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If you've gotten a text that promises a refund for your inflation-related spending, you're probably getting scammed.

According to Bleeping Computer, New Yorkers are getting texts from a number that says they're the Department of Taxation and Finance. The texter claims the recipient is eligible for "Inflation Refunds" and requests personal and financial data — a major red flag.

Remember: The U.S. government will never send you a text like this, nor will your state or local tax officials.

Now, it is true that some New Yorkers are getting inflation refunds from the state Department of Taxation and Finance. According to the department, some taxpayers are eligible for a one-time inflation refund check if they filed certain tax forms in 2023, reported income within qualifying thresholds, and were not claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer’s return. If they meet the criteria, they can receive a check for $150 to $400 to compensate them for inflated sales tax payments, which will be mailed directly to them.

SEE ALSO: The top internet scams to be aware of in 2025 (so far)

However, even if you do qualify for the state's "first-ever inflation refund checks," the Department of Taxation and Finance will not send you a text.

"The Tax Department is not contacting taxpayers about the New York State inflation refund check," the Department of Taxation and Finance said in a statement on its website. "You do not need to provide us with additional information to receive a check. If you are contacted about the inflation refund check by someone supposedly from the Tax Department, report it."

You can report these texts by phone or by email.

"New Yorkers do not have to do anything to receive an inflation refund check outside of meeting the eligibility requirements," Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement in response to the scam texts. "With scams targeting the state’s inflation refund initiative, let me be clear: The Tax Department and the IRS do not call or text individuals for personal information. My administration urges New Yorkers to remain vigilant and report these scams to the Tax Department to protect yourself from being a victim."

As in toll text scams, Indeed text scams, and crypto text scams, the cybercriminals responsible will often use scare tactics to create a false sense of urgency.

When in doubt, contact your state government for more information; never respond to suspected scam texts.

Google's AI tool, Gemini, has drastically improved its ability to create and edit photos. And people are looking for, and posting about, the best ways to use the tool.

That's because Google recently integrated Nano Banana — the company's AI-powered image generation and editing tool — into Gemini's new Gemini 2.5 Flash Image. Simply put, if you go to Google AI Studio or to the Gemini App, you should be able to make better photo creations. In Mashable's tests, Nano Banana works particularly well as an image editor.

Now, I'd probably argue that instead of playing around with AI, you might simply go out into the world and take pictures. Enjoy some sunshine, if you're so lucky. But hey, whatever floats your boat or drains your water supply. So, if you're serious about using an AI image generator to get interesting results, we've got some good prompt ideas to get you started.

Google Gemini AI photo prompts to try

Ask it to make trading cards: If you're really into sports cards, fantasy card games, Pokémon, or similar hobbies, you can feed Gemini photos, then ask it to create trading cards. As usual, specificity is key: You can ask Gemini to include stats, change outfits, or make tweaks just how you like them. Make all your childhood dreams come true. The idea is to be as specific as possible.

AI-GENERATED IMAGES Credit: Google

This Thread, for instance, suggests telling an AI tool all the different categories, attacks, and other necessary info to get a good Pokémon-style card. If you wanted a football playing card, you might tell Gemini to include stats — specifying categories like rushing yards, attempts, receptions, or touchdowns — and give other details to include, such as a fun nickname.

Add things to the background: As Mashable Tech Editor Timothy Beck Werth showed, Gemini does a solid job of adding new details to images. In his example, he added dolphins in the water alongside a boat. But you can add just about anything to an image. In general, try to include details about how you want it to look. Typically speaking, I've gotten the best results specifying if I want it to look photorealistic. For instance, I added realistic-looking rain by asking for "easily visible rain that appears photorealistic."

Remix photos of your pets: Here's an example straight from Google itself. In a blog post about fun Google Gemini AI photo prompts, Google provided this prompt idea along with the before and after results: "Prompt: Recreate this cat as a 16-bit video game character, and place the character in a level of a 2D 16-bit platform video game."

AI-GENERATED IMAGE Credit: Google

Create or edit a headshot: Lots of folks need headshots for professional reasons. I'd suggest using a photographer for best results, but in a pinch, you can use Gemini's model to create or edit an image. I tried giving Gemini a random picture of myself and asked for a "professional-looking headshot" based off that. The results were quite uncanny valley. It looked enough like me to kind of work, but it was also clearly not me. I'd suggest using AI to edit a headshot rather than invent one out of whole cloth. If you're looking for help in crafting prompts, Reddit has lots of ideas about how to get a specific output.

Combine two photos: As we've shown before, Gemini does a solid job of transposing one photo onto another. So, as we detailed, you could add a spice bottle to an image of a fire — or whatever else you could dream up. So you might ask Gemini, "Combine these two photos. Take the hand holding a coffee and transpose it into the foreground of the picture of the Grand Canyon. Match the lighting and shadows so it appears the two images were taken as one."

Enter your favorite fantasy world: Say you love Game of Thrones. Well, you or anyone else can now enter that world via Gemini. It'd be a fun bit to send to fellow fans. The prompt is pretty simple: Upload a photo and ask Gemini to make the person or thing appear to be a part of your favorite franchise.

There's plenty to try out with Gemini — after all, it can make almost anything. In my experience, it might take a little bit of playing around, but you can get useful results by fine-tuning your prompts.

For more ideas on how to use Nano Banana and make and edit AI images in Gemini, the Google blog has more examples.

In a sea of me-too keyboard and mouse designs, it's refreshing when a product like the Naya Create attempts to break the mold. Unfortunately, this modular keyboard system proves more enthusiast's experiment than something that's ready for the mass market.

Everyone wants their Windows PCs to offer the best performance. Apps should open instantly, there shouldn't be any lag when switching windows, and the system itself should boot immediately. However, if any of these aspects feel a bit sluggish, Microsoft says it could be due to your OneDrive file syncing settings and your computer's visual effects.

On October 14th, Microsoft will be officially ending support for Windows 10. However, if you aren't ready to upgrade yet, you can sign up for Extended Security Updates so you can continue getting important security patches beyond 2025. There are a few steps needed to enroll in ESU.

It's easy to look at Bruce Springsteen, a living legend of American rock music, and think there was never a time when anyone could doubt him — not his drive, not his artistry, not his unrelenting charisma. But like last year's Bob Dylan–centered drama A Complete Unknown, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere narrows in on a time when a celebrated music star dared to do something so different that the doubt was ringing out.

Jeremy Allen White stars as Bruce Springsteen in director Scott Cooper's film adaptation of Warren Zanes’ book, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, which chronicles the creation of the artist's 1982 album, Nebraska. While critics have been divided on the film, White's been earning furious praise for his portrayal of the Boss.

In her review out of the New York Film Festival, entertainment reporter Belen Edwards noted the film's thematic ties to The Bear, the much-awarded TV series on which White has most recently been showered in accolades. However, she notes his performances in each are incredibly different, writing, "White's Carmy so often feels on the verge of exploding with anger or grief, while his Springsteen carries a steady sadness with him at all times. If Carmy is a pressure cooker, Springsteen is a deep lake."

You can dive into White's spin on Springsteen this weekend.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere debuts in theaters Oct. 24.

If you've noticed your graphics card running hotter than usual, there are a few common culprits likely to blame. Modern cards often feature robust cooling solutions that help it maintain maximum clock speeds and performance, but some problems are simply inevitable with any GPU.

You never know when a certain Windows app can help solve an immediate problem. You may not always have time to download and install what you need. But luckily, there are several useful ones with portable versions that can fit on your thumb drive.

Your Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen) is getting a major visual upgrade with the rollout of four brand new Farsight faces. This is great news because the default face can get dull quickly. These new options will join the four existing Farsight faces, meaning you have eight total.

Anyone who has ever tried to customize their copy of Windows will inevitably run into Rainmeter. It lets you put all kinds of heavily customizable widgets on the Windows desktop. Windows has never given us much in the way of customization, and in the latest versions, widgets are missing entirely. If you’re a fan of widgets and visual monitors, or if you just enjoy a pretty desktop, let me show why Rainmeter is perfect for the job.

The introduction of dynamic arrays triggered the biggest change to how we work with Microsoft Excel formulas in years, if not decades. They allow a single formula to spill multiple results into adjacent cells and resize automatically, replacing the less flexible legacy Ctrl-Shift-Enter (CSE) array formulas.

HP just dropped a massive deal on its OmniBook 5 Copilot+ PC, letting you snag the 14-inch 2K OLED touchscreen laptop for just $500 at Best Buy. This is a huge 29% discount off its regular $700 price tag, so you're getting high-end features for less.

Microsoft’s Windows 10 life support ends tomorrow, Oct. 14. After that, the tech giant will no longer provide free security updates, bug fixes, or technical support for the operating system.

That might sound alarming — especially to the millions of users around the globe who still use Windows 10. But don’t panic. Your computer won’t suddenly stop working, and you don’t have to upgrade to Windows 11 (though Microsoft would certainly prefer that you did).

SEE ALSO: You can stay on Windows 10 for another year for free — if you act by Oct. 14

So, what happens now?

You can still use Windows 10, but once cumulative updates stop, your system will gradually become more vulnerable. Without new patches, hackers can exploit security holes that go unaddressed — putting your data at risk as you browse the web, check email, or do online banking.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Microsoft Defender Antivirus will continue receiving virus definition updates until 2028, offering a basic layer of protection. However, the operating system itself won’t get critical security fixes, meaning antivirus alone won’t be enough to keep your device fully secure.

And over time, there’s another problem: compatibility. As developers increasingly focus on Windows 11, older apps, software, and even websites may stop running smoothly on Windows 10. Hard to believe, but the "modern" OS is already a decade old.

If you’re running an older computer that can’t handle Windows 11, there’s still a way to stay secure without buying a new PC. Microsoft is offering enrollment in its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, which provides critical security patches for an additional year, through October 13, 2026.

Originally designed for businesses, the ESU program has now been expanded to regular users. However, it’s meant only as a stopgap. ESU won’t deliver new features or performance fixes, just essential security updates.

You can enroll for free if you use the Windows Backup app to upload your files to OneDrive, or if you’ve earned at least 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points. Otherwise, access to ESU costs a one-time fee of $30. Enrollment is open now and will remain available until October 13, 2026.

SAVE $132: As of Oct. 13, the LG 55-inch C5 OLED 4K TV is on sale for $1,164.80 at Amazon. That's 10% or $132 off its usual retail price of $1,296.99, and the best price on record.

Opens in a new window Credit: LG LG 55-inch C5 OLED 4K TV $1,164.80 at Amazon
$1,296.99 Save $132.19 Get Deal

If you're looking to upgrade your TV and don't want to wait until Black Friday, the LG C5 OLED 4K TV is already chilling at its best price ever.

As of Oct. 13, the LG 55-inch C5 OLED 4K TV is down to $1,164.80 at Amazon. That's $132 less than its usual list price of $1,296.99 and the lowest price on record since its March release. We know that's still a bit pricey for a new TV, but our sister site CNET calls its "top choice among 2025 TVs." In other words, you get what you pay for.

LG's C4 model from last year is still one of the best TVs you can get, but the C5 is even better, with a brighter, more vibrant, and color-accurate picture quality. Of course, like all of LG's high-quality OLEDs, it also has superior contrast with near-perfect black levels, so it looks great when you're watching from any angle. Other upgrades include a fully redesigned Magic Remote and AI capabilities (shocker). Packing four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 144Hz, the C5 OLED TV is a great choice for gaming, as well as watching sports, movies, and TV shows.

We wouldn't recommend running out and buying the latest LG C-Series TV when it's at full price, but while it's down to a record-low $1,164.80, we say go for it.

Two neuroscientists are suing Apple, alleging that the company trained its AI models using pirated book libraries that included their works and the copyrighted works of others.

Apple now joins the ranks of other tech companies like Meta and OpenAI, which have also been sued over their use of copyrighted material to train AI systems. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Typically, tech companies claim that the fair use legal doctrine allows them to use copyrighted material in this context, even without permission or payment.

The lawsuit from Dr. Susana Martinez-Conde and Dr. Stephen Macknik, professors of neuroscience at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, is actually the second lawsuit in just over a month that targets the iPhone maker for using copyrighted material to train its Apple Intelligence models.

Last month, authors Grady Hendrix and Jennifer Roberson also sued Apple, claiming the company's scraper, Applebot, pulls material from "shadow libraries," online collections of unlicensed copyrighted books.

The latest lawsuit from professors Martinez-Conde and Macknik also alleges that Apple is pulling copyrighted material for AI training from shadow libraries. The two plaintiffs say that Apple trained its OpenELM model using a pirated database called Books3, a shadow library that contains more than 190,000 works. This is the same pirated dataset at issue in Kadrey vs. Meta and Bartz vs. Anthropic, which were ultimately decided in the AI companies' favor.

However, the issue of AI training and copyright remains unsettled while various cases work their way through the U.S. court system.

Anthropic also settled a class action lawsuit in September, after being sued by authors over the use of 500,000 pirated works to train the company's AI chatbot Claude. Last month, Anthropic agreed to settle the lawsuit for $1.5 billion.

Hendrix and Roberson's lawsuit against Apple also seeks class action status.

Apple has previously been sued over Apple Intelligence, although these two lawsuits mark the first time the company has been sued over copyright infringement claims. Earlier this year, Apple was sued for advertising Apple Intelligence features that were delayed and not yet available for consumers. Elon Musk's X also sued Apple over its partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI. The deal between Apple and OpenAI involves the AI giant powering some Apple Intelligence features.

SAVE $70: The Apple iPad, 11-inch (11th Generation. 128GB, WiFi) is on sale at Amazon for $279, down from the list price of $349. That's a 20% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad, 11-inch (11th Gen, 128GB, WiFi) $279 at Amazon
$349 Save $70 Get Deal

The weather outside might not be frightful just yet, but shockingly we're only two months away from winter. If your fall and winter plans involve reading, streaming the best new shows, or getting really good at Balatro, you'll want to head into the season with a capable tablet. Lucky for everyone, Amazon has a solid model on sale to kick off the week.

As of Oct. 13, the Apple iPad, 11-inch (11th Generation, 128GB, WiFi) is on sale for $279 at Amazon, marked from the standard price of $349. That's a 20% discount that takes $70 off the price. Be sure to go with the silver, yellow, or pink colorway to score this discount. The blue colorway is also on sale but it's only 9% off for a total of $319.

SEE ALSO: Scoop up a Google Pixel Tablet for its lowest price yet

The Apple iPad (11 inch) earns Mashable's choice for the best tablet for most people. Its size combined with its storage space and ample ability to multitask makes it a great option. "You'll be able to multitask without the system sputtering out, whether you're watching YouTube videos, playing your favorite high-res games, or just have a habit of leaving your apps running in the background," according to Mashable Senior Shopping Reporter Leah Stodart and Tech Editor Timothy Beck Werth.

Apple considers the iPad to have all-day battery life so it'll be great for cozy weekends on the couch. The 12 megapixel camera is great for video chats with family while arranging holiday plans. Plus, it's compatible with both the Apple Pencil and the Magic Keyboard Folio, both of which take the tablet to a whole new level of functionality.

While it's still at the October Prime Day sale price of $279, snag the Apple iPad, 11 inch and get prepared for cozy season. Plus, it'll be great for keeping entertained (read: distracted) during holiday travel.

Right now, the 4K 65-inch Hisense U7 Series MiniLED Smart TV is on sale for a massive 47% discount from the original MSRP. This drops the price all the way down to $800 at Best Buy.

FreeBSD 15, the next major update for the free and open-source operating system, is now available as a beta release. If you've been looking at FreeBSD as a possible alternative to Linux, or you just want to try it out in a virtual machine, there are a few new features and a ton of smaller changes.

A now-debunked Reddit rumor spread so fast across the internet that Xbox itself had to step in to clear the air.

It all started with a post on the r/Xbox subreddit, where one user claimed that Target was removing its Xbox section entirely. The user even cited a store manager who allegedly said that all Target locations in the Kansas City area were purging their Xbox stock.

SEE ALSO: Microsoft Word will now automatically save your docs in the cloud

The post exploded, with commenters piling on. Some claimed Walmart stores were doing the same, while others declared it the final nail in the coffin for Xbox as a console maker — pointing to Microsoft’s recent focus on cloud gaming and its all-in push for Game Pass subscribers.

But the rumor didn’t hold up. As reported by Windows Central, Xbox quickly refuted the claims, telling the outlet that "Target and Walmart, among other retailers, remain committed partners for Xbox consoles, accessories, and games.”

So, for now, you can still pick up an Xbox console off a store shelf at these retailers. Just be ready to pay a little more if you’re subscribing to Game Pass — a price hike is on the horizon.

It’s well worth taking the time to set up a Home Assistant server so that you can take your smart home experience to the next level. But if you go through with this, you should take the time to do it properly and avoid one of the most common mistakes that newcomers make.