Google has announced that, by the end of 2025, multi-factor authentication (MFA) – aka 2-step verification – will become mandatory for all Google Cloud accounts.

“Given the sensitive nature of cloud deployments — and with phishing and stolen credentials remaining a top attack vector observed by our Mandiant Threat Intelligence team — we believe it’s time to require [2-step verification] for all users of Google Cloud,” said Mayank Upadhyay, VP of Engineering and Distinguished Engineer, Google Cloud.

A rollout in three phases

Currently, Google Cloud Administrators can enforce MFA use for some or all of their users, as well as prevent them from using less secure MFA methods.

“For example, some users may only be allowed to use phishing-resistant security keys or passkeys, while others may be allowed to use any method except SMS-based MFA,” Google explained in a recent whitepaper.

“Administrators also have the option of enforcing MFA after a SAML sign-in, offering protection against the scenario where an Identity Provider has been compromised.”

The push to increase the security of all Google Cloud accounts starts this month, with “helpful reminders and information in the Google Cloud console, including resources to help raise awareness, plan your rollout, conduct testing, and smoothly enable MFA for your users.”

By early 2025, all new and existing Google Cloud users who sign in with a password will have to enroll in MFA. If they don’t do it, they won’t be able to access Google Cloud (cloud computing services), Google Firebase (mobile and web app development platform), gCloud (the Google Cloud command line interface) and other platforms.

And, finally, by the end of 2025, MFA will become manadatory for all users who federate authentication into Google Cloud. The will be able to enable MFA with their primary identity provider before accessing Google Cloud or add an extra layer of MFA through their Google account.

The importance of MFA

Hardware-based (i.e., physical) security keys and passkeys are the most secure option for MFA as the authentication factor can’t be phished. Biometrics and time-based one-time passwords or push notifications delivered via authenticator apps are less secure options, but still more secure than static PINs (i.e., backup codes) and SMS-based MFA.

While adding a second authentication factor to one’s account is no universal remedy against account compromise, it makes things harder for attackers.

“The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) found that MFA makes users 99% less likely to be hacked, a powerful reason to make the switch,” Upadhyay pointed out.

The other big cloud providers – Amazon (AWS) and Microsoft (Azure) – have also started the push towards mandatory MFA for cloud accounts.

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Atakama announced the latest expansion of its Managed Browser Security Platform, introducing DNS filtering explicitly designed for Managed Service Providers (MSPs).

This new feature enables comprehensive in-browser and network-level filtering, providing a full-spectrum DNS solution that secures browsers and entire network environments.

Atakama’s Managed Browser Security Platform transforms the browser into a secure foundation, empowering MSPs with enhanced visibility and control over client web activity. The platform now includes advanced capabilities such as category-based filtering and DNS over HTTPS (DoH), enabling precise security customization and protection against sophisticated threats.

Atakama’s DNS solution defends against DNS cache poisoning (spoofing), DNS tunneling, and a range of web-based threats.

“Since its initial release, Atakama’s Managed Browser Security Platform has empowered MSPs to block phishing, malware, and other browser-related risks,” said Daniel H. Gallancy, CEO of Atakama.

“We heard our Partners loud and clear, and decided to go system-wide with our advanced DNS feature. With our new custom DNS functionality, we extend our protection beyond the browser, securing entire endpoints and networks. Our mission is to provide MSPs with effective, efficient security tools that protect clients without impacting productivity,” added Gallancy.

Atakama’s latest updates reflect its commitment to innovation and robust security, equipping MSPs with essential resources to safeguard clients in an increasingly complex digital landscape.

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Presentations over video conferencing apps like Zoom and Google Meet work best when you share your entire screen but anyone with a 4K display knows the lag doing that can create. Also, if you only have one screen, this leaves you without any space for your notes. You can work around this by only sharing a portion of you screen, sure, but that gets finicky if you accidentally move a window.

Deskpad (which I found via Lou Plumber) is a free Mac app that makes a virtual second monitor that lives in a window. The idea is that you move your presentation software to that display and share it, then use the rest of your actual display so you can see your notes and the stream's chat.

Using the application is simple: Just install and open it—you'll see a window showing you a full Mac desktop. This is a simulated display—you can even configure it in System Preferences.

Credit: Justin Pot

You can adjust the resolution of the display here—set it lower if your presentations tend to lag. You can also click the "Arrange" button to decide which side of the screen you need to move your mouse to in order to enter the virtual display. This is a little confusing, granted, but you need to pretend that the DeskPad window is another monitor on your desk. Play around with it and you'll get the feel for it.

Now you can get ready to give your presentation. Put your presentation software in the virtual, DeskPad display and set it to full screen. Then, when sharing your screen in Zoom or similar software, choose the DeskPad display.

Credit: Justin Pot

Zoom will share the entire virtual display as though it's a real one. Now you can organize your screen just the way you like it. With the presentation in full screen in the DeskPad window you can have your notes and anything else in separate windows alongside it. It's a bit of a hack, sure, but it works.

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With the change in seasons bringing more time indoors, November is the month to prepare your home for colder weather. Keeping your house warm, cozy, and safe for the winter is easier if you get ahead of potential problems by performing some simple checks and chores right now.

Here are all the home maintenance tasks you should do in November.

Check your vents and crawlspace for critters

When the weather gets colder, wild animals might be looking for a good place to shelter for the winter. If you have uncovered vents or crawlspace accesses, these can prove to be an inviting spot for creatures. To keep them out, make sure you have vent covers in place, and that crawl spaces or any other exterior nooks and crannies are sealed up or covered with a sturdy metal mesh. This method will help defend against squirrels, raccoons, rats, mice, birds, and bats.

Check your fire and carbon monoxide alarms

If you have non-wired smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, you should change the batteries once per year to make sure that they are working well, and now is a great time to do so. If you've already changed batteries (maybe when setting your clocks back?), go ahead and test your hazard detection system to ensure that it will alert you if there’s smoke or dangerous carbon monoxide levels in the house. Since people spend more time indoors during the colder months of the year, there may be an elevated risk of fire from the use of heaters, candles, and cooking, and keeping windows closed and sealed can increase the risk of carbon monoxide collecting inside. Giving your detectors a once-over can help reduce risk from these seasonal concerns.

Install weatherproofing

If you live in an older home, or if you have some windows or doors that aren’t well insulated, November is a good time to weatherproof problem areas. Begin by inspecting the weatherstripping around doors and windows. Check for leaks, broken, or worn stripping. If you find any gaps, you can use replacement weather stripping to seal up any openings. If you have bigger leaks around windows or doors, or older windows that let in too much air, you can also use a weatherization kit to temporarily seal off your leaky openings with heat-shrinking plastic wrap. This basic weatherproofing will keep you warmer and help save you money on utility bills.

Gather winter weather supplies

If you live in an area that can get a lot of snow and ice in winter, it's time to stock up on ice melt, shovels, and roof rakes. Take a look at your snow removal tools and make sure they’re in good shape before it’s time to use them. Replacing equipment before a storm can save you a headache during a winter weather event. Now is also a good time to stash your ice scraper, snow brush, and snow chains in your car's trunk. If you live in an area that gets heavy snowfall and ice, you should also leave a scraper and de-icer in your garage or utility room so you can get to it if your vehicle is frozen over.

Clean ovens and other crumb-catching appliances

Kitchen fires can be caused by toasters and ovens that have deposits of crumbs and other food particles in them. When the appliance heats up, leftover food will heat up as well, and if it gets hot enough, your appliance can catch fire. Since people tend to stay home and use their ovens more during colder month—not to mention entertaining more during the holiday season—ovens and toasters can get more of a workout at this time of year. Checking that your appliances are hazard-free in November can save you from a disaster down the road.

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You're likely here for one of two reasons and perhaps both: You saw someone talking about "junebug" cleaning on social media and/or you are tired of not being able to focus on cleaning, so you Googled in desperation. I'm in both camps with you. Even though I know I'm supposed to create a steady cleaning schedule and only tidy up in 15-minute bursts to stave off burnout, I still find myself wondering at times where I should even start and what I should even do. I have a million thoughts running around my head and none of them leave a lot of space for peacefully, actively plotting out how and what to clean. That's where the junebug method really shines.

What is the "junebug" cleaning method?

Though it's popular on modern social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels, the earliest mention of the trend came around on Tumblr, where a user explained that to clean up despite their ADHD, they imagined they were like a junebug: "Have you ever seen a junebug get to grips with a window screen? It’s remarkably persistent, but not very focused. All that matters is location."

So, you act like a junebug. That's it. Unlike an insect trying to get through a window screen, though, you're cleaning. You pick one area you could or need to clean, like the kitchen. Then, focus on one spot, like the sink or a countertop. Like a junebug, you just keep coming back to that spot, no matter what else distracts you in the process. So, if the sink is your designated junebugging site, you might wash the dishes in it, then get distracted as you notice the backsplash needs to be wiped down. After you wipe down the backsplash, remind yourself that you're supposed to be at the sink; go back to it to scour it or giving the faucet some attention. From there, with your sponge in hand, you might wander away to clean the countertops—but always go back to that starting point when you finish whatever you wandered away to do.

The idea here is that you're using your own distractibility to your advantage. One task at the starting point might remind you of something else you need to do, but once you finish it up, go back to the starting point for more inspiration and motivation. Eventually, you'll make your way all around, like a junebug, but keep returning to where you started—also like a junebug.

Who should try junebugging to clean?

Junebugging is a useful technique for anyone who is having a hard time focusing, gets distracted easily, or just wants to shake up their routine. On TikTok and other platforms, it's proven especially popular for people with ADHD. In fact, the Tumblr user who first coined it did so as a result of their own ADHD. Now, mental health pros point to it as a great option for neurodivergent people.

Obviously, you don't need to have ADHD to try this out. The beauty of this technique is it works for anyone, as long as you go into it understanding why you're doing it and give yourself some grace. Just tackle whatever distracts you, calls your attention, or seem pertinent in the moment. You may not finish every task, but it's better than doing nothing and returning over and over to the same spot acts like a reset, allowing you to surround yourself in familiarity and reorient a bit, pointing your attention to something else.

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I’ve always had trouble with daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning routines because they are based on an arbitrary standard instead of my real life. When a friend told me about the Tody app months ago, I thought it would be more of the same. Instead, after some upfront work of choosing the zones and tasks that matter to me (and setting low expectations), I found that I have been able to change my attitude about housekeeping. 

Traditional cleaning routines often set us up for failure by ignoring the realities of our individual needs and energy levels. According to the daily and weekly cleaning tasks recommended by Good Housekeeping, I should spend a minimum of five hours a week on chores. For some, that is probably no problem. For me, it is insurmountable. Despite my initial skepticism, using the Tody app allowed me to create a realistic, low-pressure system for housekeeping that reduced my stress and made housework more approachable.

The pitfalls of traditional cleaning routines

My personal roadblocks to keeping a perfectly tidy house include having two small children, a handful of chronic illnesses, a career, and a fiery bitterness about the patriarchal standards that trained me to believe my value depends on how clean my baseboards are. 

As I was the only one in the household with my self-worth tied to housekeeping, I was often the only person motivated to take action. When my body and mind had no energy left for action, I isolated myself in zones of the home that I felt I could control easily, like my office or bed. When I was introduced to the Tody app by a friend, though, I found that it emphasizes flexibility and allows users to build their own “zones” and task schedules, so finally, only my own expectations mattered. 

My favorite features of the app

• Customization. Before you use the Tody app, it pays to take your time setting up what rooms and chores you care about and how frequently they should be repeated. The app makes it pretty easy with preset rooms and tasks that you can activate or ignore. You can also choose what level of effort to assign to each task based on your feelings and abilities. Add only the rooms and tasks that are relevant to your household, and add custom tasks as needed.

• Priorities. After you initially set up your household needs in Tody, the app prioritizes your task list. That means doing the top few tasks scores you big points and help you feel accomplished.

• Gamify it. Choose whether you want to compete with Dusty, the resident boss, and choose your difficulty level. (I always have it set to easy because I need the confidence boost.) 

• Check your attitude. You can also choose from three “attitudes”: relaxed, average, or proactive. I have stuck with the relaxed setting so I never see so many tasks I get paralyzed by overwhelm. The relaxed setting also means tasks are due to be repeated less frequently.

• Focus time. Use the focus timer to challenge yourself to complete certain tasks in one session

• Take a break. You can pause tasks that you know you won’t get to because of life, illness, vacation, or whatever else. Undoable tasks don’t have to sit at the top of your list, mocking you.

As I used Tody for weeks and then months, tasks became more about maintenance than perfection, lowering the pressure to meet external standards. I may have a list of outstanding tasks, but the top one is the most overdue and will be the most rewarding to complete.

It also helped me better judge what tasks to delegate or ask for help from my husband and children. If sweeping the porch and sidewalk is 30 days overdue (see authentic screen grab above) because temps have only just dropped below the 90s, getting everyone out in the yard to help will feel like a big win for me and the family.

Tody also helped me realize I needed more help. It made it easier to communicate to my husband and children when I was falling behind. 

One thing Tody did not—and could not—do is make it possible for one middle-aged woman to perfectly care for a 3,000-square-foot house inhabited by four people and two cats. My husband and kids do their share, and I mark their tasks off in my app. 

Results and benefits of using Tody

• Lower stress: Instead of feeling nagged by an endless list that I was always falling further behind on, the app helped me feel in control.

• A tidier home: It took time and adjustments, but now there is a noticeable difference in how clean and maintained my home feels.

• Focused approach: With clear direction on which tasks are most essential, I no longer feel the urge to “hide” from chores.

• Decoupling my self-esteem from chores. Tody is not personally calling me out for falling behind on my task list. And it's not just my list—it belongs to my whole family, and I no longer feel like a failure who is 100% responsible for our domestic needs. 

Tody worked because it allowed me to adapt a cleaning routine that suits our life and lowered the mental load of maintaining our home.

The free version of Tody (what I use) is ad-free, and has all the functionality I’ve described above. Starting at $9.99/year, you can use the premium version to sync with multiple people, set up other households, and further customize the look of your app.

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Welcome to The Cheater’s Guide to Thanksgiving. While there are plenty of tips out there for folks making scratch desserts and artisan loaves, the Cheater’s Guide focuses on the person who could use a helping hand—even from some unconventional sources. Some might call it “cheating” (like that’s a bad thing), but there’s nothing wrong with using modern technology and supermarket know-how to help you make a bangin’ traditional feast—with much less of the traditional work.

Much of Thanksgiving cooking is tradition: traditional dishes made in the traditional style served on the traditional tablecloth your family has used since before you were born. Allow me to challenge tradition with a modern upgrade to cooking part (or all) of your feast. Not only will you end up with excellent results, but you’ll save time and effort, and thus stress less. Instead of roasting everything in the oven, put some faith in your air fryer.

Why the air fryer rules on Thanksgiving

I feel lucky to live in a time when the convection oven was made compact and cute for home use. Thanks to the high velocity winds and petite stature, you can count on fast roasting with no preheating necessary. Not only that, but the air fryer is fully capable of cooking a variety of items, which frees up your oven for other dishes. While you're unlikely to fit larger items in your air fryer, like a 22-pound turkey or 13 by 9-inch casserole dish, you can certainly cook a variety of smaller sized items. (That includes main dishes.) Below are some Thanksgiving classics you can make in the air fryer.

Which air fryer is suited for the job?

Any air fryer can speed up cooking; your only limitation might be size. For large roasts, you might want to consider a bigger oven like the Cuisinart below. If you plan on making multiple different items at once, consider something with two baskets and two separate, independent cooking zones, like the Ninja.

• Cuisinart Digital Air Fryer Toaster Oven

• Ninja DoubleStack XL Air Fryer

Turkey breast and other roasts

Although I wouldn’t recommend air-frying a whole turkey, you absolutely can roast part of a turkey. Many stores sell solo turkey breasts, and a small one of those can fit into an air fryer. It’s not a bad idea to measure the interior of your air fryer (accounting for at least two inches of buffer space from where the fan is) to know your limitations.

The air fryer can roast other main-dish meats too, like a juicy pork tenderloin, broiler chicken, boneless leg of lamb, porchetta, ham roast, or a show-stopping beef Wellington. Make sure to brine or marinate your meat the night before. Depending on the roast, you may achieve more even browning by flipping the roast for the last third of the cooking time.

I recommend keeping a reliable thermometer on hand so you can easily check for doneness, as the timing will vary depending on the animal you’re roasting and its size. I like the Thermapen One for this job, and the ThermoWorks website often has holiday sales, so keep an eye out. 

ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE, No. 1 Recommended Instant-Read Thermometer - Cayenne Pepper Red

$115.00 at Amazon

$115.00 at Amazon

Small casseroles

Small casseroles that can fit into baking dishes around six to nine inches across will do just fine in an air fryer. Naturally, it depends on the size of the air fryer, but once again, measure it to find out. 

To air fry a given casserole, you can use the recommended oven directions, just reduce the temperature by 25°F and check on the casserole about halfway through the instructed cooking time to assess how much longer it needs to go for. Toaster-oven-style air fryers are ideal for this because the door hinges open for easier removal, but you can still use a basket-style air fryer. Just be careful lowering casserole dishes in, and especially careful when taking them out.

Where the air fryer really shines for casseroles is achieving crispy or melty toppings, and for reheating. My friends often contribute small casseroles to our Friendsgiving meal, and this year I’ll be using my air fryer to reheat. It’ll keep my oven more available and reduce the bake time significantly.

Roasted veggies

I think the best side dishes consist of flavorful, hearty winter vegetables. Many of my favorites happen to be dense root veggies, squashes, or stalky crucifers which can take hours to cook in the conventional oven. The air fryer will absolutely save you with all of your vegetable sides. Since they’re so important, I’ve put my favorites in a separate post here.

Crescent rolls and other tube breads

Little else is more traditional than cracking open a can of instant bread for Thanksgiving. Pillsbury Crescent Rolls or biscuits have an honorary seat at many tables, and if your oven is loaded to the gills with a turkey and two 13 by 9-inch casserole dishes, these little cuties might get scorched. Better to give them a space to themselves in your mini convection oven.

If you have a toaster-oven-style air fryer, perfect; you can use the flat baking tray. Most basket-style air fryers come with a little grate that fits into the bottom. The rolls can sit on that, but you’ll get a textured bottom. Personally, I think the air circulation is better like this, but if that lumpy bottom bothers you, you can get air fryer basket liners like these to make a straight surface, or cut a piece of parchment to fit on the grate, and that’ll smooth things out. Simply put the rolled dough or biscuits into the air fryer (with an inch of space between neighbors) and air fry for five to seven minutes at 325°F. They’re done once puffed and well browned. Do check the bottoms before you pull them out; depending on the air fryer, they might need to be flipped and cooked for a few minutes longer.

Garlic bread

Rest assured, if you’re not interested in compressed tube bread for the big feast, you can make garlic bread instead. I like to use garlic confit to make a mellow garlicky mash, and you can make this recipe days ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge for when you’re ready to use it. 

Split a long loaf, like Italian bread or a baguette, and spread a thick layer of salted butter and garlic confit into the center. Place the bread into the air fryer upside down and cook it for about three minutes at 325°F. Flip the bread and brush on more of the garlic and butter mixture; cook it for another three minutes. Take it out and slice the loaf into smaller serving sizes.

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