The 'Now Bar' Is Samsung's Take on iOS' Live Activities

The grand Samsung Galaxy S25 unveiling was also the first time anyone got a good look at One UI 7, Samsung's take on Android 15—it's now available on the Galaxy S25 handsets, and will be making its way to older models as well in the coming months. Among the many new features the software update ushers in, one of the most useful is the Now Bar.

The Now Bar works a bit like the Live Activities shown on the iPhone's Dynamic Island, which was introduced with iOS 16. It builds on the existing persistent notifications feature that Android already has—those notifications that stick on screen if you've got music playing, for example, or if you're running a timer.

The Now Bar sits at the bottom of the lock screen. Credit: Samsung

The Now Bar is designed for the same sort of job, appearing at the bottom of the lock screen so you can keep up with live information from inside your apps. A variety of different panels can be shown, including workouts being tracked in Samsung Health, directions you're following in Google Maps, and playlists you're listening to in Spotify.

The Now Bar sits at the bottom of the screen, whereas iOS Live Activities appear at the top; another difference is that the Now Bar isn't visible when the phone is unlocked. If you're using your Galaxy phone and it's unlocked, the Now Bar information will be displayed in the same way as it currently is: as a persistent notification you can get at by swiping down from the top of the screen.

You can use the Now Bar to control apps like audio players. Credit: Samsung

With both the Now Bar and Live Activities, you can tap the live notification for a bigger view and some interactive controls (starting and stopping timers, for example)—on iPhones, the Dynamic Island grows and shrinks as needed. There's no Dynamic Island on One UI 7 or on Galaxy phones (at least not yet.)

"By offering instant access to important notifications, Now Bar reduces the need to constantly unlock the device and allows users to engage with key information effortlessly," Samsung says. "Now Bar will transform the lock screen experience, which will continue to evolve with more intelligent experiences in the future."

Supported apps and settings

Now Bar integration depends on developer support, of course. There doesn't seem to be a definitive, official list of apps that support the Now Bar, but based on user reports we know Google Maps and Spotify are two of the third-party apps that now work with the feature. No doubt support for more apps will arrive in the future, at least in apps where the Now Bar makes sense (Uber, for example).

Samsung has already got several of its One UI 7 apps ready to work with the Now Bar, including Bixby, Clock, Emergency Sharing, Interpreter, Samsung Health, Samsung Notes, and Voice Recorder. For many of the others—like the photo gallery app and the web browser—you don't really need live updates on the lock screen. Samsung has also demoed sports scores from Google appearing on the Now Bar.

Some Now Bar updates can appear automatically. Credit: Samsung

You can have multiple Now Bar panels running at once too, just in case you're playing music and jogging and running a timer. They'll stack up on top of each other, and you're able to swipe up to cycle between them. Samsung's promo videos also show smart AI alerts—telling you when to leave for an appointment, for example—appearing on the Now Bar interface.

You can see some of the existing Now Bar integrations in this promo video from Samsung. For example, start a run in the Samsung Health app, lock your phone, and you'll see your current time and distance displayed at the bottom of the lock screen. Tap the Now Bar to make the widget bigger, and to get controls for stopping the tracking.

Accessing the settings for the Now Bar in One UI 7. Credit: Samsung

The other apps work in a similar way. With Voice Recorder, you're able to start a recording from inside the app and then switch to the Now Bar on the lock screen. There you'll find a timer showing how long the recording has been going, plus controls to pause recording and to stop it completely.

If you've got access to One UI 7, you can customize the Now Bar by heading to Settings, then tapping Lock screen and AOD > Now Bar. From the next screen you can choose which apps are able to pipe live notifications to the Now Bar, as well as choose whether or not you want daily briefings delivered to the Now Bar too.

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How to Mute Words and Phrases on Your Bluesky Feed

If you were looking for a respite from X, but Threads didn't work out for you, you might have ended up at Bluesky. Sure, Mastodon is great in theory, but it doesn't have nearly as many users talking in one place. And as a single app, Bluesky is simply easier to use.

Bluesky also feels like an app that has learned (or is still learning) from the mistakes of its peers. It has superior built-in moderation and troll-fighting features, and is relatively easy to get started with. But if you're going to pick up a new social network, you're going to want to carry over your mute words with you—that is, the collection of terms you've made over the years that you just don't want to see displayed on your feed. Maybe it's political stuff, or news about a certain celebrity, or even AI.

Bluesky makes it easy to mute words, and there's even a feature called Moderation Lists, where you can use crowdsourced lists and bulk-mute accounts at once. Here's how to use both.

How to mute words and phrases on Bluesky

Open the Bluesky website or smartphone app. From the sidebar, go to Settings > Moderation > Muted words & Tags.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Here, you'll see many options for muting a word. First, write the phrase or word you want to mute in the text box. Then, go through your options—though I think the default options are the best choice. Still, in the Duration section, you can choose to only mute the word for 24 hours, or 7 days, or 30 days, which can be great for, say, temporarily blocking out spoilers for a TV show you haven't watched yet.

Next, you can choose if you want to mute just Bluesky posts, to also mute tags. Here, too, the default of Text and Tags works quite well, instead of blocking just tags.

Lastly, you can choose to exclude users you follow from your mutes, in case you still want to hear about a topic like AI, but only from people you follow. When you're all set, click the Add button. Repeat the process to add more mute words and phrases.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Your muted words will show up in the section below. To unmute a word, all you have to do is to click the little X icon next to the word and confirm from the pop-up box.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

How to mute accounts in bulk

Like other social media services, Bluesky lets you mute or block individual accounts right from that person's profile view. Click the three-dotted menu, choose Mute account, and you're done.

But the service goes beyond that: It also lets users create Moderation Lists that can be shared freely with a link, and it's possible to mute or block all the accounts included on such a list with just a click. It's a handy way to block a bunch of known NFT scammers, or notorious trolls, for example.

To create your own Moderation List, go to Settings > Moderation > Moderation Lists > New. Then give the list a name and description, and click on Save.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Use the search bar up top to search for and add any number of profiles to the list. Then, click the Subscribe button up top (confusing, I know), and from the popup, choose Mute account.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Then, click on Mute list from the popup to confirm.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

This process becomes a lot more interesting when you start to search for crowdsourced lists about different profiles. For example, Skywatch Blue has curated many lists for blocking specific scammers or trolls. There's even a list dedicated to people who have Elon Musk's name or reference in their profile or description, which some people might find particularly handy in 2025.

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I Can’t Get Enough of This One-Pot Crispy Chicken and Rice Dish

The cold weather has had me putting my Dutch oven through its paces the past couple weeks with a succession of stews, breads, and soups. Everything I make just seems to come out better during the winter, maybe because the thick cast iron emanates warmth long after I turn off the flame, or because removing the lid of the heavy pot always feels like opening a treasure chest. Whatever the reason, every meal has more than satisfied. This week, I tried out my crispy chicken and rice recipe, and I’d like to encourage you to do the same. 

Chicken and rice is one of those rare dishes with countless iterations from across the world. It’s an undeniably comforting combination, and if you have a family of picky eaters, it might be the one meal that everyone agrees on. Adding in a can of crushed tomatoes takes care of the "healthy" aspect, and a handful of olives adds a peppery, briny hit that elevates the entire dish.

For me, the biggest allure of this recipe is the textural contrast of crispy chicken skin over juicy thigh meat, nestled in soft, yet perfectly resistant grains of tomato-coated rice. In order to get beautifully thin, crackling chicken skin, you have to render out the fat first. This will crisp the skin, develop the flavors, and give each piece of chicken a gorgeous, deeply browned color.

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

I find that using my Dutch oven for this delivers the best results. The thick cast iron does an excellent job at holding onto and evenly distributing heat so you aren't left with one crispy side of a chicken thigh, and the other all floppy. (Don’t fret if you don’t have a fancy Dutch oven; my brand-less one is a wonder. I might name it Dutchie.) Once you add the liquids and rice, you can count on the heat retention to cook the grains at a slow and steady pace, effectively achieving multiple different textures, all with one pot. 

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Aside from the initial sear, this dish spends most of its time on low heat. You can absolutely use a regular pot for this, but you may have to keep a closer eye on everything. For the crispiest possible chicken skin, I recommend salting it the night before and leaving it in your fridge, uncovered, overnight. The salt flavors the skin and draws out moisture, while leaving it unwrapped allows exterior moisture to evaporate. This way, when you’re ready to cook, you won’t trap steam between the skin and the hot pot. If you didn’t plan ahead, no worries: just use a paper towel to thoroughly blot the moisture off the skin before salting both sides of each chicken thigh.

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

If you prefer chicken breast, you can use that instead of skin-on chicken thighs, but if you ask me, you are missing out. And if you’re in need of any other one-pot winter meals, check out this recipe for beans and sausage. Even among champions, it’s a winner. 

Dutch Oven Crispy Chicken and Rice Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil

• 4 skin-on chicken thighs

• Enough salt for both sides of chicken

• ½ medium yellow onion, chopped

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

• 1 x 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes

• 1 ½ to 2 cups broth

• 1 cup uncooked rice

• 1 teaspoon mixed seasonings (like onion powder, MSG, dried herbs, or chili powder)

• 10 jalapeño stuffed green olives, halved

1. Use a paper towel to blot the excess moisture from the thighs, especially on the skin side. Salt both sides of the chicken thighs. Add the oil to a Dutch oven and swirl the pot to coat the bottom. Place the chicken thighs skin-side down and turn the heat to medium. Allow the chicken to cook like this for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the skin is very brown underneath. 

2. Flip the chicken and cook the other side for about five minutes. Your chicken will cook through here, but if your thighs are particularly thick, check with a thermometer. 

3. Remove the thighs carefully so you don’t break off the crisp skin. Place them on a plate to wait. Toss the onion and garlic into the pot and let them cook briefly, about one minute. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, 1 ½ cups broth, and the rice along with a teaspoon of any seasoning mix you typically enjoy. Mix it well, reduce the heat to a low simmer, and cover the pot with a lid. Cook the rice and sauce like this for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

4. At this point the rice will have absorbed the excess liquid and you should taste it. The rice should be just cooked, but not mushy. Add the chopped olives to the pot and mix them into the rice. Nestle the chicken thighs, skin-side up, into the rice so the meat is buried in the sauce but the skin is above the surface. Allow the dish to cook for another five minutes, uncovered. Serve immediately to enjoy the crispiest chicken skin and the most satisfying tomato rice.

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Comcast Just Gave Six Cities an Early Look at Lag-Free Internet

If you live in Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Colorado Springs, or Rockville (Maryland), Comcast might have just given you a sneak peak at the internet of the future. In collaboration with Apple, Meta, Nvidia, and Valve, the service provider is currently rolling out a new open standard called “L4S,” which seeks to drastically reduce how lag works online, and make gaming and video calls much smoother.

What is L4S?

Short for “Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable Throughput,” L4S wants to make this internet feel faster— not by upping bandwidth, but by making data transfer more efficient.

Right now, your internet service provider, or ISP, sends data to you in the form of packets. These are small chunks of information that, in worse-case scenarios, have to queue up to make their way to you. L4S adds an indicator to packets that are currently stuck in a queue, allowing the network to address the congestion, and perhaps outright end it.

Essentially, the idea is to clear the roads for your internet traffic, so it doesn’t take as long to get to or from your house. This should make video chats feel a lot more like sitting across a coffee table with someone, or gaming feel a lot more like sharing a couch with your teammate. In a statement to Lifehacker sister publication CNET, Comcast said that its L4S trials saw working latency reduced by 78%.

How do you use L4S?

L4S is open-source, so Comcast doesn’t have any special rights to it, but actually using it still involves getting a bunch of big companies to agree—hence the slow rollout, and hence why Comcast is the first to really implement it at scale.

Perhaps the biggest issue with L4S is that it requires app developers to support it alongside internet service providers. That means that Comcast’s version is starting with just a few use cases—L4S will work with FaceTime, Nvidia GeForce Now, and supported apps on both Meta Quest headsets and Steam. The latter two companies haven’t exactly published a list of which apps or games work with L4S, but if your next Counter-Strike 2 match feels smoother, that’d be why.

What are the limitations of L4S?

In a charitable move, the company says L4S will be available to “all Xfinity Internet customers,” but that doesn’t mean there aren’t potential hiccups here. The internet is a two-way (billion-way, really) street, and sometimes, the chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

For instance, if you’re on a FaceTime call with Grandma, and Grandma lives in rural Indiana and uses DSL (no personal experience inspiring this example, I promise), no amount of technical wizardry on your end is going to make her connection better.

Similarly, playing a game alongside teammates who don’t have L4S means you might end up having to carry a little bit, or if the game’s servers are hosted by clients rather than the publisher itself, it could be a moot point—your connection will be at the mercy of whichever player gets picked to host the match.

It’s still early days, but among people using Comcast broadband in the test cities listed above, their interactions with each other might be about to get far smoother. Comcast says it will deploy to “more locations across the country rapidly over the next few months,” while Verizon and Ericsson recently wrapped up a test on using L4S with the former’s 5G network. It’s an optional bonus for now, but the more people adopt L4S as a norm, the more the internet will get smoother for everyone.

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'Liked Songs Manager' Automatically Turns Your Spotify Likes Into Playlists

My Spotify liked-songs playlist is not exactly listenable on shuffle; there are simply too many genres and moods in there. Luckily, there's now Liked Songs Manager—an online service that automatically sorts your liked songs into playlists based on whatever criteria you like: genre, decade, or even mood.

To get started, head to Liked Songs Manager and sign in using your Spotify account. You'll then see a list of criteria you can use to create playlists. I recommend first clicking the Analyze songs per playlists at the top of the screen—this will show you how many songs in your liked list are available in each category. You can then browse the categories and check any that you think will make interesting playlists.

A variety of moods and genres are offered, each with a particular number of songs. Credit: Justin Pot

The main categories are mood, genre, subgenre, decade, and nationality. You can also create playlists based on when you liked them or create totally randomized lists. Create as many playlists as you want and click the Create selected playlists button. You'll see a progress bar, after which your playlists will be created. They should show up in Spotify right away but you may need to restart the application in order to see them.

The real bonus here: The service will work continuously on the playlists it's created. Any songs you like going forward will also be sorted into the new playlists, meaning you're effectively adding to several curated playlists just by occasionally hitting the like button on a song. It's also worth noting that you can change the names of your created playlists if you want—the updates will keep working all the same.

There are some limitations. The free version can only create 15 playlists and will only consider the first 1000 of your liked songs. The Premium plan, which costs $8 per month, removes the liked songs limits and supports the creation of up to 100 playlists. It also lets you combine criteria—you could, for example, create a list that's only 1990s pop-punk or 2000s hip hop.

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This Video Doorbell Is $80 Right Now, and It Doesn't Need a Monthly Subscription

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

For those looking for affordable smart security without monthly fees, the TP-Link Tapo D225 Video Doorbell is now $79.99 (down from $99.99). It covers all the basics, plus a few features that even pricier models skip, earning itself an Editors’ Choice award from PCMag. At about 6 inches tall, the Tapo D225 isn’t the slimmest doorbell out there, but it’s built to handle the elements with an IP66 water-resistant rating. And should someone try to steal your doorbell, its built-in 98dB siren is loud enough to scare off intruders.

Tapo TP-Link Smart Video Doorbell Camera with Chime, Battery or Wired, 2K QHD Color Night Vison, 180° Ultra-Wide Head-to-Toe View, Ring Call, Smart AI Detection, 2-Way Audio, Up to 512 GB SD, D225

$79.99 at Amazon

$99.99 Save $20.00

$79.99 at Amazon

$99.99 Save $20.00

Power options are flexible. You can either go battery-powered (with up to eight months per charge) or hardwire it with your existing wiring (8-24V) and record 24/7 footage. During the day, colors look sharp and well-saturated. At night, the black-and-white vision holds up well, though the color night vision isn’t as vibrant as daytime footage (but that’s typical for many cameras in this range), notes this PCMag review. Its 2K camera (20fps) with a 180-degree field of view gives you a full head-to-toe image of whoever’s at your door—its intelligent motion alerts accurately distinguish between people, vehicles, pets, and packages, helping to cut down on unnecessary pings. Plus, it comes with a plug-in chime, so you don’t have to rely on phone notifications alone.

Unlike many video doorbells at this price, the Tapo D225 supports local storage with a microSD slot (up to 512GB, sold separately), letting you save footage without a cloud subscription. If you prefer cloud storage, subscribing to Tapo Care Premium ($3.49/month) gives you 30 days of video history for one camera. The doorbell connects via 2.4GHz wifi and works with Alexa and Google Assistant, though it doesn’t support Apple HomeKit. However, if you use IFTTT, it can integrate with other smart home devices for added automation. You can manage and control the D225 using the TP-Link Tapo mobile app, including streaming live video, recording manually, setting motion zones, using two-way audio, enabling motion tagging, and more.

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How to Change Your Mac's App Icons

If you're tired of how your Mac desktop looks, consider changing your app icons. It can be a fiddly process by default, but luckily, there are ways to make it easier. By using these methods, you can make your dock reflect your wallpaper's aesthetic, ensure that all app icons are the same size, or just replace ugly app icons with something better.

Where to find Mac app icons 

Credit: Pranay Parab

While you can easily find icons for various Mac apps with a quick web search, it's much easier to get them from a site dedicated to icons. One of my favorites is macOSicons.com, which lists over 25,000 alternative icons, meaning you should be able to find multiple options for popular apps with ease.

Changing Mac app icons using the built-in method

macOS allows you to change an app's icon manually, but it has one frustrating drawback. Getting started, however, is easy.

First, download or create an alternate icon, then open Finder and go to the Applications folder in the left pane. Select any app and press Command-I to open an Info pane. Now drag-and-drop the new app icon into the top-left corner of the Info pane. This will replace the app icon for you.

This method is fast and free, but annoyingly, your app will go back to using its default icon with every update.

Using free apps to replace macOS icons

Credit: Pranay Parab

You can also use one of two free apps to replace macOS app icons for you. These are IconChamp and Pictogram. Both show you a list of your Mac's installed apps and let you manually pick an alternative icon. As much as I want to recommend these options, both apps haven't been updated for years, so they don't always work reliably. For instance, IconChamp has a premium tier that supposedly lets you pay a one-time fee that unlocks the ability to change system app icons. However, the purchase page for this tier doesn't load and there's no way to buy it at time of writing. These free apps might work in a pinch, but if you want a more robust solution to changing app icons, consider paying for a better alternative.

A paid app that can change icons for you

Credit: Pranay Parab

That brings me to Replacicon, which costs $8 and is probably the best way to customize your Mac icons. Although $8 is steep for what is essentially a single-purpose app, Replacicon has a few features that may justify the cost for some people. The best one is that it installs a helper tool to monitor app updates and it retains your replaced icons even after apps are updated. This feature alone is enough to justify the purchase to those serious about macOS theming. 

Replacicon also has an easy-to-understand interface that provides a bunch of alternative app icons for each app installed on your Mac. Changing an app icon is as simple as clicking on one of the alternatives. To use an icon that's not listed as an alternative by default, you can also click the + button next to the list and choose one of three options: use a downloaded icon file, create an icon from any saved image on your Mac, and use Apple Intelligence to generate an app icon. All three options open a pop-up window, and once you've selected or generated an icon, the app will automatically add it to its list of icons and replace your existing icon for you. Not having to leave Replacicon to go looking for files is great, and it makes the process seamless.

To make your list of apps more manageable, Replacicon provides two filters. One of these lets you view only the apps that are currently in the Dock, and another highlights only apps that have legacy icons—from the time when macOS icons used to be of different shapes and sizes. Nowadays, macOS icons have adopted an iOS-style uniform size with rounded corners, and you can use the legacy icon filter to spot the icons in need of uniformity with the rest of the Dock.

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These Jabra Evolve2 65 Headphones Are 30% Off

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

The Jabra Evolve2 65 headphones, which earned an Editors' Choice and an Outstanding rating from PCMag, are currently $203.31 (down from $301). (Note that this is up from yesterday's price of 149.99, their lowest price ever on Amazon, according to price trackers, so the price may go down again. Also, the price seems to be fluctuating slightly depending on location.)

Jabra Evolve2 65 UC Wireless Headphones with Link380a

$203.31 at Amazon

$301.00 Save $97.69

$203.31 at Amazon

$301.00 Save $97.69

They look like a regular pair of on-ear headphones, except for the boom mic—a three-mic MEMS array with a 100Hz to 8kHz frequency response (meaning your voice will sound clear and background noise won’t be an issue) that makes it a solid work headset. Flipping the mic up completely mutes it while bringing it back down unmutes and answers calls. You'll find a three-button control for playback, volume, and call management on the right earcup, which also houses a status LED (or busy light) that glows red when you're on a call.

Its 40mm drivers deliver deep bass and crisp highs (with no distortion at max volume) across a 20Hz to 20kHz frequency range. If you like customizing your audio or want more control over your headset, the Jabra Sound+ app lets you adjust EQ settings, disable the busy light, or play white noise to help you tune out distractions. As for noise isolation, it does an OK job, but don’t expect it to completely block out loud street sounds—sirens and honking might still get through. Jabra claims about 37 hours of battery life, but actual mileage will depend on your volume preference and usage.

On the connectivity front, this headset works with any VoIP service (is UC-certified) and runs on Bluetooth 5.0, but it only supports SBC, so if you were hoping for AAC or AptX codecs, you're out of luck. That said, it makes up for it with multi-device pairing (it can remember up to eight devices and connect to two at the same time). Plus, you get a USB-A dongle for easy pairing with a computer. Switching between a phone and a computer is mostly seamless—audio pauses on one when a call comes in on the other. However, playback doesn’t always resume automatically, and if you’ve got a music app open on both devices, the headset’s play button can get confused, sometimes toggling between sources instead of stopping the music altogether, as noted in this PCMag review.

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Leostream Privileged Remote Access secures access to corporate resources

Leostream announced a new service to manage and secure organizational resources accessed by third parties—such as external contractors, service providers, and other non-employees—with third-party privileged status.

Third-party users often require access to an organization’s infrastructure for IT-related tasks, to collaborate with internal employees, or to perform outsourced assignments. The Leostream Privileged Remote Access service addresses the most challenging scenario in providing remote access to vendors, freelancers, and external stakeholders: how to secure data, applications, and infrastructure, while ensuring productivity and a consistent experience.

Features of the Leostream Privileged Remote Access service include:

Remote access management: At the heart of the service is Leostream’s 20+ years of experience managing remote access to resources based on the user’s identity and function. Administrators can use the Leostream service to grant external parties as much or as little access as is required by their role, limit access by date and time, and automatically revoke access as required.

Security: The Leostream service is based on zero-trust principles according to the user, workload, and hours of operation. After access is granted, corporate resources are further secured by giving external users a dedicated username/password to log into Leostream, without knowing the username/password for the corporate desktop they are logging into.

Any device, any OS, from anywhere: The Leostream service enables users to connect with nearly any hardware, device, and OS including Windows, Linux, macOS, ChromeOS, Android, and iOS. The Leostream in-browser desktop viewer requires no agent software be installed on corporate resources and avoids the need for installing software on vendor devices.

VPN-less: Virtual private networks are frustrating for end users, constrain performance, and introduce security holes. Leostream does away with VPNs in favor of a streamlined gateway that programmatically opens and closes access to the specific organizational resources that users are empowered to see and use.

Track, audit, and report: Leostream provides administrators with session recording and comprehensive logs of remote access. High-level reporting can track third-party login and resource usage, monitor for anomalous activity, and ensure policies are enforced.

“Granting third-party access is no longer optional in most modern business environments, but it’s imperative that it be tightly controlled so corporate resources are only shared with authorized individuals and under extreme security frameworks,” said Karen Gondoly, Leostream CEO. “The Leostream Privileged Remote Access service is an ideal way to work with outside contractors, freelancers, and service providers and gives our customers the power to control remote access, ensure third parties get what they need, and reduce the substantial risk of alternative approaches.”

The Leostream Privileged Remote Access service controls and secures third-party access to sensitive corporate resources. The standalone Software-as-a-Service solution simplifies the on-boarding of vendors and external contractors while the Leostream Gateway provides just-in-time remote access. The Leostream service helps organizations manage and audit vendor access with strict authentication, least privilege access control, and session recording for complete vendor accountability.

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How to Cook Rice Noodles So They Don’t Get Mushy

Rice noodle dishes are some of the most popular at Asian restaurants—pad see ew, pad Thai, pho, and mei fun—but cooking them at home can be tricky if you’re not familiar with their quirks. Don’t worry, though: None of the steps involved are that complex, and once you know how to handle rice noodles, you'll likely be able to use them in any dish without running into problems with them ever again. Here are three of my favorite tips for cooking rice noodles and avoiding a mushy mess. 

What are rice noodles?

Rice noodles can be dry or fresh. They’re made by grinding fermented rice and water down into a paste, from which noodles are shaped and then dried. Once dry, they have a translucent white appearance.

Dry rice noodles are commonly available in most grocery stores. (I’ve seen them everywhere from ShopRite, to Whole Foods, to Walmart.) They come in three sizes, with the largest being the least common outside of Asian markets. You may find thin, round noodles that are bundled up in big packages; medium-thickness flat noodles that are wrapped or cut into sticks; or large-thickness flat noodles that are wrapped or cut into sticks.  

Fresh rice noodles are made by spreading out thin layers of rice, starch, and water batter on a tray or pan and steaming the sheets to make tender, chewy, translucent noodles. These are well-oiled so they don’t stick, and bagged up in plastic. I never see fresh rice noodles in big box American grocery stores, but you can usually find them in Asian grocery stores. Fresh rice noodles may include some cornstarch or tapioca starch, and they’re more opaque in color.

The best way to cook rice noodles starts with a soak

The first step written on many of the boxed rice noodles in large grocery stores is to boil the noodles before adding them to your stir fry. The author of these instructions must love mushy noodles, because that’s the easiest way to get stuck-together, over-cooked rice noodles. 

Here is an example of bad directions. Ignore them! Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

You don’t need to boil them first. Like most starches (pasta, oats, potatoes), rice starches have a limit for water absorption before they burst and become gluey. If you boil them and then add them to a screaming hot pan, then you’re bound to burst some starch globules. This manifests as noodles clumping and clinging together.

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Unlike Italian pasta that might need to be par-cooked before using in another dish, dry rice noodles simply need some rehydration time in room temperature water. They will become flexible, but their starches won’t begin to gelatinize until they hit the heat of the wok or frying pan. It's the simplest and the most important step to making the best rice noodles every time. To do this, place the rice noodles in a large bowl and cover them with room temperature water. 

Forethought is required here. Soaking usually takes 25 to 45 minutes, depending on the thickness of the noodle. To test, after 30 minutes just reach in and lift up a handful of noodles. They should feel floppy but not squishy. If they’re still sticking out straight, give them more time. The brand or thickness of the noodles might require it. 

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

It’s unlikely that you’ll over-soak rice noodles. If you go run an errand that takes 20 minutes longer than expected, your noodles will be fine. Drain them and they’re ready for stir frying, or blanch them for a few seconds to prepare them for soup. 

Don’t forget to use some oil

Those who fear fat will not like this step, but you can’t skip the oil. Oil is crucial for conducting high heat in stir fries, but also for keeping those sticky starches slipping and sliding away from each other. If you’re trying to stir fry noodles and they keep clinging to each other and the pan, try adding another spoonful of oil to the pan just before you toss them in. 

It’s okay to add oil as you go too. I used to have an irrational limitation where I thought the initial measurement of oil, before the first ingredient went in, was the only oil I could use while cooking. It was only when my mom called me out on it that I realized what I was doing. It just seems like some days the ingredients use up more oil than others, and it’s okay to assess and add more.

So when you’re about to add the noodles, take a look at the pan. There should be some visible oil in there, pooling around the ingredients. If the pan is dry, that’s your signal to add a splash more. 

Be careful of excess moisture

The last culprit of rice noodle demise is too much moisture in your pan. Unless you’re making soup, a puddle of liquid in your wok or frying pan will have the same effect as boiling your noodles and trying to fry them afterward. 

If your vegetables are excreting a lot of moisture or you’ve added too much sauce to your pan and it doesn’t seem to be cooking down, don’t add your noodles yet. Wait for the moisture to cook off or, as a last ditch effort, pour off the liquid into the sink. Return the pan to the burner, add a bit of oil and now you can put the noodles in. Re-season as needed.

Note that if your veggies are puddling up, you might be crowding your pan. Opt for a larger skillet or cook a smaller batch next go around. 

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Five Reasons Your Fridge Might Be Leaking (and How to Fix It)

If you’ve noticed water dripping from or pooling under your fridge, there's no need to panic (right away). There are some basic troubleshooting steps you can take to diagnose the problem, and you might even be able to fix it yourself. If your fridge is leaking, here are five problems to check for before calling a professional–and how to fix them before your trickle becomes a flood.

Damaged door seal

Your refrigerators has a big, rubberized gasket that seals the outer edges of the door and maintains the proper moisture inside the fridge. If it's dirty, cracked, or damaged, it can allow air to flow between the interior and exterior of the fridge, causing water to condense in the area. You can usually remove the old gasket with a Phillips head screwdriver or a hex wrench. Check online with the model number of your fridge for a compatible replacement gasket. You can install the new one by inserting it into the slot in the edge of the door and replacing the hardware that holds it on.

Cracked drip pan

In some cases, a cracked drip pan can be the culprit. You can check the drip pan by removing the front grill of the fridge at the bottom, usually by either unclipping or unscrewing it. The drip pan will be under the fridge, behind the grill, and will be able to slide out once the grill is free. If your drip pan is cracked, you should use your model number to look up the appropriate replacement part for your fridge, and then you can slide the replacement in and replace the grill.

Clogged ice dispenser

If your ice dispenser is leaking, there's probably ice lodged in the chute; that ice will melt over time and slowly drip. If the chute is really jammed up, future ice will also become lodged inside, causing the appearance of a leak. To fix it, allow the clogged shoot to thaw for a few hours before trying to use it again. If there’s no ice in the chute, you should look for problems with the water line.

Worn out water lines

Sometimes, your fridge's water lines can get damaged, or just wear out over time. The first step to address this problem is to look over the hoses on the back of the fridge to see if there are any visible kinks or cracks in them. Check near the valves as well to see if the connectors are snug. If you find damaged hoses or valves, you can find replacement parts for most systems online or at a hardware store. To avoid an even bigger leak, turn the water off before removing damaged tubing or undoing kinks in the line. Make sure to measure the length of hose you need to allow for adequate length when installing—and always check your connections before turning the water back on.

Ice on defrost drain

Sometimes, ice can build up in the defrost drain of your fridge, causing moisture to find another exit. Look for the defrost drain in the bottom of your freezer toward the back to see if there’s an ice blockage. If that’s the case, you can unclog it using a mixture of two cups of hot water and two tablespoons of baking soda. Use a turkey baster to squirt your drain cleaner into the drain at the back of your appliance, and you should see the ice melt away pretty quickly.

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This Chinese AI App Just Overtook ChatGPT

A week after banning TikTok from app stores (no, it still isn’t downloadable) and one day after threatening 25% tariffs on Colombia, the U.S. has taken a major blow in its ongoing trade wars—overnight, Silicon Valley seems to have lost its AI dominance.

The shakeup follows a release from fresh-faced Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, which on Jan. 20 updated its ChatGPT-like AI assistant with its open-source R1 reasoning model. According to Deepseek’s testing, the R1 model matches OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model on several metrics, all while being much, much cheaper to develop.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on DeepSeek R1’s ultra-low development cost, citing the one-year-old company’s claims that it only took $5.6 million to develop the new model, vs. over $100 million from OpenAI for its equivalent.

It took a little bit for the news to get out there, but DeepSeek has consequently risen to the top of the App Store, unseating ChatGPT as the most-downloaded free app. The sudden surge in attention has been hard on U.S. stocks, sending the Dow down by about 0.22%, the S&P down by 2%, and the Nasdaq down by 3.6%. More specifically, Google parent company Alphabet is down 2.89%, with Meta, Oracle, and other tech giants also seeing significant declines. Notably, data center and graphics card company Nvidia, which supplies much of the hardware powering AI development, is down 11.64%.

Nvidia’s stock drop in particular likely has to do with claims from DeepSeek that it only needed roughly 2,000 specialized Nvidia chips to train its latest AI model, whereas leading U.S. models tend to use closer to 16,000 chips. Said claims are still awaiting verification, but if true, would poke holes in the US’ recent policy efforts to restrict the amount of U.S. chips Chinese developers can use.

On the consumer side of things, DeepSeek promises cheaper access to higher-tier models than ChatGPT, which puts basic access to its o1 model behind a $20/month ChatGPT Plus subscription and unlimited access to the o1 model behind its pricey $200/month ChatGPT Pro plan. Unfortunately, the company seems to be suffering from success right now—servers appear to be overloaded, and I’m currently not able to sign up for an account for testing. Presumably, as more people get through and get their hands on these models, it'll be easier to verify just how scared of DeepSeek U.S. companies should be.

Still, the competition could prove to be a shot across the bow for U.S. AI developers, who, alongside President Trump, just announced the $500 billion “Stargate Project,” an initiative to build out U.S. AI infrastructure starting with a $100 billion plan to build out data centers in Texas.

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'Perplexity Assistant' Uses AI to Help You Complete Tasks on Your Android

The next phase of AI evolution looks set to be focused around agents: AI bots that can not only chat to you and draw pictures, but also carry out tasks on your behalf. These new AI tools won't just be able to tell you about the best hotels close to your next vacation destination—they'll be able to make the reservation for you.

These kinds of multimodal agents are being worked on by Google, OpenAI, and others, and now Perplexity has announced Perplexity Assistant for Android (as per The Verge, Perplexity says iOS doesn't give apps the necessary hooks into the operating system for an iPhone version to be possible right now).

You can find the assistant in the main Perplexity app for Android, and it's available to use whether you're using Perplexity for free or paying for a subscription. You'll see a pop-up ad for Perplexity Assistant in the app which you can tap on to enable it, or you can find it by tapping your profile picture (top left), then Enable assistant.

During the setup process, you'll be asked to set Perplexity Assistant as the default assistant on Android, instead of Google Assistant or Google Gemini. This is the same process as it is for setting any other default assistant, and you'll be directed to the right screen: It means you can launch Perplexity Assistant with whatever the assistant shortcut is (like a long-press on the power button).

When the assistant is active, you can use your voice to interact with it or give it commands, or tap the keyboard icon in the lower right corner to type instead. There are no settings to manage, but there is a button in the lower left corner for switching to camera mode, which lets you ask Perplexity Assistant about anything in your surroundings.

You'll need to set Perplexity Assistant as your default assistant. Credit: Lifehacker

What you can do with Perplexity Assistant

Perplexity hasn't been overly forthcoming in terms of what you can actually do with its new assistant, but it has mentioned booking dinner (via OpenTable), playing songs (in Spotify and YouTube), calling cabs (through Uber), drafting emails, and setting reminders. You can see a few examples here. It's worth experimenting with to see what it can and can't do on your phone.

You can ask for directions to a good coffee shop nearby, for example: Perplexity Assistant will search the web for recommendations, ask you to make a pick, then load up Google Maps. It's debatable whether that's any faster or more convenient than just doing the whole process through Google Maps, but it works reliably well.

I was also able to call up songs and playlists in Spotify, though again, Spotify's built-in search tools do all this pretty well anyway. It's not an omnipotent digital assistant yet, however—if you ask Perplexity Assistant to order you something on Amazon, it'll just direct you to the relevant listings pages.

Spotify is one of the apps Perplexity Assistant can control. Credit: Lifehacker

Another test I ran was getting Perplexity Assistant to draft an email apologizing for being late, and with a task like this, the generative AI capabilities can be useful. The assistant found the right contact, composed a short email with my apologies, and loaded a draft in the Gmail app, ready to go—though if you really are sorry about a recent lack of punctuality, it's probably a better idea to actually write out the apology yourself.

It's more evidence of where AI assistants are heading, but they're going to need to be granted the relevant hooks into other apps—like OpenTable and Spotify—in order to work properly. They're also going to need to be reliable and accurate enough to gain the trust of users, which has traditionally been a problem for AI: You don't want your AI-booked dinner recommendations to be for the wrong week or in the wrong city, for example.

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Cyber trends set to influence business strategies

Diligent convened a group of 65 board members, C-suite executives, and leading subject matter experts to explore topics shaping the future of business: generative AI, cybersecurity and data privacy, geopolitical risk, and financial fraud and abuse. In this Help Net Security video, Dottie Schindlinger, Executive Director of the Diligent Institute, discusses how 2025 presents boards with a technological headache and how these topics will shape cyber strategies at a board level across the new year … More →

The post Cyber trends set to influence business strategies appeared first on Help Net Security.

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How to use Apple’s App Privacy Report to monitor data tracking

The App Privacy Report, which Apple introduced in iOS 15.2, allows users to monitor how apps access data and interact with third-party services.

The report provides an in-depth analysis of the types of sensitive data accessed by apps, the external domains they communicate with, and the extent to which apps utilize Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) to request user consent for tracking activity across other apps and websites.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use the Apple App Privacy Report to protect your privacy.

How to access App Privacy Report

On your iPhone go to the Settings app.

Scroll down and tap on Privacy & Security.

Under the Privacy section, you will see App Privacy Report and tap on it.

If you haven’t enabled it yet, tap on turn on App Privacy Report to start collecting the data.

Once enabled, Apple will track the data for the next 7 days, and you’ll be able to review how apps behave.

What’s in App Privacy Report?

In the App Privacy Report, under the Data & Sensor Access section, you can see which apps have accessed your location, contacts, photos, camera, microphone, and other sensitive data.

For instance, if an app accessed your microphone and camera when not in use, you may want to reconsider granting those permissions.

App Network Activity provides insight into the network traffic generated and the connections established by apps. It shows which domains or third-party services apps are contacting, helping you identify if and how your data is being shared externally.

This information is key to evaluating whether an app is sending your data to third-party companies, whether it’s for legitimate purposes or potentially violating your privacy.

If an app contacts advertising or tracking domains like Google Analytics, Facebook, or AdMob, it could mean your data is being shared for advertising or analytic purposes.

By reviewing this activity, you can:

• Monitor data sharing
• Identify suspicious behavior
• Protect your privacy

App Privacy Report doesn’t include network activity from private browsing sessions in browser apps.

Most Contacted Domains is a section in Apple’s App Privacy Report that shows which external domains and websites an app is interacting with. This feature is helpful for understanding how and where your data might be sent once it leaves the app.

Based on your analysis of app behavior, you can take appropriate action by revoking unnecessary permissions, disabling tracking for apps that don’t require it, and uninstalling apps that share your data in ways you’re uncomfortable with or engage in excessive tracking.

For example, to limit ad tracking open the Settings app, tap Privacy, scroll to the bottom and tap Apple Advertising.

Then turn off Personalized Ads to prevent Apple from using your data for personalized ads across apps and websites.

The App Privacy Report is useful for monitoring and managing how apps access your data. Regularly reviewing the report helps ensure your privacy preferences are upheld and allows you to identify and address any apps that may be misusing your data.

Read more:

• How to create verification codes in Apple Passwords app
• How to use the Apple Passwords app
• How to lock and hide iPhone apps in iOS 18
• How to setup passkeys in Apple Passwords app

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Week in review: 48k Fortinet firewalls open to attack, attackers “vishing” orgs via Microsoft Teams

Here’s an overview of some of last week’s most interesting news, articles, interviews and videos:

48,000+ internet-facing Fortinet firewalls still open to attack
Despite last week’s confirmation of and warnings about long-standing exploitation of CVE-2024-55591, a critical vulnerability affecting Fortinet Fortigate firewalls, too many vulnerable devices are still accessible from the Internet and open to attack: over 48,000, according to data from the Shadowserver Foundation.

Ransomware attackers are “vishing” organizations via Microsoft Teams
The “email bombing + posing as tech support via Microsoft Teams” combination is proving fruitful for two threat actors looking to deliver ransomware to organizations, and they seem to be ramping up their efforts.

Defense strategies to counter escalating hybrid attacks
In this Help Net Security interview, Tomer Shloman, Sr. Security Researcher at Trellix, talks about attack attribution, outlines solutions for recognizing hybrid threats, and offers advice on how organizations can protect themselves against hybrid attacks.

Juniper enterprise routers backdoored via “magic packet” malware
A stealthy attack campaign turned Juniper enterprise-grade routers into entry points to corporate networks via the “J-magic” backdoor, which is loaded into the devices’ memory and spawns a reverse shell when instructed to do so.

Acronis CISO on why backup strategies fail and how to make them resilient
In this Help Net Security interview, Gerald Beuchelt, CISO at Acronis, discusses common backup strategy pitfalls, reasons for backup failures, and offers actionable advice for organizations looking to improve their backup and recovery processes.

Cisco fixes ClamAV vulnerability with available PoC and critical Meeting Management flaw
Cisco has released patches for a critical privilege escalation vulnerability in Meeting Management (CVE-2025-20156) and a heap-based buffer overflow flaw (CVE-2025-20128) that, when triggered, could terminate the ClamAV scanning process on endpoints running a Cisco Secure Endpoint Connector.

Addressing the intersection of cyber and physical security threats
In this Help Net Security interview, Nicholas Jackson, Director of Cyber Operations at Bitdefender, discusses how technologies like AI, quantum computing, and IoT are reshaping cybersecurity.

SonicWall SMA appliances exploited in zero-day attacks (CVE-2025-23006)
A critical zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-23006) affecting SonicWall Secure Mobile Access (SMA) 1000 Series appliances is being exploited by attackers.

AI-driven insights transform security preparedness and recovery
In this Help Net Security interview, Arunava Bag, CTO at Digitate, discusses how organizations can recover digital operations after an incident, prioritize cybersecurity strategies, and secure digital operations with effective frameworks.

Mirai botnet behind the largest DDoS attack to date
Researchers have uncovered two Mirai-based botnets harnessing Internet of Things (IoT) devices to DDoS target organizations around the world.

Fleet: Open-source platform for IT and security teams
Fleet is an open-source platform for IT and security teams managing thousands of computers. It’s designed to work seamlessly with APIs, GitOps, webhooks, and YAML configurations.

CERT-UA warns against “security audit” requests via AnyDesk
Attackers are impersonating the Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine (CERT-UA) via AnyDesk to gain access to target computers.

Scam Yourself attacks: How social engineering is evolving
We’ve entered a new era where verification must come before trust, and for good reason. Cyber threats are evolving rapidly, and one of the trends getting a fresh reboot in 2025 is the “scam yourself” attacks.

Funding soars in a milestone year for Israeli cybersecurity
In this Help Net Security video, Or Salom, Analyst at YL Ventures, discusses the State of the Cyber Nation Report 2024.

Stratoshark: Wireshark for the cloud – now available!
Stratoshark is an innovative open-source tool that brings Wireshark’s detailed network visibility to the cloud, providing users with a standardized approach to cloud observability.

Decentralization is happening everywhere, so why are crypto wallets “walled gardens”?
The twin cryptocurrency and digital identity revolutions are supposed to be building a better future, where anybody can take charge of their sovereignty and security in a world where both face unprecedented threats.

NDR’s role in a modern cybersecurity stack
In this Help Net Security video, Jerry Mancini, NETSCOUT’s Senior Director, Office of the Enterprise CTO, discusses NDR’s role in a modern cybersecurity stack.

China-aligned PlushDaemon APT compromises supply chain of Korean VPN
ESET researchers have uncovered a supply chain attack targeting a South Korean VPN provider, carried out by PlushDaemon, a newly identified China-aligned APT group.

One in ten GenAI prompts puts sensitive data at risk
Despite their potential, many organizations hesitate to fully adopt GenAI tools due to concerns about sensitive data being inadvertently shared and possibly used to train these systems, according to Harmonic.

Cybersecurity jobs available right now: January 21, 2025
We’ve scoured the market to bring you a selection of roles that span various skill levels within the cybersecurity field. Check out this weekly selection of cybersecurity jobs available right now.

Cybersecurity books on ransomware you shouldn’t miss
This list of ransomware-focused cybersecurity books is tailored for professionals seeking practical insights and deeper knowledge.

New infosec products of the week: January 24, 2025
Here’s a look at the most interesting products from the past week, featuring releases from Bitsight, DataDome, DigitalOcean, Lookout, and XONA Systems.

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This LG OLED TV Is at Its Lowest Price Ever Right Now

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

The LG C3 65-inch Evo OLED TV, featured in Lifehacker's Best Budget OLED TVs to Buy in 2025, is now available for $1,196.99, down from $1,499.99—its lowest price ever on Amazon, according to price trackers.

LG C3 Series 65-Inch Class OLED TV

$1,196.99 at Amazon

$1,499.99 Save $303.00

$1,196.99 at Amazon

$1,499.99 Save $303.00

Its OLED panel provides perfect black levels, an infinite contrast ratio, and near-flawless color accuracy. Whites and SDR colors are especially precise, with only minor deviations in reds and greens in HDR content. Plus, it supports Dolby Vision and HDR10, so if you stream a lot in 4K, you’ll see those details shine. That said, the lack of an ATSC 3.0 tuner might be a drawback if you rely on over-the-air 4K broadcasts.

You can place the C3 Evo on its (included) metal stand or mount it on a wall for a cleaner look. Its ports—four HDMI 2.1 (all 4K120, with one eARC), three USBs, Ethernet, and more—are easy to reach on the left. LG’s WebOS runs its smart TV features and covers nearly all major streaming platforms (except Crunchyroll, as highlighted in this PCMag review). However, the WebOS' smart home hub features lean heavily toward LG ThinQ appliances, which might limit compatibility with your setup if your smart devices aren’t LG-branded or are from other non-compatible brands.

The Magic Remote included with the LG C3 Evo has dedicated buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Alexa, and other popular apps, making it easy to jump straight to your favorites. You’ll also find Apple AirPlay for easy streaming from your iOS devices and Alexa integration for hands-free voice commands. When it comes to gaming, with the Game Optimizer mode enabled and input lag reduction set to Boost, the TV achieves an impressively low input lag of under a millisecond. Add to that a 120Hz refresh rate, with variable refresh rate (VRR) support, plus AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility (though neither is formally certified), and you’ve got yourself a gaming powerhouse.

If you’re debating alternatives, the Samsung S90C ($1,179) offers similar OLED quality and comes with the missing ATSC 3.0 tuner.

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Three of My Favorite Low-Alcohol Cocktails to Close Out a Dry(ish) January

Is it still January? Barely, but yes. Is it still dry? Well, that all depends on how you look at it. Maybe you’re interested in incorporating a teensy bit of alcohol back into your life, or maybe you’ve never enjoyed an overly potent drink regardless of the month.

I think the answer in both of these scenarios is the same: Switch to low ABV (alcohol by volume) cocktails. They’re light, easy-going, and there is a wide world of options to suit your preference. I've got three recommendations to get you started.

What is a low ABV cocktail?

First of all, let’s get our terminology straight. Again, ABV stands for alcohol by volume. This is usually understood as what percent of a drink is alcohol. Straight vodka can be 30% or 40% alcohol. So a vodka martini, after being stirred with ice and some added vermouth, might be 25%-35% alcohol. That is decidedly not low ABV.

Wines can vary greatly but typically they’re around 13% to 18% ABV, and beers can range from 4% to 12%. While there is no precise ABV that defines a low ABV cocktail, I usually prefer them around 5% and below. It’s nothing that will make me feel wobbly, but enough to add a touch of spice to the occasion. If you’re at a bar or restaurant, they might have a different opinion of what fits into low ABV territory, so be sure to ask (or check the menu for the ABV) if you’re wondering. 

How to make a low ABV cocktail at home

Aside from buying a mocktail cookbook and adding a splash of gin to any of those concoctions (which you can totally do—try The Mocktail Club, an excellent recipe book that I recently reviewed) you can pore over your home bar and do some light experimentation. Personally, I like to think of low ABV drinks as giving the “supporting characters” a bit of shine. It’s a chance to highlight aperitifs, vermouths, bitters, juices, shrubs, syrups, tonics, and sodas. That’s where many of the biggest, boldest flavors are anyway. 

If you’re starting from scratch, start simple and try some juicy spritzes. A loose ratio could be 1:3:3: one part "supporting character" alcohol, three parts juice, and three parts bubbly, non-alcoholic liquid. Choose an aperitif, liqueur, or cordial that you like, and add equal parts of a complementary juice and soda water. Serve in a glass with plenty of ice.

If you’re starting from a classic cocktail recipe, try replacing the high-proof alcohol with a heavy pour of seltzer, or even a sparkling wine. The ABV for the latter would be higher than with using seltzer of course, but sometimes you just want to take it down a few notches. For example, prosecco’s 12% is much lower in alcohol content than gin’s 40%. In fact, that’s what the negroni sbagliato does—swaps the gin for prosecco. Both are delicious cocktails, but the classic negroni is about twice as alcoholic.  

Three of my go-to low ABV cocktails

I’ve always enjoyed the activity of sipping socially, but not the inevitable headache of stiff drinks. Here are three I lean on when I’m in the mood to take it easy. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel here, folks: Simple is often best.

Low ABV bellinis

Bellinis are light, flirty sparkling cocktails that are classically made by mixing a bit of white peach purée with a lot of prosecco. To bring down the ABV, cut the prosecco in half and replace it with a bit of seltzer water. Alternatively, you can use fruit juice instead of seltzer for a bigger dose of fruit flavor. (By the way, you can use any fruit purée you like; it doesn’t have to be peach.) 

Negroni Sbagliato or Americano

As I noted above, the Sbagliato is a lower ABV version of the classic Negroni, and the Americano is the next step down. To make a Sbagliato, mix equal parts Campari, sweet vermouth, and prosecco (pour this last as a topper). Serve in a glass with plenty of ice. For an Americano, simply replace the prosecco with plenty of soda water. If I'm making it at home, I'll add a splash of simple syrup.

Juicy Aperol Spritz

The classic Aperol Spritz uses three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol, and one part soda water. To make it less alcoholic, I knock out the prosecco and opt for a splash of juice. To make a Juicy Aperol Spritz, mix two parts Aperol, and one part orange juice in a glass half-filled with ice. Top it with three parts soda water.

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These Alarm Clock Apps Will Actually Get You Up in the Morning

Getting out of bed—switching from the coziness of sleep to the jarring reality of the day—can be a challenge for anyone. But, as the saying goes, there's an app for that. Or, in this case, several apps—ones that go above and beyond the default options in Android and iOS to make sure you wake up when you need to.

From alarms that get you to complete a challenge—and fully regain consciousness—before they'll turn off, to alarms that are timed to fit in with your natural circadian rhythm, there's plenty of choice when it comes to getting some assistance in starting the day.

Alarmy

Alarmy gives you missions to complete to stop your alarm. Credit: Lifehacker

Attention, heavy sleepers: Alarmy is on a mission to get you out of bed in the morning, and promises that it'll never fail to wake you up. The main way it does this is by getting you to complete a challenge—like a math, typing, or memory task—before it'll shut up, which means you really do have to force yourself to start thinking and get yourself out of bed.

That's not all the app has to offer, either; you can pick from a variety of sounds to wake yourself up, set customized alarm screens that encourage you to face the day (think kittens and sunrises), and track your sleep overnight—just make sure your phone is near your pillow. When you wake, you can be greeted by a sleep analysis report.

Features like an extra-loud setting for alarms and persistent time reminders while you're thinking about hitting snooze—or gentle volume increases, if you want to be kinder to yourself—put Alarmy a level above most other alarm clock apps out there. It uses a freemium model, with all of the various features available for $5 a month or $60 a year. Alarmy is available for Android and iOS.

Sleep as Android

Sleep as Android offers a host of options for waking up. Credit: Lifehacker

There are a host of settings to explore when it comes to configuring alarms in Sleep as Android: You can have the app wake you up at a time you'll feel most refreshed, you can set up a captcha challenge to force you awake, and you can set a wake-up check that makes sure you've risen—and if you haven't, your alarm starts ringing again.

There is also a range of different alarm sounds to pick from, as well as a gentle wake-up mode that gives you an easier segue out of slumber. Snoozing is still permitted, if you want to keep it as an option, but here too you can set limits if you think you'll rely on it too much. The app is difficult to beat in terms of how customizable the alarms are.

However, alarms aren't even the primary focus of Sleep as Android: It's mainly designed to be a comprehensive sleep tracker, and it handles this just as well too (just leave your phone on your bed). You can use the app for free, but the full set of features will set you back $5 a month or $50 a year. As its name suggests, Sleep as Android is only available for Android.

Loud Alarm Clock

The alarms in Loud Alarm Clock can be extensively customized. Credit: Lifehacker

Loud Alarm Clock brings with it several tricks to ensure you don't sleep in any longer than you should, including boosted audio that goes above and beyond whatever volume setting you've got on your iPhone to really make a racket. If standard alarms can't rouse you from a deep sleep, then Loud Alarm Clock is definitely worth trying instead.

It's not just the volume boosting that helps here, because the app also offers some excruciating sounds as options for the alarm audio—think nails on a chalkboard and a car alarm, for example. If that's too grating, there are friendly voice options you can turn to instead as alarm sounds.

Other features include the ability to limit snoozing time, so you don't go past a certain time, the option to randomize alarm sounds so you don't get used to them, and a choice of wallpaper backgrounds to help you get the day started. Loud Alarm Clock is free to try and use, but you can pay a one-off fee of $8 to remove the ads and get more sound options. The app is only available for iOS.

Talking Alarm Clock Beyond

Have your alarms speak to you with Talking Alarm Clock Beyond. Credit: Lifehacker

Talking Alarm Clock Beyond eschews the traditional alarm clock sounds to give you a motivational talking-to when you wake up—the idea being that you're more inclined to get yourself up and out of bed if you're being told to seize the day, rather than having your sleep interrupted by a shrill beeping that your brain has come to recognize as annoying.

You can customize the message you hear when the alarm goes off, and the app comes with challenges you can set yourself to do to make the talking stop: You can solve a math problem, for example, or complete a captcha, or walk a certain distance with your phone. By the time you've managed to dismiss the alarm, you should find yourself fully awake.

There are plenty of nice extras included here as well, including the "mayday mode" that adds an extra level of volume to make sure you really do realize you have to get out of bed, as well as timer, world clock, and stopwatch features. You can use everything in Talking Alarm Clock Beyond, but there is a one-off fee of $3 if you'd like to get rid of the ads. You can find the app on Android.

Sleep Cycle

Sleep Cycle will wake you up at the right time for you. Credit: Lifehacker

The clue is in the name: Sleep Cycle is focused on making sure you wake up at the right time, in harmony with your body's natural rhythms (within the constraints of work and other responsibilities, of course). As well as getting you up in the morning, there are also tools (like sounds and exercises) to get you to sleep more easily.

During the night, Sleep Cycle can monitor your movement and any sounds you make to assess the quality and stages of your sleep, and it'll give you advice on improving your sleeping habits as well. In the morning, within a window you've previously set, it can wake you up gradually and smoothly in your lightest sleep phase, with your choice of audio.

It's a full-on sleep helper and enhancer, complete with goal setting and tracking—and the alarm clock is a crucial part of it. Everything is wrapped up in a clean and intuitive interface that's easy to navigate. You can try Sleep Cycle for free for a week to see if it's helpful—after that, you need to pay $10 a month or $40 a year to keep using it. Download Sleep Cycle on Android or iOS.

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