IT General

Lovense is well-known for its selection of remote-controlled vibrators. It’s slightly less known for a massive security issue that exposed user emails and allowed accounts to be wholly taken over by a hacker without even needing a password. Fortunately, both issues have been fixed, but it didn’t happen without some drama. 

As the story goes, security researcher BobDaHacker (with some help) accidentally found out that you could uncover a user’s email address pretty easily by muting someone in the app. From there, they were able to figure out that you could do this with any user account, effectively exposing every Lovense user’s email without much effort. 

SEE ALSO: Discord user data leak resurfaces on hacker forum as third-party service disputes breach

With the email in hand, it was then possible to generate a valid gtoken without a password, giving a hacker total access to a person’s Lovense account with no password necessary. The researchers told Lovense of the issue in late March and were told that fixes were incoming. 

In June 2025, Lovense told the researchers that the fix would take 14 months to implement because it did not want to force legacy users to upgrade the app. Partial fixes were implemented over time, only partially fixing the problems. On July 28, the researchers posted an update showing that Lovense was still leaking emails and had exposed over 11 million user accounts. 

"We could have easily harvested emails from any public username list," BobDaHacker said in a blog post. "This is especially bad for cam models who share their usernames publicly but obviously don't want their personal emails exposed."

It was around then that the news started making its way around the news cycle. Other researchers began reaching out to show that the exploit had actually been known as far back as 2022, and Lovense had closed the issue without issuing a fix. After two more days in the news cycle, the sex toy company finally rolled out fixes for both exploits on July 30. 

It’s not Lovense’s first roll in the mud. In 2017, the company was caught with its proverbial pants down after its app was shown to be recording users while they were using the app and toy. Lovense fixed that issue as well, stating that the audio data was never sent to their servers.

Since computers became accessible to regular people, building custom versions that live up to your expectations has been a hobby. It's a lot like customizing your own car. But if it's your first time doing this, there are a few things you need to watch out for.

Hybrids have been flying off the lots for the past five years, especially as gas prices kept climbing, and EV sales hit some bumps. Drivers and automakers quickly saw that adding a hybrid option to a popular model made it even more appealing—hybrid sales took off.

As new programmers, we've all made mistakes. But some mistakes are bound to happen due to not knowing the nature of a programming language. So I've compiled some of the most common mistakes you might make while programming in Python.

The Windows desktop is iconic. Some of the backgrounds, the green rolling hills featured in Windows XP, have even become a bit of a meme. However, I do one thing very differently: I have completely removed all desktop icons from my desktop.

Sony and Marvel have revealed a fresh look for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, and it’s a return to basics. In a very short 22-second teaser, fans got a decent look at Spidey’s new suit, which leans heavily into the classic comic design.

SEE ALSO: Every MCU movie villain ranked, from the worst to the worst of the worst

Gone is the ultra-slick Stark Suit, the high-tech armor gifted by Tony Stark, which Holland’s Peter Parker wore in three solo films and multiple Avengers crossovers.

Spoilers for 2021’s No Way Home:

By the film’s end, Peter’s high-tech suit is wrecked — and so is everything else. It's a brutal reset that leaves Peter truly alone and stripped of all the Stark tech that powered his previous adventures. This mirrors the more grounded, scrappy origins many fans felt had been missing from the MCU’s version of the character.

The closing shot in No Way Home is of a homemade suit — vibrant, hand-sewn, and all Peter — and signaled a fresh start. Now, with Brand New Day on the horizon, we’re finally seeing that suit in action. And yeah — it looks great. Here’s hoping the movie lives up to it.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters July 31, 2026, with Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton at the helm.

Reddit, like nearly every major tech company right now, is going all-in on AI, and its next big bet is transforming itself into a full-blown search engine.

SEE ALSO: Google reveals Reddit Answers is powered by Gemini AI

That’s straight from Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. According to TechCrunch, Huffman told investors during the company’s latest earnings call on Thursday: "Reddit is one of the few platforms positioned to become a true search destination. We offer something special — a breadth of conversations and knowledge you can’t find anywhere else."

He’s not wrong. For years, internet users have added "reddit" to the end of their Google searches to filter past SEO sludge and find real human answers. The habit became so widespread that Google eventually baked Reddit content directly into its search results.

But Reddit doesn’t want to be drowned out by Google’s AI search push — it wants to be the answer. Like Meta, OpenAI, and Microsoft, the company is focusing on "its own" AI-driven search experience. That effort centers around the website's search function and Reddit Answers, an AI-assisted tool that is powered by Gemini AI, according to Google.

Reddit Answers, which now serves 6 million users and is being tested in a dozen countries, functions much like ChatGPT, offering conversational, in-depth responses to user queries by pulling from the platform’s massive archive of discussions. Instead of simply returning links or posts, it aims to synthesize answers in a more natural, AI-driven format.

The company plans to combine Reddit Answers with its core search function and redesign the app so the search bar takes center stage. According to Huffman, global expansion is on the way.

"We’re unifying those [Reddit Search and Reddit Answers] into a single search experience, and we’re gonna bring that front and center in the app," Huffman said in the call.

It’s all part of Reddit’s broader push to consolidate its user base and keep people on the platform, while also turning a solid profit. In Q2, the company reported a massive 78 percent revenue jump year-over-year, pulling in $500 million.

Have you noticed how cluttered and obnoxious the web is at times? For example, cookie banners and blinding white themes are a constant barrage of annoyance and distraction. Thankfully, modern web extensions solve many of those problems, but there are a few essentials that I can't live without.

UPDATE: Aug. 3, 2025, 8:28 a.m. This article has been updated to correct inaccuracies about the total amount Tesla was ordered to pay in the court ruling.

A Florida jury has found Tesla partially liable in a fatal crash involving its Autopilot system, ordering the Elon Musk-owned company to pay over $240 million in damages. The verdict marks a major legal blow for Tesla and a significant moment in the broader debate over the safety of autonomous driving technology.

A federal judge in Miami has ordered Tesla to pay $42.5 million — roughly 33 percent of the $129 million in compensatory damages — along with an additional $200 million in punitive damages to the estate of Naibel Benavides Leon and her former partner, Dillon Angulo. In a statement emailed to Mashable, Tesla said it plans to appeal the ruling.

“Today’s verdict is wrong,” the company said. “It only serves to set back automotive safety and jeopardizes not just Tesla’s efforts, but the entire industry’s work to develop life-saving technology. We plan to appeal due to substantial legal errors and irregularities during the trial.”

Tesla also argued that, under Florida law governing product liability cases, punitive damages should be capped at three times the compensatory award (In this case, Tesla would pay 127.5 million instead of $200 million). That would reduce Tesla’s maximum payout to $170 million, not the $243 million currently on the table. The company said it’s confident “the punitive damage award at a minimum, and likely this whole verdict, will be overturned by the appellate court.”

According to the Associated Press, the plaintiffs argue that the punitive damages were calculated based on a multiple of the total compensatory damages, not just Tesla’s share. As a result, they maintain that the full amount awarded by the jury is valid and enforceable.

This is the first case in which Tesla has been held responsible for a wrongful death as a result of its Autopilot technology, according to a Reuters expert. That said, Tesla’s driver-assist software has been linked to hundreds of crashes, enough to warrant its own Wikipedia page.

The lawsuit stemmed from a 2019 incident in which a Tesla Model S driver, reportedly not paying attention while Autopilot was engaged, blew through a stop sign and red light before slamming into a parked Chevrolet Tahoe. Naibel Benavides Leon was standing next to the SUV at the time and was killed. Her former boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, survived with injuries.

"Today’s verdict represents justice for Naibel’s tragic death and Dillon’s lifelong injuries," Brett Schreiber, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal. "Tesla designed Autopilot only for controlled-access highways yet deliberately chose not to restrict drivers from using it elsewhere, alongside Elon Musk telling the world Autopilot drove better than humans."

The ruling is a significant blow to Musk and Tesla, coming at a time when the billionaire is aggressively pushing to expand the company’s robotaxi initiative. As Musk works to convince investors and the public that Tesla can lead the future of autonomous driving, a $329 million verdict tied to its Autopilot system raises serious questions about the safety and legal risk of that vision and could open the company up to more Autopilot-related lawsuits in the future.

When Valve released the Steam Deck gaming handheld, the comparisons to the Nintendo Switch were unavoidable, and the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 has reignited those discussions. I’m here to tell you that the Steam Deck is not a better Switch or Switch 2, because they aren’t really doing the same thing.

In a segment dominated by European and Japanese brands, one American luxury SUV quietly delivers style, comfort, and technology that rivals the best. Often overlooked, it’s a hidden gem for buyers seeking upscale refinement without the usual luxury price tag.

Another week in the Android world is behind us, and this one was just as eventful as any other. Both Chrome and Firefox for Android received some privacy-focused updates, it's looking like the Pixel 10 is finally going to get a highly-requested feature, and One UI 8 continues to roll out.

We navigate most modern phones entirely by swiping our fingers across their displays—but in Android’s early days, all phones came with buttons under the screen. One of these once prominent keys has utterly disappeared, its role no longer a core part of how we navigate our phones.

Before streaming, entertainment was all about finding the right thing to watch on TV. And nothing brought the entire family together like a sitcom with great characters and lighthearted humor.

Looking forward to the second season of a particularly famous Netflix show, or craving something new and fresh? Netflix will have you spoiled with its new and upcoming releases for August. Whether you're a thriller fan or a laid-back sitcom lover, there's something for everyone this month.

Are you confused by the hundreds of Linux distributions out there? Do you want to know how they compare to and differ from one another so you can make a better decision? Well, I just tested 10 of the most popular Linux distros, and here's my personal ranking of all of them!

As a long-time iPad user, who's been covering Apple for several years, I've had a growing suspicion: iPads are basically just laptops now.

In 2024, when Apple launched the iPad Pro with M4 chip — before they'd even put that chip in a MacBook — alongside the iPad Air with M2 chip (and then the M3 version just a few months later), all signs showed my inclination was right. Apple wants its tablets to be as powerful as its laptops.

But the final piece of evidence to prove my hypothesis came at Apple's 2025 WWDC, when the brand announced the newest feature coming to iPads called "Windows." The feature allows users to resize the app windows within the screen to view multiple applications at once. While this feature is new to iPads, it's been a standard feature of laptops for most of their existence.

If the math is mathing the way I think it is, Apple's iPads are basically just laptops now. Here's how Apple is turning its tablets into laptops, and why they might be the more affordable option.

iPads and MacBooks have the same powerful processor

Apple's M series chips now power the brand's computers. It's one of the most powerful processors we've tested, expanding Apple products' speed and efficiency. The first time we saw the M4 chip wasn't in a laptop but Apple's iPad Pro, which scored 14,586 on Geekbench 6, better than most laptops we'd tested at the time.

Half of Apple's iPads now have the M series of chips. The iPad Pro includes the M4, while the iPad Air has the M3 chip. Meanwhile, the other half of the iPad lineup features Apple's A series chips, which are usually found in iPhones. Based on processors alone, it appears that half of Apple's iPad models are quite literally built to compute as laptops. However, that line could soon blur.

Rumors are swirling that Apple's next MacBook may be an affordable model that features an A series chip, which would truly mean you can't judge a laptop or tablet based on its processor alone.

The screen sizes are closing in on each other The 11-inch iPad screen is significantly smaller than the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

And to be clear, not every iPad is basically a laptop. The iPad mini's screen is just way too small to compete — that being said, it is a great e-reader alternative. But the standard iPad, iPad Air, and iPad Pro all have 11-inch screens, two inches shy of the smallest 13-inch MacBook. However, the iPad Air and iPad Pro fully close that gap with their 13-inch models.

iPads can transform into work stations — especially for creatives Add a Magic Keyboard and, voilà, your iPad is laptop. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

OK, but even if they have the same size screen as a laptop, they're still only half a laptop, right? Sort of. While iPads are technically just a touchscreen, Magic Keyboards turn them into workstations. These keyboards, now available to purchase alongside an iPad, seamlessly connect to the tablets (à la AirPods and iPhones) and allow you to type on any actual keyboard rather than a screen. They even include a laptop-style trackpad.

The keyboards range from folios for the basic iPad to the more advanced keyboard stands for the iPad Air and Pro, which make the iPad look just like a laptop. In fact, an iPad and Magic Keyboard set-up more closely resembles a 2-in-1 laptop, like the Microsoft Surface.

With the addition of an Apple Pencil to the iPad and Magic Keyboard pairing, the iPad becomes the ideal Mac for artists too. While interviewing graphic designers about the best laptops for their line of work, many remarked that an iPad was actually their preferred device over a laptop.

However, where iPads and laptops veer from each other is their ports. iPads offer a single USB-C port while laptops typically have multiple ports, including USB-A, USB-C, and HDMI ports. That being said, Apple's port options are dwindling, with some MacBooks just offering three USB-C ports. However, both the iPad and MacBook can work around this with the assistance of a dongle that plugs in and offers port variety.

Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter $65 at Amazon
$69 Save $4 Shop Now The iPad and MacBook interfaces With 'Windows' on iPadOS, you can view multiple apps at once. Credit: Apple

Even though an iPad looks like a laptop, it doesn't mean that it can function like one. With a laptop you have the ability to organize file storage and navigate through multiple windows. And on an iPad you now... have the ability to organize file storage and navigate through multiple windows.

Both iPads and iPhones now feature file storage apps that essentially work like Finder on the portable devices. And with the introduction of "Windows" coming to the next iteration of iPadOS, users can view multiple apps at once for a better workflow.

So, in terms of functionality, the iPad and laptop Venn diagram is basically a circle.

iPads are just competitively priced MacBooks

iPads don't overlap with laptops, specifically MacBooks, on one particular front: price. And that actually works in the tablets' favor. The basic iPad and iPad Air are priced hundreds of dollars less than Apple's most affordable laptop, the MacBook Air.

I liken the price differences between iPads and MacBooks to that of Chromebooks and standard Windows computers; they're a more affordable option, with some decreased functionality. But in the case of iPads, which are typically more expensive than Chromebooks anyway, they also have far more functionality than Chromebooks.

The most affordable iPad starts at $349, while the most affordable MacBook is the 13-inch MacBook Air, which starts at $999. Even if you upgrade to the iPad Air, which has the M3 chip just like that starter MacBook Air, it starts at just $599. And if you were to add on the $269 Magic Keyboard, that comes out to $868, still saving you over $100 compared to the MacBook Air.

However, the more advanced the iPad model you shop, the more it starts to be priced like a laptop. But, even the 13-inch iPad Pro is $300 cheaper than the 14-inch MacBook Pro — and both come with the M4 chip.

Is this all to say that you should be buying an iPad over a MacBook these days? Not at all. But it is to offer up a more affordable alternative in the iPad, which can go head-to-head with many laptops, especially MacBooks.

Apple iPad Air, 11-inch (M3 chip, 128 GB, WiFi) $499 at Amazon
$599 Save $100 Shop Now Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad Pro, 13-inch (M4 chip, 256 GB, WiFi) $1,179 at Amazon
$1,299 Save $120 Shop Now

If you worked in tech in the early 2000s, The IT Crowd was one of those shows that really captured the nostalgia of both the era and what life was like before Slack and the interconnected workplace we live in today.

If you own a home, power outages, occasional or otherwise, are a way of life. The Anker SOLIX F3000 Portable Power Station provides a home backup for short-term power outages, but is versatile enough, and just portable enough, for so much more.

These days, every new TV on the market is a smart TV. This means they come with a built-in interface to access all your favorite streaming services. But I have a hot take: most smart TVs make for terrible streaming devices. Sure, you can technically access most of your favorite streamers, but so often these built-in smart TV platforms are clunky, slow, and not very user-friendly. Plus, some older smart TVs can't handle new streaming apps like Peacock or Apple TV+, which means you'll never know what happens on Severance. Even if you do invest in a new TV, the best streaming devices can give it an instant upgrade.

The streaming device market is pretty crowded; there are various boxes and sticks that promise 4K picture and easy navigation. Unfortunately, tech brands are really good at making claims they can't live up to. (We're looking at you, Google Home.) And having spent months testing streaming devices, I can say with certainty that not all streamers are created equal. While some bring swift, theater-quality picture, others get bogged down by slow, ad-laden UX.

So, I tested the best contenders — including Apple TV, Roku, and Google TV — to find the best streaming device for your TV.

Roku vs. Apple TV — which is better?

The two most popular names in streaming are Apple and Roku. So it begs the question of is a Roku or Apple TV better? The answer isn't so straightforward and depends on what you're looking for. Apple only makes one streaming device, the Apple TV, while Roku makes dozens of devices and TVs.

An Apple TV is an extremely straightforward device that is fast, easy to navigate, delivers stunning picture, and best of all, a totally ad-free home page. The remote features built in voice controls and all of the apps can sync with your TV so all the shows you're currently watching, across streamers, consolidate in one place on the home page. For a long time, it was the priciest streamer on this list, but now the Amazon Fire TV Cube has dethroned it.

While we do prefer the Apple TV to Roku devices, they aren't without their merits. Roku matches Apple's processing speed and delivers, clear, crisp visuals that don't require any buffering time. Roku has a slightly more cluttered landing page than the Apple TV, but it's easily customizable, if you're particular about how it's organized.

And where Roku has the leg up on the Apple TV is in its affordability. A Roku 4K streaming stick costs $49.99, less than half of an Apple TV and even their high end Roku Ultra is just $99.99, $30 less than an Apple TV. If price is your priority, a Roku will serve you well. But if you want the best streaming experience possible, go for an Apple TV.