Office 2021 lost security support on October 13, 2026, so a one-time license has an end date. A one-time license can still be the cheaper choice when you will use it for years, but only up to the day the vendor stops patching it. This guide works through Office Home 2024 against Microsoft 365 Personal, with the break-even point and the support cap, then checks Adobe, Affinity, Final Cut Pro, Bitwarden and built-in antivirus using vendor prices read on October 17, 2026. It also shows why the answer flips when one person uses two computers, and a reader-by-reader summary covers everyone from a light home user to someone still on an old perpetual version.
Location data brokers now face FTC orders, state sale bans and, in California, a single deletion request. Since August 1, 2026, registered data brokers in California have had to process deletion requests filed through the state's DROP tool. Maryland, Oregon and Virginia now bar businesses that meet their size thresholds from selling residents' precise location data. Here you can check which protections apply where you live, what the FTC orders against X-Mode, InMarket, Gravy Analytics, Mobilewalla and Kochava cover, and why approximate location likely falls outside the state bans. There is also a short checklist, including when to add your phone's advertising ID to a DROP request.
Imposter scams cost $3.5 billion in 2025; here is what blocks scam calls and texts, and what doesn't. The FTC's 2025 figures put nearly one in three fraud reports in the imposter category, from fake banks to fake government agencies, and FBI alerts show how toll texts and official-sounding calls are built to look like real records. The article explains why these messages look believable, what the FCC requires carriers to block and where those rules stop, which filters iPhone, Android, AT&T and Verizon offer, and where to forward and report a message. It closes with a checklist for the next suspicious call or text and steps for anyone who already clicked or replied.
The FCC's July 2026 C-band order won't touch your signal before 2030, but 5G has already changed a lot.
Ookla's speed data for the first half of 2026 puts T-Mobile's median 5G download at 314 Mbps and Verizon's at 219 Mbps, and state medians differ almost fivefold, so the carrier and the address matter more than the 5G icon. Home internet over 5G has grown into a mainstream option, with Verizon at 6.2 million connections by mid-2026. Below you'll find why low-band, mid-band and millimeter-wave 5G feel so different, what the 2022 3G shutdowns meant for older phones, what the network-slicing marketing actually covers, and how to challenge the FCC coverage map with your own speed tests.
About half of US adults now use AI chatbots; here is how they work, where they err and what settings do. Pew Research Center reported on June 17, 2026 that 49% of US adults use AI chatbots and about a quarter use them daily. The article explains in plain terms what a chatbot is (a language model predicting text), why it can state false things with confidence, and how Anthropic, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI describe training on your chats and the settings that control it, including what an opt-out leaves out. It also covers the FTC's study of companion chatbots and minors and chatbot laws in California, Maine and Utah, and ends with a short checklist for first-time users, workers, parents and anyone asking health or money questions.
Pixel 6 support ends this month by Google's count, so here is how to check how long your phone is covered. A phone's software support, not its screen or battery, often sets how long it is safe to use. The article sets out what Google, Samsung and Apple publish about update periods, with end months calculated from Google's own dates for each Pixel from the 6 to the 9, and Apple's record of security-only fixes for iPhones that can't run iOS 27. It explains what the UK and EU rules require and why they matter to US buyers, then ends with a checklist for checking your phone in Settings, erasing it properly before you sell or hand it down, and recycling it safely.
