Hello on a tech-tastic Thursday, friend! Here’s a scary little security tidbit you can use to impress your family and friends: The U.S. nuclear launch code from 1962 to 1977 was “00000000.” Yup, that was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Yeesh. They were even jotting it down on pieces of paper for officers!

🎙️ Need some company? I’m here for you! Listen to my national radio show as a podcast anytime, anywhere. Every episode, my goal is to keep you tech-ahead — and I save some of my best jokes for radio. Now, on to the news! — Kim

I told you about the 14-year-old who committed suicide after following the advice of an AI chatbot. Another family is suing the same one — Character AI — after it told an autistic 14-year-old to kill his parents. It also exposed an 11-year-old to sexual content.

These stories are heavy reminders young people are especially vulnerable on the internet, but AI isn’t the only thing targeting them.

The fine folks at the FBI’s crime division say teens lost 2,500% more money to scams over a recent five-year stretch. Compare that to an 805% increase for seniors, which is still not great, but at least it’s not 2,500%.

So, why teens? Because thieves have more ways than ever to target them. Talk to anyone in your circle born between 1996 and 2010 about this. It’s a big deal.

Under the influence

Say a kiddo in your family idolizes an online influencer. That person is so easy to impersonate. All a fraudster has to do is set up a phony account that looks real, run a contest and trick “winners” into handing over their personal details (or more) to claim their (nonexistent) prizes. Done and done.

Pro tip: Stick to “official” influencer accounts with substantial follower counts. A smaller account is almost always a scammer, not some secret one. And never give financial info or money to someone via DM.

‘Hey there, handsome’

This one is a classic for a reason. Scammers grab pictures of an attractive teen or 20-something and play digital Casanovas. All too soon, they profess their love — then comes the request for money, gifts or info.

Pro tip: Try a reverse image search to see if those pics pop up elsewhere online. If the person refuses to video call or meet you in person, it’s a bad sign.

‘Send me a photo’

This is the dangerous intersection of smartphones, sexting and scammers. Someone shares sexy pictures and asks for some in return. As soon as the victim sends a pic or video, everything changes.

The person on the other end is now blackmailing them — or they’ll share the content with everyone the victim knows. Think about how horrifying that would be at any age, but especially as a teenager. I spoke to a family that lost their son to suicide after this happened to him. Such a heartbreaking story, and they’re not alone; this is way too common.

Pro tip: Talk to your kids about sending pictures to others online. Urge them to never share anything explicit, even with someone they know in person and trust. It’s just not worth it.

‘You won!’ … Not

This one targets younger teens. A thief tricks them into revealing credit card details or downloading malware under the guise of (unreal) rewards while making in-app purchases.

Pro tip: This one’s easy. Only ever buy apps or make in-app purchases through an official app store — no trades and nothing “private.”

Do those you care about a favor and share this using the icons below.

🎁 These gifts come just in time for Christmas.

• A Polaroid camera (20% off) with Bluetooth and an app you can use to edit your photos. The future is now!
• Oakley sunglasses are a spec-tacular gift.
• For the traveler: a nice laptop backpack ($70) saves time while going through TSA security checkpoints.
• My niece uses this skincare brand, and she freakin’ glows. The set comes with a bunch of goodies.
• For their 2025 walking resolution, Reebok sneakers (for men and for women).
• Honest Beauty’s mascara is to die for. It’s also under $20.
• This hair-drying wand (20% off, $120) is the perfect alternative to Dyson’s $600 Airwrap.
• A shiny new golf bag would be an un-fore-gettable gift. 🏌️
• I don’t know how they did it, but this is the best workout mat (15% off) I’ve ever owned. (I gifted myself a Peloton Tread, and it’s great.)
• For the person obsessed with their journal, colorful ballpoint pens. They’re under $10, too.

🇨🇳 Chinese-owned TP‑Link routers may be getting banned: This is big — about 65% of American homes and businesses use a TP‑Link router, along with the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies. TP‑Link has been tied to Chinese cyberattacks and lets security flaws slide, making them a big target. And they may be selling their routers for less than it costs to make them — a monopoly no-no. I told you this was coming.

What a tragedy: Philip Tong, a 45-year-old dad with diabetes, felt short of breath, was coughing up blood and had blue feet. He used Amazon’s One Medical to book a telehealth appointment. The doctor’s advice? Buy an inhaler. Tong died later that day in the ER; he was in sepsis. Now his family is suing. If you’re experiencing severe symptoms, please call 911. Telehealth has its place, but nothing replaces emergency care.

🇺🇲 Red vs. blue: Some house hunters want to know how their future neighbors vote. A new real estate app called Oyssey, launching this month in South Florida and NYC, shows election results and campaign donation info for different areas. Anything for a buck.

You need to try this: Another day, another AI amazement. Google’s new AI tool Whisk cuts out the hard part of image generation. Instead of coming up with the perfect prompt, drag and drop photos to remix a fresh pic. There’s a dice icon that mixes and matches with other AI images, too. Give it a whirl.

🌆 I’m surprised they’re not charging for it: Roku’s iconic animated screensaver is getting a glow-up. Since its last update six years ago, Roku City has been stuck at 720p resolution. Now it’s in full 1080p HD with Easter eggs like a train station and interactive billboards for Roku’s own stuff.

Potty mouth: Viral sensation “Skibidi Toilet” is coming to Fortnite. You might know that as the phrase kids and tweens won’t stop saying. Other rumored Fortnite crossovers: Anime’s Demon Slayer and Hatsune Miku, plus the return of Spider‑Man. Now you have something to talk to your 12-year-old about at Christmas!

👓 Are smart glasses finally useful? Ray‑Ban dropped a major update for its Meta smart glasses. The specs now include Shazam for identifying songs; real-time AI video that captures and describes what’s in front of you; and live translation for Spanish, French and Italian. If the translation alone works well, it’ll be a total travel game-changer. OK, this news was enough for me to buy the $317 glasses. I’ll let you know what I think about them in a month or so. If you have an “early adopter” on your gift list, this would be a great gift!

AI is changing the game, and small to large businesses are transforming at lightning speed. But here’s the good news: It’s not too late to get in on the action and take your business to the next level. That’s where Oracle comes in.

• Simple AI Integration: Oracle makes it easy to bring AI into your business — no headaches, no fuss.
• Top-tier Power: Oracle uses Nvidia GPUs, the best for processing power, so your AI solutions run like a dream.
• Affordable: Get more bang for your buck, with high performance at a lower cost than other cloud providers.
• Built to Grow: Your business is always changing, and Oracle will grow right along with you, offering scalable solutions.
• Hands-off Maintenance: Don’t worry about the techy stuff — Oracle handles updates and infrastructure management so you can focus on what really matters.

You know AI is the future — now’s your chance to cut your cloud bill in half with Oracle. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain.

Hide-and-seek: You’re shopping online when your gift recipient walks in. Quick! Hide your open browser windows. On a PC, press the Windows key + M. (Use the Windows key + Shift + M to reopen your closed windows.) On a Mac, it’s Cmd + Option + H + M. Phew, no Santa spoilers.

“Give me 10 more examples”: That’s a prompt I use with ChatGPT all the time to make the chatbot a better brainstorming buddy. Some of its “ideas” are downright bad, but it might spark something creative in your brain, too.

👂 Alexa, can you hear me? Struggling to get your smart speaker to hear you? Keep it at least 8 inches away from walls and other objects to reduce echo and interference. Psst, look how cheap this Echo is.

So you’ve spotted a scammer on Facebook: Do your good deed and report them. Go to the scammer’s profile, and, in the top right corner, click the three dots. Select Find support or report, then follow the on-screen prompts.

🇷🇺 So long and farewell, comrade: The U.S. government banned Kaspersky Lab and its cybersecurity products over the company’s ties to the Kremlin. If you’re using Kaspersky for your antivirus protection, try my antivirus pick instead.*

🤳 Look your best: Ever been caught checking your hair in a video call? Kind of embarrassing. Adjust yourself and the lighting before the meeting. On a Windows PC, open your Start menu and search for the Camera app; on a Mac, open Photo Booth.

If your health claim gets denied: FightHealthInsurance.com is a free AI tool that helps you untangle why your claim was denied and quickly draft a custom appeal letter. It was made by someone who had to fight their own insurer. Pro tip: Make sure you include the word “appeal” in your letter or it may not be considered one.

I have a dirty little secret: For many years, my phone password was … wait for it … “000000.” (I’ve changed it!) Heads-up: Your phone has a special antitheft mode. Here are steps to enable it on Android and iPhone.

😂 A man filed a police report after his bag was stolen. The officer stopped by to take his statement and found the bag at the bottom of the man’s stairwell. It was a brief case. (You’re going to steal that, I know.)

Don’t you feel tech-smarter? Do me a solid and share this newsletter with a friend. Forward it or use your unique referral URL below. I appreciate you! See you back here tomorrow with a tough topic we really need to talk about: Setting up your online accounts for after you pass. Until then, stay your awesome self with all the tech know-how you just got in the best free tech newsletter in the USA! — Kim