California wildfires can create their own terrifying weather

PLUS: The best standing desks, Facebook cracks down on QAnon, and why police want your smart speaker. View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions 08.23.20   RANTS AND RAVES A Standing Desk Changed My Life—It Can Save Yours Too BY SIMON HILL These motor-powered desks aren't all hype. They actually do make you feel better—physically and mentally.   SECURITY ROUNDUP Facebook Finally Cracks Down on QAnon BY BRIAN BARRETT Plus: A top-secret iPod, Carnival ransomware, and more of the week's top security news.   LISTEN UP Police Want Your Smart Speaker—Here's Why BY SIDNEY FUSSELL Requests are rising from law enforcement for information on the devices, which can include internet queries, food orders, and overheard conversations.   AS THE WORLD BURNS California Wildfires Can Create Their Own Terrifying Weather BY MATT SIMON Sparked by freak thunderstorms, the blazes changed wind patterns and could potentially lead to fire tornadoes and pyrocumulonimbus clouds.   BREAKING OUT How to Prevent and Treat Face Mascne BY MEDEA GIORDANO AND LOURYN STRAMPE Just in case you needed more to worry about, mask-related acne is also breaking out nationwide. Here's what's causing it and how to get it under control.   THE 7TH DIMENSION A Fleet of Computers Helps Settle a 90-Year-Old Math Problem BY KEVIN HARTNETT By translating Ott-Heinrich Keller's conjecture into a computer-friendly search, researchers confirmed a conjecture about seven-dimensional space.   BEWARE A New Botnet Is Covertly Targeting Millions of Servers BY DAN GOODIN, ARS TECHNICA FritzFrog has been used to try and infiltrate government agencies, banks, telecom companies, and universities across the US and Europe.   WHEELS UP The Uncanny Escapism of 'Flight Simulator 2020' BY CECILIA D'ANASTASIO Despite its pitch for realism, the most endearing parts of Microsoft's popular flying experience are the imperfections.   SUNRISE, SUNSET Solar Panels Are Starting to Die, Leaving Behind Toxic Trash BY MADDIE STONE Photovoltaic panels are a boon for clean energy but are tricky to recycle. As the oldest ones expire, get ready for a solar e-waste glut.     This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or Manage your newsletter subscriptions