🎛️ ChatGPT’s got apps: You can summon Spotify, Zillow or Canva inside ChatGPT, no tab-hopping required. Make playlists, design posts or house-hunt mid-convo. Expedia, DoorDash and Uber are next. It’s all fun and games until $1,000 worth of Taco Bell shows up at your door. Update is rolling out now.
New malware changes everything
ChatGPT
Remember when viruses came from clicking on sketchy email attachments like “hotpics[.]exe”? Good times. Today’s malware doesn’t even need a file. It slips into your system’s memory like a digital ninja, using tools already on your computer like PowerShell, WMI or macros to do its dirty work.
No download. No alert. Just boom, you’re compromised.
These are called fileless viruses, and they’re exploding. Security firms say they’re up nearly 40% this year. Why? Because your antivirus doesn’t see them coming. No file, no warning. But wait, it gets worse.
🎭 Shape-shifting viruses
Some of the newest malware doesn’t just sneak in, it learns. This next-gen code changes its form on the fly, adapting in real time to whatever security software it bumps into. Think of it like the T-1000 from Terminator, but instead of turning into liquid metal, it changes its signature to hide.
And it’s not being built in a basement. These tools are mass-produced and sold like Netflix subscriptions on the dark web. It’s called Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), and yes, that’s as terrifying as it sounds. For a few hundred bucks, anyone with bad intentions can launch a full-blown cyberattack.
🎯 The new target
You’ve got a smart thermostat, maybe a printer, a tablet, a few security cameras. All it takes is one “forgot to update,” and they’re in.
Even developers aren’t safe. A few months ago, a virus slipped into a popular open-source library. Anyone who downloaded the update brought the malware into their own code. That’s how fast this stuff spreads.
🛡️ Your virus-proof checklist
- Turn on automatic software and firmware updates for everything.
- Don’t trust random pop-ups asking you to “run a security check.”
- Lock down your smart home devices with 2FA and unique passwords.
- Back up your files regularly, ransomware loves a hostage.
Most important: Use solid real-time antivirus with behavior monitoring, not just signature scanning. TotalAV, a sponsor of my nationally syndicated radio show, protects you in real time. It doesn’t just wait for a scheduled scan.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: For the best viewing distance, take your TV’s size in inches and multiply by 1.2. So if your screen is 40 inches, you’ll want to sit about 48 inches (4 feet) back.
Discord hacked: Ever reach out to Discord support? One of their customer service vendors got hacked, leaking names, emails, billing info and even some ID and passport scans. The main app’s safe, but the help desk not so much. The hacker even tried to ransom the stolen data. Discord says the main platform and passwords are safe. So a reminder: Even when you trust the service, the companies they work with can still put your data at risk.
🧡 Taylor’s bad blood with AI bots: After the pop star hyped an elaborate “orange door” puzzle in her Life of a Showgirl release, Swifties learned the visuals were AI-generated and not handcrafted clues. Now she’s down a million Instagram followers and up a million think pieces on “authenticity.” Don’t be sad. The Life of a Showgirl has already sold over 3 million copies in the U.S. In just the first two days, its songs racked up more than 300 million official on-demand streams and counting. I think she’s gonna be OK.
🏝️ Paradise.ai: Here’s something to tell your friends that will make them say, “Wow, you’re so smart.” Tiny Anguilla (population 15,000) stumbled into a digital jackpot, owning the “.ai” domain every startup wants. In 2024 alone, those two letters brought in $39 million selling domain names to startups like Character.ai and Perplexity.ai. That’s nearly a quarter of the island’s government revenue. When in a gold rush, sell vowels.
🎓 Creepin’ 101: Students at the University of San Francisco got a safety alert after reports of a man using Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to film women without consent. Who could have predicted that happening? He’s allegedly posting the clips on TikTok. Idiot.
🪐 Make a wish (maybe duck): That bright streak lighting up the sky isn’t a shooting star, it’s a Starlink satellite crashing out of orbit. With 8,500 up there (and more on the way), we can expect up to five fiery reentries daily soon. The FAA warns falling space junk could start injuring people by 2035. Heads up, literally.
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💓 Wi‑Fi’s got a pulse on you: Your home Wi‑Fi might soon do more than stream Netflix. Soon, it will track your location and heartbeat. Researchers say new tech turns routers into 24/7 motion and vital sign monitors, no cameras needed. That buffering circle? It’s watching you breathe.
Musk made me do it: Look, if “Elon Musk” messages you about a hot crypto deal, it’s fraud not fate. Scammers are out there pretending to be him, using fake videos, livestreams and even his mom to vouch for the hustle. Folks have lost anywhere from 10 grand to a quarter million dollars. Some even think they’re dating him. Spoiler: You’re not.
⚠️ Pop goes the malware: You’re scrolling the web when, bam, a pop-up says you need to “verify your identity.” Nope. That’s not security, that’s a scam called ClickFix. The NSA says these fake pop-ups now target iPhones and Androids, tricking you into clicking, copying or pasting your way into malware. If you see one, just close everything. Save yourself the clicks and tears.
🪟 Smarter windows: Corning (yep, the iPhone glass folks) dropped new “Enlighten” windows that are essentially energy-saving machines. Normal windows leak heat 10 to 20 times worse than your walls. These new ones? Up to 5x more efficient. Ah yes, finally an energy-saving way to stare at the Amazon guy delivering your packages.
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🚪 Trapped in a Cybertruck: Tesla’s being sued after a 19-year-old died when a Cybertruck hit a tree and caught fire last November in California. The family says the vehicle’s sleek electric doors locked passengers inside, leaving no way out. Only one of four survived. The lawsuit claims Krysta Tsukahara didn’t die on impact, she died trapped by Tesla’s design. How awful.
🥪 Where’s the beef? Arby’s gets roasted: Turns out those towering Arby’s sandwiches in ads may be Photoshop’s finest work. A lawsuit says they show twice the meat you really get and mislead folks into thinking the beef is rare. A judge just refused to dismiss the case, so Arby’s has to deal with its roast beef reality check in court.
🛞 Smart rubber: Pirelli and Bosch are cooking up “Cyber Tyres” that talk to your car through Bluetooth tiny sensors that measure contact patches, pressure and acceleration, then beam lifesaving data like grip loss before aquaplaning. These Fitbits for wheels were spotted on a $2.5M Pagani, but hitting normal cars in ~3 years. Imagine explaining to your great grandpa, “The tire’s Bluetooth says slow down.”
📸 Back to basics: Kodak is doing something it hasn’t done in over a decade … selling its own film. Like, actual 35mm. Remember those yellow rolls in every junk drawer? Same stuff. Kodak’s cutting out the middleman to bring prices down. It’s a quiet comeback from a brand that basically shot every ’80s birthday party you’ve ever been to.
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🤖 Don’t get caught in a Roomba doomba: iRobot founder Rodney Brooks (aka the Roomba guy) says stay 10 feet back from humanoid bots. Why? If one tips, it’s a 150-pound steel giraffe doing a trust fall. Also, video-only training won’t teach them real dexterity. Don’t let yourself become a YouTube tutorial with bones.
🤖 These are my bot confessions: Police say Missouri State student Ryan Schaefer smashed 17 car windshields, then bragged about it to ChatGPT. His typo-filled chats (“qill I go to jail?”) were found on his phone. Spoiler: yes. Now he’s facing felony charges and thousands in damages. Reminder: AI isn’t your diary, it’s potential evidence.