Technology

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If you struggle with your fitness or staying active, getting out and getting those steps in can really be challenging. After all, 10,000 steps in miles is about 5 miles for the average walker, and sometimes getting that distance in can prove challenging.

Learning how to walk 10,000 steps a day efficiently means incorporating lots of little lifestyle tweaks to help you get on track. You can break up your mileage into more manageable chunks, actively try to incorporate more steps into your daily life, track it all on one of the best fitness trackers, and even buddy up with someone to make the process more enjoyable.

A couple of precise tech purchases could also massively elevate your step count and your overall fitness. With the Black Friday deals event just around the corner, I reckon that anyone struggling with motivation or the logistics of walking could seriously boost their well-being with just two key pieces of relatively cheap equipment.

In 2024, the benefits of walking 10,000 steps every day are well documented. Study after study indicates that walking 10,000 steps a day can help lower anxiety, depression, anger, fatigue, confusion, and total mood distress, can reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, and can help significantly lower body weight, BMI, body fat, and waist circumference.

But thanks to Black Friday, you don’t need to worry about splashing out hundreds of dollars or pounds per year on a gym membership, or buying a top-of-the-line treadmill for your basement. Here’s how you can start walking 10,000 steps with nothing but a cheap walking pad and a humble fitness tracker.

Track your steps

(Image credit: Future)

Counting your steps is going to be impossible without some specialized equipment, and while your smartphone might have a step counter, even a cheap fitness tracker is going to give you much better insight into your overall activity levels and your fitness as a result.

Without spending a great deal, in the UK you can pick up a Huawei Band 9, or a Xiaomi Smart Band 9 for less than £40. The latter is our top cheap fitness tracker pick thanks to its nifty screen, accurate sensors, and comprehensive data. If you’ve got a little bit more to spend, the Google Fitbit Inspire 3 is a solid choice at around £85, but there’s no need to spend more than £50. Save your money and use it for the second gadget we’ll come to.

You won’t find Huawei in the US, but you will find Xiaomi’s Smart Band 9 for $51 on Amazon, or the older Smart Band 8 for just $45. In the US, the aforementioned Fitbit Inspire 3 is also a lot more affordable, discounted to just $69.

Of course, you could always push the boat out with an Apple Watch or a Samsung Galaxy alternative, or even a great Garmin like the Forerunner 55, but if you’re just looking for a cheap band to count steps and keep you motivated, there’s no reason to spend more than $100.

Unlock the power of the walking pad

(Image credit: Future / Jessica Downey)

As the owner and beneficiary of a great walking pad, and as TechRadar’s fitness and wearables staff writer, I’m a fervent advocate of the humble walking pad as one of the best fitness tools out there. Cheaper and smaller than treadmills, they can often be folded away for storage and provide the perfect walking platform to help you get your steps in at home. Also known as under-desk treadmills, you can use the best under-desk treadmills to do almost anything, be it attending work calls or meetings, watching Netflix, making or taking phone calls, listening to podcasts, and more.

You’ll find most great walking pads are less than $400/£300, and plenty are on sale around Black Friday for less. Walking pads can help you avoid inclement weather or dark winter nights, cutting out some of the key concerns that often get in the way of our best-laid fitness plans.

In the UK, we’ve had our eye on the Kitopa walking pad. Normally £189, it’s just £129 right now and has fallen as low as £99 in recent weeks.

In the US, this Cursor Fitness pad comes in as low as $85, or this highly rated SupeRun is just $125 instead of its usual $289 list price.

Choosing your walking pad wisely matters a bit more than the fitness tracker, simply because it’s a bigger cost commitment. So if you’re shopping around, make sure you look out for important metrics like the weight of the unit itself, the weight limit, speeds, and extra features such as a remote control.

You can also find more picks in our best under-desk treadmills roundup, where our top budget pick will set you back around $150 / £150, or you can splash out for a more premium model.

Regardless, Black Friday is absolutely a great time to pick up some incredible fitness tech and give you a head start on those January fitness resolutions.

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• IT helpdesks need to evolve or face extinction in the age of AI
• Both AI and automation are expected to render them obsolete
• Helpdesks could transform into "experience desks" if they adapt

The traditional IT help desk, often the backbone of enterprise tech support, is facing a seismic shift as digital landscapes grow more complex and demanding, new research has claimed.

A report from Nexthink based on a survey of 1,000 IT workers worldwide has revealed growing concerns and excitement over the evolution of the service desk model and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation on end-user computing (EUC).

The short response to this survey is that traditional IT service desks will become “extinct” in a few years. Almost four-fifths (79%) of IT workers believe traditional service desks will be unrecognizable within three years, while just slightly less (77%) predict that new technologies will render them redundant by 2027.

The decline of traditional service desks

As companies increasingly rely on complex digital systems, the number of incidents and technical issues has grown, and IT departments are feeling the pressure to keep up with these demands.

The survey found the vast majority (87%) of IT workers believe incident response is economically unsustainable without significant proactive capabilities.

The evolution of service desks is increasingly leaning towards proactive IT solutions. Without this shift, the risk of AI and automation replacing traditional roles in service management looms large.

Almost all (96%) of IT professionals emphasize the need for enhanced proactivity in anticipating and addressing incidents. In parallel, 95% report that their departments are actively investing in strategies to become more proactive, acknowledging that this transformation is vital for boosting organizational productivity.

Many IT professionals also foresee a shift toward what they call the "experience desk." The survey reveals that 92% of respondents believe the service desk will transform into this new model, focused on enhancing the overall employee experience. The shift toward an experience-centric model will require upskilling within IT departments.

Respondents also identified three key areas for development; understanding the employee experience; generative AI skills; and the ability to deliver technological training. These competencies will become increasingly important as IT professionals work to align technical solutions with employee needs and preferences.

It isn't all doom and gloom however, with 96% of IT professionals expressing excitement about the potential of AI-driven technologies to improve end-user computing, further believing that it makes the field an attractive career route.

However, companies will face two problems - resistance from employees and training barriers. 76% of respondents believe employees will resist deploying their IT fixes, 75% predict insufficient employee training as a major barrier, and 68% fear that these technological changes could impact their career prospects.

“The ultimate value of any technology is how well it enables people to do their jobs and how it impacts overall company productivity,” said Yassine Zaied, Chief Strategy Officer, Nexthink. “Right now, businesses are spending billions on digital transformation yet seeing mixed results at best."

"Whether it’s underperforming devices, failed adoption projects, or botched migrations, business efficiency is constantly being halted by poor digital experiences. IT is going to be the nexus for all productivity enablement moving forward, and this research shows that IT workers are already looking to make that transition. The only question is whether executives will provide the resources investment needed to support them in this journey,” Zaied added.

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• Google has released a scam advisory
• 'Cloaking' is being used by threat actors
• AI is helping scammers take advantage of popular events

Google has revealed a new report outlining the most common techniques threat actors are using against victims, highlighting a practice known as ‘Cloaking’ as a way to deceive users into disclosing sensitive information.

The technique uses tools called ‘cloakers’ to show different content to different users based on identifying information such as IP addresses. Often, cloaking will involve showing one version of a landing page or website to search engines and bots, and another version to real human users.

“Cloaking is specifically designed to prevent moderation systems and teams from reviewing policy-violating content which enables them to deploy the scam directly to users”, Laurie Richardson, Vice President, Trust & Safety at Google wrote in the report.

Scareware and malware

Cloaking does have some legitimate uses, such as for advertisers who want to prevent their pages from being scraped by bots, or who want to hide their strategies from competitors. However, Google has observed scammers using cloaking tools to redirect users who click an ad to scareware sites.

This then tricks users into believing their device is infected with malware, or that their account has been blocked due to unauthorized activity - which tricks them into a false ‘customer support’ site, to which they reveal sensitive information.

“The landing pages often mimic well-known sites and create a sense of urgency to manipulate users into purchasing counterfeit products or unrealistic products.” Google says.

Other techniques outlined were the exploitation of major events. Scammers take advantage of significant events such as elections, sports fixtures, or humanitarian disasters. The well established technique is being bolstered by AI tools, which are able to quickly respond to breaking news and advertise false products and services.

Elsewhere, Google also flagged fake charity scams, which aim to defraud people looking to donate to relief efforts and set up appeals to seem legitimate, with AI tools being used to produce huge amounts of content to overwhelm users to deceive them into clicking malicious links.

"Preventing user harm from malicious scams requires effective cooperation across the online ecosystem," Richardson concluded. "Bad actors are constantly evolving their tactics and techniques...we’re sharpening our detection and enforcement techniques to meet these threats, enhancing our proactive capabilities, and ensuring we have robust and fair policies in place to protect people."

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