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That old router could be putting you at a security risk. I’ll share a few good options for every need and budget.
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 […]
Free is tempting, but when it comes to VPNs, it’s such a bad choice.
My takes on this year’s winners and losers from CES 2025
You don’t want anyone snooping on your phone. Do this quick privacy audit to keep out prying eyes.
Humans don’t look at resumes anymore. AI does! I’ll share some insider tricks to get your resume past the AI bots.
Breaking news and tips
A New Jersey family is living a nightmare
It started back in September. Dan in Bridgewater, New Jersey, had his bank account hacked. Their first step was to withdraw money and apply for a loan. In October, he got a letter from TD Bank notifying him of an address change on his account.
Dan told CBS News hackers are now in all his financial accounts, took over his email and Amazon accounts, and have taken complete control of his cellphone and even his landline. It’s a safe bet the hackers are in other facets of his life, including stealing his medical ID and selling off access to his insurance.
It’s really not that hard for someone with the right know-how to find these login credentials. Often, your passwords are part of data sets hackers will give anyone for free. Others cost only a few bucks on the Dark Web. For as little as $30, someone can buy enough details to do this to you, too.
Imagine that for a second. What started out as a strange bank charge has become a full-blown disaster.
Whoever hacked Dan has applied for 18 credit cards, tanking his credit score. He gets texts saying, “[A]m watching you,” and, even with the police and FTC involved, there’s been no progress in solving the case.
It can happen to anyone
Unfortunately, Dan’s story isn’t unique. It’s just an example of how quickly one hack can spiral into a full-blown identity theft attack. These are all folks I’ve talked to recently on my national radio show:
- Peter called me after his 85-year-old mom lost her life savings — $1.4 million. Scammers convinced her they were bank officials and federal agents.
- Debby, an Air Force vet and successful banker, was conned out of $1 million by a man pretending he loved her.
- Rick got a message on WhatsApp from a woman who eventually convinced him to start investing in a fake crypto scheme. That was tens of thousands of dollars he’ll never see again.
‘OK, Kim. What do I do?’
The good news: Cybersecurity basics I’ve been telling you about for years still work. I’ll get to those. The bad news: Most of us don’t have the time and energy to take every step we know we should. Here’s what I do that you should consider, too.
- Strong passwords matter: I’m a broken record, but you need a strong, unique password for every account. A password manager can handle this for you, generating and securely storing them so you don’t have to. It’s the most important step here, so more on that below.
- Add extra security: Two-factor or multifactor authentication (MFA) adds enough friction to stop lazy hackers and might alert you if the good ones are going after you. Turn it on for any financial account, your email account and your cellphone provider. Make sure you put a PIN on your cell account to prevent SIM swapping.
- Set up alerts: Turn on notifications for your bank and credit accounts so you know instantly if there are big charges or withdrawals. Train yourself not to ignore these. It could save your butt.
- Freeze your credit: I did this proactively, and I recommend you do, too. Steps here for all four (yes, four) credit agencies.
- Once a month doesn’t cut it: Set a calendar reminder if you have to and scan your accounts once a week. Catching suspicious activity early can save you a lot of trouble.
A few simple habits can make a world of difference in keeping your personal information safe. So do the right tools.
Stuff for life’s little annoyances
These finds will make your day-to-day issues a little easier.
- Stop wasting your time pulling the ladder out of storage to change one bulb. Use a light bulb changer.
- Trying to hold onto your bag in a bathroom stall without a hook is one of life’s greatest struggles. This portable hanger ($20) is genius, and every woman I know would want it.
- Let them eat bagels! This bagel guillotine is too fun and works surprisingly well.
- QR code labels ($10) stick onto boxes so you can scan to know exactly what’s inside. Ah, storage nirvana.
- Use a cup holder expander ($10) so you don’t have to let your big water bottle roll around the car.
🥶 Rough winter? This space heater is 43% off right now. Go, go, go, before the frostbite hits!
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
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👨🚒 DIY firefighting: A 60-year-old man saved his home from the Palisades fire with special equipment he’d purchased in advance. He soaked his house with water pumps, sprinklers and a hydrogel retardant he mixed in his backyard hot tub. Sadly, the homes surrounding him weren’t as lucky. Here’s the video showing how he did it.
“Thank you, God”
After Casey Colvin’s home burned down in the Pacific Palisades fire, he went looking for his rescue dogs. A firefighter found Tika Tika Tika, but little Oreo ran away. Luckily, Casey was smart and had an AirTag on the pup’s collar. He tracked her down near the rubble of his home. Grab some tissues before you watch the heartwarming video.
He threw away $765M in Bitcoin
One guy’s dream of becoming a crypto millionaire is over — after 11 years of searching. Plus, Elon Musk’s video game habit, Johnny Depp scammers all over the internet and how to get past hiring AI to find your next job.
🦖 No, thanks, Dad: Alex Volkov, an “AI enthusiast,” gave his six-year-old daughter a $200 AI-powered dinosaur from Magical Toys. He showed her how to make the dinosaur talk using AI. She turned it off. Using the app, parents can view their kid’s chat history and give the toy’s AI topics to talk about. I’d never buy it; AI hallucinates, and just think of all the data being collected.
41% lower risk
Of head and neck cancer by drinking three to four cups of coffee per day. Researchers dug into 14 studies with over 25,000 people. They found heavy coffee drinkers had a 30% lower risk of oral cancer. Even decaf helps. For tea drinkers like me, there’s a 9% risk reduction for both and 29% lower for hypopharyngeal (lower throat) cancer. I hate cancer.
She poses as a teen girl to stop sexual predators
Roo Powell leads SOSA (Safe from Online Sex Abuse) and goes undercover as a teen with wigs, fake braces, and a staged bedroom. She works with police to catch men targeting kids online. Her work has led to over 70 arrests — every parent should know about this.
iPad and Kindle trick: Next time you read a word that stumps you, press and hold down on it, then select Look Up for the definition.
Don’t just hope for the best: AI can help you stay on track. Just prompt your bot of choice with something like, “Help me create a daily habit that’ll help me reach my resolution of [your goal] with a 30-day tracker. Include tasks for weekly milestones and small rewards for consistency.” Be one of the 10% of people who stick to their 2025 goals!
The white font hack that beats AI
Want your job application to stand out to AI systems? Here’s how a simple white font trick can get your resume noticed.
Amazon’s shutting down Prime Try Before You Buy: It’s all over at the end of this month. Now, they’re pushing AI features like Virtual Try-on AR, which lets you see 3D renders of shoes on your feet, for example, using just your smartphone camera.
Water pumps and sprinklers saved this house from the Palisades Fire
👨🚒 DIY firefighting: A 60-year-old man saved his home from the Palisades fire with some special equipment he’d purchased in advance. He soaked his house with water pumps, sprinklers and a hydrogel retardant he mixed in his backyard hot tub. Sadly, the homes surrounding him weren’t as lucky. Here’s the video showing how he did it.
Best (and weirdest) tech of CES 2025 so far
The annual CES show is underway, so let’s dive into some of the coolest (and, yes, weirdest) gadgets I’ve come across so far.
Foldable phones are so 2024: I told you this would be announced. I’m talking about rollable laptops. Lenovo’s ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable has a screen that extends from 14 inches to 16.7 inches when you need more space. Neat! Too bad it starts at $3,499, oof.
🤢 This is gross: Creepy AI apps are allowing folks to create videos of real people making out without their consent, like this one, which uses a picture of a young girl and her older male crush. These videos can be generated in seconds. The worst part? Most of these apps are listed as safe for teens in the app stores. YouCam, Fotorama and Mova AI are just a few examples.
Every parent should read this
This topic hits me personally, and I don’t like to discuss it at all. You never know who’s a child predator. I was molested by a trusted family friend when I was 6 years old. I told my parents, and they took immediate action — well, not the action my Dad wanted, which was to cut off the guy’s hands.
Introducing OMNIA: The health conceptual product designed for CES 2025
I don’t see myself in this: Omnia is a smart mirror, scale and smartwatch hybrid. Stand on the base, and it’ll take your weight and measure your heart health, then it’ll pull in data from any other tracker you use. The AI assistant gives real-time feedback out loud. Reminds me of Lululemon’s Mirror, which was a total flop.
157 million users
Watching ads on Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. About half of all new Disney+ subscribers picked the cheaper ad-supported option. That’s helping the streamer rake in $321 million in operating income, a huge turnaround from their reported $387 million loss a year ago.
Mining my own business: I’ve followed this story for years. A British judge just said no to a man’s plan to dig up a landfill in search of his hard drive holding the equivalent of $765 million in bitcoin. Why? First, the landfill legally owns the trash. Second, excavating it could release harmful substances and endanger local residents. Oh, and it’s been over 11 years, so there’s no guarantee the data is even recoverable.