Lifehacker

Cybersecurity sucks. It feels like every day we learn about another hack or leak that throws our private digital lives out in the open. Unfortunately, I’m here sharing yet another one of these stories; this time, the company is Twitch, which suffered a major information leak. Suffice it to say, you should change your…Read more...

Throwing out perfectly good tech is one of my biggest pet peeves, but sometimes it seems unavoidable. We all know we don’t need to upgrade to the latest iPhone every year, but when Apple stops supporting updates on your MacBook or iMac, isn’t your only solution to upgrade to a new one? No, I say. Your Mac can actually…Read more...

A child’s first trip though a haunted house can be a thrilling test of childhood courage where fears are faced and conquered...or a nightmare-inducing disaster, depending on whether they’re ready. Here’s how to navigate that miniature minefield this Halloween.Read more...

Taxpayers have been confused by letters recently sent out by the IRS, thinking they’re a scam. The letters are legit, however, and worth keeping, as they could help you get money related to the recovery rebate tax credit claimed in your 2020 tax return.

You may not know it, but I have interests outside of food and beverage, and one of those interests is Halloween. Candy? Costumes? Fake blood? What’s not to like? I love Halloween so much, my friends call me the “Queen of Halloween!” It’s the coolest holiday around, and it deserves the coolest tunes.

I’ve had trust issues ever since I found out that swallowed chewing gum doesn’t actually sit in your gut for seven to eight years. But have you ever dismissed something as an old wives’ tale, only to discover it was actually true—that science, math, and reason were actually on the old wives’ side (go feminism)? Here…Read more...

Being asked “can you hear me?” by a caller might seem innocent enough, but even a one-word answer of “yes” could put you at risk of a scam. In rare cases, phone scammers can record your voice with the intent to impersonate you in order to make fraudulent purchases, but it’s more likely they’re simply confirming your…Read more...

Is your front porch looking a little blah heading into spooky season? Are your kids are begging you to do more decorations than last year? If you want to trick out your entryway but aren’t super crafty and don’t want to spend a fortune, here are a few easy ways to deck out your door or make your front porch more…Read more...

Everyone loves a butternut squash—and why wouldn’t they? Thanks to the word “butter,” even the name sounds enticing. They are, however, a bit of a pain in the butt(ernut). They’re hard to chop, hard to peel, and require at least 40 minutes of oven time to soften after all of that peeling and chopping.Read more...

Your weight is nothing more than a number describing how strongly the force of gravity is pulling down on your body. You can happily ignore it most of the time. But if you need to keep tabs on it for medical or personal reasons (whether you need to lose or gain weight, or maintain it within a certain range), it’s easy…Read more...

A new crush is so much fun. You get butterflies, imagine your dating life together, and have a special reason to dress up whenever you know they’ll be around. It can also be cause for some anxiety, though, especially if they don’t seem to be picking up your signals. Here’s what to do.Read more...

While it’s monumentally exciting to have any legal access to cannabis, the green rush has seen a wave of investment from venture capital. If you’ve seen what happens when venture capital gets involved in anything, you can probably guess what happened next: Mass hiring of the C-suite boys from predatory industries has …Read more...

After all the news, hype, and previews, Microsoft’s Windows 11 is finally here. You’re likely excited to update your Windows 10 machine to experience all the new features and changes Microsoft has added to its latest update. Great! But updating might not be as simple as it usually is, so we’ll walk you through…Read more...

If you have an iPad, you’ll probably want to add the pencil accessory to make drawing, writing, and multi-tasking a whole lot easier. Whether you have the first or second generation pencil, you’ll be ready to scribble, doodle, and sketch in style.Read more...

Hulu is one of the OG streaming services, originally offering select episodes of TV for free. While Hulu isn’t free anymore, it doesn’t need to be—the service offers more than enough content to justify the price tag. But what if that monthly cost wasn’t quite as high? Or if you tweaked the app settings to make up for…Read more...

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is an affordable streaming stick that is great for watching Amazon Prime and supports all major streaming services, screen mirroring, and third-party apps. But there is still enough weirdness to the Fire TV Stick experience—simple stuff, such as blocking third-party Android apps and autoplaying…Read more...

When one friend hurts another, it can be hard to have an honest conversation about it. But some friendships are even less touchy-feely or emotional than “normal”—there are friends who don’t hug, for example, and that’s okay—making it especially hard to talk about feelings. Even if your friendship isn’t based on deep,…Read more...

If you haven’t filed your 2020 tax return yet, now is the time. At this point, most extensions will expire on Oct. 15 and begin accruing late fees and interest. Worse yet, by not filing you’ll miss out on one-time payouts for the child tax credit and the first two stimulus payments. Even if you don’t earn enough money…Read more...

If there is one thing moms excel at, it’s figuring out easy meals that can be prepared quickly and with minimal effort, which is why I—a woman with exactly zero children—joined the Trader Joe’s Meal Ideas for Busy Moms group on Facebook.Read more...

If a shadowy cabal traps you in an elaborate contest of life-or-death children’s games, these tips might lead to you winning $40 million and not being shot in the head. Here are tips for how to win every game in Netflix’s Squid Game.

When the COVID-19 pandemic first began, in late 2019 and early 2020, there was a thought that maybe we could contain it—isolate the people who were sick, trace their contacts, and put them in quarantine, and the disease wouldn’t be able to spread. Other emerging diseases had fizzled out in the past, like COVID’s…Read more...

Depop is one of the top fashion marketplace apps for Gen Z to find trendy vintage fits or earn some cash selling items. Reports show that young people are making real money using sites like Depop as their side hustle. Explore the #depop tag on TikTok and you’ll find lots of reviews from fashion influencers, tips for…Read more...

Media outlets have been debunking claims that there’s a new tax on cash app transactions worth $600 or more. And while it’s true that it’s not a “new” tax as some viral social media posts might claim, new IRS regulations do make it easier for the agency to tax previously undisclosed income paid through apps like Venmo…Read more...

Due to the nature of my line of work, I am (somewhat begrudgingly) already thinking about Thanksgiving. I’m pretty set on smoking a turkey, but the rest of the menu has yet to be ironed out. One thing is for certain: These scalloped beauties are going on the table.Read more...

There’s definitely a degree of sweet, in-your-face irony involved when a movie ostensibly about overcoming bullying is itself ridiculed into the ground. Dear Evan Hansen stars Ben Platt (who originated the role on Broadway) as the titular Evan Hansen, a high schooler with social anxiety. After his classmate kills…Read more...

Can we, as a collective tech community, all agree that scams and malicious hacks are bad and we shouldn’t do them anymore? No? OK, back to reality, where your Android phone is under attack by yet another malware scam, and using yet another nefarious tactic to do it. Here’s what you need to know about FluBot, and how…Read more...

If you’re looking for a Halloween movie to watch with your children, these scary-but-not-too-scary flicks are spooky enough to raise goosebumps, but aren’t likely to scare anyone’s face off. That is, unless they’re either very little or very scaredy-cat, in which case your mileage may vary. You know your kids best.…Read more...

If you’re tracking what you eat, most items are easy enough: You either search for what it is (for example, four ounces of chicken breast), scan a barcode, or select a product name from the app’s search. What if you’re eating something that isn’t in the database, though, but you do have a nutrition label right in…Read more...

We all know those blatant signs that someone is older than the rest. Saying “back in my day,” using exact change, or talking about joint stiffness, to start. But are you aware of some of the more subtle signals of old-fartness at the office? You may still feel 25 inside, but if you do one or more of these things—you…Read more...

Prime Video comes bundled with your Amazon Prime subscription, and if you’ve been using it to watch popular shows like The Boys, there are plenty of lesser-known settings that can make for better viewing. From hiding videos to learning more about every scene that you’re watching, here are the best Prime Video settings…Read more...

Can we agree that society as a whole seems to have grown... shall we say coarser over the past decade or so? In an age when we—and our interactions—are increasingly digitized, anonymous, and remote (hell, during the pandemic some of us worked, slept, and ate in our bedrooms for 18 months straight), the tendency to…Read more...

Most of us are familiar with narcissism, whether we’ve had personal experience dealing with a narcissist or someone close to us has. Dealing with a narcissist—whether it’s a parent-child relationship, long-term partnership, or professional relationship—can have a number of devastating effects, including anxiety,…Read more...

There’s no harm in being a little curious. You don’t want to be known as a gossip, but you can still have a healthy interest in the goings-on of other people’s lives—if you can earn their trust (and keep it). Whether you want to get people to open up to you to deepen your personal relationships or it’s a requirement…Read more...

If you’re on dating apps, then you know that for every match you get, you’re doing a lot of swiping. And swiping. And...some more swiping. Even if you have plenty of matches, you’re still left asking yourself: Why aren’t sparks flying?

Those who are looking to advance in their careers often strive to make themselves indispensable to their employers—but what you should actually focus on is making yourself replaceable.

Friday evening, I had several people over for some vegan chili. Vegan chili probably doesn’t sound all that exciting if you’re not vegan, and I could tell that several of my guests (besides the vegan) were less than stoked that I had gone with a meat-free, dairy-free option. (I provided sour cream and cheese for the…Read more...

Lamps tend to have a longer shelf-life than cushioned pieces of furniture like couches, recliners, and upholstered chairs. They’re much easier to move (and therefore, to give away to family or friends when you no longer need them), don’t start sagging over the years, and as long as the wiring works, are pretty easy to…Read more...

Generally speaking, lying isn’t a trait that’s viewed as something positive. But not all lies are created equal. There’s a pretty broad spectrum of untruths, ranging from minor lies that don’t cause any harm, to major, massive lies that can do serious damage.Read more...

Even though there may still be a few days warm enough for a dip in a pool, if you have one of your own, it’s probably time to shut it down for the season (if you haven’t already). Yes, it can be a hassle and take some time, but it’ll be less work to prep your pool for winter now than deal with everything (including…Read more...

As much as some people may find the idea of leisure time appealing in theory, when it comes down to stepping away from work and other personal and family obligations—even for a few hours—the thought of not being “productive” can be a source of stress.Read more...

If you’ve had a dog or cat for a while, chances are your home is already at least somewhat structured around their safety and needs. But if you’ve just gotten a new, furry roommate, you may be wondering how to make your place more pet-friendly. Fortunately, Kari Whitman, an interior designer and owner of the Ace of…Read more...

Somehow, it’s October. And whether you’ve been counting down the days until fall, or dreading the change in seasons, the calendar doesn’t lie and at some point you have to eat. If you’re craving fast food, it’s your lucky month, because Wendy’s is giving a way a whole bunch of it (with the purchase of other items).…Read more...

Every destination has its must-see sights. Some are so iconic you know them immediately: the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty. Others are heartily recommended by friends: You have to try this restaurant. But I find the best way to enjoy a place is to flip the logic around. Instead of the most destination-y thing to…Read more...

If your garage or shed sports a jumble of athletic equipment, tools, and hoses, you can keep your outdoor equipment and gardening tools organized (and easy to access) by using hooks to hang them up. Next time you’re looking for your garden trowel or that one attachment to your hose, you’ll know right where to look…Read more...

You never know when you’re going to need to record something on your phone. Maybe there’s a rat in the subway bringing its slice home for dinner; maybe a pedestrian on a call is about to spill the beans on someone’s living situation. Whatever the case, if there’s a viral moment unfolding in front of you, there’s no…Read more...

Credit score apps are a popular way to track credit scores—but they actually aren’t that great. According to recent Consumer Reports analysis, these apps use scores that differ from the ones lenders actually use, they scrape an unnecessary amount of personal information, and they upsell you on credit-monitoring…Read more...

Now that you’ve got yourself a brand new iPhone 13, it’s time to learn a few basics. We all know that even the latest and greatest hardware doesn’t always work perfectly, so it’s good to know not only how to turn it on and shut it down, but also how to force restart it, how to enter and exit recovery mode, and even…Read more...

With the advent of modern mixology, I can see why many people would be inclined to think of cocktails as too complicated and inaccessible to replicate at home. Between the infusions and transfusions, the smoke and the mirrors, the emperor’s several different costume changes, the jewel-cut ice cubes inexplicably poised…Read more...

Being a perfectionist can be a mixed blessing. Although having high standards is generally a positive trait, as with everything, too much of a good thing can become problematic. When it comes to perfectionism, if it is not channeled appropriately, it can lead to burnout and feelings of failure and self-doubt.Read more...

It’s race weekend. You’ve trained for months, putting in grueling hours and surviving unseemly chafing. You’ve gotten through taper madness by making a mental plan (when to wake up, what to eat, what to wear). You finally get to the starting line only to realize—your watch isn’t charged. Or you’re wearing the wrong…Read more...