The Best Dispensers and Reusable Containers to Better Organize Any Bathroom

You may already know the benefits of decanting everything you buy—basically, that putting soaps, snacks, and everything else into sturdier storage boxes makes your home look nicer and keeps your stuff more organized. For the most part, this is helpful in the kitchen, but you know where else dispensers and organizers really shine? The bathroom. Here are some cool ideas for how to dispense and store your bathroom essentials. (And don't forget to check if your city has a refill store where you can bring these dispensers to fill them with products, avoiding purchasing single-use plastics altogether.)

Toothpaste dispensers

What makes toothpaste dispensers so useful is the lack of mess. Regular toothpaste tubes can get crusty, especially if you're someone who isn't great about securing the cap every time. They're also hard to squeeze toward the end, so any device that eliminates that struggle is well worth the investment.

iHave Toothbrush Holders for Bathrooms

$19.00

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$19.00

$19.99 Save $0.99

This bad boy has a drawer to store small items, a shelf to store bigger ones, and enclosed toothbrush storage so your brushes aren't exposed to the bathroom air. Here are a few other options:

• If all you want is a toothpaste dispenser with no storage, this little wall-mounted one ($8.63) will do the trick.

• This wall-mounted dispenser has space for two electric toothbrushes and four regular ones ($9.99).

Shampoo dispensers

You know how it feels strangely luxurious when you're at a nice gym or hotel and the shampoo comes out of a dispenser mounted in the shower? I like to have that experience all the time instead of battling with slippery bottles.

Better Living Products 72350 Clear Choice 3-Chamber Shower Dispenser

$38.18

$38.18

You could also try standard pump bottles if wall-mounting isn't an option. As with the wall-mounted device above, it's better to get clear containers so you can more easily monitor when you need a restock or refill (which is another reason these are better than using the opaque bottles your products come in). Try this four-pack for $9.98.

Soap dispensers

Nothing classes up a bathroom like a nice soap dispenser. Before I started using soap dispensers that matched my decor, I'd buy colorful soap bottles that did—even if I hated the smell. With the introduction of soap dispensers to my very classy and sophisticated life, I can have whatever scent I want and keep my vanity looking fresh. Here's the set I bought for my boyfriend, which basically revolutionized his bathroom by making everything from the garbage can to the toilet brush to, yes, the soap dispenser match:

Black Bathroom Accessories Set, 10Pcs Bathroom Accessory Set

$29.99

$29.99

Of course, you don't need to get all of that. You can find a variety of soap dispensers, like this set of two black pump bottles ($7.99) or even this wall-mounted one that saves you some counter space ($17.89).

Other bathroom decanting options

Don't store your toilet paper in the big plastic monstrosity it came in. Instead, use this sleek storage bin, which is slim enough to fit next to the toilet ($23.99). Menstrual products take up a lot of valuable drawer and cabinet space, too, so this little wall-mounted dispenser is a discreet, useful solution ($12.98). Finally, this pack of little jars is perfect for q-tips, cotton balls, flossers, or other little self-care essentials ($6.90).

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How to Recover Deleted Files and Photos on Android and iOS

It's not a great feeling, realizing you've accidentally deleted an important photo or document on your phone. Maybe you've picked the wrong file, or you've tapped the wrong button, but it's easily done—and it's not the kind of mistake you're always going to notice right away, either.

The good news is that Android, iOS, and the apps that run on top of them now come with safety nets built in. There's a decent chance you're going to be able to get that deleted data back—it's just a question of knowing where to look, and that depends on the app you used to do the deleting.

If you can't get your files back using the methods we've described below, then you're going to have to dig deeper—perhaps into your phone backups (which you should have set up, in case your phone gets lost or stolen).

Google Photos (Android and iOS)

If you use Google Photos to manage photos and videos on your phone, open the Library tab, then tap the Trash folder. Tap on a file then Restore to undelete it; or, press and hold on one file, then select multiple items, then tap Restore. Google Photos will keep deleted photos and videos in the Trash folder for 60 days before erasing them completely.

Apple Photos (iOS)

Over on the default photos and videos app for the iPhone, deleted files can be found by going to Albums then Recently Deleted. Here, deleted files are kept around for 40 days (you can see the days remaining on each item). Tap a photo or video then choose Recover to bring it back, or use the Select button to pick multiple items to restore at once.

Samsung Gallery (Android)

If you're using the Samsung Gallery app found on its Galaxy phones to manage your photos and videos, open the app and tap the three horizontal lines (bottom right), then pick Recycle bin to view and restore files. You might also see photos and videos deleted by third-party apps here too, depending on how you've set up integrations on your phone.

Restoring files in Files by Google. Credit: Lifehacker

Files by Google (Android)

In the default file manager on Android, tap the three horizontal lines (top left), then Trash. Any files that have been sent here will be kept for 30 days before being erased completely, and they're listed in groups based on when they were originally deleted. To bring any of the deleted files back to their original locations, select them and tap on Restore.

My Files (Android)

If you're on a Samsung Galaxy phone, you might be using My Files rather than Files by Google to manage locally stored data. Open up the app and you'll see a Recycle bin link on the front screen for viewing and restoring files—as with the Gallery app, you'll possibly see files deleted by other apps in here, depending on the file type and syncing options.

Files (iOS)

If you've deleted something from your iPhone, you might find it inside the iOS Files app, up to 30 days afterwards: Open the Browse tab, then tap Recently Deleted to view and restore files. Note that the Files app can also manage your various cloud storage accounts (like iCloud), so there may be some crossover with the other options mentioned here.

Restoring files in Files on iOS. Credit: Lifehacker

Google Drive (Android and iOS)

Any file deleted from inside Google Drive or synced to it is recoverable for 30 days afterwards: From inside the mobile app, tap the three horizontal lines (top left), then Trash. You can browse through the files just like any other Google Drive folder, and if you tap the three dots to the right of any of the files listed, there's a Restore option.

iCloud Drive (iOS)

If you're using iCloud Drive in addition to the Files app on iOS, you've got an extra layer of protection when it comes to accidentally erasing your stuff. You can either get at your deleted files from the Browse tab in the Files app as described above, or through iCloud Drive on the web—just click on Recently Deleted in the side panel on the left.

Other apps (Android and iOS)

If you're using some kind of cloud-based storage alongside your phone, you should have an undelete feature to fall back on. Dropbox, for example, keeps deleted files for 30 days (or longer on paid plans), but you need to go to the desktop web interface to find them: Click Deleted files in the left-hand pane to see a list of files and bring them back if needed.

Microsoft OneDrive has a built-in safety net to make use of as well, and it's called—you guessed it—the recycle bin. From the mobile app, tap Me and then Recycle bin to see files that have recently been wiped from your OneDrive account. To restore any of them back to their original locations, tap the three dots (on the right-hand side), then Restore.

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The Apple Watch SE Is (Probably) All the Smartwatch You Need

Sometimes, the most expensive option isn’t the best one, and smartwatches are no exception. For the past two weeks, I’ve swapped out my typical Apple Watch SE for the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and for the most part, I much prefer the $249 pick to the $799 one.

From an always-on display to an Action button, there’s a lot to love about the Apple Watch Ultra 2. But it’s a highly specialized device, with a lot of features included that most people won’t need. Even if cost wasn't a factor, I’d bet a good amount of folks would still prefer either an Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch Series 9.

Let’s break down the pros and cons of Apple’s most expensive and least expensive watches to help you find which one is right for you.

Why get a smart watch?

I didn’t start wearing a smartwatch until just after the pandemic, when I started commuting to work more often. I’m not much of an athlete, and I thought the whole thing was kind of silly, like wearing a “please mug me” sign. I suppose people once said the same thing about flip phones.

The Apple Watch SE is meant for someone like me. It’s small, lightweight, and does just enough to win me over. I like to think of it like an updated iPod Nano. It’s a tiny box I can use to control my media, use tap-to-pay, and occasionally track walks. That’s all I need, but it was convenient enough that I’ve grown to love the thing and how it lets me keep my phone in my bag while on the train.

Others, however, have bought into smartwatches since the beginning. They love the detailed sensors higher-end models come with, the luxury looks available with an upgrade, and feeling their hefty cases on their wrists. For these people, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is a great choice.

What does each Apple Watch model come with?

Apple currently sells three Apple Watch models, and I’ve tested two. None are bad choices, but they each cater to a different audience, so there’s a lot to take into account even if money is no object.

The cheapest Apple Watch is the Apple Watch SE, which comes with the smallest size option and bare minimum specs. For $249, its aluminum body packs a 1,000 nit display, a battery that’s advertised to hold up to an 18 hour charge, the S8 chip (powering features like Siri and Find my iPhone), and an optical heart rate monitor. You’ll get water resistance up to a 164 feet depth, and for a $50 upcharge, you can add in the ability to connect a cellular plan.

The Apple Watch Series 9 is one step up and starts at $399 (cellular adds $100 to the price, and you can pay even more for a stainless steel case). For that extra money, you’ll get a 2,000 nit always-on display, the S9 chip (unlocking the double tap feature and upgrading Siri as well as Find my iPhone), a new ECG, temperature sensing, fast charging, and a low power mode for your battery that’s purported to last up to 36 hours.

Finally, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 starts at $799 and only comes in one model, with additional upcharges being reserved for accessories. All Ultra 2 models have a titanium case, a 3,000 nit always-on display, the S9 chip, 328 feet of water resistance, an upgraded GPS, cellular compatibility, and a purported battery life of up to 36 hours in normal use and 72 hours in low power mode. There’s also an orange Action button on the side and additional sensors including a gyroscope and a depth gauge.

All Apple Watch models come with OLED screens, a digital crown, speakers (although they’re upgraded on the Ultra), and a menu button, but if we were to discuss everything that’s different about them, we’d be here all day. For more details, check Apple’s site, but even with everything I’ve already laid out, I’ve yet to touch on the most important difference.

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is too big and heavy for my wrist

Remember how I called the Apple Watch SE an updated iPod Nano? That wouldn’t fly with the Apple Watch Ultra 2.

The SE comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes (I have the 40), and weighs a max of 33g even on the larger model with cellular included. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 only comes in 49mm, and weighs 61.4g.

This thing is chonky, especially for a smaller wrist like mine, and feels less like wearing a control center for your iPhone—or perhaps a whole separate iPhone entirely. It’s cool for bragging rights, but less so for the type of everyday use that sold me on smartwatches in the first place. 

Outside of its specialty use cases, the always-on display is about the only upgrade I actually enjoyed for most of my time using it. Everything else was just a burden.

If you’re like me, the Ultra 2 is just a bad pick, even if you can afford it and usually opt for top-of-the-line options like the M3 Max MacBook Pro. You’ll end up getting a lot you don’t use, and a worse experience with what you do, so do yourself a favor and cheap out.

When is the Apple Watch Ultra 2 worth it?

But that doesn’t mean the additions to the Ultra 2 are just back-of-the-box selling points that Apple is using to jack up the price. They’re genuinely useful for people who need it, i.e. outdoorsy folks.

The whole reason I started this comparison was to test out the updated Golfshot app, a golf course assistant for Android, iOS, and Apple Watch. Earlier this month, it got an update for Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2  that was a genuine game changer, and could totally make the upgrade worth it for me if I were a big golfer.

On top of adding driving ranges to the app’s lineup of courses, the update makes use of the Apple Watch Ultra line’s extra sensors to track your swing in detail every time. SwingID allows the app to track factors like tempo, rhythm, backswing, and the like, and while it’s available on Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra can track your swing at 800hz, allowing it to detect exactly when you hit the ball.

In just a short few hours of play, I managed to use this data to see what was causing my shots to veer off to the right so frequently, and ended the session straightening them out.

It’s cases like this where Apple Watch shines. For instance, the extra waterproofing and Depth app makes it a diving companion, while the detailed watch face options, extra large battery, loud speakers, and cellular connectivity make it useful for keeping hikers both informed and safe.

I’m not likely to use these features anytime soon, but given that competing activity watches like Garmin’s Mk3 Dive Computer can reach into the thousands of dollars, the Apple Watch Ultra could be a fair replacement for more specialized equipment.

The large size also puts Apple Watch Ultra in greater competition with luxury watches. I tend not to pick my outfit for bragging rights, but there’s no arguing that the Ultra doesn’t look slick, especially if you add on one of Apple’s official Hermès bands.

Do I need Apple Watch Ultra if I’m just going to the gym?

I like to view Apple Watch Ultra best as a specialty activity companion, and while I did try wearing it to the gym, I didn’t get much out of it. My typical day at the gym involves about a half-hour of using the elliptical and ten minutes of weight lifting, and for this, the Ultra only really gave me one benefit: the Action button.

On the side of both Apple Watch Ultras is an orange Action button that can be set to trigger anything from a stopwatch to a flashlight (which turns the watch’s screen white and sets it to max brightness). Most available Action button functions are also available as features on the Apple Watch SE and Series 9, but require digging through menus, so being able to turn them on with a single button press is convenient. It's a similar experience to the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max.

I set the Action button to start my workout, and I could press it again to pause workouts. I didn’t notice too much deviation in the recorded data on either watch, but because I usually just wait for my SE to detect when I’m working out before starting tracking, I was able to more accurately time my workout tracking on the Ultra 2. The SE, for all its lightweight convenience, can be a little slow to notice when I’m in the gym.

If you work out outside, there’s also the larger battery to take note of. I usually have to charge my SE every night, but I was able to get away with charging it every other night on the Ultra 2. You’ll still be set for hours either way, but you’re less likely to accidentally wear a dead watch with the more expensive model.

Aside from in-exercise tracking, there is also something to be said for the ECG and Cycle Tracking apps. While these are also available on the more modestly priced Series 9, the closest the SE offers is the ability to manually log cycles.

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

Which Apple Watch should I get?

The best Apple Watch for you may not be the one with the most bells and whistles. I prefer a small, lightweight device with a minimal interface that I can mostly use as a companion while commuting, so the SE isn’t just a budget compromise to me: It’s my favorite option.

The Ultra 2, meanwhile, is great for people who regularly dive, golf, hike, or engage in some other more intense outdoor hobby. Its extra sensors and more rugged design allow it to keep up with more expensive specialty equipment, and despite its bulk, it’s still capable of everyday use cases like tap-to-pay.

The Series 9 is a great compromise. Its smallest option is only a touch larger than the SE’s, it comes in more colors, and it has a few extra sensors without getting as big as the Ultra 2. It’s a good splurge pick, but be sure to look up whether you’ll actually use its extra sensors paying the extra $150 for it.

Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) [GPS 40mm] Smartwatch with Midnight Aluminum Case with Midnight Sport Band M/L. Fitness & Sleep Tracker, Crash Detection, Heart Rate Monitor

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Apple Watch Series 9

$329.00 at Amazon

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$329.00 at Amazon

$399.00 Save $70.00

Apple Watch Ultra 2

$779.99 at Amazon

$779.99 at Amazon

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What a 'Mortgage Loan Modification' Is, and When You Should Get One

If you're struggling to make your monthly mortgage payments due to financial hardship, a loan modification could provide much-needed relief. A mortgage loan modification is a permanent change to your loan terms that is agreed to by your lender in order to make the payments more affordable and help you avoid foreclosure.

What does mortgage loan modification look like?

Common ways a loan can be modified include:

• Reducing the interest rate, even if only temporarily

• Extending the loan term to spread costs over more years

• Adding missed payments to the loan balance

• Switching to a different loan program or type

The end goal of a modification is to get you into a more affordable payment based on your current financial situation. Lenders are often willing to modify loans for borrowers facing legitimate hardships, rather than go through an expensive foreclosure process.

What qualifies as a hardship?

To be eligible for a mortgage modification, you'll need to prove you are facing a real financial hardship that is impacting your ability to pay. Hardships that may qualify include:

• Job loss or income reduction

• Unmanageable increase in housing expenses

• Excessive debt or monthly obligations

• Divorce or death of a spouse

• Serious illness or disability

Your lender will require documentation of your hardship circumstances as well as detailed information on your income, assets, expenses, and other debts. Having missed mortgage payments already often strengthens the case for modification.

How to apply for a loan modification

The first step is to contact your mortgage servicer (the company you make monthly payments to), and specifically inquire about their loan modification programs. Many participating in government-sponsored programs, which have specific eligibility criteria.

You'll need to fill out a modification application package with detailed documentation on your hardship, income, assets, and any other requested information. Be prepared to provide evidence with documents like tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements, bills, and more.

Your servicer will run the numbers to determine the most affordable modified payment plan they are willing to offer based on your specific situation and loan characteristics. You may be required to do credit counseling or go through a trial payment period successfully before the modification is made permanent.

If approved, the new modified terms will be documented and made permanent. While your credit will take a hit, a loan modification is better than foreclosure or bankruptcy for your credit score in the long run.

Even if you're not yet behind on payments but see financial challenges ahead, it's better to work with your servicer proactively on a solution rather than get behind. Being transparent about your hardship and exploring modification options early can help you avoid further setbacks and keep you in your home long-term.

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All the Ways You Can Customize Google Calendar

Google Calendar falls into that category of apps that you probably just load up and use without too much thought. It's designed to be clean, lightweight, and functional by default, and that's perfect when you need to quickly check up on your schedule.

However, you've got more options for changing the look of Google Calendar on the web than you might have realized. Dig a little deeper into the settings, and you'll find you're able to tweak what's on screen in a variety of ways, from the number of days you can see at once, to how recurring and past events are handled in the interface.

If Google Calendar is a key tool you rely on, it makes sense to get it set up in the way that will be most useful to you—providing less clutter, quicker access to the info you need, and less time wasted clicking through to additional screens. Here are all the different settings worth adjsuting.

Custom views

Whatever view you're currently using for Google Calendar on the web, you can change it by clicking on the drop-down menu in the top right corner, to the right of the gear button. It'll be labeled with the name of the current view, like Month or Week. The same drop-down menu features some basic view options, such as whether or not declined events and weekends are shown on screen.

To really take control over what you can see, you can create a custom view. Click the gear button (top right), then Settings and View options. In the Set custom view drop-down menu, you'll see you can choose everything from 2 days to 4 weeks as the time period displayed when you load up Google Calendar in your web browser.

Get Google Calendar to show a specific number of days on screen. Credit: Lifehacker

The setting is saved automatically, and will appear as the last option in the drop-down menu on the main Google Calendar screen (with the Month and Week options in it). Unfortunately, the same custom view option doesn't sync to the mobile Google Calendar apps—you have to make do with the default ones

Back on the View options page, there's another drop-down menu that lets you control what day the week should start on—Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. This changes the layout of any view where you're looking at more than seven days together at once. Last but not least, there's a keyboard shortcut you can make use of in the Google Calendar web app to quickly jump to your custom view: Just tap the X key.

Other view options

Click the gear icon (top right), choose Settings and View options, and you'll see there are several other ways to configure the look of Google Calendar, besides creating your own custom view. Use Reduce the brightness of past events to have older calendar entries look more faded on screen, for example—a handy way of helping you see where you're up to in your current schedule.

There are check boxes for showing or hiding weekends, showing or hiding events you've declined invitations to, and showing or hiding completed tasks. Getting some of these details off screen can reduce the clutter in Google Calendar, making your timetable easier on the eye. Number labels for the weeks can be shown or hidden too.

You can change the density of the layout and the color choices too. Credit: Lifehacker

Open up the Time zone tab on the Settings page, and you're able to get a secondary time zone displayed on the day and week views—this makes it easier to see how events are scheduled across different parts of the world. You can also enable several time zone clocks in the side panel on the left, via the World clock tab: You can see at a glance what time it is in a city (and what the weather's currently doing, too).

Then you've got the settings you can edit on the actual Google Calendar view itself. Click the three horizontal lines (top left) to show or hide the left-hand side panel, and in that panel use the check boxes to show and hide individual calendars—a quick way of focusing on what you really need to see. You can also click the gear icon (top right) then Density and color to tweak the text size and label colors used.

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You Can Use Pretty Much All of ChatGPT for Free Now

OpenAI continues to expand the options available to free ChatGPT users. The company started by making its newest model, GPT-4o, generally free to all users—though there are limitations unless you pay—and now it has expanded the accessibility of major 4o features by removing the paywalls on file uploads, vision (which can use your camera for input), and GPTs (or custom chatbots). Browse, data analysis, and memory, also formerly paywalled features, were already available to free users in a similarly limited capacity.

OpenAI has been clear about its plans to expand the offerings that its free users can take advantage of since it first revealed GPT-4o a few weeks back, and it has made good on those promises so far. With these changes, it makes paying for ChatGPT Plus even less important for many, which is surprisingly a good thing for OpenAI. More users means more usage testing—something that will only help improve the models running ChatGPT.

There will, of course, still be usage limits on the free version of ChatGPT. Once you reach those limits, you’ll be kicked back to GPT 3.5, as OpenAI hasn’t made GPT 4 or GPT 4 Turbo accessible in the free tier. Despite that, some paid users are not exactly happy with the change, with many wondering what the point of ChatGPT Plus is supposed to be now.

Paying users still get up to five times more messages with GPT-4o than free users do, but that hasn't stopped some from taking to social media to ask questions like “what about the paid users?” and “what do paid users get? False hopes of GPT5.”

ChatGPT Plus subscribers still get access to the ability to make their own GPTs, and based on everything we know so far, Plus users are the only ones who will get 4o's upcoming voice-activated mode, though that could certainly change in the future.

Giving more people access to ChatGPT’s best features brings the chatbot in line with one of its biggest competitors, Claude, which allows free users access to the latest version of its AI model (albeit it through a less powerful version of that model).

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These Tools Let You Run Windows Apps on macOS

Getting the Windows experience on a Mac computer has become more difficult with the arrival of Apple's own chipsets: The Boot Camp Assistant developed by Apple that allowed dual-booting doesn't work at all with Apple silicon computers, while emulators like Parallels aren't quite as straightforward to use on these newer systems either.

With that in mind, if you do need to get a Windows program running on macOS, it's easier to just focus on that one app—rather than emulating the entire operating system. There are a couple of user-friendly tools for macOS that can help here, so you can bring over your favorite Windows apps to your Mac without too much trouble.

Wineskin

Wineskin is the free option here, and it uses the Homebrew package manager. You need to open up Terminal on macOS, type the following command, then hit Enter:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Once the Homebrew installation process completes, you'll see instructions to run the following commands to complete the setup, with your account name listed where

(echo; echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"') >> /Users/

eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

With Homebrew set up successfully, you're ready to install Wineskin. At the Terminal prompt, enter the following text and press Enter:

brew install --cask --no-quarantine gcenx/wine/unofficial-wineskin

When you see the message telling you that Wineskin has been installed, you can close down the Terminal and open Wineskin from the Applications folder in Finder, or by looking for it in Spotlight.

Setting up Wineskin on macOS. Credit: Lifehacker

First up, you need to install an engine by clicking on the + (plus) icon—it's fine to select the default one that pops up, but sometimes different Windows apps need different engines, so you may need to swap if you're experiencing problems. Then, click Update Wrapper to get the latest master wrapper, which packages your app of choice in a way that means it can run on macOS.

With that done, click Create New Blank Wrapper. At this point you need to give your new wrapper a name to identify it and the program it's running. Your wrapper will be set up in Finder, in the Wineskin folder in your user applications list (you'll be asked if you want to jump straight to it when the initial setup process has been completed).

You'll need to point Wineskin to a Windows executable. Credit: Lifehacker

Launch this wrapper, and you're then ready to choose the Windows executable you want to run. Try Install Software first, as this is the easiest option: You can point Wineskin to a setup file, or a folder of files (for portable apps). Wineskin should handle the process of getting everything configured, and you can then run the wrapper whenever you like to use the Windows application.

If this doesn't work for the program you're using, click Advanced on the main Wineskin dialog to access more options—you can point the tool towards specific executables, change how Windows keys are remapped to macOS keys, and customize various other aspects of the way Wineskin tries to run this particular program.

CrossOver

CrossOver offers a library of Windows software to install. Credit: Lifehacker

CrossOver is the paid option: It'll set you back $74, but there is a free 14-day trial available so you can see if it's worth your while before parting with any cash. It's a little more user-friendly than Wineskin and gives you more help along the way, so some people will find it the better choice even with the cost attached.

Get the software installed and set up, then simply search for the Windows program you want to run—like Steam, for example, if you want to do some gaming. You'll see each app title is accompanied by a star rating that tells you how well the program works through CrossOver on macOS (which can save you some money buying apps and games that aren't going to work great).

Setting up a Windows app on macOS with CrossOver. Credit: Lifehacker

When you've got the program you want, click Install, and everything is handled for you. CrossOver gets the Windows application set up, and within a few minutes you should be enjoying your Windows software on macOS. CrossOver keeps a list of your installed programs as "bottles" in its main interface, and you can select them from there to run them and configure various aspects of how they're deployed on macOS.

If the program you want to run isn't listed in the Install screen in CrossOver, click the Install an unlisted application option on the right. The process here is a little bit more involved, but not overly so—you'll need to give CrossOver more details about the application that you're trying to install, and where the setup executable is.

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This Robot Lawn Mower Failed to Deliver on All Counts

The most notable thing I’ve learned about robot lawn mowers: How the lawn mower maps, matters. Originally, these mowers all used buried wire to determine the boundaries that the robots couldn’t cross. Then RTK (which stands for "Real Time Kinematic positioning"—essentially, GPS with some additional localized data) made it possible for people to define the boundary without a wire by simply walking the robot around the perimeter of the yard during setup, as long as the robot was in sight of the RTK tower. Now, Ecovacs has attempted something new with the GOAT GX-600 ($999): The device simply uses LiDAR to figure out where to mow and not mow. (LiDAR is what robot vacuums use.)

The problem is, it doesn’t work. Despite trying the GOAT on multiple different lawn setups,I could never get it to complete even one run. It failed to see the entire lawn, often mowed the same area back and forth many times instead of moving to a new area, ignored boundaries like sidewalks, and refused to cross boundaries it should, like walkways. Additionally, it got stuck so often—even on flat, freshly mowed grass—that it was hard to imagine that you’d ever feel confident enough to let the GOAT work autonomously, which is the whole point of a robot.

At least it's light

This is actually the third iteration of the GOAT, and while the v1 and v2 versions of the GOAT seem to have had more success based on previous reviews, neither appear to be available anymore. To its credit, the GX-600 was the easiest robot lawn mower to put together of any I’ve tested. The entire charging base comes already assembled, as did the robot. There are no additional parts, wires, or RTK towers—you just plug it in and send the robot out to explore your lawn. The base, made of plastic, and the robot were both light enough to move around (which I did a lot of). 

Troublesome connections

It took a few tries to pair the GOAT with the app, but it was still easy enough to do in under 10 minutes by power cycling the robot. In the case of most lawn mower apps, you can access a lot of settings from the app interface, whether the mower is online or not. In the case of Ecovacs, you can only access these settings while the mower is online. Once it is, you can connect via Bluetooth or wifi, with some operations requiring the Bluetooth. Most operations you set on the robot itself, like setting the height of the lawn. From the app, you can set schedules, and decide to operate the robot in auto mode or manual mode. Manual mode is code for “remote control,” which is a feature easier to find on other apps. I routinely had trouble connecting via Bluetooth to the robot, even when only 10 feet away, and it’s a requirement for the manual mode. I had to use manual mode a lot on the GOAT to try and move it out of an area it was having trouble with, and I struggled to connect and maintain that connection. 

Too picky for its own good

Most robot lawn mowers claim to work on most lawns, inhibited only by square footage and incline. The GOAT, based on the way it maps, is different. Ecovacs has an entire pre-purchase quiz to help you decide if the GOAT is right for you, and there are several parameters that might rule your lawn out. First, your lawn needs to be enclosed, either by a physical boundary like a fence or a sidewalk. Second, it has to be mostly contiguous—it can only be broken up by one walkway less than 1m (three feet) across. Third, any interior “islands,” such as planting beds, raised beds or other obstacles like lawn furniture, must have a physical barrier around them that the robot can sense.

Promised features didn't work

The Ecovacs GOAT insisted on mowing this individual strip over and over, for twenty minutes but never got the rest of the lawn. Credit: Amanda Blum

On the first lawn I tried—which featured large expanse of grass with no islands or any kind, but with an incline, surrounded by fences and sidewalks, and divided by one 24-inch walkway—the GOAT never completed a single mowing cycle. The GOAT was able to find the boundary of the first half of the lawn and circled around a few times, and then began to mow. Instead of mowing across the lawn, it mowed the same strip, up and back, for almost 20 minutes, and then moved over only marginally, so it was still getting half of the same strip of lawn. After an hour it hadn’t gotten half the lawn done, and eventually, it stalled on a sidewalk. Since a sidewalk is supposed to be one of the boundaries the robot will respect, I was surprised it even ventured onto it, making it a tripping hazard and prime candidate for being stolen. At the same time, it refused to cross the 24-inch walkway, which was well under the three-foot threshold.

Over a slow and painful back-and-forth with support over a few days, they first reminded me that the robot would only cross a threshold that was narrower than three feet. When I pointed out it was, they then returned saying that the robot could not cross any threshold, and i could just pick the robot up and put it back down on the other side and send it out to mow. This also did not work—the mower issued an error message saying it was out of the mappable zone, and picking the mower up means re-entering the PIN on the robot. Even worse, the robot refused to return to the dock in most cases. Even when the dock was placed in precisely the spot support recommended, the robot returned to the dock about 60% of the time. Still, I tried to send the robot out every day for a week to see if things would improve before giving up. 

Even on a perfectly flat lawn, that had just been mowed, the GOAT got stuck. Credit: Amanda Blum

No better on a perfect lawn

I then tried out the GOAT on a medium-sized backyard lawn that is flat and well-maintained, has no islands, and most importantly, is completely surrounded by fencing. It had just been mowed when we showed up. I just wanted to see if the GOAT would make one complete run. Even on a completely flat ground, the robot got its blades stuck every few feet, stopping and reporting an error. From the app, you can “ignore” these errors, so after checking for a block the first few times, I started ignoring these errors and asking the mower to continue. It would only continue a few inches before having another error. I tried moving the robot to another location inside the lawn to see if that would help, but it didn’t. At least on this lawn, the robot returned to dock. 

On my last attempt—a small, completely enclosed lawn that measured 30x15 feet—we experienced more of the same. The GOAT got stopped while going along the boundary, and when it started mowing the inside, it missed giant swaths of lawn and frequently reported errors. 

For every other robot lawnmower, this docking position would work, but the GOAT wasn't able to find it. Credit: Amanda Blum

A complete failure

I have enjoyed Ecovac robot vacuums; I trust the brand to make reliable robots for inside the house. But I have never had an experience like this, where every single aspect of a product fails. The GOAT has yet to accurately map a boundary for me, or to mow the entire space inside a boundary it creates. It is unreliable in coming back to the dock, and went into spaces it shouldn’t (like sidewalks) more than once. It is hard to connect to via Bluetooth, rendering some features like manual mode unusable, and couldn’t move across a lawn that was completely flat (and already mowed!) without reporting constant errors. 

Missing key robot lawn mower features

It feels silly to mention the price at this point ($999) since there’s very little I’ve said to convince you to buy this particular robot. This is mid to lower range for most lawn robots, and I’d be game to try the next GOAT to see how it changes. However, putting the features of the GOAT that don’t work aside, this robot didn’t include a lot of features that are important in other models, like the ability to affect mowing pattern, multi-zone support, the ability to see where your robot is on a map, or what areas of the map have and haven’t been mowed.

There's a big difference between a robot vacuum and a robot lawn mower. A robot lost in your living room can’t do a lot of damage. A vacuum can be stuck under a couch for weeks without anyone stealing it, or someone tripping over it. Outside, we need a lot of faith that our robots really are autonomous, and will do what they’re meant to, so they don’t become a hazard or become vulnerable to stealing. Perhaps another mower will convince me this RTK-less method of mapping works, but for now, I’m sticking to mowers that let you set a boundary, and then stick to it. For large lawns or those with steep inclines or rough terrain,, the Mammotion Luba 2 is incredibly reliable. For smaller lawns or those with more smaller turns and delicate areas, I recommend the Segway Navimow.

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My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: iPad 10th Generation

The iPad Pro and iPad Air came out earlier this month, but the 10th Generation iPad is yet to have its predecessor announced, with only rumors about its release. Back in 2022, when it was released, the 10th Generation iPad was $449, with some limited-time deals dropping the price to $349 earlier this year. Right now, you can get the 64GB Wifi iPad for $299.99 after using the $29.01 on-page coupon, the lowest price it has been since its release (including Black Friday), according to price-checking tools.

Apple iPad (10th Generation)

A14 Bionic chip, 10.9-inch Liquid Retina Display, 64GB, Wi-Fi 6, 12MP front/12MP Back Camera, Touch

$349.00 at Amazon

$349.00 at Amazon

The 10th-generation iPad is considered Apple’s entry-level tablet and is one of the best tablets you can buy. It was considered the “best tablet for most people” in 2022, according to PCMag’s “excellent” review. Back then it was not considered a "budget" tablet, given its higher base price when compared to previous models. However, at its current $299.99 price, it's much more affordable and trumps any tablet below the $300 price.

One of the best upgrades this iPad received is its buttonless design, which brings it in line with its higher-end Apple Pro tablet sibling. It measures 9.79 by 7.07 by 0.28 inches and includes the latest A14 Bionic chip, a 10.9-inch liquid retina display, 64GB of storage, a 12MP front and back camera, Touch ID, and a battery that Apple promises will last all day.

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Recommended iPad accessories:

• Apple Magic Keyboard Folio for iPad 10th Gen (Open Box), ($94.97)

• Apple Pencil (USB-C), $69 (originally $79)

• MoKo Case for iPad 10th Generation, ($7.99)

• Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation), $229 (originally $249)

• Apple AirPods (3rd Generation), $125.68 (originally $169), lowest price ever

• Apple AirPods (2nd Generation), $89 (originally $129) $10 off its lowest price ever

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If you are considering this iPad, useful accessories include the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio, which will make your iPad work like a laptop, and the Apple Pencil USB-C, which will allow you to make the most of your iPad's touchscreen abilities.

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The Brisk It Origin Is the Best Smart Grill I've Ever Used

I’m hardly a noob when it comes to smoking meat on the grill, but I’ve never owned a real smoker, and certainly not one that could have a conversation with me. But after a month of testing smart smokers on everything from meat, to cheese, to vegetables and fish, I’ve learned is that using a smart smoker can take all the uncertainty out of smoking your food. I’d go as far as to say that a smart app and a good smoker are the perfect marriage of technology and function, and the Brisk It Origin 580 Smart Grill with AI is the best, most functional smoker I've ever used.

This grill offers the most control, recipe options, temperature range and smokiness of any smart grill I've tested, and with the least amount of intervention necessary. It can make smoking a casual weeknight affair, and it does all this at a relatively reasonable price of $899 on Amazon (though it's on sale right now for $629 if you order direct from Brisk It).

A solid grill body, but some flimsier details

Like every other grill I tested, the Origin requires assembly, which took me about an hour. The "brains" of the grill, as well as the pellet hopper, are located on one side, with a collapsible tray on the front. The grill itself offers 580 square inches between the active grill space and an additional grate above. Brisk It decided to forego the traditional cabinet under the grill, but I didn't miss it much.

The steel shell build feels solid and sturdy, though I found some of the accent pieces, like stainless steel handles, broke easily and jiggled no matter how much tension I applied to the screws, and got hot quickly. The grill also comes with an adhesive backed foam you use line the lid so it closes without a bang, but the heat dissolved the adhesive quickly, so the foam all peeled off during my the first cook, though this did not seem to affect the performance of the grill in any way. Lastly, the metal on the side trays seemed to stain easily. These issues aside, I am still happy with the sturdiness of the grill. 

Wood pellets, not charcoal

Instead of charcoal, this grill uses wood pellets, which you can purchase from Brisk It (mine were supplied alongside the grill for testing) or buy in a series of flavors from any other provider. After using the Masterbuilt, which relies on manual addition of charcoal and hardwood chunks, I spent a lot of time trying to decide if I prefer an all-wood pellet smoke. The pellets earn points for ease of use—they are supplied to the grill via an auger and require no intervention except an occasional refill. This is a relatively small grill by Brisk It's standards, yet it holds 22 pounds of pellets, and I never needed to add more while using it. Compared with charcoal, the pellets provide a far smokier cook, all the way through.

While I didn’t miss the charcoal on my hands or having to juggle items on the cooktop to top off the wood, if you are looking for a more hands on approach that allows you to play with different wood, charcoal grills offer more flexibility. If you prefer to take the easy route, this is it. 

In just two hours, this whole chicken (and chicken neck) got a crisp skin, excellent pink smoke on the interior and a great flavor. Credit: Amanda Blum

The smartest smart grill app I've used

It is undoubtedly the Origin’s smart functionality that puts it ahead of others I've tested. Brisk It offers the most functional, feature-rich app. The grill paired quickly and easily with the app, and then updated itself, all from the full color screen located on the grill (though note it is not touch screen). Using the screen, it’s easy to set a temperature, ignite the grill, and walk away, but you’ll likely want to use when you're actually cooking.

This is the first grill to integrate Brisk It’s Innogrill technology and Vera AI. Vera is an AI assistant you can talk to via the app about anything grilling related, including what you can make with ingredients you have on hand, what level of cook you are, how much time you have to grill. Vera can make suggestions—which I generally found usable and insightful—and send them to the grill so it can handle the cooking for you.

In my testing, I asked Vera for a simple smoked ribs recipe, and it supplied one that takes about four hours, with three steps and few ingredients. The smoking portion had three phases, all at different temperatures and smoke points. Normally, I’d need to monitor the grill, constantly checking the temperature and adding smoke at the right time. Instead, the grill preheated to the right temperature, I put the ribs in when it told me to, stuck a temperature probe into them, closed the lid and walked away. The app notified me as it moved from phase to phase, and I was able to make small adjustments as it went (at one point, I tried a "power smoke" button; more on that in a bit). You have the option to push through a phase faster if you’d like, or skip it altogether.

Four hours later, I removed a rack of perfectly smoked ribs with an impressive bark, fantastic smoke rings, and great color all around. It’s not just the AI making this happen—the app has a deep library of useful recipes you can surf through, a feature promised but not fulfilled by any other smart grill app I've tried. Any of those recipes can be sent via Innogrill to the barbecue.  

It wasn't just meat, the Origin gave these roasted eggplants and garlic a perfect sweet smokiness, and the salt at the top was imparted enough smoke to taste it on foods it garnished. Credit: Amanda Blum

An exceptional marriage of technology and function

The Brisk It app offers a much deeper data dashboard than other apps I've tested, with the ability to affect even minor changes from your smartphone. You can adjust the temperature and time, see the historical data of the cook, and access the temperature probes (there are inputs for two probes that are included with the grill). You can tag your favorite cooks to easily repeat them, use the power smoke function to inject additional smoke into your cook, and activate a “keep warm” feature. One of my favorite features is stall detection. If you’re new to barbecuing, you might not know that meat can sometimes remain at a given temperature for a while, “stalling” out while cooking. With this feature, the Brisk It will notify when this happens and suggest how to remedy it.

I can confidently say that using the app can quickly help you become a more confident barbecue master, and eliminate your anxiety about ruining an expensive cut of meat or wondering if you’re “doing it right.” Brisk It handles the cooking for you (and tells you how it’s handling it) at every step. 

These ribs were a recipe recommendation from Vera, the AI engine in Brisk It that can communicate with you in casual language and then send recipes to the grill, where it handles the whole cook for you. Credit: Amanda Blum

Easy to use (and clean)

Fancy new technology aside, the grill is well designed and easy to use. While not huge, it is a reasonably sized home grill, and can accommodate 2-3 racks of ribs or plenty of burgers and brats for a party. The auto-ignite function worked without fail. The grill is designed to achieve temperatures ranging from 165°F to 500°F, and while the Masterbuilt and Current I tested could achieve higher temperatures, they could not handle lower ones, which are essential for cold smoking. That's something I was able to do on the Brisk It, preparing some trout over an ice bath.

You can move food farther away from the heat by using the upper grate, or closer to the heat by pushing it towards the back of the grill. It delivered more smokiness than any other grill I've tried, whether or not I engaged power smoke. (While you do need to enjoy a smoky flavor, it was not overwhelming in anything I made.) At higher temperatures, there was a chargrilled effect that the Masterbuilt lacked, thanks to an actual fire under the active grill area (the design includes a shield under the grill to prevent flareups from dripping grease.)

I like that the Brisk It has disposable foil shields and trays to make the grill easier to maintain. Of all the grills I tried, the Origin's stainless steel grates were the easiest to clean using barbecue cleaning spray and a wire brush. Closing the grill down is as simple as pressing a button; the app notified me when it was finished with the shut down and cooling process. 

A spectacular value for inexperienced cooks or barbecue masters

I went into this review skeptical of the smart tech capabilities promised by the Brisk It Origin. It is certainly the most ambitious model I tried when it comes to integrating AI, but that's something every company is throwing at its products lately, often with bad implementation. But Brisk It’s usability far exceeds any other smart grill on the market. The app and grill are easy enough to use that I felt comfortable and confident on my first use. I like that it is flexible enough to accommodate inexperienced barbecuers and grill masters alike; even seasoned grillers can use the app to fine-tune their cooks.

Also key: Considering the price point of similarly featured barbecues, including the others I’ve reviewed, you can’t beat the value offered by the Origin 580. If I were going to buy a barbecue tomorrow, particularly with the goal of smoking something, it’d be this one—whether I was shopping for a smart grill or not.

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Use TikTok's 'Paper Trick' to Organize More Efficiently

There are a couple of things you need when you’re organizing: a good technique that puts you in the right state of mind and motivates you, and the right organizational tools for the job. Picking out the right containers or shelving for the space you're organizing, though, isn't always easy. But if you're shopping for those items in person at someplace like IKEA or the Container Store, here's a trick to make sure you're buying exactly what you need.

Use the “paper trick” to get the right storage supplies

Watch this video from TikTokker MDDesigns16, who shares organization tips with her 382,000 followers.

In the clip, she takes some large paper (think packing paper, parchment paper, or even wrapping paper) and cuts it to the exact size of the drawer she needs containers for. Then, she takes the paper to the store and arranges holders and spacers on top of it to get the perfect fit. 

This is brilliant and simple. Writing down measurements is fine, but it can be harder to visualize your setup and layout once you’re face-to-face with all the container options. Look at the sheer volume of options when you search for “drawer organizer” on Amazon. Why bring math into this when cleaning and organizing is already hard enough? It’s much easier to arrange the options on a piece of paper. 

Other uses for the paper trick

Don’t just stop at organizing your drawers, either. This can be used for shelves, cabinets, and cupboards, too. Physically seeing how holders, vessels, and other organizational tools will fit in the allocated space can make this process much simpler and help you avoid having to return items that don’t fit or, worse, waste space by just settling for what you got. You are less likely to use the tools you have if they’re not quite right, so make sure they fit where you need them to fit before you buy them so you can actually get things that will be useful in your organizing journey.

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Cybersecurity teams gear up for tougher challenges in 2024

In this Help Net Security video, Tom Gorup, VP of Security Services at Edgio, discusses the continually changing threat landscape. It is riddled with vulnerabilities that are frequently exploited and only intensify as geopolitics and state-sponsored activity increase.

Key highlights from the Edgio Q1 2024 Attack Trends Report include:

API sprawl – Researchers identified 1.7 million APIs in March alone–creating an uncharted network of ‘shadow’ and ‘zombie’ APIs that operate behind the scenes of many enterprise applications. Attacks targeting JSON and XML content types accounted for 38% of the blocks observed, highlighting attackers’ focus on APIs.

The use of AI to scale threat intelligence, and ultimately patching and protection. Edgio’s own AI scoured through over 40,000 news articles from 2,000+ news sources and identified over 3,000 unique mentions of CVEs.

Operational Relay Box Networks, or ORB networks, are gaining traction among nation-state actors and amateur hackers alike. The data from Q1 suggests attackers continue using residential network connections to conceal and conduct their attacks.

Edgio discovered over 1.3 million unique bots in Q1 2024 and increased blocking against bots operated by major companies like Google (43%) and Yandex (14%). This reflects a heightened effort by website administrators to protect their content and user data. It highlights a use case for bot management solutions: blocking benign bots that seem to ignore robots.txt files or website policy.

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34% of organizations lack cloud cybersecurity skills

Incident response today is too time consuming and manual, leaving organizations vulnerable to damage due to their inability to efficiently investigate and respond to identified threats, according to Cado Security.

The incident response challenge is further complicated as enterprises rapidly deploy cloud and container-based technologies and embrace a multi-cloud strategy.

The report, which explores the critical role and challenges of incident response, reveals widespread shortcomings that leave organizations vulnerable to delays in resolving incidents and an inability to comply with and meet regulatory demands. The primary contributing factor is a lack of visibility and control over cloud environments.

“A robust incident response program – especially one that extends to the next generation of technologies – is critical to safeguarding organizations against emerging threats,” said James Campbell, CEO at Cado Security. “Yet, as revealed in our latest report, organizations still lack streamlined incident response strategies for cloud environments. The findings reinforce that organizations urgently need to adopt new approaches to swiftly investigate and respond – not only to better address risk, but also to comply with the complex and ever-changing incident response reporting mandates across the globe.”

Organizations struggle with expanding regulatory scope

90% of organizations suffer damage before containing and investigating incidents. Organizations report that 23% of cloud alerts remain uninvestigated due to various challenges and complexities.

A primary contributing factor to investigation delays was the lack of visibility and control over cloud environments, fueled by the following operational challenges: 82% of organizations report the need to use multiple platforms and tools to perform investigations in the cloud. Further, 34% of organizations report limited cybersecurity skills specific to cloud technologies.

As regulatory reporting requirements evolve, organizations are challenged with the increasing scope and staying abreast of new regulations. 42% of organizations report that the main compliance challenge beyond cloud adoption is the lack of visibility into data, and 34% of respondents have been fined for not meeting regulatory requirements.

Future strategies for cloud investigation and response

As organizations migrate to the cloud, they must adopt new technologies to better secure against evolving threats. The report uncovered that organizations have slightly improved their ability to handle cloud investigations, with respondents reporting that 23% of cloud alerts are never investigated, compared to over 33% in 2021.

The visibility challenges associated with investigation and response in the cloud have organizations increasingly turning to forensics tools. To this end, 83% have allocated a budget for cloud forensics, emphasizing the growing importance of forensics capabilities in managing cloud security.

As organizations attempt to lean on existing tools, such as SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) platforms, to gain visibility into cloud-based threats, the report found that incident response automation is twice as effective when compared to SOAR for cloud investigations. While prioritizing the implementation of automation is essential, this automation must be customized explicitly for incident response rather than applying general automation solutions.

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Human error still perceived as the Achilles’ heel of cybersecurity

While fears of cyber attacks continue to rise, CISOs demonstrate increasing confidence in their ability to defend against these threats, reflecting a significant shift in the cybersecurity landscape, according to Proofpoint.

CISOs’ confidence is growing despite fear of cyber attacks

70% of surveyed CISOs feel at risk of a material cyber attack over the next 12 months, compared to 68% the year before, and 48% in 2022. CISOs today clearly remain on high alert, but confidence among them is growing: just 43% feel unprepared to cope with a targeted cyber attack, showing a marked decrease over last year’s 61% and 50% in 2022.

Human error continues to be perceived as the Achilles’ heel of cybersecurity, with 74% of CISOs identifying it as the most significant vulnerability. In a year of growing insider threats and people-driven data loss, more CISOs than ever (80%) see human risk, in particular negligent employees as a key cybersecurity concern over the next two years.

However, there’s growing optimism in the role of AI-powered solutions to mitigate human-centric risks, reflecting a strategic turn towards technology-driven defenses.

“While the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve with increasing human-centric threats, the 2024 Voice of the CISO report highlights what appears to be a vital shift towards greater resilience, preparedness and confidence among global CISOs,” said Patrick Joyce, global resident CISO at Proofpoint. “This year’s findings underscore a collective move towards strategic defenses, including enhanced education, technological adoption, and an adaptive approach to emerging threats like generative AI.”

CISOs concerned about AI security threats

This year, we are seeing an uptick in the number of CISOs who view human error as their organization’s biggest cyber vulnerability—74% in this year’s survey vs. 60% in 2023. However, 86% of CISOs believe that employees understand their role in protecting the organization.

This confidence is higher than in previous years—61% in 2023 and 60% in 2022. This may be attributed to the 87% of CISOs surveyed looking to deploy AI-powered capabilities to help protect against human error and advanced human-centered cyber threats.

In 2024, 70% of CISOs surveyed feel at risk of experiencing a material cyber attack in the next 12 months, compared to 68% in 2023 and 48% in 2022. However, just 43% feel their organization is unprepared to cope with a targeted cyber attack, compared to 61% in 2023 and 50% in 2022.

54% of CISOs surveyed believe that generative AI poses a security risk to their organization. The top three systems CISOs view as introducing risk to their organizations are: ChatGPT/other GenAI (44%), Slack/Teams/Zoom/other collaboration tools (39%) and Microsoft 365 (38%).

46% of security leaders reported having to deal with a material loss of sensitive data in the past 12 months, and of those, 73% agreed that employees leaving the organization contributed to the loss. Despite those losses, 81% of CISOs believe they have adequate controls to protect their data.

51% of CISOs surveyed in 2024 have data loss prevention technology (DLP) in place compared to just 35% in 2023. 53% of CISOs surveyed invested in educating employees on data security best practices which is higher in 2024 compared to 2023 (39%).

Ransomware and malware top CISOs concerns

The biggest cybersecurity threats perceived by CISOs in 2024 are ransomware attacks (41%), malware (38%) and email fraud (36%). These top threats are different from last year; business email compromise (BEC) moved down from the first spot, ransomware moved up to first place and malware up to second place.

In 2024, there’s no change from CISOs’ view on paying a ransom. 62% of CISOs believe their organization would pay to restore systems and prevent data release if attacked by ransomware in the next 12 months. 79% of CISOs said they would rely on cyber insurance claims to recover potential losses incurred, compared to 61% in 2023.

84% of CISOs agree their board members see eye-to-eye with them on cybersecurity issues. This is a significant jump from 62% in 2023, and 51% in 2022.

In 2024, 53% of CISOs admitted to burnout compared to 60% last year, while 66% feel they face excessive expectations, a steady increase from 61% last year and 49% in 2022. The sustainability of the ongoing expectations on CISOs continues to be tested—66% are concerned about personal liability (62% in 2023) and 72% (61% in 2023) would not join an organization that does not offer Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance coverage.

In addition, 59% of CISOs agreed that the current economic downturn has hampered their ability to make business-critical investments, with 48% of them being asked to cut staff or delay backfills as well as reduce security budgets.

“As we navigate through the complexities of today’s cyber threat environment, it’s encouraging to see CISOs gaining confidence in their strategies and tools,” commented Ryan Kalember, chief strategy officer at Proofpoint. “However, the ongoing challenges of employee turnover, pressure on resources, and the need for continuous board engagement remind us that vigilance and adaptation are key to our collective cyber resilience.”

The 2024 Voice of the CISO report examines global third-party survey responses from 1,600 CISOs from organizations of 1,000 employees or more across different industries.

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