Q: I read that I could get better protection against hackers by switching to an independent internet connection service, such as Google Public DNS, Cloudflare or Quad9. What do you think?

-- Bob Lommel, Minnetonka, Minn.

A: There are some security benefits, but they fall short of what's needed.

The hacking you refer to (called DNS hijacking) ...Read more

You did your research, shopped around and finally found what you wanted online. In a few days, it'll be yours.

The tracking website says it's been delivered. But it's not there. Maybe it's been stolen.

It's easy for so-called "porch pirates" to snatch packages from your front door or apartment building stoop, and amid the rise of online retail...Read more

By the end of the year, a team of students from the University of Kansas hope to have a small working model of a personal helicopter-like aircraft.

After that comes the full-size version.

"So when you see a pod racer on the silver screen, that's a Hollywood fantasy," said KU professor Ron Barrett-Gonzalez. " ... But if you made a specification...Read more

Over nearly six years roaming the surface of Mars, NASA's Curiosity rover has detected organic molecules that offer a taste of what an ancient life-friendly red planet might have looked like. Now, the rover's pulled together a veritable feast.

The discovery of a wide variety of organic molecules and the detection of a seasonal methane pattern -...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The University of California, San Diego has discovered the world's first known nursery for manta rays, an idyllic spot in the Gulf of Mexico where the "gentle giants" approach divers along colorful reefs that seem drawn from the imagination of Walt Disney.

An exploration team led by Josh Stewart, who is finishing up his doctorate ...Read more

It may have taken thousands of generations of hunting, gathering, farming and cooking to get here. But in the end, the genius of humankind has combined fats and carbohydrates to produce such crowning culinary glories as the doughnut, fettuccine Alfredo, nachos and chocolate cake with buttercream frosting.

It goes without saying that these ...Read more

Human encroachment is pushing wild mammals all over the globe to increasingly become creatures of the night, moving their daytime activities toward the darker hours, a new study finds.

This day-to-night shift, described in the journal Science, could have a host of implications for the health and survival of these species -- and the structure of...Read more

SEATTLE -- Microsoft may be gearing up to challenge Amazon on its home turf -- the world of retail shopping -- by developing cashier-less technology for grocery stores.

Six people told Reuters news service that the Redmond software company is testing technology that will track what items people pick up while shopping, something that could ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. -- You wander through a museum, glance at some dinosaur bones and think that one skull looks a little funny. You've discovered a new species.

Sure, that sounds unlikely. But that's what happened when a North Carolina paleontologist discovered two new species of protomammals, mammal-like reptiles that existed millions of years ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- NASA's Opportunity rover is incommunicado after being hit by a severe, continent-scale dust storm on Mars, space agency officials said Wednesday -- and they're not sure exactly when they'll hear from it again.

Officials say the rover has probably fallen asleep after being unable to generate enough energy from its solar panels due...Read more

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- The motorized scooters are staying in Santa Monica -- at least for a while.

Santa Monica's City Council unanimously voted Tuesday night to approve a 16-month pilot program that will allow scooter rental companies such as Bird and Lime to continue operating in the city, as long as they meet certain conditions.

Under the ...Read more

The Federal Aviation Administration is standing in the way of the public's best interest when it comes to commercial drone activities, according to a report commissioned by the agency and published this week.

The problem, as identified by a 14-person brain trust tasked to recommend a better way forward, is that the FAA's rigorous, safety-first ...Read more

Maybe it's the same simplicity as found in its flagship ride-hailing app, or maybe it's the brand recognition. Whatever it is, Uber Eats' share within the food delivery industry is overtaking competitors.

Two years after launching a standalone phone app, Uber Eats has become Texas' most popular on-demand food delivery service and continues to ...Read more

At some point in their treatment for cancer, somewhere between 17 percent and 75 percent of patients with malignancies that don't affect the central nervous system report the sensation that a mental fog has set in.

For months or years after their hair has grown back, the exhaustion has lifted and the medical appointments taper off, the "new ...Read more

When a house down the street was burglarized, our neighborhood watch sent out an email warning residents to lock their doors and windows when they're not home -- and to call the police if they saw suspicious cars and activity on the block.

I didn't pay much attention to that event, but soon after that burglary there was another -- right across ...Read more

Q: While reading a Facebook article, I encountered a repeating pop-up box saying I had won a $500 Amazon gift card. When I couldn't get rid of the box, I finally clicked on it and completed part of the survey required to get the card.

I haven't gotten the gift card, but I have received more than 600 spam e-mails, most of them dealing with ...Read more

Betting on blockchain with exchange-traded funds? It's going to cost you some real -- not virtual -- dollars. And it's worth avoiding them for now.

Looking under the hood of these ETFs, the holdings are surprisingly vanilla technology names investors know well -- Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, Taiwan Semiconductor, and SAP.

Why? Probably because no ...Read more