Technologies

The Full ‘Snow Moon’ Is Coming Out This Weekend

It’s not a supermoon like January’s full moon, but with all that snow on the ground, it should light up your backyard nicely.

The second full moon of 2026 is a few short days away, and it couldn’t come at a more relevant time. Much of the US has been pelted by snow and ice from Winter Storm Fern, and it’ll be immediately followed by February’s Full Snow Moon, scheduled to appear on the evening of Feb. 1.

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According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the moon will reach its peak illumination at 5:09 p.m. ET on Sunday, just before sunset. The moon will be below the horizon at this point for most of the Northern Hemisphere, so you won’t be able to catch this one right at its very peak. It’ll come up over the eastern horizon shortly after 6:00 p.m. local time and streak across the sky before setting on the western horizon right at sunrise.

The Snow Moon doesn’t have any special characteristics, like January’s supermoon or last June’s mini-moon. What makes this moon special is its timing. People in the Midwest and Northeast US currently have a ton of snow on the ground, and with temperatures expected to remain below freezing for several weeks, the snow will likely still be there when the full moon hits.

That should provide quite a show all on its own. According to NASA, this is because snow has a very high albedo, a measure of how well a material reflects sunlight. Snow reflects upward of 90% of solar radiation and light, and since moonlight is just sunlight reflected off the moon, that means the snow is going to do an excellent job bouncing that light around.

The result will no doubt be one of the brightest nights of the year, easily surpassing the supermoons coming later in 2026.

You won’t need any special equipment to see the full moon, as it’s the brightest thing in the night sky by a country mile. With all the snow cover, you might not even need a flashlight if you let your dog out after dark and the sky is clear.

Why is it called the Snow Moon?

Midwest and Northeast residents need only to look outside to discover why February’s full moon is referred to as the Snow Moon. The Old Farmer’s Almanac says it earned the name because the month had the most snow back in the days before the Revolutionary War.

January has since taken the title of the snowiest month. According to data from The Weather Channel, the East Coast still sees most of its snowfall in February, and since most people lived there at the time, that’s probably where the name came from.

Technologies

Verum Messenger Goes Desktop: Launches macOS Version as Part of Expanding Digital Ecosystem

The team behind Verum Messenger has announced a new update, introducing a full-featured macOS version of the application.

The launch of the Mac version marks a significant step in the platform’s development, enabling users to access Verum Messenger not only on mobile devices but also on desktop environments.

The macOS version ensures seamless synchronization across devices while maintaining the platform’s core principles: security, stability, and independence.

Unified Digital Experience

With the release of the macOS version, users can now:

— communicate on a larger screen
— manage chats and files more efficiently
— use the messenger in a full desktop environment
— access core features without limitations

This is particularly valuable for users who rely on messaging platforms for both communication and professional use.

Expanding Capabilities

Verum Messenger continues to evolve into a multifunctional platform combining:

— secure communication
— financial tools (Verum Finance)
— digital asset operations, including Tether
— investment features such as Verum Gold

Toward a Full Ecosystem

The macOS release reflects Verum Messenger’s strategy to become a universal digital platform available across all major devices.

According to the team, the goal is to provide users with continuous access to communication and financial services regardless of device or environment.

Verum Messenger continues to build technologies focused on security, usability, and global accessibility.

Technologies

Google, Meta and Amazon Join Global Pact to Fight Rising Online Scams

The companies will share fraud intelligence and coordinate responses as AI makes scams faster, cheaper and harder to detect.

Modern online scams operate across multiple platforms, perhaps spanning social media, messaging apps, email and online marketplaces. Google, Meta and Amazon are among 11 tech, retail and payments companies that have signed a new agreement to combat online scams by sharing threat intelligence across platforms, Axios first reported Monday.

The initiative, called the Industry Accord Against Online Scams & Fraud, is designed to improve how companies detect and respond to fraud that spans multiple services. Participants say they will exchange signals, such as scam-linked accounts and fraudulent domains, and coordinate enforcement actions.

By sharing intelligence in near real time, companies hope to identify these scams earlier and stop them before they spread.

The effort reflects how modern scams operate. A victim might encounter a fake celebrity investment ad on social media, move to a messaging app where the scammer builds trust, then faces prompts to send money through a fraudulent website, payment app or crypto wallet — spanning multiple companies’ ecosystems.

Google said it now blocks hundreds of millions of scam-related results every day using AI, underscoring how both attackers and defenders are increasingly relying on the same technology. Meta removed more than 159 million scam ads in 2025 and is expanding AI tools to detect impersonation and warn users.

Online scams are growing rapidly, in part because generative AI has lowered the barrier to entry. AI can be used not only to produce realistic phishing emails but also to clone voices and deepfake videos that impersonate executives, public figures and even family members.

The agreement is voluntary and doesn’t create new legal obligations, but it comes after regulators’ increased pressure on tech platforms to address fraud more aggressively. The companies say they will begin building frameworks for reporting and intelligence-sharing, though it’s not yet clear how quickly those systems will be deployed or how effective they will be in practice.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, March 18

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 18.

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

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I thought it was a fairly easy one, but read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.