Tech secrets only the pros know

Tech secrets only the pros know

We’ve all been there. Your screen goes black, but you can still hear the audio. You’re trying to move the cursor on your phone, but your thumb’s too big to land in the right spot. Or your Android suddenly turns into a sluggish mess, and you’re ready to throw your $1,000 phone out the window. […]

How to fix your bad AI output

How to fix your bad AI output

You are going to love this. I know it. Why? Because we’ve all done it.  You toss ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity or, God forbid, Siri a simple question, and it vomits. Or you tell it, “Write an email,” and out comes a mushy blob of corporate buzzwords no real human would ever say. If you […]

Identity theft starts small and ruins big

Identity theft starts small and ruins big

Last month, a friend of mine, we’ll call him David, got an alert from his identity protection service. It wasn’t a $2,000 charge for a new TV. It wasn’t $10,000 worth of phones in another country. It was a $48.50 bill opened in his full legal name for a utility company in a city he’d […]

Top early Black Friday tech gifts

Top early Black Friday tech gifts

Black Friday is coming in hot, and I’ve rounded up 13 awesome gadgets that are on sale now and make great gifts. Holiday hero mode: ON. 🤖 Roborock Q7 M5+ (49% off) Save $210! This robot vac and mop combo cleans the floors and rugs but also recognizes shoes, cords, socks and even dog poop. […]

Watch out for these cunning scams

Watch out for these cunning scams

I don’t want you to be a statistic.  Google put out a quiet but urgent warning: Online scams are on the rise, and they’re getting harder to spot. Even savvy folks are getting blindsided.  According to FTC data cited in Google’s November 2025 advisory, 57% of adults were targeted by a scam in the past […]

See if license plate readers are in your neighborhood

See if license plate readers are in your neighborhood

A woman in Colorado was falsely accused of theft because a Flock camera that looks like the one in the image above spotted her car near the scene. She wasn’t even close. She had to dig up dashcam footage, GPS, even her outfit to prove it. The charges were dropped, but the stress? Very real. […]

5 places to find AI jobs to do at home

5 places to find AI jobs to do at home

I’ve been really trying to help you get a handle on how you can use AI in your career.  But what if you only want a work-at-home gig? I got your back, too. It’s not all sunshine and dollar signs. Here’s what’s working and what you need to watch out for. 👩‍💼 Amanda: Kitchen Table […]

Fly the unfriendly skies

Fly the unfriendly skies

Flying soon? Listen up. At 40 of the country’s busiest airports, flights coming and going will be reduced by 10% this week.  That means thousands of flights canceled, or in other words, 200,000 fewer seats and butts in the air per day. Blame it on a record‑long government shutdown. Major hubs will be the hardest hit: […]

🎁 Gifts under $50? You betcha!

🎁 Gifts under $50? You betcha!

Holiday shopping stressing you out? Skip the gift-card trap. I’ve rounded up 10 amazing gifts, all under $50, that bring joy, wow, and are easy on the wallet. Let’s jump in. 🔪 Titanium tough, easy clean Slice your meat on one side of this cutting board (43% off) and your veggies on the other. Nonstick […]

🛣️ Your driver’s license is worth more than you think

🛣️ Your driver’s license is worth more than you think

Your driver’s license has two jobs: ID and moneymaker. But sadly, not for you.

10 best true tech stories streaming

10 best true tech stories streaming

You can keep the wizards and aliens. Give me a movie or series where something unbelievable actually happened. Back by popular demand, I put together this list for you as proof that tech isn’t only lines of code and shiny gadgets. It’s ambition, hype, brilliance and, yeah, sometimes a total train wreck. You’re gonna want […]

AI’s in the driver’s seat, and it’s drunk

AI’s in the driver’s seat, and it’s drunk

I just read a jaw-dropping research paper out of Cornell University that hasn’t hit the headlines anywhere yet. Welcome to our new world. Scammers are using AI photos to create fake car accidents. I’m talking crash photos, damage reports, even fake driver’s licenses all crafted by AI in minutes. Fraudsters are submitting fake claims to […]

You might be yelling at a toaster

You might be yelling at a toaster

Quick question: When’s the last time you really knew if you were chatting with a real human on a customer-service call? Turns out, in more places than you think, it’s not a person at all. It’s AI. That might be fine when you’re asking a dumb question like, “What time do you close?” But what […]

Stop one-touch theft

Stop one-touch theft

Tap-to-pay is slick, fast and super convenient until it isn’t. Scammers have figured out how to use that same technology to steal your money without you even knowing. It’s called “ghost tapping,” and it’s spreading so fast, the BBB issued a major alert about it. 💳 How it works A scammer carries a hidden NFC […]

A chatbot slashed their $195K hospital bill to $33K

A chatbot slashed their $195K hospital bill to $33K

Here’s a story that stopped me in my tracks. A grieving family was hit with a $195,000 hospital bill for just four hours of their loved one’s care in the ICU. No surgery. No five-day extended stay. Now imagine going through the worst moment of your life and getting a bill like that. Instead of […]

Stop saving passwords in browsers, seriously

Stop saving passwords in browsers, seriously

I got an email from a listener named Jim K., and it’s the kind of note that sticks with you. “I checked Have I Been Pwned and found one account breached twice, another nine times, and another five times. I keep my usernames and passwords in Notes. I don’t let websites store my credit card […]

Stop porch pirates from ruining your holidays

Stop porch pirates from ruining your holidays

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for gift-giving and the worst time because of gift-stealing. Over $2 billion worth of parcels got stolen in the last three months of 2024 alone. That’s a lot of missing presents and stocking stuffers. With the right gear, you can leave porch pirates out in the cold.  […]

Unleash your inner IT overlord

Unleash your inner IT overlord

I read every comment you leave at the end of this newsletter, and one theme always stands out: You want to know all the hidden things your tech can do!  Lucky for you, uncovering those “I had no idea!” moments is my superpower.  🪟 Secret Windows restart trick Frequent shutdowns can fix most computer issues, […]

Why your car insurance hates you

Why your car insurance hates you

My car insurance jumped 32%. I didn’t crash. I didn’t speed. I simply exist. Sound familiar? Full-coverage car insurance rates rose 25% on average last year, and in some states, it was closer to 40%. Overall, rates are up 55% since 2022. 📈 Why rates keep rising It’s the tech. Modern cars are rolling computers […]