Welcome to a fantastic Friday, friend. Put on your thinking cap. You use it without a second thought, but this iconic American product was actually born from a top-secret military project.

Which one started out serving the U.S. government? A) Kool-Aid, B) Tang, C) WD-40 or D) ChapStick? Take your best guess. The real story is at the end, and it’s a good one.

🩷 PSA: I’m able to share fact-based tech news and tips that matter for free because of your support. Help me by clicking links to our sponsors and sharing the important tech tidbits you find here with your coworkers, family and pals. Don’t you love being that person who’s ahead of the curve? On to the smarts! — Kim

Here’s something you probably don’t know. Your banking app is packed with credit card tools that can help you fight fraud, track every dollar and even shop safer online.

Yep, your boring old banking app is secretly a money-smart ninja. You just haven’t poked around enough.

Let’s activate some life-upgrade-level settings right now.  

Figure out where all your money’s going

Most major banking apps (Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo, you name it) have a built-in spending breakdown feature. No more wondering where your money went. You can literally see that $73 you spent on food delivery last week in one sad, colorful chart. 

For example, I didn’t realize I was personally funding Nordstrom’s entire Q1 earnings. Here’s how to find it:

• Open your app and go to your credit card.
• Look for words like “Spending Summary,” “Insights,” or “Trends.”
• Boom, there’s your pie chart. (Mine always looks like a pizza with “Tech Gadgets” and “Clothes” as toppings.)

Try changing the date range to see your habits over time. Want to get really scared? Look at a full year.

Next, set up alerts

This one’s a no-brainer. You can set up alerts for every time your card is used. Whether it’s $5 at a gas station or $500 on mystery electronics in a country you’ve never visited.

Here’s how to turn them on in banks’ mobile apps. I gave you steps, but if you need extra help, hit the links:

• Bank of America: Press Inbox > Bank of America inbox > Quick Setup or Custom Setup > Allow > Account Activity.
• Capital One: Tap your card > Instant Purchase Notification.
• Chase: Select the person icon > Manage alerts.
• Wells Fargo: Go to your card > Manage > Manage alerts.

Turn on:

• Alerts for charges over $1 (yes, that gas station test charge)
• Due date reminders (late fees = wasted money)
• International purchases (if you didn’t book a trip, uh-oh)

Use virtual cards

This is the hidden gem. Some banks let you create virtual credit card numbers for online purchases. That way, you can cancel the number without messing up your real card.

Great for signing up for free trials you actually plan to cancel before they turn into $20/month regrets.

• Capital One’s tool is called Eno (desktop and app).
• Citi has Virtual Account Numbers.
• Bank of America has ShopSafe, though it’s only available on desktop.

You can also set a spending limit or expiration date. Think of it as a burner phone but for your credit card.

Extras you’ll love

• Freeze your card instantly. Misplace it under the couch? Tap “Lock Card” in your app. Find it? Unlock it. No awkward phone calls needed.
• Dispute a charge without calling customer service. Most apps let you tap the charge and hit “Dispute” or “Report an issue.”
• Track your rewards. See your cash back, points or travel miles in the app and cash them in without jumping through hoops. 

You don’t need a separate app for budgeting, fraud alerts or spending tracking, it’s all already in your banking app. Now go dig around and activate some of those tools. Your future self (and your bank account) will thank you.

🏦 After all, a bank is a place that will lend you money only if you can prove that you don’t need it.

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Hackers don’t wait, why should you? I’ve said it for years, viruses attack fast. That’s why I trust TotalAV. Rock-solid protection on up to five devices. Only $19 for the first year. Smart, simple, and it works!*

🚨 Fake CAPTCHAs: You know those little tests that ask you to prove you’re not a robot? Scammers are planting fake ones on sketchy sites (like free movie pages) that ask you to press keys or download software. Some even redirect you to a browser extension or tell you to run a command. Plot twist: It’s malware.

ICE sightings on Ring: I thought this was interesting. In Los Angeles, people are using Amazon’s Neighbors app to warn each other about possible ICE raids. They’re sharing photos and videos showing where agents were spotted and what vehicles they were driving, plus tagging posts with ice cube emojis. 

👑 Long live the king: Streaming officially beat both cable AND broadcast TV in May. The twist? Boomers sealed the deal (paywall link), now bingeing reruns on YouTube, Pluto and Tubi like digital cowboys. The old networks are just looped SVU marathons now. Even Gunsmoke is streaming. It’s the Cord-Cutting End Times. Grandpa ditched CNN for cat videos in 4K.

AI taking Amazon jobs: The CEO just warned that some of its workforce will be replaced in the future by AI. As more generative tools and agents roll out, certain tasks (think corporate) will be handled by tech instead of humans. The silver lining? It might also create new roles, maybe.

🧠 Upgrading your brain: Neuromorphic chips are here to decode your brain like it’s a messy group chat. Typically used for brain disorders, these AI-enhanced implants are designed to enhance human capabilities. They can read your neurons, zap them back if they misfire, and maybe, just maybe, turn ADHD into just HD. 

🧙‍♂️ AI pics on WhatsApp: You can now generate images with ChatGPT right inside your chats. Just save 1-800-ChatGPT (aka 1-800-242-8478) to your contacts, then open WhatsApp and say “Hi.” After the bot replies, try something like “Create a picture of a wizard eating a hot dog.” Wait a few seconds, and boom, it’ll pop up.

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🛒 Prime Day is back: This year, you’ve got double the days to save from July 8-11. Click here to explore early deals.

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⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Press Command + Shift + 5 on Mac to open the screenshot and screen recorder menu. For Windows, hold the Windows Key + Shift + S for the Snipping Tool. Lovely.

Resize Quick Notes on iPad: Need more space to read or jot something down? When a Quick Note is open, pinch outward with two fingers (just like zooming in on a photo) to make it bigger. To shrink it again, pinch inward. You can also drag it to any corner and keep working in your app.

🧮 Windows math shortcut: No need to open the Calculator app. Just press the Windows key, type your equation into the search bar (like 10 * 15 – 5), and you’ll see the answer instantly (145). FYI: You can include spaces between numbers or leave them out. Either way works.

Check your privacy settings: Social media apps update often, and sometimes your preferences change without you noticing. Review who can see your posts, who can tag you and what info is public. Most apps have this under Profile (or the three line Menu) > Settings > Privacy.

💻 Save big money on Office apps: Skip the subscription and try LibreOffice instead. It’s totally free and comes with Writer (like Word), Calc (Excel) and Impress (PowerPoint). The best part? It also works with Office files, so you can open and save .docx, .xlsx and .pptx. Go to libreoffice.org > Download.

Answer: C) WD-40. Yep, that blue and yellow can you probably have in your garage right now didn’t start off in someone’s toolbox. It began in a military lab in 1953. The mission? To prevent rust and corrosion on Atlas missiles during the Cold War. 

Engineers needed something that could displace water (hence the “WD” for Water Displacement) and protect the metal components inside these high-tech rockets. It took 40 tries to get the formula right, and that’s why it’s called WD-40.

💃🏼 Speaking of, each branch has a military ball (Navy Ball, Army Ball, etc.). It warms my heart to know that one branch will be having “Space Balls” from here on out.

😎 This is the #1 tech newsletter in the U.S. for a reason: We’re making your inbox smarter, one tech fact and wallet win at a time. Tomorrow, we’re going over how to make your tech bulletproof. 

Until tomorrow, you’re tech ahead and scam-proof. ✔️ — Kim

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