🥽 The “future of human connection”: That’s what Mark Zuckerberg will talk about at the big Meta conference this Wednesday and Thursday. Expect updates for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, along with some AI goodies, a more affordable Meta Quest headset and maybe augmented-reality glasses. You heard it here first, folks.
Massive data leak impacts 1 in 3 Americans
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Data broker MC2 Data left more than 100 million records of Americans exposed online for anyone to copy, grab, forward, sell on the Dark Web — you name it. This comes only a month after the National Public Data breach of 2.9 billion records. I’m getting so tired of these data broker companies and people-search sites screwing up, and it’s you and me who have to pay for their mistakes.
What’s the government doing about these leaks?
Not much, sorry to say. You’d think we’d have a system in place to at least fine the companies. Nope. Sure, there’ll be class-action lawsuits we can be a part of. They usually pop up within 48 hours of a data leak. But you know the drill for those: The lawyers make the money, while those of us affected get only a few bucks.
I saw that firsthand when my dad took an over-the-counter antihistamine that put him into heart arrhythmia, causing him to pass away. They yanked the med from store shelves, my mom filled out reams of paperwork as part of a class-action lawsuit, and she got a check for about $300. Disgraceful.
Thanks to these companies’ shoddy cybersecurity practices, your personal info is floating around for anyone who wants it. Let me help you lock things down. Incogni is the company I used to remove my info online about a year ago. I’m so glad I did. More on them later.
How the heck did that happen?
We can’t blame hackers for this leak. It was an inexcusable lack of security dubbed “human error.” MC2 Data owns several background check sites, including PrivateRecords, PrivateReports, PeopleSearcher, ThePeopleSearchers and PeopleSearchUSA.
They left a whopping 2.2 terabytes of private information exposed — no password required to see it. The info included everything from names and contact info to criminal records, employment histories and family data.
So far, MC2 Data hasn’t released a formal response to the breach. The story is still developing, but I wanted to make sure you knew about it.
Your action plan for security and privacy
Since this breach essentially impacts one out of every three Americans, it’s time to take action. Use these tips to keep your information and identity safe:
- Be wary of urgent requests. Many scam emails look like they’re from a legitimate bank or company. Always expand the email address to verify it’s official company correspondence, not some random Gmail account. When in doubt, go to the bank or company’s official website and contact customer service.
- Freeze your credit. This will keep scammers from opening a credit card or loan in your name. Like setting up a fraud alert, you’ll need to contact each of the three credit bureaus. (Watch out for bogus emails from the credit bureaus, too.)
- Be skeptical of unsolicited calls or emails referencing hacked info. For example, if your credit union was impacted by a breach, be extra careful with emails or calls claiming there’s an issue with your account.
- Take proactive steps. Start with your financial life. Update your bank PIN and login credentials. Do the same with your credit cards. Set up banking alerts on your phone to stay on top of fraudulent activity.
So much data left exposed for anyone to see
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Another day, another monumental data breach. Just because they’re getting more common doesn’t mean you can tune it out. In fact, it’s time to get even more serious about your private information and what’s posted online.
‘It is not real': Title company owner warns of new twist to title fraud
OpenAI is releasing a new model in the next couple of weeks that “thinks” more like a person. In nerd speak, it has advanced reasoning and a better ability to process complex info. Is the name of the model … A.) ChatGPT Magnifico, B.) Strawberry, C.) NeuralNet X or D.) Quantum Mind over Matter?
57 days this fall
Earth will have a second (mini) moon. OK, it’s actually an asteroid that’ll be pulled into Earth’s gravity for a couple of months. You’ll only be able to spot it with a professional telescope (paywall link). Time to text your space-loving friend.
Need some extra cash? 15 jobs you can do from home
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Working remotely isn’t suitable for everybody. But in the wake of the pandemic, it has seen a considerable boon globally. Tap or click here for legit ways to find work-from-home jobs.
If you’re interested in earning a living from home, there is no better time to get involved with the right opportunity.
32-year-old finds Lego stuck in their nose after 26 years
A guy finally dislodged a little Lego piece he stuck in his nose at age 6. Way back when, he stuck one of the little plastic bricks and a Lego man up his nose. Mom got the Lego man out but didn’t realize the individual brick was still in there. All that time, the 32-year-old dealt with congestion, asthma and sleep apnea. Such a crazy story!
War in the Middle East: On Sept. 18, Israel detonated thousands of walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah fighters. The devices were booby-trapped in advance by Israeli intelligence and delivered to Lebanon as part of Hezbollah’s emergency communications system. This was just a day after Israeli forces detonated thousands of pagers used by the group. I’m digging deep to learn how this worked and will let you know what I find out.
Spankin’-new Macs and cheaper iPads coming soon: Rumor has it Apple will release the M4 MacBook Pro, M4 iMac and M4 Mac mini, plus the iPad mini 7 and iPad 11, soon. Bonus: Apple’s sleep apnea detection feature just got FDA clearance and will hit the Apple Watch Series 10, Series 9 (25% off) and Ultra 2 later this month.
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C SEED N1 TV: The world's first unfolding 137-inch microLED TV
Have a spare $300,000 sitting around? Call me: … Or you could spend it on the C SEED N1, a 4K TV that unfolds like a Transformer in 90 seconds. When you’re done binging, it turns back into a funky metal sculpture.
🦻🏻 Social media is buzzing with a wild theory: Conspiracy theorists suggest Vice President Kamala Harris wore wireless earphones disguised as pearl earrings during her September presidential debate against Donald Trump — specifically, $650 Nova H1 earrings, which feature tiny mics for crystal-clear calls. I’m not buying it; Harris’ pair looks more like these $2,000 Tiffany’s earrings to me.
SpaceX performs historic first spacewalk with Polaris Dawn crew
SpaceX pulled off its first spacewalk in the early hours of Thursday morning, Sept. 12. The marquee event of the private Polaris Dawn mission went smoothly, with two of the crew members stepping outside of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, “Resilience.” It’s the first time civilians, rather than government astronauts, have performed a spacewalk.
🏈 Coming to Thursday Night Football: Defensive Alerts is Amazon’s new AI that tracks defensive players’ movements before a play and predicts who’s most likely to rush the quarterback. You can catch it in action this Thursday during the Miami vs. Buffalo game! Look for the red orb on your screen. Wonder how many times the AI will be right …
🍏 iPhone 16 details revealed: Apple announced the iPhone 16 lineup yesterday — bigger screens, improved camera specs and the “best battery life ever.” All models come with Apple Intelligence thanks to the A18 chip, plus studio-quality mics. Pro models get a 48MP ultrawide lens for pics (up from 12MP on the iPhone 15 Pro) and support 4K 120fps recording (pro quality). Preorders start this Friday, Sept. 13, and they’ll ship beginning on Sept. 20. Oh, and expect to spend $799 to $1,199.
Gotta wing it
Imagine soaring a couple hundred feet above the ground in your own personal aircraft. They’re called “short-hop adventure crafts” and they’re taking off. (Sorry, had to.) The electric BlackFly requires only seven days of training before you (not me) can take to the skies. Watch it in action!
Apalachee High School shooting: A teacher says a newly installed tech system called Centegix prevented even more casualties on Sept. 4. Staff carry digital cards that instantly alert law enforcement to a physical threat on campus. Officers arrived at the school within two minutes of the first shots going off. We need this to roll out nationwide now.
📉 Historic crash: On Tuesday, AI chipmaker NVIDIA’s stock tanked 9.5%, wiping out $279 billion of the company’s value. Wow! That’s the biggest single-day loss ever for a U.S. company. For perspective, only 27 companies worldwide are worth as much as NVIDIA lost. Investors are worried about AI and the U.S. economy. NVIDIA has denied reports it received a subpoena from the DOJ over antitrust concerns.
7 years
Since Costco’s last price hike. Starting this month, renewals and new customers on the Gold Star, Business and Business Add-on plans will pay $65 a year, a $5 increase. The premium Executive Membership went up $10 to $130 a year. At least hotdogs are still $1.50.
Heads-up, Gmail user: Starting Sept. 30, you won’t be able to use your Google Workspace account to log into third-party apps or devices that require only a username and password to sign up. If you see errors like “Invalid username,” “Invalid password” or “Unable to log in,” create a new account with the site instead of trying to log in with Google.