Powered by an H2 chip, they blend active noise cancellation and a transparency mode to make listening more immersive than ever. They also work alongside Siri for hands-off multitasking, even the ability to share a song or show across multiple sets of AirPods so you can spend time with friends and family experiencing the same thing.

Mashable Tech Editor Kim Gedeon took the AirPods for a test run and came away appreciating their "excellent ANC" and "honeyed sound quality."

"The AirPods 4 are, without a doubt, the best in-ear earbuds I've tested in a long while," Gedeon shared in our official review. "They're definitely getting a place in our best headphones for noise cancellation list."

It's a great time to snag these earbuds while they're still up for grabs at their Prime Day price, so don't miss them a second time.

If you're someone who encourages people to follow you on Instagram often, the Meta-owned social media company's latest update might be a game changer.

SEE ALSO: 'Underconsumption core' is just another form of consumerism

As of today (Oct. 15), you no longer have to hover over someone and painstakingly watch them type in your Instagram handle. Now you can set up profile cards that make your profile discoverable by QR code, similar to Venmo. Profile cards are two-sided, one side with the scannable QR code and the other features your handle, profile picture, bio, and a song of your choice. You can also customize the background of the QR code.

A preview of what profile cards look like. Credit: Instagram

In a press release, Instagram described the feature as "your IG digital business card." While it will be helpful for creators and small businesses who rely on the platform to make money and connect with customers, it may further encourage all users to commodify their profiles — to think of a follow as a networking opportunity. It's part of the endless signaling from social media platforms to reframe personal profiles as professional profiles and to treat social media as another job.

Profile cards are just another reminder that the days of posting a heavily filtered photo of your BLT are long gone.

Watch Ridley Scott and Fede Álvarez break down the Xenomorph in this exclusive "Alien: Romulus" behind-the-scenes clip. "Alien: Romulus" is available for purchase on digital October 15, and on Blu-Ray December 3.

SAVE 20%: Through Nov. 17, all existing Prime members can get 20% off their next Grubhub delivery of $20 or more with code PRIME20.

Opens in a new window Credit: Gruhub / Amazon Get 20% off a $20+ Grubhub order Applies to Amazon Prime members Get Deal

Thinking about cancelling your Prime membership now that October Prime Day has passed? Sneak in a discounted food delivery first with a Prime-exclusive Grubhub promo code first.

Now through Nov. 17, all existing Prime members can use code PRIME20 to get 20% off their next order of at least $20. That's on top of the $0 in delivery fees that all Prime members get on every Grubhub order thanks to Grubhub+ being a full-time perk of Prime.

SEE ALSO: Testing the Ninja Slushi by making a frozen version of every drink I can think of

If the delivery fees and the tip (which your 20% off discount could cover) are always your point of hesitation between getting food delivered and sucking it up and doing pickup instead, this deal is the ultimate little treat.

If you order (or daydream about ordering) food a lot, just know that Amazon drops Prime-exclusive Grubhub deals all the time. During Prime Big Deal Days, we saw this same deal, but for 50% off instead of 20%. There will surely be more to come over the next few months, too — a true cozy comfort when it's too cold to leave the house.

PREORDER: The new iPad mini (2024) is available for preorder through the Apple Store as of Oct. 15. The 128GB model starts at $499 and will start shipping on Oct. 23.

Where to preorder the new iPad mini The Apple Store Apple iPad mini From $499 Preorder here

You'd think at the frequency Apple debuts iPhones and MacBooks, we wouldn't have to wait three years for a new iPad model, and yet, the iPad mini hasn't seen a refresh since 2021. We'd long speculated that a new iPad mini was coming, but several Apple events passed without any news. So imagine our surprise when Apple quietly dropped the announcement that we're finally getting a new iPad mini next week.

The new iPad mini also comes with new folio cases in charcoal gray, light violet, denim, and sage. Credit: Apple

Our favorite iPad for reading is getting an upgrade from the inside out. The 7th generation iPad mini comes with the upgraded A17 chip, giving a 30 percent power boost from the previous generation. However, what that chip really unlocks is Apple Intelligence. The brand has been doubling down on AI in all its latest product drops, and the iPad mini is no different.

SEE ALSO: Free Apple Intelligence upgrade likely arriving soon, leak suggests

Later this month, all users with A17, M1, and later devices will get an update that includes new Apple Intelligence features including a writing assistant, Image Playground and Image Wand to generate images, and ChatGPT integration.

The new iPad mini is now compatible with the latest Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C) and supports Bluetooth keyboards (no mention of the iPad mini finally getting its own Magic Keyboard.)

The iPad mini comes in four colors: space gray, blue, purple, and starlight. Models start at 128GB of storage, with 256GB and 512GB options also available. Preorders through the Apple Store are live with models shipping as soon as Oct. 23.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad mini $499.00 at Amazon
Pre-Order Here

UPDATE: Oct. 7, 2024, 12:00 a.m. EDT This story has been updated with the apps' latest pricing and availability.

In the age of on-demand everything, hookup apps are the go-to for casual dating. After all, if we can stream movies (thank you, Netflix) and order takeout (hello, DoorDash) with a few taps, why can't we find a potential partner the same way?

SEE ALSO: The dating app glossary: The A to Z of terms you need to know What makes a good hookup app?

There's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to hookup apps. What works for your friends might not work for you. Your best bet is to download a handful of options and see which one clicks with your vibe.

Skip the apps that are all about romance and happily ever afters (we're looking at you, eharmony). Instead, keep an eye out for apps that get straight to the point. The best hookup apps make chatting quick and easy (messaging, video calls, all that good stuff), and even the free ones should have features like profile verification to help keep you safe.

SEE ALSO: The best free dating apps for budget-conscious singles

If you want to pay for a premium membership, that's up to you. But we recommend starting with the free versions of cult faves like Tinder, Grindr, and Hinge. These popular dating apps give you just enough functionality to connect with potential partners for casual encounters — all without spending a dime.

Whether you're looking to have a one-night stand, exchange nudes with strangers, or have some phone sex before you doze off, we've rounded up the most reliable hookup apps for every type of single. You can download them via Google Play or the App Store and start swiping in minutes.

SAVE 50%: Get an annual membership to Calm Premium for $34.99, instead of the usual price of $69.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Calm Annual Calm Premium membership $34.99 at Calm
$69.99 Save $35.00 Get Deal

The holidays are just a few weeks away, which means things might get a bit more stressful for a while. Even if you love the holidays, it's undeniably a busy and chaotic time. Introducing some relaxation can make a big difference and thanks to this birthday celebration sale, you could have relaxation at your fingertips for a lot less.

As of Oct. 15, a yearly Calm Premium membership is just $34.99, down from the normal price of $69.99. That's a 50% discount during the brand's birthday sale or a savings of $34.99.

Through the Calm app on Android or iOS or the website, Calm Premium offers restorative relaxation. With a Premium membership, you'll have access to a library of music, stories, and meditation to keep you feeling grounded through the hectic holiday season and beyond.

Calm Premium also comes with several original daily offerings, so you'll have fresh content each day. You also get access to Masterclasses with mindfulness experts that can help teach you how to keep calm without the app.

The membership can also be great if you struggle with sleep. Calm Premium has over 200 Sleep Stories that are designed to lull you into a restful sleep with narrations that include topics like nature, music, and fiction. If those don't sound appealing, tap into the Calm library of ASMR.

If you deal with stress and anxiety during the holidays, gift yourself an annual membership to Calm Premium before the chaotic season begins. Thanks to Calm's birthday sale, the membership is currently 50% off.

"I thought 'WLW' meant 'winners love winning,'" said TikTok user @ihatebodhi. In a video with over a million views, @ihatebodhi said he was confused about why masculine lesbians started DMing him once he started putting #wlw in his Instagram captions.

What does WLW mean?

As @ihatebodhi learned, WLW means "women who love women" or "women loving women," not "winners love winning." It's an internet shorthand for folks to signal who they like, or find others like them.

SEE ALSO: Women are using dating apps to discover their queer sexuality

As is often the case within the LGBTQ community, WLW may mean different things to different people. To one person, WLW may refer to strictly women. To others, it can mean non-men who are into non-men, explained Melissa Fabello, a relationship coach for politicized people and PhD in human sexuality studies.

"When we're talking about individuals' way of understanding themselves, not assuming that a label or an identity means the same thing to all people who use it, and letting people explain what the nuances are for them is really important," Fabello said.

WLW has connotations similar to sapphic, another umbrella term used to describe attraction to women and femmes. "All of these words...have, at the core of them, that I think is really powerful, is a love for women, femininity, experiences of womanhood," Fabello said.

"There is a deep reverence for women, femmes, people with experience with womanhood," she continued, the latter referring to transmasculine people who were socialized as women but don't identify as women anymore. 

Thus, Fabello said, WLW takes out the patriarchal understanding of lesbianism, which is a rejection of men. These terms center women, not men.

Where does WLW come from?

There isn't a definitive source on the origin of "WLW." Some sites say that WLW originated in the Black community during the Harlem Renaissance, a culturally significant period for Black people in the 1920s and 1930s. This appears to trace back to a 2010 paper by a then-student at the University of California, Irvine, called "Women-Loving Women: Queering Black Urban Space during the Harlem Renaissance."

The paper begins with, "During the Harlem Renaissance (1919–1939), 'woman-loving woman' was a term used solely by and for women within the black community. The term was used by Ruth Ellis to describe women who engaged in same-sex sexual relations." Ruth Ellis was a Black lesbian activist who lived in the twentieth century. The author, Sam C. Tenorio, cites a documentary about Ellis's life, Living With Pride: Ruth Ellis @ 100, to support these claims. Tenorio, now an assistant professor at Penn State University, told Mashable in an email they don't remember specifics as they wrote the paper nearly 15 years ago. While WLW was used in the Ruth Ellis documentary, Tenorio couldn't recall if it was given a thorough definition.

This paper has sparked a debate online over whether "WLW" is part of African-American Vernacular English (AAVE).

"I've never heard it [WLW] associated exclusively with the Black community, not the way that 'same-gender loving' is," Kaila Adia Story, associate professor of women's, gender, and sexuality studies at the University of Louisville, told Mashable. 

Same-gender loving, Story explained, is a term coined in the 1990s by activist Cleo Manago for Black LGBTQ people. Manago "felt like 'gay' and 'lesbian' and those terms were Eurocentric and whitewashed terms for identity," Story said. Also, within broader LGBTQ spaces, Black people often encounter instances of racism despite those spaces claiming to be liberal. 

"It makes sense to me that a term would be created and invented to represent those folk who disassociate themselves with queer communities at the same time that they are queer," Story said of same-gender loving. She compared it to Alice Walker's term womanist — which refers to feminists of color — as the feminist movement in the late twentieth century centered around white women. 

Another LGBTQ term with Black roots is stud, which means a Black masculine lesbian. Stud also came to prominence in the 1990s to differentiate the way a Black masculine lesbian is perceived in the world from how a white masculine lesbian is perceived. These terms cannot be separated from the context they are born from — "Black gay [men] and lesbians just encountering those incidents of racism and therefore wanting to disassociate from that," Story said.

"We don't know" whether WLW originated in the Black community at the time of the Harlem Renaissance, said Jessi Grieser, associate professor of linguistics at the University of Michigan, "but there's a lot of reasons to suspect that's the case." 

SEE ALSO: As Grindr complaints rise, other gay dating apps try to swoop in

WLW could've been used as code to camouflage its real meaning; if you were straight, you could think it means women who platonically love other women or love femininity. But if you were in the community, you'd know what it meant. Camouflage is a part of both Black language and LGBTQ code, Grieser explained, to obscure the true meaning for people who aren't "in the know" — white and/or straight people. The Harlem Renaissance was also an era where prominent Black women like blues singers Bessie Smith and Gladys Bentley were known to be sexually active with other women.

"Did [WLW] originate in the Harlem Renaissance? Signs point to yes," Grieser said, "but we don't have any scholarly confirmation."

WLW is similar to the more clinical terms MSM (men who have sex with men) and WSW (women who have sex with women), which are used in scientific research to explain someone's behavior without labeling their sexuality. But WLW is also distinct; it's not about sex, it's about love.

SEE ALSO: The best dating apps for lesbians — these are the apps queer women use to find each other in 2024

Story can see WLW emerging from the Harlem Renaissance era of questioning gender binaries, or the 1970s lesbian separatist movement, or the 1990s era of "same-gender loving," but in her work, she hasn't come across it having the same Black roots as that term. 

Whether WLW emerged in the Harlem Renaissance or sometime later, many people now use it online to express their preferences.

WLW or lesbian?

Judging by Google search results, the interest in the meaning of WLW has spiked in recent years, especially since 2020. But just as the term's history is nebulous, so is the meaning. On TikTok, the #wlw hashtag may be used synonymously with #lesbian for some, but not for others. In the most basic definition, WLW encompasses all queer women and femmes — but ultimately, there isn't a cut-and-dry meaning. 

"When we're talking about something as complicated as sexuality, there just is no easy answer," Fabello said. Sexuality is a complex web of experiences, she continued, and language can't fully describe the human experience. 

So, use WLW how you want to use it — except for "winners love winning."

After three years of waiting, Apple has finally updated the iPad mini, bringing it to its seventh iteration.

The new iPad mini looks the same as before (though it does come in two new colors, blue and purple), with its 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display surrounded by bezels of equal width on all sides.

Inside, however, a lot has changed. The new iPad mini is powered by Apple's A17 Pro chip (that's the one from Apple's iPhone 15 Pro), and comes with 128/256/512GB of storage memory, doubling the starting storage from previous generation.

The more powerful chip will make the new iPad mini better at running demanding, new games, but it also brings support for Apple Intelligence, with features such as AI-powered Writing Tools, photo Memories, Image Playground, and a smarter, more integrated Siri. The AI features will be available this month, when iPadOS 18.1 becomes widely available; you can check out our overview of some features that are available in beta right now.

The 12-megapixel camera on the back supports Smart HDR 4, and there's also a 12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera on the front. The iPad mini now comes with Wi-Fi 6E support for faster connectivity, as well as Apple Pencil Pro support (available separately).

The powerful A17 Pro chip makes the new iPad mini better for gaming. Credit: Apple

Some of the old colors are gone, so you now have four choices total: blue, purple, starlight, and space gray.

Apple's iPad mini starts at $499 for the Wi-Fi model, and $649 if you want cellular connectivity.

One of the reasons why Nintendo has such a foothold in the world of video games is that it's really good at making games. That's reductive, but true. First-party Nintendo games like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom are generally extremely elegant, polished to a sheen, and approachable by just about anyone. The last thing any of them do, usually, is make the player feel bad about themselves.

Mario Party has never really followed those rules. Sure, it's easy enough to pick up and play; just roll some dice and play mini-games! What could go wrong there? But for Mario Party's entire 25-plus years of existence, the series has existed less to provide simple pleasures and more to remind players that no matter how much they think they're in control, they're not.

Super Mario Party Jamboree, the latest in the venerable series, comes to Nintendo Switch this week. After playing some of it, I can confirm that part of Mario Party, if nothing else, has been left wonderfully intact. It may not be a "good video game" by conventional standards, but who cares?

SEE ALSO: I played 90 minutes of 'Mario & Luigi: Brothership' — here are my honest thoughts Super Mario Party Jamboree: The party where nobody leaves happy One of the new maps is a big mall. Credit: Nintendo

Like its predecessors, Jamboree is a multiplayer (both local and online) board game that's typically meant for up to four players, except for the modes where it's not. More on that in a bit. Games are divided into a minimum of 10 (or a maximum of 30) turns, and in each turn, every player rolls dice to move along the board with the eventual goal of collecting enough coins to buy a star, which is usually placed randomly on the board. At the end of each turn, everyone participates in a randomly selected mini-game, after which the victor(s) get a bundle of coins. Whoever has the most stars at the end wins the game.

Crucially, a bunch of bonus stars are given out at the end of the game, often resulting in a surprise winner. In other words, it's all random and nothing matters.

Jamboree brings a handful of new maps (as well as a couple of older ones from the original N64 games) and some mechanical tweaks. The biggest addition to the formula is probably Jamboree Buddies. These are support characters who show up and hang out on the board for a few turns. Anyone who passes by a Jamboree Buddy triggers a shockingly time-consuming mini-game for everyone on the board, with the victor recruiting the Jamboree Buddy to roll alongside them and provide unique bonuses based on which character it happens to be.

You can turn off motion mini-games if you want to, but why would you? Credit: Nintendo

During the review period, I was able to convince my roommate to play a full 10-turn game with me, which took more than an hour. I am always blown away by how long it takes to actually finish even a short game of Mario Party. Despite the length, though, we both had a really good time because the Mario Party schtick still works if you're in the right mindset. This series has always been about dice rolls and luck more than anything else, and that's on display here.

For example, at one point in the game, my roommate passed by a space that allowed him to spend a majority of his coins to steal a star from me. This briefly put him in first place. About 30 seconds later, due to conditions that he could not have foreseen nor avoided, he'd lost the star, still had no money, and I had more stars than I'd had before he stole one from me. Neither of us were actually really in control of any of this.

That's the spirit of Mario Party. You don't play Mario Party so much as Mario Party just kind of happens to you. You can go into every turn with a vague plan of what you want to do if the roll of the die goes your way, but there's always some kind of unpredictably stupid BS waiting for you. Mario Party is a fake tunnel painted on the side of a brick wall, and I'm sprinting into it every time.

Vroom. Credit: Nintendo

But for what it's worth, Nintendo has made some genuinely good additions to Jamboree. Jamboree Buddies are sufficiently game-changing to justify how hard it is to acquire them, and the new maps I've played seem like worthy inclusions in the Mario Party pantheon. My favorite so far is a speedway map in which every character drives an open-wheel racecar, collecting coins with each completed lap and taking advantage of a variety of unique spaces and items to win the day.

There's also a 20-player online multplayer mode that I unfortunately haven't tried yet, to go along with several other side modes (like a basic single-player mode that introduces the player to various mini-games) that should at least keep kids busy.

Super Mario Party Jamboree also has many of the same problems as every other game in the series. Mini-games often don't control exactly how you'd like them to, especially ones that involve platforming or motion controls. As I mentioned earlier, it can take an egregiously long time to finish a game, too.

But what I won't do is criticize Mario Party for being Mario Party. When Nintendo has been making these games this way for nearly three decades, all you can do is accept that it's on purpose. If you're ultra-competitive and actually care about winning with skill and strategy, go play a real board game. Mario Party is for the real freaks who want to see their friends suffer more than they want to succeed themselves, and Jamboree is a perfectly fine vehicle for that.

Super Mario Party Jamboree launches on Nintendo Switch on Oct. 17.

Many Chicken Shop Date episodes have gone viral, but we have a feeling this next one is going to truly capture the internet's heart.

On Monday, creator and host Amelia Dimoldenberg shared a teaser for her upcoming date with actor Andrew Garfield. It's only eight seconds long, but frankly the tension is simmering.

Tweet may have been deleted

At the time of writing, that clip has well over 13 million views on X (formerly Twitter).

So, why is this particular date so hotly anticipated? Well the main reason is Dimoldenberg and Garfield have had a couple of interactions go viral before, at different red carpet events.

SEE ALSO: The 9 best Chicken Shop Date episodes to binge

Here's their first meeting at GQ's "Men of the Year 2022" event, which Dimoldenberg covered on the red carpet.

And here's their next meeting at the Golden Globes in 2023.

Both of those clips went viral at the time, and fans have been calling for a date ever since.

On Friday, it looks like we'll finally get our wish.

This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.

Getting reliable antivirus software is as essential as a keyboard and a mouse. It’s absolute madness to log on without it, to be quite honest. It doesn't matter what computer you have, there’s always something nasty lurking out there.

Staying safe from viruses, malware, ransomware, and phishing threats is just the start of it. A strong antivirus software package can protect you from much more. It's not so much the hardware that's in danger, but stuff like your private documents, banking details, and personal photos that could be at risk from cyber criminals.

Free antivirus software is an option but, typically, free solutions are limited. Luckily, there are plenty of options out there for securing your PC, though that can make it hard to know which package to purchase. Buying this stuff can be a chore, with so much jargon and impenetrable tech-speak to wade through. That’s why we’re here help point you in the right direction. Here’s some handy need-to-know information.

What is antivirus software?

Antivirus software is a programme designed to detect and remove viruses and other malicious software (or malware, as it’s better known) from your computer. They detect, isolate, and delete viruses, which prevents the malware from damaging your device. Antivirus products update automatically to provide protection against the latest viruses and malware.

What’s the difference between a virus and malware?

They’re different but also kind of the same. Malware is an umbrella term for all kinds of malicious software. Viruses are just one type of malware. Other types include trojans, spyware, ransomware, and scareware.

How do computer viruses work?

A computer virus will replicate itself and spread to devices as widely and quickly as possible (hence the name virus). Computer viruses infect applications and email. They are transmitted via websites, email attachments, storage devices, and even routers. Simple viruses can damage a hard disk or delete files. More sophisticated viruses can cause you to spam or may have clever ways of avoiding detection.

What’s anti-malware software?

Antivirus software detects and removes viruses and some other types of malicious software, while anti-malware is a program that safeguards the system from all sorts of attacks. Anti-malware tends to deal with newer, more sophisticated threats. Antivirus software often comes built into a new PC (don’t let that stop you upgrading to something more sophisticated) while anti-malware is usually an add-on.

What are the best antivirus features?

It’s tricky to pick one antivirus software because each one will suit different people and different types of computer usage. It’s worth remembering that having multiple antivirus software programs installed can cause issues, so it’s best to stick with just one. There are features worth looking out for to help make your choice. For instance, many threats stem from internet browsing so phishing protection can be a vital feature. Spyware and adware are also a problem, so it's worth checking out antivirus software options that can scan for these too. 

Finally, you need software that provides an on-demand malware scan, as well as a vulnerability scan, so that you're always in control of what's going on with your data. Security is a fast-moving field so you want software that keeps on top of new trends, such as the recent growth in ransomware keen to steal your files from under you. 

What's the best antivirus software?

If that all sounds a bit complicated, don't sweat it — we've checked out the best paid antivirus software solutions and we've outlined why they're worth the money. Generally, you get what you pay for, but what price can you put on keeping your computer (and, more importantly, the data on there) safe from potential threats?

These are the best antivirus solutions for every situation in 2024.

Adobe announced a bunch of new AI features for Photoshop on Monday, including its generative tool that lets you easily "remove common distractions" from images. Yes, it's very similar to the company's existing "Generative Remove" tool, as well as Google's Magic Eraser, Apple Intelligence's Clean Up, and Samsung's Galaxy AI tools, which let you wipe pesky details of reality from your pics.

In a blog post by Photoshop product manager Pam Clark, the company detailed more features for the graphics editing platform, which use Adobe's generative AI model, Firefly. Highlights include a "Distraction Removal" tool within the existing "Remove" tool added last year, which lets you circle objects or people in the background to get rid of them.

SEE ALSO: What you should know about Adobe Lightroom's new AI feature

The similar "Generative Remove" tool is now widely available in Adobe's other image processing platform, Lightroom, having been launched in beta earlier this year.

Here's Adobe's example of the "Distraction Removal" tool in action:

Left: Credit: Adobe Right: Credit: Adobe

Adobe has also added its Photoshop "Generative Expand" tool to InDesign, which lets you make an image larger using the crop tool, then uses generative AI to fill the frame with extended imagery. Plus, there's a new Adobe Substance 3D Viewer app out in beta through the Creative Cloud platform, which lets you integrate 3D content into 2D Photoshop designs more easily. You can read more about Adobe's other AI features in the blog post.

Adobe already added a suite of AI tools to Photoshop in April, including the ability to generate and edit images from text prompts — Adobe has updated this tool further in its latest iteration. But the update was instantly met with concerns over copyright — Mashable's Cecily Mauran has a full report on these concerns.

With the latest announcement of AI tools, Clark made sure to check the box and include a nod to creatives in the blog post and point readers to Adobe's public statement on AI-generated imagery; a corporate must in a time of increasing concern about this among illustrators, graphic designers, and other creatives.

"Our commitment to creatives is at the core of everything we do, with generative AI features designed to serve as a creative companion that streamlines your creative process," Clark's post reads. "As we develop these advanced technologies, we take pride in the fact that we do so responsibly and always respect the rights of creators."

It's been a rough year for Adobe following the debacle that saw the company update its Terms of Use. Users were outraged about ownership of their work after Adobe announced a vaguely worded new AI policy about AI model training. The company could have used a "Distraction Removal" tool there.

Stephen Colbert took a clip from a recent Trump rally and kept playing it out of context on "The Late Show".

A good VPN provides you with extra security when browsing online, watching Netflix, torrenting, or shopping. We've talked extensively about VPNs, giving recommendations on the fastest and cheapest services, but what about the most secure?

What is a VPN?

Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, are security tools that provide protection for your identity and data by creating a private network that hides your real IP address. The best way to visualise a VPN is to think of it like an encrypted tunnel through which all of your online traffic passes through. Nobody can see into the tunnel, and everything inside is protected against online threats like hackers, viruses, and malware.

Should you care about a VPN's logging policy?

Connecting to the internet by way of a VPN means that your ISP can't see what you're doing and neither can the authorities. That only works if your VPN doesn't keep logs, though. Otherwise, those logs can help trace your online activities. 

This is a particular problem if your VPN service is located in one of the 5/9/14-Eyes Alliance countries whereby surveillance agencies are more likely to be legally allowed to access your browsing history. Understandably, this can all be an issue for some privacy conscious users, especially if you're trying to use a VPN to get around a country's restrictive censorship laws.

While many VPN clients promise that they don't keep any logs of your activities, the idea of a "no-logs policy" can mean a number of different things. Some companies can still keep more information than you feel comfortable about providing. A strict no-logs policy is what's needed most of all if you want your data to be kept away from roving eyes.

Should you use free VPNs?

There are plenty of free versions of popular VPNs out there, plus free trials of VPNs with full access to everything you get with a premium plan. Alternatively, you can pay for a VPN. So which option is best for you and your lifestyle?

You get what you pay for with VPNs. There tends to always be a catch with free versions, and it's normally in the form of limited data usage. If you're just an occasional user, these plans will work fine. But if you're going to be streaming or downloading, this isn't going to work. Free trials are a little bit different: they come with everything you get in a paid plan, but obviously they don't tend to last very long. Trials are great for testing out a service before committing, but this isn't a long-term solution.

Something to consider is that free VPNs don't require you to input any payment details, which adds another layer of anonymity.

What is the best no-log VPN?

Whatever your reason for staying secure online, it's important to pick out the right no-logging VPN for you. We've lined up your best options, including leading services like ExpressVPN and NordVPN.

These are the best no-log VPNs in 2024.

Disney+ is packed full of exciting content that can keep you entertained for absolutely ages, but what if you're located somewhere that the streaming service isn't available? Your only real option is to invest in a VPN.

There are plenty of impressive VPNs that can unblock Disney+ (and other streaming sites like Netflix), as well as providing data protection, traffic encryption, virus protection, and much more. These security tools are becoming increasingly popular, and it's clear to see why.

We all need more content options right now, and for that we require something that can bypass geo-restrictions to access blocked entertainment. That something is a VPN.

What is a VPN?

VPNs are useful security tools that provide protection for your information by creating a private network that hides your real IP address. All of your activity is untraceable and secure, because all of your online traffic passes through an encrypted tunnel. Nobody can see into the tunnel, and everything inside the tunnel is protected against online threats like hackers, viruses, and malware.

The act of hiding your real IP address is what can trick leading streaming sites into thinking you are based in another country.

What are the benefits of using a VPN?

VPNs are primarily used to provide protection for your sensitive information, but there's another reason that VPNs are so popular. These tools can be also be used to watch content that is normally blocked in your location.

By hiding your real IP address and connecting you to a server in another country, you can watch all your favourite content from that location. For example, you could watch all the extra films and shows on American Disney+ that are not usually accessible outside of the U.S. There is so much content out there that can be accessed with the help of a VPN.

How do you unblock extra content on Disney+?

Using a VPN to unblock Disney+ is really easy. All you need to do is open up your preferred VPN, select a server in order to spoof your IP to an address with access to Disney+, and then head to the streaming site. This quick and easy action makes Disney+ think you're in a location with access when you're not in the country, so you can watch all that great content that is normally unavailable. Not too complicated, right?

We should make it very clear that you still need to be subscribed to Disney+ for this trick to work. A VPN is not going to grant access to the streaming site for free. A VPN provides access to more libraries from around the world, once you're subscribed.

What is the best VPN for Disney+?

When it comes to choosing a VPN specifically for Disney+, we've tested PureVPN, CyberGhost, NordVPN, and ExpressVPN, all of which can successfully stream Disney+ content at the time of writing.

We recommend taking your time and carefully assessing all of the options listed here, and then pinpointing the service that best fits your requirements and lifestyle. There is something for everyone in this roundup.

These are the best VPNs for Disney+ in 2024.

This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.

If you're totally unfamiliar with virtual private networks, or VPNs, this is probably a good time to get to know the increasingly popular cybersecurity services.

There are a number of reasons why you might want to use a VPN, including but not limited to masking all of your internet traffic or accessing services that may be blocked in a particular location. If you want to get the most out of the internet these days, a VPN is absolutely essential.

What is a VPN?

VPNs provide protection for your data and identity when you're online. They offer this online privacy and anonymity by creating a private network that hides your real IP address, meaning that all of your activity is untraceable and secure.

VPNs act like encrypted tunnels through which all of your online traffic passes through. Nobody can see into the tunnel, and everything inside the tunnel is protected against online threats like viruses, hackers, and malware.

Should you use free VPNs?

There are plenty of free versions of popular VPNs, plus free trials of VPNs with full access to everything you get with a premium plan. However, as with most things in life, you get what you pay for with VPNs.

There tends to always be a catch with free versions, and it's normally in the form of limited data usage. If you're just an occasional user, these plans will work fine. But if you're going to be streaming or downloading, this isn't going to work. Free trials are a little bit different: they come with everything you get in a paid plan, but obviously they don't tend to last very long. Trials are great for testing out a service before committing, but this isn't a long-term solution.

The best option for streaming securely and accessing the online world without restrictions is with a paid subscription to a VPN. To gain access to advanced security features without limitations on usage, you need to pay up.

What is the best VPN for privacy and anonymity?

Deciding that you need a VPN is the easy part, but which VPN should you pick, and which ones can you trust? Search for a VPN online and dozens of results appear, so choosing the best service can be tricky. It requires a lot of research, and you should absolutely do your homework before committing to anything.

The good news is that we have done a lot of the hard work to help you in your search for a VPN, and tracked down examples of great services that secure your data, hide your activity, and bypass online restrictions. You can pick from leading services like PureVPN, NordVPN, TunnelBear, and more.

These are the best VPNs for online privacy in 2024.

Tesla's main announcement coming from the company's recent "We, Robot" event was the Robotaxi (or the CyberCab, we're still not sure about the name). But perhaps the biggest impression was made by Tesla's updated Optimus robots, which freely walked among the crowd, talked to guests, served drinks, played games, and danced.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk hyped up the robot, saying how it'll be "the biggest product of any kind, ever" and that it "can be a teacher, babysit your kids, it can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries. Just be your friend, serve drinks. Whatever you can think of, it will do."

SEE ALSO: Tesla’s surprise announcements: Robovan and Optimus

But the company and its leader were (seemingly intentionally) ambiguous about what Optimus can really do autonomously right now.

At the event, it sure seemed like the robots could do a lot. In a particularly impressive demonstration, YouTuber Marques Brownlee played a game of charades with Optimus.

Tweet may have been deleted

And the way Optimus was behaving while serving drinks, interacting with people, and listening to instructions and executing them right away, seemed a little too good to be true.

Tweet may have been deleted

Well, it now appears that it was a little too good to be true.

Electrek did some digging and found numerous clues that the Optimus robots present at Tesla's event were at least partly remote controlled. For example, tech guy Robert Scoble said a Tesla engineer told him that Optimus was run by AI "when it walked" — the part about talking having seemingly been omitted on purpose.

Perhaps the best clue comes from this video, in which the Tesla Optimus bot not only talks and behaves extremely similarly to a human, but also confirms that it's "assisted by a human" and "not yet fully autonomous."

Post by @secondbreakfastinvesting View on Threads

Another clue comes from Musk himself, in a reply to an X post about the possibility of people with disabilities potentially making a living "by controlling an Optimus bot remotely making drinks for people, moving packages, or whatever else." To this, Musk replied "yeah."

It's a very Muskian thing to do: Bring the robots to an event, hype up how amazingly autonomous they'll be, but then be very shady about the fact that they're actually remotely controlled or assisted.

The problem with this approach is that it tells us very little about how far Optimus has progressed since it was just a human in a robot suit. Can it really talk, answer complex queries, react to visual cues from humans, serve drinks, and do household chores, or is this version still far off? We may find out at the next Tesla event. Then again, we may not.