Identity theft is worse in some ways than other forms of fraud, because it can remain undetected for a long time. There were 726,396 cases of ID theft overall in the first three quarters of 2024 alone, and its a crime that can happen to anybodyincluding your children.You might think you dont have to worry about your kids being victims of identity theft because theyre too young and dont have any credit to stealbut you would be wrong. Of those 726,396 cases of ID theft, 17,559 (2%) involved people under the age of 19. The key is your kids Social Security numberonce a thief has that, they can create financial accounts using whats called synthetic identity theft, combining your childs information with fake details.You might be proactive about protecting your kids from online scams and other more obvious threats, but you also need to protect them from identity theft. Check their credit reportYour first step is to check to see if your child has a credit report alreadythey shouldnt, unless youve opened up an account for them or added them as an authorized user to one of your own credit cards to establish their credit. You can check this at all three credit reporting bureaus by printing out forms (Equifax, Experian) and mailing them in, or filling out an online form (TransUnion).If your child has a credit report and you havent taken any steps to give them a financial history, they might be a victim of identity theft. You should immediately freeze their credit, then take the additional steps listed below to help protect them and their future finances.Consider freezing their creditEven if your child doesnt have a credit report, you should go ahead and freeze their credit. Depending on their age, your children may not need to use their credit score for years, so theres little sense in leaving them vulnerable to identity theft.All three credit bureaus have mechanisms for parents and legal guardians to freeze the credit of a minor (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion), and if no credit report exists they will create one and then freeze it. This involves printing out a form or writing a letter and mailing it to the bureaus, along with some copies (not originals) of supporting documentation to prove you have the authority to request the freeze, including your drivers license or other government-issued ID, both your own birth certificate and the childs birth certificate (or other proof that youre legally authorized to request the freeze, such as a foster care certification or court order), your and your childs Social Security cards, and proof of address (utility bill, bank statement, etc.).Minors can sometimes request this freeze themselvesExperian will accept freeze requests from children 14 years old and up, and TransUnion and Equifax will accept requests from children age 16 and older.Once the freeze is confirmed, you can leave it in place until your children are older or until they need to apply for credit. Youll receive information about how to thaw the credit reports when theyre confirmedstore that information safely so you can access it easily when you need it.What to do if your child has a fraudulent credit reportIf you discover that your child has a credit report, do three things right away:Request a copy of the report and contact every account listed there to let them know the account is fraudulent. Get written confirmation that the accounts were the result of identity theft and were closed.Freeze your childs credit report, as noted above.Report the identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at identitytheft.gov. The FTC will help you create a recovery plan and point you to the appropriate government resourcesfor example, if you need to report a misused Social Security number or need assistance establishing that your child wasnt involved in a criminal enterprise as a result of the identity theft.

Youve probably heard the statistics about indoor air being more polluted than outdoor air. Cleaning products, pet dander, cooking emissions off-gassing furniture and decor they all contribute. Letting in fresh air from outside is the quickest way to clear things up, but if thats not possible due to wildfires, extreme weather, allergies or just plain bad air quality an air purifier can help clean the air you breathe. With their combination of filters, fans and sensors, these helpful devices remove particulate matter, VOCs, dust, dander and even smells from the air. We tested a handful of well-reviewed options to find the best air purifier for most people, along with a few alternatives and even an air purifying plant. What an air purifier can and cant do There are three key categories of air pollution that adversely affect the quality of the air you breathe: volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and carbon dioxide. VOCs are emitted gasses that can come from cleaners, off-gassing plastics, paint, solvents, fragrances, cooking food and, ironically, air fresheners. VOCs are most closely related to odors you can smell. High levels can irritate your breathing passages, cause headaches and may become cancer-causing over time. Air purifiers with activated charcoal components can help clean VOCs from the air. Particulate matter is usually discussed as PM2.5 and PM10, with the numbers indicating particle size in microns. This is dust, dirt, mold, smoke and, again, emissions from cooking food. Higher levels of PM can lead to respiratory irritation, allergy symptoms, respiratory infections and potentially lung cancer. Air purifiers that include a HEPA or particle filter can help remove airborne particles from your space. Carbon dioxide is what humans and pets breathe out. Elevated levels can cause dizziness and lethargy. But no air purifier can reduce CO2 levels because the molecules are so small. Plants can help to some extent, but really the only solution is opening a window or otherwise ventilating the space. There are no federal standards for air purifiers, but the state of California does require all air cleaners sold in the state to be certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). All of our top picks here have met that certification. What to look for in an air purifier HEPA filters and other filter types An air purifier isnt an overly complicated device. Smart modes and app connectivity aside, theyre not much more than a filter and a fan. The latter pulls air through the former to capture particulate matter and other unhealthy elements so you dont breathe them in. The type of fan can make some difference it should be powerful enough to pull in air quickly, but also quiet enough on its low speed so it can unobtrusively clean all day long. Filters, on the other hand, are more varied. Most have two or more layers, typically a pre-filter, an activated carbon component and sometimes a particle or even a true HEPA filter. The pre-filter is made from a fine mesh that captures big stuff like pet hair and larger chunks of dust. Sometimes this part is separate from the more technical filters which means you can remove and clean it without needing to swap out the whole thing. For all-in-one filters, you can vacuum the outside of it to remove larger particles. An activated carbon or activated charcoal layer is extremely porous, tightly packed coal that presents a vast amount of microscopic surface area to the passing air. Gaseous chemicals, VOCs and other molecules become lodged in the crannys and stick. This is the layer that gets rid of odors. Nearly all types of air purifiers include a particle filter. Some of those can be called "true HEPA" (high-efficiency particulate air) filters meaning they conform to the standards set out by the DOE. Particle filters are made up of pleated masses of ultrafine fibers that force air to take a convoluted path in order to pass through. This traps and absorbs tiny molecules of smoke and dust, allergens like dander and pollen, and some viruses and bacteria. Since all of these air filters physically trap particulates, theyll eventually fill up and become less effective. Most manufacturers recommend replacing the filter every six months, while others claim a year-long life span. Most smart air purifiers will let you know in the app when its time to replace. When youre considering a units cost, be sure to factor in the expense of replacement filters, which you may end up buying twice a year. Room size Air purifiers list their cleaning capabilities in terms of room size and frequency of air exchanges, sometimes listed as clean air delivery rate (CADR). For example, a smaller one might say it can exchange the air in a 500-square-foot room twice per hour. So that model should be able to pass all of the air in a 250-square-foot room through the filter every 15 minutes, but a 1,000-square-foot room would probably be outside its effective range. Of course, theres no standard for manufacturers to adhere to when it comes to these calculations, but typically, larger air purifiers can handle large rooms. Where you put the machine makes a difference, too. Since it requires airflow to effectively clean air, somewhere close to the middle of the room and at least a foot away from furniture, walls and other potential blockages is ideal. Thats not always practical, so aim for getting it as close as you can to the center of your space while maintaining a one-foot clearance all around. Controls In our testing, we focused on Wi-Fi-connected smart air purifiers with companion apps that can monitor air quality and adjust the fan settings as needed. Within the apps, you can control auto-clean settings, set timers and schedules and check the health of the filter as well. Most will remind you when its time to get a replacement, and let you order one directly from the manufacturer through the app. You can also see the current and historical readings from the internal air quality (AQ) sensor. Most determine air quality through an optical particle meter, though some brands like Dyson and Molekule also include chemical sensors for VOC measurements. When levels of particulates become elevated, the fans switch up to high speed to move more air through until the quality improves. Most smart purifiers also work with voice assistants, so if asking Alexa to turn on your air purifier makes your life easier in some way, you can do so. If you dont want to talk to an AI or grab your phone to control your purifier, getting a unit with simple on-board controls is a good idea. These can be as basic as buttons with indicator lights or as elaborate as a touchscreen panel. At minimum, its good to have a way to control the fan speed and turn on or off auto mode on the device itself. Design As we mentioned, sticking the device as close to the middle of the room is helpful for getting the best performance. That means youll be looking at it a lot, so design considerations matter. Most purifiers are cylindrical towers with fan vents up top. Units meant for larger rooms are not small, weighing between 12 and 20 pounds and reaching two feet tall (or in the case of the Dyson Purifier Cool, three and a half feet). Some, like Coways Airmega IconS, take on more furniture-like designs to blend in. Others, like Dyson's, are conspicuously designed to stand out. When an air purifier just isnt enough The most striking bit of knowledge I picked up from testing air purifiers is how effective opening windows can be on indoor air quality. What took an air purifier a half hour to clear out took mere minutes when I opened my front door and a few windows. Every variable measured by the air quality sensors, including VOCs, PM, and particularly CO2 levels (which air purifiers cant alleviate), improved dramatically after exposure to fresh air significantly faster and better than any machine we tested. Even on very cold or very hot days, it might be worth it, even if your doors and windows are only open for a few minutes. True, my HVAC system had to work a little overtime afterwards, but venting a room was the most surefire way of getting air quality quickly back in the green. Of course, if the air outside is unhealthy from wildfire smoke or run-of-the-mill pollution, or if you're dealing with seasonal allergies, throwing open the windows wont work and an air purifier might be the best way to consistently clean things up. How we test air purifiers My living room is not a science lab; theres far too much pet hair for that to be the case. Still, I went beyond just turning stuff on and sniffing the air by acquiring two consumer-grade indoor air quality monitors that performed well in laboratory assessments, the Element from Element from Awair and the uHoo Smart Air Monitor. I conducted burn tests in this medium-sized room by measuring the ambient air quality, then burned a brick of pion incense for twenty minutes and measured the air again. Then I ran one purifier at its highest speed for thirty minutes and recorded levels, then ran the unit on the lowest setting for a half hour and remeasured. I made note of the sound levels using a simple iPhone app to compare one machines noise level to the next. Over the course of a month, I used each unit in different scenarios (such as in the basements where the cat litter boxes are) and tried out each devices smart features, controls and auto modes. I also just lived with them and evaluated how they fit into everyday life. As new purifiers come on the market and as we become aware of other units that seem worthy of inclusion, such as Blueair well continue to test them and update this guide accordingly. Best air purifiers for 2025 Other air purifiers we tested Sensibo Pure At $229, and nearly always on sale for $130, I had the Sensibo Pure pegged as a contender for a budget pick. Unfortunately, replacement filters are $99 unless you subscribe to automatic shipments and many of the app features are behind a paywall as well. Its not certified by CARB and underperformed many of the other units in the burn test, though it did return the air back to a good rating according to the air monitors after 30 minutes. The design is inoffensive, its not overly loud and it does integrate with Sensibos smart AC devices, so if youre already happy with one of those, this may be a decent option. Dyson Purifier Cool Like all Dyson products, this air purifier is dripping with design. It looks like no other unit on the market and its up to you to decide whether you like that or not. I was indifferent to the looks, but appreciated the slick and informative app, which not only displays indoor air quality, it also shows what conditions are like outside, using a clever house graphic to differentiate the two sets of numbers. I also like that it detects VOCs as well as particulates and the auto mode seemed to read the room accurately. The air coming out of the fan did indeed feel cool, though at first had a strong plastic odor. Unfortunately, it was the lowest performing unit during two separate burn tests and had repeated connectivity issues. Molekule Air Pro The Molekule Air Pro comes from a brand that pays keen attention to aesthetics. It and the app have that Instagrammable, muted-modern look that countless clothing and bedsheet brands emulate these days. That style doesnt come cheap as the Air Pro costs over $1,000 and requires $140 filters. The company came under fire for and had to stop making many of its claims about its filtration system, which may have led to it filing for bankruptcy in 2023. Molekule is still able to tout its patented photoelectrochemical oxidation, which the company says destroys pollutants at a molecular level. In my tests, it performed almost as well as the others in improving VOC and PM2.5 levels. But its also very loud: When auto mode kicked the fan into high gear, it would make me tense. Also, I found the unit often indicated bad or very bad levels when my two monitors indicated the air quality was actually pretty good.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/best-air-purifier-120040002.html?src=rss

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Artificial intelligence was everywhere at CES in 2025, but in the coming months, its going to be a more permanent part of the Las Vegas landscape.This March will see the soft opening of the Otonomus Hotel, which strives to be different than your typical Vegas hotel room or suite. Located less than 10 minutes from the citys famous Strip, the Otonomus leans heavily into AI as its differentiating factor.We are the first true AI-powered hotel in the world, says Philippe Ziade, founder and CEO of Otonomus. Travelers dont want a one-size-fits-all experience. They want the thrill of creating a personalized experience.With a base price of $300 per night, Otonomus hopes to mimic the Airbnb model, where travelers can find a property that suits their personality, while adding the consistency of a hotel experience. The flagship Las Vegas location, which is located about 2 miles west of Allegiant Stadium at the south end of the Strip, will showcase two proprietary AI systems.FIRO is the AI-powered booking engine, which optimizes the hotels room allocations while maximizing revenue. KEE is an AI-powered app that acts as everything from the guests room key to their own concierge.Booking a stay at Otonomous will be a bit different than getting a room at a Strip hotel or any of the chains youre familiar with. Through FIROs efficiencies, you can book anything from a one-bedroom (with living room) to a six-bedroom suite. The system will then configure adjoining rooms to create what youre looking for. (The hotel can accommodate roughly 1,100 guests.)From there, the personalization begins. Want daily cleaning? A room across from the pool? Maybe youd prefer to stay in a quiet area? Tell the system what you want and it can be yours (with a slight upcharge for each personalized element).Once youve made your reservation, the hotel begins an onboarding process, gathering as much information about you as it can. Through a gamified Q&A session, it will ask a series of questions (offering perks such as a free drink at the bar). Assuming you give it your permission, it will also scrape the internet and social media sites for information on you, analyzing that data to personalize (and monetize) your stay. FIRO will build an avatar based off the data it gathers to project what you may or may not want on your vacation.Check-in will be automatic. Theres no front desk. Instead, everything is managed through the app.Want room service or more toilet paper? KEE lets you place orders, which are delivered via a robot butler. The AI keeps track of everythingfrom the temperature you like to maintain in the room to when you head in and out. That data is retained to further customize your stay on your next visit.When your visit is over, Otonomus will ask what you liked or didnt like, examining the gaps between its projection and your actual stay to teach the AI.That learning about what the customer wants and trying to anticipate needs is one of the differentiators between Otonomus and other hotels. Other chains might know your number of stays and which on-property restaurants you visited, but they dont use that information to customize your stay or have your favorite drink waiting for you.After its soft opening, the Las Vegas Otonomus will have its official opening in Mayand Ziade says hes already in the permitting stage of a second Otonomus in the city, this one close to downtown Las Vegas. Down the road, he says, Otonomous could open in other cities and countries. (Right now, it has its eyes on Dubai.)Beyond maximizing revenue with customization options, Otonomus also has lower costs than some of its competitors. Labor expenses are lower since theres no check-in desk and cleaning is done by appointment only. The off-Strip location means the land costs are lower and the hotel doesnt have to use union workers.Honing and training the AI wont be cheap, of course, but Ziade is counting on the technologys benefits to lure travelers who are looking for a unique experience during their visit to Las Vegas.Were not just using AI for the sake of using AI, he says. Were reinventing hospitality by delivering exactly what each guest wants.

A grass-topped roof of compacted earth appears to float above this glazed restaurant near Parma, Italy, designed by Turin-based studio Carlo Ratti Associati for tomato company Mutti.Named Quisimangia, or Here We Eat, the restaurant will operate as a public restaurant by night and a staff canteen by day, serving workers at the nearby Mutti factory that is currently being redeveloped by Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) following a 2017 competition.Looking to "fully immerse" diners in the surrounding landscape, CRA's design for the restaurant involved excavating the site to create a slightly sunken interior, with the leftover soil used to create a thick green roof.Carlo Ratti Associati has completed a restaurant for tomato company Mutti"The canteen is conceived as a clod of earth lifted from the ground, with a green roof crafted from compacted earth sourced directly on site," the studio told Dezeen."This bold gesture creates a space where diners are fully immersed in the surrounding vegetation, literally dining at the level of the meadow," it continued.Connecting to a former tavern facing the adjacent road, which has been repurposed as the canteen's kitchen, the glazed dining hall curves gently to overlook a 1.1-hectare garden designed by landscape architect Paolo Pejrone.Soil from site excavations were used to create the restaurant's roofCurving bar-style seating lines the dining hall's fully-glazed facade, elevating diners to be almost level with the grass outside, while in the centre of the space, tables are organised around a central serving area.Earth excavated from the site was compressed to create the raw edge of the canteen's roof, which is elevated five metres above the dining areas on slender black steel columns and planted with local vegetation.Read: Junya Ishigami hides mud-covered house and restaurant below ground level in Japan"The defining moment is the elevated earth roof a poetic yet practical statement," the studio said."This architectural gesture blurs the line between building and landscape, immersing diners in an unexpected relationship with the land."The restaurant's fully-glazed facade is lined with bar-style seating"The vertical cut, inspired by the French ha-ha concept, creates surprise while maintaining uninterrupted views," CRA added."The canteen becomes less of a building and more of an extension of nature itself, elevating both the experience and the environment."The walls and ceilings have black finishesInside, the walls and ceilings of the dining areas have a black finish, which combined with the full-height glazing, enhances the floating effect of the roof when viewed from the outside.CRA also looked to incorporate recycled materials into the interiors. The distinctive red floors are formed of a combination of resin and tomato skins, while in the kitchen hundreds of Mutti cans were used to create a feature in the large road-facing window.Other projects completed by CRA for Mutti include a home for the company's CEO, Francesco Mutti, which was designed with the late architect Italo Rota around a 10-metre-tall ficus tree.Elsewhere, the studio recently revealed its plans to overhaul the postmodern European Parliament building in Brussels, with a design featuring a latticed framework and a rooftop botanical garden.The photography is by DSL Studio.The post Carlo Ratti Associati shelters Mutti restaurant with "clod of earth lifted from the ground" appeared first on Dezeen.

As someone who wants to always be early at the airport and do early check-ins, my carry-on luggage and the stuff I bring with me has to be fully functional. I sometimes struggle with accessing things especially when Im on the go and carrying several things at once. It would be nice to have well-designed luggage that is not just sturdy but also thinks about how people actually use them when at the airport and even on the plane.Designers: Jianshen Yuan, Dingyu Xiao, Boyuan Pan, me me (Suosi Design)The Capsule Luggage is a concept focusing on the needs of business travel. The designers looked at the different pain points that travelers encounter like easy access to important things like laptop, rain gear, travel pillows, and even drinks. They made simple tweaks to how the luggage is designed to make things easier as you travel, compared to using backpacks, tote bags, or even the usual luggage.Based on the product renders, the luggage has a small, easy to open and access compartment where you can place your laptop or tablet. Oftentimes when youre waiting or when youre on the flight already, thats what you reach for first so this is convenient. Theres also a built-in cup holder at the back where you can place your coffee cup or water bottle when youre going around the airport. There are no other renders that show the unique features of this concept but it probably has some other things that make it different from the usual. It has light semantics and a highly recognizable silhouette and its minimalist design should make it good for both leisure and business travelers. The post Capsule Luggage concept makes it more convenient to travel first appeared on Yanko Design.

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Paying US federal and state taxes online can be confusing, and one wrong move can result in penalties or extra money owed. We break it down so you can have the most worry-free tax filing possible.

MacworldAfter a busy 2024, Apple is gearing up to launch a full slate of new products throughout 2025, including new iPads, Macs, and, of course, iPhones. But even bigger than a new iPhone SE or iPhone 17 Air, Apple is expected to take a big first step into the smart home.According to Mark Gurmans latest Power On newsletter, Apple is gearing up to lay the foundation for a new smart home ecosystem that includes three main products: a new HomePod mini and Apple TV set-top box, and a brand-new smart home hub. The latter device will usher in a brand-new category for Apple and compete with the likes of the Echo Show and Nest Hub.Gurman says the products will likely arrive toward the end of the year, despite earlier rumors that the smart home hub could land in the spring. Its still possible, however, that the home hub gets a preview at a spring event ahead of a release later in the year.Not much is known about the new HomePod mini or Apple TV, but Gurman reports that they are being developed with Apples smart home platform in mind. The current Apple TV 4K hasnt received an update since 2022, while the HomePod mini is still on its first-gen model from 2020. Both products have some smart home capabilities built in, but neither is marketed as a smart home device.Apple Intelligence is likely to feature heavily in the devices as well, though how remains to be seen. On the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, it requires an A17 Pro, A18, or M-series chip with at least 8GB of RAM, far below the specifications for the current HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K.Or they could use the smart home hub for Apple Intelligence tasks, which is almost certain to meet the requirements. Gurman says the devices new operating systemcodenamed Pebble and informally known as homeOSis heavily tied to Siris App Intents feature coming to Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.4 and expanding in iOS 19.All of this points to a fall release, possibly alongside the iPhone 17 but more likely at its own event dedicated to the smart home. That will set the stage for 2026, which Gurman reports will bring a new, more conversational Siri digital assistant and Apple-made smart home accessories, including a security camera and Face ID-powered doorbell.