Busted

Busted: The FTC hit antivirus company Avast with a $16.5 million fine for selling your browsing secrets for ads. They promised to protect users’ privacy … while making bank off of it since 2014. Need a new option? TotalAV is $19 for a year.

Tags: antivirus, Avast


Live alone or need a gift for someone who does? This is Kim's home security pick

When you go to bed for the night or leave your home, are you confident you, your family and all your possessions are safe? If your answer isn’t a resounding “Yes!” you must know about SimpliSafe. It’s Kim’s home security pick, and you’ll love it for many reasons.

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Trivia

What was the original ringtone before customizable ringtones took over our mobile phones? Was it … Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5,” the theme from “Star Wars,” Nokia’s “Gran Vals” or the sound of a rotary phone?

Find the answer here

60% of OpenAI’s responses contain plagiarism

Bad, bad look for ChatGPT. Authors, songwriters and even the New York Times are suing for copyright infringement. This definitely helps their case.

Tacos with a side of TMI

You guac my world. Most people don’t realize all they share when sending a picture via text. Nearly every social media site strips out the metadata that reveals a photo’s little details, like when, where and how it was taken. But that info is not protected if you text a pic. You can stop that.

To stop location sharing on iPhone:

  • Open the image you want to send and tap the share button.
  • Select Options and toggle off Location. Tap Done.

To disable location tracking in your camera altogether:

  • Open Settings. Tap Privacy & Security > Location Services.
  • Scroll down, tap on Camera, then select Never.

On Android, here’s how to wipe the location data for a single photo:

  • Open your gallery and select the photo.
  • Go to Details (it may be a three-dot menu) and click Remove location data.

Did you hear they removed some Monopoly game pieces? They were thimbles of an older time.

49-fold increase in head trauma injuries

From riding electric bikes from 2017 to 2022. Why? Helmet use is down almost 6% each year. Folks, protect your noggin. You only get one.

$6,500 more for paint

That’s how much a colorful Cybertruck will cost ya. Tesla just released paint film wraps in three colors: Slip grey, satin rose gold and satin abyss blue. A Cybertruck starts at $60,990, and some owners say the finish is rusting. Oh, the irony.

Pro tip: Scan it and you’re in

Instead of giving guests your Wi-Fi password, post a QR code they can scan with their phones. It’s a secure shortcut with your password hidden inside.

QIFI.org is a free online QR code generator for Wi-Fi access that works with Apple and Android. You need three pieces of info to use it:

  1. Look at the back of your modem for the SSID. It might be shown as “Wi-Fi Network Name (SSID).” It’ll be about a dozen numbers and letters; type those where it says “SSID” on QIFI’s Code Generator page.
  2. Choose your secure network type; the site defaults to WPA/WPA2/WPA3, but you may have WEP. (Really bad news if you do — get a new router.) If you don’t know, ask your internet provider or your home’s resident geek.
  3. And, lastly, type in your router’s security key password.

Print your unique code, put it in a nice frame and your guests will just need to scan it to join the network. Smart idea to use at your home or if you run a coffee shop or another biz with Wi-Fi access! 

Trivia

Blockbuster had around 9,000 video-rental stores worldwide at its peak. When it filed for bankruptcy in 2010, it had just 1,700 stores. How many are open today: One, 10, 18 or 30?

Find the answer here

26 feet long, 440 pounds

Is the size of the world’s largest snake. The recently discovered reptile is as thick as a car tire, has a human-sized head and is an actual nightmare for me. Don’t hiss me off.