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đ¸ď¸ The new Dark Web
January 20, 2025 |
![]() In partnership with Timeline |
Welcome to the start of a new week, friend. Today marks a historic moment as Donald Trump again takes office as president. With his return, TikTok is back online. Last Friday, the Supreme Court ruled the law requiring China to relinquish ownership of TikTok was constitutional. The deadline for divestiture was yesterday. â° Joe Biden couldâve kept TikTok online, but he didnât. Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline by 90 days, and it becomes effective the second heâs sworn in. Now, attention turns to finding an American partner to take a 50-50 joint-venture stake with the U.S. and China in TikTok. The smart money is betting on Kevin OâLeary from âShark Tank,â who says he has $20 billion in cash (and then some) to do it. Thereâs some-fin special about his deal. Get ready for even more know-how to keep you tech-ahead in this digital-everywhere world! â Kim đŁ Donât keep me a secret: Share the email with friends (or copy URL here) |
TODAY’S TOP STORYGet it together!![]() When was the last time you cleaned up your digital life? Itâs not fun, but just a few minutes of physical and digital decluttering can work wonders. It boosts productivity, clears mental clutter and leaves you feeling like youâve done something great. Ready? Letâs do this! đ˛ Start with your phoneQuick fix: Look through your apps and delete any youâre not using anymore. If itâs been months, youâre not going to use it. While youâre at it, move apps you want to spend less time using from your phoneâs home screen. On iPhone: Swipe left to get past all your app screens and open the App Library. To delete an app, touch and hold the appâs icon > Delete App, then tap Delete to confirm. On Android: Open the Google Play Store app, and tap your profile icon. Tap Manage apps & devices > Manage. Select the name of the app you want to delete, then tap Uninstall. If you have more time: Tackle your photo collection or contacts. Do whichever is the messiest or most aggravating. Neither task is particularly pleasant, but youâll feel enough satisfaction when youâre done to make up for that. Put in a good podcast (ahem, mine!) and get it done. Bonus points: Sanitize your phone. You take it to the bathroom with you. Enough said. đş Tackle the TVQuick fix: Dust! Too much junk in all those vents and ports can reduce your TVâs life, so give it a good wipe-down. Clean the back with your vacuumâs brush attachment or an air blower (on sale!). Be prepared to vacuum or sweep up all the dust after youâre done. Bonus points: Clean the screen. Dust with a microfiber rag first, then very lightly buff away fingerprints. I take the easy route with TV wipes, but a rag with electronics cleaner works, too. Itâs easy to use too much pressure standing directly in front of the TV cleaning, so go from the side for a lighter touch. If you have more time: I once signed up for a free trial of an add-on channel to watch a movie I couldnât find anywhere else. You can guess what happened. I never watched the movie, but I did pay for six months of Sundance. Time to take inventory of your streaming apps. I use the Rocket Money app* to do it for me. đť Finish up with your computerQuick fix: Clean files, screenshots and any other junk off your desktop, then find the space hogs taking up all your storage.
Now see if there are any updates to your OS and restart your computer. This gives your browser a chance to update and closes all the processes running in the background. If you have more time: Start organizing your files. Make a folder for each year. Go back as far as youâd like. Now, open a Finder window (Mac) or File Explorer (Windows) and start dragging files into folders by year. You can always go back and organize by month or project later. Bonus points: Give your keyboard a quick cleanup. First, flip it over and shake, shake, shake. Youâll be shocked by what falls out. Then, grab a dry, old toothbrush and gently brush it between the keys. And if your keyboard is truly cruddy, do yourself a favor and buy a new one. Hereâs a solid $25 pick for Windows. This $20 option that works with Macs also has great ratings. đ Ya know, just because someone found out how to connect a keyboard with a radio doesn’t make them a nerd. Thatâd be stereotyping. (Oh, was that a groan I heard?) |
DIGITAL LIFE HACKHow to track snowThe nationâs gearing up for snow, ice and blizzards. Is it time to get out the shovel? Tap or click below to play this podcast now. |
DEALS OF THE DAYYou deserve a nice rideđ Look inside your car. It needs a little TLC, right? Yeah, I thought so.
â Laundry sheets are the best. Theyâre 19% off, so nowâs the time to see if you prefer them over the heavy jugs of liquid and pods, too. Oops! Wrong link yesterday: Hereâs that tension shelf. Click the coupon box for 10% off! |
WEB WATERCOOLERSay hello to the new Dark Web: The encrypted chat app Telegram was founded by two Russians and has over 700 million active monthly users. Itâs also home to Huione Guarantee, the largest illegal marketplace selling personal data and tools linked to pig-butchering schemes. One founder recently told a French court theyâd âimprove its moderation proceduresâ for Telegram. Sure. Between November 2024 and now, crypto scams on Telegram have increased by over 2,000%. Stay away. đŤ This went tits-up: People who moved from TikTok to RedNote are thoroughly confused by censorship issues. One man asked why he couldnât post photos of his abs, only to be told his nipples are sexually suggestive. ICYMI: RedNote is owned by China. If you downloaded the app, remove it. Not a movie set: The other day, Ben Affleck came home to a huge military Hummer parked outside and a visit from police and FBI. They were investigating whether someone at his home or in the area launched a hobby drone that damaged a plane fighting the Pacific Palisades fire last week. By looking at the photos, and keeping in mind Ben survived J.Lo, Iâd say heâs officially unshakeable. đ Targeting all 50 states: Scammers are impersonating mortgage companies, displaying the caller ID of your actual mortgage institution. Once you answer, they threaten foreclosure if you donât pay up. Red flags: They ask for mail money orders to third-party attorneys or tell you to upload funds to a Walmart MoneyCard or Green Dot card account. Yeah, people are falling for that. Donât be a loser: The KeySmart SmartCart is trending online as the new “flat AirTag” that fits in your wallet. With a thickness of less than 2mm (about two stacked credit cards), it works with the Apple Find My app to alert you if you leave something behind. You can make it ring via Bluetooth, and its battery lasts up to five months on a single charge. Impressive. I ordered one for Barry. Free AI test drive: You need to start using AI in your business before itâs too late. Take a free test drive of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure now at Oracle.com/kim.* Itâs Great Dane-gerous: A Chinese company has created a robotic dog that can sprint 100 meters in under 10 seconds. This is interesting: The robo-dogâs design is inspired by Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens, who, in 1665, discovered pendulum clocks mounted on the same beam synchronized their swings through energy transfer. And get this: The robo-dog has shoes modeled after a black panther for maximum grip and stability. Yes, theyâll weaponize it. 𦾠I love it when tech changes lives: A woman received the worldâs first AI-powered bionic arm after being run over by two trains in London. Hereâs how it works: Sarah thinks about a movement, then twitches her muscles and tendons in a sequence. Over time, the AI learns and recognizes patterns, eventually predicting her next move. Even cooler? She can control her grip intensity, from handling eggs to crushing a Coke can. Hit this link to watch her story on the BBCâs site. |
This is your year to defy the effects of agingAre you too young to think about healthy aging? Probably not. Starting in your 30s, key cellular processes begin to slow down, causing fatigue and loss of strength that can affect your quality of life, now and in the future. Fortunately, scientists at Timeline spent 15 years developing a way to combat this decline. Meet MitopureÂŽ, a clinically proven way to target signs of aging inside and out. MitopureÂŽ harnesses the power of Urolithin A, a breakthrough postbiotic clinically shown to increase cellular energy and muscle strength. Add longevity to your list of New Yearâs goals. Take 33% off your first month of Timeline supplements for a limited time. While supplies last. Click here for more information. â This is a paid advertisement. |
DAILY TECH UPDATEScammers have a new trickWith one press of a button, theyâre in. Listen so you donât fall for it. Tap or click below to play this podcast now. |
TECH LIFE UPGRADESđ AI tool search engine: Future Tools is a database of 3,000 AI tools for gaming, generative code, social media and more. There are filters for free options, woo! The siteâs founder is popular YouTuber Matt Wolfe. He says he vets the tools for scams or duds. Investment alert: According to my pal Clark Howard, there are three places you should never invest your money: A bank, an insurance company or a bank-affiliated brokerage. Why? The hidden fees and risky strategies can erode your investment returns. * to receive more must-have money tips every day. đ From my inbox: âIâd like to know, for real, whether you and your team recommend a Mac or Windows laptop for the average everyday American.â My answer is Mac! (Theyâre not paying me to say that.) MacBooks are so easy to use and inherently more locked down security-wise than Windows PCs. This model is great for most folks. This option is more powerful if you need more oomph; itâs the one I use. Useful site: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commissionâs list of recalls is worth scanning now and then. Sometimes, you can get a replacement or refund for the recalled product. If thereâs a major recall, Iâll warn you here or in . Swiped away a notification too fast? No problem. On Android, go to Settings > Notifications > Notification History to enable and view past alerts. On iPhone, swipe up on the lock screen or down from the top to see missed notifications in the Notification Center. FYI: Your notification history disappears after 24 hours on Android and a week on iPhones. No salesperson, no long contracts: Ready to install a home security system? With SimpliSafe, itâs easy to order everything you need online and set it up yourself. (If you need help, they can do it for you.) Plus, it comes with 24/7 professional monitoring, because peace of mind shouldnât break the bank. Hit this link for 50% off.* |
BY THE NUMBERS5 years Length of time automaker General Motors is banned from selling customer geolocation and driving behavior data. GM was caught collecting all kinds of driving habits (think hard braking, speed and driving at night) every three seconds and selling it to insurance companies and third-party brokers, all without consent. Shame on them. 10% to 35% How much Wall Street thinks U.S. homes are overvalued. Investors are waiting for a market correction, but theyâre also growing their portfolios by building their own properties or buying newly constructed units directly from builders (paywall link). And donât trust Zillowâs Zestimate; it’s been way off lately. Remember, the only valid home price is what someone is willing to pay. 30% Increase for the Microsoft 365 family subscription, up to $130 a year. The personal (individual) subscription is getting bumped up to $100 annually. You can blame the snazzy new AI tools for the increase. Just because I care, here are seven free Word options to use instead. |
WHAT THE TECH?![]() The longest motorable road in the world, the Pan-American Highway, passes through 14 countries and is just over 29,825 miles long! Iâve got a DeLorean for sale â not many miles, only driven from time to time. |
UNTIL NEXT TIME …Do you get groceries delivered? Once, I was in meetings all afternoon, so I grabbed my bags, popped the cold items in the fridge and left the rest to unpack that night. Womp-womp, three items were missing. On its help page, Instacart says you have four days to report missing items. Nope, they told me itâs just two hours. Now, I always unpack right away. 𼊠Why should you never store meat on the top shelf of the freezer? The steaks are just too high. (Classic dad joke material.) đ¤ Did you know? Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the only federal holiday designated as a day of service. Even if youâre not doing something official, join me in helping someone in your life today. Youâre the best for letting me in your inbox. Be sure to hit the ratings below, and Iâll see you tomorrow with another issue of the best tech newsletter in the USA! â Kim |
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