Lucas Ropek, Author at Gizmodo

Samsung Just Rolled Out a New Way to Protect Your Galaxy’s Texts from the Web’s Biggest Creeps

Some cybercriminals can hack your device just by sending it an image file. A new Samsung feature offers protection.

Gadgets Lucas Ropek Feb 17

Actually, America Loves Spy Balloons

Our country is in a full-blown political panic about China's not-a-spy-balloon, but we should just relax. After all, Americans spy by balloon all the time.

Privacy & Security Lucas Ropek Feb 17

Oakland Has Declared a State of Emergency After a Ransomware Attack

Cybercriminals have derailed municipal operations for one of the Bay Area's most populous cities.

Privacy & Security Lucas Ropek Feb 16

A Secretive Israeli Company Says It Manipulated More Than 30 Elections Worldwide

The company's CEO claims to be able to easily hack Gmail and Telegram accounts and sells a "disinformation software."

Privacy & Security Lucas Ropek Feb 16

10 Signs That the AI ‘Revolution’ Is Spinning Out of Control

The robots are coming, the robots are coming! No, but really.

Artificial Intelligence Lucas Ropek Feb 11

Bitcoin ATMs Are About to Become a Lot More Scarce

Cash Cloud's bankruptcy is bad news if you liked buying bitcoin alongside your Big Gulp and Funyuns at the gas station.

Cryptocurrencies Lucas Ropek Feb 11

Reddit Says It Was Hacked But That You Don’t Need to Worry About It. Probably.

The social media site says that a phishing incident led to the theft of company data but that user data is safe.

Privacy & Security Lucas Ropek Feb 9

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube All Appear to Suffer Outages at the Same Time

Not one, not two, not three, but four major tech platforms suffered intermittent outages on Wednesday, all around the same time.

Tech News Lucas Ropek Feb 8

Top Android Phones From China Are Packed With Spyware, Research Finds

A recent study shows that top-of-the-line Android phones sold in China are a total privacy nightmare.

Privacy & Security Lucas Ropek Feb 8

A Flying Motorbike Company Just Got Listed on the Nasdaq

For a very, very, very high price, you can take home a XTURISMO hoverbike and make your sci-fi dreams come true.

Tech News Lucas Ropek Feb 6

The Pentagon Claims a Chinese Surveillance Balloon Has Been Floating Over the U.S. for Days

U.S. defense officials say that a foreign spy blimp has been spotted hovering over several states.

Tech News Lucas Ropek Feb 2

OpenAI Launches a Premium Version of ChatGPT for $20 a Month

There is now a paid version of the chatty AI program but, so far, it remains somewhat unclear why anyone would want to use it.

Artificial Intelligence Lucas Ropek Feb 1

Google Fi Was Hacked, and Google Says There’s Nothing You Can Do

Google's cell network data breach is the result of T-Mobile's debacle earlier this month.

Privacy & Security Lucas Ropek Feb 1

8 Google Alternatives: How to Search Crypto, the Dark Web, and More

Exploring the internet is fun, and you don't need Google to do it. Here's how to surf in more private and more environmentally friendly ways.

Tech News Lucas Ropek Feb 1

Want a Six-Figure Job with Paid Time Off? Check Out These Dark Web Cybercrime Positions

Since times are tough in the tech industry, there's never been a better time to turn to cybercrime!

Privacy & Security Lucas Ropek Feb 1

7 Ways the Hive Ransomware Gang Caused Mayhem Before It Got Pwned by the FBI

Ransomware gangs aren’t typically known for being nice people, but Hive really takes things to another level. The gang targeted hospitals across the globe.

Privacy & Security Lucas Ropek Jan 28

The FBI Hacked and Infiltrated a Ransomware Gang for Months Before Dismantling It

The feds have found a new way to dismantle cybercrime organizations like the Hive gang: embed, monitor, then disrupt.

Privacy & Security Lucas Ropek Jan 26

CNET Cops to Error Prone AI Writer, Doubles Down on Using It

The tech publication has refused to swear off further automation of editorial tasks.

Artificial Intelligence Lucas Ropek Jan 25

FBI Blames North Korean Hackers for $100 Million Crypto Heist

The Hermit Kingdom's hackers have been accused of pillaging cryptocurrency projects for years.

Cryptocurrencies Lucas Ropek Jan 24

Everything We Know About OpenAI’s ChatGPT

Everybody's talking about ChatGPT, the powerful AI chatbot from OpenAI that generates text. Here are the basics you need to know.

Artificial Intelligence Lucas Ropek Jan 24

Lucas Ropek

Samsung Just Rolled Out a New Way to Protect Your Galaxy’s Texts from the Web’s Biggest Creeps

Actually, America Loves Spy Balloons

Oakland Has Declared a State of Emergency After a Ransomware Attack

A Secretive Israeli Company Says It Manipulated More Than 30 Elections Worldwide

10 Signs That the AI ‘Revolution’ Is Spinning Out of Control

Bitcoin ATMs Are About to Become a Lot More Scarce

Reddit Says It Was Hacked But That You Don’t Need to Worry About It. Probably.

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube All Appear to Suffer Outages at the Same Time

Top Android Phones From China Are Packed With Spyware, Research Finds

A Flying Motorbike Company Just Got Listed on the Nasdaq

The Pentagon Claims a Chinese Surveillance Balloon Has Been Floating Over the U.S. for Days

OpenAI Launches a Premium Version of ChatGPT for $20 a Month

Google Fi Was Hacked, and Google Says There’s Nothing You Can Do

8 Google Alternatives: How to Search Crypto, the Dark Web, and More

Want a Six-Figure Job with Paid Time Off? Check Out These Dark Web Cybercrime Positions

7 Ways the Hive Ransomware Gang Caused Mayhem Before It Got Pwned by the FBI

The FBI Hacked and Infiltrated a Ransomware Gang for Months Before Dismantling It

CNET Cops to Error Prone AI Writer, Doubles Down on Using It

FBI Blames North Korean Hackers for $100 Million Crypto Heist

Everything We Know About OpenAI’s ChatGPT

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