All posts tagged: tips

How to Use Stolen Device Protection on Apple’s iPhone

How to Use Stolen Device Protection on Apple’s iPhone

Published by skeptic

If a thief ever steals an iPhone out of your bag or even snatches it from your grasp, panic sets in immediately. You also may have a lot more to worry about beyond just the cost of replacing the phone. What if they saw me enter the passcode and now have easy access to all of my messages, photos, and sensitive information? While it definitely sucks to have your smartphone nabbed, turning on Apple’s Stolen Device protection can immediately cut thieves’ access to your smartphone data. This feature is not automatically enabled and needs to be activated before the crime occurs. First released as part of iOS 17.3, Stolen Device Protection essentially adds an extra layer of security to your smartphone whenever the device is somewhere you don’t regularly visit. Here’s a quick guide to what the software feature does and what steps are necessary to turn it on. For a deeper dive into Apple’s anti-theft software, check out WIRED security reporter Matt Burgess’s article about the feature from last year. If you have an …

How to Send Cash | WIRED

How to Send Cash | WIRED

Published by skeptic

So you need to send some money. Maybe you want to slip a couple of $20 bills in a birthday card. Maybe it’s a larger payment for some not-at-all-sketchy, off-the-books services rendered. Either way, it can be a pain to send paper money without having to worry that it might mysteriously slip out of your envelope into someone else’s pocket. “Sending cash physically via mail or something is probably one of the least efficient options for moving money around,” says Kevin L. Matthews, a financial advisor who has offered money advice for WIRED before. “It’s not necessarily something that I would recommend.” The problem, he says, is that if something goes wrong and the cash goes missing, there’s really nothing you can do about it. There are better ways to transfer finances, but if you absolutely have to get your coins from one piggy bank to another, here are the best ways to do so without getting ripped off. Don’t Get Scammed To be clear upfront, you should not just stick a wad of cash …

Eye Care Tips for Voracious Readers: Read Without Strain

Eye Care Tips for Voracious Readers: Read Without Strain

Published by skeptic

In a recent survey of American reading habits, the Washington Post found that the top 1% of the most avid readers go through upwards of 50 books in a year. Of course, this poll did not consider the differences between hard reading, casual perusal, scanning, and curious reading for pure entertainment. Regardless of one’s reading motivations, following eye care tips for readers is crucial since consuming lots of written content can be very tasking on the eyes. Such a visually intensive hobby requires good habits and care to continue enjoying it thoroughly. Thankfully, you can follow simple eye care tips to maintain your eye health and read as much as you want. 1. Wear the right glasses According to the American Optometric Association, the development of myopia (or nearsightedness, one of the most common eye conditions) can be determined by how an individual uses their eyes. Specifically, those who spend lots of time reading are part of a select group more likely to develop this issue. The goal is to slow or stop progression entirely …

Expert tips for exercising as a family in 2025 – from workouts to games

Expert tips for exercising as a family in 2025 – from workouts to games

Published by skeptic

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter If you’ve made promises to yourself to hit the gym this year to work on your physical fitness, good on you. New exercise regimes, healthy eating and wellbeing-focused activities like mindfulness and meditation all make for a great way to start the new year. But are you the only one in your family making healthy resolutions? And if so, why aren’t your partner and kids making them too? The latest statistics from Sport England show that less than half of UK children are fulfilling the Chief Medical Officer’s criteria for 60 minutes of physical exercise per day to stay healthy. That figure drops to 34 per cent for SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) children. With kids between the ages of eight to 18 spending an average of seven hours in …

How to Change the Default Search Engine in Google Chrome

How to Change the Default Search Engine in Google Chrome

Published by skeptic

Part of the reason Google decided to start developing its own Chrome browser—all the way back in 2008—was to funnel people toward all of its web apps, from Google Docs to Gmail to Google Maps. And of course, Chrome has Google’s search engine built right in. However, if you love Google Chrome but you’ve decided you’ve had enough of Google search, you can change the default search engine in the browser. You can switch to Bing, DuckDuckGo, or whichever alternative search engine you like. Maybe you feel you’ve spent enough of your life scrolling through Google’s sponsored links, or perhaps you’d rather use a search engine without any AI in it. Whatever the reason, here’s how to change the default search engine in Google Chrome. Set Your Search Engine By default, when you type out a search query in the address bar at the top of the Chrome interface and hit Enter, you’ll see results from Google search. You’ll also see the Google search engine front and center if you open up a new tab …

How to Make Your Holidays as Waste-Free as Possible: DIY Tips and Advice

How to Make Your Holidays as Waste-Free as Possible: DIY Tips and Advice

Published by skeptic

For example, instead of a ribbon, use compostable twine or string with a cutting—a sprig of holly, a clipping of eucalyptus, or the branch of a fir—tucked into it. It’s a rustic look that will hold up even if you wrap things well in advance. Alternatively, slip in something less hardy, like flowers or berries, just before you dish out the gifts. Don’t Forget Tape! The last thing you want to do is to make all these adjustments and ruin it by using standard plastic tape that can’t be recycled. Sellotape now offers a plastic-free version of its famous tape, which is 100 percent plant-based and fully compostable. Alternatively, consider paper-based options like washi tape. These often come in pretty patterns too, which can also help to jazz up plainer brown paper. Send Fewer Cards—or Go Digital If you’ve got a family that’s big on holiday cards, this can be a hard habit to break, but there are around 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold every year in the US, and sending one card less each …

Tips for ChatGPT’s Voice Mode? Best AI Uses for Retirees? Our Expert Answers Your Questions

Tips for ChatGPT’s Voice Mode? Best AI Uses for Retirees? Our Expert Answers Your Questions

Published by skeptic

Thank you so much to all the readers who tuned in live to participate in the second installment of our question and answer series focused on artificial intelligence. I was thrilled to see so many questions come in before the event, as well as all the questions that were dropped into the chat during our conversation. Missed the broadcast? We’ve got your back. Below is a replay of this event that WIRED subscribers can watch whenever. Also, the livestream from the first one is available here. I started off the chat with a couple quick demos showing how to use the image and voice features built into chatbots, including an example of how it’s possible to interact with ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode as a kind of Duolingo-style language learning tool. For a deeper dive into a few of the live questions we discussed, I’d suggest checking out my AI advice column for December, tackling questions about proper attribution for generative tools and how to teach the next generation about AI. If you’re interested in experimenting …

NYT Connections hints and answers for December 5: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #543.

NYT Connections hints and answers for December 5: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #543.

Published by skeptic

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections? The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common. Tweet may have been deleted …

Five tips to help you get your children reading for pleasure – with five books chosen by children

Five tips to help you get your children reading for pleasure – with five books chosen by children

Published by skeptic

Children are not enjoying reading or reading as much in their free time as they used to, according the National Literacy Trust’s (NLT) annual survey. More than 76,000 children and young people, aged 5 to 18-years-old, from 405 schools across the UK completed the survey. Worryingly, those surveyed reported the lowest levels of enjoyment of reading and reading daily since 2005. Only 34.6% of respondents aged 8 to 18-years-old reported reading in their free time; with boys and secondary school aged young people reporting the highest levels of decline. This is a concern as there are a lot of benefits of reading. Books are mirrors of ourselves, windows to other worlds and sliding doors to enable us to be part of those worlds. Reading can help with assessments and exams, but more importantly it informs our worldview. It can help children and young people relax, learn about new things, consider something from a different perspective and allow their imagination to run wild. The report highlighted that slightly more children and young people enjoyed reading more …

How to Use a VPN to Watch to Netflix When You Travel Overseas

How to Use a VPN to Watch to Netflix When You Travel Overseas

Published by skeptic

This is the point where it becomes obvious how a VPN client makes life easier. There are really only two steps to follow. The first one is to select the server. On an iPhone using ExpressVPN, there’s a prompt for Current Location. I selected that and picked the United States, then Chicago. I then clicked the big red Connect button and watched it turn green. That means I was connected to the Chicago server and was ready to watch a Netflix show. Every VPN app works about the same: Select the country and city, then click the big connect button. In my case, once I was connected to that Chicago server, I could then go to Netflix.com to watch Stranger Things without any problems. It also works with Netflix’s apps on your smartphone or your tablet, as long as your VPN app is also running on that device. In case you are wondering, this is perfectly legal. As long as you are using your own paid account, a VPN merely allows you to access a …