Résumés meet ransomware: If you’ve ever applied through Workday, congrats, your name, phone and email are probably floating around scammer Slack right now. Never heard of Workday? They have over 11,000 corporations as customers reaching 70 million people. Hackers tricked their way in with fake HR texts and calls. Brace for “we loved your résumé” spam from the dark web.
They buried your opt-out button
Midjourney
This is insane. Like almost cartoon-villain-level shady. Say you’re trying to delete your personal information from some shady data broker’s website that’s selling your data to advertisers, marketing companies, stalkers, coworkers or anyone else with the money.
But when you search for their opt-out page on Google? Nothing pops up on the results page. Did you miss it? Nope.
A new Wired report just exposed more than 30 data broker companies that are deliberately hiding their opt-out pages from Google and Bing. That’s right, the pages that legally allow you to say “no thanks” to having your personal data bought, sold and shared like trading cards are being blocked from search engines on purpose. Wow.
🤑 They collect and sell everything about you
I’m talking about your name, address, phone number, SSN, political affiliation, jobs, purchase history, health data, insurance claims, who you live with and more, a lot more.
Now they’ve taken it a step further. They’ve made it nearly impossible for you to find the one page that lets you opt out. You’d have to go directly to the company’s website and dig through layers of menus, if you can find it at all.
🪄 They know what they’re doing
This isn’t an accident or a technical glitch. It’s a strategy. A move to look compliant while hoping you don’t bother trying. Some of them even use tricky design tactics, like hiding links under layers of legal text or pop-ups you’d never think to click through.
Why? Because the harder they make it to opt out, the more your data stays in their system and the more money they make selling it.
I use Incogni. It’s like sending in the privacy cavalry. You don’t have to hunt down every shady data broker or figure out who’s hiding what. Incogni does it for you automatically, legally and effectively.
They target over 420 people search sites and data brokers, and Deloitte, one of the biggest auditing firms in the world, independently verified their entire process. No other data removal service can say that.
With my exclusive discount, plans start at just $6.39 a month, and you still get access to Incogni’s new Unlimited Plan. You send them links where your info is exposed, and they’ll get it taken down.
$91 million
That’s what one unlucky soul lost in Bitcoin, just by trusting the wrong “support agent.” The victim handed over wallet credentials to someone pretending to help, and poof, 783 BTC vanished. My crypto newsletter is launching in mid-September. Sign up now!
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Set a sleep timer on your TV, so it powers off if you nod off. Look under Settings > Timers or General. I keep mine at 120 minutes.
🔑 Flip off: The Flipper Zero may look harmless, but hackers can clone key fob signals and unlock cars from brands like Ford, Audi, Subaru, Hyundai and Kia in seconds. A digital underground is selling this stealthy car-hacking software. “Flipper Boys” might become the next-gen Kia Boys by 2026. This isn’t some Hollywood heist. It’s happening in real driveways. Pro tip: Wrap your fob in aluminum foil or stash it in a signal-blocking pouch to keep the bad guys out.
Social stalker tech: TikTok Shop has GPS trackers with viral videos literally teaching people how to spy on their partners. One got 5 million views. The cheapo trackers with a SIM card (over 100,000 sold) are still on sale all over for as little as $12. If your relationship needs a GPS tracker, maybe it needs therapy instead. Just saying.
🤖 Fork yeah: Google’s AI Mode now helps you find restaurant reservations but won’t actually book them. You describe what you want (omakase at 8?), and it digs up options, then punts you to the booking page. Think research intern but not personal assistant (yet). If you’re an Ultra subscriber ($250/month 😵), you get access to it before the rest of us who are cheap.
Sponsored scam trap: If you Google “Office 365 login” and click the top ad, congrats, you might’ve just gifted your inbox to a hacker. These fake ads mimic real Microsoft links but redirect to phishing pages. Don’t be the next horror story. Type microsoft365.com manually like it’s 2006 and your mom told you to.
📬 Dad jokes? I think you mean pun-ishment: A retired teacher with a Ph.D. is handwriting hundreds of emotional, intentionally corny letters to strangers who just want a dad-style pep talk. The “Dad Letter Project” exploded overnight on TikTok. It’s like getting a warm hug and a bad joke from someone else’s highly literate father. No AI. Just authentic dad energy. So awesome. Speaking of… “Dad, are we pyromaniacs?” “Yes, we arson.” 🔥
Their faces went viral without them: TikTok paid actors as little as $500 to license their faces for AI avatars (paywall link), which are now appearing in ads for horoscope apps, supplements and insurance quotes, even in other languages, sometimes on other platforms like YouTube. The actors don’t get royalties, can’t control the content and didn’t realize how far it would go. It was all in the fine print.
Remember when computers took up half the desk? Apple’s testing a new more powerful version of its Tupperware-size Mac mini with a next-gen M5 chip. More speed, smoother graphics, same tiny size. Rumored to cost $600, which is less than you paid for your Dell in 1998. I use a Mac mini with a Pro Display XDR every day!
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I made the switch to Consumer Cellular: Same reliable nationwide coverage as the big guys, but for way less. And if you’re over 50, get two lines with unlimited talk, text and data for $60. No hidden fees, and customer support is U.S.-based. Save $25 with code KIM25.
👾 Free VPN, but you’re the product: FreeVPN.One, a Chrome extension with over 100K installs, was busted taking covert screenshots of people’s activity and sending them to a sketchy server. The dev claims it’s for “security scans,” but researchers say that’s a lie with encryption on top. Google’s store still lists it. Basically: Chrome blessed spyware with a gold star. Need a solid private VPN? Hit this link to get 4 months free.
Claude goes anti-bomb: If you were thinking about assembling a nuke recently, tough luck. Anthropic, with U.S. government backing, built a filter that blocks chats about making nukes. Think of it as a toddler lock on national security: keeps you from asking AI how to split atoms but still lets you order pizza.
🚨 Gmail scam alert: If you use Gmail or Google Cloud, heads up, hackers just leaked a massive database with over 2.5 billion names, email addresses and company details. That means you’re more likely to be hit with phishing emails, scam login pages or fake calls pretending to be Google support. Google says your passwords are safe for now, but don’t wait to take action. Turn on passkeys for phishing-proof logins, run a Google Security Checkup, and never trust an unexpected call claiming to be from Google. Once your info is out there, it’s out there, but how you protect yourself next is what counts.
🏀 Steph Curry signs with Google: No joke, it’s a multiyear partnership where he’s going to use their AI to get better at basketball. How? Their so-called Coach will use Gemini and Pixel cameras to study his jump shot, break down his form and give him visual feedback. Part of the deal is no vacations. After all, basketball players aren’t allowed to travel. (Get it? Tough crowd today.)
Orbital jump scare: Russia-affiliated hackers hijacked a satellite and streamed their military parade straight into Ukrainian living rooms. Now U.S. officials say Russia’s working on a nuclear space weapon that could black out all satellites. If it goes live, low-Earth orbit turns into one big no-fly zone for a year. At least that movie wasn’t Ice Cube’s War of the Worlds.
$12.99 per month
That’s the new price of Apple TV+, up from $9.99. If you’re already subscribed, you’ll see the price change 30 days after your next renewal date. Some good news? Yearly TV+ subscriptions and the Apple One services bundle aren’t changing. At least not yet. Enjoy it while it lasts.
🍏 Update your Apple gear ASAP: Apple dropped an emergency patch for iPhones, iPads and Macs after hackers were caught exploiting a nasty flaw. The trick? Sending a booby-trapped image via text or email that lets them break in and run malicious code. Go to Settings > General > Software Update now.
67
The number that turned a rap lyric into Gen Alpha’s secret handshake. It started in a drill song, got memed onto NBA star LaMelo Ball and now lives on TikTok as flashy edits and a bouncing hand gesture. He’s 6’7” but plays small, the beat drops, they say “67,” and that’s it. No meaning. Welcome to Gen Alpha.