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VPNSecure Customers Discover Their Lifetime Subscriptions Were Canceled

The new owner of VPNSecure said it didn’t know about the lifetime deals when it bought the VPN provider two years ago.

Lifetime means lifetime. Except when it doesn’t. That has been the dilemma of some VPNSecure customers, whose lifetime subscriptions were canceled by the new owners of the VPN provider — without the customers being told in advance that the subscriptions would end. 

A Reddit user posted a copy of a message they said they received from VPNSecure’s new owner. In that message, the company tells customers that it did not know about the lifetime deals when it purchased the company in May 2023.

A VPN, or virtual private network, encrypts your internet traffic and masks your IP address, which can make your physical location detectable. A VPN enables you to keep your online activity private and trick apps and websites into thinking you’re in a different state or even country. For an in-depth look at VPNs, check out CNET’s guide to everything you need to know about VPNs and how they work.

In its email to customers, VPNSecure outlined the situation regarding the lifetime deals. The email said that the owner bought «the technology, domain, and customer database-but not the liabilities. Unfortunately, the previous owner did not disclose that thousands of Lifetime Deals (LTDs) had been sold through platforms like StackSocial.»

According to the email, the company deactivated accounts that had been dormant for six months or more, then later canceled all the lifetime deals as of April 28.

In the email, VPNSecure said that its «resources were strained by these LTD accounts» that «provide no sustaining income to help us improve and maintain the service.»

A representative for VPNSecure did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Customers are not happy

Several miffed customers weighed in with angry comments on Trustpilot.

«I had bought a ‘lifetime’ subscription a few years ago,» one person wrote. «Horrible new owners come in and cancel everything claiming ignorance. Either they’re idiots or they’re scammers — not sure which is worse.»

In response to customer reactions, VPNSecure is offering discounted new subscriptions to users whose lifetime deals were canceled. They can pay $1.87 for a month (instead of $9.95), $19 for one year (instead of $79.92), or $55 for three years (instead of $107.64). The deals are available until May 31, according to the email that was posted on Reddit.

Technologies

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge Is Down to Just $730 Today and It’s a Low-Profile Powerhouse

The Galaxy S25 Edge is down from $1,220 — a 40% savings on Samsung’s sleekest, slimmest phone yet.

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge is built for people who want it all — a powerful camera, a sleek design and AI features that actually make life easier. From finding your favorite photo with a voice command to capturing stunning night video, this phone blends performance and personality in a titanium frame that’s as tough as it is beautiful.

Amazon has dropped the price of the Galaxy S25 Edge to just $730 — a 40% discount off its $1,220 list price. This is an excellent deal, but it could end at any time, so we suggest making your order sooner rather than later.

The Galaxy S25 Edge is fast. It has a 6.7-inch QHD Plus ProScaler display with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, powered by a Snapdragon processor and paired with 12GB of RAM. It has 512GB of storage, which gives you plenty of room for high-res photos and 4K video, especially with its 200-megapixel rear camera and AI-enhanced selfie system.

Samsung’s Night Video mode helps you capture crisp footage in low light, while AI tools clean up background noise and even help you find specific photos by description. The virtual assistant can handle multistep tasks like searching for a restaurant and texting a friend — all in one ask.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

The titanium body is ultra-slim yet durable, with Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 for added toughness. And with Android 15 and One UI 7, you’ll get the latest software features and customization options.

For more Android savings, check out our best Galaxy S25 deals and top phone discounts.

MOBILE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

This is one of the best prices we’ve seen on Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, and it’s packed with premium features like a 200MP camera, AI-powered search and editing and a titanium build. If you’ve been waiting for a flagship phone that’s smart, stylish and seriously discounted, this is one of the most tempting Android deals this season.

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Technologies

Nothing’s Signature Transparent Design Is Coming to a New Budget Phone This Week

Do you love the design of Nothing’s phones, but dislike the price? The Nothing 3A Lite might be the perfect device for you.

British tech company Nothing is best known for its retro-inspired transparent technology design, but it’s never been the most affordable option on the market. That looks set to change this week, with the company set to unveil the Nothing 3A Lite on Wednesday.

Nothing says that this will be its first entry-level smartphone, and it will incorporate the transparent design elements seen across the company’s range of phones and headphones. We’ve been given our first glimpse of what looks like the back panel of the phone in a photo from Nothing, but we’ll have to wait until Wednesday at 1 p.m. GMT for the full reveal.

The addition of the 3A Lite to Nothing’s phone lineup follows on from the launch of the Nothing Phone 3 (the company’s «first, true flagship») this summer, and the mid-range 3A and 3A Pro back in the spring. For the first time, the company will offer smartphones that range from budget to high-end in price, meaning that there should be something for everyone.

The Nothing Phone 3A Lite is an «interesting prospect,» said CNET Editor at Large Andrew Lanxon, who reviewed the all three of the existing phones in the 3 series. «Nothing’s phones are already budget-focused, with the existing Phone 3A coming with a low to midrange price tag,» he said. «I’ll be keen to see just how much cheaper Nothing can make its phones, while still offering a pleasant everyday user experience.

«Crucially, they should still offer long software support periods to increase the shelf life — and thereby reduce the overall carbon footprint,» he added. «Value should not come at the expense of longevity»

Nothing currently offers six years of Android support with the Nothing Phone 3, which falls short of the seven years Google offers with its latest Pixel phones. The company alsorecently  killed off its flashy Glyph interface — I personally think the replacement is better — and has increasingly been emphasizing its original use of AI as a selling point for its phones.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 27, #603

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 27, No. 603.

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.


Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is fun, but some of the answers are long and quite tough to unscramble.. So 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: Witch way?

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: What Harry Potter finds out he is.

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:

  • CARD, DINT, RANT, MULE, MALE, HARM, MALT, TALE, TINT, CANT, ROAD

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:

  • WAND, CHARM, AMULET, POTION, INCANTATION, CAULDRON.

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is WIZARDRY. To find it, look for the W that’s three letters to the right on the top row, and wind down.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.

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