A widespread malware campaign is currently affecting millions of smart home devices, including TVs, streaming boxes, and tablets running Android software. A recent FBI alert warns consumers about the BADBOX 2.0 botnet, which spreads through the Internet of Things (IoT) and gives threat actors access to home networks to conduct malicious activity.

Here’s what you need to know to protect your system and devices from BADBOX 2.0.

How BADBOX 2.0 works

BADBOX 2.0 is a malware campaign that targets consumer devices, most of which are low-cost, “off-brand” smart home electronics—smart TVs, digital projectors, picture frames, and tablets, for example—running on Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Once infected, the devices are connected to the threat actors’ command-and-control servers and become part of a botnet.

According to a report from HUMAN’s Satori Threat Intelligence and Research team, attacks may then be carried out in a number of forms: programmatic ad and click fraud, which loads and clicks ads in the background to generate revenue; and residential proxy services, allowing for account takeover, fake account creation, one-time password theft, and malware distribution. For example, threat actors can route traffic through a victim’s home IP address to hide malicious activity or use stolen data in credential stuffing attacks.

The current threat is an evolution of the original BADBOX malware, first identified in 2023, that came pre-loaded on devices prior to purchase. BADBOX 2.0 can spread through malicious Android apps found on Google Play and third-party app stores. The malware can also be downloaded from attack servers and installed upon initial startup.

The scheme has affected more than a million devices around the world, all of which were manufactured in China and running AOSP. At this time, none of the devices known to be infected are particularly mainstream (i.e., not Play Protect certified Android devices), but they are still popular in many countries, and there’s nothing to preclude a spread to other models.

How to prevent a BADBOX 2.0 infection

If you have any of the devices known to be affected by BADBOX 2.0, you should certainly look for signs of malicious activity. According to the FBI notice, possible indicators include unexplained or suspicious internet traffic, the presence of suspicious app marketplaces, and Google Play Protect settings being disabled. You should also be wary of purchasing or connecting streaming devices sold as “unlocked,” Android devices that aren’t Play Protect certified, and IoT devices from brands you don’t recognize.

Other security best practices include keeping all operating systems up to date with patches and security fixes for known vulnerabilities and downloading apps only from trusted, official marketplaces (don’t fall for “free streaming” apps). You should also keep an eye on network traffic to catch anything suspicious and isolate any devices that may be compromised as quickly as possible.

The iPhone’s battery features are getting an upgrade in iOS 26. For years now, Android phones have prominently featured how long charging to full will take you. The info is available on the Lock Screen, and it’s incredibly handy. Finally, along with a new adaptive battery mode, Apple will offer this as well. These are just a few of the iOS 26 features that Apple is borrowing from the competition, and they’re all part of a newly redesigned Battery section in the Settings app.

iOS 26 is currently available as a developer beta. If you want to test it out, you are free to download and install it, but for stability’s sake, I generally recommend you wait until at least the Public beta that’s going to be out sometime in mid-July.

Time to charge

The first change is the easiest to spot, but only if you pay attention. On iOS 26, when you plug in your iPhone, you’ll see the regular charging indicator. But, for a second or two, Apple will flash how long it will take to charge your iPhone to 80% or 100% (depending on your max charge setting). This will be right above the clock, where the day and date usually are. It’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, unfortunately, because it’ll disappear in just a second or two.

The new Battery section in Settings

In iOS 26, when you head over to Settings > Battery, you’ll find a newly redesigned Battery screen. Up top, you’ll see a battery bar. If your iPhone is charging, you’ll see how long it will take to charge to 80%, and then to 100%.

Below, you’ll notice that your Battery charts are now displayed in a simple Weekly view, just like with Screen Time.

The new weekly charts are quite detailed, too. Apple will analyze and compare your battery usage across the week, telling you how your current usage compares with a typical day. Some days, you might use a lot more battery than you usually do, and the charts will take note of that. They’ll also tell you which apps are draining your battery the most.

For more detail, you can tap on the View All Battery Usage button to access a detailed interactive chart. Here, tap on any day to see more granular looks into your battery usage and charging history. You can scroll down to see how much juice each of your apps used, and how they compared with a weekly average. You can also choose a single app to see its battery history throughout the week. Quite cool.

Adaptive power mode

And finally, there’s the optional Adaptive Power Mode, found in Battery > Power Mode. This is Apple’s new battery saving feature, disabled by default, and it uses all your battery analysis data to make intelligent decisions on battery management. Say you’re having a heavier day than usual, and the chances of making it back home with 10% charge left are slim. In that case, your iPhone will start to make small tweaks like reducing performance slightly, reducing screen brightness, or taking more time to process some intensive tasks. Also, if this feature is enabled, your phone will automatically turn on low power mode when your battery reaches 20 percent.

With iOS 26, Apple is introducing a host of changes through the iPhone’s operating system. There’s the controversial Liquid Glass UI, which you can “fix” if you’d like; a redesigned Phone app, complete with Google-like call screening features; and a minimalist Camera app that hides most of your settings and tools until you need them. It’s a sizable update to be sure.

But every year, there are features that don’t make it into Apple’s big keynote presentation. These smaller changes are sometimes my favorite, because while they aren’t flashy enough to get a spotlight during the event, many are quirky, fun, or otherwise worth highlighting in their own right.

The Camera app has one such feature. Despite Apple’s focus on the app during the keynote, this feature wasn’t mentioned directly. Instead, Apple included it in a slide of 36 iOS 26 features they didn’t have time to talk about. I’m not sure why they didn’t take ten seconds to show it off during the Camera app segment, because not only is it a small change, it’s a very helpful one at that. With iOS 26, the Camera app will now alert you when your camera lens is dirty.

You can see how this works in this Reddit post. When iOS 26 detects that the lens is smudged or otherwise obstructed, it’ll display a small pop-up at the top of the viewfinder. In this case, it reads “Clean Back Camera,” but I presume it will also issue a similar warning for the front camera when taking a selfie.

From various Reddit discussions, it does appear that this feature isn’t available on all iPhones running iOS 26. While Apple supports devices as old as the iPhone 11 with this latest OS, the oldest iPhone I’ve seen mentioned that’s compatible with this feature is the iPhone 15 Pro. That user suggests it might be an AI feature, which makes sense—Apple reserves Apple Intelligence features for iPhone 15 Pro and newer.

Again, this is an iOS 26 feature, which means you won’t see it on your compatible iPhone until either Apple releases the OS in the fall, or you decide to install the iOS 26 beta on your device. I don’t recommend the latter, though, as the current developer beta comes with too many risks that might result in a glitchy iPhone or even data loss. If you want to try out iOS 26 early, I recommend at least waiting until the public beta, which Apple says will launch next month.

How to turn lens cleaning hints on or off

While the alert has an X you can tap to dismiss it when it appears, Apple also has a new on/off toggle for this option if you’d prefer not to see it all. To find it, head to Settings > Camera, then scroll down until you see Lens Cleaning Hints. Tap the toggle to enable or disable the feature.