My Articles

CNET • August 1st, 2025

Best Identity Theft Protection Services We've Tested (July 2025)

Data breaches happen almost every single day, putting your personal and financial data in the hands of cybercriminals looking to sell your information to the highest bidder. Identity theft protection services can't prevent data breaches, but they can offer you peace of mind after they do happen and if your identity ends up stolen.

CNET • April 17th, 2025

Best Tax Software 2025

The IRS deadline to file your federal tax return was April 15, unless you live in a state that has an extension in place due to a recent natural disaster. If you didn't file your tax return or an extension, you may face penalties.

CNET • April 14th, 2025

H&R Block Review 2025: Great Live Tax Help and Free Tier

H&R Block features great live tax support options and boasts the best free filing experience, making it an editor's choice pick this year.

CNET • April 14th, 2025

TurboTax Review 2025: A Top Tax-Filing Option for Most Filers

TurboTax's interface guides you through the tax filing process like no other software we've tested, making it an editor's choice pick this year. The popular online tax filing service works best for taxpayers who are completing simple tax returns

CNET • March 19th, 2025

IRS Direct File Has One Feature Other Tax Software Lacks, but It Still Has Major Gaps

Last year, the IRS rolled out Direct File to 12 states, as another way for taxpayers to file their tax returns free. This year, it's available in 25 states. I tested the updated version to see how it stacks up to competitors.

CNET • March 17th, 2025

CNET Survey: 44% of Filers Have Tax Anxiety, Led by Gen Z and Millennials

Taxes are complicated. A new CNET study finds that 44% of tax filers have anxieties and fears about filing their taxes.

CNET • February 15th, 2025

Worried About Data Breaches? Here's How to Freeze Your Credit Right Now

I went back and forth on freezing my credit for weeks before I actually did it. As a personal finance editor covering identity theft, I knew it would make it harder for cybercriminals to open a new credit account in my name -- but it would also add a few extra steps for me to do the same.

CNET • December 28th, 2024

66% of Shoppers Worry About Falling Victim to a Holiday Scam This Season, CNET Study Finds

If you're like me, then your sensitive data has been compromised in a data breach multiple times. A new CNET survey found that 47% of US adults know that their personal data was leaked in a cyberattack.

CNET • August 21st, 2024

National Public Data Cyber Attack: Massive Data Breach Exposed Countless Social Security Numbers and Personal Info

According to a recent filing made to the Maine attorney general’s office, NPD says 1.3 million Americans were impacted in the breach. However, other reports and expert commentary range from hundreds of millions of people to upwards of 2.7 billion impacted.

CNET • July 24th, 2024

I Collect $1,000 Sneakers. Here's How I Do It Without Blowing My Budget

I have many hobbies. Collecting sneakers is by far my most expensive.

CNET • November 30th, 2023

This Simple Credit Card Hack Saves Me Money on Holiday Shopping -- and You Can Use It Year-Round

If you’re anything like me, you get a rush out of using your credit cards to maximize travel points or cash back on everyday purchases.

And with the holiday shopping season in full swing, many of us are racking up even more points as we shell out hundreds on gifts for loved ones.

One way I like to save on my holiday purchases is by taking advantage of my credit card providers’ cash-back rebate programs.

Business Insider • April 20th, 2023

This reseller's side hustle started as a way to get his family out of debt. Now he's made over $1.4 million on StockX by working around 10 hours a month.

Ray Cao helped get his family out of $200,000 in debt by turning to resale as a teenager. Now, eight years later, his hobby has evolved into a profitable side hustle.

As a teen, Cao's parents racked up gambling debt and invested in penny stocks that backfired.

Business Insider • January 24th, 2023

It's the perfect time to start your sneaker collection

Macroeconomic conditions like high inflation and rising inventory levels have created the perfect environment for a new era of sneaker collectors.

The problems plaguing the sneaker industry — lingering supply-chain bottlenecks, higher inventory and inflation, and shifting consumer demand — are working in favor of the sneaker collector who has cash to burn.

Business Insider • November 9th, 2022

Kanye West spent 9 years with Adidas — see how the Yeezy brand went from nearly $2 billion in sales to $0 in a snap

In November 2013, Adidas sales in North America, the most critical territory for sportswear sales, were down 1% for the year. Across the company, sales were flat.

The company had just five shoes on the influential Complex list of best 50 sneakers of 2013. Industry leade

Business Insider • December 23rd, 2021

Inside Nike's race to fix the SNKRS app and kill off bots before they drive away its most loyal fans

By its own admission, Nike is "at risk" of losing some of its die-hard sneakerhead customers.

The SNKRS app, which Nike uses to sell and promote its most coveted products, has become notorious for handing out "Ls," or losses, to users. Demand often far exceeds supply, especially as the secondar

Business Insider • November 9th, 2021

Nike's plan to make hyped drops more fair ignores what some customers say is a much bigger problem: stolen shoes

David Lopez, a sneakerhead in Portland, Oregon, woke up on August 13 eager to enter the draw for the Travis Scott X Fragment X Air Jordan 1 Low on the Nike SNKRS app.

He knew his chances were slim. The shoe was coveted

Front Office Sports • July 7th, 2020

Customers May Soon Say ‘Enough is Enough’ to OTT Cable Price Hikes

It comes as little surprise that multichannel video streaming services FuboTV and YouTube TV have increased monthly subscription prices again. The additions of pricey content packages from ViacomCBS and Disney warrant those hikes, experts say.

Front Office Sports • May 18th, 2020

MLB Clubs Exploring Ad Tarps for Empty Seats

The likelihood of playing a shortened 2020 MLB season without fans in attendance is prompting Major League clubs to explore the sale of tarp advertising on empty seats, according to industry sources.

The move would help make up a percentage of the millions of dollars in ticket and in-stadium revenue to be lost this season. MLB owners say they’ll lose an average of $640,000 per game in 2020 assuming players earn prorated salaries, USA Today reported. In 2019, 11% of the league’s entire revenue w

Front Office Sports • April 22nd, 2020

Esports Offer NFL Draft a Roadmap for Hosting Remote Events

As the NFL and ESPN make final preparations for the league’s first-ever virtual draft, both organizations may stand to learn lessons from esports in ensuring the three-day broadcast event runs as expected.

On Thursday night, ESPN will receive more than 100 different feeds from the homes of talent, NFL personnel, and top prospects at its headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. The company is set to run its own major mock draft tests the night before the main event, after some external testing by t

Front Office Sports • April 3rd, 2020

Sports Marketers Shift Dollars and Prepare for Compressed Schedules

Agency executives and industry consultants offered predictions about how brands would seek to maintain and innovate after their advertising strategies were upended by the coronavirus pandemic.

The first reaction of many was to pull back or rely on digital and social media channels to communicate brand messages without having them be associated with the virus.

But a select number of companies have undergone a more aggressive approach, shifting dollars to new campaigns that urge consumers to sta

Front Office Sports • March 11th, 2020

PGA Tour Live Offers Glimpse of Future With Every Shot During The Players

PGA Tour Live is getting a major one-time upgrade in time for the Players Championship this week.

Every golf shot from the tournament held annually at TPC Sawgrass in Florida will be available to NBC Sports Gold subscribers for the first time.

A total of 120 cameras will allow the PGA Tour to stream roughly 32,000 shots and follow every player throughout the weekend. That is comparable to the number of cameras used to broadcast this year’s Super Bowl in Miami.

The production will offer fans 7

Front Office Sports • February 4th, 2020

NFL and Twitter Drop Super Bowl Tweet Confetti With Eye On April's Draft

Not every fan was able to make it to the Super Bowl LIV in Miami. However, spectators watching at home still got a chance to share in the Kansas City Chiefs’ triumph post-game.

The NFL, in partnership with Twitter, printed fan and player tweets on tens-of-thousands of pieces of confetti that fell on the field at Hard Rock Stadium – some in real-time while the game’s outcome was still in the balance.

The tweets selected were a compilation of social media posts leading up to the game, real-time

Front Office Sports • November 15th, 2019

Nationals 'Baby Shark' Craze Paid Off On And Off The Baseball Field

It’s difficult in sports to know when the next out-of-the-box merchandise or stadium activation opportunity will present itself.

That is until it smacks you right in the face.

The “Baby Shark” craze prevalent throughout the Washington Nationals 2019 season, en route to the World Series title, is proof of that.

“In those situations, you are always reacting quickly to something that is sticking with fans,” said David Lundin, VP of production and broadcasting at the MLB club. “Our job is to lean

Front Office Sports • November 7th, 2019

MLB Playoffs Remain Big Draw For Top Brands

There are several advantages to marketing with MLB teams throughout the regular season. But when the calendar shifts to October and the MLB postseason, the strategy changes. The MLB playoffs for brands are about putting their product in front of as many eyeballs as possible.