Taking a moment to add an extra passcode to your iCloud account might save your skin if your iPhone is ever stolen by a shady character who’s eyeing you like a hawk. By default, your iPhone passcode is all someone needs to lock you out of your devices and wreak financial havoc on your life. And it’s not that difficult to capture your passcode if you tap into your phone in a public place.

In fact, a recent spate of coordinated scams have played out like this: A spy watches for anyone entering their iPhone passcode in a bar or other public place. Then, the device is yoinked out of the victim’s hands. And before they can do anything, they find themselves locked out of their own iCloud account. Soon, the criminals who stole the iPhone proceed to make unauthorized purchases, empty bank accounts and generally wreak havoc on the victim’s finances and personal life.

Luckily, setting up a second passcode just for iCloud can protect you from this type of criminal operation. I’ll show you how to keep these thieves at bay — and offer some additional advice for keeping your account secure.

Anker unveiled its newest and lowest-priced magnetic power bank Monday. And a 30% off launch discount makes the new 321 MagGo Battery PowerCore 5K an even better deal. See below for details.

Update: This deal has expired. Nevertheless, the power bank is only $31.99, which is a third of the cost of Apple’s own version.

Macs offer great value, but they aren’t necessarily cheap. After all, Apple’s most affordable laptop, the MacBook Air, currently starts at $999. If you need a capable computer that you can take anywhere, but you don’t have enough cash on hand to buy a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro outright, you have options.

Already known for surprisingly good budget earbuds, Tozo rolled out new flagship active noise-canceling (ANC) wireless earbuds at CES 2023 to compete with the big players. And the Tozo Golden X1 Wireless Earbuds do just that, with a sleek design, quality sound but somewhat meh noise cancellation for a reasonable price (especially with available discounts).

Tozo sent me a pair of Golden X1 buds to check out. They sound excellent — as good as premium earbuds that cost twice as much — but the active noise canceling could be better.

It’s time to gear up for road trip season, as you prep for summer’s journeys to new places and/or adventures in the great outdoors. That experience can be more luxurious than you might imagine, thanks to an innovation in mobile comfort.

The Carsule, a pop-up cabin for your car, turns your vehicle into a luxurious rolling tent. Typically priced at $379, you can get one now for only $319.99 — the best price online.

If you want to upgrade your Windows computer and/or equip the Windows emulator on your Mac with the latest Microsoft operating system, here is your chance to get Windows 11 Pro for three devices at one low price.

Get this three-device license now, while it’s on sale for just $49.99 (regularly $199).

Zagg brand Gear4 rolled out its new Apollo Snap 2 Magnetic AirPods case last week for Apple’s second-generation top-shelf earbuds.

The case’s magnets hold the lid tight and provide MagSafe and Qi wireless charging power.

A United States appeals court agreed with a lower court’s ruling that Apple’s App Store does not break U.S. antitrust law. This is a victory for Apple’s efforts to keep the government from changing the way the App Store runs.

A different ruling from the courts could have resulted in Apple be forced to modify iOS so the iPhone supports sideloading and/or rival software stores.

A trio of hikers in Utah got trapped at the bottom of a deep canyon, and their situation could have been dire except they were able to call for help via the Emergency SOS via satellite service built into the iPhone 14 series.

It’s a new feature anyone going where they’ll out of range of cellular network coverage should know how to use.

How does Tim Cook customize his Apple Watch face? During his recent tour of India, people zoomed in on this picture of him meeting with developers to dissect his choice of watch face and complications.

I’ll break down Cook’s watch and show you how to download it yourself.

After all, the Apple Watch is celebrating eight years since its release on this very day in 2015. What better way to mark the occasion than with a celebratory new watch face?

Computer setups aren’t all about the main machine and displays that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. Plenty of smaller, less-expensive items turn out to be crucial — like gadget stands, USB-C hubs, the perfect mouse, smart light strips, desk mats and much more.

Today’s featured setup is a tribute to all the little things that make a difference — even double-sided tape.

If you’re the right kind of person, the Untitled Folder Wallet by Nik Bentel is handy and practical while doubling as a funny visual joke. It’s a premium leather wallet that happens to look exactly like the New Folder icon in macOS.

It has three pockets for carrying cards, cash and coins. The leather is soft and the stitching holds strong. And best of all, it’s shaped like a tiny folder.

It’s a limited-run item of only 500 units, so if you want one, you’d best order now. I’ve been using it for about a week. Surprisingly, I fell in love with it.

Apple reports that the App Store is has a problem that might prevent users from buying applications. That includes the iOS and Mac App Stores. And the same issue could affect attempts to buy ebooks.

A similar problem is causing problems with buying subscriptions.

UPDATE: Fixed after about 14 hours.

What Microsoft Office is to the 9-to-5 worker, Adobe is to designers, photographers and almost anyone working in the creative field. That’s been true for a long time, but fees for this high-end software can be a significant barrier to entry for those looking to use these essential tools.

Not anymore, though. This special offer lets new customers work with more than 20 apps in the Adobe Creative Cloud for only $29.99 (regularly $82) for one month.

Your home office doesn’t have to look like you took an office cubicle and plopped it in your house. Instead, you can get digital equivalents of some essential office hardware. For instance, iScanner is an iOS OCR scanner that lets you scan documents, cards and a few other surprising things.

For a limited time, you can get a lifetime subscription to iScanner on sale for only $39.99 (regularly $199).

Sonic the Hedgehog knows everything worth knowing about speed, so it’s no surprise that Sonic Racing from Sega is one of the best games on Apple Arcade.

It’s a popular, and available for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. Add some excitement to your weekend by giving it a try. Here are 5 reason why I think you’ll love it.

Apple’s upcoming AR/VR headset reportedly will use an external battery pack with a new type of proprietary magnetic connector. The wearer will keep the external battery in their pocket while using the headset.

It’s just one more way Apple’s as-yet-unannounced headset will differ from the competition.

Why carry multiple charging cables when one can connect any of your devices to any available charger? The inCharge X Max gives you six ways to connect, and can handle up to 100 watts.

For a limited time, this brawny 5-foot cable with interchangeable tips costs just $21.99 (regularly $39). With this highly rated and versatile charging cable, you can stay powered up no matter where the day takes you.

TL;DR: Playmobil has a catalog of thousands of toys to inspire imagination and curiosity. Check out dinosaurs, cars, pop culture icons and more for your kids or the kid in you.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest leaks about Apple’s AR/VR headset — possibly called the “Reality” — get us thinking about real-world applications. Will this thing kick-start a mixed-reality revolution, or flop harder than the Pippin?

Also on The CultCast:

• The new Apple Card Savings account pays high interest — and we’re definitely interested!
• WWDC23 might bring additional new hardware beyond the headset.
• It’s your last chance to snag a limited-edition Sunset Moment iPhone case from Pitaka.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

It might not be apparent at first, but Apple’s Photos app gives you plenty of ways to manage your photo library and tweak the images in it.

If you have tens of thousands of photos like I do, your photo library is probably a big mess. You could spend hundreds of hours meticulously sorting images into albums, and tweaking settings to get everything just right. Or you can use some of the features Apple offers to make things easy.

I’ve already covered my top tips for taking photos. Here are my top five tips for managing and manipulating the great photos you took, using tools in Apple’s Photos app.

Microsoft Office provides top-rated software programs that can simplify many professional and personal processes, such as creating written documents or visual presentations, conducting online meetings and crunching complex numbers. Develop a firm grasp of those tools, and you could have a serious advantage in upcoming projects or employment searches.

For a limited time, you can get lifetime access to Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2021 for Windows, combined with Excel master classes, for only $59.99. You’ll gain access to classic Microsoft programs, and quickly learn how to maximize your usage of Excel.

Rumors suggest Apple could enable sideloading of apps with iOS 17. However, the company might bring the feature only to iPhone users in Europe and the UK.

Apple is under regulatory pressure in the EU to enable sideloading on iPhone.

Extrapolations creator Scott Z. Burns brings his wildly misguided and ambitious Apple TV+ show about global warming, to a close this week the only way he possibly could: with a lengthy, boring courtroom drama

The cast comes out for a bow to sum up, loudly and with no subtext, all of Burns’ findings and thoughts about global climate change and how people need to do something about it. The Extrapolations finale, entitled “2070: Ecocide,” proves just as thrilling as it sounds.

The stock market may seem like a lot to take in at first, but you don’t have to be a millionaire to start making money there. All you have to do is invest wisely, and the Tykr stock screener app could help you do it. For a limited time, this stock analysis app is on sale for just $119.99 (regularly $900).