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I’ll never forget when my son, Ian, asked me where in Los Angeles I lived. I told him I couldn’t remember — it was 30 years ago, and I lived there for maybe six months. A few minutes later, he called and had the address. It was available for free to anyone on the internet […]
A few clever ways to keep your devices juiced without fear of being infected with malware
New cars cost an arm and a leg, and now some are charging for these extras, too.
Have any fitness apps on your phone? Here’s just how much data these apps collect and how it’s sold off.
That old router could be putting you at a security risk. I’ll share a few good options for every need and budget.
Breaking news and tips
Free VPN risk: Check this list of 9 infected apps
I’m cheap and try to save a buck wherever I can. I use all my credit card perks, always click the coupon boxes on Amazon, and, to my husband’s great annoyance, cancel streaming services the minute we stop watching them.
There’s one place where free will harm you: Your online privacy and security. Let’s take a deeper look at what happens if you trust the freebies, sponsored by the virtual private network (VPN) I’ve used for years.
The numbers paint a scary picture
One of the main benefits of a VPN is anonymity. With the click of a button, you can cloak your browsing history and pretend you’re somewhere else in the world.
Use a free VPN, though, and you’re essentially agreeing to some kind of shady behavior. At best, the app that promises to keep your online activity “private” is selling it off to anyone willing to pay. At worst, it’s a front for malware that steals everything from your bank login to your phone contacts.
👉 It’s not just a few sketchy VPN apps, either. Data shows about 80% of free VPNs embed tracking features and 60% sell data to third parties. Free Android VPNs are an especially big target, with an estimated 39% hiding malware.
Use one of these? Get it off your phone
Some free VPNs are built primarily to serve malware. Others become infected when hackers target them. Either way, it’s bad news for you.
- MaskVPN, DewVPN, PaladinVPN, ProxyGate, ShieldVPN and ShineVPN: All infected with the same strain of malware that compromised 19 million IP addresses in 190 countries.
- Big Mama VPN: It’s just a front for selling access to your home internet and network.
- LetsVPN: A target for hackers using SEO poisoning and phishing to lead people to fake download pages. It’s a dangerous option to search for right now.
- Connect Secure VPN: This is another hacker target, and it’s actively spreading malware.
When it comes to a VPN, it’s all about trust
I’ve tried so many VPNs over the years and ditched most after a few days. My pick, ExpressVPN, won’t slow you down, and it’s so easy to use.
ExpressVPN encrypts your online activity so no one — not even your ISP — can see which sites you visit or what apps you use. It’s a must if you’re using public Wi-Fi, and it masks your IP address to prevent tracking.
Bit by the DIY bug?
🔨 It doesn’t have to be hard. Here are some little products that make a big difference.
- Fill up paint pens ($25 for a set of five; 17% off), and touch up scratches on doors and walls without having to redo an entire area. Easy!
- If there’s one thing that ruins the front of a house, it’s oil stains in the driveway. It’s a good thing concrete oil stain remover is under $20.
- While you’re waiting to scrub the oil remover, why not install new garage door handles ($10)? They make a boring door look way classier.
- Decorative stick-on ceiling tiles add a ton of personality to a room. Click the box for $10 off.
- Motion-sensor cabinet lights ($30) are a game-changer. We have them in our garage.
🔋 Charged up: I found this battery organizer ($24) after spending 20 minutes digging through my junk drawer for one AA. The name’s so funny, too.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
Big online dating mistake: Stop giving away too much info to anyone who sees your profile. Skip the links to your social media profiles, especially. You don’t want a date gone wrong to stalk your pictures after you’ve blocked them.
Google could stop this, but they don’t: At the top of its search results for Google Ads are fake sites that collect your real login info. Fall for one, and hackers can take over your Google Ads account to post their scam URLs — or just sell your info to other criminals. Make sure 2FA for Google Ads is on to detect strange logins. More smarts like this are coming soon in my small-biz newsletter.
Meet 99-year-old pianist Ruth Slenczynska, Rachmaninov’s last living pupil | Classic FM
Rachmaninov’s last living pupil, 99-year-old pianist Ruth Slenczynska, has had an astonishing career spanning nearly a century. Described as “the greatest piano genius since Mozart,” Slenczynska is a former child prodigy who recorded for Decca in the 1950s and 1960s, when she became known as one of the most celebrated Chopin interpreters.
Retailers have so many ways to track you
Bet you don’t realize all the ways they get their hands on your data.
Something new to try: ChatGPT’s scheduled tasks feature is rolling out now for paid accounts. Pick a suggestion (e.g., “Send me a daily horoscope”) or create your own task, like “Give me a weather report on Saturday mornings before my long run.” In the app, go to your profile > Tasks. On a browser, hit the gem icon (top right corner) > Tasks.
$200 million raised
To fund a real-life “Jurassic Park” project. Biotech startup Colossal BioSciences wants to bring back extinct species, including the wooly mammoth, dodo and thylacine, aka the Tasmanian tiger. I saw the new dinosaur in “Jurassic Park” is a hybrid; I guess that makes it Prius-toric.
She’s teaching engineering lessons on Pornhub
A PhD student quit her degree to focus on content creation and she’s making a heck of a lot of money doing it. Plus, MrBeast’s smash-hit game show with a $15 million set, why TikTok can’t shut down and tech life hacks you’ll thank us for later.
😴 YouSleep: New to the YouTube app is a handy-dandy sleep timer. Tap the cog icon (top right corner) on any video. Press Sleep timer in the dropdown menu. Set it for 10 minutes or End of video. This is perfect for white noise without draining your phone’s battery all night.
❗ Lock down your cybersecurity: I work with brands I trust to keep you secure. Hit this page to see the five must-have tools I recommend.
How to track snow
The nation’s gearing up for snow, ice and blizzards. Here’s how to know if you need to find the shovel.
Oh, Deere: The FTC and state attorneys general of Illinois and Minnesota are suing John Deere for making their high-tech tractors impossible for farmers and third-party mechanics to fix, even after they promised to in 2023. The machines can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and come with massive repair bills as they age. I found a mechanic online saying they charged $12,000 for a $2,000 job.
A five-year-old prodigy (1930)
CES 2025: AI everything, waterless coffee maker, wearable for your face
Here’s your 10-second CES recap: TVs are bigger and smarter, laptops are faster and lighter, and AI is everywhere. I sifted through the fluff to bring you the best and weirdest of this year’s consumer tech showcase.
🎮 Nintendo used to make the Wii, but It’s time for a Switch: The Nintendo Switch has sold over 146 million units since its 2017 debut, second only to the Nintendo DS. A new trailer shows the first console morphing into the fancy Nintendo Switch 2. The screen is bigger and the Joy-Cons snap magnetically instead of sliding. There’s no release date yet, so you have time to begin saving.
How to run a 5-minute privacy check on your phone
We’ve all got a lot of sensitive info on our phones — texts with loved ones, banking details, passwords and family photos. You don’t want anyone snooping around, whether it’s an app maker on the other side of the world or the guy sitting behind you at the coffee shop.
Project G-Assist | AI Assistant for your RTX PC
🎮 Fix it for me: This is the start of something big. Nvidia’s Project G-Assist adjusts your game settings for you based on a conversation. Ask the AI questions like your current frame rate and how to improve it, and it’ll adjust your GPU, aka graphics card, for better performance.
216% more people
Learning Chinese on Duolingo compared to this time last year. With the TikTok ban looming and so many people running over to another Chinese app, RedNote, they likely need a crash course. RedNote is in Mandarin by default. Duolingo downloads are up 36%, too.
😡 Throw away the key: This is awful. A woman is in jail for poisoning a one-year-old with old medicine the baby didn’t need and posting social media videos about how much pain the baby was in. She raked in over $37,000 in donations before she was arrested and charged with torture and child exploitation. Police didn’t say if she’s the kid’s mom, but, either way, the little one is safe now.