Lifehacker

Google has removed 25 malicious apps from the Google Play Store after the French cybersecurity firm Evina discovered they contained Facebook-hacking malware. That means it’s time once again to check your Android device to make sure you didn’t foolishly (or accidentally) install a crappy app.

Last week I asked Lifehacker readers to share their most pressing questions about about moving abroad. More than a few of you wondered: What the heck are you supposed to do with your stuff if you want to move abroad?

I love a high-tech kitchen toy as much as the next sous-vide-er, but I am far more dependent on my favorite spoons and spatulas than I am any countertop appliance. Beyond functionality, I like the look and feel of spoons and spatulas. (Spoons are my favorite souvenir to pick up while traveling; I love them so much.)…Read more...

Masks protect us. That shouldn’t be a surprise at this point, but since there’s been so much confusion about what masks do, and there are a lot of myths floating around about them, it’s time for a little refresher.Read more...

For months we’ve all been stuck at home taking pictures of our cats, dinners and other noteworthy objects, and we’ve apparently been using a lot of bandwidth when backing them all up to Google Photos. As a result, Google announced today that it is limiting what Google Photos will automatically back up on your Android…Read more...

Most parents are probably burnt out right now on reviewing math facts and vocabulary words. I, personally, have been mostly focused on making sure my nine-year-old continues to read consistently and gets outdoors enough; beyond that, fine, play Minecraft. But one way we could be taking advantage of this summer is by…Read more...

As both domestic and international travel begin to fully reopen, travelers will see more travel operations follow suit. The first to begin phasing back in were passport services. Now, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has announced that Global Entry enrollment will return on July 6th.

Parents everywhere are holding their breath this summer, waiting to see what school in the fall might look like. Sending kids into school every day seems so risky for everyone involved; and yet, the thought of more weeks or months of remote learning is also emotionally daunting. The American Academy of Pediatrics…Read more...

I’m a tab junkie, but what keeps my Android version of Chrome neat and clean is the fact that switching between different websites I’ve opened up is an annoying, ugly affair. Instead of a lovely-looking tab, you must click on an ugly box that then dumps out all of your open pages like a staggered stack of cards in…Read more...

A recent Twitter viral video introduced us to an unfortunate motorist who was unable to figure out how to properly line up her gas tank with the pump, to the amusement of a couple of onlookers in the parking lot nearby.Read more...

If you’re making a McMuffin-type breakfast sandwich, a circular sausage patty makes sense. But say you want your breakfast sandwich on toast—what then? A sausage circle leaves the corners un-sausaged, and I don’t think anyone here wants to start their day with un-sausaged corners. (Plus, some of those pre-shaped…Read more...

With the delayed tax filing deadline coming at us fast—it’s July 15, don’t forget!—we’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that TurboTax, the digital tax prep software that pitches itself as a free-and-easy way to do your taxes, is in fact not so free or easy. Actually, it sucks—enough that it inspired…Read more...

If you have a barbell but not quite enough plates, you’ve probably spent this quarantine hanging things off it in extremely sketchy ways. On social media I’ve seen people put weights in tote bags, hang water bottles off their barbell, and more. A lot of these DIY solutions are injuries waiting to happen, but recently…Read more...

Though many people were first introduced to Christian Cooper via his now-viral video of a woman calling the police on him while he was birdwatching in Central Park, he has been a fixture of the birding community for years. Not only did that racist confrontation on May 25, 2020 make news, but it has also prompted more…Read more...

Getting our kids to read consistently can be a challenge. But given how the end of the school year just went down, you may be especially worried that you need to help them step up their reading game, at least so they don’t slip backward in the months leading up to whatever fall will bring. We’ve written quite a bit…Read more...

Whether it’s the pulsating pain of a migraine or the behind-the-eyes pressure of sinus congestion, nobody likes a headache. And if you suffer from them, you may need to cycle through a dozen different treatments to find one that works. The thing is, headaches—and their causes—are all different. With that in mind,…Read more...

Remember when COVID-19 really started making waves, we were all sent home to quarantine, and all these internet service providers suddenly came out of the woodwork to graciously offer everyone unlimited data? I was as floored as you; who would have ever thought that they had so much room in their magical internet…Read more...

$200 Gift Card w/ Samsung Galaxy A51 Purchase | $408 | VisibleRead more...

In some ways, the pandemic has forced us to be less wasteful and more environmentally friendly. We’re driving less, we’re using less public transportation, we’re supporting more local business. But now that we’re in the heat of the summer, home all day in the most stifling of temps and still trying to look presentable…Read more...

One of the best Amazon Prime perks is its rotating selection of free games on offer each month through the Twitch.tv “Twitch Prime” service. Even better, Amazon now has a new Amazon Games launcher that makes it far easier to claim, download and play these games on a PC—but installing the app in the first place is a…Read more...

Recently I’ve seen a few recipes for frozen strawberry cocktails (both daiquiris and margaritas) that somehow don’t call for syrup or sweetener of any kind. “Good strawberries are so sweet, you don’t need any sugar!” they say.Read more...

If you’re tired of making quarantine coffee at home or simply need a regular iced coffee fix to combat the summer heat—and if you have a Panera nearby—sign up right now for a free three-month MyPanera Coffee+ subscription.

Well, here we are. We’re knocking on July’s door and COVID-19 is still running rampant through many of our communities. Maybe you’ve added some socially distanced playdates into the mix by now, or maybe you’re starting to figure out how to safely venture out to a playground or a friend’s pool. If you haven’t run out…Read more...

If you accidentally delete a file, all hope isn’t lost. However, assuming you can’t just drag it back out of the Windows Recycle Bin—especially true if you, like me, tend to default to the more permanent Shift + Delete instead of just “delete”—you’re going to have to roll up your sleeves and try a slightly more…Read more...

Facebook’s iOS app is finally getting an official dark mode. Just like the dark modes in Facebook’s other apps—Messenger, Instagram and Whatsapp—turning on dark mode swaps the iOS app’s default white and blue interface with a black and grey theme. And it looks great, and should please those of you who haven’t already…Read more...

So you’re running dangerously low on hand soap in the middle of a global pandemic, and refills are hard to come by thanks to supply chain issues and ongoing panic buying. Or maybe you can’t venture out to the store to buy more until well after you’ve run out. You still need to wash your hands frequently—what to do?

My first day at Lifehacker was March 23, 2020—a bit over three months or three years ago. I received my employment offer on March 5, exactly one week before my wife and I pulled our kids out of New York City schools, rode the subway for the last time, and basically stopped going outside.Read more...

If you were a kid in the 1980s or ‘90s, you may remember reading predominantly in order to earn free Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas. Launched in 1984, Pizza Hut’s BOOK IT! program is built on the premise that the promise of cheesy, deep-dish goodness would be an effective enough motivator to get kids to read more…Read more...

When I think of lemonade, I always picture a pitcher—it’s just the most acceptable scale to envision. But an entire pitcher of lemonade requires many lemons, and sometimes I only have one. That’s okay, though; a single lemon is all that you need to make a perfect glass of lemonade.Read more...

Masks can be uncomfortable to wear, it’s true. And as most of us in the U.S. are not used to wearing them, so they’re also an uncomfortable reminder of how the pandemic has changed our lives. But if you’re looking for an excuse not to wear one, please leave the ADA and your fake medical condition out of this.…Read more...

This week, we’re finding the humor in our woes with help from John Moe, host of The Hilarious World of Depression podcast. John helps us understand what is funny—and sometimes even good—about depression, how we can recognize depression within ourselves and others and what to do about it when we find ourselves…Read more...

As the past few weeks of primaries have shown us, this election cycle is going to be a challenging one for voters—to say the least.Read more...

America is ... well. We are in quite the place, aren’t we. We originally published this July 4th playlist last year, thinking the country couldn’t possibly devolve further into chaos, and how wrong we were!Read more...

WWDC 2020 is over and done. And while I greatly enjoyed Apple’s virtual setup for the week-long series of events, I had even more fun digging deep into the latest beta for iOS 14 to find all the interesting features Apple didn’t talk about in its big keynote. And now, I’m sharing these digital treasures with you.Read more...

Eye contact isn’t easy for everyone. And now that we’ve been in isolation for months, it can be hard to remember how, exactly, to interact and function in the presence of other human beings. For now, the closest most of us get is on work video meetings, when you get a glimpse into your colleague’s quarantine life (and…Read more...

It took 26 years for someone to remake the 1984 horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street, but in the Content Wars of 2020, no one can afford to let a property lie fallow for that long. Hence, this year delivers not one but two reboots of the 2002 Japanese thriller Ju-On: The Grudge, which you may remember as the other…Read more...

AUKEY 5-in-1 USB-C Hub | $21 | AmazonRead more...

Before the days of GPS and smartphones, the American Automobile Association (AAA)’s TripTik was the way to plan and navigate your road trip. In fact, it’s been a travel staple for more than a century. There are updated, digital versions of TripTiks available through their app, but those resources are only for their…Read more...

Ever since Disney+, the company’s streaming service, launched in November 2019, it has quickly become a *family favorite (*including families of one). Although there were a few glitches in its first few weeks, those appear to be fixed, and users have since been able to focus on features like recommendation lists. But…Read more...

Are you a fan of science TV shows and documentaries? Though they’ve been around in some version since 1903, one 13-part series on PBS that aired in 1980 really captured the country’s attention. It was called “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage” and was created and written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan and Steven Soter, with Sagan…Read more...

While shopping may just seem like something you have to do to get the stuff you need, the way we spend our money has a bigger impact than we may think. Big-box retailers won’t miss the sale if you opt to purchase something from a small business. Plus, when you shop at independent stores, you’ll likely end up with…Read more...

Given the recent conversations about and demonstrations against racial injustice, the words “systemic” and “systematic” have been popping up a lot, and are sometimes used interchangeably. And while they do have the same root word, they also have different meanings. If you’re not quite sure exactly when to use each…Read more...

One of the few bright spots of the past few months of quarantine has been Josh Gad’s “Reunited Apart” YouTube series. Every few weeks, he hosts a virtual reunion with the stars and other members of the production team from some of the most beloved movies of the 1980s like “Lord of the Rings,” “Goonies,” “Back to the…Read more...

One of the new features coming in iOS 14 is the ability to customize your car’s CarPlay interface with one of several new wallpapers. If you don’t know, CarPlay lets you control your car’s stereo and other connected smart car accessories with Siri voice commands, and this version of iOS marks the first time users will…Read more...

Customers at a cafe in Germany were asked to wear pool noodle hats to enforce social distancing and we were blessed with this viral photo. So, of course, we had to test it.Read more...

I have often heard of people saying that they were pickpocketed when traveling or that they believe a hotel worker stole money from their belongings. Whether your wallet gets nabbed at the Colosseum in Rome or a pickpocketer swipes it when you’re hopping on a local train line in Barcelona, you’ll never suspect your…Read more...

Starting when we’re children in school, we’re often labeled based on how other people perceive our “achievement.” Some kids are dubbed “underachievers” if parents or educators don’t believe they’re “living up to their full potential” (whatever that means). On the flip side, others are deemed “overachievers,” if…Read more...

In our continuing series of improvised home workout gear, today we’re going to talk about how to do pull-ups or inverted rows at home. If you’re used to doing pull-ups on a bar or using cable machines like a lat pulldown, that’s hard to recreate with home equipment. But you do have a few options.Read more...

Campari, with its burnt, bitter citrus notes and syrupy, almost medicinal character, is not often thought of as “summery.” That particular honor belongs to Aperol. But Campari can do summer just as well as its sweeter cousin. It goes great in a spritz, but you can fashion it into a fruity, refreshing after-dinner…Read more...

I have a lot of apps on my iPhone. You have a lot of apps on your iPhone. That’s just the of way life in the digital world. It’s gotten so bad that at one point, I had apps on my phone that weren’t even compatible with my iPhone X’s slim-bezel layout. I’ve had apps on my phone that were so old, they wouldn’t even run…Read more...