Cloud flaws expose millions of child tracking smartwatches

Parents buy their children GPS-enabled smartwatches to keep track of them, but security flaws mean they’re not the only ones who can.

This year alone, researchers have found several vulnerabilities in a number of child-tracking smartwatches. But new findings out today show that nearly all were harboring a far greater, more damaging flaw in a common shared cloud platform used to power millions of cellular-enabled smartwatches.

The cloud platform is developed by Chinese white-label electronics maker Thinkrace, one of the largest manufacturers of location-tracking devices. The platform works as a backend system for Thinkrace-made devices, storing and retrieving locations and other device data. Not only does Thinkrace sell its own child-tracking watches to parents who want to keep tabs on their children, the electronics maker also sells its tracking devices to third-party businesses, which then repackage and relabel the devices with their own branding to be sold on to consumers.

All of the devices made or resold use the same cloud platform, guaranteeing that any white-label device made by Thinkrace and sold by one of its customers is vulnerable.

Ken Munro, founder of Pen Test Partners, shared the findings exclusively with TechCrunch. Their research found at least 47 million vulnerable devices.

“It’s only the tip of the iceberg,” he told TechCrunch.

Smartwatches leaking location data

Munro and his team found that Thinkrace made more than 360 devices, mostly watches and other trackers. Because of relabeling and reselling, many Thinkrace devices are branded differently

“Often the brand owner doesn’t even realize the devices they are selling are on a Thinkrace platform,” said Munro.

Each tracking device sold interacts with the cloud platform either directly or via an endpoint hosted on a web domain operated by the reseller. The researchers traced the commands all the way back to Thinkrace’s cloud platform, which the researchers described as a common point of failure.

The researchers said that most of the commands that control the devices do not require authorization and the commands are well documented, allowing anyone with basic knowledge to gain access and track a device. And because there is no randomization of account numbers, the researchers found they could access devices in bulk simply by increasing each account number by one.

The flaws aren’t just putting children at risk, but also others who use the devices.

In one case, Thinkrace provided 10,000 smartwatches to athletes participating in the Special Olympics. But the vulnerabilities meant that every athlete could have their location monitored, the researchers said.

Child voice recordings found exposed

One device maker bought the rights to resell one of Thinkrace’s smartwatches. Like many other resellers, this brand owner allowed parents to track the whereabouts of their children and raise an alarm if they leave a geographical area set by the parent.

The researchers said they could track the location of any child wearing one of these watches by enumerating easy-to-guess account numbers.

The smartwatch also allows parents and children to talk to each other, just like a walkie-talkie. But the researchers found that the voice messages were recorded and stored in the insecure cloud, allowing anyone to download files.

A recording of a child’s voice from a vulnerable server of a smartwatch reseller. (We’ve removed the audio to protect the child’s privacy.)

TechCrunch listened to several recordings picked at random and could hear children talking to their parents through the app.

The researchers likened the findings to CloudPets, an internet-connected teddy bear-like toy, which, in 2017, left their cloud servers unprotected, exposing two million child voice recordings.

Some five million children and parents use the smartwatch sold by the reseller.

Disclosure whack-a-mole

The researchers disclosed the vulnerabilities to several white-label electronics makers in 2015 and 2017, including Thinkrace.

Some of the resellers fixed their vulnerable endpoints. In some cases, the fixes put in place to protect vulnerable endpoints later became undone. But many companies simply ignored the warnings, prompting the researchers to go public with their findings.

Rick Tang, a spokesperson for Thinkrace, did not respond to a request for comment.

Munro said that while the vulnerabilities are not believed to have been widely exploited, device makers like Thinkrace “need to get better” at building more secure systems. Until then, Munro said owners should stop using these devices.

Many smart home device makers still won’t say if they give your data to the government

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UK’s competition regulator asks for views on breaking up Google

The UK’s competition regulator has raised concerns about the market power of digital ad platform giants Google and Facebook in an interim report published today, opening up a consultation on a range of potential inventions — from breaking up platform giants, to limiting their ability to set self-serving defaults, and enforcing data sharing and/or feature interoperability to help rivals compete.

Breaking up Google by forcing it to separate its ad server arm from the rest of the business is one of a number of possible interventions it’s eyeing, along with enforcing choice screens for search engines and browsers that use non-monetary criteria to allocate slots — vs Google’s plan for a pay-to-play offering for EU Android users (which rivals argue does not offer relief for the antitrust abuse the European Commission sanctioned last year).

The UK regulator is also considering whether to require Facebook to interoperate specific features of its current network so they can be accessed by competitors — as a fix for what it describes as “strong network effects” which work against “new entrant and challenger social media platforms”.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched the market study in July — a couple of weeks after the UK’s data watchdog published its own damning report setting out major privacy and other concerns around programmatic advertising.

It is due to issue a final report next summer — which will set out conclusions and recommendations for interventions — and is now consulting on suggestions in its interim report, inviting contributions before February 12.

Since beginning the study the CMA says it has received several requests to open a full-blown market investigation, which means it has a statutory duty to consult on making such a reference.

Based on initial findings from the study it says there are “reasonable grounds” for suspecting serious impediments to competition in the online platforms and digital advertising market.

The report specifically flags three areas where it suspects harm — namely:

• the open display advertising market — with a focus on “the conflicts of interest Google faces at several parts of its vertically integrated chain of intermediaries”;
• general search and search advertising — with a focus on “Google’s market power and the barriers to expansion faced by rival search engines”;
• social media and display advertising — with a focus on “Facebook’s market power and the lack of interoperability between Facebook and rival services”;

Other concerns raised in the report include problems flowing from a lack of transparency in the digital advertising market; and the difficulty or lack of choice for consumers to opt out of behavioral advertising.

However the regulator is not making a market investigation reference at this stage — a step which would open access to the order making powers which could be used to enforce the sorts of interventions discussed in the report. Instead, the CMA says it is favors making recommendations to government to feed into a planned “comprehensive regulatory framework” to govern the behaviour of online platforms.

Earlier this year the UK government set out a wide-ranging proposal to regulate a range of online harms. Although it remains to be seen how much of that program prime minister Boris Johnson’s newly elected Conservative government will now push ahead with.

“Although it is a finely balanced judgement, we remain of the view that a comprehensive suite of recommendations to government is currently the best way forward and are therefore consulting on not making a market investigation reference at this stage,” the CMA writes, saying it feels it has further investigation work to do and also does not wish to “cut across” the government’s plans around regulating platforms.

“The concerns we have identified regarding online platforms such as Google and Facebook are a truly global antitrust challenge facing governments and regulators. Therefore, in relation to some of the potential interventions we may consider in a market investigation, and in particular any significant structural remedies such as those involving ownership separation, we need to be pragmatic about what changes could efficiently be pursued unilaterally by the UK,” it adds, saying it will “continue to work as closely as we can with our international counterparts to develop a coordinated position on these issues in the second half of the study”.

Antitrust regulators in a number of countries have been turning their attention on platform giants in recent years — including Australia and the US.

The new European Commission has also talked tough on platform power, suggesting it will further dial up scrutiny of tech giants and seek to accelerate its own interventions where it finds competitive harms.

Responding to the CMA report in a statement, Ronan Harris, VP, Google UK and Ireland, told us:

The digital advertising industry helps British businesses of all sizes find customers in the UK and across the world, and supports the websites that people know and love with revenue and reach. We’ve built easy-to-use controls that enable people to manage their data in Google’s services — such as the ability to turn off personalised advertising and to automatically delete their search history.  We’ll continue to work constructively with the CMA and the government on these important areas so that everyone can make the most of the web.

A Facebook spokesperson also sent us this statement:

We are fully committed to engaging in the consultation process around the CMA’s preliminary report, and continuing to deliver the benefits of technology and relevant advertising to the millions of people and small businesses in the UK who use our services.

We agree with the CMA that people should have control over their data and transparency around how it is used. In fact, for every ad we show, we give people the option to find out why they are seeing that ad and an option to turn off ads from that advertiser entirely.  We also provide industry-leading tools to help people control their data, like “Off Facebook Activity”, and to transfer it to other services through our Data Transfer tools.  We look forward to further engagement with the CMA on these topics.

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UK’s competition regulator asks for views on breaking up Google

The UK’s competition regulator has raised concerns about the market power of digital ad platform giants Google and Facebook in an interim report published today, opening up a consultation on a range of potential inventions — from breaking up platform giants, to limiting their ability to set self-serving defaults, and enforcing data sharing and/or feature interoperability to help rivals compete.

Breaking up Google by forcing it to separate its ad server arm from the rest of the business is one of a number of possible interventions it’s eyeing, along with enforcing choice screens for search engines and browsers that use non-monetary criteria to allocate slots — vs Google’s plan for a pay-to-play offering for EU Android users (which rivals argue does not offer relief for the antitrust abuse the European Commission sanctioned last year).

The UK regulator is also considering whether to require Facebook to interoperate specific features of its current network so they can be accessed by competitors — as a fix for what it describes as “strong network effects” which work against “new entrant and challenger social media platforms”.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched the market study in July — a couple of weeks after the UK’s data watchdog published its own damning report setting out major privacy and other concerns around programmatic advertising.

It is due to issue a final report next summer — which will set out conclusions and recommendations for interventions — and is now consulting on suggestions in its interim report, inviting contributions before February 12.

Since beginning the study the CMA says it has received several requests to open a full-blown market investigation, which means it has a statutory duty to consult on making such a reference.

Based on initial findings from the study it says there are “reasonable grounds” for suspecting serious impediments to competition in the online platforms and digital advertising market.

The report specifically flags three areas where it suspects harm — namely:

• the open display advertising market — with a focus on “the conflicts of interest Google faces at several parts of its vertically integrated chain of intermediaries”;
• general search and search advertising — with a focus on “Google’s market power and the barriers to expansion faced by rival search engines”;
• social media and display advertising — with a focus on “Facebook’s market power and the lack of interoperability between Facebook and rival services”;

Other concerns raised in the report include problems flowing from a lack of transparency in the digital advertising market; and the difficulty or lack of choice for consumers to opt out of behavioral advertising.

However the regulator is not making a market investigation reference at this stage — a step which would open access to the order making powers which could be used to enforce the sorts of interventions discussed in the report. Instead, the CMA says it is favors making recommendations to government to feed into a planned “comprehensive regulatory framework” to govern the behaviour of online platforms.

Earlier this year the UK government set out a wide-ranging proposal to regulate a range of online harms. Although it remains to be seen how much of that program prime minister Boris Johnson’s newly elected Conservative government will now push ahead with.

“Although it is a finely balanced judgement, we remain of the view that a comprehensive suite of recommendations to government is currently the best way forward and are therefore consulting on not making a market investigation reference at this stage,” the CMA writes, saying it feels it has further investigation work to do and also does not wish to “cut across” the government’s plans around regulating platforms.

“The concerns we have identified regarding online platforms such as Google and Facebook are a truly global antitrust challenge facing governments and regulators. Therefore, in relation to some of the potential interventions we may consider in a market investigation, and in particular any significant structural remedies such as those involving ownership separation, we need to be pragmatic about what changes could efficiently be pursued unilaterally by the UK,” it adds, saying it will “continue to work as closely as we can with our international counterparts to develop a coordinated position on these issues in the second half of the study”.

Antitrust regulators in a number of countries have been turning their attention on platform giants in recent years — including Australia and the US.

The new European Commission has also talked tough on platform power, suggesting it will further dial up scrutiny of tech giants and seek to accelerate its own interventions where it finds competitive harms.

Responding to the CMA report in a statement, Ronan Harris, VP, Google UK and Ireland, told us:

The digital advertising industry helps British businesses of all sizes find customers in the UK and across the world, and supports the websites that people know and love with revenue and reach. We’ve built easy-to-use controls that enable people to manage their data in Google’s services — such as the ability to turn off personalised advertising and to automatically delete their search history.  We’ll continue to work constructively with the CMA and the government on these important areas so that everyone can make the most of the web.

A Facebook spokesperson also sent us this statement:

We are fully committed to engaging in the consultation process around the CMA’s preliminary report, and continuing to deliver the benefits of technology and relevant advertising to the millions of people and small businesses in the UK who use our services.

We agree with the CMA that people should have control over their data and transparency around how it is used. In fact, for every ad we show, we give people the option to find out why they are seeing that ad and an option to turn off ads from that advertiser entirely.  We also provide industry-leading tools to help people control their data, like “Off Facebook Activity”, and to transfer it to other services through our Data Transfer tools.  We look forward to further engagement with the CMA on these topics.

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What we're getting wrong in the fight to end hunger | Jasmine Crowe

What we're getting wrong in the fight to end hunger | Jasmine Crowe

In a world that's wasting more food than ever before, why do one in nine people still go to bed hungry each night? Social entrepreneur Jasmine Crowe calls for a radical transformation to our fight to end global hunger -- challenging us to rethink our routine approaches to addressing food insecurity and sharing how we can use technology to gather unused food and deliver it directly to people in need.

Click the above link to download the TED talk.

How Much Energy Does Your PC Use? (And 8 Ways to Cut It Down)

As people become more aware of the impact of their actions on the environment, one issue to consider is how much electricity is being used by your computer. And as you have to pay for electricity use, you might be concerned about how much your PC use is costing you as well.

But how much power does a PC really use? And how can you cut this power use down?

How Much Power Does a PC Use?

The power usage of a PC depends both upon its hardware and on how often it is used. A PC that is always on and is constantly mining for cryptocurrency, for example, will use far more power than a PC which is turned on once a day and used for a few hours for checking email or browsing the internet. And leaving a computer on overnight will use energy just as much as using it during the day.

A study by the Energy Saving Trust found that computers and their peripherals accounted for around 8 percent of all home electricity usage in the UK, with a further 25 percent being used by other consumer electronics. That works out to an annual cost of around £35 per person spent on electricity for a PC, which is equivalent to nearly $50 per year in US dollars.

The report also shows that a PC uses much more energy than a laptop—almost six times as much—because laptops are optimized for battery life in a way PCs are not.

One common use for PCs is gaming, and the energy consumption of a gaming PC is different from that of other PCs because of the more advanced hardware. A 2019 report by the Berkeley Lab looked at 26 different systems running 37 games, to see how much power different platforms used.

They found that there was a large range of power usage between gaming systems, with them using anywhere between 5 kilowatt-hours per year all the way up to 1200 kilowatt-hours per year. In general, PCs drew more power than consoles like Xbox One or PS4.

But the biggest factor in the amount of energy used was not the format of the gaming system, but rather its GPU. More powerful GPUs use considerably more electricity.

What Are the Different PC Power Modes?

PCs do come with functions to help reduce power consumption. You may not want to turn your PC off when you’re done with it, for example because you don’t want to wait for it to boot next time you need it. In this case, you can use the Sleep or Hibernate functions.

Sleep mode, also known as suspend, puts the computer in a low-power use state. The computer will use the RAM to save your current open documents and application data, so you won’t lose anything when you enter sleep mode. The computer can also wake up again quickly. But power will be cut to components not being used like the display, storage, and peripherals.

Hibernate mode is a little different, as it cuts power to the RAM as well as the other components. Instead of the data about current states being saved on the RAM, it’s saved to the storage instead. That means that the computer is using essentially no power, as if it were turned off. But it will still remember what you were last doing when you turn it on again.

Sleep mode is useful when you are taking a short break from using your computer. Hibernate is better if you plan to leave your computer overnight. Windows 10 doesn’t show an option to hibernate by default, but you can add hibernate to the start menu yourself.

Which PC Parts Use the Most Power?

The exact amount of power used by a computer varies depending on what parts are inside. Some machines, like high-end gaming desktops with multiple graphics cards (GPUs), will use much more power than a low-wattage machine with fewer components.

However, it’s not the case that newer, better hardware necessarily uses more power than older, less good hardware. In fact, one big issue for hardware manufacturers is power efficiency. Manufacturers work to make their components more efficient. So if you have an older processor, for example, it may actually use more power than a newer processor would.

In general, it is the processor and graphics card(s) which use the most power. The motherboard and power supply do draw power, but they pass on this power to other components so you needn’t concern yourself with their power consumption.

Other components like RAM, hard disk drives, solid state drives, fans, case lighting, and optical drives also use some power, but not a large amount. The power use of peripherals like keyboards and mice is generally below 0.5W so it’s not worth worrying about.

As a rough guide, here are approximate ranges of how much power is used by each component:

• CPU: 55 to 150W
• GPU: 25 to 350W
• Optical Drive: 15 to 27W
• HDD: 0.7 to 9W
• RAM: 2 to 5.5W
• Case fans: 0.6 to 6W
• SSD: 0.6 to 3W
• Other hardware components: N/A

And here’s the power draw of the components which pass power on to other parts:

• Power Supply (PSU): 130 to 600+W
• Motherboard: 25 to 100W

For reference, an oven uses around 1000W, a vacuum cleaner uses between 500 and 1200W, and a games console uses between 45 and 90W, according to the Centre for Sustainable Energy.

How Can You Reduce the Power Used by Your PC?

If you’re concerned about power usage, there are several things you can do to lessen the amount of power your computer uses.

Choose Power-Efficient Hardware

1. Upgrade older mechanical hard drives to solid state drives. They are both faster and more efficient with power consumption.
2. Unless you’re doing something that requires the extra power like gaming or video editing, stick with onboard graphics adapters. If you have to install a video card, get something with less power. Remember, the more cooling a component requires, the more electricity it’s going to need.
3. Replace your hardware, period. If you have the opportunity, upgrade to newer components to boost performance and efficiency.
4. If you don’t need a powerful computer, try swapping to a low-wattage version. Look at a small HTPC or media device, or even an HDMI stick PC.

Change the Way You Use Your PC

5. Turn off your computer when you’re not using it (such as in the evening or on the weekends). If you’d rather have it boot faster, you can use Sleep or Hibernate instead of shutting it down completely.
6. Either turn your monitor off completely when you’re not using it, or have it enter a suspend mode. While in suspend, the screen will be completely black, but as soon as you move your mouse or press a button on the keyboard it will spring back to life. Screensavers do not save power, so there’s no point in using them unless you like the look.
7. If you have an older machine, in the BIOS check the “ACPI Suspend Type” option and make sure it’s set to S3 as opposed to S1 or S2. This will prevent the computer from powering the CPU, RAM, and several other components when it’s in sleep mode.
8. In Windows 10, under System > Power & sleep, you can change several power saving settings including how and when your computer sleeps. This will allow you to automate the low power modes.

Reduce Your PC’s Power Usage

With these tips, you can reduce the power used by your PC. That’s good for the environment and for your wallet.

To learn more about this topic and how much power is used by different components, see our guide to how much power your PC needs.

Read the full article: How Much Energy Does Your PC Use? (And 8 Ways to Cut It Down)

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7 Reasons Why Your Smartphone Has Slow Internet Speeds

Smartphones are now the main way most of us connect to the internet. And it means getting the fastest possible internet speeds on our mobile devices is more important than ever.

But that doesn’t always happen. There are lots of things that can slow you down. Let’s take a look at the main reasons why your internet is so slow on your phone, and how you can fix them.

1. Poor Router Position

One of the main reasons your phone Wi-Fi is slow is that your router has been positioned in the wrong place. A Wi-Fi signal has a range of up to 230 feet, and the further it travels the slower it gets. It can be blocked by large physical objects, like walls, floors, and doors.

So if you’re a distance from the router—like in the furthest bedroom in your house, or even outside—the speeds you get may be a lot slower than you’d expect.

There’s a quick way to test. The Wi-Fi icon on your phone’s status bar gives you a rough indication of the signal strength.

• When the icon is full, you’ve got a strong signal. This suggests your slow internet has a different cause.
• When it’s empty your signal is weak, and other Wi-Fi devices like your laptop should also be affected. Move closer to your router and your signal strength—and internet speed—should improve.

When the weak signal does improve as you get closer, it shows that your router’s position is the problem. Try experimenting with different router positions to see if you can get better Wi-Fi coverage throughout your home.

If your speed doesn’t improve when you get closer to the router, you may have other problems you need to fix.

2. Congested Wi-Fi

Another router issue that makes your phone internet slow is congestion. Routers broadcast their signal on a specified channel, but if your neighbors have their routers set to the same channel it can become congested and degrade the performance for everyone.

This can be a problem especially in apartment blocks, where you have a lot of routers crammed into a relatively small area.

To fix this, you need to use software that can help you find the best channel for your router. We recommend the Wi-Fi Analyzer app on Android, or the AirPort Utility on iPhone.

3. Wi-Fi Noise

Wi-Fi is also susceptible to noise from other appliances in your home. Things like microwaves, wireless doorbells, and cordless phones can interfere with the signal from a router running on the 2.4GHz band.

Most modern routers can work on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. The latter is a lot less prone to interference. If you’ve got a reasonably recent router that supports this, you can delve into the router’s settings to make the change.

Before you do it, though, you need to make sure all your connected devices support 5GHz, or they’ll no longer be able to connect. Unless you’ve got a dual or tri-band router, it won’t be able to switch between the two. You have to choose either one or the other.

If you’re sticking with 2.4GHz, make sure you don’t have any other devices near your router that could cause interference. And prepare for possible disruption if you’re streaming Netflix while standing in the kitchen making microwave popcorn.

4. You’re Connected to a Slow Network

One of the most obvious reasons why the Wi-Fi is slow on your phone is that you’re connected to a slow network.

At home, your speeds will get hit when other apps and devices are hogging your bandwidth. Streaming movies, downloading video games, or installing operating system updates will all cause a slowdown in your general internet use.

If you need more bandwidth at home, you can double your internet speeds using channel bonding.

On public Wi-Fi, the speeds you’ll get can vary wildly, and you shouldn’t rely on getting a superfast service from something you aren’t paying for. However, even after checking your expectations, you might still end up getting a lot worse performance than you could.

There are so many public Wi-Fi hotspots, and your phone is liable to latch onto one of them at random. It’ll even stay connected after you’ve moved into range of a closer or better one. It means that while your favorite coffee shop might have fantastic Wi-Fi, there’s no guarantee you’ll actually connect to it every time.

A good way to try and work around this is to set the Wi-Fi network priority on Android or iPhone. This forces your device to always connect to one of your chosen networks whenever you’re in range, and only use other free hotspots as a last resort.

5. You’re Using a Slow VPN

If you’re wondering why your phone internet has become slow all of a sudden, it could be because of a change made on the phone itself. One reason could be the use of a VPN, which gives you security and privacy online.

But did you know that your choice of VPN can have a significant effect on your internet speed?

Free VPN apps are notorious for offering terrible performance. If you’re using one and getting slow internet speeds, try disabling it temporarily to see if that improves things.

Most of the best premium VPN providers have apps for iPhone and Android. These services should guarantee you much better speeds than you would get from a free alternative, along with enhanced security and privacy benefits.

6. Poor 4G Coverage

Slow internet on your phone isn’t just about slow Wi-Fi. When you switch to mobile data, you’d expect a 4G connection to be as fast—if not faster—than Wi-Fi. But this isn’t always true.

There are so many things that can affect your phone signal. You’ll see it often in crowded places, like at a sporting event or concert, where tens of thousands of people are trying to connect to the same cell tower at the same time.

And there are other things, too. Your distance from the nearest tower. Whether you’re indoors or outdoors. Even the weather can have an effect. Some of these things can cause you to fall back to a slower 3G connection, and some might leave you with no internet connection at all

In addition, some smaller carriers might have much more limited bandwidth, so you might never get up to top speed on those. Speak to your carrier if you have ongoing problems. If there’s no solution, it may be time to change.

7. Your Phone Is Slow

Finally, slow phone internet might just be a sign of a slow phone. Your Wi-Fi connection may be great, your mobile data coverage perfect, and you’re on a fast network. But maybe your phone just can’t keep up with what you’re asking it to do.

The resource requirements of apps and websites creep up all the time. So even when your actual internet speed is good, you might still perceive it to be slow. The phone’s hardware might be taking its time rendering a web page, for example, or be struggling to handle the graphics in an online game.

You can see this on older phones and lower-end Android phones especially. But even if you’ve got an up to date, high-end device your choice of apps can still have an impact.

Too many apps downloading and syncing in the background can hog too much of your available bandwidth. You can use a download manager on Android to help schedule downloads for a specific time.

Older or poorly written apps can make your phone slow generally. Make sure to keep your apps up to date, uninstall those that you don’t use, and keep an eye on which are allowed to run in the background.

It might even be time to consider whether it’s worth buying a new smartphone.

Why Is My Phone Internet So Slow?

As you can see, there are lots of reasons why the internet is slow on your phone. Fortunately, most of them are easy to fix. They’re often caused by issues with your router—if you need even more advice take a look at our essential guide on how to speed up your router.

And if that still doesn’t fix it, there’s one more thing you can try. See our list of the best Android apps for slow internet to learn how you can work around the problem.

Read the full article: 7 Reasons Why Your Smartphone Has Slow Internet Speeds

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How to Merge Excel Files and Sheets

Sometimes the Excel data you need is split across multiple sheets or even multiple files. It can be significantly more convenient to have all of this information in the same document.

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In a pinch, it’s possible to copy and paste the various cells you require, placing them all in the same sheet. However, depending on how much data you’re working with, this might end up taking a lot of time and effort.

Instead, consider some of the smarter ways to accomplish the same task. These methods might just allow you to skip some of the busywork when it comes to merging sheets or files in Excel.

How to Merge Sheets in Excel

Excel makes it easy to combine more than one sheet into a new workbook:

1. Open the sheets you want to merge.
2. Click Home > Format > Move or Copy Sheet.
3. Use the dropdown menu to select (new book).
4. Click OK.

Merge Excel Sheets Into One File

The easiest way to merge sheets in Excel is by using the Move or Copy Sheet command. This method has its limitations, but it’s quick and straightforward.

First, open up the sheets you want to merge into the same workbook. From there:

1. Head to Home
2. Click Format
3. Select Move or Copy Sheet

You should see controls for where to move the selected sheets and the order for those sheets.

Use the dropdown to select (new book). This will serve as the master spreadsheet where you send all of your individual sheets. You can use the Before sheet box to specify the order that the sheets are in.

Repeat this process with the rest of the sheets you want to merge. Then save your new master document.

For splitting a large Excel spreadsheet into separate files, check out our tutorial.

Merge Excel Data Into One Sheet

Sometimes, you might want to take more than one dataset and present it as a single sheet. This is pretty easy to accomplish in Excel, so long as you take the time to ensure that your data is formatted properly ahead of time.

There are two important conditions for this process to work correctly. First, the sheets that you’re consolidating need to use exactly the same layout, with identical headers and types of data. Second, there can’t be any blank rows or columns.

When you’ve arranged your data to those specifications, create a new worksheet. It’s possible to run the consolidation procedure in an existing sheet where there’s already data, but it’s easier not to.

In this new sheet, head to the Data tab and click Consolidate. Select Sum from the dropdown and then use the button in the Reference field to access your spreadsheet so you can select the data you need.

To add the next dataset, click Add and then select the data in the same way. Do this for all the datasets that you want to merge. You can even draw from other workbooks by using the Browse button, which is Select in the Mac version of Excel.

Check the box titled Create links to source data if you’re going to continue to update the data in other sheets and want this sheet to reflect that. You can also select which labels are carried across with the Use labels in checkboxes, as shown above.

Finally, click OK.

Unfortunately, this process isn’t suitable if you want to merge cells with text in them—it only works with numerical data. In that situation, you’ll need to use VBA. Take a look at our Excel VBA programming tutorial for beginners if you like.

Combine Excel Files With VBA

If you want to combine sheets from several workbooks in a snap, the best way is to write a simple VBA macro. This will come in especially handy if you perform this task on a regular basis.

First, make sure that all the files you want to combine are in the same folder on your computer. Then, create a new Excel spreadsheet that will bring them all together.

Head to the Developer tab and select Visual Basic. Click Insert > Module.

Copy and paste the following code, taken from a guide by ExtendOffice:

Sub GetSheets()
Path = "C:\[PATH TO FILES]"
Filename = Dir(Path & "*.xls")
 Do While Filename <> ""
 Workbooks.Open Filename:=Path & Filename, ReadOnly:=True
 For Each Sheet In ActiveWorkbook.Sheets
 Sheet.Copy After:=ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1)
 Next Sheet
 Workbooks(Filename).Close
 Filename = Dir()
 Loop
End Sub

Make sure to change the path to wherever the files are stored on your computer.

Next, save your workbook as an XLSM file so that macros are enabled. Then run the macro and you should find that you have a single workbook that contains all the sheets from all the files in the folder.

Take Caution Before Merging Excel Data

Merging sheets and files in Excel can be rather complicated and messy. This illuminates one of the most important lessons about Microsoft Excel: it’s always good to plan ahead.

Merging different data sets after the fact is always going to cause a few headaches, especially if you’re working with large spreadsheets that have been in use for a long time. When you start working with a new workbook, it’s best to consider all possibilities of how the file will be used further down the line.

Excel is great at making documents that you can refer to and use for an extended period of time, but decisions made early on can cause or prevent problems later. For more help with Excel, take a look at how to create an Excel pie chart and our beginner’s guide to Microsoft Excel.

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Keep Your Notes Private: 5 Encrypted Alternatives to Evernote

If you’re an Evernote user concerned about your privacy, you may want to rethink your use of the app. Evernote has had a spotty history with its privacy policy, so it’s a good idea to find an encrypted notes app to store your notes on.

So, what’s wrong with Evernote, and what are some good alternatives?

Is Evernote Secure?

Evernote’s security has had a rocky history. Back in 2016, they announced that employees would be able to view user’s notes. The goal was to see if a machine learning feature worked as intended, but people weren’t so keen on employees sifting through their data.

Since then, Evernote has implemented End-to-End encryption, which shows a little more respect for user’s data. However, to use Evernote’s encryption, you have to highlight the text you want to encrypt manually. This is annoying for people who wish all their writing to be encrypted by default.

Evernote’s security is just the tip of the iceberg, however. Even if you ignore the privacy issues, there are plenty of reasons to ditch Evernote and move to a different app. For instance, going premium with Evernote costs more than other note app’s premium plans.

If you’re looking for a more secure note-taking app, let’s explore some better alternatives to Evernote.

1. Turtl

Turtl aims to provide users space to store their notes safely. The app makes it easy to store text notes, files, images, passwords, and bookmarks in encrypted storage.

Everything is encrypted, even on Turtl’s servers. They don’t store your password, which means if you lose it, you can’t get any of your notes back. On the other hand, only you have the power to unencrypt your records, so it’s worth the extra responsibility!

The note editor and organization system in Turtl aren’t as advanced as those in Evernote. If you’re primarily interested in storing text notes and images, however, it’s great. The interface is clean and straightforward, and there are very few settings to toggle. Just start it up and go.

You can also share notes via Turtl, which is an excellent feature for an encrypted note-taking app. The app is currently free on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.

Turtl has also launched a premium version for users who want to store large amounts of data. If you wish to save 10GB of notes and work with ten other people on the same note, it only costs $3 a month. This makes Turtl a cost-effective way to store and share a lot of data.

Download: Turtl (Free with premium option, compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Chrome, and Firefox)

2. Laverna

Unlike some secure notes apps, Laverna doesn’t use a central server. This means they’ll never have access to your notes, including encrypted ones.

Instead, you’ll need to sync it with Dropbox or RemoteStorage. You can then access the notes from the web interface or the desktop client, available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. An Android app is coming soon. Laverna’s support for Markdown makes it a cinch to format your text, and it provides support for task lists and code highlighting.

Beyond that, it’s a bare-bones note-taking app, perfect if you’re looking for something with minimal distractions. Privacy enthusiasts will appreciate the fact that you don’t need to register to get started.

Download: Laverna (Free, compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux)

3. Protected Text

If you don’t need many organizational features, Protected Text meets your needs. It’s about as simple as a note-taking app can be: a few plain-text tabs, and that’s it. No text formatting, no folders, no tags, no search. Just an encrypted space to store your stuff.

The best part is, Protected Text is a website. You can use it on any device that can display web pages; in this day and age, that’s practically everything!

You can access this web app through your browser by going to protectedtext.com/[anything], and if that particular URL is available, you can claim and password-protect it. After that, all you need to do is go back to the same URL and enter the password. That’s all there is to it!

4. Saferoom

Instead of offering a new encrypted note-taking app, Saferoom encrypts your Evernote and Onenote notes before syncing them to the cloud.
It requires more steps than only using an encrypted note app, but it does let you keep using your chosen note-taking app. You can also choose only to encrypt specific notes if you don’t want to encrypt everything.

This is likely to be the best option for users who are committed to Evernote and can’t imagine moving to something else. It’s currently available on iOS, Android, Chrome, and Windows.

Download: Saferoom (Free, compatible with Windows, Android, and iOS)

Download: Saferoom Chrome Extension (Free)

5. Joplin

Joplin puts together two features that make privacy advocates happy; encryption and open-source code. This makes it the most secure note app due to its encryption and transparency.

Joplin is perfect for the Evernote addict; it can accept ENEX files, the filetype Evernote uses. The conversion isn’t perfect, and some of Evernote’s advanced features will be lost in the conversion. However, you can transfer the majority of your data to a safer, more secure platform.

Joplin also has a useful web clipper as an optional download. It installs on Chrome and Firefox and makes it easier to clip webpages, either as text or as a screenshot. If you find yourself using Joplin for online research, it’s worth installing to make your life easier.

Download: Joplin (Free, compatible with Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS)

Keeping Your Text Secure

If you want to keep your notes secure, there are plenty of ways to encrypt them. Regardless of if you want to stick with Evernote, or you want to try something new, there’s an app that fits your needs.

If you want to keep your communications safe on Android, why not learn how to send encrypted emails with OpenKeychain?

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Why Does My Motherboard Have a Battery?

If you’re using an older desktop computer or a laptop, your computer’s motherboard contains an integrated battery. But unlike a standard laptop battery, the motherboard’s battery doesn’t power your computer while you’re using it.

Quite the opposite, actually—the battery (known as “CMOS”) is tiny and only active when you’re not using your computer.

So, why is there a battery on the motherboard and what is it for? How long does a CMOS battery last? Let’s find out.

What Is a CMOS Battery?

CMOS stands for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor. In the early days of personal computers, CMOS RAM (a volatile memory type) stored BIOS settings.

CMOS RAM requires a battery; the settings would otherwise be lost when the PC was switched off.

Modern computers don’t use CMOS RAM anymore. They store the BIOS settings in non-volatile memory, which means that the settings don’t need constant power to be saved.

Meanwhile, modern UEFI motherboards store settings on flash memory or on the computer’s hard disk drive. No battery is necessary on these systems, but you’ll often find it anyway.

What Is UEFI?

The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specification was introduced to supplant BIOS. An industry-wide standard agreed upon by chip manufacturers Intel and AMD, along with Microsoft and PC manufacturers, UEFI improves on BIOS.

Due to having its roots in the 1980s IBM-compatibles era of personal computers, BIOS has some limitations. UEFI overcomes these, adding, for example, support for drives of 2.2TB or larger, 32-bit and 64-bit modes, and Secure Boot.

This last feature is a method of securing the PC. Secure Boot ensures that malware does not exploit a computer’s boot process. It does this by checking that any code executed at boot has a valid digital signature. Our in depth look at UEFI and how to disable it for dual booting explains further.

Other features of the UEFI include boot selection, overclocking, and configuring various motherboard-specific settings.

What’s a BIOS?

Instead of UEFI, older computers use a BIOS, or Basic Input/Output System, stored in a chip on your computer’s motherboard.

When your computer boots up, the BIOS starts up, performs a power-on self-test (POST), and initializes the computer’s hardware. The BIOS then passes control over to a boot loader, usually on your hard drive. (A boot loader can also boot from a USB device or optical disc.)

The boot loader then loads your operating system—Windows, Linux, macOS, or whatever. The BIOS is responsible for low-level system tasks. You can enter your computer’s BIOS settings screen by pressing a key during boot.

Image credit: Toniperis/Wikimedia Commons

The BIOS settings screen allows you to configure low-level settings for your computer’s hardware. These differ across motherboard manufacturers, but some options are universal. An example is changing the computer’s boot order—the order in which the computer loads operating systems from connected storage.

Intel intends to replace BIOS with UEFI on all chipsets by 2020.

Why Your Motherboard Needs a Battery

So, if many computers store BIOS settings in non-volatile memory, why do motherboards still come with batteries? Simple: Motherboards still include a Real Time Clock (RTC).

Power the computer on or off—the battery runs all the time. The real time clock is essentially a quartz watch, like an old wristwatch.

When the computer is off, the battery provides power for the real time clock to run. This is how your computer always knows the correct time when you power it on.

When Is it Time to Replace Your Motherboard Battery?

As we all know from experience, batteries don’t last forever. Eventually, a CMOS battery will stop working; they typically last up to 10 years.

Regular use of your computer means the CMOS battery lasts longer. Conversely, a battery in a computer that is mostly powered-off will die sooner—it’s using the battery more, after all.

If the battery fails on an older computer that stores its BIOS settings in CMOS, you’ll see error messages like:

• CMOS Battery Failure
• ACPI BIOS Error
• CMOS Read Error
• CMOS Checksum Error
• New CPU Installed

This last one is particularly confusing at first, but the explanation is simple. Without a battery powering the BIOS, the motherboard can’t remember that the CPU was already installed previously. As such, it thinks it’s new every time you boot your computer.

On a newer computer that stores its BIOS settings in non-volatile memory, the computer may boot normally, but the computer may stop keeping track of time when it’s powered off. This can lead to connection issues and problems downloading updates, so it is worth fixing.

How to Replace the Motherboard’s CMOS Battery

To fix these problems, you’ll need to replace the CMOS battery, a small, silver disc located on the motherboard. Usually a CR2032 battery, it’s also used in calculators, watches, and other small electronic devices.

Before proceeding, you should power off your computer, remove the power cable, and if using a laptop, disconnect the battery. Take care to follow standard PC maintenance steps when opening your PC and be careful of static electricity

Note that the battery may be soldered onto the motherboard in some computers. This will require a complete replacement of the motherboard or a repair performed by the manufacturer.

Pull the CMOS Battery to Troubleshoot PC Issues

Removing and re-inserting the CMOS battery (known as “pulling”) may also be used as a troubleshooting step on older computers.

For example, if a computer has a BIOS password, removing and replacing the CMOS battery will wipe the password. Note that the other BIOS settings will also be wiped, however.

(If the computer stores its password in non-volatile memory, this won’t help. You might otherwise find a way to reset the password using a jumper on the motherboard.)

You can also reset the BIOS settings from within the BIOS, assuming the computer is booting properly. Look for an option named Clear CMOS or Reset to Defaults.

That’s Why Your Motherboard Has a Battery

So, now you know why there is a battery on your motherboard:

• On older systems, the CMOS battery retains the BIOS settings
• For more recent machines, the CMOS battery powers the PC’s clock

Replacing the CR2032 battery on your motherboard is straightforward, although in some cases they’re fixed to the motherboard. Fortunately, CR2032 batteries are easy to come by, so replacement shouldn’t be an issue.

Here’s another common battery type you’ve probably used but not know the name of: the 18650 battery.

Image Credit: amphoto/Depositphotos

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The Best Echo Dot Speaker for Music Lovers

The Amazon Echo Dot is a great way to bring the voice-controllable assistant Alexa into your home. But because of its small size, the smart speaker isn’t exactly known for delivering a high-quality sound experience.

Thankfully, there are a handful of speakers that you can pair with the Echo Dot to upgrade your listening experience. We’ll be highlighting some of the best Echo Dot speakers available.

1. Sonos One SL

Sonos One SL Sonos One SL Buy Now On Amazon $149.00

A top-notch choice to pair with an Echo Dot is the Sonos One SL. Sonos has always been a well-respected name in great-sounding, whole-home audio, and this speaker continues that tradition. To start, you’ll connect an Echo Dot to the Sonos speaker via the companion Amazon Echo smartphone app.

Just use a simple Alexa voice command to control different music on the Sonos One SL. A downside to note is that you can only play music on the larger speaker. All other commands will play through the Echo Dot.

As a nice touch, the speaker also supports Apple’s AirPlay 2 protocol so you can also easily play music directly from an iPhone or iPad. You can select from a black or white version of the speaker to better match your home’s decor.

2. Sony SRS-XB31

Sony SRS-XB31 Sony SRS-XB31 Buy Now On Amazon $148.00

If you can’t get enough bass, take a look at the Sony SRS-XB31. Sony’s audio equipment is known for a pulse-pounding take on the lower end of the sound spectrum. You’ll definitely get that with this Bluetooth speaker, too. The unique Live Sound mode is designed to provide a three-dimensional listening experience using DSP technology.

While it’s a great choice to listen to music at home, the speaker is also ready for any party. The SRS-XB31 sports a line light and flashing strobe light to help bring some fun right along with the music. It’s possible to tap the speaker in different places to make a sound like a snare, kick drum, and even a cowbell.

The dustproof and waterproof speaker can provide up to 24 hours of music on a single charge. A built-in USB port also allows you to charge another device, like a smartphone. There are several color options of the speaker to select from, as well.

3. Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth Speaker II

Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth Speaker II Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth Speaker II Buy Now On Amazon

Another big player in the audio arena, Bose packs its famous technology into the rugged and water-resistant SoundLink Color Bluetooth Speaker II. Weighing just over a pound, a soft-touch silicone covers the exterior of the speaker, allowing it to fend off a splash of water near the pool or lake.

Along with dual opposing passive radiators, special technology helps to keep the vibration at a minimum when you crank up the volume. After connecting it to the Echo Dot, the speaker’s built-in battery can provide up to eight hours of music playback on a single charge. You can also connect two of the speakers together to create a stereo pair.

When using another device, like a smartphone, voice prompts will talk you through the pairing process. The speaker, which has around a 30-foot range from any Bluetooth device, is available in four different colors: black, teal, red, and white.

4. UE Megaboom 3

UE Megaboom 3 UE Megaboom 3 Buy Now On Amazon $163.99

Another great waterproof and portable speaker option to pair with your Echo Dot is the UE Megaboom 3. Thanks to the design, the speaker can easily provide 360-degree sound. To help create the best sound possible, you can use a customizable EQ that also offers four different presets. And there’s no need to use Alexa to control music, either.

The Magic Button on top of the speaker allows you to play, pause, and skip tracks with a touch. When away from an Echo Dot, you can customize the button to play playlists from a number of different sources like your Android smartphone or Apple Music with only a press.

The battery provides up to 20 hours of playback on a single charge. An optional charging dock allows you to juice up the speaker without needing a wire. UE offers many color options of the speaker to select from, too.

5. JBL Xtreme

JBL Xtreme JBL Xtreme Buy Now On Amazon $149.99

Living up to its name, the JBL Xtreme features dual external passive radiators to show off its power. The battery can provide up to 15 hours of music playtime on a single charge. And thanks to two USB ports, you can also charge other devices like a smartphone while out on the go.

Like many other wireless outdoor speakers, the JBL Xtreme is splashproof to repel light rain or spills. You can even clean it with running tap water. An Echo Dot and two other Bluetooth devices can connect to the speaker at the same time. It’s available in black, blue, or red.

6. Marshall Kilburn Portable Speaker

Marshall Kilburn Portable Speaker Marshall Kilburn Portable Speaker Buy Now On Amazon $184.86

Anyone with a passing knowledge of music history probably knows the Marshall name. The company’s famous amps have been used by rock royalty for decades. And the company’s classic styling and sound have made their way to a range of Bluetooth speakers.

The Marshall Kilburn mimics the look of the classic amp with a vinyl case and gold piping. There’s even a detachable strap to help you carry the speaker while on the go. The Marshall Kilburn comes in black or cream.

The brass plate on top of the speaker features knobs to control and customize the bass, treble, and volume. You’ll be able to play music for up to 20 hours on a single charge of the speaker’s battery. Boasting a 15-watt woofer and two 5-watt tweeters, the Kilburn offers well-balanced audio.

7. Anker Soundcore Motion+

Anker Soundcore Motion+ Anker Soundcore Motion+ Buy Now On Amazon $99.99

Anker are among the best manufacturers of affordable, high-quality smartphone accessories. But the company also has a number of Bluetooth speakers that follow the same excellent formula.

The Anker Soundcore Motion+ is positioned at a 15-degree upward angle to help bring music to an entire room. You can pair two Motion+ speakers for a stereo experience. Low frequencies are improved with built-in technology, too.

The device’s battery can provide up to 12 hours of music from the waterproof speaker. You can charge the speaker with a USB-C cable, and you are able to select from a black, blue, or red version of the Motion+.

8. GGMM D7 Portable Speaker

GGMM D7 Portable Speaker GGMM D7 Portable Speaker Buy Now On Amazon $59.99

The GGMM D7 Portable Speaker is tailor-made for the third-generation Dot. Just place the Echo Dot inside the speaker, connect a few wires, and you’ll be ready to go. As a nice touch, there is a built-in battery that powers both the speaker and Echo Dot, so you can take Alexa almost anywhere as long as there is a Wi-Fi signal.

Even from the inside of the speaker, you can still access the touch controls on top of the Echo Dot. You can play music via Alexa for up to seven hours on a single charge. It’s also possible to connect other Bluetooth devices like a smartphone or tablet.

The Best Echo Dot Speaker for You

There’s no need to be stuck with the Amazon Echo Dot’s poor sound quality. Just pair the Alexa-powered device to one of these great speakers, and you’ll be rocking out in style.

And if you already have good speakers, you might consider the Echo Input instead.

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Amazon, Apple, Google and Zigbee join forces for an open smart home standard

The biggest names in the connected home category are reaching across the aisle to create an open source standard. Marquee names Amazon, Apple, Google and the Zigbee Alliance are leading the charge here.

There are a number of key partners on the board, as well, including IKEA, Legrand, NXP Semiconductors, Resideo, Samsung SmartThings, Schneider Electric, Signify (nee Philips Lighting), Silicon Labs, Somfy and Wulian.

The goals certainly seem solid from the outset. The Connected Home over IP project seeks to create a connectivity standard designed the increase compatibility across companies and devices. The landscape is pretty scattered at the moment, with each player digging pretty heavily into their own standard and forcing many smaller third-party players to pick sides.

There will no doubt continue to be a degree of that, but more devices can speak to one another, that would certainly appear to be a net positive for the consumer. The aim is to make it easier for hardware makers to build devices that work with Alexa, Assistant, Siri and the like.

“The project is built around a shared belief that smart home devices should be secure, reliable, and seamless to use,” according to the joint release. “By building upon Internet Protocol (IP), the project aims to enable communication across smart home devices, mobile apps, and cloud services and to define a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification.”

Security and privacy ought to be pretty high up on the list, as well. These topics are of utmost and increasing concern as we surrender more of our square footage to connected products.

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Spotify Launches a New Music Podcast

Spotify has released a new music podcast all about the past decade in music. Called The Decade Wrapped, the podcast delves into the stories behind the artists, albums, and songs that have dominated the past decade. And there are some fascinating insights.

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With the 2010s drawing to a close, everyone is in a reflective mood. And Spotify is no exception. Spotify recently released Wrapped 2019, revealing your music tastes over the past year. And with it being 2019, Spotify has also looked back over the past decade.

Spotify Launches The Decade Wrapped Podcast

Spotify’s new 10-episode series is called The Decade Wrapped, and it takes a journey through the 2010s via the music that helped shape them. This original podcast from Spotify revisits “the music stories that defined pop culture between 2010 and 2019.”

Spotify revealed The Decade Wrapped in a post on For the Record. The podcast is hosted by Eric Eddings, who is joined by “critics, comedians, influencers, and writers”. With their help, Eddings takes a deep dive into the stories behind the shifts in music.

Each episode looks at a single year in the decade, analyzing the big shifts in music that occurred that year. The first three episodes are available right now, with the rest of the episodes being released over the course of the next week.

The first episode is all about “female-driven pop” such as Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, with Nicki Minaj taking the starring role. The second episode is focused on One Direction, whose first album and tour inspired a generation of internet-literate youngsters.

Visit: The Decade Wrapped on Spotify

Other Ways to Discover Podcasts on Spotify

The Decade Wrapped is a phenomenal listen, even for those of us who consider other decades of music to be far superior to the 2010s. And for those people who think Bruno Mars, Drake, Ariana Grande, and Lizzo are worth stanning, it’s a must-listen.

Spotify is getting into podcasting in a big way. In October, Spotify introduced the option to add podcasts to playlists, and in November, Spotify launched the Your Daily Podcasts playlist. So if you’re not a fan of podcasts, you can no longer get away from them.

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