Imagine this: one minute you’re checking your email, and the next, your browser is completely locked. If that wasn’t worrying enough, whenever you click your mouse, a warning sound plays and your current IP address is shown prominently on your screen. No, this isn’t a ransomware attack where you’re locked out of your files by hackers. Instead, it’s a new scareware attack currently making the rounds online where scammers try to trick you into picking up your phone and calling them.

As reported by Cybernews, 2.8 million people have been targeted by this attack since the beginning of this year. Dubbed CypherLoc by security researchers at Barracuda, it uses a combination of phishing, malicious code and social engineering to get potential victims on the phone. From there, the scammers on the other end can get all sorts of personal and financial information out of them or even launch follow-up attacks.

Here’s everything you need to know about this new scareware attack, along with some tips and tricks to help you avoid falling for this scam and others like it in the first place.

Socially engineered panic

Just like with many other attacks, this one begins with a phishing email in your inbox. According to a blog post from Barracuda, there’s either a malicious link in the body of the email or one included in an attachment.

While you should never click on links in emails from unknown senders, those who do in this case are taken to a webpage that appears harmless at first glance. However, it gradually transitions into a scareware page once triggered to do so.

Within the page, there’s a hidden, encrypted payload that executes the scareware. Before it can be decrypted and launched, though, the site checks to see if it is being run in a testing environment (usually by security researchers), and if so, a blank screen appears instead. This helps CypherLoc avoid detection.

On an ordinary user’s computer, though, the page will transform into a scareware interface that locks their browser, shows alarming-looking security messages and urges them to contact tech support immediately to fix the issue.

Although the tactics used in this campaign are similar to a ClickFix attack, the scammers behind it have a few more tricks up their sleeves to coerce potential victims into calling them. In addition to fake login forms to appear more legitimate, the most surprising one is that this fake page plays a warning sound whenever a user clicks, switches to full screen or tries to reload. Then, to make things personal, CypherLoc retrieves and then displays a victim’s public IP address on its scareware page.

Between showing a user’s IP address and random alarm sounds playing from their browser, this will usually be enough to convince potential victims to call the phone number that appears on screen. If they do so, they’re met with scammers posing as Microsoft tech support, which is likely enough to convince many people to hand over sensitive details they would have ordinarily kept private.

How to stay safe from scareware

Scareware is often a last resort to trick unsuspecting users into doing something they normally wouldn’t. However, by practicing good cyber hygiene from the start, you’re much less likely to actually end up on one of these fake but equally terrifying pages.

So how do you avoid falling victim to CypherLoc? Well, you need to be extra careful when checking your inbox, social media and even your text messages. Given that almost anyone can contact you these days, you want to be on the lookout for messages from unknown senders and this is especially true with ones that invoke a sense of urgency to get you to click or call. You also always want to avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown senders.

Carefully checking your inbox while keeping a level head about you will only take you so far and of course, we all slip up at times and make mistakes. That’s why it’s important to protect your computer from malware and other viruses by installing the best antivirus software. If you want to take your protection to the next level, though, you may also want to consider investing in one of the best identity theft protection services, as they can help you recover your identity and any funds lost to scams. Many identity theft services also include an antivirus, so while you’re paying slightly more for one of them, you often get multiple layers of protection in a single subscription.

Given that security tools have become so advanced recently, scammers and other cybercriminals now need to be a lot more creative in their attacks. CypherLoc is a great example of this, and another reason why you need to stay on your toes whenever you’re checking your email and other messages.

Although we don’t know who the scammers behind CypherLoc are targeting specifically, I’ll update this story when and if we find out more.

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After 22 years, Google will finally let you change your Gmail address, which is incredibly useful if you made yours back in 2007 when the service first became available to the general public.

First spotted in a Google support page last year, the search giant is now rolling out this new feature to Gmail users in the U.S. While the company has always allowed users to change aliases in their emails, up until now, they weren’t able to change the name that appears before @gmail.com in their email address.

If you’re tired of having to use a different email address than your Gmail one for whatever reason — maybe it was inappropriate or just feels outdated now — here’s how you can swap that old Gmail address for a brand new one without losing your emails and everything else tied to your Google Account.

How to change your Gmail address and username

To let Gmail users know that they can now change their Google Account username or the name before @gmail.com, Google put out a blog post which includes a YouTube short. However, the video is only 30 seconds long and the steps to change your Gmail address are a bit hard to follow, especially if you don’t want to have to pause it and press play multiple times.

For that reason, I went through the process myself and took screenshots along the way to make things easier for you.

Changing your Gmail address on mobile

Changing your Gmail address on desktop

If you’d rather use your laptop or desktop to change your Gmail address, you can do that too and the process is quite similar to how you do so on mobile. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do just that.

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As the U.S.-Iran war drags on into its fourth week, a group of Iranian-backed hackers have claimed that they accessed FBI Director Kash Patel's personal emails. The group has even published photos and some documents that were allegedly pulled from Patel's emails as proof.

The hacker group, Handala Hack Team, said Patel "will now find his name among the list of ​successfully hacked victims." The posted images appear to be older photos of Patel smoking and sniffing cigars, posing next to a classic car, or generally enjoying international vacations.

According to Reuters, the Justice Department confirmed that Patel's email had been hacked and the photos seemed to be authentic.

In a message seen by Reuters, the hack was a response to the Iran war and an announced $10 million award by the FBI for Handala members.

"The so-called 'impenetrable' systems of the FBI were brought to their knees within hours by our team," the group claimed.

It's doubtful that Handala accessed Patel's official government emails and the materials appear to be from between 2010 and 2019. That said, plenty of government officials have been caught using personal emails as part of their official duties.

Who are Handala?

The Handala Hack Team is a pro-Palestinian hacker group that has been linked to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security. The group started popping up in 2023.

According to a profile on Handala from the cybersecurity firm Cyble, the group is focused on disruption and reputational damage. It also likes to use malware that permanently deletes data or exposes sensitive information.

In general, Handala is mostly focused on attacking Israeli businesses, government agencies, and Western entities connected to Israel. In recent years, the group hacked senior members at Lockheed Martin and the massive Stryker hack that disrupted the medical tech giant's supply chain and manufacturing was also attributed to Handala.

How to protect your emails

While Handala's claims are a bit overblown in terms of bringing the FBI and its security systems to their knees, it's still a good reminder to protect your own emails.

Kash Patel's personal email was a Gmail account. One way to protect your Gmail is to setup two-factor authentication (or 2-Step Verification as Google dubs it).

Doing so means you won't have to rely on a single password to protect your account; you'll have an added layer of protection in the form of a security code obtained via text message, phone call, security key, or a mobile authentication app.

Alongside 2FA, you can also add backup codes and the Google Authenticator app for extra protection.

If you're on iPhone, you should consider enabling Apple's Lockdown Mode, especially if you believe you could be targeted. However, it does limit certain functions (like link previews in messages).

There's also Google's Advanced Protection Program which is designed to protect you from phishing attempts and harmful downloads. Like Lockdown Mode, it does introduce some limitations and extra requirements for using your Google account though.

If you find your email has been compromised, here's what to do if your email has been hacked.

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If your inbox feels like a second full-time job, a new wave of AI-powered email tools promises to change that.

One of the most talked-about options right now is Superhuman Mail — an app designed to help users move through messages faster, automate replies and even see when emails are opened. Its makers claim it can save up to four hours each week.

I’m usually skeptical of anything labeled “the most productive email app ever,” but after exploring its latest features, it’s easy to see why the tool is gaining traction among professionals overwhelmed by cluttered inboxes.

Following major AI upgrades in 2025 and an acquisition by Grammarly — which has since rebranded under the Superhuman name — the platform has expanded its AI capabilities and integrated new productivity tools across its ecosystem.

If you’re wondering what Superhuman Mail actually does and whether it’s worth trying, here’s what you need to know before signing up.

Superhuman Mail can sort your inbox and remind you to follow up

Superhuman AI powers nearly everything the app does for Gmail and Outlook users.

One standout feature, Split Inbox, lets you organize messages into custom categories. You can separate important emails, highlight VIPs and teammates, surface calendar invites and group updates from tools like Slack, Asana, Google Docs and Notion.

When you send an important message, Superhuman can remind you to follow up if no one replies by a time you set. Instead of forwarding emails or CC’ing teammates, you can also share a live view of a message and let others comment on it — even if they don’t use Superhuman.

For faster writing, the app uses Snippets, prewritten templates that insert phrases, full emails, attachments or CC recipients as you compose messages. Snippets can also be shared across teams.

Superhuman can notify you when someone opens your email, what device they used and whether a teammate is already drafting a reply — helping avoid duplicate responses and confusion during urgent conversations.

When you view a contact, Superhuman shows their full name, location and links to social profiles or personal websites, giving you quick context before responding.

Superhuman Mail is also capable of performing the following functions:

• It can dive into your calendar for free time blocks whenever you suggest a date and use a shortcut to check your calendar for whatever activities you’re tending to the next day
• It will create events right from your email
• It can fix grammatical and spelling errors at a self-professed faster rate than Gmail and Outlook’s autocorrect features
• Instantly unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters and quickly clear out spam
• Create and use keyboard shortcuts with a feature called “Inbox Zero”
• Create a reminder for when to send a message via “Send Later”
• Generate faster replies with the “Instant Reply” feature

Here’s everything you need to know to sign up for it

All you need to do to sign up for Superhuman AI is simply link your Google account, link your Microsoft account or create a Superhuman AI account with another email.

Bottom line

Among the flood of other AI email assistants out there (Notion, MailMaestro, SmartWriter, and Shortwave come to mind), Superhuman Mail’s attributes make it stand out as one of the finest on the market.

With these features in mind — and the quick sign-up process — it doesn’t take long to see what the hype around Superhuman Mail is about and whether it deserves a place in your AI toolkit.

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Yahoo and AOL had an issue, as users flocked to Downdetector to report an outage. In just a matter of moments, over 3,000 people flocked to the outage reporting service to report problems, and it peaked at more than 18,000 before dropping to a more normal level.

Yahoo finally acknowledged the outage on its YahooCare X account. "We are aware that some users may be experiencing issues accessing Yahoo services and websites. Our teams are actively investigating, and updates will be provided as more information becomes available," reads the post.

The outage appears to be resolved, which is great for users of Yahoo, AOL and Yahoo Mail.

Yahoo was down — Here's what happened

The reports are rolling in

Over 3,000 users have jumped to Downdetector to report an issue with Yahoo and others throwing reports at Yahoo Mail and AOL. Overall, there's enough reports rolling in quickly enough to assume that this is a fairly widespread issue.

Even HIGHER number of reports

Just when you thought Yahoo reports were high, the number almost tripled to 8,700. Yahoo Mail is still at 5,500 reports, and AOL is at 2,800 reports. That's more than 16,000 total reports, indicating that this outage is affecting users worldwide.

Social Media complaints

Users are starting to reach out to the Yahoo Mail X account about the outage, but it hasn't offered much in the way of advice. Instead, the social media representative just asked for more information about what's happening. Still, hopefully, this puts whatever is happening on the company's radar so it can get to work on fixing the problem.

And the reports climb higher

• AOL: 4,700
• Yahoo: 15,000
• Yahoo Mail: 8,000

Rather than leveling off, even more users are flocking in with reports. See the list above for the reports as of this writing.

Too many requests

The error most users seem to be seeing is "Edge: Too many requests." If you're seeing this when you try to get access to any Yahoo-owned service, you're not alone.

17,000 reports!

We're currently sitting at more than 17,000 reports on the main Yahoo Downdetector page, which is an absurd number. If you thought Yahoo wasn't as popular as it used to be, this outage is a sign that many people on the internet still use its mail service and homepage for news and information.

Still nothing from Yahoo

Yahoo has been quiet about the outage, so we're not entirely sure what's happening. We've reached out to several contacts within the company to see if we can get a comment, and will add a post to this live report if we hear anything.

Running Downdetector

It's all Yahoo and AOL on Downdetector at the moment, with the three main services completely dominating.

Yahoo is aware

Yahoo posted on its YahooCare X account that it's "aware that some users may be experiencing issues accessing Yahoo services and websites." It also said it is "actively investigating, and updates will be provided as more information becomes available."

A big drop...

While Yahoo finally acknowledged the outage, we're also seeing the first substantial drop in the reports.

It peaked at around 19,000 reports and is now at 12,000. Could this be the first sign that things are coming back to normal? We shall see, but it seems to be a positive step.

Down to 5,000 on the main Yahoo site

It looks like we're down to 5,000 on the main Yahoo site. Yahoo Mail is looking at about 4,000 reports and AOL is at 3,000. These are large number still, but nothing in comparison to what it was at its peak.

Working for me

While I don't use Yahoo Mail personally, I just went to the homepage, and it's working for me now. I was getting the dreaded "Too Many Requests" errors until a few minutes ago. There may be some straggler reports running in the background, but it seems we might be approaching the end of the Yahoo outage.

Down to sub-1,000

It looks like the outage is officially over, as we're down to below 1,000 reports. We'll keep watching it, but for now, I think we can call this done and dusted.

Statement from Yahoo

A Yahoo spokesperson responded to our request for comment with the following:

“We became aware of issues users were experiencing accessing Yahoo services globally after rolling out a change to our traffic management system. After reverting the change, Yahoo services have fully recovered with the impact lasting less than an hour."

Even with Gmail's category tabs sorting my emails, my inbox still felt chaotic. The real problem wasn't the number of messages but the repetitive process of managing them. I'd open an email, read it, archive or delete it, then click back to my inbox to decide which message to tackle next.

This constant back-and-forth happened dozens of times a day and made checking email feel exhausting. Then I discovered Gmail's Auto-advance feature buried in settings, and it completely changed how I process my inbox. Here's how to enable it and why it makes such a dramatic difference.

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Google rolled out a bunch of new Gmail features in 2025, including an AI-powered Add to Calendar button and a handy new Purchases tab. However, one change users have long asked for is the ability to change their email address without creating a new account. It's frustrating, but also understandable when you consider what would need to happen on the backend for it to happen.

However, it appears the hopes and dreams of Gmail users might come true, as a Hindi version of Google’s support page indicates that users will be able to change their Gmail address while keeping the old one alive as an alias.

As someone who's used the same email address since Gmail was in beta, I would love to change my main address to something a little more professional while still letting people who know the original address contact me. And I'm sure there are tons of other users who feel the same way.

Changing Gmail address — what you need to know

As far as how the feature works, emails sent to the old address will arrive in the inbox as they always would. This is key, as important people might email your old address before they discover you've swapped. Additionally, the original address will still work for signing in to Google services like Drive, Maps and YouTube.

Everything will remain with the account, including photos, messages and emails, after an address update, which is a big deal compared to making a new account.

According to the documentation, users won't be able to change their Gmail address for 12 months after a switch. Additionally, Google will limit users to three changes over the life of an account.

Since the language about changing a Gmail address appears only in the Hindi version of Google's support site, it's possible Google plans to roll out the feature in India and other Hindi-speaking regions first.

However, we have to assume that Google wouldn't roll this feature out in one part of the world and not the rest, so hopefully, we'll learn more regarding the change.

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Microsoft users need to be on high alert as their accounts are being targeted by hackers using typosquatting to purchase look-a-like sites and email addresses to trick them into handing over their passwords.

Harley Sugarman, CEO at Anagram Security, recently shared a screenshot of an emailhe’d received from using this technique. In the email address, the ‘m’ had was replaced with an ‘r’ and an ‘n’ instead. The effect is subtle and difficult to catch, meaning users may fall for these phishing emails.

Typosquatting isn’t actually a new trick – it’s been used for quite some time by online thieves, hackers and threat actors who want to trick quick typists who might accidentally misspell a website URL or email address. Basically, the scam is to purchase and register an email address or website domain that is remarkably similar to a legitimate one in the hopes that someone will stumble upon it accidentally (or click on it by mistake), and then enter in their credentials thinking they’re on the actual website.

Many people don't take the necessary time to closely examine the URLs of the websites or email addresses that they go to or that pop up in their inbox. If they type in the wrong letters of a website by mistake, or click on the wrong link in an email, this will lead them to a site that perfectly mimics a legitimate site and asks for their username and password. If the victim enters in their information, it gets funneled back to the cybercriminals behind these fake sites and email addresses.

How to stay safe from typosquatting

While it can be very easy to fall victim to typosquatting if you’re not extremely vigilant, there are several ways to protect yourself. For example, using a passkey is a much more secure option than a password. That's why Microsoft and other companies have been encouraging users to switch to that authentication method instead of using traditional passwords.

If you can't use a passkey, then make sure you're choosing a strong, unique password or passphrase, or using one of the best password managers to securely store and autofill your credentials.

There are other ways to stay safe from typosquatting as well. Both Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome can detect typos in URLs, so make sure either browser is set up to assist you with this. Likewise, you can bookmark frequently visited websites so you know you’re going to the correct place. This can be very useful for frequently visited services like you email, banking, shopping, or social sites.

Obviously those phishing rules that we repeat often come into play here: don’t trust any email you receive that says there’s an issue with your account. Always find an independent way to log in to verify a potential problem. Never click on or download anything that appears in an unexpected email, and don’t respond too as doing so shows scammers that they’re interacting with an active phone number or email account.

At the same time, you also want to carefully read every email address to verify its legitimacy while looking for typos. You should also hover over links to see where they redirect to as well. Watch out for phishing lures: if an email is trying to instill a sense of urgency or pressure you to do something like resetting a password or “fixing” a problem with an account. And, of course, make sure you're using the best antivirus software programs to protect you from any malware or viruses you may encounter online.

Typosquatting is one of the oldest tricks in the book but it will often reappear from time to time. As such, you always want to be careful when visiting unfamiliar websites or checking your inbox.

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If you're like me, you are probably subscribed to more mailing lists than you realize. Fortunately, the mobile version of Gmail gives you an easy way to do something about it.

Earlier this summer, Google announced a new Manage Subscriptions feature that would put all those mailing lists you've subscribed to — unwittingly or otherwise — in one place. You can then scroll down the list and tap which newsletters, promotional emails and other communiques you wish to kick to the curb.

At the time of the Manage Subscriptions announcement, Google said that the feature would roll out on the web, Android and iOS to select countries. I'm not sure exactly when it landed on my phone, but I noticed it around Black Friday — about the same time that every retailer I've done business with decided to send me an email imploring me to drop some more cash. Instead, I've been using Manage Subscriptions in Gmail to drop them from my inbox.

Manage Subscriptions is very easy to use, once you've tracked down in the feature. The steps below show the process in Gmail running on a Galaxy S25 Plus, but I've confirmed that it's also available in the iOS version of the email software running on my iPhone 17. In other words, iOS and Android users alike will be able to free themselves from the tyranny of unsolicited emails.

Here's how Manage Subscriptions works.

Once you've confirmed you're unsubscribing from the list, you'll be whisked back to the Manage Subscriptions page, which will be updated to no longer display the list you've dropped. You'll also get a confirmation alert at the bottom of the screen.

For the most part, unsubscribing from a mailing list takes place entirely inside of Gmail. In a few instances, however, you may be required to go directly to the sender's website to unsubscribe. You can also block messages from that sender if you prefer.

Near as I can tell, there's no batch unsubscribe feature in Manage Subscriptions; instead, you've got to go through each subscription individually. That's probably just as well, as newsletters I actually subscribe to — and in some cases, pay for — are listed among mailing lists I have no idea how I landed on. A batch unsubscribe command would make it too easy to include those welcome mailing lists from the ones I want to rid myself of.

If you're looking for more tips on how to use Gmail, we can walk you through how to transfer emails between Gmail accounts as well as how to schedule an email. Incidentally, scheduling messages isn't just for email clients — you can schedule texts in iOS Messages, too.

I’m not proud to admit how much time I’ve lost to email ping-pong. Maybe you're familiar with it, too. The dance goes something like, "Does Tuesday at 3 work?" But then I quickly write back with something like, "Actually, I'm double booked then, how does Thursday look for you?" Then, nine replies deep, I still haven't locked down a 30-minute chat.

As someone who juggles a lot of internal syncs, interviews, AI demos and last minute pitch meetings, my calendar gets chaotic. I know I'm not alone; we are all busier than ever while doing our best to stay productive when things pop up.

Luckily, Google just rolled out a new feature from Gemini with a “Help me schedule” button in Gmail. In short, it helps to eliminate the back-and-forth (and brain fog) that comes with setting meetings. It's the scheduling sidekick we didn't know we needed.

How it works

The feature works almost invisibly. When someone emails you with a meeting request such as, "Can we meet next week for 30 minutes?” Like magic, a “Help me schedule” button appears in the toolbar.

Once clicked, Gemini instantly scans your Google Calendar and proposes ideal meeting slots that match the request. So, even if you can't remember your schedule, Gemini jumps in no sweat.

Because the AI tool has context awareness, it will suggst blocks that may not even be technically open, but realisitically useful. For example, it may skip over my chaotic Monday mornings and avoid sandiching back-to-back meetings. The AI even understands the "next week" part and will pull up dates within range.

Smart suggestions you can actually tweak

Rest assured that Gemini lets you edit the suggestions it makes before you insert them into the email. For example, I could delete the 8 a.m. slot if it suggests it because I know I'm getting the kiddos to school even though I don't add that to my calendar. I could add an extra afternoon option, then click “Insert” to drop them all into my reply.

From there, the recipient just picks a time that works, and just like that, the meeting is booked.

The takeaway

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Your email is a digital treasure chest. Not only does it contain everything from your contacts to your calendar to personal information like doctors' appointments and employment history, but a hacker could also use the "forgot password" feature to take over a long list of your other accounts.

Once a hacker has gained control of your email, they could potentially lock you out of your own accounts, drain your financials, and commit identity theft, among other malicious behaviors. That makes it a particularly attractive target for threat actors, which means you'll want to make sure it's secure at all times.

However, what do you do if you suspect something has gone wrong – or worse yet, you know it definitely has? Here's a short list of ways to know how emails get hacked, ways to tell if your email has been hacked, and what to do when you know your account has been taken over by a bad actor.

To start, if you don't already have one of the best antivirus programs installed on your device, start there – and make sure it has an identity theft or identity monitoring service feature. Those services work best when you have them in place ahead of time because they can watch and alert you to suspicious behavior ahead of time so you can act quickly.

Emails are easy to hack through a few methods: phishing scams are often successful because they mimic real brands or emails to convince you to click through links or buttons to enter in login details or other personal information, which is then sent back to hackers who then have your account details.

A data breach of a large or small business is another way that your account details can be compromised; if you know that you have an account that has been involved in a data breach, it's important that you update your passwords immediately and keep a close eye on all your accounts for suspicious behavior.

Other methods include credential stuffing attacks, which are automated attacks that involve a bot. The bot takes a list of stolen usernames and passwords, then "stuffs" them into forms across the web, eventually taking the chance it will find one that accepts it as it's been used in multiple places.

And lastly, a malware infection like a keylogger or spyware that captures keystrokes and can steal your login details as you type, then sends that information back to a hacker, can cause an email takeover.

How to know if something has gone wrong with your email account:

You cannot log in: If your username and password are being rejected, that’s a big indicator that someone else has gotten hold of your login credentials and changed them. You’re locked out, and someone else has gained control.

A contact asks if you sent them a message: Hackers like to send malware or spam from compromised accounts, so if your contacts are asking if you’ve sent them spam, adult messages, mass messages, or iffy content with weird messages or links, that’s a pretty big indicator that someone else has control of your email account. Let your friends know – from another channel – that your account has been compromised and they should not open any messages from you.

Settings have been changed: If you see unauthorized changes to your email, like the signature line in your email containing strange links or information, or the forwarding rule redirecting to an unfamiliar address, that's suspicious behavior.

Password reset notifications: Two-factor authentication is a great way to protect your account from hackers, but if you're getting notifications for access that you don't recognize, it means that someone else is attempting to access your account.

Deleted or missing emails: Missing emails, emails moved to trash, or even emails that have been marked as read that you don't recall reading might mean someone else has been in your inbox.

How to recover control of your email:

• Your email provider should have a recovery service or a web page that will assist you with recovering your account in the event of a lost or stolen password. Google has one broken down into seven easy steps.
• Make sure that your security questions and alternate contact information, like phone numbers and backup emails, are kept up to date and accurate. Sometimes hackers will change these to their own information.
• If you’re still able to, update your password and ensure that it is a strong, unique password that isn’t being used for any other account. If you use a password manager, update your email account with your new password.
• Enable 2FA: if your account offers it and you don’t already have it enabled, set up two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication, which will ask you for a PIN or secondary access info to get into your account. This is one of the strongest ways to protect your accounts since it usually requires a PIN from your phone, which a hacker will not have access to.
• Check your other accounts: make sure you don’t see any suspicious behavior in your other accounts, checking particularly for high-profile accounts like social media, other email, and financial and banking accounts. If those accounts offer 2FA or MFA and you don’t already have that set up for them, make sure you enable it for them as well.
• Alert your contacts: through an independent channel, to let them know that your email account may have been compromised, and that you’ve taken the appropriate steps to secure your account. You can also tell them that they shouldn’t open any emails or attachments during the time that the account was unsecure, so they can protect their own accounts from any phishing attempts.

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Researchers have found a flaw that allows malicious Google Calendar invites to hijack Gemini in order to wreak havoc on a target’s machine.

As reported by Bleeping Computer, a maliciously crafted invite within Google Calendar can remotely take over Gemini agents without any user involvement beyond typical day-to-day interaction with the assistant.

The security researchers at SafeBreach, who demonstrated this attack in a report, were able to send a calendar invite with an embedded prompt injection, hidden in the event title, which permitted them to exfiltrate a variety of user data like email content and Calendar information. They were also able to track the victim’s location, control smart home devices (using Google Home) open apps on Android and trigger Zoom calls.

The researchers made note that the attack did not require white-box model access and was not blocked by Gemini’s protection measures or by prompt filtering. Instead, the attack begins with a malicious Google Calendar event invite sent to the victim which includes an event title containing an indirect prompt injection. The victim then only needs to interact with Gemini as they typically would, such as asking “What are my calendar events today?” in order to cause the AI chatbot to pull a list of events from the Calendar – which will include the malicious event title embedded by the attacker.

This will then becomes part of Gemini’s content window, and the assistant will treat it as part of the conversation as it is unable to realize that the instruction is malicious. Depending on what the instruction is, it could cause lead to a number of different prompts from being executed, causing events in Google Calendar to be edited or removed entirely, opening URLs to retrieve the victim’s IP address, joining a Zoom call, using Google Home to control devices, or accessing emails and leaking user data.

However, it could take up to six calendar invites for this attack to work with the malicious prompt being included only in the last invite. This is because the Calendar events section displays only the five most recent events; the rest fall under the ‘Show more” button. Gemini will parse them all – including the malicious one – when instructed to. Additionally, the victim will not see the malicious event title or realize there has been a compromise unless they expand the events list by clicking “Show more.”

Gemini, Google’s LLM (large language model) assistant, is integrated into Android, Google web services and Google’s Workspace apps so it has access to Gmail, Calendar and Google Home. These attacks are a downside of Google’s broad access and reach, and while its usefulness comes from its ability to reach across tools, this is also proving to be a detriment when it comes to the nature of this attack. Google has already issued a fix and has credited the team of researchers and their efforts.

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• Hackers are abusing this Intel tool to disable Windows 11's built-in antivirus — don't fall for this

Your Gmail inbox is probably drowning in subscription emails right now. Shopping deals, newsletters, app notifications, and promotional messages pile up faster than you can delete them.

Gmail's subscription management tool changes that by giving you a central hub to see exactly which senders are flooding your inbox and how often they're doing it.

Instead of hunting through individual emails looking for tiny unsubscribe links, you can now view all your recurring senders in one place and unsubscribe with just a couple of clicks.

Whether you're dealing with overzealous retailers or newsletters you forgot you signed up for, Gmail's updated features make it easier than ever to reclaim control of your inbox.

Now you've learned how to manage your subscriptions in Gmail, why not take a look at some other inbox tips and tricks?

Check out One inbox to rule them all — how to transfer emails between Gmail accounts and I used Google Gemini to declutter my Gmail account — here's how you can do it too.

And to ensure your emails are safe from prying eyes, don't miss this little-known Gmail feature lets you encrypt sensitive emails.

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Both Yahoo Mail and AOL mail users started reporting issues accessing their emails with reports streaming into the outage website Down Detector starting around 7:30 a.m. Pacific Thursday morning.

Yahoo Mail saw a spike of over 10,000 reports around 9:00 a.m., it has declined a bit but reports still sit near 8,000 on Down Detector.

Both companies, which are owned by the same private equity group, Apollo, have acknowledged the problem are say that engineers are working on the issues.

Those affected by this Yahoo Mail outage are reporting that they’re greeted with a ‘temporary Error: 15’ message that’s preventing them from accessing their emails. Over on X, several users have shared the message they’ve received trying to access the service — with the message going on to say that “we are experiencing some technical difficulties.”

This Yahoo Mail outage appears to be ongoing, but it also is causing other service outages. According to Down Detector, there was a surge in AOL reported outages that seem to coincide with Yahoo Mail. Stay tuned for all the latest news and reports about these outages.

A decline in reports started around 11:00 a.m. and quickly dropped from there with numbers steeply falling until around noon.

Neither AOL or Yahoo have stated that services are back in order. As of this writing there are still messages saying that the companies are working to resolve the issues.

However, we are seeing a number of comments that people have been able to access their emails again.

Over 10,000 reported outages

Reports of Yahoo Mail outages first began at around 10:00 a.m, Thursday morning, which saw a dramatic increase within the first hour. So far, there have been more than 10,000 reports about the outage from users.

AOL users are also reporting outages

It could be directly tied to the Yahoo Mail outage, but Down Detector has also recorded a spike in reported outages with AOL. While the Yahoo Mail outage first occurred at around 10:00 a.m., AOL reported outages soon came in starting at 11:00 a.m. — with over 6,000 reported incidents.

'Temporary Error: 15' message greets some Yahoo Mail users

User Shalini Gupta on X shared a photo of what greeted her when logging into Yahoo Mail this afternoon. It showed a 'Temporary Error: 15' message when trying to access Yahoo Mail, with the option to Try Again at the bottom.

Based on Yahoo's own listing, this error message appears when there are temporary issues — with it going on to say that it "will usually correct itself within a few minutes to a few hours."

Yahoo is aware of issues

I have not yet found a status page for Yahoo, but the Help page for is acknowledging problems.

Right now there is a message on the site that reads:

"We are aware some users are experiencing issues accessing their Yahoo Mail. We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible."

A post from the Yahoo Customer Care account on X says that the company is investigating.

AOL acknowledges problems

Like Yahoo, AOL doesn't appear to have a dedicated status page that we can check out.

However, the AOL help page also has a message acknowledging the outage.

"We are aware some users are experiencing issues accessing their AOL Mail, or displaying their mailbox. We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience as our engineers work to remedy this concern."

Yahoo is currently owned by Yahoo and a private equity business.

What is Temporary Error 15?

We've seen complaints that people are getting a "temporary error 15" when trying to access their Yahoo Mail account.

According to Yahoo, the code 15 error usually resolves in a few minutes to "a few hours."

The help page lists potential causes as an unsupported web browser, accessing your account simultaneously from two different browsers, or accessing your account from multiple devices at the same time.

Yahoo has several potential fixes:

• Restart your web browser.
• Clear your web browser's cache
• Make sure you’re using a supported web browser.
• Sign out of your account and sign back in

Those steps might work considering this seems to be a bigger, more widespread issue than a normal temporary error 15.

Some Yahoo users are having fun with it

While your email service being inaccessible is annoying, some Yahoo users are having with today's outage.

Both Yahoo Mail and AOL are older services that arguably hit their peaks in the 1990s and early aughts.

Users share frustration on recent Yahoo posts on X

Under an unrelated Yahoo post, a number of Mail users expressed frustration with the outage of service.

"Fix your severs before jumping into Ai," one user said.

Other said two factor authentication wasn't working or that they couldn't login.

"I'm finding it difficult to access my Yahoo account. Please help me," another pleaded.

It gets a bit meaner further down.

Steep decline

Both AOL and Yahoo are showing a steep decline in reports on Down Detector with Yahoo sitting at around 950 reports right now.

AOL is closer to 600 reports at the moment.

We haven't seen any updates from either company yet, but there are comments saying that people have started to be able to login again.

Calling it

While AOL and Yahoo have not updated their status pages to indicate that issues have resolved, it does appear that most people are able to access their emails again based on the nearly zero reports on DD and comments from users saying that their service is back.

A flaw in Google Gemini for Workspace can be exploited by hackers to insert malicious instructions that could misdirect the AI tool and cause it to direct users to phishing sites.

As reported by Bleeping Computer, this vulnerability works by creating email summaries that look entirely normal, but include malicious instructions or warnings that are hidden and automatically obeyed by Gemini when it generates a message summary.

The process works by creating an email that holds an invisible directive for Gemini, by hiding instructions in the body text at the end of the message using HTML and CSS code then setting the font size to zero and the color to white. Since this additional text doesn’t include any attachments or links, it won’t be flagged or caught by the best antivirus software or email programs so it is likely to make it through to a potential victim's inbox.

When a target opens an email, then requests that Gemini summarizes the contents, the AI program will automatically obey the hidden instructions that it sees. Users often put their trust into Gemini’s ability to work with content as part of Workspace; the alert is considered a legitimate warning instead of a malicious injection.

Similar attacks have been reported over the last year, though safeguards have been implemented in order to block the misleading responses, the technique has remained successful overall which is why it is still in use.

Bleeping Computer says that when they asked Google about defenses to counter these types of attacks, a spokesperson referenced a blog post about prompt injection attacks and said that some of the mitigations are in the process of being implemented or are about to be deployed. Google also said it has no evidence that this attack has occurred in the wild.

Figueroa, the manager at Mozilla’s GenAI Bug Bounty Program who detected the flaw, offers a few ideas to prevent this threat: have security teams remove, naturalize or ignore content styled to be hidden in body text. Alternatively, implement filters that scan Gemini for urgent messages, URLs, phone numbers and flag those for additional review from users.

For now though, you just need to be careful when having Gemini summarize your emails as you never know what could be hiding inside them. Hopefully, Google rolls out a fix for this new type of attack sooner rather than later.

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• This dangerous banking trojan now uses scheduled maintenance to hide its malicious activities — don’t fall for this
• New Android attack could trick you into compromising your own phone — everything you need to know

Outlook saw a significant spike in user reports on Down Detector, which is one of the first signs that something is wrong with the massive email service. Users around the world reported problems, and the outage raged on for more than four hours.

The outage kicked off around 6:30 a.m. Eastern, but spiked as east coasters started to log on around 9 a.m. Reports didn't start slowing down until closer to noon, though it had a long tail.

It wasn't an ideal time for the popular email service to go down, as people around the world were busy trying to get work done, but at least it's coming back now. Not having access to email can grind the workday to a halt, so we're glad Microsoft fixed the issue relatively quickly.

Microsoft acknowledged the outage on its status page, which cleared up about six hours into the outage, though users were still reporting intermittent problems.

Things seemed to calm down around lunchtime but with a steep drop in reports, but that didn't mean everyone was out of the woods as a number of users were still reporting issues for a few more hours after that.

We did see some people saying they had service back but others were saying that it was going in and out of usability.

Microsoft Outlook down — live outage updates

Microsoft acknowledges outage

On the Microsoft status page, the company said, "We're having issues, but we're working on it."

Further down the page, Outlook.com is showing as down, with Microsoft saying, "Users may be unable to access their mailbox using any connection methods."

The company says Outlook.com, Outlook Mobile and the Outlook desktop client could be impacted.

The reports come rolling in

After a gradual up and down, Microsoft Outlook suddenly saw a huge spike in outage reports on Down Detector, reaching as high as 2,100 shortly after 9:45 a.m. ET on Thursday.

Users react

Whenever there's a big outage like this one, users will often jump on Down Detector to comment on the situation. One user spoke a bit about what they're currently deal with: "I appear to be able to sign in - but the mailbox doesn't open. Outlook desktop says the account is 'disconnected.' Found this to be true over multiple devices and different ISPs."

Another user said, "Same with us, logged into MSN fine. Live email won't connect but we can access a hotmail account. Tried multiple devices but can't get in."

Microsoft working on it

Further elaborating on the situation, Microsoft commented on its actions. Here's what the company said:

"We're continuing to apply the configuration changes to fix the underlying problem and completing additional validation efforts to ensure authentication components are properly configured. In parallel to the current deployment of the configuration change fix, we're reviewing options to leverage an expedited deployment methodology in regions which are experiencing the highest levels of impact to provide the most effective relief where possible."

That means we may be approaching the end of the Outlook outage, but we'll have to wait and see.

Nothing on X

Microsoft hasn't posted anything on X about the problem. That's not overly surprising, as the company hasn't posted on the Outlook X account since June. Still, with this outage officially starting around 12 hours ago, it's a bit odd for the company to post nothing, since not everyone is religiously checking the status page.

Next update

Microsoft says it'll have another update by Thursday, July 10, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. UTC. That's 12:30 p.m. ET, so we could be look at a couple hours before anything significant happens.

Of course, the word "by" means Microsoft could put out an update sooner, but we'll have to wait and see.

Reports still hovering

The number of reports on Down Detector has remained pretty consistent since the initial spike. As of this post, it's sitting at just under 2,200, which is close to where the reports were when this outage really got going.

What does that mean? Users are consistently still hitting the popular outage reporting platform to say that something is wrong, which means most aren't seeing any kind of fix yet.

A big spike

Just as reports seemed to level off, they suddenly spiked by more than 200, up to 2,440. That's never a good sign for Outlook coming back soon, as more users filing reports usually means the issue is becoming more widespread.

Frustration

Email is an essential form of communication for many people online. As such, a massive service like Outlook going down can have a profound impact on people's ability to get through their day, leading to significant frustration.

One user in the Down Detector comments said, "Why cant they make it work. Its just an email client?"

Another took an even more negative approach: "changing all my accounts to google. This company is dying." That's a bit of a stretch, and Google has had outages, too, but it's easy to see just how upset users are by this outage.

Are you experiencing Outlook issues?

Is Outlook down for you? Are you one of the lucky few who can still access your email?

Let us know!

All quiet

Unfortunately, nothing much has happened with the Outlook outage. It's still down, people around the world are unable to access to their email and it's not good.

We'll keep digging to see if we can find out more information about when Outlook will start working again.

2,600 and steady

The reports on Down Detector jumped to 2,600 and have stayed pretty steady since. Hopefully, we start to see a decline soon, as it would be nice for people to be able to access their email again.

The first downturn

After sitting steadily at 2,600 for a while, we've finally seen a slight downturn in Down Detector reports, with Outlook currently at a lower level, closer to 2,400.

Could this be a sign that the outage is finally coming to a close? It's too soon to say, but it's certainly a good sign.

The fix was broken

Microsoft 365 posted on X, stating that it had deployed a fix; however, the fix had an issue. Here's what the company said:

"We identified an issue with the initial fix, and we've corrected it. We're continuing to deploy the fix, and we're closely monitoring the deployment to ensure no further issues are encountered."

Here's what we know

Microsoft Outlook is having a significant outage, with thousands of users reporting issues connecting to the email service.

Microsoft has acknowledged the issue, even saying that it implemented a fix. However, the fix may have caused additional problems.

At this point, we're mostly just waiting for the second fix, which Microsoft has said it deployed, to start working.

Test your Microsoft knowledge

While you wait for Outlook to come back online, why not test your Microsoft history knowledge with this fun quiz.

The end is finally near?

The end of the outage might be here, as there's been a massive drop in the number of reports on Down Detector. What peaked at as high as 2,800 reports is down to 1,792. That's a good sign for Outlook coming back, but we'll have to keep an eye on things.

Microsoft posts update, still down

Microsoft has posted on its status page at 12:30 p.m., as promised. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem the company has much new to report.

Here's what the company lists as the current status:

"We’ve begun a broad expedited deployment of the configuration change across all affected infrastructure. We expect most impacted users will experience relief within the next two hours, as the fix saturates the environment. We’re closely monitoring service health telemetry to ensure the recovery continues as expected. We understand how impactful incidents of this type can be, and we're continuing to open any additional workstreams to expedite recovery and restore availability."

A beautiful sight

We're down to 821 reports, by far the lowest they've been since this outage started.

Back in business

"Our configuration changes have effectively resolved impact in targeted infrastructure. We’re now deploying the changes worldwide to resolve impact for all users," said Microsoft in an X post.

The part where Microsoft says it's deploying it means it could take some time before it starts working for you, but at least we know the end is in sight.

A few remaining reports

While the outage appears to be mostly over, there are a few reports still rolling in on Down Detector, indicating that some users are still having problems. In fact, there are 455 reports as of this writing, which is enough to be remain a cause for concern.

Four hours in

Here's where we stand after about four hours of reported outages.

Reports have dwindled down to under 400 on Down Detector, sitting around 350 as of this writing.

We are seeing comments from some people that Outlook is back up for them.

Has it recovered for you?

Not quite over

We're waiting to see if it will end, but the Outlook outage is still drawing in reports even if it is around 250 on Down Detector.

Intermittent outages

While the Microsoft 365 Portal shows Outlook as being "all good" we are seeing comments that the Outlook service is popping in and out of usability.

Perhaps that's why reports refuse to completely die down and have been hovering around 250 for the last hour or so.

It's basically over

We were waiting for the outages to reach under 100 reports, and it's basically reached that point with reports on Down Detector down to around 110 reports now.

I open my inbox every morning with the best of intentions. But somewhere between looking for my kid’s camp emails and checking a shipping confirmation, I get buried under a mountain of unread newsletters, product promos and half-forgotten subscriptions.

That is, until today.

Gmail just rolled out a new feature called Manage Subscriptions, and it’s the inbox detox tool we all need.

In just seconds, I unsubscribed from over 100 email lists; all without digging through old threads or searching for microscopic "unsubscribe" links.

Here’s how it works, why it matters and how to try it yourself.

Gmail’s new feature, explained

Google’s Manage Subscriptions is a brand-new tab rolling out now in Gmail. It lives in your sidebar (under the “More” section) and automatically pulls in every sender you’re subscribed to; from your favorite retailers to those random newsletters you don’t remember signing up for.

Even better, it shows you how often you’ve heard from each sender lately. For example: "Disney+ – 22 emails in the past few weeks” or “That random app I downloaded once – 14 emails this month.”

With just one tap, you can effortlessly unsubscribe.

Why this is a big deal

Before this, managing email clutter meant either mass-deleting, filtering messages into oblivion, or tediously unsubscribing one by one. Now it’s all in one place, which is a game-changer and time saver for busy people.

The inbox peace alone gave me that Friday feeling on a Tuesday afternoon.

For marketers and email senders, it’s a wake-up call that content has to earn a spot in someone's inbox.

How to try it

The feature is gradually rolling out across Gmail, but you may not see it yet. For example, it's available in one of my email accounts but not the other.

However, keep an eye out, as this experience is rolling out now to users on the web, Android, and iOS in the United States and select countries.

• On desktop: You’ll find it in the left-hand sidebar under “Manage subscriptions.”
• On Android: Rolling out mid-July.
• On iOS: Coming later this month.

If the feature is already there, you'll see it in the left sidebar when you click "More." Once you click Manage Subscriptions, you can review senders and see how frequently they email you.

Then, click unsubscribe next to anything you no longer want.

Gmail will process the request and handle the rest. (It may take a few days for the changes to reflect.)

I also filtered my Gmail by “Promotions” and “Social” tabs before jumping in, which is a great way to quickly identify the noisiest senders.

Final thoughts

After using the new Manage Subscriptions tab, my inbox finally feels manageable. It’s not perfect, and I have no doubt that some senders will still slip through the cracks, as many companies have several newsletters, but it’s the most efficient unsubscribe tool I’ve seen from any platform.

If your inbox feels like a cluttered junk drawer, this feature is your reset button.

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If you had to guess how many online accounts you have, right now, would you have any idea?

Think about it: Every grocery pickup, mobile game, fitness app, home improvement store, book orders for the kids school, medical portals for doctors notes, social media accounts, photo editors, smart home devices, banking apps, shopping apps… According to research done last year by NordPass, on average people have almost 170 passwords for various accounts.

And honestly, if you’ve lived most of – or all of – your life online, that’s probably a low number for the amount of accounts you’ve created, used and then forgotten or abandoned. But all those old accounts out there, that you never deleted, are just sitting around with your data in them waiting for a breach which makes them a security risk.

In world of increasingly large data breaches, many of which are comprised of older breaches or old data that is grouped into larger and larger amounts of personal information about users, letting accounts of personally identifiable information just sit on the web in old accounts that may not have updated protections like two-factor authentication or strong passwords is a practice that puts your cybersecurity at risk. Here’s how to clean up your act, and make sure you’re set up safely going forward.

Why are old accounts a security risk?

Think about the type of information you provide when you sign up for an account: name, email address, physical address, birthdate, payment information. This is all exactly the kind of data that you find in massive data breaches – and exactly the kind of data that threat actors are looking for.

Once someone has gained access to your personal information they can use it for a variety of malicious purposes. For example, if a hacker has access to an email or social media account, they can spam your contacts with scams or launch phishing attacks using your name and account. They could even attempt to trick your contacts into installing malware.

A dormant or inactive account could hold personal information or sensitive details like photos of drivers licenses or insurance information, which could then be used to commit identity theft or fraud. If there is active financial information in an account, a threat actor could drain your funds or sell your account details.

How to get started in cleaning up old accounts

If you know you have old accounts that you don’t use anymore, go ahead and delete them. It may sound like a hassle but it’s also the kind of thing you can do while watching 'Love Island' in the background.

If you don't know where to start looking for old accounts, a good place is to search your email inbox for common account keywords: "welcome," "thank you for signing up," "verify account," or "validate account." You can also go through your password manager to see what it has saved passwords for.

You should also check the saved password list in your browser and to see if anything there has a link to an unused account. It's easy to quickly check this list in most browsers: For Chrome go to Settings > Passwords. For Safari it's Preferences > Passwords. In Firefox go to Preferences then Privacy & Security > Saved Logins. And in Edge it's Settings > Profiles > Passwords > Saved Passwords.

Also, because some services let you easily sign in with Google, Facebook, Twitter or an Apple ID you should check the list of apps that are connected to all those accounts. Disconnecting those accounts doesn't "kill" the old account, but it will tell you what you need to delete.

Visit Have I Been Pwned? which will show you which leaks your email address has been a part of – and may remind you about a few accounts you'd forgotten about. Bonus: it will also tell you which accounts may need their passwords updated more frequently or may need to be watched more carefully because of a breach.

If you have icons on your phone, tablet or desktop for services or apps you know you don’t use any longer, log in and close the accounts then remove the apps from your device. Lastly, look into your antivirus software – some programs like Bitdefender have features that will find all accounts that you’ve made with Google and Outlook with a click.

What if you can't close an account

If you’re having trouble deleting an account, don't stress – some sites and services make that a hassle by design. Start by Googling the site or service and "delete account to see if there are any tips or shortcuts posted, or check justdelete.me which is a handy database of instructions for removing and killing accounts. If that doesn't work, try contacting the websites support or administrators.

If you simply cannot find a way to remove the account, you're still not out of luck because you can still:

• Remove any saved financial and payment information like credit card numbers.
• Remove any private data like calendar events, notes, tasks – you can always export or download anything you want to save.
• Clear personal identification details like your name, birthdate, shipping address and any other additional details that someone could use to steal your identity or commit fraud.
• Input a new fake name and a fake email - you can always pull something up from Mailinator if needs be.
• Clear out accounts of old messages, especially anything that may hold sensitive personal information like invoices with credit card details, images of drivers licenses or ID information and the like.

Lastly, as you're going through these steps, consider how easily you sign up for accounts in the future and if you could use a guest account next time. Consider getting a dedicated email account for sign ups, so you can easily check them in another few months to see what needs to be removed then.

For any accounts you don’t remove, make sure that you update your password, and have it stored it a password manager. Also consider using a passkey, or at least multi-factor authentication.

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• Microsoft Authenticator will shut off the password autofill feature in July — here’s how to save them
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That “click to unsubscribe” button you see at the bottom of an email, the one you’ve probably used dozens of times to remove yourself from newsletters, shopping emails and thousands of other emails in your inbox, well, it turns out that it’s likely to become a security risk at some point.

TK Keanini, a CTO a DNSFilter, discussed the issue recently during an interview with the Wall Street Journal where they warned against using the button that appears at the bottom of commercial emails. When you run the numbers, according to Keanini, one out of every 644 clicks can lead to a potentially malicious website.

Users, says Keanini, should understand that clicking these links take them out of the safe environments provided by their email client and onto the open web which is a much more risky landscape.

In addition to alerting threat actors that the email address is active, unchecked unsubscribe links can redirect users to phishing websites, which are designed to steal passwords or login credentials, and could even potentially deploy malware according to reporting from Techspot.

Other experts are quoted to add that legitimate vendors may ask for an email address but the general rule of thumb is if you don’t trust the company who sent the email, you shouldn’t trust their unsubscribe process either.

The safest way to process this type of request on your end is to use the “list-unsubscribe headers” that are provided by your email service. These generally appear as built-in buttons in your email client, not in the body of the email itself, so they won’t include any suspicious source code. If your email header doesn’t contain a link, you can reply on your spam filters, or try blacklisting the sender instead.

If all else fails, you should try to use disposable email addresses to sign up for accounts, though it can make certain online activities more difficult. Likewise, you should always ensure that your PC is protected with the best antivirus software and your Apple computer with the best Mac antivirus software to avoid any potential malware infections that can result from clicking a dodgy unsubscribe link.

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I’ve long enjoyed trying fresh productivity apps, but I always tend to come back to my favorites. I use Things 3 on Mac and my iPhone as my task manager, and use Notion Mail/Mimestream for archiving my emails as I go to keep them as a to-do list.

Then, Notion is my planner, where I manage drafts, invoicing, deadlines and all that fun stuff. Recently, however, I’ve been using a surprising new contender: Blitzit.

Blitzit, as the name suggests, is all about helping you get tasks done quickly. And it really does work, even if it’s not without a few foibles in its early version.

On your marks, get set…

I love a task list, to the point where my wife jokes that if a task isn’t on some kind of list, it’s not getting done.

It’s why Things 3 has been a mainstay on my Mac, iPhone, and iPad for years now, offering a clean UI that easily lets me add deadlines, recurring tasks and more. It’s sleek, but it’s not without its issues, however.

The biggest is that it’s only on Apple platforms, unless I want to fandangle some “Rube Goldberg” system of emails and URLs to get tasks to copy from something on Windows. And, while I could use Notion as a task list, I don’t find it as easy to use for that purpose when it’s already packed with a whole host of other databases I’ve created.

Blitzit hits the sweet spot, thankfully. It’s feature-identical on Windows and Mac, and allows for multiple “Lists” of tasks. For example, my work for different sites can be kept separate, but when viewing my list of tasks on any given day, I can see them both and rearrange them as I see fit.

The app’s unique feature is the titular Blitzit mode, and it’s great. Load up your day’s tasks, either by adding them or dragging them from other lists like tasks for “This Week” or the “Backlog,” and then hit the button to enter a focus state.

Doing so moves your tasks to the side of the screen, complete with a timer. Every now and again, it’ll ping you to keep you on track, but for the most part, it just acts as a handy timer.

Once a task is done, you can tick it off and get a neat GIF that adds a bit of whimsy, then move to the next task, or take a break. Worried about your screen space? There’s an even smaller window that just shows a task and a timer.

But does it work?

Blitzit’s ads have suggested you’ll complete tasks magnitudes faster when using it, and while I don’t have an exact figure to hand, it’d be fair to say lining up tasks and offering minimal chances of getting distracted by, well, just about anything in between them is certainly a useful feature.

I’m tempted to throw household chores in, too, just because the app has its own series of reports.

It can tell you how many tasks you’ve completed each day, your most productive day, month or even hours (usually right after the coffee kicks in, which sounds about right), and how much time you spend on each list.

It also tracks which tasks you finish early, late or on time, which helps with time-blocking them later on.

Blitzit has added integrations for Google Calendar and Notion so far, so you can tie your meetings into the app, or your tasks into a workspace, but I’ve not found much use for either yet — still, ClickUp, Trello and Asana are slated as “Coming Soon.”

That’s also what appeals to me about Blitzit. The app is available at the moment with a one-time fee or a monthly subscription, but the former has been well worth the money, and the team has been transparent about the roadmap.

It’ll soon recommend things like hydration breaks and ways to make use of your time between tasks to relax, while the dev team has suggested it’ll soon have the option to use AI to generate a daily plan.

I’ve been lucky enough to test the mobile version, and it’s already off to a promising start, even just as somewhere to drop items for quickly picking up on my Mac or PC. An Apple Watch app is also planned.

Some teething issues

There’s a whole lot Blitzit already does that feels like afterthoughts for existing to-do list apps. Having the aforementioned integrations, the option to add Pomodoro timers, and the audio feedback when you tick off tasks are great.

Still, there’s one bug that’s driving me up the wall, although I wager it’ll be fixed relatively soon. Essentially, having a list of tasks for the day, and then reorganising them can sometimes duplicate one of the tasks on the list.

All of a sudden, Task 1, 2, 3 and 4 become Task 1, 2, 1, 3, 1 and 4, and deleting one of the duplicates also removes the original. It’s relatively minor in my usage as I’m rarely adding much detail to each task outside of a cursory title and a time, but if I’d spent more time loading in subtasks, formatted notes or a schedule, I might not be so nonplussed.

Still, given it’s available for under $80 with a lifetime license (or $4.99 per month) that works across devices, Blitzit is an easy product to recommend — thanks, Instagram ads!

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I receive a lot of emails, some of which are solicited, but most are not. A lot of it is absolute trash that I could do without. There’s a reason my inbox has accumulated over 16,000 unread messages in the past nine years — and no, that's not a typo.

Inbox Zero is not an attainable goal for me right now, but Gmail’s new “Manage Subscriptions” feature sounds like it could help make it more achievable.

Regular Gmail users may be aware that a prominent “Unsubscribe” button was released last year, making it a bit easier to get your email address off various automated lists. However, according to a report from 9to5Google, the Manage Subscriptions page will take it a step further.

The new page still seems to be rolling out, and hasn’t appeared on either my work or personal Gmail accounts yet, on both Android and the Gmail website. However, 9to5Google has been able to check it out for themselves, helping us determine where the page is located and how it functions.

How it works

Accessing the Manage Subscriptions page can be done from Gmail’s sidebar, right below the trash folder. This new page will display all your email subscriptions in one place and show you how many emails have been sent recently.

A button on the right allows you to send an unsubscribe request. Apparently, this usually works with a single click, but sometimes you will get a pop-up asking you to confirm you want to unsubscribe.

It’s unclear whether you can unsubscribe en masse at this time. But the fact that you have all your newsletters and mailing lists on a single page should make the process of opting out a bit easier.

However, Google does mention that it “can take senders a few days to stop sending messages.” If you’re as familiar with the various unsubscribe forms as I am, you’ll know that this is a pretty standard message when you request to stop receiving certain emails.

I still don’t understand why we don’t have systems to make it an instantaneous change; it is 2025, after all, but that's the way things are.

What happens next?

9to5Google noted that this feature is only available on Android for now, but Google has confirmed that it is “gradually” rolling out, and both web and iOS clients will be included. Here’s hoping it happens sooner rather than later.

I may be a loyal Android user, but I typically prefer to handle emails and email admin on my laptop. It’s just easier to do it with an actual keyboard and mouse, rather than a touchscreen.

But I certainly welcome this change. I’ll be the first to admit that my email inbox is out of control, and it’s a real hassle to try to manage the sheer amount of stuff I get sent daily.

If Gmail can make it a bit easier to opt out of the content I don’t need, then I'm more than happy about that.

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In case you missed it, there’s a bit of a movement going on. Notion has expanded drastically in recent years, turning from an app that you can use to manage notes to your own personal wiki, project planner and just about anything else.

Parent company Notion Labs Inc. was valued at $10 billion back in 2021, and, in the years since, has been leaning into fresh ways for users to experiment with its software, including impressive AI tools.

As of last year, the company welcomed Notion Calendar to its app lineup and starting today, Notion Mail is available for free.

The app, which was previously known as Skiff Mail prior to being acquired, is causing plenty of buzz online, with users waiting to get onto a waitlist to test it out. Ahead of launch, I was able to speak to Jason Ginsberg, Engineering Manager and formerly co-founder of Skiff, about what makes Notion Mail so exciting and much more.

“A feature and not a bug of email”

I asked Ginsberg how he’s feeling so close to the finish line, with the app launching today.

 ”I'm feeling very excited. We've been working on this, basically heads down for the past 12 months or so, so it's great to finally get it down to the world.”

But why email? What makes Notion so confident it can revamp something billions of people use every day?

“I think part of the reason why email hasn't changed is almost a feature and not a bug of email, which is that it's this universally accepted way of communicating and logging in to the internet,” Ginsberg explains.

“It's your passport to the internet in a lot of different ways, and what hasn't caught pace is just the product side of it. And I think we've seen that while email hasn't gone anywhere, the ways in which people use email have changed a ton.

“One thing we see is that a lot of people read and receive a lot more emails than they actually send. So our focus with Notion Mail has been making it easier to basically get through and organize all the information that comes in, not just for communication, but for being on top of all of your work and the things that matter to you.”

A new Notion

With Notion rapidly advancing, offering more and more features regularly, I was curious if that meant developing Notion Mail would be working with rapidly shifting goalposts. After all, surely trying to hitch your wagon to a moving target would cause some issues?

“I actually think Notion has been really accelerating towards making it so easy to work across all the different products. So it's honestly gotten easier and easier, at least from a technical level, to be able to build out all sorts of things to allow for these apps to connect.”

That’s made it much easier for Notion to become a sort of one-stop shop, provided you’re running it and its Calendar and Mail siblings.

“For example, you can use Notion AI to write an email and reference Notion docs as knowledge, which is really helpful if you're trying to respond to a customer or something,” Ginsberg explains.

“All of that is new and really exciting in terms of the number of users. The more people using it, the better,” he adds.

It all comes down to a very unified visual style and Notion’s “no code” backbone, which means a simple backslash is your best friend.

“I think the more important thing was really making sure that Notion Mail felt like Notion and was a part of Notion,” Ginsberg explains.

“So on one side of that is the design language, making things really clean and having all the sort of like code blocks and formatting that you'd expect in the Notion Mail composer.

“Another aspect is just the integrations with the rest of Notion. So you can ‘at’ mention a Notion document inside of Notion Mail, or you can use a ‘slash’ schedule to find your availability using Notion Calendar.

“But probably the deepest, and I think this is like the most core philosophical aspect of it, is we really approach email from the perspective of Lego blocks, which is like Notion’s way of breaking down things into sort of smaller structures that allow for anyone to create all sorts of different things and have a ton of flexibility.

“And so in the context of email what that means is instead of a one size fits all sort of inbox, which is just a list, you can reformat your inbox based on the different use case.”

Beta Brewing

Notion Mail has done a great job so far of intriguing users to hop on the bandwagon with a cheeky social media presence that has had people signing up in droves since October.

Acknowledging that the “feedback loop” of a beta has helped “really improve” Notion Mail since it began, Ginsberg is also impressed with how testers are using its tools.

“A million different ways,” he jokes, saying “everyone uses email differently.”

“I'm a person that has no unread emails and it's completely different than someone who has a hundred thousand unread. So you just have to think about all these different use cases.”

“You know, there are certain things that we don't use on our team, like email signatures that tons of people in the Notion Beta program do, especially because they're running small businesses or start-ups or whatever it might be, so they need that.”

“So we've spent a lot of time just in the details of ‘how do we make sure that your signatures look beautiful’ and they're properly formatted.”

“That's just one example, but then people surprise us with the ways in which they're able to reconfigure their inbox using Lego blocks depending on their different use cases.

With Notion Mail leaning on the Notion Templates option that lets users share their own inbox views to help each other out, it’s easier to get started than you may think — whatever your level of expertise.

“We'd love to get feedback on the templates,” Ginsberg says.

“I think the idea is to make it so that, especially thinking towards the future, that if you have a really great way of handling email your own sort of method, you’ll eventually be able to share that.”

“But currently, yeah, we're, we're just testing out different ideas and getting feedback on it.”

More to come

Notion Mail launches today, but as with any app, that’s only the start. For one, the app only supports Gmail at present, but that’s expected to change in the future.

“The reason we started with Gmail is that with Notion Mail and its connection to Gmail, it's a one-click signup, so it's super convenient,” Ginsberg reveals, pointing to the popularity of Google services in general, as well as within the Notion userbase.

“That was a way for us to allow people to get started and take advantage of all the great product features, whether it's auto labelling, views, snippets, all of those things with an easy setup.”

“But looking towards the future, yeah, we would definitely love to support other email providers or even, you know, build our own provider - looking towards the much longer future.”

That Auto Label functionality is much more involved than Google’s relatively restrictive version, too.

“ Google has a few strict fixed categories of things like promotions, updates, forums, but it's the same list of labels for everyone for the past decade, and there's no way to change it. I think it's sometimes hard to even know what those labels are for.”

“The difference with Notion Mail is that we have this feature called Auto Label where it’ll look at your emails and suggest things to you,” he explains, pointing to customer support labels being generated for his own inbox for beta-related emails.

“It will show up as a suggestion, and then when I set up that auto label, it will automatically be applied on incoming emails, but learn from me.”

“So if I see an email and it's labelled and I'm like, ‘I don't agree with that’, or ‘actually I need to be more specific’ if I remove that label, it will update and get better over time.”

“What ends up happening is that your inbox starts to really feel and think like you, and really feel personalized in a way a fixed set of categories never could.”

At launch, Notion Mail is launching with web and desktop versions, but the latter is Mac only for now — but the team is working on fresh platforms, too.

“ So, you know, we are going to launch with web and desktop, and we're internally testing iOS,” Ginsberg reveals.

“We hope to get that out soon, and then, of course, Android and Windows are definitely on the roadmap. There’s no strict, guaranteed timeline yet or date to share, but it’s definitely something our team is working on and thinking about.”

Curious about checking out Notion Mail? It’s free, with AI features able to be used via a free trial — or the app will be integrated into your Notion payment plan.

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If you’ve spent any time around productivity enthusiasts in recent years, you’ve likely heard the name “Notion" come up a fair few times.

Designed by Notion Labs and launched in 2016, Notion initially looks like a note-taking app, but with a little more effort, it can become just about anything its more than 100 million users need it to be.

As a user of Notion for the last couple of years, and having been impressed by the company’s second app, Notion Calendar, last year, I’d been curious to see what Notion Labs could do for email.

Having had the opportunity to test it for myself, there’s a lot to like about the app already — here’s how it’s going so far.

What is a Notion Mail, anyway?

At its most basic, Notion Mail is a Gmail wrapper with a web-based interface that’s currently only available for Google’s email services (more on that anon).

It has two main selling points: customizable views, and integration with other aspects of Notion as a whole (and its calendar).

Those views aren’t just switching your Gmail between “Cozy” and “Compact,” though. As with Notion databases, these views can drastically shift data to more easy-to-parse formats.

As an example, the default “Inbox” view shows your email in date order, with senders, times and formats. So far, so… uh… email. Switch to the “Travel” view, however, and you’ll only see items from things like Booking.com, Airbnb and more.

It’s not quite the same as a filter because you’re not actively changing any properties on your emails, and these views are easily added to via a dedicated Templates section. Just as Notion itself can be your notebook, life planner, Pomodoro timer or just about anything else, Notion Mail can wear multiple hats.

Having recently taken a couple of trips abroad, having everything at my fingertips like a constantly-ticking travel itinerary was ideal, and I’m also making liberal use of the “Updates” option that I snagged from the template gallery to keep on top of Google Doc edits.

More Notion features

So that’s the “Views,” but what about that nebulous “Notion Integration”? In all honesty, if you’re not already using Notion, it won’t mean a great deal to you.

If you are, however, then this manifests in a few ways. The most basic is using a quick backslash to quickly format your emails with headers, bulleted lists and more. It ties into one of Notion Mail’s less-publicized strong suits, which is making the app very navigable via keyboard-only commands, and also makes it easy to write genuinely great-looking emails.

Users can customize snippets to drop things like Zoom links they use regularly, or use a window within the email composer to suggest availability for a meeting (it ties into Notion Calendar, naturally).

You can also reference pages within your Notion workspace, letting you easily share important data without needing to lean on third-party services. It’s a really neat feature, letting you share the latest invoicing system or meeting notes with a colleague.

And, since we’re in 2025, AI has to be here. You can use Notion’s AI to automatically label your incoming mail to specific categories, or you can use it to write and rewrite your emails and it does a pretty good job.

I’d like to see a little more power given to Notion Mail via automation in the future, like being able to trigger a to-do list item to “email Darragh” on Monday when I email Darragh on Monday, but that’s likely to come soon enough.

A little way to go

With the caveat that Notion Mail has only just come out, it’s off to a good start, but there are shortcomings.

The commitment to Google Workspace means it’ll be less than useful for Outlook users (or anyone outside of Google). Still, the same could be said of Notion Calendar, but that can now work with iCloud accounts, so it’s possible.

Moving to Google, however, wasn’t to everyone’s liking. Notion Mail was originally known as Skiff, until Notion purchased the company and did away with its privacy-first features. There’s no end-to-end encryption now, for example, so all security comes from Gmail’s own infrastructure.

It’s also a little buggy for the time being, with email attachments not showing on more than one occasion, but the biggest hurdle right now is availability.

While the web interface is great and the Mac app is much snappier than it was even a few days ago, Notion Mail doesn’t have a dedicated Windows app yet — nor does it have a mobile app. That means you’ll still rely on something else for your email on iOS or Android.

It’s also worth noting that Notion Mail (at least as it stands) is free, but Notion AI is a paid feature at present. As soon as we hear more about the pricing, we’ll be sure to update this page.

In summary, CEO of Notion Labs Ivan Zhao told the audience at Make With Notion 2024 that the company was looking to shake up email, noting it hadn’t changed in more than 20 years.

Notion Mail may not have achieved that just yet, but it is off to a promising start.

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Spring cleaning isn't just about cobwebs. Sometimes it's about changing habits so that each area of your life feels less cluttered and heavy. And this should extend across every area of your home and into your digital life.

After all, it's easier to find things on your desktop when it's not full of files too. Likewise, it's easy to avoid getting hacked if you practice good cyber hygiene like use strong and unique passwords, having a smaller inbox and simplifying your social media profiles.

Here are seven ways to get started in simplifying your digital life in a way that's guaranteed to not only make it feel more clear, clean and organized — but also more secure, safe and better protected.

1. Passwords

Having a strong and unique password for every account is essential, and often your first line of defense against a hack. Make sure that you have different passwords for each and every account, and that they're at least twelve characters, a combination of lower and upper case letters, numbers and symbols. Better still, make your password a phrase.

Next, make sure your passwords are regularly refreshed and changed. Set a calendar reminder for when you want to change them. Or, turn to one of the best password managers which can help you keep track of all your passwords. At the same time, many password managers and other security tools will warn you when one of your passwords has been compromised and discovered on the dark web.

2. Browsers

Check in on your browser and do this for each and every browser you use. Do all your bookmarks still lead to active sites? Do you still use them? Are your browser extensions in good standing?

You also want to check all your settings in each browser, and clear out old data, like stored passwords and autofill information. Finally, make sure your browser is set not to store passwords.

3. Two-factor and Multi-factor Authentication

Enable two-factor and multi-factor authentication everywhere you can. Always. In many of the breaches and hacks we report on, 2FA and MFA were not enabled or used. Making sure that these extra layers of security are set up can be the difference between almost getting hacked, and losing your data or becoming a victim of identity theft.

If you have the option, use a passcode, fingerprint, or facial recognition on your devices and always enable the strongest authentication tools you can.

4. Update social media settings

It can be easy to ignore social media, but it's well worth making a regular purge of all your social accounts. While some of the best antivirus software solutions have features to help your sift through, or watch, your social media accounts, you can also do this manually.

Unfollow inactive accounts, or accounts you may no longer interact with regularly. Check to make sure your privacy settings are still in line with your needs, and actively manage location services, Bluetooth and microphone and camera settings. Review your friends lists, and delete old photos and posts. You also want to deactivate any third party apps or services that shouldn't have permissions anymore.

And you can also review and delete online accounts you don't use and remove your personal information before deletion.

5. Delete, remove and unsubscribe

From files and photos to newsletters and email attachments, it all adds up fast. I'm guilty of this too — I have thousands of unread emails and newsletters in my inbox. And I don't even know what's on my portable hard drive right now.

Spend some time every day unsubscribing from newsletters, deleting unread emails, throwing out old emails you don't need (especially if they may contain attachments), remove unnecessary photos from your phone. Purge downloads and screenshots, and delete old files. Not only is all of this data eating up space, but it's exactly the kind of data malware and infostealers may look for first.

6. Update software and enable automate updates

Updates are sent out regularly to patch holes in operating systems; if you're not updating your PC or smartphone, you may be leaving your device open to attacks from all manners of malware.

Update your internet connected devices whenever there's a new version of an operating system or an urgent software patch that needs to be installed. This means updating your devices as soon they need it: PCs, smartphones, tablets, eReaders, Wi-Fi routers, Smart TVs, and everything else. If it a device can connect to the internet, you want to keep it updated.

Next, set up automatic updates for your software if you can so. This way, you don't have to worry about doing it manually.

If you haven't already, set up automatic sweeps and checks for your antivirus software to run regularly. This will ensure your devices are frequently scanned for malware and viruses. Finally, delete any unused apps because, hey, why let them eat up space? Likewise, even good apps can go bad when injected with malicious code.

7. Check and update settings

If you don't know what your security and privacy settings are for your mobile devices, now is the time to check on those too.

Are they properly backed up? What's connected to Bluetooth? What apps have location services permissions? Permission to use the microphone? Do you have stolen device protection on? What's connected to your wallet apps? Are there any IoT or smart home devices you need to delete or remove?

It's worth making a periodic check of your contacts, and permissions, as well as making a purge of your apps. Know the settings on your phone, where they are and how to work them. Poke around a little and get familiar.

An ongoing process

Just like with spring cleaning, if you want to enjoy the benefits of a simplified digital life with better security, you have to keep at it. There's no one and done solution for getting your digital life back on track.

Once you've worked through the above steps, you then want to pass on this knowledge to your friends and family. Hackers often use your closest contacts to get to you, so by ensuring your entire circle is security savvy, you'll improve your own security while helping others do the exact same thing.

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New research from security experts has revealed over 3 million mail servers are still using an aging protocol without encryption enabled, leaving millions of usernames and passwords vulnerable to hackers.

This week the Shadowserver Foundation, a nonprofit security organization, pushed out an alert on X and that it found 3.3 million POP3 and IMAP servers are operating without transport layer security (TLS) encryption enabled. To translate, POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3) is an aging protocol used by email clients to access emails from a mail server, and it's often used alongside the newer protocol IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol). TLS encryption, meanwhile, is a protocol that encrypts the communication between web applications and servers, preventing hackers from intercepting potentially sensitive information while you're chatting or checking your email.

Without TLS encryption enabled during transmission, both the contents of your messages and your log-in credentials like username and password are sent in plain text, leaving that information out there for any bad actor to come across using eavesdropping networks.

“We have started notifying about hosts running POP3/IMAP services without TLS enabled, meaning usernames/passwords are not encrypted when transmitted,” the ShadowServer Foundation said.

Almost 900,000 of these sites are based in the U.S., with another 560,000 and 380,000 in Germany and Poland respectively, the organization found, adding: “We see around 3.3M such cases with POP3 & a similar amount with IMAP (most overlap). It's time to retire those!” You can check out vulnerability reports for both POP3 email servers and IMAP email hosts on the Shadowserver Foundation site.

How to stay safe amid threat of email password exposure

Email service providers have been using TLS to encrypt messages for decades, and Microsoft began enabling the latest version, TLS 1.3, by default with Windows 11. Though the Shadowserver Foundation warned that “regardless of whether TLS is enabled or not, service exposure may enable password-guessing attacks against the server.”

The organization advised all email users to check with their email service provider to be sure that TLS is enabled and the latest version of the protocol is being used. Thankfully, the latest versions of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla email platforms all enable TLS, so users there can rest assured that their information is already safeguarded.

As for general online security tips, it's always a good idea to make sure you're using the best antivirus software to protect your PC, the best Mac antivirus software to protect your Mac and one of the best Android antivirus apps to protect your Android phone.

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Google is finally bringing one of its most popular Workspace Gmail app features to desktop users, alongside a new shortcut to help you improve your writing.

Google has been working to improve how we write emails, with a specific focus on mobile users. One of the better features released for the Gmail app recently was Help me write, which uses AI to write an email. Recently, Help me write saw an improvement thanks to improved shortcuts. However, the app's desktop version was curiously missing these features, but that looks to be changing.

Google recently announced in its Workspace Update Blog (via Android Police), that it would be bringing the Help me write shortcut to its web browser. Google also announced that it is bringing a new "Polish" option for both web and mobile. On inspection, Polish appears to simply be a new name for Refine my draft and will appear on any draft with 12+ words. When the option's available press the shortcut keys (CTRL+H) to see the polished version of your email.

The new Polish feature is also coming to the mobile app alongside Help me write, replacing the Refine my draft feature. For now, on drafts with more than 12 words, the Polish shortcut will appear just below the text, allowing you swipe to quickly see a more refined version of the email. From there users can tap a refinement chip to edit the draft, as well as make it more formal, elaborate on a point or shorten it.

Google has been working to improve all elements of its user experience with Gmail, including on the iPhone. It was recently reported that the iOS Gmail app would get Gemini support before Apple Intelligence, which recently launched its first set of features in iOS 18.1. While the Gemini features were locked behind workspace accounts, it was still a surprising reveal at the time.

Gmail is arguably one of the best email services currently available and used by millions of people around the world. Anything Google can do to improve the service is a win for the user, but it should be noted that you will require the Gemini Business and Enterprise add-on, Gemini Education and Education Premium add-on or Google One AI Premium to make use of the new features.

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The upcoming iOS 18.1 update allows users to change the primary email address associated with their Apple Account more easily.

In the current version of iOS, changing the Apple Account primary email is quite a hassle. To do so you need to first delete your primary email, add a new one and then go through the verification process again. Alternatively, users can set up alias emails that replace the name when sending over documents, but the main email can still be seen on occasion, which can be pretty awkward if you're still using your old "fun" email you made as a kid.

But according to a report from MacRumors, this process should be much easier in iOS 18.1 as it will be possible to add a new primary email address to the account without needing to change the one used to create the account. This means that, while you will still use the original account to log in, there will be no chance of that email appearing on any shared documents, calendar invites or the like. This will save users a lot of time, and avoid some embarrassing situations.

The truth is that many of us set up our Apple Accounts a while ago and had some pretty terrible email addresses. So being able to quickly add a primary account without needing to reverify will be a major time saver, if it is easy to set up. We won't know for certain until October 28 (the rumored launch date of iOS 18.1) but hopefully, it will simply be completable in only a few taps.

iOS 18.1 should also bring Apple Intelligence features to users for the first time outside of beta release. Although some features still won't arrive until iOS 18.2, you still get Writing Tools, to help improve any text on your phone, a host of photo editing features, notification summaries and an improved Siri.

A lot is coming for iPhones in the coming months, and while this isn't the biggest change on the horizon, changing your Apple Account's attached email more easily is a major quality-of-life improvement for owners of the best iPhones.

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If you logged on to check your email yesterday, you might have been unable to do so due to a sudden, unplanned outage at Microsoft.

Microsoft Outlook users worldwide reported difficulties checking their email from the desktop app. Apparently, a bug lead the desktop app to crash but was also causing high system resource usage while preventing some users from logging into their accounts.

According to DownDetector and posts on social media, both Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft 365 suffered from issues. A fix has been rolled out and reports of affected users are falling. But we’ll be following the situation closely so stay tuned to our live report for all the latest updates on this outage and when it's completely resolved.

Switching apps won’t help

The initial Outlook issues were first experienced in Microsoft's New Outlook desktop app which replaces the previous web app. It’s likely the one you’re using for if you’re running Windows 11 version 23H2 or higher as it now comes pre-installed on new PCs.

In a post on X, Microsoft confirmed that it is currently analyzing data from customers that experienced crashes and high memory usage with the New Outlook desktop app. However, as BleepingComputer points out, some users are also experiencing similar issues with the older Outlook on the web (OWA) app where it freezes and doesn’t load.

Outlook users are upset

Complaints have been fairly steady on DownDetector with one user saying that “we are experiencing the crashing/freezing issues in both OWA and Desktop application. Microsoft knew about it shortly after 5 AM EST and 7 hours later still an issue. I wish Microsoft could get things in a stable and working manner and just leave it alone!!”

Memory management issue

The Microsoft Outlook team has put up a new post on X in which it explains that "a potential memory management issue" could be the likely culprit behind this outage. They say they're working with organizations to replicate the issue to develop a fix. Hopefully they come up with a mitigation for this issue soon.

A growing outage

Microsoft Outlook users in Europe were the first to report issues early this morning. However, as the day has gone on, users worldwide began experiencing the same login problems, app crashes and freezes.

Based on DownDetector's outage map, it seems that in the U.S., the East Coast and Midwest are currently the most affected by this issue. Still waiting on Microsoft for an update on a potential fix.

Not just Outlook

Microsoft Outlook's desktop app is what alerted everyone to the outage in the first place. However, some of the software giant's other services are now experiencing issues too. These include Microsoft 365 and the Microsoft Store.

If you thought last week's Verizon outage was over, think again. Verizon, Spectrum, T-Mobile and Frontier are all experiencing their own issues at the moment which we'll be looking into as well. Follow our Verizon outage live blog for more.

First your email, now your team

Since this issue spans affects multiple Microsoft services, some users are now reporting that they are unable to access Microsoft Teams. In a post on X, the Microsoft 365 Status team explained that: "We're investigating the issue and further updates can be found in your Service Health Dashboard via TM402718."

One freeze after another

New user reports from DownDetector continue to roll in about today's Outlook outage. Outlook users are seeing the new desktop app freeze over and over again and it needs to be forced closed via the Task Manager in Windows. 

Though we've heard contradicting reports, one user says that they've been able to use the old Outlook app without any issues. Your own mileage may vary but it could be worth a try if you still have it installed.

A fix could be coming

If you're concerned about this outage, all of the main updates are coming from the Microsoft 365 Status account on X. According to a reply from its post several hours ago, a potential solution is being worked on and the software giant is "preparing to apply a targeted configuration update" which it suspects will fix the outage. Only time will tell though so stay tuned.

The fix is rolling out

In its most recent update, the Microsoft 365 Status account on X has revealed that it has "applied a config change and telemetry confirmed we've mitigated impact". Microsoft recommends that you refresh or restart your Outlook sessions to see if  this did the trick.

Things are improving

Microsoft posted its response on X about a half hour ago, and a user who replied to the post seemed happy with the result. X user @Karthikkonar227 posted, "It seems to look good now, our org members confirmed its working for them." So far, that's the only X user who replied to the support account directly, but it's a start.

The Microsoft 365 status page shows everything online, which is also a good sign that the outage is resolved with "We're all good!" written across the top of the screen. We'll need to wait for more user reports to come in before we can say the outage is wrapped up, but it seems we're moving in the right direction. 

Reports dropping fast

The latest Downdetector report shows a massive drop in user reports. While the overall status still shows that "User reports indicate problems at Microsoft 365," the number of reports is quickly trending downward.

At its peak, we saw more than 2,100 users issue reports. Now, that number is down to around 600. It's still not perfect, and there does appear to be a small minority of users having problems, but it seems, at least for now, that most people can access their Outlook email and other Microsoft 365 products.

Time to refresh

Microsoft has had a busy day on its hands fixing all of the issues with Outlook, but the company has taken to X to respond to a user complaint and further confirm that the worst of the outage is behind us. 

According to the post, users still dealing with issues should refresh to get things back in working order. "A config change was applied and telemetry confirmed we've mitigated impact. Users should refresh/restart their Outlook sessions," reads the post.

If things aren't working for you, click the fresh button or close and relaunch your email app, and things should be (mostly) back to normal.

The day after...

It looks like reports on DownDetector for the Microsoft outage have all but stopped as the fix has been successfully rolled out. In fact, the Microsoft outage isn't even on the first page of DownDetector this morning.

According to Microsoft's own service page, all services are back up and running normally with the exception of Microsoft Teams, which is apparently still having issues. Microsoft states it's looking at the problem and is "analyzing service telemetry to identify the source of impact and develop a remediation plan."

If you haven’t checked your Gmail account in a while, it might not be there much longer. With billions of Gmail accounts in use, Google is tightening the reins on inactive users. Yes, Google will delete your long-forgotten inbox gathering dusty digital cobwebs — but don't worry, there are a few precautions you can take to save it. 

Earlier this year, Google notified users via email about the Inactive Account Policy targeting accounts inactive for over two years. If your account has been idle, it could be permanently deleted along with all the data in Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.  

With it's recent upgrades and the introduction of AI features, Google is clearly prioritizing Gmail efficiency. Given that Gmail's been getting a big boost from Gemini, ensuring your account remains active is crucial. Let's walk you through how to preserve your Gmail account in three easy steps.

By following these steps, you can keep your Gmail account safe from deletion. While you're at it, check out how to bring back Google’s old-school search results with this one simple hack, use the best Google Assistant commands in 2024, and even outsmart airline pricing with Google Gemini to get the most from your Google features. 

Google is releasing a new feature on Gmail apps for Google Workspace users that will make answering emails faster than ever.

The Gmail app on iPhone and Android is a bit clunky when replying to emails. The issue is that, when selecting reply, the app will open up a new window. It is still possible to see the original email, but it's located at the bottom of the screen and is formatted so that it's quite hard to read. However, Google has announced changes coming to Gmail for Workspace and personal users that will change the layout significantly.

The new format looks more like a text message, or WhatsApp conversation, with your reply appearing at the bottom of the screen above the keyboard. Meanwhile, the initial email will appear above the message, making it much easier to reference while composing the response. Google also made it possible to expand the reply window and access formatting options. 

As stated, the smaller reply window is available to individual Workspace users and users with a personal Google account on Android starting today. However, there will be a 15-day gradual rollout for Google Workspace customers. iPhone users, meanwhile, will have to wait until later this year to see the same update.

This isn't the only new feature for Google Workspace users, as another update revealed how Google Gemini could help you write better responses. Google recently released a feature called "Help Me Write," which is designed to offer suggestions on how to finish sentences. however, an upcoming update will allow Google Gemini to refine emails with three possible options: Formalize, Elaborate and Shorten. The new update also adds new shortcuts that make it easier to alongside improved shortcuts for Help Me Write and Refine My Draft. 

This change to the layout, and the improved Gemini integration, means now is a great time to invest in Google Workspace. However, the lack of any solid information about an iOS release will be disappointing for some users. 

For more information about other features and devices coming from Google, including the Pixel 9, then please check out our breakdown of the recent Made By Google event. 

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A security researcher has uncovered a bug in Outlook that could allow anyone to impersonate Microsoft corporate email accounts, giving phishing attempts an air of legitimacy to trick unsuspecting targets. An urgent warning has been issued to Outlook's roughly 400 million users as the vulnerability remains unpatched.  

Vsevolod Kokorin, a security researcher at SolidLab, first sounded the alarm about this email spoofing bug in a post on  X (formerly Twitter) last week. He said he disclosed the issue to Microsoft, only for the company to dismiss his report after saying it couldn't reproduce his findings. Frustrated, Kokorin took to X to warn others while rightly refusing to provide the technical details needed to exploit the vulnerability.   

As demonstrated in screenshots he shared, the bug lets anyone impersonate an official Microsoft corporate account when sending an email to another Outlook user. In an update, he said that Microsoft has acknowledged the issue, though a timeline for when it'll be patched remains unclear. He also told TechCrunch that Microsoft may have come across his tweet, as it has since reopened one of the reports he submitted several months ago. We've reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update this story once we hear back. 

How to protect yourself from new Outlook spoofing bug

Given that bad actors only need to email another Outlook account to exploit this bug, all 400 million Outlook users are at risk of phishing attempts from otherwise legitimate look Microsoft corporate accounts. While we don't know yet when it'll be patched, if you're an Outlook user, there are some precautions you can take in the meantime to stay safe. 

Unfortunately, it mostly boils down to the age-old advice of staying vigilant. It's highly recommended that you stay alert to any messages you receive that appear to be from Microsoft. Kokorin has advised all Outlook users to be weary when opening new emails and to avoid clicking on strange links. Consider signing up for one of the best antivirus software solutions as well, many of which give you access to a VPN, password manager and other extras to help you stay safe online.

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Yahoo is bringing new AI features to Yahoo Mail, just the latest tech company to dive into the AI craze sweeping the industry in 2024. The new features and capabilities are meant to simplify email and task management, as spotted by The Verge. 

The update adds AI-generated email summaries, quick buttons and email linking.

"Email is a crucial tool for daily life, but even our most engaged users can get overwhelmed by their inbox." General Manager, Yahoo Mail Rob Gelick said in a statement. "To help solve that, we are taking our first steps towards enhancing the personal email experience with a sleeker design and new AI capabilities to make it easier for the one in three Americans who use Yahoo Mail every month to get things done."

The summaries are brief, bulleted lists that highlight tasks and other proposed actions. As part of the summaries update a new "Priority" inbox tab is being added. The Priority tab utilizes AI to highlight what Yahoo and the AI think are your most urgent messages. 

A lot of this sounds very similar to Google's recently announced AI Gmail features. Google's AI features are currently locked behind paywalls for either Workspace or Google One AI Premium users. Apple also touted AI features for its Mail app in iOS 18.

The Quick action buttons are tappable buttons that appear inside the inbox that allows users to quickly add an event to a calendar, track packages or check in for flights. 

When looking at emails, the new button shows up as part of the email line. 

The last feature being added is the ability to link the inbox with other email accounts, including Outlook, Gmail and AOL. Users can send and receive emails for any connected account within Yahoo Mail.

New users will be able to access the AI features right away. Existing Yahoo Mail users will see a roll-out of the features and can opt-in to using them starting today. 

We may have been a tad hyperbolic above, but this isn't Yahoo's first foray into AI with Yahoo Mail. Last August, the company introduced the AI-enabled "Shopping Saver" tool to the Mail app. That feature keeps track of unused gift cards, vouchers and store credit in email inboxes and reminds users that they exist. That update also introduced a writing assistant that can draft replies to emails. 

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• Gmail's Quick Reply feature lets you react to emails like they were text messages
• The best email services

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the thought of losing important emails when switching accounts? You’re not alone! Migrating your emails can seem like a daunting task but don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be. Whether you’re starting a new job, trying to separate work and personal emails, or simply moving on from an old email address that sounds a bit… quirky, we’ve got you covered. 

Switching email accounts can feel like an inconvenience, especially when you consider all the crucial messages and information stored in your inbox. However, by following the steps below the process can be straightforward and hassle free. We even have guides on how to back up Gmail and essential tips and tricks, so you never have to worry about losing information.  

Importing emails from one account to another 

To have emails from an old Gmail account show up in your new account’s inbox, setting up POP (Post Office Protocol) forwarding is the best solution. This method enables your new account to pull emails from your old one, streamlining all messages into a single inbox. Here's how. 

Now you can select what to do with the original emails in the dropdown under #2. You can decide to keep, delete, or archive Gmail's copy for the inbox, or have the messages marked as read. 

To manage and organize your messages, set the other toggle options depending on your preferences. Once finalized, click Add Account. 

Merging emails from an old Gmail account to a new one makes handling your emails so much easier. There are plenty of other's features you can implement, such as creating and changing a signature in Gmail. 

If you're an Android user, check out the quick reply feature that lets you react to emails like they're text messages, or the Reading Mode app that reads emails from your inbox. 

After testing out a Quick Reply feature in Gmail last year, Google's ready to make the feature a permanent part of its email client — at least for some users.

Google has started rolling out Quick Reply to the Android version of Gmail, and the new feature is aimed at making it easier to reply to emails. The update to Gmail is apparently part of the latest Android Feature Drop that came out today, according to Android Authority. 

As of this writing, not everyone has the new UI update. The rollout is ongoing, and the Android Feature Drop notes don’t provide clarity on when everyone will get access to Quick Reply.

For those who haven’t received it, you’ll still see Reply, Reply All and Forward buttons on the bottom of emails. Tapping those buttons brings up a full-screen window for composing your response.

The new Quick Reply UI replaces all of that with a new text box that can be tapped to quickly enter a short reply; it can also be used to attach a file. There's a dropdown menu to edit the recipients or reply to everyone included in the original email. And naturally, you'll be able to use an emoji reaction button, too.

Once you start typing, the emoji button gets replaced with a send button. To type longer emails, an expand button also becomes available to switch to the regular compose email screen.

A larger change to the Android Gmail app could be in the works, as Android Authority expects a new Gemini button will be coming to Gmail. The addition was spotted by an Android Authority contributor, and it would allow both queries from users and email summaries — two features demonstrated during Google I/O.

Currently, the browser version of the Gemini button is available to Workspace users. Workspace is a suite of Google products aimed at businesses. So, it’s unclear when non-business users of Gmail on browsers will get this button, much less the Android app.

Other new features in today's Android Feature Drop mostly seem to focus on Google Meet and Google Home. Users also can finally edit messages in Google Messages.

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Google's email service has turned 20. Because it launched on April 1, many thought it was an April Fool's joke at the time. All these years later, Gmail has taken over the world of email and proved to be anything but a laughing matter.

To mark the occasion, Google is officially enforcing a set of previously announced security rules for its email platform. While security rules don't sound fun and exciting, they are designed to make using Gmail a safer, more pleasant experience. 

New bulk sender rules for Gmail starting April 1 and beyond

Several new rules will be enforced on Gmail starting yesterday (April 1). These are actual rules that you'll need to follow if you wish to keep using Gmail.

Basically, Google is now enforcing Bulk Sender Rules, designed to crack down on the amount of spam sent through the email service. All bulk senders must authenticate their email using "well-established best practices." These include Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance, DomainKeys Identified Mail, and Sender Policy Framework. Google's Neil Kumaran states this will "close loopholes exploited by attackers that threaten everyone who uses email." 

For legitimate marketers, these should all be done as a matter of fact, so it shouldn't change anything for them. For a sketchy spammer, though, these checks rarely happen, which means their emails will be stopped before they're sent, thus never reaching your inbox (or even spam folder, for that matter).

There are ways around these protections, as there are ways around most security measures, but anything that can help stop the spread of spam and malicious emails is good.

Starting on June 1, Google will make the one-click unsubscribe option mandatory for all bulk senders. This will save you time, as you will no longer have to click 15 different options to remove yourself from an email list.

Other Gmail security changes

According to The Signal, Google is enforcing some other rules that apply to non-bulk senders. For example, the company enhances email encryption when emails are sent through different providers. With Transport Layer Security (TLS), email content will remain encrypted regardless of what email provider the recipient uses. 

Two-step verification will also be the default for Gmail. With this change, phishing attacks, unauthorized access and impersonation attempts will be more complex. 

The Password Alert feature and Security Checkup Tool are also part of Google's further push into security and will help all Gmail users stay safe.

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Superhuman AI is on a mission to help you reach Inbox Zero faster and more efficiently than what you've gotten used to.

The AI email company built for teams using Gmail or Outlook just unveiled its new feature called Instant Reply. While Gmail does offer Smart Compose options to respond to an email with a few words that it generates, Instant Reply prepares replies that are more nuanced.

Superhuman says it’s been testing Instant Reply with thousands of users who claim they’re now writing emails twice as fast.

How it works

Once an email comes in, you’ll have the option of choosing between one of three replies. While these initial prompts are short, the emails they generate are full-sentence replies.

Users of Superhuman AI were already receiving one-line auto summaries above each email in their inbox, often helping them skip reading the full email entirely when the summary sufficed. Now, thanks to the Instant Reply feature users can speed up their reply process too.

In a video demonstrating the feature, Rahul receives an email from Marlene inviting him to speak on a virtual panel. Three reply options are presented: Interested, can’t do it, and need more info.

Clicking on ‘interested’ generated the line “Hi Marlene, thanks for the invite! I’m definitely interested in joining the panel.” Rahul can then send the one-liner as is or add some more text manually.

Superhuman AI also had some input from OpenAI to improve its products. OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap said in a statement that Superhuman is all about making workers faster and more productive, adding they’re excited to keep the partnership going.

Superhuman’s starter plan will set you back $30 a month, meaning you’re paying around $2 for every hour of work that the AI tool saves you from doing.

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If you're wondering how to unsubscribe from emails in Gmail, chances are you're a little annoyed by pesky companies repeatedly emailing you. Perhaps you accidentally subscribed to their newsletter when you signed up to a service or purchased a product. Maybe you forgot to uncheck the marketing preferences box, allowing the sender to mail you with marketing content.

Well, don't worry: Gmail has an incredibly quick way to unsubscribe from emails in just a single click or tap. It's one of the first things you should learn when figuring out how to use Gmail.

Here's how to unsubscribe from emails in Gmail, using both the desktop browser site and the smartphone app.

How to unsubscribe from emails in Gmail

We've completed the following steps on an iPhone 15 Pro using the Gmail iOS app, although the steps are exactly the same if using the Android app or the desktop website.

Voila, that's all there is to it. If you'd like more help using Gmail, check out our other guides, including how to create folders in Gmail, how to change your Gmail password and how to activate Gmail's dark mode.

Google is releasing an upgrade for the Gmail app that will allow users to easily unsubscribe from unwanted mass emails. However, this feature is not available on every Android phone just yet.

The unsubscribe option has been available on the web app for a while, but it was quite hard to find. As such Google redesigned the option to make it more obvious for the user. Surprisingly this change previously didn’t affect the Android app, until now. 

The new design follows the same trend as the web browser with the unsubscribe button being placed at the top of the email. When tapped it will either ask for confirmation or redirect you to the newsletters unsubscribe website. This is supposedly down to how the publisher implemented this option. 

If you are unsure of the website, or just don’t want to risk being sent to a potentially harmful website, it is still possible to mark an email as spam or block them. This will send the newsletter to a separate inbox and will send any further correspondence to the same place. However, it is worth showing some restraint with labeling emails as spam as it may cause your system to forward legitimate emails.

However, it appears that the feature is not yet available for everyone. In a recent report, Android Authority found the option was available on a Pixel 8 Pro, but not on an Honor phone. This will likely be solved soon and we imagine the addition will be implemented on more phones as time goes on. Until then users are still able to unsubscribe from emails the old-fashioned way.

Google's attempts to improve the visibility of the Gmail Unsubscribe buttons are certainly one that many users will appreciate. It is all too easy at the moment to lose track of emails and, while it may seem like a minor headache, having a massively full inbox can cause issues. One of them being that it'll fill up your Google cloud storage, which can then become a cost to pick up some more. It can also mean that important emails get easily missed as there are just too many to look at. 

It is also important to keep security in mind when it comes to emails. As stated before, if the email has come from an untrusted source it is better to send it to the spam folder rather than trying to unsubscribe. If you do feel that your phone may have a virus then we have compiled a list of the best antivirus software for phones.

Google is known for constantly updating its programs to make them more appealing to users. This change is not a major one, but it does make an already existing feature more prominent and that is enough. Hopefully, some of the other options, such as how to select important emails, get the same treatment.

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Emails remain one of the best ways to keep in touch with friends and family around the world - and during the festive season, we’re sure to get a huge amount of extra emails dropping into our inboxes. Not just from people we know who want to say hello and wish us season’s greetings, but many shops and websites will be keen to get in touch with deals and offers.

Amongst this flurry of emails, there may be some less welcome messages from scammers trying to trick you out of your personal details - or infect your PC with a virus.

Meanwhile, legitimate emails from online stores may not harm you or your PC, but they can be incredibly annoying, especially if you get a constant stream of them, as they can end up getting in the way of emails from people you actually want to hear from.

These messages are often known as ‘spam’ - and they can be very annoying. To keep your inbox under control, then, follow these tips for avoiding scams and spam.

 Be careful what attachments you click on 

One way scammers and malicious users target your PC is by attaching viruses in emails. These are often disguised as innocent files, such as photos, but are in fact programs which run when downloaded, and can steal information on your computer and do all sorts of damage.

The best way to protect yourself from this is to be extremely careful with what attachments you click on. You should never click on an attachment in an email sent to you by someone you don’t know. Your best course of action is to delete them.

Even with contacts you know, you should be wary. Some email viruses replicate themselves by sending emails to a victim’s contact list - so if a friend has fallen for it, they might unwittingly pass it on to you.

So, always check carefully before clicking on an attachment, and if something doesn’t seem right, leave it.

If you’re worried, use an antivirus solution like Bitdefender Total Security, which features powerful real-time protection from all kinds of malware - so if you do click on something you shouldn’t have, you’ll still be protected. 

Don’t get phished

Phishing attacks are particularly common via emails. This is when a malicious user sends an email that pretends to be from a legitimate source - such as a bank. It’ll often have a link that takes you to a website that again looks legitimate, but is in fact fake.

Viruses could be hidden in the code of that website, or it may ask you for your username and password. If you provide them, then you could be putting your personal information at risk.

Knowledge is your best initial defence against phishing attacks. If the email looks legitimate, look more closely - spelling mistakes, strange email addresses and outdated logos could be a clue that the email is fake. The same goes for any website - take a look at the URL, and check it against the official website to see if they are the same.

You should also remember thank your bank and other financial institutions will never email you out of the blue, or ask for your login details, so if you get an email doing just that - alarm bells should ring.

With Bitdefender Total Security, you’ll get additional protection thanks to its anti-phishing features, which can identify and block fake websites so you don’t get fooled. 

Keep your inbox free from spam 

 Spam can be a real nuisance, especially if you find your inbox becoming overwhelmed with unwanted emails, making it hard to find the real emails you need.

The first way to avoid spam is to be careful with how you share your email address. Many retailers now ask you to create accounts - and if you don’t uncheck the right checkboxes, you’ll end up with constant emails about new offers.

The same goes for when you sign into free Wi-Fi networks, or even when you fill out forms in real life. After a while, all these unwanted emails add up. So, reduce the number of times you share your email, and make sure you read the small print and uncheck boxes which say you agree to email correspondence, or allowing your email to be shared with other companies.

If you already have lots of spam, look to see if there’s a link to unsubscribe at the bottom of the email. This can remove you from the subscriber list, so you should no longer get unwanted emails, though as always, be careful about what links you click on - definitely don’t enter in any details.

Another easy way is to block the email sender. Most email services offer this option, and it can make keeping your inbox clean easier. However, if you have lots of spam emails, blocking them all could be quite time consuming.

To make things even easier, Bitdefender Total Security comes with antispam technology that works with local email clients like Outlook. It’ll filter unwanted emails, so they won’t bother you at all - and if you do need one, they are safely stored in their own folder. 

If you have an old Google account you haven't used in a while, it could be getting wiped this week. Beginning on December 1, Google will start purging photos, videos, emails and other data belonging to inactive accounts — that is, accounts that haven't been accessed in at least two years.

Google's updated inactive account policy, which the company first announced back in May, applies to content within Google Workspace such as Gmail, Drive, Docs, Meet, Calendar and Photos. Google plans to start enforcing its updated inactive account policy on December 1. Though the company has been sending warnings to affected users since August alerting them that their accounts could be at risk of getting wiped. Deletion will be done in a phased approach, starting with accounts that were created and never revisited again.

Google's VP of product management, Ruth Kricheli, explained back in May that the purge is part of a security measure to protect accounts. An internal analysis found older accounts are at least 10 times more likely to rely on recycled passwords and significantly less likely to have up-to-date security measures in place like two-step verification.

“Meaning, these accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam," Kricheli said.

Though Google is making an exception for certain accounts, such as accounts with YouTube channels, those with remaining balances on gift cards, those with purchased digital items like a book or movie, and those that have published apps that are active on a platform like the Google Play store, the company said in August. You can find other exemptions on Google's Inactive Account Policy page. 

How to prevent your Google Account from being deleted

If Google deems that your account has been inactive, it will send a series of emails to both your Gmail address as well as your recovery email account, if you have one set up. 

To keep your Google account from being marked for deletion, simply log in to your account or any Google service tied to that account at least once every two years. Google also provided a list of other ways to ensure your account remains active:

• Reading or sending an email
• Using Google Drive
• Watching a YouTube video
• Sharing a photo
• Downloading an app
• Using Google Search
• Using Sign in with Google to sign in to a third-party app or service

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With the launch of its new Key Transparency feature, Proton Mail, one of the best email services and stablemate of one of the best VPN services, has now entered the blockchain arena. The latest feature will allow users to verify a recipient’s email address and ensure that the sender is actually who he claims to be.

In an interview with Fortune, Andy Yen, Proton VPN and Proton Mail’s CEO, stated that they are using "blockchain in its very pure form" and that it has nothing to do with shady crypto scams.

Proton Mail stands apart from other email providers due to its sheer focus on privacy. Each email sent through Proton is end-to-end encrypted, ensuring only the sender and recipient can access the contents. It even allows you to send password-protected emails to recipients who are not on Proton Mail.

What is Key Transparency?

End-to-end encryption works by encrypting a message using the public key of the recipient, which can be opened only by the recipient using their private key – and this is a staple of the modern internet. If you're using a website on https, you're end-to-end encrypted.

However, the key concern lies in verifying the authenticity of the recipient’s public key. 

It might so happen that the system is tricked into encrypting a message using a fake public key created specifically for a “man-in-the-middle attack.” This is a type of cyber attack when a malicious third party eavesdrops messages between the sender and the recipient. 

However, the victims never know that they are being listened to and continue believing that they are, in fact, just communicating with each other.

This is the exact problem Key Transparency aims to solve. The blockchain is like a permanent ledger—entries once made in a blockchain cannot be altered. 

So, by putting recipients’ public keys on the blockchain, it's near-impossible for perpetrators to initiate a MitM attack. The system cross-references these entries every time an email is sent, thereby ensuring that the correct private key is used every time.

“In order for the verification to be trusted, it needs to be public, and it needs to be unchanging,” Yen said. 

Feature roll-out

Key Transparency has recently been launched in its beta mode on Proton Mail’s private blockchain. If the tests turn out to be feasible, it will soon be introduced to public blockchains for mass usage.

Although Yen accepts this is not a feature an average user will need, he has stressed the importance of Key Transparency for sensitive professionals such as journalists, executives, politicians, and activists. Plus, Yen advocates using Proton Mail to escape the constant online surveillance and behavioral analysis. 

Proton Mail currently caters to around 100 million users, with the numbers rising rapidly amidst growing privacy concerns. 

If you've come across any order confirmation emails from Hotels.com, Google Play or Mastercard in your inbox recently, they weren’t sent by hackers even though you might have thought so at first glance.

As reported by BleepingComputer, these emails were actually sent by Amazon over the weekend, which lead to a lot of concussion surrounding these fake purchases.

According to a post on Reddit, one user received three gift card emails in a row from the company. However, when they went to check their Amazon Prime account, none of the orders were there. Others took to social media to share similar stories about the barrage of order confirmation emails they received.

Several staff members at Tom’s Guide also got one of these emails. In the example above, you can see that this order confirmation email was for Google Play gift cards that were allegedly purchased off of Amazon. However, like the rest of the recipients of these emails, we also didn’t order anything from Amazon.

If this was a phishing email though, the “See more information” button would have likely led to a malicious site designed to steal our credentials and other sensitive personal and financial information. Instead though, the button links to a page on Amazon.com with more information on some of the most popular Amazon scams out there.

In a statement to BleepingComputer, an Amazon spokesperson explained that this email and others like it were sent out by mistake as the result of a glitch in its system and that the company will be contacting all impacted customers. The error has now been fixed and something like this won’t likely happen again.

How to stay safe from email-based threats

While these fake order confirmation emails from Amazon weren’t sent by hackers, they still highlight why you need to be careful when checking your inbox. At the same time though, hackers and other cybercriminals could leverage this mistake to send out similar messages in which they pose as Amazon, hoping people will click on their malicious links or download any attachments their emails contain.

For this reason, you need to be cautious when dealing with emails from unknown senders, especially when they try to instill a sense of urgency in order to get you to click, call or take other actions. Hackers often use unpaid invoices in their scams but instead of responding or calling a number in the email, you should first check your account on the store’s website to make sure that you didn’t really purchase what they claim you did. 

In these emails themselves, you want to be on the lookout for poor spelling and bad grammar as these are both major red flags. Likewise, you should examine the sender’s email address as Amazon or any other large company wouldn’t email you from a Gmail account as they all have their own email systems.

For further protection, you should also consider installing the best antivirus software on your PC, the best Mac antivirus software on your Mac and one of the best Android antivirus apps on your smartphone. Phishing emails often contain malware or lead you to sites distributing viruses, so using an antivirus alongside good judgement is one of the best ways to stay safe from hackers.

Now that Amazon has claimed responsibility for these fake order confirmation emails and fixed the glitch that caused them in the first place, you likely won’t see any more of them arrive in your inbox.

More from Tom's Guide

• FBI warns phantom hacker scams are emptying financial accounts
• Hackers are using Facebook Messenger to spread password-stealing malware
• Billions of usernames and passwords from previous data breaches leaked online

Gmail users are being encouraged to enable Google’s Enhanced Safe Browsing in both the Android app and on the web, 9to5Google has spotted. 

An information box is appearing above the inbox for users checking their Gmail, promising “additional protection against phishing”. 

“Turn on Enhanced Safe Browsing to get additional protection against dangerous emails,” the box reads. Users can dismiss the prompt by clicking or tapping “No thanks," while clicking “Continue” takes you to this page in your account where you can enable it. 

What is Enhanced Safe Browsing?

First introduced in 2020, and then improved a year later, Enhanced Safe Browsing works in the background in both Gmail and Chrome to prove real-time web protection. 

With it enabled, Enhanced Safe Browsing will be on the lookout for risky URLs, downloads, browser extensions and more. Google has claimed that those with it enabled are phished 35% less often than those who haven’t opted in. 

For websites, it checks “uncommon URLS” against a list in real time to reduce the odds of you hitting a phishing site. With suspicious-looking downloads, Google gives enrolled users the option of uploading files to Google’s servers for a more thorough check. And with browser extensions, those made by developers who don’t follow Google’s Developer Program Policies include an option to find out what permissions they have, so you can risk-assess the possible damage yourself.

None of this is mandatory, and you can overrule Google at any time. But the idea is to make users think a bit more carefully about blindly clicking links or downloading potentially risky files.

Gmail: Paying it forward 

Enrolling in the program will also mean you’re helping in the wider cybersecurity efforts. Google says it will send a “small sample of pages, downloads, extension activity and system information to help discover new threats”. 

Though those who worry about their privacy may be put off by the fact that this “temporarily links this data to your Google Account when you're signed in” in order to “protect you across Google apps”.

While the mobile prompts currently only seem to be appearing on Android, the iOS version of Chrome also supports Enhanced Safe Browsing as of last year.  

If you don’t see the prompt, but want to enroll, it’s really easy to do so. You can toggle the option on in your Google account by logging in here, or enable it in the Chrome settings via this address: chrome://settings/security.

Scheduling meetings via Gmail is about to become more streamlined thanks to new update. Instead of going to Google Calendar to schedule meetings and events, you can now do so directly from Gmail.

As posted on the Google Workspace Updates page, the company is adding a feature to Gmail that can help you find optimal meeting times with others. The post says this will be especially helpful when trying to a schedule time with folks whose Google Calendars aren’t visible to you.

You’ll see a new Calendar icon with all Calendar-related actions consolidated and discoverable when composing an email. Clicking on the icon brings up your calendar on the right. From there, you can select and insert proposed times. The person receiving the email can then review the suggested times and select one directly from the email. This will automatically create a calendar invite.

You can see the feature in action below:

You can also schedule a meeting and share the event information back in the email — with an event summary automatically inserted into the email body for easy sharing. If that sounds familiar, it’s because this specific option was once available in the three-dot menu at the top of an email’s conversation view.

Note that this feature only works for on- on-one meetings. As Google explains, only the first person to book an appointment will get added to the event automatically if multiple people are included in the recipient list.

This feature began rolling out for Rapid Release domains on July 11 and will begin rolling out on July 31 for Scheduled Release domains. As this is a gradual rollout, it will take up to 15 days for the feature to become visible to all Google Workspace users and those who have personal Google Accounts.

Outlook: Gmail keeps getting smarter

Many of us use Google for work, with scheduling meetings being an important part of our everyday routine. The ability to schedule meetings and negotiate the best available times with those you’re emailing will no doubt speed up one’s workflow. But even outside or work, using this feature for personal emails will be beneficial.

This latest upgrade comes after Google showed a new 'Help me Write' feature at Google I/O, which is designed to help you compose emails on the fly. And in May Gmail added blue checkmarks to fight phishing and scammers. 

More from Tom's Guide

• Google Calendar just got a major upgrade for hybrid workers
• How to use Google Maps Immersive View
• Gmail adds blue checkmarks to fight phishing and scammers

Regardless of whether you’ve been hacked or not, your passwords and other credentials could be floating around the dark web. And that puts your accounts at risk of being taken over by hackers.

The reason for this is that after a company suffers a data breach, the account credentials of its users may be stolen as well. In fact, hackers have made millions selling stolen data on the dark web to other cybercriminals to use in their attacks.

Although AI and all of the new improvements to Google Bard were a major part of Google I/O 2023, the search giant also revealed that it is giving Gmail a major security upgrade to help warn users if their data has ended up on the dark web.

While dark web monitoring used to be limited to paid Google One users, Google has announced that the feature will be rolling out for free to all U.S. Gmail users in the coming weeks, according to a new blog post. Once available, the feature will provide all Gmail users with a dark web report that shows them if their email address is currently in the hands of hackers.

Besides getting a dark web report from Google, Gmail will also allow you to manually run scans to see if your email address appears on the dark web. The search giant will also provide guidance on the steps you can take to protect yourself further, like using one of the best password managers to securely store all of your passwords.

How to find out if your credentials are on the dark web

If you don’t live in the U.S. or just want to find out if hackers have your credentials now, there are several ways (including a few free ones) to scan the dark web for your passwords and email address.

The first and arguably the most popular is security researcher Troy Hunt’s HaveIBeenPwned. Hunt actually came up with the idea back in 2013 when analyzing data breaches for trends and patterns when he realized just how damaging they can be to ordinary users who might not even be aware of the fact their data was compromised.

Another free option that you can try out right now is Firefox Monitor. As with HaveIBeenPwned, you just need to enter your email address and Firefox Monitor will then search the dark web for your passwords and other sensitive data. However, the service also sends out alerts for new breaches in a similar way to Google’s dark web report.

NordVPN — that's the service we argue is one of the best VPNs today — features a Dark Web Monitor that “runs continuously” and provides results about compromised credentials in real time.

Now that Google is bringing Google One’s dark web report to Gmail for free, even more users will now be able to quickly find out if their credentials have been exposed on the dark web.

More from Tom's Guide

• FTC issues warning over urgent emails from PayPal
• How to use passkeys with your Google account
• Hackers are using this new Gmail scam to steal your data 

Google is making a big change to Gmail that will make it easier to determine whether or not an email is actually from a scammer.

Up until now, checking your inbox could put you at risk of falling victim to online scams or phishing, especially if you don’t know how to spot the sure-fire signs of a phishing email. Fortunately, you’ll now have one more way to easily identify if a sender’s email address is legitimate.

In a new blog post, the search giant revealed it is adding a blue checkmark icon for verified Gmail users. Just like on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms, this checkmark will serve as a sign that the people sending you emails are who they really say and not a scammer trying to instil a sense of urgency before leading you to a phishing site.

These blue checkmarks in Gmail have already begun rolling out and they will be available to both paid Google Workspace users as well as to ordinary Gmail users according to SlashGear. 

Making email safer

Back in 2021, Google introduced its Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) initiative for Gmail to make its email service safer.

A big part of this initiative involved requiring businesses to use strong authentication and to verify their brand’s logo so that it could show up as an avatar in their Gmail messages. Google’s new blue checkmark feature builds on this by making it easier for Gmail users to distinguish between legitimate senders and impersonators.

Brand impersonation is one of the main tactics used by both cybercriminals and scammers due to how effective it is. When someone thinks that an email or message came directly from a company they do business with, they’re more likely to respond. If the impersonation attempt is performed well enough, they also might share personal details that they normally wouldn’t have.

How to stay safe from phishing emails

Businesses that have already implemented Google’s BIMI guidelines will be getting their blue checkmarks in Gmail soon. In the meantime, you still need to be careful when checking your inbox as scammers will likely try to get a few phishing emails through before the change goes into effect.

When it comes to spotting phishing emails, the first thing you want to do is to check the sender’s email address to see if it’s legitimate. A simple web search should do the trick and if not, you should check a company’s site as they often have their email address available at the bottom of the page. Likewise, you can always reach out to a company’s support staff to see if an email address actually belongs to them.

For phishing emails themselves, you want to look out for several red flags which include bad spelling and poor grammar along with instilling a sense of urgency. Scammers want to get your attention with their phishing emails which is why they often give you a date or time to reply by while threatening to cut off access to your account.

Gmail’s new blue checkmark feature may seem like a copycat but when it comes to malware and other cyber threats, your inbox remains the place where you’re likely to encounter them the most.

More from Tom's Guide

• Hackers are using this new Gmail scam to steal personal data
• What are phishing scams and how to avoid them
• Google is killing passwords and replacing them with passkeys

Hackers are now impersonating Google in a new email scam currently making the rounds online.

Like other email scams, this one begins with a message designed to trick unsuspecting users into opening it. The email itself claims to be a congratulatory message from the Google Search team but you’ll want to avoid it since clicking on the link it contains could allow hackers to steal your personal and financial data. 

While most people are well aware of the dangers posed by emails from unknown senders, this message might take some Gmail users by surprise as it appears to come from Google’s own employees. However, hackers often impersonate popular brands in their attacks and this is another instance where they’ve done just that.

Not so lucky

This new email scam begins with an email with the subject line “You’ve made the 18.25-billionth search!” according to Chronicle Live.

From here, the message, which was posted online, goes on to explain that the recipient is “the lucky Google user” and that a “thank-you gift” is sent out after every 10 millionth search worldwide.

Under the message there’s a picture of a trophy with a star on it and a “SELECT” button that users are urged to click on to claim their prize. Just like with other scams, there’s no prize to be had by clicking on the link. Instead, it provides a simple way for hackers to steal your personal data which could then be used to commit fraud or even identity theft.

If you see a similar message in your inbox, you should avoid clicking on it and delete it right away. Unfortunately, companies often use email for giveaways, which is why some people may fall victim to this scam despite the fact that the message itself clearly isn’t from Google.

How to stay safe from phishing scams

Phishing scams are one of the easiest ways that hackers can gain access to your personal and financial information. Unlike with malware or malicious apps, the hackers behind these scams don’t have to trick you into installing any software. Instead, they use your emotions against you to trick you into clicking on links or downloading attachments.

For this reason, you don’t want to rush when checking your inbox as hackers and other scammers often try to instill a sense of urgency in their phishing emails. They want you to get upset or stressed so that you’ll do what the message says without thinking about it first. This is why you always want to try and keep a level head when dealing with phishing emails.

Likewise, you also want to look out for clear red flags like misspelled words or poor grammar. At the same time, you want to check the sender’s email address to make sure that it’s correct. Even then though, hackers often impersonate popular brands in their phishing messages by spoofing a company’s email address.

Finally, you want to remember that most businesses rarely ask for personal or financial information over email. This is another sign that a message may not be genuine and could in fact be a phishing scam.

To protect your computer from malware and other viruses that could be installed as the result of opening a phishing email, you want to install the best antivirus software on your PC, the best Mac antivirus software on your Mac and one of the best Android antivirus apps on your Android smartphone.

This likely isn’t the last time we’ll see hackers impersonating Google in their attacks due to just how ubiquitous Google Search has become.

More from Tom's Guide

• Change this one ChatGPT setting to keep your chats private 
• The FBI now recommends using an ad blocker
• Google Pixel Tablet could finally make Android tablets exciting again
  

Once you know how to enable Gmail package tracking, you’ll never be stuck with a ‘sorry we missed you’ message or spend a day sitting and waiting for a package that's not coming again. Being able to receive package status updates directly to your Gmail inbox is a super useful way to make sure you know when you need to be at home to answer the door, and if there are any delays or detours. 

The best thing is that you only need to enable this feature once and a “Track your packages in Gmail” card will appear at the top of your inbox — you’ll never miss a birthday present again! Here’s how to enable Gmail package tracking. 

Note: Enabling this feature will share tracking numbers with your package carriers, so make sure you are comfortable with this beforehand. This feature is currently only available to U.S. users and on mobile devices, but should be coming to desktop soon.

How to enable Gmail package tracking on iOS

1. In the Gmail app, tap the menu button. 

2. Tap Settings. 

3. Tap Data privacy.

4. Toggle on Package tracking.

How to enable Gmail package tracking on Android

1. In the Gmail app, tap the menu button.

2. Tap Settings.

2. Tap General settings and then tap Package tracking.

Done! Now just make sure that you can hear the door, or even better, get one of the best video doorbells to make sure your delivery is left in the right place. 

If you need to sign for things like packages a lot, learn how to sign documents on iPhone. If your Gmail skills need a brush-up, try how to use Gmail or how to back up Gmail contacts but if you want to become a complete Chrome master read how to set Chrome flags. Android user? How about, 3 ways to speed up your Android phone or how to delete cookies on Android.

Last year Google made some tweaks to Gmail. Naturally, a whole load of longtime users instantly demanded an option to switch back to the old format, which was provided at the time. But Google has now confirmed the new Gmail is here to stay, and the ability to revert to the previous UI is set to be removed.

In a recent Google Workspace update the company announced the new interface “will become the standard experience for Gmail” and also confirmed that “no option to revert to the original” will be available going forward. This post also sets out Google’s aim to have the fresh Gmail UI reach all users by the end of this week (Friday, February 3). 

Gmail users won’t have to do anything to upgrade their email accounts, the new interface will be added automatically via a mandatory update. And don’t be surprised if you’ve actually been using the new UI this whole time without even realizing it. It's far from a dramatic redesign of the popular email client. 

The new Gmail aims to streamline the process of navigating between emails and additional Google services such as Chats, Spaces and Meet. This is done primarily via a new quick-access panel located on the left side of the screen. But even with this new panel your email inbox still takes center stage when you arrive on Gmail. And, don’t worry, jumping between inboxes and folders is still accessible via its own side panel that has been shifted slightly right. 

A new collapsible right sidebar also comes in this update. This one offers shortcuts to additional Google services like Calendar, Tasks and Keep. But unlike the new left side panel which is permanently visible, this sidebar can be hidden at any time with a single button press. Plus, you may notice Gmail’s color scheme has been tweaked with less focus on red and instead a more neutral blue takes the lead — empty white space have also been replaced with a light gray that’s a little easy on early-morning eyes. 

Overall, this update primarily makes jumping between Google services a lot quicker, which is helpful if you regularly find yourself using Gmail alongside the likes of Chat, Meet and Calendar. Of course, if you use Gmail strictly for email purposes, this update is likely to have less appeal to you. But either way, you’re stuck with it as the option to revert to the previous UI is being sunsetted very shortly. 

Threat actors are always looking for ways to get malware into your system, and it often seems like they have a limitless pool of ingenuity to fall back on. This time they’ve been caught trying to spread malware via Microsoft OneNote attachments in phishing emails — specifically remote access malware.

It’s been long known that attackers have used Microsoft Office files to spread malware for many years, particularly Word and Excel attachments. Microsoft finally took some action last July, disabling Office documents’ macros by default and making it an unreliable way to infect unsuspecting recipients. 

Undeterred, attackers switched to using ISO images and ZIP files, exploiting bugs in Windows and 7-Zip. Now those security holes have also been fixed, and it seems OneNote attachments are becoming the weapon of choice.

According to Bleeping Computer the various phishing emails are pretending to be things like shipping notifications, invoices, mechanical drawings and other innocuous files. But since OneNote doesn’t support macros, attackers have had to get creative in how they get the file to install malware.

Apparently this is down to OneNote features that allows users to add attachments to a notebook. The attached OneNote file appears to be blurred out, with a large button that says “Double Click to View File." But double clicking this button runs the file’s attachment, which is a malicious Visual Basic Script (VBS) file. That VBS is then able to download malware from a remote site and install it on your machine.

OneNote will warn you about the dangers of opening files from unknown sources, but its effectiveness relies on the user actually paying attention. The VBS file will also download and display a decoy OneNote document once activated, making you none the wiser about what’s just happened.

Bleeping Computer found that the files end up stealing remote access trojans, allowing attackers to access your device and steal just about anything. Files, saved passwords, crypto wallets, webcam footage and so on.

The best way to stay safe from these kinds of attacks is to not open files from anyone you don’t actually know — especially OneNote files. On top of that, if you ever do open an unknown file, you need to listen to all the warnings that may pop up, all for your own safety.