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March 19, 2025

🫨 Gone phishing: If you use Gmail or Outlook, watch out for deceptive emails asking for sensitive info or trying to trick you into clicking a malicious link that takes over your computer. Make a mistake and the hackers will hold your PC or data hostage until you pay a ransom. This one’s spreading, so watch out!

Malware alert: Skip the free file converters. You know those handy PDF-to-DOC or WebP-to-JPEG tools? Hackers are stuffing them with malware to steal your personal and financial info. They’re showing up in search results and ads. Play it safe: Stick to Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Office instead.

TikTok on the clock: The latest plan to save TikTok by April 5 comes with a big catch (paywall link). Oracle is the front-runner, but it will only take a small stake to look after your data. The app’s algorithm? Surprise, surprise, China will still control it. The algorithm is what makes TikTok tick.

✅ From Ed in Florida: “Kim, I want to get away from Google. If I sign up for StartMail, will it import all my email and contacts?” Yup. You can transfer your entire mailbox, including messages and contacts, with zero downtime and 100% security. So easy! Save 60% with my special link.*

Are you autoplaying me? If you have a Roku, you might’ve seen annoying video ads pop up before you get to your home screen. You can’t even skip them. Roku says it’s just a test. Sure.

🛠️ Bricked no more: Great news if your Chromecast recently stopped working. Google’s rolling out an update that should fix it. If your second-gen Chromecast or Chromecast Audio got bricked, check the Google Home app to update it there.

Microsoft is paywalling Notepad and Paint: If you don’t have a Microsoft 365 subscription ($9.99/month), in Notepad, options like Rewrite, Make shorter, Make longer, Change tone and Change format will be grayed out. Over in Paint, the Image Creator will be blocked. Seriously, who uses Notepad or Paint anyway?

🖼️ Hue here among us can Saturate me: Google’s new Gemini AI Flash 2.0 Experimental mode lets you edit images by simply asking. Want to add or delete objects, change scenery or zoom in and out? Just type it in, and boom, done. Don’t worry, Photoshoppers, you get to keep your job for a while. I used it to create an image of me, on a dolphin, in Hawaii at the end.

📺 The real “Lumon”: Watch Severance? Companies that share their name with the fictional Lumon Industries from the Apple TV+ show are getting tons of comments from fans online. Lumen Technologies and Lumon Dental are leaning into it. But a glazing biz didn’t find it funny when asked why they treat workers poorly. It’s a fake TV show, people.

55 inches

How big the display will be in Cadillac’s new 2025 Escalade SUV, stretching nearly door to door across the dashboard. Drivers get a 35-inch touch screen, while passengers have their own 20-inch entertainment system. Prices will be announced later this year. How do you get your Cadillac to the 2nd level of a mall? You use the Escalader.

This is Siri-ous: Apple said Siri’s new AI features were just “taking longer than expected.” Turns out, it’s much worse. In a leaked Apple meeting, a senior director admitted they’re only aiming to get some of those features into iOS 19 this year but even that’s not guaranteed. Yikes.

$200,000 a year

Make this or less, and your kid can attend Harvard tuition-free. Earning under $100,000? Housing and meals get covered, too (paywall link). The new program rolls out in the 2025-2026 academic year.

💔 “Half-swiping” breaking teen hearts: It’s the ultimate Snapchat microghosting (paywall link) move, letting someone read a message without marking it as read. Just swipe on a message without lifting your finger. Want to catch them in the act? Snapchat+ ($4/month) adds an “eyes” emoji when they’re doing it.

Useless $2,000 soundbar: This is big. Turn off automatic updates now if you have Samsung’s flagship HW-Q990D Dolby Atmos soundbar. A recent update just bricked them all over the world — no sound output and unresponsive. The HW-Q800D and HW-S801D models have had similar issues. What a mess.

Google’s new AI model is a copyright nightmare: People are using it to remove watermarks from images so cleanly that it fills in the gaps like magic. It can also generate images of celebrities and well-known characters. Like this one of Elon Musk chilling at some random guy’s desk.

🔍 Seen a missing Copilot? Windows folks, check if you still have the Copilot app. Microsoft’s March updates uninstalled it from Windows 10 and 11 computers. Microsoft is fixing this issue, but you can reinstall the app manually.

Watch out for this Coinbase email: If you have a Coinbase account, do not fall for the “Migrate to Coinbase Wallet” email. You’re told to switch to a self-custodial wallet and get a fake recovery phrase. It links to Coinbase’s real site, but the phrase lets hackers take over your wallet.

Up to $1.3 million annually

Netflix just listed this eye-popping salary for a new remote job. The role? “General Manager of Games,” overseeing business strategy and development for their flagship franchises. One catch: You’ll need at least 10 years of senior leadership experience to get it.