Nuki, my favorite smart lock, is now available in the US; I can't recommend it enough
TL;DR Europe's best smart lock, the Nuki Smart Lock, has launched in the US.
The Matter-compatible lock costs $159 alone, or $299 with the fingerprint-supporting keypad (currently $229 on Amazon).
You'll have to pay for a premium subscription to enable remote access and notifications.
If you ask me about my favorite product I've ever reviewed in my 19 years as a tech writer, the answer would be pretty straightforward: the Nuki smart lock. The first lock I tried blew me away in 2016 with its extensive features and excellent reliability, so much so that I became a smart lock convert. Recently, I switched to the Nuki Smart Lock Ultra (£309.99 at Manufacturer site), which is by far the best European smart lock you can buy. But what if you live in the US? Well, Nuki is now launching in the US, and you can get your hands on one of the most thoughtful and complete smart home products ever made (this is not an exaggeration) for $159 on Amazon, or $299 with the Keypad 2 with fingerprint support (currently down to $229 on Amazon).
If you're curious about why a smart lock makes sense or what makes Nuki special, you can read my complete rundown of the Nuki Smart Lock Ultra. The short version, though, is that this is an end-to-end encrypted lock that you can use without ever creating an account or logging in (unless you want remote access). It's sleek, small, less noisy than previous versions, and offers a million and one options to let you customize it precisely to your liking, and most importantly, your comfort levels. I love that every feature from the swipe actions in the app or tap actions on the button, to the speed of the brushless motor, night mode, guest access, disabling Bluetooth pairing, auto-unlock, auto-lock, what's logged and what's not, and more, is user-controlled. For a device that supervises the entrance to my home, that's a win on all fronts.
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Nuki is also Matter-compatible and supports Google, Apple, and Amazon's smart home platforms, as well as Home Assistant (I've set it up locally via MQTT) and Samsung SmartThings. Plus, it has apps for Wear OS smartwatches and the Apple Watch. Honestly, anything you think you want from a smart lock is there; it's almost crazy to see a product that is this complete. I rated it 9/10 in my review, but I could've easily given it a perfect 10; that's how much I love it.
A smart home device that supervises the entrance to my home should give me control over all the settings. Nuki does that and takes privacy very seriously.
The US version of the Nuki Smart Lock retains all of those features, but is retrofitted on top of US single-cylinder deadbolts and can be installed in under 15 minutes. It's installed from the inside, so you keep access to your home from the outside with a key. You can also buy the Keypad 2, which offers an end-to-end encrypted way to unlock with access codes or with a fingerprint sensor.
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
There is one hiccup compared to the European version, though, and that is the introduction of Nuki Premium — a $5.90 monthly sub that sends you smart alerts when something happens to your door and gives you remote access via the Nuki app to see what's going on. It's not essential if you use Matter or any other smart home platform, but it's still a bit annoying to see Nuki take free features in the EU market and make them paid in the US. If you do sign up before September, though, you'll have free lifetime access to Premium, which is an excellent deal.
The Nuki Smart Lock is available now from Amazon and, if you can't already tell, I can't recommend it enough. You can also grab some extra accessories for it like a $59 door sensor or a cheaper $89 code-only keypad if you don't need fingerprint access.
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51 Easy Home Office Upgrades If You're Always Working
A slim laptop stand to raise your laptop and bring it closer to eye level, especially handy if you use it with a desktop monitor. This is better for the overall ergonomics of your setup, but it also ensures your laptop gets ventilation and doesn't overheat. This stand fits any laptop from 10–15.6 inches and can be easily disassembled into three parts for easy transportation. Promising review: "This has helped my neck pain and workflow. I'm used to working in an office with monitors, and this made a big difference in my work-from-home experience by putting my screen at a comfortable eye level. The material is good quality, feels sturdy, and was simple to assemble. It comes in three pieces and is intuitive to put together without looking at directions. There are pads on the top to keep your laptop from sliding. I'm using it with a 15-inch laptop, and it's a good fit. I did get a wireless keyboard to use with it, which I would recommend. If you were to try to type on your laptop keyboard with this, it would be uncomfortable. I bought it for the ergonomics, but as a bonus, I am liking how it helps me keep my desk organized with the extra space beneath. Great product!" —MGet it from Amazon for $16.99+ (available in 10 colors). A desktop whiteboard that fits in that lil' space between your monitor and keyboard for writing quick notes, ideas, or even motivational messages for yourself. A little pull-out drawer holds your dry-erase markers and other small accessories! This whiteboard also comes with a dry-erase marker, accessory channel (to hold the marker), and a storage review: "Never thought something analog would be SO useful in my daily routine. I work from home and am constantly project managing a number of complex strategic projects. Having pertinent information directly in front of me and top of mind has done incredible things for my productivity. Never would have imagined it would make such a difference. For a nominal investment, I highly recommend it if you have trouble keeping up with things." —Captainflapjax Get it from Amazon for $26.99 (available in five styles). A 24-inch budget-friendly monitor in case working off just your laptop isn't cutting it anymore. It'll give you a much larger workspace and the ability to drag windows seamlessly between your connected laptop and monitor. Being able to reference several pages at once can have a major (positive) impact on your productivity — and it's much more comfortable than crouching over your MacBook every day. A sleek monitor riser with four USB ports, because there's no such thing as having too many USB ports on hand. If you've ever scrambled to find a free slot to charge your phone, Bluetooth headphones, microphone, desk fan, and other WFH gadgets, this'll give you significantly more options. Other things to keep in mind: Raising your laptop or monitor up to eye level makes for better ergonomics (i.e. reduced eye and neck strain), PLUS by lifting your screen up, you make more room on your desk for storage underneath the stand. Promising review: "This was just the thing I needed for my desk. Super convenient to have the wireless charger and the USB hub too. Very good for cable management. I really love having a stand that provides additional functionality. It's a clean design, maybe the logo is a bit large and white on black so it's quite noticeable (a shade of gray on black would be nicer), but that's OK. Great stand!" —T Get it from Amazon for $66.49+ (available in two sizes). Or a dual-monitor riser with a walnut wood top giving you even more space to work with, whether you have a two-screen setup or just want to surround your monitor with quirky collectibles and knick-knacks (I support either). It even has a built-in shelf underneath for stashing your laptop, perfect if you like to close it and only look at your monitor. A Bluetooth speakerphone if you're still relying on your laptop speakers for video calls. This'll noticeably improve your audio by reducing background noise and enhancing your speech, and you'll hear your colleagues more clearly as well, making it an improvement for everyone involved. An adjustable standing desk converter, because we all know sitting for hours straight is terrible for our health. With this, you can easily take standing breaks throughout the day while still working, and when you're sitting, it functions as a regular monitor stand so you can set your screen at eye level. Or a sleek and beautiful electric standing desk if you're ready to go all-in on the sit-to-stand office life. With just the tap of a button, it'll raise itself up in a matter of seconds, and you can save up to four height presets so you're not having to readjust each time! It also has a child lock feature to avoid accidental activation *and* integrated USB charging ports on the side. I personally use the FlexiSpot Comhar EG8 standing desk, and I really can't recommend it enough if you're ready to invest in a high-quality standing desk. I have the white desk with a glass top (pictured on the right above), and it looks super modern and elegant in my living room. There's a thin drawer in the front — you won't be storing anything super thick in there, but it's great for putting papers, sticky notes, and other small items out of the way. The actual standing desk feature works like a charm — since it's just me using this desk, I only use two of the four height presets: one for my sitting position, and one for my standing position. An anti-collision feature is also built in, meaning the desk will stop moving if it detects an obstacle in its way. 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A memory foam gel pad to provide ergonomic support for your wrists and avoid the aches and pains that come with typing at a computer all day. Seriously, once you get wrist pads, there's no going back. Or a cushy cloud wrist rest you've probably seen all over TikTok if you're remotely interested in ~desk aesthetic~. It'll give your setup such a dreamy vibe, and your wrists will thank you for the cloud-like support! An ergonomic mouse pad with built-in wrist support, adding both comfort and flair to your desk setup. It comes in over 40 different styles! Promising review: "This mouse pad is tacky on the backside which I didn't realize, but really like. It keeps it from sliding around. Overall this is a great product for the money and keeps my hand/wrist from hurting throughout the day." —Julie DunfeeGet it from Amazon for $11.99 (available in 38 different styles). Or! An adjustable heated mousepad if your home office runs chilly (and you're trying to keep energy bills down). 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It's basic, but it works. Clip adheres very well to my computer monitor when both services are clean and dry. Use some rubbing alcohol to clean both services before trying to adhere it. I like this document clip because it helps me be more productive. I also use it to hold papers that need my immediate attention if I am not doing data entry. In summary, I've purchased this product many times for a reason. It does the job with no frills and it's a great value!" —CassidyGet it from Amazon for $10.39. A transparent monitor attachment if sticky notes are currently taking over your desk — with this, you can keep them organized and neatly visible next to your monitor for easy reference! It has a built-in stand at the bottom for holding your phone with a hole for a charger to pass through. Each of the attachments has a sticky film that's strong enough to adhere to your monitor, but easy enough to remove that it won't damage it. 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- Business Insider
An AI data trap catches Perplexity impersonating Google
If you want to succeed in AI, a good hack would be to impersonate Google. You just can't get caught. This is what just happened to Perplexity, a startup that competes with ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, and other generative AI services. Quality data is crucial for success in AI, but tech companies don't want to pay for this, so they crawl the web and scrape information for free, often without permission. This has sparked a backlash by some content creators and others interested in preserving the incentives that built the web. Cloudflare and its CEO, Matthew Prince, have stormed into this battle with new features that help websites block unwanted AI bot crawlers. Cloudflare is an infrastructure, security, and software company that helps run about 20% of the internet. It thrives when the web does well, hence its interest in helping sites get paid for content. Some Cloudflare customers recently complained to the company that Perplexity was evading these blocks and continued to scrape and collect data without permission. So, CloudFlare set a digital trap and caught this startup red-handed, according to a Monday blog describing the escapade. "Some supposedly 'reputable' AI companies act more like North Korean hackers," Prince wrote on X on Monday. "Time to name, shame, and hard block them." Perplexity didn't respond to a request for comment. The bait: Honeytrap domains and locked doors Cloudflare created entirely new, unpublished websites and configured them with files that explicitly blocked all crawlers — including Perplexity's declared bots, PerplexityBot and Perplexity-User. These test sites had no public links, search engine entries, or metadata that would normally make them discoverable. Yet, when Cloudflare queried Perplexity's AI with questions about these specific sites, the startup's service responded with detailed information that could only have come from those restricted pages. The conclusion? Perplexity had accessed the content despite being clearly told not to. The cloak: How Perplexity masked its crawl Perplexity initially crawled these sites using its official user-agent string, complying with standard protocols. However, Cloudflare said it discovered that once blocked, Perplexity resorted to stealth tactics. Cloudflare found that Perplexity began deploying undeclared crawlers disguised as normal web browsers and sending requests from unknown or rotated IP addresses and unofficial ASNs, [what is ASN? write out on first ref?] which are crucial identifiers that help route internet traffic efficiently. When its official crawlers were blocked, Perplexity also used a generic web browser designed to impersonate Google's Chrome browser on Apple Mac computers. (Business Insider asked Google whether it has told Perplexity to stop impersonating Chrome. Google did not respond). According to Cloudflare, Perplexity has been making millions of such "stealth" requests daily across tens of thousands of web domains. This behavior not only violated web standards, but also betrays the fundamental trust that underpins the functioning of the open web, Cloudflare explained. The comparison: How OpenAI gets it right To emphasize what good bot behavior looks like, Cloudflare compared Perplexity's conduct to that of OpenAI's crawlers, which scrape data for developing ChatGPT and giant AI models such as the upcoming GPT-5. When OpenAI's bots encountered a file or a similar block, they simply backed off. No circumvention. No masking. No backdoor crawling, according to Cloudflare tests. The Fallout: De-verification and blocking As a result of these findings, Cloudflare has de-listed Perplexity as a verified bot and rolled out new detection and blocking techniques across its network. Cloudflare's takedown serves as a cautionary tale in the AI arms race. While the web shifts toward stronger control over data access and usage, actors who flout these evolving norms may find themselves not just blocked, but publicly called out. In an era where AI systems are hungry for training data, Cloudflare's sting operation is a signal to startups and established players alike: Respect the rules of the web, or risk being exposed.
