Catie Keck, Author at Gizmodo

Windows Is Giving Up on Getting You to ‘Safely Remove’ USB Drives

On Windows, at least, the era of living on the edge by recklessly ripping out your USB devices appears to be coming to an end. Windows 10 version 1809 has updated the operating system’s default setting for USB and Thunderbolt-enabled external devices. In past versions of Windows, the default setting was “Better performance,” which enabled…

Tech News Catie Keck Apr 8

E. Coli Outbreak Has Sickened Over 70 People, But CDC Says the Source Is a Mystery

An E. coli outbreak with an as-yet unknown origin has reportedly sickened dozens of people across several states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prompting federal and state investigations into its cause. The CDC said Friday that reports of individuals infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O103 began in early March. This…

Health Catie Keck Apr 6

Colorado Governor Reportedly Set to Sign Net Neutrality Bill Into Law

A bill aimed at protecting net neutrality in Colorado is on its way to being signed into law. Colorado Governor Jared Polis is expected to sign Senate Bill 78, the Colorado Sun reported Friday, after it passed in the Colorado House this week. The bill was introduced earlier this year by state Democrats and would…

Tech News Catie Keck Apr 5

Hayabusa2 Spacecraft Blasts Artificial Crater in Asteroid Ryugu’s Surface

Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft has completed yet another intense mission: It used an explosive to blast a crater in the surface of the asteroid Ryugu. This success comes after the probe briefly touched down on the asteroid in February, firing a tantalum bullet into the surface in hopes of kicking up debris. On Thursday, the Japan…

Space & Spaceflight Catie Keck Apr 5

Amazon’s AirPods Rival Is Reportedly Planning to Outshine Apple

The ongoing, tiresome feud between Apple and Amazon continues. According to a Thursday report from Bloomberg, Amazon is looking to kick this competition into high gear with Alexa-linked earbuds it hopes will rival AirPods. Not only will these earbuds aim for higher quality audio than AirPods, according to Bloomberg’s sources familiar with the matter, they…

Commerce Catie Keck Apr 5

FDA Warns of Incidents of Seizures Associated With Vaping

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that it is investigating a potential link between seizures and vaping after receiving dozens of voluntary reports over a nearly 10-year period. The agency said Wednesday that after observing a “slight but noticeable” uptick in voluntary reports related to seizures, it referred to poison control centers and…

Health Catie Keck Apr 3

USDA Says It Will Stop Killing Cats

Following the outcry over a disturbing government research practice that resulted in what critics have described as kitten slaughter, a research agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it will no longer conduct the deadly testing as part of its research. The practice in question was part of testing that’s related to toxoplasmosis…

Biology Catie Keck Apr 3

Here’s One Small Way We Can Try to Make Twitter Less of a Hell Site

A neat tool for Twitter got some renewed attention this week, reigniting conversation around the problem of subconscious gender bias and the proclivity of men to follow other men on social media. It is, essentially, one way to help diversify your feed to make it less of an echo chamber and something more like what…

Tech News Catie Keck Apr 2

Woman Carried Away on Stretcher Minutes Into Launch of E-Scooter Pilot Program

Shortly into the launch of the first scooter pilot program in the state of Massachusetts, one woman reportedly met the street in an accident that resulted in an ambulance ride and multiple stitches. According to WBUR, the incident occurred roughly 15 minutes into an event kicking off Brookline’s pilot program, which is bringing roughly 200…

Tech News Catie Keck Apr 2

Thousands Tell the FCC to Scrap Its Dumb Rules That Let Carriers Block Text Messages

Thousands of people have written to the Federal Communications Commission to lambast the agency over its controversial decision to give wireless carriers far more power over text messages sent to large groups. Essentially, the FCC’s decision gives your carrier the ability to block or charge senders more for certain messages. As Gizmodo previously explained following…

Tech News Catie Keck Apr 1

Man Pleads Guilty to Apple Phishing Scam Used to Hack iCloud Accounts of Rappers and Athletes

A Georgia man pleaded guilty last week to using phishing tactics to hack the Apple accounts and credit card details of a number of “high-profile” celebrities and athletes, scamming victims out of hundreds or thousands of dollars, according to the Justice Department. For roughly three years beginning in at least March 2015, Kwamaine Jerell Ford…

Tech News Catie Keck Apr 1

Tesla Hacking Report Is a Good Reminder of the Risks of Stored Data

It can be easy to forget how much personal data we share with the various technologies geared at streamlining our lives, be they voice assistants, smart home devices, or the phones we carry with us virtually everywhere. And if you own a car, that may go for your ride too. According to a report from…

Tech News Catie Keck Mar 30

Company Ordered to Pay Woman $459K After Spamming Her With More Than 300 Robocalls

A Tennessee woman has been awarded nearly half a million dollars after a furniture company illegally hounded her with hundreds of robocalls, sometimes more than 10 times per day, even after she asked them to no longer contact her, per court records. Furniture chain Conn’s began contacting Veronica Davis in September of 2015, according to…

Tech News Catie Keck Mar 29

Leaked Facebook Emails Detail Discussions Over Instagram Labeling Alex Jones as a ‘Hate Figure’

An email chain between Facebook and Instagram executives discussing an anti-Semitic post on Alex Jones’ Instagram account and obtained by Business Insider and Britain’s Channel 4 News illustrates the kind of extreme lengths that the company goes to in order to avoid passing judgment on what’s right in front of their faces. They also show…

Tech News Catie Keck Mar 29

Office Depot Agrees to Pay $25 Million to FTC Over Scam Involving Computer Repair Service

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday said Office Depot and a tech support firm will cough up a collective $35 million to settle with the agency over claims that both were complicit in a computer repair service scheme involving a fake malware scan. Using a program called PC Health Check, the FTC claimed in its…

Tech News Catie Keck Mar 28

FTC Says It Shut Down Spammers Behind ‘Billions’ of Robocalls

The Federal Trade Commission says it has stopped four robocalling outfits responsible for spamming U.S. consumers with billions of illegal and predatory calls, getting them to agree to stop using automatic dialers and collectively pay millions of dollars. The FTC said Tuesday that the nature of the calls ranged from spam like auto warranty pitches…

Tech News Catie Keck Mar 27

Grindr’s Chinese Parent Company Strong-Armed Into Selling Dating Service Over National Security Concerns

Beijing Kunlun Tech, the parent company of dating app Grindr, is planning to sell the service after a national security committee in the U.S. found its acquisition of the dating app last year posed a national security risk, Reuters reported Monday. Citing two sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that the Committee on Foreign…

Tech News Catie Keck Mar 27

Arkansas Is Sick of This Robocall Shit

Evidently recognizing that we are collectively living through a robocall hell at present, Arkansas lawmakers have advanced a bill that would allow those responsible for robocall spoofing to be charged with a felony. This is no small issue. A January Hiya report found that 26.3 billion robocalls were made last year to phone numbers in…

Tech News Catie Keck Mar 26

Juul Is Trying to Bust People Selling Vapes to Kids as It Fends Off Regulators

Months after beefing up its secret shopper program here in the U.S., Juul is launching a similar effort in Canada in an effort to keep its products out of the hands of vaping teens. Juul announced it would be working with a “well-established secret shopping service provider” to ensure that retail locations where its products…

Tech News Catie Keck Mar 26

Uber Gobbles Up Middle East Competitor in $3.1 Billion Deal, Spreading Global Dominance

Finalizing a long-rumored deal, Uber announced on Tuesday that it would acquire its Dubai-based competitor Careem in a deal worth $3.1 billion. The acquisition arrives ahead of Uber’s initial public offering expected as soon as next month. Uber said the acquisition would run it a cool $1.4 billion in cash, with another $1.7 billion promised…

Tech News Catie Keck Mar 26

Catie Keck

Windows Is Giving Up on Getting You to ‘Safely Remove’ USB Drives

E. Coli Outbreak Has Sickened Over 70 People, But CDC Says the Source Is a Mystery

Colorado Governor Reportedly Set to Sign Net Neutrality Bill Into Law

Hayabusa2 Spacecraft Blasts Artificial Crater in Asteroid Ryugu’s Surface

Amazon’s AirPods Rival Is Reportedly Planning to Outshine Apple

FDA Warns of Incidents of Seizures Associated With Vaping

USDA Says It Will Stop Killing Cats

Here’s One Small Way We Can Try to Make Twitter Less of a Hell Site

Woman Carried Away on Stretcher Minutes Into Launch of E-Scooter Pilot Program

Thousands Tell the FCC to Scrap Its Dumb Rules That Let Carriers Block Text Messages

Man Pleads Guilty to Apple Phishing Scam Used to Hack iCloud Accounts of Rappers and Athletes

Tesla Hacking Report Is a Good Reminder of the Risks of Stored Data

Company Ordered to Pay Woman $459K After Spamming Her With More Than 300 Robocalls

Leaked Facebook Emails Detail Discussions Over Instagram Labeling Alex Jones as a ‘Hate Figure’

Office Depot Agrees to Pay $25 Million to FTC Over Scam Involving Computer Repair Service

FTC Says It Shut Down Spammers Behind ‘Billions’ of Robocalls

Grindr’s Chinese Parent Company Strong-Armed Into Selling Dating Service Over National Security Concerns

Arkansas Is Sick of This Robocall Shit

Juul Is Trying to Bust People Selling Vapes to Kids as It Fends Off Regulators

Uber Gobbles Up Middle East Competitor in $3.1 Billion Deal, Spreading Global Dominance

FCC Exempts Netgear from Foreign-Made Router Ban For Some Reason

Jamie Dornan Is Your New Aragorn in ‘The Hunt for Gollum’

Trump’s Fed Pick Is Knee Deep in Tech and Crypto Investments

The First Trailer for ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Takes Terror Stateside

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

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