My Health Resolutions for 2026 Have Nothing to Do With Weight Loss

Skinny is officially back in—not that it ever really left, if you ask me. Between "what I eat in a day" videos and before-and-after transformations, there's always been this undercurrent of weight loss anxiety masquerading as wellness. "Weight loss" is assumed to be synonymous with "healthy," but that's never been the whole story. And during this time for reflection and goal-setting, I urge you to think bigger than simply making yourself smaller.

If you've struggled to identify health goals beyond weight loss, you're not alone. We've been conditioned to believe that smaller bodies are the ultimate achievement, when in reality, health is so much more expansive, personal, and interesting than that. Here are the resolutions I'm making for 2026—and how to reframe your own goals around what truly matters.

Move in ways that feel good

The weight-loss version: I need to burn calories. Exercise is punishment for eating. Even if I hate working out, I have to do it anyway because discipline.

The reframe: What if movement was about feeling capable in your body? About the rush of endorphins after a dance class, the meditative quality of a morning walk, or the satisfaction of getting stronger over time?

My resolution: Find three types of movement I genuinely enjoy and do them regularly—not because I "should," but because they make me feel alive. Maybe that's swimming, hiking with friends, or finally trying that aerial yoga class. The goal isn't to torch calories; it's to build a relationship with movement that's based on joy rather than obligation.

How to measure success: Can I do things I couldn't do before? Do I feel energized rather than depleted? Am I actually looking forward to moving my body? These are the metrics that matter.

Eat foods that make me feel energized

The weight-loss version: Good foods versus bad foods. Restriction as virtue. Guilt when you inevitably "fall off the wagon."

The reframe: Food is information for your body. Am I making choices based on the moral value of different foods, or am I actually listening to what my body wants and needs?

My resolution: Notice how different foods actually make me feel, without judgment. Keep a simple log—not of calories, but maybe of energy levels, mood, digestion, and satisfaction. Do I feel better when I include more vegetables, not because they're "virtuous," but because they genuinely help me feel my best?

How to measure success: Am I making food choices based on how I want to feel rather than what the scale might say? Do I have stable energy throughout the day? Can I eat without guilt?

Stay hydrated

The weight-loss version: Water fills you up so you eat less; it's a diet hack.

The reframe: Proper hydration affects everything from your cognitive function and mood to your digestion, skin health, and energy levels. You deserve to drink water because your body literally needs it to survive and thrive.

My resolution: Drink enough water that I'm not constantly tired, headache-prone, or confusing thirst for hunger. Keep a bottle with me and actually notice the difference in how I feel when I'm properly hydrated versus when I'm running on empty.

How to measure success: Are my headaches less frequent? Is my brain fog lifting by mid-afternoon? Do I have more energy?

Build confidence through competence

The weight-loss version: I'll like myself when I'm smaller. Confidence is contingent on appearance.

The reframe: Confidence comes from doing hard things, from developing skills, from taking pride in how I'm moving my body.

My resolution: Set a goal that has nothing to do with how I look and everything to do with what I can do. Maybe it's learning to cook five new recipes, or finally achieving my lifelong dream of doing the splits.

How to measure success: Do I feel proud of myself? Am I challenging myself in ways that feel meaningful? Is my self-worth becoming less tied to my appearance?

Develop a nighttime routine that actually works for me

The weight-loss version: Eating at night makes you gain weight. It's all about willpower, baby.

The reframe: Maybe you're eating at night because you're bored, stressed, or genuinely didn't eat enough during the day. Or maybe you're staying up too late scrolling, and food is just something to do.

My resolution: Create an evening routine that actually addresses what I need—whether that's genuine hunger (in which case, I'll eat something nourishing without guilt), stress relief (maybe a bath, stretching, or reading), or better sleep hygiene (setting boundaries with screens).

How to measure success: Am I sleeping better? Do I feel more rested? Am I addressing the root cause of nighttime habits rather than just restricting them?

Feel strong and capable in my body

The weight-loss version: I need to earn the right to wear certain clothes. My body is a before photo.

The reframe: Your body is the vehicle through which you experience your entire life. What if the goal was to feel powerful, mobile, and pain-free rather than small?

My resolution: Focus on functional fitness. Can I lift my suitcase into the overhead bin? Hike without getting winded? Play with kids or pets without my back hurting? These are the markers of a body that serves me well.

How to measure success: Am I stronger than I was last month? Can I do daily activities with greater ease? Do I feel capable and comfortable in my body?

The bottom line

Perhaps the most important resolution of all is this: Stop putting your life on hold until you reach a certain size. Don't wait to buy clothes you love, try new activities, take photos, or simply exist without constant self-criticism.

What would your health goals look like if weight loss wasn't part of the equation? I'm willing to bet they'd be more interesting, more sustainable, and far more meaningful than anything a number could tell you. This year, I'm measuring success by how I feel, not how I look.

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Seven Clever Ways to Use C-Clamps Around the House

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If you’ve been doing any kind of work around any kind of house for a while, you probably have a few trusty old-school C-Clamps on hand. The C-Clamp has been in use for thousands of years. It’s one of those dead-simple tools that just works. It’s also one of those tools you tend to collect multiple examples of, in different sizes.

Typically, you use a C-Clamp to, uh, clamp stuff together, like two pieces of wood, or to clamp something into place while you work on it (I use them a lot to cut lumber so I can have both hands on the saw, as I am allergic to emergency rooms.) But the C-Clamp is actually a very versatile tool that can be deployed in a number of creative—but useful!—ways. Here are some of my favorite ways to repurpose those old C-Clamps.

A carrying handle

If you need to carry something that’s bulky, heavy, and awkward, having some temporary handles always makes the job easier. If you have a few C-Clamps, you’re golden: Just clamp a couple onto whatever you’re transporting and you have instant handles to make the haul a little easier. They can also be used as handles for rolled-up materials, like rugs or mats—just thread the roll through a pair of C-Clamps, tighten them closed, and carry on.

A quiet hammer

It’s happened to all of us: You need to drive a nail somewhere, but there’s no room to swing a hammer, or for some reason you’re reluctant to make a lot of banging noise. The solution is your trusty C-Clamp: Just place the clamp over the nail head and tighten. The clamping action will inexorably (and silently) drive that nail into place. This isn’t an efficient way to drive a lot of nails, of course, but in a tight spot, it’s brilliant.

An emergency wrench

Need to tighten or loosen a connector, but you don’t have a wrench at hand? Tighten a C-Lamp around the bolt, cuff, or connection point so that it’s gripping tightly, then slowly turn it in the direction you need. Make sure the clamp is tight enough to prevent slippage, and you might want to use something (a handy piece of cloth works) to protect the connection from damage as you work.

A cord organizer

Whether it’s corralling all those extension and power cords on a workbench or work site, or organizing computer cables on your desk with an industrial vibe, C-Clamps can keep all those wires under control and out of your way in a pinch. Just gather the cords at the edge of the desk or table and clamp them down. This is a perfect temporary solution, as the cords can pass freely through the clamps without risk of damage, and the clamps can be removed when the job is done.

Bookends

Need a couple of bookends to hold stuff in place on a shelf? A pair of C-Clamps attached to the outer edge and clamped in as deep as possible will work. This could even be a permanent design choice if your taste runs toward the rustic or industrial.

Anchors

C-Clamps are ideal devices when anchor points are needed, but you don’t want to attach anything permanent that would require fasteners and drilling into a structure. Need a clothesline to dry your laundry when the dryer breaks? Two C-Clamps and some rope or twine are all you need. Need to hang tools, clothes, or anything else? C-Clamps attached to a shelf of any kind, combined with a hook, will work a charm. Need to hold a tablecloth or other covering in place? Nothing clamps stuff down to a horizontal surface better than C-Clamps.

Spool holder

Whether you’re spooling filament to your 3D-printer or feeding twine or wire to yourself as you work on a project, sliding the spool over a C-Clamp and then clamping it into place gives you a sturdy holder that you can pull from. This means you won’t have to juggle your spool every time you need more slack, and you can easily unclamp and reposition the spool if you’re on the move as you work.

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TCL Is Launching a Digital Notebook, and It's Like a Smoother Kindle Scribe Colorsoft

When it comes to digital note taking, you usually have two choices: Do you want E Ink, or do you want speed? Devices like the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft and the Remarkable Paper Pro have shown there's definitely an appetite for E Ink note taking, even if it can be a bit laggy. But for the most responsive digital notebook possible, you usually have to settle for something like an iPad with a stylus. Now, TCL wants to change that.

The budget-friendly tablet and TV company has finally announced its first full-fledged digital notebook: the TCL Note A1 NXTPAPER. Launching on Kickstarter soon and releasing sometime in February, the trick here is a clever one: Notes taken on this device should look like they're written on paper, but the screen is as fast as a gaming monitor.

That's thanks to the company's NXTPAPER technology, which isn't exactly new, but has been positioned in the past more for media consumption than creation. Unlike E Ink, which uses physical ink capsules embedded in the display, NXTPAPER uses a standard LCD screen with a matte, glare-free coating and various levels of blue light and reflection-fighting software to simulate paper.

The result—which I can speak to, having gone hands-on with it over multiple CES showcases—isn't exactly as easy on the eyes as E Ink, but it is convincing, and is far more usable for just about everything that isn't just reading plain text. Considering how slow E Ink updates and how limited it is in displaying colors, that's not a bad compromise. Plus, the matte layer also acts a bit like one of those special screen protectors artists will buy to make drawing on a tablet feel more like drawing on paper. It works well enough for my chicken scratch.

The Note A1 NXTPAPER runs Android, has an 11.5-inch screen that's been TUV-certified for eye comfort, and can display 16.7 million colors and refresh at 120Hz (or up to 120 frames per second). Given that the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft can only display around 4,100 colors and has a 12-14 ms response time between inputs and updating the display, that's not bad.

And since there's Android here, you get a few other bonuses as well, like the ability to cast your notes or Powerpoints to a digital whiteboard. TCL hasn't said if the Note A1 will be certified for the Play Store yet, but if so, it'll also be easy to download any note taking apps you want, as well as additional goodies like comic book apps. With the high refresh rate, you could even use this notebook to watch videos.

As for what sets this apart from TCL's other NXTPAPER tablets, there's a stylus included, native support for file formats ranging from Word to PDF to Excel to EPUB, and connectivity for cloud storage services like Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive. Plus, if you haven't guessed from the name, there are a bunch of AI features.

Credit: TCL

Much like the Viwoods AIPaper, the Note A1 has AI transcription, translation, summarization, rewriting, and handwriting-to-text features built-in. TCL hasn't said how these will work yet, but a brief video of the device in action shows small glimpses. Personally, I'm most interested in the "handwriting beautification" feature, and I could see people who like doing math longhand appreciating the "handwritten formula recognition."

The downside to all of this is that traditional screens don't tend to last nearly as long in between charges as E Ink ones, but with an 8,000mAh battery, TCL is hoping it can avoid that, even if it has yet to reveal official battery life numbers.

When it launches, the TCL NXTPAPER will start at $549, as compared to the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft's and Remarkable Paper Pro's $630. That's a pretty significant savings, and seems worth considering, especially if you can't decide between E Ink and LCD. It won't be quite as easy on the eyes as a Kindle, but it could be far less frustrating for fast writers, while still feeling less computer-y than something like an iPad.

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These JBL Sports Earbuds Are $40 Off Right Now

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If exercising more is part of your New Year’s resolution and you need earbuds that won’t slip out or die mid-session, the JBL Endurance Race 2 are worth a look at their current $49.95 price. They launched at $89.95, and online price trackers confirm this is the lowest price they’ve hit so far.

JBL Endurance Race 2 ANC Sports Wireless Earbuds (Black)

$49.95 at Amazon

$89.95 Save $40.00

$49.95 at Amazon

$89.95 Save $40.00

These are unapologetically sports earbuds. The buds are large and stick out more than most, but the silicone wing design makes a real difference. You twist them into place, and they stay put through runs, weight training, and sweaty HIIT workouts.

Durability and battery life are where these earn their keep. The earbuds are rated IP68, meaning they’re dustproof and can handle heavy sweat and rain without worry. They’re not for swimming, but they’re tougher than most earbuds anywhere near this price.

The case is a different story. It’s lightweight at 1.4 ounces but bulky, and the IPX2 rating means it’s fine for gym bags, not great for wet runs. Battery life, though, is excellent. You get up to 12 hours with noise cancelling off, about 10 hours with it on, and up to 48 hours total with the case. That’s enough to get through a full week of workouts without thinking about charging. 

The trade-offs show up in sound and noise control. The sound quality is decent for workouts but lacks detail in the higher ranges, especially compared to more expensive earbuds. Active noise cancelling helps indoors, but it struggles outdoors, where footfalls and traffic still come through. Ambient mode also underperforms. It doesn’t let in enough sound for confident awareness near busy roads, and wind noise can overwhelm it. Touch controls are customizable but grouped in a way that forces compromises, and they’re unreliable with sweaty fingers or gloves. Still, for anyone sticking to a fitness resolution and wanting secure, durable earbuds with long battery life at a low price, the Endurance Race 2 makes sense, as long as top-tier sound and ANC aren’t the priority.

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I Tested Three macOS Finder Alternatives, and This Is the Best One

You can customize more on your Mac than you might have realized, and that extends to the file management software you use to browse around your system. Take, for example, Finder: There are a good number of alternatives around that bring with them extra features and different layouts.

I've been testing out three of the most well-known and highly rated alternatives to Finder to see what I might be missing. Each one has its own appeal, but the third in the list here is so good that I might switch to it permanently for all my file and folder needs on macOS.

Commander One

Credit: Lifehacker

As soon as you load up Commander One, you'll notice it has a busier interface than Finder, which may or may not suit you, depending on your attitude toward minimalism. Its layout is based around a dual-pane interface, and you can customize it in a variety of ways—even down to the fonts and colors used, if you want something bespoke.

The software starts to show its potential when you move from just looking at your files and folders to actually doing something with them. You're able to rename files when copying and moving them; you get a dedicated file operations queue; and you can run complex searches through your system using regular expressions, too.

I like the quick toggle switches for seeing hidden files and for previewing files without any additional apps, and connecting up to network locations and cloud storage is straightforward. There's even an integrated Terminal for you to make use of. It's handy having shortcut keys on show in the interface as well, and you can customize these as needed if you don't like the defaults.

There's certainly a lot going on, and while the interface takes a little bit of getting used to, that's to be expected—and it doesn't take long to learn what's what. The Pro version of the software comes with extra features, including layout themes, and integrations for FTP, Google Drive, and Dropbox: That's yours for a one-off fee of $29.99.

QSpace Pro

Credit: Lifehacker

QSpace Pro is the best Finder alternative I tested in terms of the interface customizations you get access to: You can tailor to a fine level of detail, though the default look isn't all that different from Finder. You can have up to four different system locations on view at once, with the panels arranged in a variety of different ways, and jumping between these layouts is easily done.

After a short while using QSpace Pro I definitely felt I was better able to get around my Mac more efficiently, and when you've got a lot to do on your system, that really helps. Copying, moving, searching, deleting, tagging, and previewing is all intuitively and simply done, and you can easily hide parts of the interface if you know you won't need them.

The wealth of settings available in QSpace Pro is a testament to how much you can do with this: Keyboard shortcuts, the context menu, new file creation, batch operations, folder syncing, iCloud links, and app launching can all be customized, and those are just some of the options available. It's like Finder, but with a lot more going on.

QSpace Pro isn't free, however: Its features cost a one-off fee of $27.99 via the Mac App Store (or $29.99 via a direct download), though at the time of writing, those prices are down to $12.99 and $13.99, respectively. If you go through the QSpace Pro website, you can test the software out for 30 days for free before buying.

Path Finder

Credit: Lifehacker

Path Finder is one of the Finder alternatives that's been around the longest, and I think it's the one I'm actually going to switch to permanently. It's absolutely packed with features and options to play around with, and if you spend a little time getting it set up the way you want it, it should seriously speed up all your file operations.

There are a choice of different layouts to pick from, including a dual-pane layout that makes moving and copying more straightforward, and I very much appreciate the "stacking" approach that lets you pile up several files and folders in a temporary holding pane first, before you do anything with them.

Batch file operations are supported, as are synced folders, so you can merge and compare two folders on your system as required. There's also extensive use of bookmarks and tab presets, so that you can quickly jump to the places on your Mac system that you need to visit the most—something that isn't always simple to do in Finder.

The visual representations of how much space files and folders are taking up on disk is very handy, and so is the Dropbox integration (with Dropbox being my go-to cloud storage option). Admittedly it's not the most visually appealing of the software packages listed here, but that's not necessarily the most important thing in a file manager, and it adds all the features I didn't know I'd been missing from Finder.

Path Finder is $29.99 for the year, but there's a 30-day trial available.

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The Seven Best Combo Tools for Your DIY Projects

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There are two universal truths about tools: They’re expensive, and they take up a lot of space. If you’re trying to maintain a home or perform some DIY work in a small space or on a small budget, stacking up all the tools you might need to get the job done can strain your wallet and simultaneously pose a storage challenge.

The solution is actually pretty easy: Buy tools that combine more than one function into a single item. While having the specific tool you need for every job will always be your best choice, if you lack space and/or cash, combination tools like these give you all the capability you need without eating up all your storage space—or draining your bank account.

The universal wrench is a great multi-purpose tool

Having a wide range of wrenches on hand means you can tackle any job—but it also means you’ve got to figure out how to store those wrenches so they don’t take over your life. Enter the universal wrench, which can be every wrench and ratchet you need. It will fit spline bolts, six- and 12-point bolts, torx, and square bolts. It also handles damaged bolts and all standard sizes.

Hamind Universal Wrench 52 in 1 Socket Wrench Multifunction Wrenches Tool with 360° Rotating Head, Spanner Tool for Home and Bicycle Car Repair

$13.69 at Amazon

$13.69 at Amazon

This multipurpose screwdriver combines 17 tools into one

You might already have a multitool, but that’s nothing compared to this useful combination tool. This combines 17 standard tools into one hand-sized unit, including a screwdriver, tape measure, level, flashlight, and hammer. You’re not going to be doing major renovation projects with this, but if you need a complete toolbox for everyday DIY and have no space or budget for real tools, this will get just about every job done.

This five-in-one drill packs a lot of power into a small unit

This five-in-one drill from Dewalt is a terrific combination tool for two reasons: It’s multifunctional, and it combines a small size with a lot of power so it can be used in just about any situation. It comes with four attachments: an offset adapter, a quick-release bit holder, right-angle adapter, and a ratcheting chuck. You can bore holes and drive fasteners while easily changing the angle and position of your bit—the right-angle and offset attachments plus its small size means you don’t need any other drill to get your jobs done.

This hammer is also a prybar (and more)

Two of the most useful items in a tool box are a hammer and a prybar. If you’re looking to save some space, combining the two is a great solution. The Vaughan Rage model also works as a sledgehammer/demolition tool, and offers a nail-puller as well as the prybar function, making it incredibly useful for such a small and affordable tool.

Vaughan 15 Inch Multi-Function Demolition Tool With Pry Bar and Hammer

$25.38 at Amazon

$34.99 Save $9.61

$25.38 at Amazon

$34.99 Save $9.61

This eight-in-one hand saw has swappable blades

Having the right saw for the job is essential—trying to use a wood saw when a hacksaw would be a better choice is never going to work. This eight-in-one hand saw offers swappable blades for wood, drywall, metal, and plastic, allowing you to cut a wide range of materials without having to collect and swap out multiple saws. It also features a quick-change mechanism, so if you’re working with multiple materials, you can quickly switch between them.

This adjustable wrench is much more

If you’re going to fix things, you’ll need a wrench, a pair of pliers, and a screwdriver—and this tool combines them all, as well as a wire cutter and a knife. The adjustable wrench will fit most standard bolts, and it also provides multiple screwdriver bits so you’re not stuck with just the standard Phillips head. Instead of four or five tools taking up space, this one small piece will do it all for you.

This 10-in-one painter’s tool fits in your back pocket

You don’t have to be a professional painter to use this nifty 10-in-one tool to make your painting projects easier and your toolbox a bit lighter. This thing is a paint, caulk, and adhesive scraper, can (and bottle) opener, roller cleaner, spot hammer—it can even drive a flathead screw in a pinch if you need it to. In other words, instead of carrying a bunch of tools to deal with the usual irritations and challenges of painting a wall, you can slip this into your back pocket and get to work.

Premium Multi-Utility Tools 10-in-1 Folding Prep Tool

$12.23 at Amazon

$13.18 Save $0.95

$12.23 at Amazon

$13.18 Save $0.95

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Security chaos engineering matters when nothing is broken

In this Help Net Security video, Brian Blakley, CISO at Bellini Capital, explains why security chaos engineering matters beyond theory. He shares lessons from real organizations where systems did not fail outright, but uncertainty slowed the business. Login delays, certificate issues, and missed alerts caused confusion, stalled work, and weakened trust between teams and leaders. Blakley argues that many security problems show up as ambiguity rather than outages. Tools may work as designed, yet coordination, … More →

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CISOs are managing risk in survival mode

CISOs carry expanding responsibility as cybersecurity budgets rise, AI adoption spreads, and board expectations grow. Risk management now depends on faster decisions, stronger coordination, and better communication across leadership teams. This article shows how CISOs are responding to growing pressure, ongoing threats, and organizational gaps, while trying to turn rising investment into risk reduction and resilience.

Budgets keep rising, cloud programs keep expanding, and AI is reshaping both threats and defenses. Still, CISOs say the fundamentals of risk reduction are not improving fast enough.Organizations continue to increase cybersecurity spending across industries. Even with that growth, respondents say their programs fall short of what the threat landscape now demands.

CISOs increasingly assume the next breach is coming. What concerns them most is whether their teams will understand the incident quickly enough to limit the fallout. 84% say a successful breach is inevitable. That belief shapes budgets, staffing plans and expectations during an incident. It also increases pressure to shrink the gap between detection and investigation.

Cybersecurity leaders are hitting their limit. Most CISOs are stretched thin, dealing with nonstop incidents, too many tools, and growing pressure from their boards. The pressures are so intense that many say they are burned out and thinking about walking away.

Cyberattacks are becoming more frequent and severe, with 71% of surveyed security leaders saying attacks have grown more common in the past year and 61% reporting greater impact when incidents occur. Nearly 80% of surveyed security leaders said they are concerned about being targeted by a nation-state attack within the next year.

Sixty-four percent of organizations confirmed a malicious social engineering attempt through encrypted or informal channels in the past 12 months. None of the surveyed CISOs reported simulating attacks over WhatsApp, Signal, or similar apps. Confidence in employees spotting threats there is also very low.

AI has moved to the top of the CISO agenda. Three in five CISOs see generative AI as a security risk, with many worried about sensitive data leaking through public tools. At the same time, most organizations are not blocking AI outright. Instead, they are trying to put guardrails in place so employees can use these tools without exposing data.

Organizations are increasing investments in cloud, AI, and emerging technologies, but their infrastructure and security strategies often lag behind. Business and IT leaders are not always aligned on what needs to be in place before the next wave of technology arrives. Eighty-five percent of respondents said their cybersecurity posture is reactive, meaning they focus more on responding to incidents than preventing them.

Most organizations are juggling too many tools, struggling with security blind spots, and rushing into AI adoption without governance. Unified IT architecture, zero trust security, and AI adoption are now essential to reducing complexity and risk. For CISOs, that means pushing for better alignment across teams and making strategic decisions about platforms, tools, and partnerships.

Security leaders are rethinking their approach to cybersecurity as digital supply chains expand and generative AI becomes embedded in critical systems. 68% are concerned about the risks posed by third-party software and components. While most say they are meeting regulatory requirements, 60% admit attackers are evolving too fast to maintain resilience.

Virtual CISO (vCISO) services have moved from niche to mainstream, with vCISO services adoption 2025 data showing a more than threefold increase in just one year. 67% of MSPs and MSSPs now offer vCISO services, up from just 21% in 2024. This sharp increase aligns with the previous year’s predictions, when nearly three-quarters of non-adopters stated they planned to launch these services by the end of 2025.

There has been a significant increase in the global trend of corporations planning to integrate cybersecurity under the CISO or other executives. As accountability continues to shift into executive leadership, OT security is elevated to a high-profile issue at the board level. 52% of organizations report that the CISO is responsible for OT, up from 16% in 2022.

95% of C-suite leaders say that GenAI is driving a new level of innovation in their organizations. While CEOs and business leaders are committed to GenAI adoption, CISOs and operational leaders lack the necessary guidance, clarity and resources to address security risks and infrastructure challenges associated with deployment.

Cybersecurity threats are growing more complex, and domain-based attacks are at the center of this shift. Even with new challenges emerging, many CISOs are struggling to secure the resources they need. Only 7 percent said their cybersecurity budgets had increased significantly year over year, even as threat levels continue to rise.

As AI spreads, so do the risks. Security leaders are being asked to protect systems they don’t fully understand yet, and that’s a problem. Securing AI means embedding protections throughout the stack, and understanding how those layers work together. While most of the stack is technical, the governance layer focuses on policy, ethics, and oversight, and it’s the least mature. But that doesn’t mean CISOs can ignore it.

98% of CISOs face challenges when using threat intelligence. The biggest problems are keeping up with changing threats, integration difficulties, and regulatory rules. As a result, threat intelligence defaults to a reactive function within a workstream, rather than an embedded, proactive strategy to build resilience, accelerate response, and stay ahead of threats.

Many organizations are overwhelmed by the complexity of their IT systems, making it difficult to manage cybersecurity risks. Only 40% of security professionals say their leaders are effective at communicating risk to executives. Exposure management can help here too. It gives security teams a framework they can use to explain risks and connect those risks to business outcomes, even for executives who don’t have a background in security.

Criminals are using AI better than most organizations. Three in four respondents said fraudsters currently have the edge with generative AI, using it for deepfake scams, synthetic identities, and coordinated phishing. Only 12.5% of participants believe legitimate organizations benefit more than bad actors right now.

The integration of AI into cybersecurity has the potential to significantly change how organizations detect, prevent and respond to cyber threats and enhance their security posture. Many CISOs are leveraging AI to improve threat detection and response times (31%) and to build enhanced incident response capabilities (24%).

CISOs are more likely to think senior leaders don’t fully understand how serious cyber threats are. About 68% of CISOs said top executives underestimate the danger. Only 57% of other C-suite leaders agreed. The two groups also disagree on who’s behind past cyber incidents. More CISOs (57%) said cybercriminals were responsible, compared to 47% of other executives. CISOs were also more likely to point to insider threats—47% said they’d had an incident caused by an employee, while only 31% of the rest of the C-suite said the same. These differences could make it harder to prepare for future attacks.

Security concerns around cloud environments has prompted 44% of CISOs to change cloud service provider. This is being driven by the fact that 24% don’t believe their cloud environment is secure, and 43% think cloud service providers overpromised the security protection they would receive.

93% of organizations made policy changes over the preceding 12 months to address concerns about increased personal liability for CISOs. This includes two in five organizations (41%) increasing CISO participation in strategic decisions at the board level.

Many CISOs across the UK and US are concerned about their organization’s ability to handle a cyber crisis. This is owing to several reasons – the rising volume of cyber incidents (31%), lack of incident response planning (20%), and a lack of realistic, stress-tested crisis simulations (19%). This drives CISOs to reallocate budgets towards crisis preparedness, as they seek to maintain security posture.

The CISO’s rise to the C-suite comes with more engagement with the boardroom, an audience with the CEO, and the power to make strategic decisions for the business. 82% of surveyed CISOs now report directly to the CEO, a significant increase from 47% in 2023. In addition, 83% of CISOs participate in board meetings somewhat often or most of the time.

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Week in review: WatchGuard Firebox firewalls attacked, infosec enthusiasts targeted with fake PoCs

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

Building cyber talent through competition, residency, and real-world immersion
In this Help Net Security interview, Chrisma Jackson, Director of Cybersecurity & Mission Computing Center and CISO at Sandia National Laboratories, reflects on where the cyber talent pipeline breaks down and what it takes to fix it. She discusses skill gaps, hiring and retention realities, and how cybersecurity careers are evolving beyond traditional paths.

WatchGuard Firebox firewalls under attack (CVE-2025-14733)
More than 115,000 internet-facing WatchGuard Firebox firewalls may be vulnerable to compromise via CVE-2025-14733, a remote code execution vulnerability actively targeted by attackers, Shadowserver’s latest scanning reveals.

Budding infosec pros and aspiring cyber crooks targeted with fake PoC exploits
Malware peddlers are targeting infosec enthusiasts, budding security professionals, and aspiring hackers with the Webrat malware, masquerading the threat as proof-of-concept (PoC) exploits for known vulnerabilities.

DIG AI: Uncensored darknet AI assistant at the service of criminals and terrorists
Resecurity has identified the emergence of uncensored darknet AI assistants, enabling threat actors to leverage advanced data processing capabilities for malicious purposes. One of these – DIG AI – was identified on September 29 of this year and has already gained popularity among cybercriminal and organized crime circles.

Five identity-driven shifts reshaping enterprise security in 2026
Delinea leaders predict that 2026 will force a new identity security playbook, one built for a world where AI systems, machine identities, and autonomous agents outnumber humans, operate at machine speed, and increasingly make decisions beyond direct human oversight.

Session tokens give attackers a shortcut around MFA
In this Help Net Security video, Simon Wijckmans, CEO at cside, discusses why session token theft is rising and why security teams miss it. He walks through how web applications rely on browsers to store session tokens after login often in cookies or browser storage. Any script running on the page can reach those tokens including ads analytics tools and marketing tags.

NIST issues guidance on securing smart speakers
Smart home devices, such as voice-activated digital assistants, are increasingly used in home health care, with risks involved. An attacker could change a prescription, steal medical data, or connect a patient to an impostor. To reduce cybersecurity risks tied to this use, NIST has released guidelines to help protect patients and providers.

Anubis: Open-source web AI firewall to protect from scraper bots
Anubis is an open-source tool designed to protect websites from automated scraping and abusive traffic by adding computational friction before a request is served. Maintained by TecharoHQ, the project targets a growing problem for site operators who want to keep content accessible to humans while limiting large scale automated collection.

Browser agents don’t always respect your privacy choices
Browser agents promise to handle online tasks without constant user input. They can shop, book reservations, and manage accounts by driving a web browser through an AI model. A new academic study warns that this convenience comes with privacy risks that security teams should not ignore.

Docker makes hardened images free open and transparent for everyone
Docker has made its open source Docker Hardened Images project available at no cost for every developer and organization. The catalog contains more than 1,000 container images built on open source distributions such as Debian and Alpine and is released under the Apache 2.0 license. The images are accessible through Docker Hub and related distribution points.

Formal proofs expose long standing cracks in DNSSEC
DNSSEC is meant to stop attackers from tampering with DNS answers. It signs records so resolvers can verify that data is authentic and unchanged. Many security teams assume that if DNSSEC validation passes, the answer can be trusted. New academic research suggests that assumption deserves closer scrutiny.

Weak enforcement keeps PCI DSS compliance low
Payment card breaches continue to surface across industries, even after years of investment in security standards. A new study links this pattern to enforcement, showing that PCI DSS compliance trails behind HIPAA, GDPR, and the EU’s NIS2 Directive.

Conjur: Open-source secrets management and application identity
Conjur is an open-source secrets management project designed for environments built around containers, automation, and dynamic infrastructure. It focuses on controlling access to credentials such as database passwords, API keys, and tokens that applications need at runtime. The project is maintained in the open and developed with input from a user and contributor base.

What if your face could say “don’t record me”? Researchers think it’s possible
Phones, smart glasses, and other camera-equipped devices capture scenes that include people who never agreed to be recorded. A newly published study examines what it would take for bystanders to signal their privacy choices directly to nearby cameras.

From AI to cyber risk, why IT leaders are anxious heading into 2026
Cybersecurity threats are shaping IT planning for 2026, with AI maturity and regulation emerging as another major source of disruption, according to a global survey from Veeam.

LLMs can assist with vulnerability scoring, but context still matters
Every new vulnerability disclosure adds another decision point for already stretched security teams. A recent study explores whether LLMs can take on part of that burden by scoring vulnerabilities at scale. While the results show promise in specific areas, consistent weaknesses continue to hold back fully automated scoring.

574 arrests, $3 million recovered in Africa-wide cybercrime crackdown
Law enforcement agencies across 19 countries arrested 574 suspects and recovered approximately $3 million during a major cybercrime operation spanning Africa.

Cloud security is stuck in slow motion
Cloud environments are moving faster than the systems meant to protect them. A new Palo Alto Networks study shows security teams struggling to keep up with development cycles, growing cloud sprawl, and attacker tactics that now compress breaches into minutes instead of weeks.

AI code looks fine until the review starts
Software teams have spent the past year sorting through a rising volume of pull requests generated with help from AI coding tools. New research puts numbers behind what many reviewers have been seeing during work.

What happens to enterprise data when GenAI shows up everywhere
Generative AI is spreading across enterprise workflows, shaping how employees create, share, and move information between systems. Security teams are working to understand where data ends up, who can access it, and how its use reshapes security assumptions. This article explores how GenAI is increasing data exposure, creating new threats, and outpacing existing policies, controls, and testing.

Counterfeit defenses built on paper have blind spots
Counterfeit protection often leans on the idea that physical materials have quirks no attacker can copy. A new study challenges that comfort by showing how systems built on paper surface fingerprints can be disrupted or bypassed.

Elementary OS 8.1 rolls out with a stronger focus on system security
Elementary OS 8.1 is now available for download and shipping on select hardware from retailers such as Star Labs, Slimbook, and Laptop with Linux. The update arrives after more than a year of refinements based on community feedback and issue reports.

Governance maturity defines enterprise AI confidence
AI security has reached a point where enthusiasm alone no longer carries organizations forward. New Cloud Security Alliance research shows that governance has become the main factor separating teams that feel prepared from those that do not.

The next big IT security battle is all about privileged access
Leostream predicts changes in Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Privileged Access Management (PAM) in 2026 driven by new realities of cybersecurity, hybridization, AI, and more.
NASLOV

Cybersecurity jobs available right now: December 23, 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.

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Friday Squid Blogging: Squid Camouflage

New research:

Abstract: Coleoid cephalopods have the most elaborate camouflage system in the animal kingdom. This enables them to hide from or deceive both predators and prey. Most studies have focused on benthic species of octopus and cuttlefish, while studies on squid focused mainly on the chromatophore system for communication. Camouflage adaptations to the substrate while moving has been recently described in the semi-pelagic oval squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana). Our current study focuses on the same squid’s complex camouflage to substrate in a stationary, motionless position. We observed disruptive, uniform, and mottled chromatic body patterns, and we identified a threshold of contrast between dark and light chromatic components that simplifies the identification of disruptive chromatic body pattern. We found that arm postural components are related to the squid position in the environment, either sitting directly on the substrate or hovering just few centimeters above the substrate. Several of these context-dependent body patterns have not yet been observed in S. lessoniana species complex or other loliginid squids. The remarkable ability of this squid to display camouflage elements similar to those of benthic octopus and cuttlefish species might have convergently evolved in relation to their native coastal habitat.

As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.

Blog moderation policy.

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IoT Hack

Someone hacked an Italian ferry.

It looks like the malware was installed by someone on the ferry, and not remotely.

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From AI to cyber risk, why IT leaders are anxious heading into 2026

Cybersecurity threats are shaping IT planning for 2026, with AI maturity and regulation emerging as another major source of disruption, according to a global survey from Veeam.

Veeam surveyed 250 senior IT and business decision-makers worldwide to understand how they view risks, readiness, and priorities.

Security threats top the list of disruptors

When respondents ranked expected disruptors for 2026, cybersecurity threats placed first. Nearly half selected security incidents as their top concern. AI maturity and regulation followed at just over 20%. Workforce shortages and cloud complexity ranked lower.

Concerns deepen when leaders assess their readiness. Many respondents said cyberattacks remain among the risks they feel least prepared to manage. Issues tied to AI and automation also ranked high in this category, reflecting uncertainty around how fast AI-driven threats may evolve.

When the survey drilled into specific data risks, AI-generated attacks stood out. About 66% of respondents identified them as the most significant threat to data. Ransomware also remained prominent, with roughly half of leaders highlighting it as a major risk heading into 2026.

Investment follows perceived risk

Security priorities are shaping spending plans. Strengthening cybersecurity emerged as the most frequently selected initiative for the coming year. Data resilience followed closely, indicating strong interest in protecting and recovering information during disruptive events.

More than half of respondents said they expect moderate to significant increases in budgets for data protection and resilience. These plans suggest leaders are directing resources toward areas they associate with operational stability and business continuity.

Governance concerns are also influencing strategy. Data sovereignty and regulatory compliance ranked as important for most respondents. Many said these factors are already affecting how cloud architectures and data placement decisions are made, particularly in regions with evolving privacy and security requirements.

Cloud growth strains visibility

The survey highlights ongoing challenges tied to cloud and SaaS expansion. 60% of respondents said their visibility into where data resides has declined as environments become more distributed. This loss of insight complicates efforts to secure data and manage compliance obligations.

Confidence in recovery remains limited. Only about 29% of leaders described themselves as very confident in their ability to recover data after a zero-day exploit. Most respondents reported moderate confidence, signaling continued concern about response and recovery capabilities during severe incidents.

Views on ransomware policy

The survey also explored opinions on ransomware payments. 70% of respondents said they support a ban on paying ransoms. About half expressed strong support for such a policy. These views suggest growing agreement among IT leaders that payment practices influence attacker behavior and broader risk levels.

“Cybersecurity and AI are today’s reality, and accelerating in 2026. Organizations must prioritize data resilience and compliance while embracing innovation responsibly,” said Anand Eswaran, CEO of Veeam.

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The next big IT security battle is all about privileged access

Leostream predicts changes in Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Privileged Access Management (PAM) in 2026 driven by new realities of cybersecurity, hybridization, AI, and more.

Passwordless moves from pilot to production

In 2026, passwordless authentication will shift from isolated pilots to full-scale enterprise adoption within privileged environments. Hardware keys, passkeys, and biometric verification will replace traditional credentials, reducing reliance on shared passwords and vaults. This transition will be driven by compliance mandates and the operational cost of credential sprawl.

As the space matures, privileged access workflows will increasingly depend on adaptive authentication policies that validate identity and device posture in real time. Vendors that offer flexible passwordless frameworks and integrations with existing IAM and PAM systems will see increased market traction. This will mark a shift in the promised end of passwords, eliminating one of the most exploited attack vectors in privilege abuse and account takeovers.

AI-assisted session security

In 2026, AI will go beyond passive monitoring and become a proactive participant in securing IT resources via privileged sessions. Machine-learning models will analyze behavioral baselines, identify and alert to anomalies, and automatically enforce policies such as session termination, masking, or step-up authentication when suspicious patterns arise.

Instead of relying solely on human auditors or predefined rules, IAM/PAM solutions will use generative AI to summarize risky session activities, detect lateral movement indicators, and suggest remediations in real time. AI-assisted security will make privileged access oversight continuous and contextual, helping enterprises detect insider threats and compromised accounts faster than ever before. This will also move the industry toward autonomous access governance.

Browser-based and clientless privileged access

In the coming year, browser-based access methods will increase in IAM/PAM implementations. Instead of thick clients or VPN dependencies, privileged users will connect securely through hardened browsers with integrated credential injection, clipboard control, and keystroke isolation. New technical and workforce realities will accelerate this model, enabling secure privileged access from any location or device without installing agents.

Clientless architectures will reduce operational overhead, simplify onboarding for third-party vendors, and eliminate common endpoint risks as organizations seek faster deployment, easier scalability, and improved user experience.

Increase in threat-driven urgency

Compromised privileged credentials will remain the single most direct path to data loss, and a sharp rise in targeted breaches, ransomware campaigns, and supply-chain intrusions involving administrative accounts will elevate IAM/PAM to a board-level concern in 2026. Enterprises will accelerate investments in vendor privileged access tools to mitigate risk from contractors, managed service providers, and external support staff.

Under the umbrella of this threat, vendor PAM becomes not just a compliance checkbox, but a core resilience capability with measurable risk reduction, audit capabilities, traceability, and blockchain-style accountability.

Hybridization of everything

The shift to cloud is hardly a trend, but the concept of hybrid infrastructure and resources will expand, and so will tools that simplify hybrid operations. Hybrid IT unifies cloud and on-premise architectures, while hybrid workforces are dispersed, remote, on-site, and everywhere in between. Hybrid users also encompass employees plus external parties, such as vendors, and nonhuman machine identities (service accounts, bots, containers, APIs). A hybrid workspace offers a collaborative ecosystem for accessing data, applications—and our coworkers—as needed.

Organizations will increasingly need solutions that can contend with the hybridization of everything, accommodate this increased complexity, and address security risks from all angles.

“Now and into the next year, we’re seeing how enterprise needs are evolving in IAM/PAM, and what tools and technologies are creating those changes,” said Karen Gondoly, Leostream CEO. “At the same time, rising cybersecurity threats force greater focus on how organizations manage the risk of user access.”

Download: Strengthening Identity Security whitepaper

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This Last-Minute Sale on the Switch 2 Bundle Is Available at Best Buy Today

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

The Nintendo Switch 2 with Mario Kart World bundle is in stock at Best Buy after running out of stock very quickly on Amazon. The deal includes the new console with the new Mario Kart for the same price as the standalone console. You can get this one for $449 (down from $499)—the lowest price it has reached yet, according to price-tracking tools. (Note that you can only see the price once you've signed in and it's in your cart, as Nintendo restricts retailers from promoting anything below the "minimum advertised price" of $499.) To top it off, Best Buy is somehow promising to have it delivered to your home by 9 p.m. tonight, Dec. 24—a true Christmas miracle. Not all locations will be available, so make sure you see the "shipping get it by 9 p.m. today" note above "add to cart." You can also pick it up within an hour if time is of the essence.

Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle - Nintendo Switch 2

$449.00 at Best Buy

$499.00 Save $50.00

$449.00 at Best Buy

$499.00 Save $50.00

This bundle deal is great, and likely the best one you'll see for quite some time, judging by Nintendo's previous deals. To put it into perspective, the OLED edition of the original Nintendo Switch is $400 right now, meaning you can get the new Switch 2 with Mario Kart for $50 more. The new console is also an upgrade in every way, according to Associate Tech Editor Michelle Ehrhardt's Nintendo Switch 2 review. The ergonomics and design have improved, making it much better to hold and look at. The battery life has also improved, now with about 180 minutes of handheld playtime before the juice runs out.

A big plus is that the Switch 2 is backwards compatible, meaning you can play your old Switch games on it. Some Switch games have the ability to upgrade to the Switch 2 Edition by buying that game's upgrade pack. This is especially worth it for games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which will look better on the Switch 2.

There aren't a lot of Switch 2 games out at the moment, but there are some classic Nintendo games to keep you busy until the library expands, like Donkey Kong Bananza, Kirby Air Riders, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment.

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This Hidden Spotify Feature Makes the Best Personalized Playlists

Spotify playlists are a surprisingly big part of my life. I make a handful of new, curated, choreographed ones for the spin classes I teach every week and otherwise meticulously maintain quarterly playlists designed to represent the overall vibe of specific, three-month periods in my life. I only edit those during the 12 weeks of the quarter, then leave them alone so I can revisit them and relive the era. This means I am constantly fiddling with the present playlist to make it just right, searching for songs that feel precisely aligned with however I'm feeling. It's actually a time-consuming hobby—but I stumbled across a feature the other day that has made creating spin playlists and soundtracking Q1 of 2026 easier than ever.

The new Spotify feature

The best way I can describe the feature I stumbled upon is that it's like Tinder for songs. If you're listening to a song within the app, scroll down. Go past the buttons for Play and Next, past the About the artist section, past the lyrics, and stop when you see Explore [artist name]. Then, you'll have three options like Similar to [artist name] and Similar to [song name], but these can differ slightly.

Tapping one of those opens up the new feature. Say you choose Similar to [song name]. You'll be given 30 seconds of a song that Spotify's algorithm considers "similar" to the one you were just listening to, plus the artist's name, how many Spotify followers they have, and a three-dot menu that will let you add the song to your likes, add it to a playlist, go to the artist's page, and more. If you like the 30-second clip, you can add the song to your playlists. If not, you can keep swiping downward to hear a new one.

See how it's like Tinder? You make fairly snap decisions based on the quick preview and few details you get, then swipe away if you don't like it. I found a community forum post on Spotify's website about it, but otherwise, not much chatter. All I can tell is that it's been out since about May.

Why I like the feature

I prefer this to the other music-discovery options on Spotify because it gives you a quick preview of the song and makes the finding process simple. I am, of course, a big fan of the pre-generated Discover Weekly playlist or New Releases playlist Spotify makes for me every week, but it's time-consuming to listen to all the songs in them and it's not intuitive to find other new songs based on the finite playlists themselves. The 30-second quick hits and easy, swipeable dismissal of the new feature help me figure out if a song is worth my time, either for spin class or personal use, add it to the appropriate playlist if so, and keep moving.

What I especially like is the three hashtags under the artist's name. They are genre descriptions that match up with whatever song you're previewing and I've found them helpful because I have a hard time describing what kind of music I even like. Apparently, per the new feature, I like something called "speed garage." Tapping the #speedgarage hashtag that appears in the song previews brings me to another scrollable preview pane full of, exclusively, more speed garage—whatever that actually is. I still can't define it, but I learned I like it, and that alone is more beneficial than a year's worth of Discover Weekly playlists.

I used this feature during my Uber ride to the airport the other day and, by the time I was through TSA, I had 29 new songs in my Q1 playlist. I listened to them on the plane, weeded out ones that didn't match the quarterly vibe well enough, then sent it to my friends, who all gave the collection rave reviews like, and I quote, "this slaps."

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10 Hacks Every Windows Power User Should Know

For many students and workers, Windows is just the default way to use a computer. It's where all your apps work as intended, where all your Microsoft Office documents sync easily, and where you play all your games. But if you peel back its layers, Windows can be a lot more than that. Power users can take advantage of hidden features, and utilities from Microsoft and third-parties to not only speed up their workflow, but to improve productivity and fix some of the most annoying quality-of-life issues that plague Windows PCs.

Control everything using the Command Palette

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

For decades, Mac users have boasted about Spotlight Search, while Windows never really offered a true alternative. Windows Search is fast, but it's never really come close to replicating all the things Spotlight can do, especially now with the latest macOS Tahoe update. Finally, after years of waiting, Microsoft has introduced its own keyboard launcher, called Command Palette.

It's not available by default, though. To find it, you'll have to install PowerToys, which is Microsoft's own set of handy utilities. Once PowerToys is running, find the Command Palette app from the sidebar, and enable it. Then, you can access it using the default keyboard shortcut, which is Windows + Alt + Space (you can customize this be whatever you like).

Once it's set up, you can use the Command Palette to launch apps, search for files, open folders, switch between apps, open bookmarked websites or folders, and search the web. In fact, you can even run Terminal commands from here, and you can use extensions to add features. Here's a detailed guide on the Command Palette to get you started.

Replace the File Explorer with something much better

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

The File Explorer in Windows 11 is a certified mess. It's slower than the Windows 10 version, and it's harder to find your way around it. If you're as frustrated by this as I am, try installing the Files app instead. It's an $8 app on the Microsoft Store, but can be downloaded for free from the developer's website.

The Files app is beautifully designed, with support for theme colors. The app has a simple interface with an easy to access sidebar, tabs, dual-pane mode, and a dark mode that actually looks good. There's also a column view from macOS and an ability to preview files without opening them.

Replace the Windows 11 taskbar and start menu

Credit: Start11

The Windows 11 update radically redesigned the taskbar and the Start menu. If you don't like the new updates, there is a way to go back. You can install the free ExplorerPatcher app to revert back to the Windows 10 Taskbar, with full-length app names, along with the older Start menu. If you only want to change the existing Start menu (I don't blame you), try the Start 11 app, which costs $9.99 for a single license and a year's worth of upgrades. Start11 is an incredibly customizable Start menu replacement where you can customize everything from the layout, spacing, icon color, size, and more. You can even go back to the Windows 10 style layout, but with the look of the Windows 11 icons.

Transform how Windows 11 looks with Seelen UI

Credit: Seelen

If you've swapped from Mac to Windows, and you miss the Mac's Dock and menu bar, you can get them on Windows using the free and open source Seelen UI app. It's an app that uses web technologies to add a menu bar and a floating Dock to your screen. It also hides the Windows Taskbar by default.

Seelen is completely customizable with community themes and plugins. You can choose where to keep the taskbar, and you can make it transparent if you want (something Windows 11 doesn't allow for). You can add community themes to completely transform how it looks and works. You can also add more features using plugins.

Make the dark mode functional again

Credit: Microsoft

The dark mode in Windows is woefully lacking, especially compared to macOS. As a power user, you might prefer to spend most of your time in dark mode, or you might want to automatically switch to dark mode as evening kicks in. By default, Windows doesn't offer any such features. You have to go deep into Settings to enable or disable the dark theme, and that's it.

Microsoft has a PowerToys utility called Light Switch that can solve some of those issues. With the Light Switch utility enabled, you can automatically trigger the dark theme at the time of sunset, or or a schedule that you like. Plus, it gives you a global shortcut to trigger the dark theme on the fly.

Embrace the new Snap layouts

Credit: Microsoft

Snap Layouts is a powerful hidden feature in Windows 11 that not many people use. You might be used to dragging the left edge on a window to dock it to the left half of the screen. Well, that's just part of the Snap Layouts feature. Next time you want to arrange the windows on your screen, drag the window to the top edge, and you'll see a new preview of all possible layout options. You can easily split your large monitor screen into three or four windows, without doing any heavy lifting. You can also access this feature by hovering over the Maximize button, or you can use the Windows + Z keyboard shortcut to bring up the Snap Layout menu.

Install and manage apps without a thousand clicks

Credit: Justin Pot

Installing apps on Windows can sometimes be its own special nightmare. You have to deal with installation wizards with dozens of steps, some of which haven't been updated since Windows XP days. Like Linux and macOS, Windows too has a hidden package manager called Winget, a repository of apps that can be downloaded with just a single command. Yes, you need to open the Terminal to do it, but it's really not that hard. Say you want to install Chrome: You'll enter this in the Terminal and in a couple of seconds, the Chrome browser will be installed and ready to go, without a single extra click.

winget install Google.Chrome

Don't like using the command line? Well there's a GUI app for you. With the UniGetUI app, you can search for all apps or packages in the Windows Package Manager list, and download them in one click. There's also a one-click option for updating all WinGet apps at once.

See your clipboard history

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Windows has a built-in clipboard manager that you really should be using. Press Windows + V to bring up the Clipboard History (the first time you do this, you'll have to enable this feature). Now, every time you copy anything on Windows, it will be stored in this list. You can go back to the Clipboard Manager at any time to copy one or multiple items from this list. You can even pin something to the top of the list, or quickly clear all history. If you're looking for a bit more, try the Ditto app. It lets you customize how many snippets you store in your clipboard at a given time, and has a capable fast Search feature built-in.

Use Focus Sessions to better focus on your tasks

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

There's a Focus Session feature inside the Clock app that's basically a built-in Pomodoro timer, with distraction-free features. You can start a Focus timer for, let's say, 30 minutes, and during that time Windows will stop all unnecessary notifications and app alerts so you can focus on your task. After a longer session, you'll also be prompted to take a break.

Create your own custom shortcuts, for anything

Credit: Microsoft

Power users rely on keyboard shortcuts to not only speed things up but also to reduce mental overload. Once you have the muscle memory, using a keyboard shortcut to perform frequent tasks reduces a lot of friction (especially compared to hunting for buttons using a mouse). When you start using an app, spend some time trying to learn keyboard shortcuts for the most frequently used actions. For example, archiving mail, exporting documents, and so on.

But this gets more interesting once you start to remap your keys and keyboard shortcuts using the Keyboard Manager utility inside PowerToys. Here, click the Remap a Key button to get started. Now, you can map any unused key, like your Caps Lock key, or the Copilot key, to anything else (like a shortcut to bring up Command Palette, for example). Or you can remap the shortcut for Copy from Control + C, to Windows + C. Time to get creative!

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