Welcome to your Saturday, friend. So, you found an Apple AirTag wedged under your car seat. Cue the Law & Order sound effect. Before you go full spy thriller, remove the battery and toss it in the closest lake, take a beat. 

That little device might hold a clue: specifically, the kind that helps police track down whoever planted it. Find out exactly what you should do at the end of today’s newsletter! 

📻 Listen up! The weekend means my national radio show is airing all across the country. Find your local station, or get the show as a podcast so you can listen when and where you want! — Kim

Hackers just hit a massive jackpot: 184 million accounts across Apple, Google and Microsoft were exposed in a sweeping data breach. I’m talking email addresses, usernames, passwords, device info (the whole buffet), now up for grabs on the dark web.

Before you say, “I’m safe, I use strong passwords,” or “I’ve never been hacked,” take a second to think. These weren’t obscure services. This breach hit the biggest names in tech. Household-name-level oopsie.

If your login credentials got caught in the cross fire, hackers are already trying to use them to break into your other accounts.

The hidden risk

It’s so easy to click “Save Password” in Chrome, Safari or Edge. But if your browser can autofill your logins, so can anyone else with access to your device. Hackers know this. That convenient feature could be the weakest link in your entire digital life.

Google and Apple both offer built-in password managers. But are you really comfortable trusting the same companies that monetize your data with your most sensitive logins?

Here’s what makes this breach different

This was a perfect storm for credential stuffing. That’s when criminals take one exposed password and try logging into thousands of other accounts. If you’ve ever reused a password, you’re vulnerable.

Your Netflix password might not seem like a big deal, until they use that same password to drain your PayPal or breach your health records. So go change all your passwords. I’ll wait.

Here’s what I do 

✅ Use a real password manager, not your browser. I trust NordPass. It stores your logins securely using zero-knowledge encryption. Even NordPass can’t see what’s in your vault. Only you can.

✅ Every login gets a strong, unique password. At least 16 characters, full of symbols, numbers and randomness. NordPass handles all that for me and autofills across every device.

✅ Know if you’ve already been exposed. NordPass scans the dark web to see if your credentials are floating around. This way, you can act fast before criminals do.

✅ Share passwords safely. No more texting your Hulu login. NordPass lets you share encrypted access that only the recipient can unlock.

There’s no excuse now

After this breach, ignoring password security is like leaving your front door wide open with a sign that says “Valuables inside.” If you haven’t made the switch, now’s the time.

🔐 I use NordPass, and I negotiated a special deal just for you: Get NordPass for just $1.43/month, plus one extra month free.

👉 Grab this exclusive deal before the next breach hits.

⚠️ iPhone alert: Data experts say you should update to iOS 18.5 ASAP to patch a nasty bug. Hackers could access your personal files just by sending you a malicious image. If you’ve got an iPhone XS or newer, go to Settings > General > Software Update and tap Download and Install. Don’t wait!

Grad name reads go full robo: Pace NY grads scanned QR codes at graduation, then heard their names announced by an AI voice that sounded like a sentient Waze app. Phonetic accuracy? Maybe. Vibes? Students compared it to checkout somewhere between dystopia and Duane Reade. Four years of debt, and Alexa stole your thunder.

🚨 Don’t fall for it: Scammers are posting AI videos on TikTok promising free versions of Microsoft Office and Spotify. All you had to do? Run a short line of code. Plot twist: It installed malware that could steal your passwords and credit card info. And with no links involved, it was harder to detect. 

Rural internet sucks: That’s why states like Louisiana and Nevada are spending millions on satellites instead (paywall link). Fiber is pricey and takes forever to build, so you can bet Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper are smiling ear to ear. The catch? Slower speeds and more outages. But hey, it’s better than nothing.

🩺 AI at your next doctor visit: I told you about this six months ago, and mainstream media is catching up. Doctors are starting to use ambient listening tech that records your conversations. It filters out small talk, then writes notes and updates medical records. Pretty handy, since paperwork can drop from 90 minutes to under 30 (paywall link). But uh, imagine if that data gets breached.

🚀 The Force encrypts: The CIA apparently ran a fake Star Wars site to secretly talk with spies around the world. It had R2-D2 pics and everything. But behind the scenes? Informants would enter a password in the search bar to open a secret chat with their CIA handler. And yes, it’s been shut down. 

Protect your privacy without lifting a finger: Tired of your personal data floating around online? Incogni scrubs it from data brokers and people search sites. With my exclusive link, get 60% off unlimited plans. Choose which sites to target, and take back your privacy today!*

📞 Don’t hang up. Here are cool tools to keep your phone in place.

• Bump your tunes with a speaker & phone stand combo (48% off).
• Take underwater photos with these waterproof pouches (5% off).
• Long flight? Clip this phone holder ($17) to your tray table.
• Shoot smooth videos and pics with a gimbal tripod (20% off).
• This bike mount (38% off) locks down your phone while you ride.

📱 Pop this on: PopSockets’ new magnetic Kick-Out Grip ($40) can finally stand upright. You take video calls or scroll on social media, all hands-free. Plus, it comes with an adapter for Android folks. So wonderful!

🛒 Visit my Amazon store for more of my recommendations.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Chrome user? Type chrome://restart in the address bar to refresh the browser with all tabs intact. Lovely.

✈️ A canceled or delayed flight is the worst: Before I leave for the airport, I look up my trip on FlightAware. If your plane is stuck in another city, you’ll see it there before your airline updates its app.

Using Windows at night? That blue screen glow can hurt your eyes and mess with your sleep. Night Light adds a warm tint that feels gentler as you wind down. Go to Settings > System > Display > Night Light to turn it on. You can also adjust the Strength, and Schedule it to switch on automatically.

🔦 Light it up: Your iPhone’s flashlight has more brightness levels than the default sun mode. Hold down the flashlight button and drag the slider up or down. Sweet. Btw, you can also say, “Siri, turn on the flashlight” when you need it (and tell her to turn it off, too).

Quick Android refresh: Hold the power and volume-up buttons simultaneously to do a soft reboot. Think of it as a fast way to end processes and speed up your phone.

🍟 Want fries with that? Different McDonald’s locations set their own prices. McCheapest maps the U.S. so you can see how expensive your local Mickey D’s is.

🛡️ Your devices deserve top-tier protection: TotalAV delivers powerful antivirus that won’t slow you down. It blocks threats, cleans junk and keeps your browsing safe. Even I use it! Get TotalAV today for $19 for the first year with my special link!*

Power move: If you find an AirTag, Tile or another tracker in your car, wrap it in aluminum foil (stealth mode!) and bring it to the nearest police station. Why? Wrapping a tracker in aluminum foil can block the signal, or at least seriously mess with it until you get it to the police. The person who put it inside the car will just think it’s out of range. The cops can work with the tracker’s maker to figure out who planted it, and someone’s got some explaining to do.

What happens when you eat aluminum foil? You sheet metal. 😂

☁️ Are you paying too much for cloud services? You don’t have to. With Oracle, you can get the same top-tier performance for up to 50% less. Why blow your budget when you could put that money toward real innovation? Check now to see if your business qualifies.*

💡 Oh, and not to flex too hard, but you’re currently reading the #1 tech newsletter in the nation. Tomorrow, a crypto chain saw story you need to hear. Until then, I can tell from here that your firewall against negativity is working perfectly. Bravo! ✨ — Kim

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