It doesn’t take long for the information superhighway to start feeling more like a hazardous dirt road from Mad Max. All sorts of bad guys and obstacles await us in the Internet — identity thieves, unscrupulous advertisers, location restrictions. Virtual private networks (VPNs) are a great way to secure passage to your favorite sites online, and PureVPN, one of the fastest options for securing and anonymizing any online connection, is available for the last time at just $59.

Apparently some kind of sportsball contest is going on this weekend, but that’s no reason to put your phone down — we still have plenty of cool stuff for you to try out in our apps of the week roundup.

Whether you’re looking to organize your daily thoughts, start your day off with a cartoonish weather forecast, or really feel like paying for parking with your Apple Watch, we have you covered. And maybe we have something about football, too. Who knows?

Only one way to find out.

Adobe is all over the digital workplace, creative workflows, and heck, the internet itself. The list of Adobe’s software platforms is long and familiar — from Photoshop to, InDesign to Flash and Dreamweaver and beyond — and getting fluent in one or several of them can improve your effectiveness and hireability dramatically. This bundle of training videos makes that possible, and right now you can get a lifetime subscription for just $74.

This week: New hardware, incoming! We’ll tell you our hardware expectations for Apple’s rumored March 2016 event, and there’s a lot to discuss. Plus: Why the next iPad Air could be the best one yet; iPhone 7 may have far fewer features than expected; and, is Apple making a move into virtual reality?

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to build a website that looks beautiful on any device that visits at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off.

If you take the time to properly set up your iPhone’s Health app, you can turn it into a powerful dashboard for keeping track of all the metrics that matter most to you.

Find out how to turn the unloved iOS app into an essential fitness dashboard in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine. We’re also spilling the beans on Apple’s March event, rating the best email apps, exposing the latest iPhone 7 camera rumors, and rolling up a bunch of must-have Apple travel accessories.

Here are the top stories this week.

A new search engine wants to keep App Store reviews honest and accurate by completely ignoring the ones that may come from paid shills or through developers’ relentless badgering of users.

As of this writing, the system claims it has audited over 17 million reviews and ignored 1.1 million of them. And if you’re wondering if the hot new game or feature-filled calendar app you’re about to download is really worth your time, you might want to check this site out.

We can add another award to Apple’s long list, although the company might not be too happy to accept it: The iPhone maker’s stock lost the most value of any tech company this year.

The news comes out of a study from USA Today that reports a shocking average 14 percent decline in value from 462 tech companies. That drop resulted in total losses of $529 billion, but Cupertino is the lead horseman in this year’s stockpocalypse.

Virtual Reality isn’t just going to change how we consume content. It’s going totally change how we make content for the digital world too.

Developers at Epic Games have already created a way to build VR games using the Unreal Editor in VR mode, and it’s unlike any software development tool you’ve ever seen. Rather than clicking around on a 2D screen, designers Tim Sweeney and Mike Fricker show how game makers can walk around inside levels to manipulate objects and get everything just right.

Take a look:

Anyone who knows me in real life would tell you I’m a bit of a wallpaper nut when it comes to my iPhone and iPad. While I can normally get my fix via Google image search, that sometimes doesn’t cut it. Sometimes I come across a photo that isn’t sized correctly. Luckily, as long as you know iPhone wallpaper size, or iPad for that matter, Pixelmator can help you create a perfectly sized wallpaper in no time.

The new Apple TV has been on sale for just over three months now, and the growing catalog of tvOS apps and games looks incredibly promising. It’s what Apple TV fans have been calling out for for years, and it doesn’t disappoint.

But does tvOS and a strong backing from iOS developers make Apple TV a good game console? Is it an ideal buy for casual gamers, and can it mount a real threat against the latest and greatest consoles from Sony and Microsoft? Do we even need another console?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over those questions and more for your entertainment!

HTC’s flagship for 2016 has leaked out early, and it looks like yet another iPhone clone.

The One M10 is almost identical to the One A9 that was introduced last October, but it finally does away with the front-facing HTC logo that was universally hated.

A Monument Valley fan has taken to the Lego Ideas website with plans to create real-life Lego models out of the award winning iOS game.

Lego Ideas user Isometry has created a page that you can log in and vote for if you want to support the project; it costs nothing but your time to do so.

And why wouldn’t you? This is a fantastic way to bring one of the best iOS games into the real world.

The MacBook is a work of art, but looking at all that pretty brushed aluminum might get old for some.

A Belgian design firm is here to help. Any MacBook owner can quickly give their laptop a unique look with wooden skins that can be customized with initials, a favorite sports figure — even their spirit animal!

Best List: CoverBuddy iPad Pro case by SwitchEasy

Keeping track of my Apple Pencil is a royal pain. Either I’ve got to slip it into a bag like an actual writing implement, carry it around in my pocket, or get one of those cases for my iPad Pro that adds a ton of bulk just to include a fabric loop to strap the Pencil in.

Not so the CoverBuddy case, an ultra-thin plastic sheath for the rear of the iPad Pro that includes something I wouldn’t expect from such a thin, light case: a secure spot for the Apple Pencil.

It’s simply the best minimalist pencil-holding cover I’ve seen yet.

So the Apple Watch wasn’t the first smartwatch. It just became the most popular in a hurry.

Shortly after its debut last year, the Apple Watch set out to take over the market it was late to, accounting for two-thirds of all smartwatch shipments in 2015, according to a report by analysts with Canalys.

By Canalys estimates, that’s about 12 million units with more than 5 million Apple Watches sold during the final quarter of 2015.

Swiss freeskier Nicolas Vuignier has created a crazy new photography rig that can create matrix-like slo-mo video, only you don’t need a drone or a bunch of GoPros to pull it off. You just need some string and your iPhone.

Vuignier posted an incredible video of his contraption in action, which he calls the Centriphone. The project has been two years in the making and it looks totally worth it. The device works like a sling that twirls around you to capture 360 views that look absolutely gorgeous in slo-mo. Toss in some powder and half-pipes and it’s an adrenaline junkie’s dream toy.

Watch the Centriphone in action:

There are a handful of skills that are especially hot in the job market right now, few are as in demand though as project management. Being able to usher a project from concept to completion, to keep all the plates in the air and deliver a solid product that meets or exceeds expectations, is something guaranteed to improve the quality of your working life and the salary you pull in. Getting qualified as a project manager with Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Training is one of the best ways to open the door to this skillset, and this comprehensive instructional bundle of will ensure you can get ready to ace the PMP test for $49.99.

In a petition to the Supreme Court, Apple says the high court shouldn’t waste its time with Samsung’s high-profile appeal in the two companies’ long legal battle over patents.

Samsung filed an appeal in December asking for the Supreme Court to take a look at how the damages were calculated, but Apple argues that even though it was awarded $548 million, the case is “legally unexceptional.”

Getting a broken home button on your iPhone 6 replaced may cause the entire device to become a worthless brick of metal and glass.

Thanks to a new feature in a software update recently pushed out by Apple, thousands of iPhone users who had their devices fixed by non-official repair shops have been greeted by a disastrous “error 53” message that locks the device — and even the Apple Store can’t bring it back from the dead.

More often than I care to admit, I’ll think I feel a tap from my Apple Watch. But then when I check the screen, I’ve received nothing: no texts, no phone calls, no notifications of any kind. It’s really weird and makes me feel like I’m finally losing it.

I usually just assume the watch shifted a little on my wrist, and that I’m not hallucinating at all. But psychologists are suggesting that what’s happening to me and others (you can admit it; this is a safe place) may be the technological arm of some actual psychological issues dealing with attachment, fear of rejection, and a chronic need for validation.

People are calling this symptom “ringxiety” because I’m pretty sure that we’ve really lost our sense of pride in portmanteaus as a culture.

If you use Google’s Chrome web browser, you’re now even safer from sneaky advertisers that try to get you to download their crummy software with fake download buttons.

Chances are you’ve seen these around, even on some large sites like Sourceforge and CNET, and might have clicked on one or two by accident, as intended.

Google’s new addition to its Safe Browsing initiative will block sites that have these deceptive download buttons on them.

Thursday Night Football just got more competitive as Apple, Google, Amazon and Verizon are going head to head to take on the NFL’s highly lucrative sports franchise.

The U.S. football association announced that it was in “active discussions with prospective digital partners” for streaming rights to the same games, according to industry sources.

The right light can wake us in a good mood, make us productive in work or art and enhance the romance. But, the right light is not something we normally carry with us.

Orilamp, a portable accordion lamp you control with an iOS app, is trying to change that.

What looks like two stacked wooden coasters unfold into a half circle or can be stretched out. The intensity of the Bluetooth-enabled LED light source can be controlled by the app and burn for up to seven hours on a charge.

Apple is rolling out several new programs in its retail store locations that will give credit for iPhones with pretty severe damage, according to a report. The program will allow customers with a cracked screen, damaged buttons or damaged cameras to trade in their faulty device without issue. Apple previously wouldn’t accept this kind of damage in its Reuse and Recycle trade-in program.

Ringtones are passé; why not wake up to the sound of a music video in the morning?

You’ll be the envy of everyone who hears your alarm go off with this neat iOS 9 feature. Here’s how to enable it.