Passwords are already inherently unsecure versus other authentication methods, but things are only made worse with a terrible password. Here at XDA, you'll see that we send a code to your email to log in, which can be considered more secure than using a password. The same goes for passkeys and 2FA, which can enhance or outright replace passwords with better protections against brute force attacks and data breaches. I've rounded up some truly awful passwords that are still used today.

If you're paying attention to the video game industry, you know there's always a good crop of video games to be excited about each new month. For the upcoming month of May 2025, there's a massive release that many people, including me, are excited about. But it's not the only significant release of the month, so I put together this list of the games I'm most excited about over the month.

Nintendo Switch 2's Cyberpunk 2077 could end up being the definitive version of the title when it's all said and done. It unofficially revaled the game on its website on Thursday (April 24th)—the same day that the console was up for pre-order nationwide. The game is dubbed Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition and saw the title becoming available for pre-order on Nintendo's site.

One of the drawbacks of renting apartments was that I couldn't go crazy with my network setup. Between landlord restrictions on pulling cables through the walls and not wanting to see visible Ethernet cables stapled to the baseboards, I had to limit myself to putting in a good mesh router kit. But now I've got my own house, and even better, the builders pulled cable runs to several rooms through conduit so that I can fish fiber through at some point.

Mini PCs are having a bit of moment, offering solid power in a compact size. Most importantly, they are extremely versatile, providing a number of ways that they can be used, like functioning as a desktop for home or at work, becoming your media PC, or being the heart of your home lab.

Sysinternals tools are a go-to resource for every IT administrator and cybersecurity professional I’ve met, but chances are you might have never used them yourself. These tools don’t come pre-installed on Windows and are typically used by advanced users like developers, but they’re just as valuable for everyday users.

The WiZ HDMI sync box can make your WiZ lights dance with movies and music.Budget smart lighting brand WiZ has announced a new HDMI sync box that syncs with its line of Wi-Fi-based LED lights to match what’s playing on your TV. WiZ’s HDMI Sync Box with TV backlight will be available next month. It comes in two models: one with a TV backlight strip for screens 55 inches to 65 inches in size for $89.99, and the other for screens 75 inches to 85 inches in size for $109.99.The new HDMI box is similar to that of WiZ’s sister brand, Philips Hue. But Hue’s HDMI Play Box starts at $249.99, with light strips sold separately. (Hue and WiZ are both owned by Signify, but their bulbs are not compatible with each other.) WiZ bulbs also use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, whereas Hue relies on Bluetooth and Zigbee (via a hub).Unlike camera-based light syncing systems from companies like Nanoleaf and Govee, WiZ and Hue’s sync products read the signal directly from the video source, which can help avoid latency issues. This makes WiZ’s option a great budget alternative for those put off by Hue’s high prices. However, there are some concessions. The WiZ box only has one HDMI input, whereas the Hue Play supports four. This means if you have multiple devices connected to your TV, you’ll have to manually switch between them. The WiZ Sync Box supports HDMI 2.0 and video formats up to 4K at 60Hz with HDR10 Plus and Dolby Vision. Hue’s latest Play HDMI Box supports up to 8K video, HDMI 2.1, and refresh rates up to 120Hz for 4K for console gaming. It also costs $350The WiZ box also features a built-in microphone that captures audio, allowing the lights to change in sync with music as well as movies. The box can be controlled with the WiZ app, with voice via Google or Alexa, or the WiZ remote control.According to the company, the Sync Box can connect to any color-capable WiZ light that supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, including its new Gradient Light Bars ($59.99) and Gradient Floor Light ($89.99), which can sit alongside your TV to add more ambient light. As with all of WiZ’s lighting products, these support the Matter smart home standard, so are compatible with most smart home systems. 

While Microsoft was on a rampage of adding ads to its software and operating systems, it feels like its efforts have dwindled somewhat over time. If they truly have, it's likely because the company was instead focusing on making Copilot happen. With its new Copilot Pro subscription plan and its Copilot+ devices, Microsoft was set to make bank off of its new AI-powered services.

Epic Games v. Apple judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers just ruled that, effective immediately, Apple is no longer allowed to collect fees on purchases made outside apps and blocks the company from restricting how developers can point users to where they can make purchases outside of apps.The ruling was issued as part of Epic Games’ ongoing legal dispute against Apple, and it’s a major victory for Epic’s arguments. Rogers also says that Apple “willfully” chose not to comply with her previous injunction from her original 2021 ruling. “That [Apple] thought this Court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation,” Rogers says.The judge also referred the case to the US attorney to review it for possible criminal contempt proceedings.As part of the ruling, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers says that Apple cannot:Impose “any commission or any fee on purchases that consumers make outside an app”Restrict developers’ style, formatting, or placement of links for purchases outside of an appBlock or limit the “use of buttons or other calls to action”Interfere with consumers’ choice to leave an app with anything beyond “a neutral message apprising users that they are going to a third-party site”Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney says that, following this ruling, the company will bring Fortnite back to the US App Store “next week.” Sweeney is also offering a “peace proposal” from Epic: “If Apple extends the court’s friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we’ll return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic.”We will return Fortnite to the US iOS App Store next week.Epic puts forth a peace proposal: If Apple extends the court's friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we'll return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic. https://t.co/bIRTePm0Tv— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 30, 2025In many cases, Apple takes a 30 percent cut of purchases made in its apps, and Rogers’ 2021 ruling forced Apple to allow developers to point to alternative payment options. But Apple instituted a policy that demanded developers pay Apple a 27 percent commission on those purchases, which many companies, including Epic, were unhappy about.“In the end, Apple sought to maintain a revenue stream worth billions in direct defiance of this Court’s Injunction,” Rogers says. She notes that, inside Apple, App Store chief Phil Schiller advocated for the company to comply with the injunction, but that CEO Tim Cook “chose poorly” by ignoring Schiller and letting CFO Luca Maestri “convince him otherwise.”Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

Alongside all the rumors lately about a big visual redesign for iOS and a more Mac-like iPadOS experience, there’s one interesting one that’s been bubbling up: the iPhone could get a desktop mode of sorts. Majin Bu, who has a mixed history with leaks, wrote last week that unnamed sources had said iPhones with USB-C will offer “a Stage Manager like interface” when connected to an external display. It wouldn’t be quite a full desktop experience, but would “allow users to extend their screen space, great for presentations, editing, or enhanced viewing.” They added that there “may be some limitations possibly in resolution or the number of apps displayed at once.” Given Bu’s history, it’s hard to put too much stock in that all on its own.Then again, in a new episode of the 9to5Mac’s video series iOS Decoded, Jeff Benjamin says that he’s seen Stage Manager working with an iPhone and, tantalizingly, it had “full-on external display support.” In an article accompanying the video, he writes that 9to5Mac has been able to test the feature using the iOS Xcode Simulator. He doesn’t think it’s likely Apple will roll that out to iPhones in the real world, but it’s notable that Apple has been interested enough in the idea to test it out.Apple wouldn’t be the first to try this — there were attempts that predated even Samsung’s DeX — but it’s an intriguing idea all the same. iPhones already have limited external display support, using cables or wirelessly through AirPlay, but that support is generally limited to either screen mirroring or on a per-app basis — like casting a YouTube video to an AirPlay-enabled TV.

The Meta AI app could soon get a paid tier, similar to the ones offered by rivals like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the plan during a Q1 2025 earnings call on Wednesday, saying there’s an opportunity to offer a “premium service for people who want to unlock more compute or additional functionality” in Meta AI.As part of Meta’s efforts to compete with ChatGPT, the company launched a standalone Meta AI app this week, allowing you to interact with the chatbot and generate images from within the app. The chatbot, which Meta says now has nearly 1 billion users, was previously only available within apps like Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp.OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft’s Copilot all offer paid subscriptions that give users access to more advanced features and compute. Meta reported earning $42 billion in revenue over the past few months and revealed that it now expects to invest up to $72 billion on AI, rather than the up to $65 billion Zuckerberg announced previously.Additionally, Zuckerberg mentioned incorporating “product recommendations or ads” within Meta AI. It’s not clear when ads, or a paid tier, might roll out, as Zuckerberg said, “I expect that we’re going to be largely focused on scaling and deepening engagement for at least the next year before we’ll really be ready to start building out the business.”

For a long time, I’ve been waiting for an encrypted calendar with access to other secure productivity apps, like Google or Outlook Calendar, but actually private and secure. Enter Proton. I started using Proton Calendar via its free plan several months back. I can access Proton’s other end-to-end encrypted apps like Mail, Docs, and VPN through it. I liked it enough to get a paid subscription.