<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Sabrent USB SSD 4-bay docking station is available now on Amazon for $89. This docking station makes adding external drives to your system a total plug-and-play affair. The case is plastic, so it feels a bit cheap but that doesn’t get in the way of performance. more buying choices It […] More
Kerry Wan/ZDNETIf you want to get your health and wellness goals in check for 2025, now’s a great chance to scoop up one of Apple’s handy watches for its best price yet. You can get the newest Apple Watch Series 10 for $100 off or only $299 at most major retailers before the spring season. These 25% off savings can be found on both the 42mm More
ZDNETWould you be willing to give Gemini a peek at your search history?Recent reports indicate that Google is working on Gemini Personalization — an AI model that would let you share your search history with Gemini to get more personalized results. Also: Gemini AI is coming to Google Calendar – here’s what it can do and how to try itYou’d be giving up a fair amount of privacy to use this model, but at least from early indications, it would make Gemini the most personal AI chatbot yet. Gemini would know quite a bit about you that you never had to tell it. How Gemini Personalization worksGoogle hasn’t officially acknowledged this feature, but Android Authority accessed a version deep in the code of the latest Google app (version 16.8.31), and its article showed several screenshots of the feature in action. To start, Gemini says that only the model Gemini Personalization will connect to your search history and that chats in this model aren’t used to improve Gemini, aren’t stored outside your chat history, and are deleted from your activity within 60 days.You’ll need to give Gemini permission to see your search history and turn on Web & App Activity in your Google settings. Once you’ve done that, you can ask Gemini about your past searches or ask a question that Gemini can answer with what it knows about you from those searches. Also: Goodbye Gemini, hello Pixel Sense? What we know about Google’s AI assistant for Pixel 10You can potentially ask Gemini base-level questions like “What was that restaurant I was searching for last week?” or “Show me the tourist sites I Googled in NYC,” but you could also ask questions like, “I’m going to NYC. Can you give me restaurant recommendations using my search history?” and get a reply like, “Your search history tells me you like finding locally owned Italian restaurants. There’s a highly rated one…” A potential question could also go something like, “Give me some recommendations for shoes based on all the ones I’ve searched for the past two months.” More
ZDNETA persistent malware campaign is exploiting the ubiquitous CAPTCHA process to try to steal data from unsuspecting victims.Also: Got a suspicious E-ZPass text? It’s a trap – how to spot the scamAs described by security firm Malwarebytes in a new report, this scheme relies on the ease with which people often follow the steps in a CAPTCHA prompt without thinking.How the attack worksYou land on a website that promises movies, music, pictures, news articles, or some other interesting content. A CAPTCHA prompt pops up, asking you to prove that you’re not a robot. As we’re all so used to these types of requests, many of us wouldn’t think twice about accepting it. Also: Why rebooting your phone daily is your best defense against zero-click attacksBut instead of the usual CAPTCHA challenge that asks you to choose certain images in a picture or identify distorted characters, this one serves up the instructions seen in the image below: More
ZDNETThe ill-fated March Pixel update has apparently introduced yet another problem.When Google released its Pixel Feature Drop earlier this month, it introduced several new features, including real-time alerts for suspicious texts and the ability to share your location through Find My Device. Unfortunately, it also introduced several frustrating problems, including a screen-dimming issue, a strange haptic feedback change, and a glitch with EQ audio.Also: Google is trying to fix Messages – but it needs your helpNow there’s another issue to add to the list — problems with the fingerprint scanner. Mostly affecting Pixel 9 phonesA post on the GrapheneOS Discussion Forum highlights a problem that’s affecting mostly Pixel 9 phones (but there have been scattered reports on other Pixel devices). After the recent update, the post says, the phone’s fingerprint scanner has stopped working. What’s most strange is that the phone acts like the scanner doesn’t even exist, as it has disappeared from the settings menu too. If this were several years ago and the fingerprint scanner were only used to unlock the phone, this would be a minor annoyance. But since so many apps today use biometric login, this could be a very frustrating problem. Also: 12 Android phone settings you should change to dramatically increase battery lifeThe issue seems to be fairly rare, but it was reportedly seen in the earlier Android 15 QPR2 Beta releases. It’s likely still appearing because it doesn’t happen enough for developers to replicate and track down the issue. A report from Android Authority last summer uncovered code in an Android 15 beta that indicated your phone would be able to tell if your face or fingerprint login wasn’t working and delete that credential, requiring you to create a new one. There’s no indication this issue is tied to that feature, but the timing is suspicious. More
ZDNETGoogle Messages has been having issues lately, and the company is asking for your help while it works on a fix.Also: Google Fi users finally get RCS on iPhone – here’s how to check if it’s activatedIn a blog post yesterday, Google acknowledged that many users have been experiencing issues with receiving media in Messages. Sometimes the app slows down drastically, the company says; sometimes it shuts down entirely. Widespread issueGoogle didn’t explain specifically what the issues were, but Reddit reports show that the issues are widespread. Some users are reporting that Messages is slow to load when viewing attachments and won’t show up for several minutes; some are saying that images are blurry when trying to view them; and some are having issues with messages that won’t load at all. Also: A new Android feature is scanning your photos for ‘sensitive content’ – how to stop itProblems are occurring when receiving media from either iPhone or Android, so it’s not an OS problem, and they are happening across a wide variety of devices and carriers. No workaroundsThere doesn’t seem to be anything you can do to make things better. Users report that restarting their phones doesn’t help, and the issues persist whether connected over Wi-Fi or mobile data. Also: Why Gmail is replacing SMS codes with QR codes – and what it means for youGoogle has been actively working on the issue, it says, and it recently rolled out several updates aimed at improving performance. Some users indicate that things may be getting better and pictures are loading without problem, but some are still seeing problems. More
Jack Wallen/ZDNETWhen I first started using MacOS, my default browser was Safari. This continued for a long time, mostly because all other browsers couldn’t match Safari’s battery optimizations. But there were things about Safari that weren’t quite what I preferred in a browser, especially in the realm of security. Like most everything Apple creates, you’re stuck with the company way. In other words, Safari didn’t put the security of the browser in the hands of the user. Also: 5 alternative browsers that might just replace Safari on your MacThat’s why, when I first heard about the Orion browser, I had to give it a try. What is the Orion browser? The Orion browser is a web browser built on the WebKit rendering engine. For those who don’t know, a rendering engine is what makes it possible for an app to present web pages to the user. Also: I speed-tested 11 browsers – and the fastest might surprise youNow, before we go too far, know that Chrome on iOS does use the WebKit rendering engine (Chrome on all other devices — including MacOS — uses Blink). Other than that, it’s all Safari. What Orion does (besides using WebKit) is present itself very much like Safari. The first time I opened Orion, I thought I’d mistakenly opened Safari. What makes Orion special? There are several features that help make Orion stand out. First and foremost is security. One thing that really had me nodding my head was the fact that Orion sends zero telemetry. Private information is protected and is never leaked… anywhere. Next, it comes with vertical, tree-style tabs, which I find far more efficient to use than traditional horizontal tabs. Not only are your tabs easier to see, they’re easier to organize. As a bonus, there are also tab groups. The only thing missing here is a Workspaces-like feature. Also: My 5 favorite web browsers – and what each is ideal forAnother really cool aspect of Orion is that it supports both Chrome and Firefox extensions. There are some extensions that are available for one but not the other. This ensures you don’t have to miss out on either. Then there’s the built-in ad and tracker blocking, which is enabled by default, as well as: SpeedEasy on system resourcesAcross-device syncReader modeAutoplay video blockingKeychain for passwordsPicture in PictureLow power modeAllow copy and paste (on sites that don’t usually allow)Also: 5 Firefox-based, privacy-first web browsers that improve on the originalThe last feature I’ll mention is called Focus Mode. With Focus Mode, if you hit the key combination (⇧⌘F), all distractions are removed from the window. I love this feature because it shoos away every element from the web browser, so you can focus on the content at hand. I’ve used Focus Mode quite a bit during my testing because I find it helps me focus on what I’m looking at. The temptation to look at something else is removed (until I hit the same keyboard shortcut) and I can enjoy a clean window with nothing but content. More
Rodica Cojocaru/Getty Images Nearly every part of modern life depends on our connection to the internet. When my provider experiences an outage, everything grinds to a halt — working remotely via VPN, streaming music on Spotify, and even using smart home devices. It’s a stark reminder of how much we rely on the invisible network […] More
