Google has a post up on its security blog that is half advertisement and half PSA-style announcement for Android users: go into your settings and turn off the "Allow 2G" toggle. This option, added in Android 12 back in 2021, does exactly what it sounds like: it turns off support for 2G cellular networking. Why would you want to do that? Because attackers are using the insecure 2G protocol to spoof phone numbers and send SMS spam.

Google Sounds Urgent Warning To Kill This Setting On Your Android Phone

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Violeen KM

Despite their impressive capabilities, many people only use a fraction of their phone's potential. Whether you're an iPhone user or an Android enthusiast, your device is packed with hidden features that can make your life easier and more efficient. Ready to uncover these secrets? Let’s dive into seven hidden features that might just transform how you use your phone.

7 Hidden Features in Your Phone You’ve Never Used

A few years ago, I wrote a guide to help people protect themselves, and understand that most of the companies you have an account with already offer you tools to take control of your accounts’ security, even before you contact them for help, which in some cases you still should do.

How to tell if your online accounts have been hacked

Google isn’t planning on hitting the breaks on Gemini anytime soon. After first teasing a number of new extensions during Google I/O 2024, a recent APK teardown from Android Authority has revealed a ton of unannounced, useful new features from Gemini that are soon coming to your Android phone. Gemini is expected to get a variety of new extensions that will allow integration into Google services like Keep, Tasks, and Calendar.

Google Gemini is about to get a lot more useful on your Android phone

You may need to close and reopen the app to see it, but according to Android expert Mishaal Rahman, Gemini is showing up for non-Google Workspace users. Gemini can do things like summarize emails, suggest next steps, or draft replies. Before now, you’ve needed a Google AI premium subscription or a Workspace account for access to the AI assistant.

Gemini may be rolling out to personal Gmail accounts on Android.

Cops are investigating the defacement of a 6,000-year-old cave painting in southern Spain. According to authorities, the ancient evidence of the human drive to create was damaged when a local man poured water on it. Why? He was trying to gussy up the painting to take a photo for his Facebook page.

Man Destroyed a 6,000-Year-Old Cave Painting for a Facebook Photo

It's likely you have a list of apps you can't live without, like Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram. But what about apps you rarely even use? You may want to free up space by deleting them, but there are some you should always keep on your phone. 1 Hold On to...

Don't Delete These Apps, Even if You Never Use Them

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Foodie in Chicago

Shortly before 3 AM, people in the Chicago area may have felt their houses shake as a 3.4-magnitude earthquake occurred about 60 miles west of the city. (CHICAGO) The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 3.4-magnitude earthquake around Somonauk, IL. Somonauk is in DeKalb and LaSalle Counties, 64 miles west of Chicago.

Did You Feel the Earthquake?

The death toll for birds that crash into buildings may be underestimated by hundreds of millions per year, according to a new study. Previous research only accounted for birds that died at the scene of a collision, but the true number could exceed a billion deaths per year, the researchers reported.

Bird Deaths From Window Strikes Are Way Higher Than We Ever Imagined

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One raunchy piece of advice made Haliey Welch an internet sensation — though her fame has come with a price. The 23-year-old, best known as "hawk tuah girl," has had to deal with some rather creepy fans ever since a video of Welch giving a tip about intercourse went insanely viral online.

'Hawk Tuah' Girl Haliey Welch Says She Was Offered $600 to 'Spit in a Jar' After Her Lovemaking Tip

Scientists in Singapore have discovered a new family member of a nightmare fungus. In new research this week, they detail finding a genetically distinct type of Candida auris in several patients of theirs—the sixth such type found to date. The fungus is one of the most feared superbug threats around, since it can resist multiple antifungals as well as spread quickly in hospitals and other hotspots.

Scientists Discover New Type of Deadly Fungus

Japanese scientists issued their first ever massive earthquake alert after a significant quake struck parts of the country on Thursday. Although the threat isn’t imminent or guaranteed, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said in a press release that the possibility of a “large-scale earthquake” is “relatively higher than usual,” but “this does not mean that a large-scale earthquake will definitely occur during a specific period.”

Japan Just Issued Its First ‘Megaquake’ Alert. Here’s What You Should Know

If you own a Samsung-brand electric stove, you should make sure your kids or animals stay away from it for the time being. The Korean tech giant issued a recall for 30 different range models that were very easy to start the burners accidentally. The U.S. government reported over 300 accidental starts since 2013, some resulting in fires that claimed the lives of family pets.

Samsung Recalls 1.2 Million Electric Stoves Over Fire-Related Injuries, Pet Deaths

A team of researchers believes the flurry of radio waves emanating from deep space came from a bubble of plasma surrounding a compact object, one of the universe’s densest entities. The waves were a fast radio burst, or FRB, an enigmatic class of radio waves characterized by their brilliance...

Big Bubble of Plasma in Space Shoots Fast Radio Burst Toward Earth

Mark Zuckerberg just freaked me out at Siggraph 2024, and it has nothing to do with Sweet Baby Rays. No, Zuckerberg, sitting down with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to muse on the future of generative AI, described a future in which your endless doom scrolling will get even more endless with AI-generated content built specifically for you.

Mark Zuckerberg just described my AI nightmare, and I’m terrified

If you haven’t sanitized your microwave in a while, you may want to get on that. A new study has revealed that these kitchen appliances can harbor some of the most resilient microbes yet discovered. The researchers examined 30 microwaves and found that nearly 750 different species of bacteria...

Your Microwave Is Packed With Radiation-Resistant Bacteria

In the span of your life, you’ve probably had a dream where you’re flying. But have you ever dreamed about swimming underwater? Off the coast of Australia? And you’re also a sea lion? Just me?. Well, it feels quite like a flying dream, only now you don’t...

Footage From Cameras Strapped to Sea Lions Is As Cool As You’d Expect

Need to add a little more Anxiety to your home life? Good news: Pixar’s Inside Out 2, which smashed its way though records en route to becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time, as well as 2024’s top-earning film to date, will soon be available to watch without leaving your couch.

Inside Out 2 Is Ready to Come Home After Its Record-Breaking Box Office

ADT, one of the largest home security providers in the U.S., has been hacked. The breach, which was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, involves multiple databases containing customer information, including home addresses, emails, and phone numbers. TechCrunch, which originally reported the breach, notes...

Home Security Giant ADT Admits It Has Been Hacked

One of the year’s most spectacular meteor showers is about to reach its peak. Here’s what you need to know to get the best view of the Perseid meteor shower. Although the Perseids began burning up in Earth’s atmosphere in mid-July, it took a few weeks for them to reach their peak. According to EarthSky, this peak is predicted to occur on the night of Sunday, August 11, and continue into the following morning. If you have plans that night, the nights before and after may have slightly fewer meteors, but should still make for some pleasant skywatching. The show should start at around midnight, though the intensity will gradually increase as the night goes on and reach its pinnacle shortly before dawn.

The Perseids Are Back: How to Watch One of the Best Meteor Showers of the Year

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Here Are the Best Times to Upgrade Your Phone

When the time comes to upgrade your phone, it can be both exciting and daunting: A brand new handset awaits, but which one? Dozens of new...

Here Are the Best Times to Upgrade Your Phone

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