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How to change your name on TikTok

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge When you start using TikTok, you’re asked for a profile name and a username. If you’ve been using TikTok for a while, though, it wouldn’t be unusual to decide that you want to change one or both. Perhaps you used your real name and weren’t aware at first that your name would be made public. Or perhaps the name you originally chose is no longer quite right for the type of content you’re going to post. Or perhaps you simply decided that you want to be known by something more exciting. Either way, it’s simple to change either your profile name or your username. (In TikTok, the username is the one preceded by an @ sign.) Go to your profile page (by tapping the Profile icon in the lower-right corner). Select Edit profile . Select Name (to change your profile name) or Username . Type in your new name. (In the case of your username, remember that will have to be unique.) You can change names on the Edit profile page. You can onl

Microsoft finally patches nasty Windows security hole, two years later

DogWalk, a security flaw in Windows first discovered in January 2020, has finally been addressed, the company has confirmed. The remote code execution flaw, existing due to a path traversal weakness in the Windows Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT), is being patched as part of the August 2022 Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has said. The flaw is tracked as CVE-2022-34713, and if abused, can give attackers the ability to run any code on a target endpoint. It was first discovered by a researcher called Imre Rad more than two years ago, but back then, Microsoft said it wasn’t really a security vulnerability, and as such, it won’t be fixed. Fast forward to today, and the flaw has been put back into the spotlight by a different researcher, going by the name j00sean.  Abusing DogWalk on Windows 11 To exploit DogWalk, the attacker needs to add a malicious executable to the Windows Startup. That way, once the system is restarted, malware gets downloaded and run. It can be used in low-complexity at

Final Fantasy VII Remake unofficially comes to VR with this PC mod

I still remember the hush that fell over the audience when Sony revealed the first trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake — and the cheers. Fans couldn’t wait to see these characters again in HD. But there may now be an even more immersive way to thrust yourself into the world of Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Aerith: a virtual reality mod by Luke Ross for the PC version of the game. Ross is the modder we profiled last month whose day job is unofficially bringing games to VR; you pay $10 a month to support his work and get access to his mods. The last time we left him, he’d just been slapped with a DMCA takedown notice seemingly over his popular mods for Red Dead Redemption 2 , Grand Theft Auto V, and Mafia: Definitive Edition . While neither game publisher Take-Two nor Patreon told him what exactly was infringing, he decided to strip out every single reference to those games out of a credible fear that Patreon would shut down his entire account and kill his source of income. After

I tested Vizio’s cheap 4K TV, and it does 4 things as well as pricey sets

Vizio recently announced its MQX series 4K TVs, the new second-tier models in the budget set-maker’s lineup. The MQX series is aggressively priced, with a 50-inch model selling for $629, followed by 65- and 75-inch screen sizes at $849 and $1,199, respectively. For that money, you’re looking at a fairly generous feature set, including Quantum Dots for enhanced color reproduction, a 32-zone full array local dimming LED backlight, and support for both the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ high dynamic range formats. Such features are typically found on some of the best 4K TVs , so getting them at these prices is a nice perk, though competing budget TV makers like Hisense and TCL incorporate similar ones in their sets. Gaming features are also generous, with the MQX series touting 120Hz display, four HDMI 2.1 ports,  FreeSync Premium, VRR , Auto Low Latency Mode, HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group), and Dolby Vision auto gaming. All those features are ones found on the best gaming TVs , and the

Microsoft celebrates 15 years of OneDrive with a redesign and new features

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft’s marking OneDrive’s 15th anniversary with a new landing page, called OneDrive Home, and it should make it easier to keep tabs on your work. Instead of arriving on the My files tab when you first open OneDrive, you’ll find yourself on the new Home page that resembles that dashboard in the online version of Office. Like the Office web app, OneDrive Home contains a list of your files, organized by how recently you accessed them. Above the list are filters that let you sort your documents by Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF file types. Image: Microsoft It’s easier to understand the new changes once you see them. There’s also a new “Activity” column to the right of the “Owner” file field that tells you when someone leaves a comment, @mentions another user, or assigns you a task within a shared document. On the left side of the Home view, Microsoft’s adding a new Quick access section, where (just like on Windows) you can find and p

Dozens of Whole Foods stores will soon let you pay with just a scan of your palm

Image: Amazon Amazon’s palm scanning technology is expanding to 65 Whole Foods locations across California. The checkout devices were introduced in 2020 as part of the Amazon One payment service, allowing customers to pay with a scan of their palm. This is the biggest rollout by the company yet, with the first new Whole Foods locations adding support today in Malibu, Montana Avenue, and Santa Monica. Customers can set up Amazon One by registering their palm print using a kiosk or at a point of sale station at participating stores. To register, you need to provide a payment card and phone number, agree to Amazon’s terms of service, and share an image of your palms. Once completed, you can take items to checkout and not have to take out your wallet — or even your phone — a hover of your hand over the device is all that’s needed to pay and leave. Just a hover of your hand is all that’s needed to pay and leave The Amazon One rollout is part of the company’s campaign to change how

Ex-Twitter employee convicted of spying for Saudi Arabia

Illustration by Alex Castro Former Twitter employee Ahmad Abouammo was found guilty of spying for the government of Saudi Arabia, according to a report from Bloomberg . The jury handed down its judgment in a San Francisco federal court on Tuesday, where Abouammo was also convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and falsifying records. Abouammo previously worked at Twitter as a media partnerships manager, and helped prominent figures in the Middle East and North Africa promote their accounts. However, he leveraged his position to access the email addresses, phone numbers, and birth dates of users who were critical of the Saudi government. Abouammo then transmitted that information to Saudi officials between November 2014 and May 2015 and received gifts in return. In 2019, the Department of Justice charged Abouammo and another former Twitter employee , Ali Alzabarah, with espionage. The agency later expanded those charges in 2020 to include a third individua