Google Stadia, which launches next week, lets you play console- and PC-quality games on your TV, phone, or in a Chrome tab. No need for any specific hardware besides your Google Pixel phone, Chromebook, PC, or Mac.

It works best, however, with the Stadia controller, a $69 gamepad available from Google. A $129 bundle known as the Stadia Premiere Edition adds a Chromecast Ultra and three free months of Stadia Pro; it’s available for pre-order now.

Premiere is largely identical to the Founder’s Edition that Google made available to early adopters in June, save for the controller color. Google sent us a Stadia Founder’s Edition ahead of the launch, so let’s take a look at what’s in the box.

What Is Google Stadia?

Google Stadia is a game-streaming service. This means you can play games that run on Google’s servers rather than your own local console or PC, which are then streamed to your platform of choice. It lets you play modern console and PC games on your phone or in a Chrome tab. The Stadia controller works best, but you can use a DualShock 4 or Xbox Wireless Controller, or even a mouse and keyboard for some games.

The closest thing to a console Stadia has is the Chromecast Ultra, which you can pair with the Stadia controller wirelessly and use it to play Stadia on your TV. For now, you need the Ultra that comes with the $129 Stadia bundle. Existing Chromecast Ultra devices will get an over-the-air update so they work with Stadia, but not before next week’s launch, Google said in a recent Reddit AMA.

You also need a very fast internet connection (Google recommends at least 10Mbps), and a wired connection if you want to play games on anything besides the Chromecast Ultra. The Stadia controller can wirelessly sync with the Chromecast Ultra, but that’s it. If you want to play on your phone or PC, you need to use a USB cable to physically attach the gamepad to it (though compatible Bluetooth controllers can work wirelessly with your PC).

That’s why Google sent us an unbranded phone clip that attaches to the controller, and a short USB-C-to-USB-C cable; for convenience. Curiously, the Stadia controller clip isn’t included with the controller; we reached out to Google to find out if it will be offered separately or in any bundles.

Google also sent us a Pixel 3a XL phone because if you want to play games on Google Stadia with your phone, you need a Pixel 2, 3, 3a, and 4, or the XL version of any of those phones. Sorry, Samsung Galaxy, OnePlus, and other Android phone owners. Stadia will work with iOS 11+ devices, and an iOS-compatible test app was provided for testing, but it will also not be available at launch.

For years, users relied on nothing more than reputation and trust when it came to evaluating claims made by VPN providers. But more recently, VPNs have been getting independent security audits to back up their privacy and security promises with something other than marketing buzzwords.

“A security audit is one tool that demonstrates the health of a project overall,” said Harlo Holmes, Director of Digital Security at Freedom of the Press Foundation. Jon Callas, senior technology fellow for the ACLU, describes security audits as a second set of eyes. Audit firms can see whether or not a VPN is living up to its intent. But VPN audits aren’t foolproof and they’re not all the same. The question is, what does a VPN audit prove, and how can users judge the value of any given audit?

Published or Unpublished

VPNs often promote their own audits as a way of engendering (or regaining) trust from their users. NordVPN, for example, announced it was commissioning a new audit soon after news of 2018 breaches was recently made public.

Not all companies allow the public to access the results of these audits, however. Simon Migliano, Head of Research at PrivacyCo. (the parent company of Top10VPN) says that VPNs need to publish the audits online without restriction to “embrace the spirit of doing these audits” rather than going through what he sees as essentially an empty gesture. “I don’t think it adds a lot of value for users for them to put a blog post out saying, ‘Hey we’ve done an audit by a company,’ quote one or two paragraphs of supposed findings and then be like, ‘Oh, now you can trust us,'” he said.

It’s not always easy to tell which audit firms themselves are trustworthy, but many have websites that list their auditors, their credentials, and how long they’ve been in the industry, which can be a good starting point. Also, look for audits by firms that independently publish their findings. PricewaterhouseCoopers is a well-known name, and that may inspire some confidence in an audit. Cure53, another name that comes up in connection with security audits might be less well known outside the industry, but it’s more specialized in cybersecurity.

“If [an audit] was only released by the VPN’s PR team, and the independent auditor did not give them permission to use their name, and they didn’t independently publish it, that, in my mind, would raise some questions of how legitimate and how intense that audit was, or how bad were the findings were, and which ones weren’t fixed,” said Jon Camfield, Director of Global Technology Strategy at Internews.

Types of Audits

The two most common VPN audits are privacy audits (which center on verifying the organizations’ logging practices) and more comprehensive security audits (which take a broader look at the company and its security practices). The latter is the type of audit NordVPN says it’s undertaking.

“There is a deliberate muddying of the water at times from the slightly less ethical providers about what they have done when they communicate to their users,” said Migliano. “There seems to be a tendency to use the term ‘independent security audit’ as a catchall for ‘hey, now you can trust us,’ which I don’t think is a good thing.”

Although looking at whether a VPN’s logging policy matches its practices is important, Migliano said, he sees it as incomplete. Companies need to allow auditors to look at “the full spectrum of clients and applications and backend infrastructure and core services” too, he said.

What About Open Source?

Some VPNs that haven’t had their own independent third-party security audits argue that they’re unnecessary because their products use audited open-source tools and libraries. But experts say that’s not enough. “What’s not open is how exactly they tie them together,” said Camfield. “Did they configure them according to industry best practice, or even cryptographic best practice? That’s something that’s super useful for the audit to go in and look at.”

Tools built on audited and open source tools could interface with your system in an insecure way, be implemented incorrectly, have misconfigured code, or incorrectly log or store accounts. “There’s a lot more than just, ‘Oh, we use these open libraries.’ Well, did you use them correctly?” Camfield said.

The Scope of an Audit

Audits typically have a scope, which touches on what exactly is being audited, the methods used, and how comprehensive the engagement is, as well as how many people are auditing the app and how long they have. “If somebody is wanting to game things, they could certainly game it by scoping down the audit to things that they know they’re going to pass,” said Callas.

An audit may, for instance, only cover mobile apps or browser extensions rather than the full VPN you’re planning on using. Sometimes, understanding the scope might require a bit of reading between the lines. “An audit might obfuscate the fact that important things haven’t really been audited,” said Holmes. “For instance, if you have someone audit the GUI, does it actually include the underlying protocol, or the selection of protocols or which encryption protocols are offered and how configurable that is? That actually makes a huge difference.”

A glowing audit with a limited scope doesn’t tell you much about the privacy and security of a VPN at all. For example, a limited scope may only allow auditors to look at source code rather than digging through VPN systems and copies of (or even real) production servers. “Your code could be amazing, but if your backend servers weren’t included in the audit, it isn’t actually holistic or useful in any form or fashion,” said Camfield.

When evaluating audit reports and their scope, Holmes additionally looks for whether auditors implement reproducible building protocols, “so that they can, to a higher degree, prove that what you’re actually downloading and installing matches what the developers actually intended.”

Report Findings

Audit reports are technical documents that lay out what vulnerabilities have been found in the VPN that was evaluated. An audit that shows a VPN had some bugs isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it’s actually good news when auditors find problems that get corrected.

“My view on any sort of bugs and reporting is that the mark of what makes a good company is how they deal with the issues, which includes how fast they fix them, and whether or not they try to weasel out of it being a problem,” Callas said.

Audit reports should include information about fixes during a follow-up engagement when the auditors checked back in. Because security audits only reflect a moment in time, they should be something a company invests in periodically. “You’re not supposed to have an audit once and then never have one again,” said Holmes.

VPNs are updated quite frequently and security bugs are discovered all the time, so more often than not, what’s been audited is not the tool you’re using. “The perfect is the enemy of the good,” said Camfield. “In some idealized perfect world, all the code would be open, the builds would be reproducible (which means you can verify that the open source that everyone can see is exactly what generated the tool that you’re actually using on your device) and each new release would be audited independently.”

“The overhead and the restrictions that would place on tool development are not insignificant,” said Camfield. “So I really see it as, at least do something. Sure, it’s a snapshot in time, but I would much prefer to see everyone go through an annual audit or biannual audit than nothing.”

Not every potential VPN user will bother to scrutinize audits before subscribing. Sometimes you just want to unblock Netflix. But if, say, you’re looking for a VPN to keep you safe and private in an unfriendly environment, it’s probably worth your while to take this sort of thing seriously. And no matter what kind of VPN consumer you are, it can never hurt to be better informed.

How many people open the email you send? If you maintain an email list for a business, brand, organization, or personality, you can improve your emails to make them more enticing to open. The same can be said for anyone who has to cold-contact people for sales, PR, or other opportunities.

If you’re running an email list, you’ll need email marketing software to start. Email marketing software helps you send a message to large numbers of people, as well as collect statistics about how many people open the message, click links in the email, and so forth. Some professional email marketing tools also let you run A/B tests, so you can find out whether changing something about your message, such as the day of the week you send it, has a significant effect on your open rate.

Here are some tips for improving your email open response rate.

1. Review the Rules

Before you do anything with an email list, make sure you’re in compliance with all applicable laws. The laws vary by region. For example, in the US, the CAN-SPAM act outlines all the rules for commercial, relationship, and transactional email. It says you can’t use false or misleading headers or subject lines, and if the email is an ad, it must be identified as such. You have to give people a way to opt out as well. There’s more. Read it.

Residents of the EU are covered by GDPR’s regulations for email, even if the company sending the mail is registered in another country.

Make sure you know the rules so that you don’t violate them when trying to improve your email open response rate.

2. Run Maintenance on Your Subscriber List

Having a lot of duds on an email subscriber list lowers your open rate. Clean up your subscriber list from time to time by removing dead addresses (those that have sent a bounce-back message) as well as anyone with a track record of not opening your messages (say, anyone who hasn’t opened an email in six months or a year).

3. Give People More Ways to Join Your List

People who actively signed up to receive your emails are more likely to open them than someone who was added without their knowledge. So while some organizations may buy lists of email addresses for distribution, the best subscribers are those who want to receive your messages. Give those people several ways to sign up.

Promote your email list on your organization’s website, social media accounts, and other places where you can pick up eager new subscribers. You can use simple and free form builders, such as Google Forms, where available, or look for specialized ones for your platform. For example, there are plug-in form builders for people getting started with WordPress, some of which include easy drag-and-drop options for compliance issues such as GDPR.

4. Deliver What You Promise, and Be Consistent

People sign up to receive emails for a reason, whether to get news summaries, exclusive deals, coupon codes, or inside information. Make sure you deliver what you promise the first time and every time you send an email.

Be consistent in other areas, too. Use a consistent voice. Match the style and tone of the email to the brand, product, or organization. If your messages are informational in nature, send them at a consistent time, such as once per week on the same day and time every week.

Speaking of when to send a message, there is no “right” time or day. It depends on your audience, the type of email you send, and other factors. Use that A/B testing I mentioned earlier to see if you get better results on different days and times.

5. Spend Time on Your Subject Line

The subject line may be the most important asset within your control influencing whether someone will open your email. Spend time on it and try several variations.

Make the subject line accurate to the subject matter. Avoid putting questions in the subject line. Keep it short and catchy. Exactly how many words or characters should you use? Advice ranges from about 45 to no more than 100 characters, mostly to keep the subject line visible on mobile devices. Six to 10 words should do the trick.

I recommend brainstorming five or so possible subject lines for every email you send. Ask your colleagues which one is most compelling. And always ask yourself what would make you click to open it.

6. Carefully Craft the First Line of the Body

Everyone who receives your email will, in theory, see the subject line. Many recipients will also see the first few words of the body in preview. So if the subject line hooks them, the first line needs to reel them in. Put in some effort into crafting it.

Write the first line of the body so that it adds to the subject line rather than repeats it. Keep it accurate (don’t write clickbait) and get to the point. Deliver what you promised!

7. Customize the ‘From’ Name

Who sends your emails? If it’s Rose or Julio from the marketing department, consider putting their name in the ‘from’ line to give your emails a personal touch, if it’s appropriate based on the content. Rose@companyname.com is friendlier than news@companyname.com.

If it doesn’t make sense to use a human name, at the very least, use something other than noreply@companyname.com.

8. Proofread Before You Send

Keep your audience interested in opening future emails by delivering professional content. Have another person proofread it, not only for typos, but also for meaning, readability, and factual errors.

The proofreader should pay close attention to the subject line and first line of text for length and to assess whether they deliver on whatever promise you’ve made to your audience. Proofers should also click all links to verify that they work. Proof emails on a desktop computer and a mobile device, or in previews of those platforms if your email marketing tool offers them.

9. Get to the Point

Another way to keep people interested and increase the odds that they open your future emails is to cut to the chase. For example, if your email has news of a sale, tell people what’s on sale (with pictures when applicable), how much the discount is, and how they can get the sale prices. If your email is pitching a product, give the name of the product, a single description of what it does, the availability, and a link to the product’s website with more information.

The more you get to the point and give people what they want, the more likely they are to trust your emails and open them again in the future.

More Email Marketing Tips

Every email list has its purpose and audience, both of which affect how you should go about increasing your email open response rate. Whenever possible, collect data and make changes in a conscientious manner so that you can track the results.

Browsing slowing to a crawl, the inability to stream, dropped Wi-Fi signals, wireless dead zones—every one of these problems is maddening in a world where getting online has become, for some, as necessary as breathing. (Well, maybe not that critical…but important.)

If you feel like your Wi-Fi has gotten sluggish, there are many tools you can use to test the speed of your internet. However, if the only way you can get decent reception is by standing next to your wireless router, these simple tips can help optimize your network.

1. Update Your Router Firmware

Perhaps your router just needs an update. Router manufacturers are always tweaking software to eke out a bit more speed. How easy—or how hard—it is to upgrade your firmware depends entirely on your device manufacturer and model.

Most current routers have the update process built right into the administration interface, so it’s just a matter of hitting a firmware upgrade button. Other models, particularly if they’re older, still require you to go to the manufacturer’s website, download a firmware file from your router’s support page, and upload it to the administration interface. It’s tedious, but still a good thing to do since it would be such a simple fix.

In fact, even if your wireless network isn’t ailing, you should make it a point to update your firmware on a regular basis for performance improvements, better features, and security updates. (Here’s how to access your router’s settings.)

2. Achieve Optimal Router Placement

Not all rooms and spaces are created equal. The fact is, where you place the router can affect your wireless coverage. It may seem logical to have the router inside a cabinet and out of the way, or right by the window where the cable comes in, but that’s not always the case. Rather than relegating it to a far end of your home, the router should be in the center of your house, if possible, so its signal can reach as far as possible.

(Casezy idea/shutterstock.com)

In addition, wireless routers need open spaces, away from walls and obstructions. So while it’s tempting to put that ugly black box in a cabinet or behind a bunch of books, you’ll get better signal if it’s surrounded by open air (which should prevent the router from overheating, too). Keep it away from heavy-duty appliances or electronics as well, since running those in close proximity can impact Wi-Fi performance.

If your router has external antennas, orient them vertically to bump up coverage. If you can, it even helps to elevate the router—mount it high on the wall or on the top shelf to get a better signal. There are plenty of tools to help you visualize your network coverage. Personally, I like Heatmapper or our Editors’ Choice inSSIDer, which shows you both the weak and strong spots in your Wi-Fi network. There are plenty of mobile apps, too, such as Netgear’s WiFi Analytics.

3. What’s Your Frequency?

Take a look at your network’s administrator interface, and make sure you have it configured for optimum performance. If you have a dual-band router, you’ll likely get better throughput by switching to the 5GHz band instead of using the more common 2.4GHz band.

Not only does 5GHz offer faster speeds, but you’ll likely encounter less interference from other wireless networks and devices, because the 5GHz frequency is not as commonly used. (It doesn’t handle obstructions and distances quite as well, though, so it won’t necessarily reach as far as a 2.4GHz signal does.)

Most modern dual-band routers should offer you the option to use the same network name, or SSID, on both bands. Check your router’s administration interface, look for the 5GHz network option, and give it the same SSID and password as your 2.4GHz network. That way, your devices will automatically choose the best signal whenever they can. (If your router doesn’t offer you the option to use the same SSID, just give it another name—like SmithHouse-5GHz—and try to connect to that one manually whenever possible.)

4. Change That Channel

Interference is a big issue, especially for those who live in densely populated areas. Signals from other wireless networks can impact speeds, not to mention some cordless phone systems, microwaves, and other electronic devices.

Ever play with walkie-talkies as a kid? You may remember how the units needed to be on the same “channel” in order for you to hear each other. And if you happened to be on the same channel as your neighbors, you could listen in on someone else’s conversation, even if they were using a completely different set.

In the same vein, all modern routers can switch across different channels when communicating with your devices. Most routers will choose the channel for you, but if neighboring wireless networks are also using the same channel, then you are going to encounter signal congestion. A good router set to Automatic will try to choose the least congested channel, but many cheaper routers will just choose a predefined channel, even if it isn’t the best one. That could be a problem.

On Windows-based PCs, you can see what channels neighboring Wi-Fi networks are using. From the command prompt type netsh wlan show all, and you’ll see a list of all wireless networks and the channels being used in your vicinity.

At PCMag, for instance, most of our networks and those of our neighbors are using channels 6 and 11. In general, for 2.4GHz you want to stick to channels 1, 6, and 11 since they’re the only ones that don’t overlap with other channels (which can degrade performance). 5GHz generally uses non-overlapping channels, however, which should make selecting the right one much easier.

If you find the Auto setting isn’t working well for you, sign into your router’s administrator interface, head to the basic wireless category, and try selecting one manually (ideally, one that isn’t in use by many networks in your area). See if that provides a better signal and faster speeds over the Automatic setting. Keep in mind that channel congestion can change over time, so if you choose a channel manually, you may want to check in once in a while to make sure it’s still the best one.

It’s also possible the problem isn’t interference or other networks. Is there a chance you have unwanted guests piggybacking on your network? These tools can help you find a list of devices on your Wi-Fi to sniff out uninvited neighbors. If it’s an open network, close it and set up a strong password—preferably WPA2, as WEP is notoriously easy to crack—so others can’t join in.

5. Control Quality

Most modern routers come with Quality of Service (QoS) tools to limit the amount of bandwidth that apps use, like the Netgear menu below.

For example, you could use QoS to prioritize video calls over file downloads—that way, your call with grandma won’t drop just because someone else is grabbing a big file from Dropbox. (Sure, their file will take longer, but grandma is more important.) Some QoS settings even allow you to prioritize different apps at different times of day.

QoS settings can typically be found under advanced settings in the network’s administrator interface. Some routers may even make it easier by offering a one-click multimedia or gaming setting, so you know those applications will be prioritized.

6. Don’t Rely on Obsolete Hardware

It’s a good idea to get the most out of your existing equipment, but if you are running old hardware you can’t expect the best performance. We have a tendency to subscribe to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality with back-end devices, especially networking gear. However, if you bought your router years ago, you might still be using the older, slower 802.11n standard (or God forbid, 802.11g).

These wireless standards cap at fairly low bandwidths. Thus, all the tweaking we’ve outlined above will only get you so far—the maximum throughput for 802.11g is 54Mbps, while 802.11n caps out at 300Mbps. The latest 802.11ac supports 1Gbps, while next-gen Wi-Fi 6 routers can theoretically hit 10Gbps, but it’s early days. Our list of the best wireless routers is a good place to start the search for a faster router.

Even if your router is new, you might have some ancient devices that are falling back to older, slower standards. If you bought a PC within the last couple of years, you likely have an 802.11ac wireless adapter, or at least 802.11n. But the older your devices, the less likely they are to have modern tech built in. (You might be able to buy a USB Wi-Fi adapter that makes things a bit better on those old machines, though.)

Remember, a higher-quality router won’t just support those faster standards—it’ll also do all the things we’ve outlined above better. It’ll perform better channel selection, band steering for 5GHz devices, and have better QoS features.

Others may have features like Multi User-Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO), like the Netgear Nighthawk X10 AD7200 Smart WiFi Router. MU-MIMO routers can send and receive multiple data streams simultaneously to multiple devices without bandwidth degradation and require specialized testing with multiple clients, but the clients need to be MU-MIMO compatible.

7. Replace Your Antenna

If your router uses an internal antenna, adding an external one would be a good idea, as the latter tends to send a stronger signal. Your router may have come with antennas you can add on yourself, but if not (or if you threw them away long ago), many router manufacturers sell antennas separately.

In many cases, you can choose between omnidirectional antennas, which send a signal to all directions, or directional ones, which send a signal in one specific direction. Most built-in antennas tend to be omnidirectional, so if you are buying an external one, it should be marked “high-gain” to actually make a difference.

A directional antenna tends to be a better option, since odds are that you aren’t experiencing weak spots in your network in every direction. Point your external antenna in the direction of your weak spot, and it will broadcast the signal accordingly. Check your router manufacturer’s website for details on what to buy.

8. Set Up a Wireless Range Extender

Distance is one of the more obvious problems—there is a certain optimal range that the wireless signal can travel. If the network has to cover an area larger than the router is capable of transmitting to, or if there are lots of corners to go around and walls to penetrate, performance will take a hit.

If all of the above fail, it’s possible that your house is just too big for a single router to send a good signal everywhere. All routers are only capable of broadcasting reliably up to a certain distance before the signal gets weak. If you want to extend your signal beyond that, you’ll need a range extender of some sort.

Range extenders looks similar to standard routers, but work differently. For starters, they pick up the existing Wi-Fi signal from your wireless router and simply rebroadcast it. As far as your network router is concerned, the range extender is just another client with an IP address, much like a laptop.

Even though it’s not a router, you should still use the same rules for figuring out placement; the extender should be close enough to your main network router to pick up a solid signal, but close enough to the weak spot so it can do its job of, well, extending that signal.

The extended signal will almost never be as good as the original, but it’s better than nothing—though if you can connect the extender with Ethernet or Powerline instead of wirelessly, it’ll be much better.

You don’t need an extender that is the same brand or model as your existing router, though in some cases, extenders of the same brand may offer extra features (like Linksys’ MaxStream routers and their “seamless roaming”).

Above all else, make sure you pick one that can broadcast an equivalent signal: don’t buy an 802.11n extender if your router is on 802.11ac. For more on how to choose and set up an extender, take a look at the best wireless range extenders we’ve tested.

9. Upgrade to a Mesh-Based Wi-Fi System

Range extenders help bring connectivity to dead zones, but wireless range extenders usually provide about half the bandwidth you’ll get from your primary router. Plus, they often require separate management from two different administration pages, and can even force you to use two different SSIDs, which is a huge pain. If you want seamless connectivity everywhere in your home, manageable from a simple smartphone app, consider upgrading your whole network a mesh Wi-Fi system instead.

Designed to cover every corner of your home, mesh Wi-Fi systems aim to replace your router rather than just extend it. You’ll connect one node directly to your modem, then place one or more satellite nodes around your house. The included app will walk you through the setup, ensuring each node is placed in the ideal spot for the best signal.

The resulting setup blankets your house with a single wireless network, which uses a single administration interface (in the form of a friendly mobile app), and often dedicates at least one wireless band to network backhaul, offering better performance than many extenders. Lots of mesh systems will even update your firmware automatically, so you always have the latest performance and security enhancements—no more downloading firmware from the manufacturer website.

The downside: mesh Wi-Fi Systems aren’t cheap, especially if you have a large home, which will require multiple nodes. But if you’re in the market for a new router anyway, they might be worth considering as an alternative. For more, check out our list of the best mesh network systems, as well as our guide for setting one up.

10. Get Into the Guts of Your Router

If you really want to get the most out of your current router, the adventurous should look at the open-source DD-WRT router operating system. Many major router manufacturers, such as Linksys, Netgear, and TrendNET offer routers that can run DD-WRT. Or you can simply download DD-WRT and install it on any compatible router you have lying around.

DD-WRT can ramp up performance and give you access to more advanced networking features including virtual private networking (VPN), security, and granular customization. You can even install one right onto your router.

For more tips to help speed up your surfing, check out How to Set Up and Configure Your Router. Having problems with even getting or maintaining a signal? Then Tips for Troubleshooting Your Internet Connection is worth a read. Once you’ve made all the necessary tweaks to optimize your wireless network, test your Internet speed below.