Years after Twitter replaced the pistol emoji with a green-and-orange water gun, X has decided to change it back to a regular handgun. An X employee announced the change in a post last week.

Emoji are universal insofar as they share common designations across platforms (U+1F52B is the water pistol), which are decided by the Unicode Consortium. But it’s up to each platform owner to decide how they’re visually represented. That’s how we got the Great Cheeseburger Emoji Debacle that was resolved in November 2017.

You’ll only see the gun if you’re looking at X on the web — as of this writing, it doesn’t appear to have updated in mobile versions of the app, though that’s apparently on its way at some point.

TP-Link has debuted the Archer BE3600, a $99 Wi-Fi 7 router that is the cheapest one we’ve seen released in the US so far since the first routers supporting the new standard started arriving last year.

It doesn’t have the new 6GHz band like its pricier cousins or even many of the Wi-Fi 6E routers already on the market, though. As a result, for many people, TP-Link’s new router probably won’t get you your downloads a lot faster — if at all — than would a much older router.

The new tricks can mean a little throughput boost or a more stable connection than routers built to older specs in congested areas, though, thanks to the way Wi-Fi 7 handles its data streams. But without the one-two 6GHz punch of wider data channels and much more unoccupied space, you simply won’t see many of the multi-gigabit benefits hyped in Wi-Fi 7 marketing, and if you have a multi-gig internet connection, you should probably connect it to something a little more upmarket.

There are things to like here, though. Two of its five ethernet ports offer 2.5Gbps connections, which is rare at this price. It also supports Multi-Link Operation, which won’t be so much a throughput benefit (again: no 6GHz band) but could mean a more stable connection for a Wi-Fi 7-capable phone or VR headset — if one band fails or is too busy, your future device can fall back onto the other one. And it supports the Wi-Fi Alliance’s EasyMesh standard, meaning it can make mesh netwok with routers from other brands that also support the standard.

The most significant thing about this router seems to be that it offers Wi-Fi 7 for less than $100. That’s a first, and by a fair amount — the low end right now is otherwise generally around $300 (see TP-Link’s Deco BE63 or Archer BE550).

You already gave your bank your address, date of birth, Social Security number and your mother’s maiden name. Now, they want your voice.

Banks say it’s an extra layer of biometric protection against fraud and cybercrime. But with the rise of hackers stealing voice data for deepfakes, is it worth the risk?

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IT NEVER ENDS! WHAT TO DO AFTER A DATA BREACH

The identity arms race

No matter how much money you have in the bank, a hacker or scammer wants it — and they’re always one step ahead.

If you’re skeptical of your bank having your voice data on record, you’re not crazy — you’re smart. A voice can be cloned using AI with as little as 10 seconds of audio and a few bucks.

Call your bank’s customer service line and ask to opt out of voice authentication. It takes two minutes. If you can do it now, great. If you can’t, I highly recommend you set a reminder to do it later. This is important.

Pro tip: Scammers have been known to plant fake numbers in search results. Don’t just Google search the name of your bank and call that number. Go directly to your bank’s website or call the number on the back of your debit or credit card.

YOUR KIDS MAY BE TREATING VIDEO GAMES LIKE BANKS AND PLAYING WITH REAL MONEY. THE GOVERNMENT HAS QUESTIONS

Go a step further

Because you’re smart, you use strong unique passwords, you enable 2FA, you don’t bank on public Wi-Fi, and you always monitor your accounts. (More on all that below if you need help.)

Other, more secure banking authentication features that don’t require your voice are available and easily accessible. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

But it might be worth a phone call or trip to your local bank branch to ask if they offer extra security features. Popular options include:

Secure keys: This physical or digital device generates one-time passcodes that are usually only good for 30 seconds for safer online banking.

Banking alerts: Set up text or email notifications for real-time account activities, such as large transactions or account changes. It’s a bit of a pain when you have to approve all your charges, but it has saved me from scams and phony charges.

Account lockout features: Many banks offer options to automatically lock your account after a certain number of failed online login attempts.

Advanced access: This is enhanced security for certain activities using additional verification steps. For example, Morgan Stanley asks me for a one-time passcode if I log in at a new location.

OWN A HOME? SHOPPING OR SELLING? YOU’RE A SCAM TARGET

Get your banking security up to par

Maybe you need to get the basics in order first. That’s OK, and it’s definitely not too late to take a couple smart steps.

• Turn on two-factor authentication so only you can access your accounts. 

With 2FA enabled, a secondary form of verification is required to prove your identity instead of just entering your username and password to log in to an account.

The second form of verification can be something only you know (an answer to a question), something you have (your device), or who you are (a fingerprint, voice pattern or facial scan). You enter the temporary code, and voila — you’re in. 

My pick: An authenticator app. Biometrics (your face or fingerprint scan) are a close runner-up. A text code is the most hackable.

• Only log onto your bank from a network you can trust.

Looking at you, random coffee shop Wi-Fi. Public Wi-Fi networks do little to nothing to protect your privacy. Cybercriminals know this and use free Wi-Fi networks to find victims. Malware, phony hotspots, unsecured networks and nefarious passers-by might all be able to cut in, compromising your data and account.

If you connect to public Wi-Fi without taking precautions, thieves can steal login credentials to any account you sign into while on the network, including your bank accounts.

If you connect to public Wi-Fi, don’t do it without a VPN. (Photo by Saqib Majeed/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

If you must connect to free public Wi-Fi, don’t do it without a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN allows you to browse the internet while encrypting your sensitive information. This helps hide your online credentials and IP address. 

I use ExpressVPN, a sponsor of my national radio show.

Now, help me get the word out. Share this story with friends and family to keep them safe before the tsunami of voice-cloning scams hits. They’re coming.

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