Smart home devices are super tempting. You can unlock your front door with your phone, walk into your house with the lights turning on automatically, and even ask your virtual assistant to make you a cup of coffee. But if you’re someone who spends more time on your new laptop than on your phone, it’s handy to have a way to control these devices from your computer. You can always check out your smart home device maker’s web apps to view camera feeds or control gadgets through any web browser on your Windows PC. There are also several other methods you can use.

Most users gravitate toward consumer-grade NAS models when shopping for a new NAS (network attached storage) unit for homes or small businesses. These devices cater to the average user’s needs, such as backing up personal files or streaming media. On the other hand, enterprise-grade NAS solutions serve businesses with extensive data storage and management loads. While enterprise NAS units offer more storage space and advanced capabilities, they may not always be the better choice for every scenario. Here are eight key differences between consumer and enterprise NAS devices that you should be aware of when weighing your options.

Although emulation is often regarded as a niche subset of gaming, it has plenty of perks, including platform independence, game preservation, and the ability to incorporate QoL mods into your favorite console-exclusive titles. While old-school SNES, GameBoy, and Atari systems can be emulated on practically any device, the hardware requirements blow out of proportion when you try running titles designed for the newer consoles.

Usually, when we cover a leak, it's via a trusted leaker or some material that was made public by accident. However, it's extremely rare for the company itself to leak its own products through its own ads. As weird as that sounds, that's exactly what happened after AMD showed off renders of the Radeon RTX 9070 XT, which a renowned leaker confirmed is the real deal.

Smartphones have become our little pocket entertainment centers over the last decade, and we demand more and more from them with each passing year. With the rise of AI and the subsequent mobile apps, people are looking for CPUs that can handle running LLMs on their phone. Now, MediaTek has announced its brand new Dimensity 8400 chip designed to keep up with the rise of AI models.

The Verge X has substantially raised the price of its top-tier user subscription in multiple regions to help bolster the platform’s creator payouts. The increase for Premium Plus came into effect on December 21st according to X, raising prices in the US from $16 per month to $22, or from $168 to $229 for annual subscriptions.Many European countries like France, Germany, and Spain are impacted by a similar increase, taking monthly prices from €16 to €21. Monthly subscribers in Canada (currently paying $20), Australia ($26) and the UK (£16) will also see pricing increased to $26, $35, and £17 respectively. The higher pricing is immediately applicable to new subscribers, with existing users grandfathered into their current rates until January 20th. X’s basic subscription tier remains unaffected.The pricing changes for US subscribers are the highest increase introduced since Elon Musk purchased the social media platform in 2022. X gave several reasons to justify the price hike, citing that Premium Plus is now completely ad-free — which it described as a “significant enhancement” to the current user experience.X also references changes made to the X revenue sharing program in October, saying that subscriptions “now more directly fuels” creator payouts to “reward content quality and engagement rather than ad views alone.” Premium Plus subscribers will additionally receive priority user support, access to additional features like X’s Radar trend monitoring tool, and higher limits on the platform’s Grok AI models.

If you're looking for one of the best gaming monitors that you can buy, this one from Alienware isn't going to disappoint. Alienware has been making some excellent monitors over the past few years, so it comes as no surprise that the Alienware AW3225QF monitor is one of our top picks for 2024.

A Marriott Hotel in Germany. | Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images The Federal Trade Commission announced on Friday it finalized an order (pdf) requiring Marriott International and subsidiary Starwood Hotels to improve their digital security, reports BleepingComputer. The FTC charged the companies with lax security practices that resulted in three big breaches detected in 2015, 2018, and 2020, “affecting more than 344 million customers worldwide,” leaking passport details, payment cards, and other info.The shortest breach lasted 14 months before it was detected, while the longest one saw attackers maintain access for four years, starting in 2018. The beefed-up security programs they've agreed to establish include creating policies to only keep information for as long as it’s needed and publishing a link allowing US customers to request the deletion of information tied to their email address or loyalty account.Hotels have been one of many key targets for hackers, with one breach last year catching FTC Chair Lina Khan among the many people left waiting to check in when a ransomware attack forced MGM Resorts to fall back on using pen and paper.The FTC announced its charges in October, accusing the companies of having “deceived consumers” with false claims of “reasonable and appropriate data security.” Their alleged failures included having bad password and firewall practices and not patching outdated software and systems. The same day the FTC revealed the charges, the Connecticut Attorney General’s office announced Marriott had agreed to a $52 million settlement.Beyond improving their security, the companies are now forbidden “from misrepresenting how they collect, maintain, use, delete or disclose consumers’ personal information; and the extent to which the companies protect the privacy, security, availability, confidentiality, or integrity of personal information.” Other requirements include that they keep compliance records and submit to FTC inspections. The order will stay in effect for 20 years.

Earlier this year, I picked up an old 2018 iPad Pro at a garage sale. It was selling for an incredibly low price, so I thought of getting it primarily for consuming content when I'm flying. However, I barely used it a couple of times before it started gathering dust on a shelf. That's when I put it to better use. Initially, I planned on using it as a digital photo frame but realized it wouldn't be of much use. Then, I thought of using it as a smart home hub of sorts to control all my lights and speakers. But, I already had an Echo Show to do that. After some more deliberation, it hit me that I could convert it into a portable laptop that I could carry instead of my MacBook Pro when traveling.

Google Chrome is more than just a regular browser; it has long been a tool for productivity, creativity, and customization thanks to its vast extension library. However, when it started transitioning to Manifest V3 (MV3), a new standard for Chrome extensions, it impacted many extensions' functionalities. This change basically aims to enhance Chrome's security, performance, and user privacy, but unfortunately, it also means the end of the road for extensions reliant on the older Manifest V2 (MV2), such as ad-blockers, script managers, and downloaders.

Unbound is a great, self-hosted DNS server that you can run easily at home. It's highly customizable and efficient and can vastly improve the built-in DNS cache and resolver in your router. It's a project everyone can tackle, and while it can be intimidating at first, setting up a DNS server can have huge benefits for your network. Here are some of our top reasons why we think, in no particular order, everyone should set up a home unbound DNS server.

Many users may not know that Windows 10/11 has a built-in memory diagnostic test. The tool is quite basic and easy to use and will test your RAM to see if it has any instability issues. There are a few different ways to find the tool, all of which are simple enough. The test usually takes around 20–30 minutes to run, though if there are any issues, they will be reported as they are found.