Catie Keck, Author at Gizmodo

Microsoft Set to Bombard Users With Full-Screen Notices That Windows 7 Is Dying

Windows 7 users, prepare yourselves for the aggressive, full-screen notifications informing users their operating system is out of date. It’s happening soon. Microsoft said this week that beginning on January 15th, “a full-screen notification will appear that describes the risk of continuing to use Windows 7 Service Pack 1.” Extended security updates end the day…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 11

Siri Has Made Me Deeply Uncomfortable

Hey Siri, debase me in the most unsettling way possible. Last week, Twitter user raybelline posted a video that’s at once hilarious and viscerally uncomfortable to listen to. Screen recording of an iPhone showed that Siri had been asked to address the user by an extended version of “haha” that seemed to confuse Siri’s robot…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 11

You Should Feel Bad

Living in the worst possible timeline means that each week invites a new, unbearably dumb viral sensation. This week, it’s pigeons in tiny hats. And reader, while it pains me to spoil the novelty of birds in miniature clothing, whoever is doing this should feel terrible. Reports of pigeons spotted on the streets of Las Vegas…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 11

Google Chrome Will Now Alert You to Phishing Scams in Real Time

If Google had its way, everyone would carry around a physical security key to protect our mountains of sensitive and personally identifying data. Alas, most of us do not, so the company has taken measures in recent years to prioritize security for users by baking them into Chrome. With the rollout of Chrome 79 this…

Privacy & Security Catie Keck Dec 10

DoorDash Has a New Plan to Make Workers Gamble on How Much They’ll Get Paid

Courier service and notoriously predatory employer DoorDash is still messing with its pay and tipping systems. This time, the company has informed its delivery drivers that it will soon only show them the minimum earnings for each delivery rather than the total earnings, a change dashers worry is an attempt by the company to bait…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 10

You Can Stream Torrents Through The Pirate Bay Once Again

Streaming on the Pirate Bay probably won’t be as easy as clicking play on Netflix—or as legal—but it’ll definitely be free. According to TorrentFreak, the Pirate Bay again appears to support a streaming functionality, with the site pointing to a “B” icon that has materialized below the file name on film and series content. Clicking…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 10

T-Mobile and Sprint Head to Court to Defend Their Very Bad Megamerger

More than a dozen states are suing to stop a deal that would see two of the top U.S. telecoms companies merge into one, a move that state attorneys general argue would harm consumers and raise prices. That trial was scheduled to begin early Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 9

TikTok to Pay $1.1 Million to Settle Lawsuit Alleging It Collected and Exposed Children’s Data

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle a proposed class action alleging that the app Musical.ly violated children’s privacy laws by collecting their data and operating the app “in a reckless and unlawful manner for commercial gain.” Earlier this week, a spokesperson for TikTok said that a resolution…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 6

Apple Explains What’s Going On With Its Big Location Services Mystery

Well, well, well. After failing to address a KrebsOnSecurity report that a location icon appeared in the status bar of an iPhone 11 even after all individual location and service settings have been disabled—giving the appearance that the device was sharing location data without a user’s consent—Apple has finally surfaced with an explanation. Apple told…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 5

How to Enable Opera’s ‘Super Dark’ Mode on Android and Dim Glaring White Web Pages

Opera’s version 55 for Android is introducing a darker mode and a feature to dim the piercing white of web pages that don’t yet support dark mode on their own. The company announced Thursday that it’s rolling out a new night mode that allows users to manually adjust the color temperature in-browser as well as…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 5

Stop Using Avast and AVG Plugins Right Now

Two browsers have yanked Avast and AVG online security extensions from their web stores after a report revealed that they were unnecessarily sucking up a ton of data about users’ browsing history. Wladimir Palant, the creator behind Adblock Plus, initially surfaced the issue—which extends to Avast Online Security and Avast SafePrice as well as Avast-owned…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 4

Apple Seems to Be Tracking iPhone 11 When Location Services Are Disabled, Report Finds [Updated]

Update 12/5/19: Apple has finally explained that this is part of an on-device process used for regulatory compliance and it promised a new tool to toggle the feature off in the future. You can read a full explanation of what’s going on right here. Original story below. Apple talks a very, very big privacy game,…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 4

TikTok Sued Over Claims That App ‘Tracked, Collected, and Disclosed’ the Data of Children

The app formerly known as Musical.ly and currently known as TikTok is being sued over allegations that it collected and exposed the personally identifiable data of children under 13 in violation of child privacy protection laws. China’s Bytedance in 2017 acquired Musical.ly—which originally launched in 2014—in a deal valued at nearly $1 billion at the…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 3

Netflix Is Testing a Shuffle Feature That Could Make Your Binges Even Lazier

Series-binging sometimes means throwing on random reruns of a favorite series just to keep you occupied—it’s one of the great benefits of cord-cutting, after all. But the lack of a shuffle function on many popular platforms means you’re generally stuck committing to a season and starting from the top or cherry-picking what to watch next…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 3

All Awards Are Fake But the Apple Music Awards Are Faker

With Apple’s pivot to services comes a whole new realm of advertising opportunities for convincing us to buy those services. It should come as little surprise, then, that its recently announced Apple Music Awards sure seem like just that: an ad. Apple announced Monday that its Apple Music Awards will be held Wednesday at the…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 3

Amazon Yanks Auschwitz-Themed Tree Ornaments From Its Marketplace

Amazon has pulled a number of items that inexplicably depicted Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz on Christmas tree ornaments and bottle openers after they were flagged by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum on Twitter. The official account for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland on Sunday shared screenshots of several items for sale…

Tech News Catie Keck Dec 2

Password Managers Are Actually a Really Good Gift

The holidays are nearly here, and that means you may be scraping up loose change in your sofa cushions for any gift-giving you plan to be doing this season. But the best gift you can give your loved ones this year—be they friends, family, or secret Santa pals—is a password manager. Hear me out. A…

Privacy & Security Catie Keck Nov 29

Why Sharing Your Disney+ or Netflix Password Is a Bad Idea

It can be tempting to share your various service logins with a pal, especially because they ain’t getting any cheaper. But you might think twice before handing those Netflix or Disney+ credentials over to a friend—particularly if your password and account protection protocols are lax. Earlier this month, an investigation by ZDNet found that Disney+…

Privacy & Security Catie Keck Nov 29

Reminder: Netflix Is Losing Support on Some Devices on December 1

Consider this a gentle reminder that some older devices are losing support for Netflix on December 1, including select Roku, Samsung, and Vizio units. Last month, Netflix told Gizmodo that some users would lose support for the streaming service beginning the first week of December due to “technical limitations.” More specifically, a company spokesperson said…

Tech News Catie Keck Nov 29

NYC City Council Approves Ban on All the Good E-Cig Flavors

New York City is poised to bar all non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes and e-liquids, meaning it would be sayonara for all the good vape flavors—and yes, that means menthol too. The legislation would ban the sale of flavored e-cigs and e-liquids—including menthol, mint, and wintergreen—in New York City and would bar retailers from having six or…

Tech News Catie Keck Nov 27

Catie Keck

Microsoft Set to Bombard Users With Full-Screen Notices That Windows 7 Is Dying

Siri Has Made Me Deeply Uncomfortable

You Should Feel Bad

Google Chrome Will Now Alert You to Phishing Scams in Real Time

DoorDash Has a New Plan to Make Workers Gamble on How Much They’ll Get Paid

You Can Stream Torrents Through The Pirate Bay Once Again

T-Mobile and Sprint Head to Court to Defend Their Very Bad Megamerger

TikTok to Pay $1.1 Million to Settle Lawsuit Alleging It Collected and Exposed Children’s Data

Apple Explains What’s Going On With Its Big Location Services Mystery

How to Enable Opera’s ‘Super Dark’ Mode on Android and Dim Glaring White Web Pages

Stop Using Avast and AVG Plugins Right Now

Apple Seems to Be Tracking iPhone 11 When Location Services Are Disabled, Report Finds [Updated]

TikTok Sued Over Claims That App ‘Tracked, Collected, and Disclosed’ the Data of Children

Netflix Is Testing a Shuffle Feature That Could Make Your Binges Even Lazier

All Awards Are Fake But the Apple Music Awards Are Faker

Amazon Yanks Auschwitz-Themed Tree Ornaments From Its Marketplace

Password Managers Are Actually a Really Good Gift

Why Sharing Your Disney+ or Netflix Password Is a Bad Idea

Reminder: Netflix Is Losing Support on Some Devices on December 1

NYC City Council Approves Ban on All the Good E-Cig Flavors

The Trump Phone Still Looks Like Total Trash

‘Masters of the Universe’ Really, Really Wants to Be the Next ‘Barbie’

Samsung’s Micro RGB TVs Provide So Much Color It May Be Too Much

The Crypto Bros Want to Get Their Hands on Anthropic’s ‘Super Dangerous’ Model

This Is What a Music Industry ‘Plant’ Looks Like in 2026

As Starship V3 Lags Behind, Blue Origin Prepares Third Launch of New Glenn

The New Movie From Takashi Yamazaki Could Be the New ‘Pacific Rim’

Forget Samsung Galaxy S26, Google Pixel 10 Pro Hits a Black Friday Low With No Trade-In Required

YouTube Will Stop Showing Ads If You Just Engage Hard Enough

Norway Man Cured of HIV With Brother’s Stem Cells

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice