In a world of overpriced tech and gear, it’s easy to think that you have to spend a ton of money on the things you need to have in your backpack whenever you leave home. From multi-tools that fit on your keychain to powerful portable chargers, we’ve rounded up a list of fantastic gadgets that will enhance your daily life without spending more than $50 on anything. Ugreen power bank Ugreen Listen, you need a power bank. I don’t care how good your phone’s battery life is — there will come a day when you’ll forget to actually plug in your device at night and wake up with 10 percent battery and no time to recharge before you have to leave for work. So get one of these Ugreen power banks and keep it in your backpack. With 20,000mAh capacity, you can recharge your phone fully about four times. It even has its own integrated USB-C cable, alongside a couple of extra ports. This one’s under $50 even without a discount, but you can often find it for $30 when on sale. Buy it on Amazon Anker USB-C adapter Anker That laptop you carry with you every day likely has a shortage of ports because most laptops nowadays do. So, one thing you can shove into your bag for whenever you need it is one of these Anker 7-in-1 hubs. Not only do you get access to another 4K HDMI port, but you also get several extra USB-A ports for peripherals and flash drives, and even SD and TF card readers. And it has a full price of $26, so if you wait long enough you can get it for around $20. It’s small and affordable, but oh so useful to have in your everyday carry. Buy it on Amazon Baseus retractable cable Baseus How many times have you wished you’d had an extra USB-C cable in your bag? Well, this Baseus retractable fast-charging cable is a great solution, especially since it’s only $11 at its full price. This thing has four length presets, with the maximum being 3.3 feet. It’s cute, it’s round, and it all winds back in when you’re no longer using the cable. Besides the benefit of occupying so little space, it also protects your cables from getting damaged in your bag. Win-win! buy it on amazon Geekay keychain multitool Geekay If you throw this into your backpack, hook it to that little keychain many of them have inside a pocket, or roll it next to your keys, this thing will come in handy. It looks like an actual key, but it’s so much more. The Geekey keychain multitool acts as a screwdriver, bike spoke key, wrench, box cutter, bottle opener, wire stripper, protractor, and you can measure things in inches in centimeters. The thing is so versatile you won’t have an issue shelling out $20 on it. Buy it on Amazon RovyVon A3 keychain mini flashlight RovyVon Do you always need a flashlight? No. But I bet you’ll love having this thing when your phone’s light isn’t enough or you’re out of battery. As small as this mini flashlight is, it delivers 650 lumens, which means it can get quite bright. And since it’s about the size of your finger, there’s no battery you have to replace — it comes with a USB-C port so you can recharge it that way instead. It’s water resistant, lightwight, and ideal to have on hand when you’re going camping or coming home late and fumbling for the keyhole. And it’s usually less than $20. Buy it on Amazon Ugreen Finetrack Ugreen You know what you also need to have in your daily carry? A Bluetooth tracker. Sure, the chance is low that your backpack will get stolen, but it’s never zero. Ugreen has these FineTrack trackers that do everything AirTags do, but for a lot cheaper. Plus, they have a keychain hole so you don’t need extra accessories to tie them to your belongings. You can even get them to pair with Samsung phones. These things are often about $10 a piece. Buy it on Amazon Read...

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I can’t help but get excited whenever I stumble upon a great laptop with a fantastic discount, because who doesn’t like scoring deals? Right now, you can get a superbly-configured HP Omen Transcend 14 for just $1,640 at Best Buy (was $2,040) thanks to a Labor Day sale. That’s a massive $400 off on a high-end, future-proofed gaming machine. What makes this laptop special? Just look at the specs. This HP Omen Transcend 14 runs on a cutting-edge Intel Core Ultra 9 285H processor and a chunky 32GB of fast LPDDR5X RAM, delivering high performance for anything and everything you wish to use the device for—not just gaming but also browsing, streaming, hobbies, and work. It also has a 1TB SSD to hold all your apps, games, and files. But the kicker here is the dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card that unlocks tip-top visuals thanks to the latest tech, including DLSS 4, ray tracing, and frame generation. Crank those settings up and watch it fly! And rest assured that it’ll look great on this laptop’s gorgeous 14-inch OLED display with its 2880×1800 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 500 nits of brightness. It doesn’t get better than that. When we reviewed a lesser config of the HP Omen Transcend 14, we still appreciated its performance enough to give it a 4.5-star rating and our Editors’ Choice award. This one’s even better—and though it’s normally pretty pricey, it’s now within reach with this $400 discount. Get this HP Omen Transcend 14 for $1,640 at Best Buy while you can! This Labor Day deal won’t last forever, and this price is too good to pass up. For other options, check out our picks for the best gaming laptops as well as our favorite budget gaming laptops under $1,000. Save $400 on this crazy Core Ultra 9 laptop with RTX 5070 GPUBuy now at Best Buy Read...

IT and security experts have long recommended using password managers to keep your login data safe and in one place. They’re generally considered reliable and secure, but a common vulnerability has now been discovered in 11 providers that hackers can exploit. (See our own recommendations for the most trustworthy password managers.) This vulnerability was discovered by security researchers from The Hacker News. The following password managers have affected browser extensions that are based on DOM (Document Object Model): 1Password Bitwarden Dashlane Enpass iCloud Passwords Keeper LastPass LogMeOnce NordPass ProtonPass RoboForm This list includes some of the best-known and most widely used password managers, affecting an estimated 40 million users worldwide. Extreme caution is therefore advised. The security flaw hasn’t yet been patched by most of these providers, so data theft can still occur as of this writing. How hackers get your passwords The vulnerability in question is known as clickjacking. Attackers can lure unsuspecting users to fake websites that imitate real websites and look deceptively real, except the fakes ones contain invisible elements. In some cases, users can inadvertently switch on their password manager with a single false click, which then tries to enter access data automatically. Hackers monitor these attempted entries and interfere, gaining access to the password manager and taking over saved passwords. The attack usually goes unnoticed as users simply close the affected page and receive no warning that someone has gained access to their password manager. So why do these password managers now run the risk of becoming a gateway for attacks using this method? It’s due to the DOM, which contains a vulnerability that allows for this kind of attack. Incidentally, not only passwords but also other types of sensitive data can be intercepted in this way, including stored credit card details, names, addresses, telephone numbers, and more, which could then be used for phishing attacks. Although the vulnerability was reported to affected providers back in April 2025, just under half of them have responded to the warning. Bitwarden has provided a new version of its plugin that addresses the problem. How to protect yourself There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to protect yourself from clickjacking. As always, it’s important that you never click on unknown or unexpected links, even if they lead to supposedly legitimate websites. It’s always safest to manually open up a new tab in your browser and directly navigate to the site, or use your own trusted bookmarks for quick access. If you use a Chromium-based browser (which is most browsers these days) and a password manager, it’s recommended that you switch your password manager’s auto-fill settings to “on-click.” This is an important step that helps prevent passwords from being entered or completed automatically without you first confirming intent. Alternatively, you might want to deactivate the automatic completion of email addresses (and other data) in the browser settings under the “Autofill and passwords” section. Read...

Is there such a thing as having too much digital storage space? I don’t think so! Especially not with the size of photos and videos these days. Thankfully, storage is fairly affordable right now, with some of our favorites dropping to their best-ever prices. I’m talking about the 1TB SK Hynix Beetle X31 that’s on sale for $63 on Amazon (was $85). This is a portable SSD that we reviewed a while back and absolutely loved, and we were impressed enough to give it a 4.5-star rating. Our testing revealed impressive data transfer speeds, with up to 1,050 MB/s read and 850 MB/s write speeds. Plus, the golden sheen and tiny size make for a unique but convenient drive. It deserves a spot among our top portable SSD picks, if you ask me. We couldn’t help but appreciate its compact design with rounded edges. And whether you’re transferring files, streaming video, or gaming, it handles all those tasks with ease. Plus, it’s built to last, with protection against data loss from drops up to 6 feet. It also comes with two cables—one USB-C and one USB-A—so it’s immediately compatible with modern and older devices. From desktop PCs and laptops to smartphones, tablets, and gaming consoles, this drive has you covered. Go ahead and snag this 1TB SK Hynix Beetle X31 portable SSD for $63 while this limited-time 26% discount is still around! Save 26% on the fast-and-compact SK Hynix Beetle X31 (1TB) portable SSDBuy now at Amazon Read...

Mobile devices sometimes get lost. A laptop bag gets left on the bus or train, a smartphone slips out of your pocket, or a USB flash drive falls to the ground unnoticed. Losing a notebook or phone this way means a serious financial hit. In many cases, however, the loss of data is even more serious. Important and confidential documents, such as tax documents, are often stored on laptops. In some cases, even sensitive company papers may even be stored there. And a smartphone stores doesn’t just hold emails, but also contact lists and WhatsApp chats. Although access to a laptop is password-protected, the files are freely accessible. If the device is booted via a live system, they can be easily read and copied. USB drives usually only need to be connected to a computer to reveal their contents. With smartphones, on the other hand, the file system is always securely encrypted. However, if the device has just been used, the screen lock may not yet be reactivated and the finder can read the stored data and send it by email or chat program. The loss of a device gets especially tricky when the device is deliberately stolen. This usually happens because the thief is after confidential company documents or credit card data. This is why important documents should always be encrypted. Encryption options When encrypting the SSD of a laptop or an external hard drive, you have the choice between two methods: Full Disk Encryption (FDE) File Level Encryption (FLE) With Full Disk Encryption, the software encrypts the entire data carrier, including the operating system. The scope of delivery of Windows Pro and Education also includes FDE encryption with BitLocker. You can find the function in the category view of the Control Panel under “System and Security > BitLocker Drive Encryption.” Once you activate it, every user must enter the defined BitLocker password when starting up the computer. After encryption, it’s no longer possible to access the files on the SSD without this password. BitLocker encryption utilizes the functions of the computer’s TPM chip and is considered to be very secure. However, full disk encryption has a limitation: data is only protected when the laptop is powered off or you’re not logged into Windows. As soon as you have unlocked the SSD by entering the password, hackers can access the stored files via the network or the internet. The same applies if a criminal gets hold of a switched-on device. Notebooks: Encrypt with EFS The alternative to FDE is File Level Encryption (FLE). It only encrypts selected files and folders. The advantage of FLE is that it’s continuously active. In order to access the data, a password usually needs to be entered. Windows FLE is an exception to this rule. Microsoft calls its file encryption EFS (aka Encrypting File System) and it’s integrated directly into the NTFS file system. You can enable it by right-clicking on a file or folder, selecting “Properties,” clicking the “Advanced” button under the “Attributes” section, checking “Encrypt contents to secure data,” and confirming with “OK.” However, Microsoft decrypts this data as soon as you log in with your user account. The problems here are the same as with Full Disk Encryption. In addition, decryption is linked to the password of your user account; if you forget it or if the user account is deleted, access to the data is lost. Encrypt entire drives with VeraCrypt Encryption with the EFS is simple and effective, but it has the disadvantage of file names remaining visible, allowing others to infer their contents. To avoid this, you can use the open source software VeraCrypt free of charge. The program works slightly differently to the functions presented so far. On the one hand, it can encrypt entire drives, but it also offers to create an encrypted container in the form of a mounted drive, into which you copy or move the files and folders you want to be encrypted. Other users will then only see the name of the container, but not its contents. VeraCrypt container encryption is primarily suitable for notebook SSDs. VeraCrypt can encrypt entire drives, but can also create an encrypted container in the form of a virtual drive. Files and folders can be securely stored in this container.IDG Open VeraCrypt, select “Create volume.” This starts a wizard. In the first window, select “Create encrypted container file.” Click “Next” and select “Standard VeraCrypt volume.” Click “Next > File” and enter the path and file name for the container. Confirm with “Save.” “Next” takes you to the encryption settings. Click “Next” and enter the size of the container that VeraCrypt should create. At this point, the program shows you how much space is still available on the selected drive. Decide on a suitable size and click on “Next.” VeraCrypt will now ask you for a password. Type in a long and complex combination of letters, numbers, and characters and click “Next.” You can skip the “Large files” window by clicking “Next.” In the “Volume format” window, select “NTFS” as the file system. Move the mouse pointer back and forth for at least 30 seconds until the color of the progress bar has changed from red to yellow to green. Click on “Format” to create the container file. As soon as the process is complete, the wizard window should close. By moving the mouse, you create a random value for the encryption. The longer you move the mouse back and forth, the better. IDG The VeraCrypt start window now opens again next to the wizard. Select a drive letter, under which the container file should be accessible. Next, click “File” and navigate to the file on your desktop. Click “Mount,” enter the password for the container, and confirm with “OK.” The container now appears under the selected drive letter in the Explorer. Everything you copy into it is automatically encrypted. Secure folder for smartphones The data storage on smartphones and tablets is already securely encrypted with a function of the operating system out of the box. However, this offers limited protection if the device is lost or stolen and the screen lock hasn’t yet reactivated. Since Android 8, the system has included a vault feature for storing confidential data. This vault is called “Secure Folder” and is part of the Google Files file manager, which is already installed on many smartphones and tablets. If you the app isn’t available on your device, you can install it via the PlayStore. The Google Files file manager app includes a function for creating a secure, encrypted folder for confidential data. IDG In Google Files, go to “Collections > Secure folder.” Set a PIN or pattern for access, both of which should be different from the one you use to log in to your device. To move files into the folder, press and hold your finger on the file, then tap the three dots and select “Move to secure folder.” To retrieve a file, open “Collections > Secure folder” in Google Files, enter the PIN or pattern, tap the file, and select “More > Remove from secure folder.” Note: If you forget the PIN or pattern, there is no way to open the vault. External SSDs: Encrypt with BitLocker To Go VeraCrypt is particularly suitable for permanent installation on the SSD of a laptop. For external discs, it’s best to use BitLocker To Go, which is included in the Home version of Windows. Type BitLocker into the search field in the taskbar and click “Manage BitLocker.” This opens a Control Panel window in which the drive letter of the USB stick will appear under “Removable drives > BitLocker to Go” with the status “BitLocker disabled.” Click the link, go to “Turn on BitLocker” and tick the box “Use password to unlock the drive.” Enter a password and click “Save to file” to save the recovery key in a TXT file on your desktop PC’s SSD. Depending on whether the stick already contains data or not, select “Encrypt only used storage space” or “Encrypt entire drive.” To use the stick on other Windows computers, select “Compatible mode” in the following window and click “Start encryption” in the last window. If you connect the stick to a computer, Windows will prompt you to enter the password each time. USB sticks: Encrypt with 7-Zip Finally, the freeware packing program 7-Zip (free) is ideal for quickly encrypting files and folders on a USB stick. You can use this tool to encrypt ZIP files with the AES-256 algorithm, protecting them with a password. Then all you need to do is enter the password to open and unzip the file. You can also securely encrypt ZIP files with the 7-Zip packing program. Make sure that AES-256 is set as the encryption method.IDG This is how you proceed: Select the files in Windows Explorer, right-click, and go to “Show more options > 7-Zip > Add to an archive.” Give the archive file a name, but keep the extension as “zip.” Select a secure and complex password in the “Encryption” section at the bottom right, repeat it one line below, and–this is important–set the “Method” option to “AES-256.” Finally, confirm the encryption with “OK.” After double-clicking on the ZIP file, the Explorer will now display the contents, but an error message will pop up when you try to extract the files. The contents can only be read if you open the ZIP file with 7-Zip and enter the password. As soon as the container has been created, mount it as a separate drive in the file system via the VeraCrypt start window.IDG Hardware-based encryption Encryption and decryption are handled by the CPU during read and write operations. There is also hardware-based encryption, which is mainly used today for external USB hard drives These devices have their own AES encryption chip, which is positioned between the system BIOS and the operating system. This chip handles all encryption and decryption processes on the drive during data access, meaning the entire storage device remains continuously encrypted. Access is only possible after entering a password, which is stored on the external hard drive. Hard drives with built-in hardware encryption are typically available as external USB drives with an AES chip.IDG Read...

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Back in 2019, an indie game launched with a simple tagline: “It’s a lovely morning in the village and you are a horrible goose.” And Untitled Goose Game tells no lies. This one sentence describes its premise accurately. I tell everyone to play it.  I’ve been especially vocal during the past week, when its price on Steam dropped to its all-time low of just $7 for the second time ever. Normally, it’s $20 and already worth the several hours of entertainment it provides. Why is being a jerk to everyone in the most serene, chill, and nonviolent hamlet so delightful? I’m too cheap to pay for the therapy to unpack that. I’d much rather sing the game’s praises. Developer House House calls its creation a “slapstick-stealth-sandbox” game, which is decently accurate (and pretty funny). I’d call it humor masquerading as a low-key puzzle game. With the ability to terrorize everyone with your honking. Assassin’s Creed: Goose (I’d play that game if it were real.)House House / Steam Already have played the game? At $7, it’s cheap to gift a copy to friends who’ve so far missed out. The sale runs until next week, ending September 4 at 10am Pacific, so you can think a bit on who deserves such an act of love. Or self-defense. You learn a lot about people as they inflict psychological warfare on harmless village inhabitants. While also desecrating their belongings. Especially if you’re playing with said loved ones during local co-op mode. Get Untitled Goose Game for $7 on Steam Read...