Technologies

How to Watch His Dark Materials Season 3

Lyra and Will are back to close out with a bang.

His Dark Materials season three — the conclusion to the HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy trilogy — debuts Dec. 5 at 9 p.m. ET. There are several places online where you can stream the excitement, depending on which country you’re watching from — and whether you’ve got a reliable virtual private network.

Here are the most up-to-date streaming services where you can watch the final season of Lyra and Will’s adventures, along with ways to get around geo-blocks and streaming glitches by using a VPN.

Where to watch His Dark Materials season 3

If you want to stream His Dark Materials online from inside the US, you’ll find it exclusively on HBO Max. The season’s eight episodes will arrive weekly at 9 p.m. EST, starting Dec. 5.

HBO Max also offers a free, 7-day trial if you’re interested in test-driving the service before committing to a monthly cost.

How to watch His Dark Materials, season 3, for free

US viewers who would like to take HBO Max up on its free, 7-day trial offer will be able to stream His Dark Material, season 3, for free as part of that trial. But that only helps you watch the first two episodes of the show’s eight-episode final season, unless you wait for all eight episodes to be released before starting your trial.

Viewers in the UK, Canada and Australia have similar options to get started — but only Canadian viewers will be able to watch the premiere on Dec. 5. Viewers in Canada can watch the debut on Crave’s on-demand streaming platform. The service costs CA$20 monthly but it offers a free, 7-day trial if you’re a new subscriber.

Viewers in Australia will be able to watch the season 3 debut on Tuesday, Dec. 6 on Binge. The streaming platform costs just AU$10 monthly. Its free trial period is more generous, with a full 14 days available to new subscribers.

Finally, UK viewers won’t get to watch the season 3 premiere until Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. GMT, when it finally arrives on BBC iPlayer. However, the iPlayer is free to use with a valid UK television license.

We don’t recommend seeking out the TV series on fly-by-night illegal streaming or torrenting sites, but if you’re determined to do so, we strongly advise you to make sure your antivirus is up to date and your VPN is installed before you navigate to them. And remember: Never give those kinds of sites your credit card information.

Read more: Best VPN for Your Smart TV

How to watch His Dark Materials with a VPN

A well-tested, high-performing VPN can make viewing your favorite streaming platforms much easier. Even if you subscribe to a video streaming service where His Dark Materials is available, you may have problems accessing it in the catalog of movies available to you. If you’re internet service provider has issued you an IP address that’s wrong for the video library, or if you’re traveling while trying to watch your home country’s catalog, you may end up only being able to access movies and TV shows outside your normal viewing area.

Here’s how to quickly use a VPN to get access to the correct media libraries, to stream His Dark Materials when it premiers.

Read more: How We Test VPNs

1. Choose the right VPN for your needs.

If you’re choosing a VPN to stream video, you’ll want one with a few key criteria: top-notch speed test performance, a strong ability to disguise its traffic as normal traffic (a feature called obfuscation) and a network of servers that are optimized for media experiences so that your streams aren’t dropping in and out.

If you’re in a country where streaming certain content may be illegal according to local censorship laws, you’ll want to make sure your VPN provider offers well-tested security, and that you are only using the VPN on your laptop or home router — not your mobile phone. You’ll also want to make sure you’ve carefully followed any additional instructions from your VPN provider on configuring your VPN set-up for maximum privacy.

However, if you’re looking for an option that’s friendlier on your budget, we recommend a range of affordable VPNs, like Surfshark, that have also passed our security tests with flying colors.

Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.

2. Connect to the correct country in your VPN.

Once you’ve installed your VPN, you’ll want to open the VPN app up and select the country where His Dark Materials is currently available for streaming on your platform of choice when season 3 premiers. In this case, HBO Max users would select and connect to a US server in your VPN’s list. Crave users would connect to Canadian servers.

After Dec. 6, Binge users would connect to Australian servers to watch the series. And, after Dec. 18, BBC iPlayer watchers would select a UK-based server when connecting.

Remember: It’s important to connect to your VPN before you log into — or create a new account for — your streaming subscription service.

3. Log into your streaming service.

You’ve installed your VPN, powered it on, and connected to the correct country. You’re nearly done!

Now all you have to do is log into your streaming media provider as normal. So navigate to HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, Crave or Binge — and then log in as you typically would. Once you’re in, you can use the platforms search bar to find His Dark Materials.

You’re ready to stream!

If you find that your streaming service still doesn’t work with your VPN running, make sure you’ve followed your VPN providers instructions and installed any browser-based plug-ins your VPN may need. If you’ve followed the directions and your settings are correct — then try closing all windows, restarting your machine, and first connecting to your VPN before doing anything else. That will ensure that your device is securely connected to your VPN and reduce the chances that your non-VPN IP address is interfering with your connection process.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for June 29, #483

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for June 29, No. 483.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

I love today’s NYT Strands puzzle! It’s maybe a bit easier than usual once you understand the theme, but then it gets, well, really colorful. And the spangram even makes a themed shape! If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Hue are my sunshine.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Why are there so many songs about these?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

RAIN, SING, SIGN, ROLL, LINE, BILL, BAGS, GABS, HOUSE, GRAIN, RAINS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, INDIGO, VIOLET

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is CHASINGRAINBOWS. To find it, look for the C that’s six letters down on the first row on the left, and wind around… in the shape of a rainbow! Nice one, puzzle-makers!

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 29, #279

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 279, for June 29.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition might be tough. But all you Hoosiers will nail the yellow category, I think. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Think Indianapolis.

Green group hint: Multitalented.

Blue group hint: They forgot Air Bud!

Purple group hint: Lace up your skates.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Indiana sports teams, in singular form.

Green group: Skills of a five-tool baseball player.

Blue group: Basketball movies.

Purple group: PWHL stars.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Indiana sports teams, in singular form. The four answers are Boilermaker, Colt, Hoosier and Pacer.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is skills of a five-tool baseball player. The four answers are fielding, power, speed and throwing.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball movies. The four answers are Air, Blue Chips, Glory Road and He Got Game.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is PWHL stars. The four answers are Fast, Fillier, Knight and Poulin.

Technologies

Your Phone’s a Germ Magnet. How to Disinfect It Properly

Want to keep your iPhone or Android germ-free? Follow these phone cleaning tips.

Your phone goes everywhere with you — on your commute, your lunch break, even the bathroom (don’t lie). But for something that spends so much time in your hands and against your face, it’s probably way dirtier than you think. In fact, studies have shown that the average smartphone can carry more germs than a toilet seat. Yeah, really.

All that touching, tapping, swiping and setting it down on random surfaces adds up fast. If you’re not regularly disinfecting your phone, you’re basically carrying a pocket-sized petri dish. The good news? Cleaning it the right way is quick, easy and doesn’t require fancy gear. Here’s how to sanitize your device safely — without damaging the screen or frying your electronics..

The Federal Communications Commission suggests disinfecting your phone daily, but not all cleaning methods are safe. Harsh chemicals and abrasive materials can damage protective coatings and potentially harm your screen. To keep your phone both clean and intact, it’s crucial to use the right cleaning techniques.

We’ll guide you through the best methods and products for keeping your device germ-free, from iPhones to Samsungs, and whatever their level of water resistance may be.

For more cleaning tips, here’s how to clean wireless earbuds and AirPods.

What are the best products for daily cleaning?

After touching surfaces that see a lot of action from the public — such as door handles, seats on public transportation, grocery carts and gas pumps — you might think you need a heavy-duty cleaning agent to use on your phone. However, you should avoid rubbing alcohol or products made of straight alcohol, since they can damage the protective coatings that prevent oil and water from harming your screen.

Some suggest making your own alcohol-water mix, but getting the concentration wrong can damage your phone. The safest option is using disinfectant wipes with 70% isopropyl alcohol. For daily cleaning, consider a UV light product like PhoneSoap, which kills 99.99% of germs and bacteria. We can also turn to phone manufacturers and cell service companies for guidance, too.

Apple now approves using Clorox Wipes and similar disinfectants, which was not recommended before the pandemic since they were thought to be too abrasive on the screen’s coating. AT&T advises spraying a 70% isopropyl alcohol solution on a soft, lint-free cloth and wiping your device down. Samsung also recommends using a 70% alcohol solution with a microfiber cloth. Always make sure your phone is powered off before cleaning it.

What are the best methods for removing fingerprints, sand and makeup?

Sometimes your phone needs a more specific treatment when washing up. The recommended process for daily cleaning may not be enough to remove pesky grains of sand after a beach vacation or tough foundation stains.

Get rid of fingerprints

Fingerprint smudges are inevitable since your skin produces oils. Every time you pick up your phone, your screen will get fingerprints. The safest way to make your screen print-free is with a microfiber cloth. For a deeper clean, dampen the cloth with distilled water (never apply water directly to the screen) and wipe down the surface. This works for the back and sides of your phone as well.

Alternatively, try a microfiber screen cleaner sticker that sticks to the back of your phone for easy wiping.

Remove sand and small particles

Grains of sand and lint can easily get stuck in your phone’s ports and crevices. To remove it, we recommend you use Scotch tape. Press it along the creases and speaker, then roll it up and gently insert it into the ports. The tape will pull out any debris. You can then just simply throw away the tape for easy cleanup.

For smaller speaker holes, use a toothpick gently or a small vacuum crevice tool to suck out the debris. These tools work well for other small appliances or hard-to-reach areas in your car too.

Cleanse makeup off your phone screen

When you wear makeup and skin care products, such as foundation and moisturizers, you’ll leave residue on your phone screen. While makeup remover works for your face, it’s not safe for screens due to potentially harmful chemicals. Instead, try a screen-safe makeup remover like Whoosh, which is alcohol-free and gentle on all screens.

Alternatively, use a damp microfiber cloth to clean your phone, then wash the cloth afterward. Make sure your cloth is only slightly wet to avoid soaking your phone in water.

What if my phone is waterproof?

For waterproof phones (IP67 and above), it’s best to clean the device with a damp cloth instead of submerging or running it under water — even if the phone advertises that it can withstand submersion for a certain amount of time.

Afterward, dry your phone with a soft cloth, ensuring all ports and speakers are patted dry. While your phone can withstand water, submerging it can lead to water in the ports, delaying charging. Remember, water resistance is meant for accidents, not swimming or regular cleaning.

Things to avoid when cleaning your phone

We’ve already covered why you should avoid makeup remover and rubbing alcohol, but those aren’t a comprehensive list of harmful cleaning agents. Here are a few other items and products you should never use to clean your phone:

Hand sanitizer: Fragrances and ethyl alcohol found in many sanitizers can harm your phone.
Window or kitchen cleaners: Harsh cleaners can strip the protective coating on your phone and leave it more vulnerable to scratches.
Paper towels: Paper can shred, making the debris on your phone much worse, and the rough texture can leave scratches on your screen.
Dish and hand soap: Most soaps require you to combine them with water, and since you should keep water away from your phone, it’s best to stick to a damp cloth.
Vinegar: Like cleaners and alcohols, vinegar will strip your phone screen’s coating.
Compressed air: Blowing intense and direct air into your phone’s portals can cause damage, especially to your mic. Apple specifically warns iPhone owners not to use compressed air.