Landmark laws will give security agencies new powers to obtain the encrypted communications of criminal suspects. How far do the powers go? And what do they mean for you? Here's what you need to know.

Dear Lifehacker, I work for a company that will be shutting down between December 20 and January 12. We have been instructed to take annual leave - 13 days total - during this break. That's more than the half of my allotted leave. Is it legal for a company to dictate when you can take the majority of your holidays?

Dear Lifehacker, Are detox diets good for you, or just another pseudo-science? Does your body really build up toxins that affect you health and does a detox get rid of them?

Dear Lifehacker, I've decided I want to get healthier and shed some excess weight. I'm pretty time-poor, so I'll be mainly relying on diet microwave dinners from the supermarket (Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, McCain Healthy Choice, etc.) My question is: will these products actually help me lose weight? And are they considered healthy?

Dear Lifehacker, Lots of people are chronically late, and one big reason is the habit of always trying to do 'one more thing' before heading to an appointment. I suffer from this, and I've asked enough people to know that I'm not alone. Such people plan their day carefully, they know what time they have to leave, but they think 'I'll just do this one more thing before I go'. And that turns into another, then another, all small and probably non-urgent tasks that should only take up a few seconds but end up taking minutes, and then they end up late! Is there any way to deal with this? Thanks, One More Thing

It's no secret that I am a big fan of parchment paper, but what of its less-expensive, but still non-stick friend, wax paper? Why does it exist? And do you need it?

Many gadgets come with claims of how they are waterproof and resistant to damage from dust and other contaminants. But those claims are sometimes quite nebulous. After all, what does waterproof really mean? Does it mean a device can survive a splash? Or that it can be dunked in a bath?

That's why the IP rating system was created. It provides a quantifiable measurement of how resistant a device is to environmental conditions. Let's look at how the ratings work.

Cash back, gift cards and wads of bonus rewards points – credit card providers are pulling out some of their biggest deals to date to get credit cards into the hands of new customers in the lead up to Christmas.

But do these sign up bonuses really deliver bang for your buck? The answer is yes, but only if you’re the right type of customer.

Dear Lifehacker, I just bought a new laptop with USB type C charging. The manufacturer's wall charger is rated 45W, and is not modular - the USB-C cable is all one piece with the power adaptor. I'd love to minimise the gear I take on the go, so ideally I'd like a wall charger that is modular so I can plug in a micro USB cable for my phone / Bluetooth headset, and a USB-C cable for my laptop.

They say any amount of walking is better than none at all. While that's true, a major health improvement requires more than the occasional five-minute stroll. So how much is enough? Here's what the experts think.

One of the best things about employment in Australia is superannuation. Under current laws, employers must pay 9.5% of your salary into an approved fund that is set aside for your retirement.

But with the age at which you can get the pension rising from 65 to 67 over the next few years, many people having larger mortgages than ever before, and life expectancy increasing, the amount of money needed to live comfortably after leaving the full-time workforce is a challenging question. So how much money do you actually need at retirement?

If Rambo was a real person, the standing military press would be his favourite weight training exercise. A variation of the overhead press, it derives its name from its use in the military as a strength indicator.

If you want to get in shape, the military press is definitely a move worth mastering, as it targets the shoulder, upper arm and leg muscles simultaneously. Here's how to do it correctly.

As a term and concept, “transgender” is now firmly embedded in common parlance and popular consciousness. By contrast, the term ‘cisgender’ - an important linguistic counterpart - only entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2015.

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a set of hardware and software standards designed to support the transmission of audio and video. Unlike older standards, which required separate cables for audio and video, HDMI can handle both though a single connection.

It's now the de fact standard for connecting external devices to TVs, linking external displays to computers (although that often requires an adaptor) and even adding smart TV functions to regular TVs through devices like the Google Chromecast, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV Stick. Let's take a walk down HDMI Lane to see what makes it tick and how to make informed buying decisions.

If you follow wellness trends, you might’ve come across the claim that an infrared sauna, which heats the body with light, is better for you than a traditional sauna, which uses radiant heat from a stove. But are these claims actually legit?

Knowing what makes up a healthy diet can be really confusing. New fads and fast fixes appear weekly. At the same time, the rise of celebrity chefs and TV cooking – while admittedly entertaining – has made preparing food seem complex and often unachievable.

You've seen the headlines: "Dead Man Wakes Up At Own Funeral", or "Woman Startled To Wake Up In Morgue." It always makes it feel like one day you're going to wake up in your worst Kill Bill nightmare, buried alive in a fancy casket. But how often does this actually happen?

How many people out there are still using AOL Mail? I assumed it was all of three people, but apparently there’s still a considerable number of you clinging to your aol.com accounts.

Do you hope AOL will make a grand resurgence one day? Are you nostalgic for the sounds of a dial-up modem? Do you hate Gmail? You can move providers; it’ll be OK.

A laggy internet connection is the last thing you want when playing online games. It can also ruin an online movie and even cause problems while making rapid searches on Google. This is sometimes caused by deliberate internet throttling - and your internet service provider (ISP) is to blame.