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𫢠All this stuff is under $2
January 23, 2025 |
![]() In partnership with Endpoint Lock |
Hi, hello, itâs a tech-tastic Thursday, friend! Spotted on eBay: An iPhone 13 Pro Max in excellent condition, listed for $1 million. What gives? The four-year-old model comes with TikTok installed. The ban is on hold, but Apple and Google probably wonât add TikTok back to their app stores until thereâs a buyer. Anyone who deleted the app is screwed. Most TikTok-ready phones on eBay are listed for a few thousand bucks. More power to âem if they find someone willing to pay. â¨ď¸ Protect what you type. Todayâs newsletter is free to you thanks to EndpointLock. Their genius tech stops hackers from capturing your keystrokes when you enter a username, account number, password or anything else. More below. Letâs get to it! â Kim đŁ Donât keep me a secret: Share the email with friends (or copy URL here) |
TODAY’S TOP STORYIf you wanted to buy from Temu âŚ![]() Can you guess how much money super-cheap Chinese retailer Temu raked in last year? The answer is about $54 billion, and the latest numbers show almost half that total came from American shoppers. Itâs hard to resist inexpensive stuff shipped right to your door, even when you end up with hilarious fails like this. Want a way to score Temu-like deals without giving Communist China all your personal data? Meet Amazon Haul, the new online destination for dirt-cheap finds. Before you light up my inbox with, âKim Komando, this is just cheap crap from China!â ⌠I know. If buying this stuff feels like a waste to you, keep scrollinâ, my friend. Amazon Haul 101You canât shop for this cheap stuff in your browser; Haul is only built into the Amazon Shopping app. Look for the âHaulâ tab at the top. In case you need âem, here are links to download the Amazon app for iPhone and for Android. Everything is under $20, but most items are way, way less. Youâll find everything from electronics to hair accessories to cooking utensils. What about shipping? Free next-day Prime delivery doesnât apply. For Haul orders over $25, thereâs no shipping charge, but expect to wait a week or two while your stuff comes directly from China. For orders under $25, thereâs a $3.99 fee. đď¸ Haul returns are free for purchases over $3 within 15 days. Mail back your stuff or use any of Amazonâs drop-off spots, like Whole Foods, UPS, Kohl’s and Staples. Red flagsAmazon Haul is full of brands youâve never heard of. What you buy online might not be exactly what arrives. Here are a few musts so youâre not completely throwing away money:
đ Things in my cart under $2Amazon wants to build up buzz and reviews, so most things on Haul are an extra 60% off right now. One more time: Haul is mobile-only (for now). Click any of these links below from a computer and youâll see a QR code you can scan with your phoneâs camera. While you canât shop from your computer, you can see completed orders there. Remember, thereâs no overnight or two-day shipping in Haul. So, first, Iâll tell you about the Haul product that could take weeks, then Iâll link to the regular Amazon pick you can get immediately.
đ I wonder if they sell wigs. Thatâd be a small-price toupee. OK, let me try again. Whyâs gravity so cheap? It’s mass-produced. (Oh, I feel your pain!) |
Protect every keystroke with my exclusive 10% discountIâm always looking for ways to keep you safe on your devices. Did you know thereâs malware out there that records every single thing you type? Itâs called a keylogger, and itâs one of the sneakiest ways hackers steal passwords, credit card numbers and private info. Scary, right? Thatâs where EndpointLock comes in. Think of it like a secret vault for your keyboard. It encrypts, or scrambles, every keystroke you type. Even if a hacker is trying to spy on you, all theyâll see is gibberish. It works quietly in the background, protecting you every time you log into your bank, shop online or send a private email. Keyloggers are more common than you think, but with EndpointLock, they donât stand a chance! Get 10% off a monthly or yearly subscription with code KIM10. â Please support our sponsors! |
KIM KOMANDO TODAYHe threw away $765M in bitcoinOne guyâs dream of becoming a crypto millionaire is over after 11 years of searching. |
WEB WATERCOOLERđ¨ Botnet alert: Researchers found a botnet called âMurdocâ targeting security cameras and routers worldwide. Over 1,000 devices are compromised; AVTECH IP cameras and Huawei HG532 routers are the main targets. Once hackers take control, they can launch DDoS attacks or steal your info. Fixes are coming from the manufacturers, so keep your router (steps here) and security cams updated. Tragic and chilling: This is so sad. A 63-year-old North Carolina man shot his wife, then confessed to the murder in a Facebook group he was an admin for before taking his life. âMy wife admitted to cheating on me so I killed her, Iâm about to kill myself. Figure this group out for your selves,â he wrote. The couple was married for over 34 years. Color me surprised: Samsung just dropped the details about its new Galaxy S25 smartphones, and theyâre basically S24 models with better processors to handle the real upgrade: Samsung AI. Neat, new features include a lock screen summary with info to help you plan your day; Photoshop-level editing with a swipe of your finger; and cross-app actions that let you layer multiple requests into one, like, âFind a well-rated coffee shop nearby and text the address to Barry.” đ Absolutely ridiculous: AI detection software is flagging loads of false positives. A University of North Georgia student accused of cheating on an assignment lost her scholarship. The crime? She turned on Grammarly for spellchecking, something the university recommends. Parents, tell your kids to leave a trail of proof they did their own work, like a Google Doc with a draft history. đ I canât believe Iâm typing this: Women on TikTok are pouring castor oil into their belly buttons every night to help with digestion and bloating. Castor oil does have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, so maybe theyâre onto something. No crude jokes, OK? Welcome to the future: Wish you had an assistant to update your website or plan your summer trip? Thatâs what AI operators do, taking control of your tech to get stuff done. Code leaked from OpenAIâs macOS app shows options like âToggle Operatorâ and âForce Quit Operator,â so theirs may be coming soon. âď¸ 8.9 inches of snow: Blanketing Pensacola, Florida, and the pictures on social media are a riot. My favorites: A gator lounging in the snow and the coldest-looking beach Iâve ever seen! Stay safe, folks. Time to pull out a big heated blanket. |
ASK KIMâHow do I reset my old router?âAfter I shared my router picks (and so many of you realized you have a TPâLink âŚ), my inbox is flooded with this one: âWhat do I do with my old router after I upgrade?â Good question. A factory reset wipes your username, password, WiâFi network name or SSID, and any security settings. Step 1: Look for a small button on the back or bottom of your router. Itâs usually recessed (so youâll need a paper clip to press it in) and may be labeled âReset.â Step 2: Do a 30-30-30 reset. Itâs a bit of a pain but works for every router model Iâve come across. Hereâs how:
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DIGITAL LIFE HACKRent out your gear for cashHave a house full of tech you donât use much? Make some extra money by renting it out. |
TECH LIFE UPGRADESđ¨ď¸ Printer secret: Most printers have a âDraft modeâ that uses less ink when you donât need anything fancy. (Some call it âEconomy modeâ or âFast mode.â) To try it, open a document or file, hit Print, then go to Properties or Preferences, and look for Draft mode. Nosy, nosy: On your iPhone, bring up a list of all the apps with access to your contacts. Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Contacts. Tap Limited Access for any that shouldnât get every little detail. I did the work for you: Protecting yourself online doesnât have to be complicated. Iâve handpicked the five best tools to safeguard your devices, data and identity. Because who uses Samsung Internet? Your phone probably has a couple of browsers. Disable or delete the unused one to save your battery life, free up storage space and prevent accidental opens. On Android, open Settings > Apps. Find the unused browser, then tap Disable or Uninstall. On iPhone, go to Settings > Apps > [browser] > Default Browser App. Then, manage or delete the other browser under Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Turning off alerts from your video doorbell is a mistake: Instead, set up custom motion zones. For a Ring doorbell, open the Ring app and select your device. Go to Motion Settings > Edit Motion Settings. To go into full donât-bug-me mode, choose People Only. đđŁ = Fishing for compliments: Most people think the smiley-faced emoji (đ) is the digital equivalent of a fake smile. Pick something happier. I like đ¤, 𼰠and đ. Lately, Iâm all about the đŻ. Ditch the subscriptions you donât use: Doing it by hand takes forever. I used the app that makes it easy: Rocket Money.* They find everything and cancel whatever you no longer want. |
BY THE NUMBERS44% Percentage of young Americans who donât want to own a car. Adults ages 18 to 34 would rather call an Uber or Lyft or rent a ride on Turo. But weâre not heading to a robo-taxi future just yet; a solid 52% of all folks donât trust self-driving cars. I wonât get in one. $18 New monthly price for Netflixâs ad-free Standard plan. Oh, goodie, another $3 price hike. The ad tier is now $8 (up from $7), and Premium is $25 (from $23). Account sharing went up a buck to $9. In the final quarter of 2024, Netflix pulled in $10 billion, and its revenue shot up 16%. 64 iPhones filmed OK Goâs new music video. The indie rock band arranged them into a mosaic of split screens for their track âA Stone Only Rolls Downhillâ and edited them into a single take. It took their 31-person team over 1,000 takes and 577 hours of prep to nail the four-minute video. Even Tim Cook was impressed. You’ve gotta see it for yourself. |
WHAT THE TECH?![]() A boss once told me my math skills were average. Thatâs just mean. |
UNTIL NEXT TIME …Healthy stuff for free! Hit this site for coupons to try all kinds of goodies. Download the app, buy what you want from a store near you, and theyâll reimburse you via Venmo, gift card or whatever. I spotted some protein pasta Iâve been wanting to try. Oh, and did you hear about the new squirrel diet? It’s just nuts! Before you go: EndpointLock encrypts your keystrokes so no one can copy what you type. If you bank or access other financial accounts online, itâs a no-brainer. Hit this link for 10% off.* đ Phew, another packed issue in the books. Thank you for letting me in your inbox every day. Iâll see you bright and early tomorrow with another issue of the best tech newsletter in the USA! â Kim |
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