Tag Archive for: basic
‘It’s a $20 solution to a $500 problem’ – this viral hack will turn your basic stick vacuum into a high-tech dupe
When Dyson launched its latest range of cordless vacuums, the internet practically lost its mind at the new Detect feature. If you haven’t seen it, Detect is basically an integrated laser in the head of the vacuum, precisely angled in a way that reveals every last particle of dust and hair on your floor. It’s a genius way to make sure you’re giving your home a deep clean when you vacuum.
It’s a feature we expect to see on all the best cordless vacuums going forward, but for Dyson’s offering, it’s only available on the V15 Detect and V12 Detect Slim Absolute. At $749.99 and $499.99 respectively, it’s a big price tag for the novelty of the laser head feature, especially if you’d recently paid out for an older Dyson vacuum model.
For Aden Wang, a product designer based in San Francisco, the laser functionality was an attractive proposition, but would mean having to upgrade his existing Dyson to the newer $500 model. However, he found a clever product on Amazon that could add the functionality to his existing vacuum.
This $20 vacuum cleaner dust display lamp from Amazon can be fixed onto a range of other vacuums, including a Dyson. It’s mounted with a sticker pad, powered by a battery (although rechargeable options are available), and turned on by a button the device.
It has some other benefits, according to Aden. ‘The Dyson laser clean head may be great for hardwood floors, but it’s inconvenient to change clean head when cleaning between hardwood and carpet. I’d rather sticking with just one clean head,’ he says.
Vacuum cleaner dust display LED lamp
Price: $19.99
Of course, it’s not the perfect solution. Unlike the Dyson Detect, the laser isn’t ever going to be integrated into your vacuum, which has its drawbacks.
‘You have to manually turn it on and off,’ Aden explains on his Instagram Reel, ‘but I found tapping it with my foot works well. It doesn’t connect to the Dyson power source. So you’ll need to change batteries. It sticks out a little bit so it hits the ground first before you drop flat your clean head.’
In spite of these flaws, for $20, it’s the perfect way to embrace this new piece of technology for now, even if you’re going to invest in a Dyson Detect later down the line.
Twitter to charge for a basic security feature that costs nothing on other platforms
What you need to know
- Twitter’s SMS-based two-factor authentication will now cost you a monthly subscription fee.
- The security feature will be restricted only to Twitter Blue subscribers starting March 20.
- Accounts with SMS 2FA still enabled will automatically lose this feature after that date.
After locking some of its longstanding features, such as the blue check mark, behind a monthly subscription, Twitter will now charge you for SMS-based two-factor authentication.
The social networking platform surprised users by announcing (opens in new tab) that only Twitter Blue subscribers will be able to secure their accounts using this security option after March 20. After that date, the feature will automatically be disabled, assuming you haven’t done so by then.
It should be noted that disabling SMS 2FA does not automatically remove your phone number from your account.
Twitter is shutting down the SMS-based 2FA option for free users because it has seen “phone-number based 2FA be used – and abused – by bad actors.” This form of authentication is widely regarded as the least secure due to the rising cases of SIM swap attacks, which allow hackers to steal your phone number by contacting your carrier and then tricking them into activating a SIM card in their possession. When fraudsters gain control of your phone number, it’s all over for the security measures you’ve put in place for your online accounts.
Security experts have long been promoting authentication apps and security keys as more secure alternatives to SMS. However, text messages remain a popular choice among Twitter users.
According to the company’s transparency report (opens in new tab) for the period July 2021 to December 2021, almost 75% of users were using SMS for 2FA. Meanwhile, authentication apps account for nearly 29% and physical authentication keys represent a paltry 0.5%.
This makes Twitter’s decision to remove that option quite alarming from a security standpoint, unless you’re paying $8 a month for Twitter Blue ($11 a month on iOS). Otherwise, now is the time to switch to generator apps or a security key.
Additionally, it’s possible to enable multiple 2FA methods on your account, which is strongly recommended,…
Ensuring Basic Cybersecurity Presumptions in BiH Institutions
The Audit Office of BiH Institutions conducted an audit of the performance of “Activities of BiH Institutions on ensuring the basic assumptions for cybersecurity”, which indicates that BiH institutions were not efficient in undertaking activities aimed at ensuring basic cybersecurity presumptions.
There is a lack of a strategic and legal framework for cyber security, and the Computer Security Incident Response Team for BiH institutions has not been established either.
The purpose of the performance audit was to determine whether the institutions of BiH are efficient in undertaking activities to ensure the basic assumptions for cyber security.
Only 14 out of 68 institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted information security management acts by the Information Security Management Policy. The consequences of the lack of basic assumptions for cybersecurity endanger the operations of public administration and can lead to the alienation of data and financial resources necessary for the functioning of the country and the daily life of citizens.
The recommendations were addressed to the Council of Ministers of BiH, the Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH, the Ministry of Security of BiH and the institutions of BiH. The implementation of the recommendations should contribute to the provision of basic assumptions for cybersecurity and the improvement of cyber protection in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, announced the Audit Office of Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.