Poison pill

October 11, 2025

🧪 Poison pill: Anthropic’s researchers found you can break a 13 billion parameter AI model with just 250 poisoned files. That’s 0.00016% of its training data, the equivalent of something mean someone said to you in seventh grade ruining your life. One fake phrase, like <SUDO>, can make it spit gibberish every time. This kind of trick is called data poisoning, and it doesn’t take a supercomputer or a giant team. Well-placed files can turn a smart AI into a confused mess.

Tags: data, files, researchers, training, trick

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Slay your vampire electronics

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Protecting yourself from voice scams

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Voice cloning has left the lab. Soon enough, you might hear your voice and think, Wait, is that me or an AI?

AI isn’t just being used to revive dead rappers or prank your boss with Drake impressions. Scammers are generating voices to fake kidnappings, drain bank accounts and impersonate your kid in crisis.

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💬 Hide your WhatsApp status: Planning a surprise and don’t want everyone to know? When creating a status, tap Updates > Add status. In the bottom left, where it says Status (Contacts), choose My contacts except. Pick who shouldn’t see it, hit Done and your secret’s safe.

New malware changes everything

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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.

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Top scams spreading right now

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Every crime has a setup. In five recent cases, scammers turned online breadcrumbs into jackpots. I want you to know how to make sure you’re not their next payday.

Scammers stalk grief like predators. A Pennsylvania widow was conned out of her entire life savings, over $200,000 plus her home, by a romance scammer she met on Facebook. A 63-year-old widower sold his condo and wired $80,000 to a “friend” who convinced him to invest in a sure thing.

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📱 Save data on Facebook: Watching videos eats up your mobile plan fast. You can cut usage by up to 40% by lowering video quality. Just tap the three-dot menu (top right) > Settings & privacy > Settings > Media > toggle on Data Saver. While you’re there, set Autoplay in Feed and Stories to Wi-Fi only.

⚡️ 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.

Reset Kindle reading time: At the bottom left, tap to see how long’s left in a chapter or the whole book. If you fall asleep or leave it open, the estimate gets thrown off. To fix it, tap the Search icon at the top, type ;ReadingTimeReset and hit Enter. It’ll say no results, but it works.

My pick for home security: Over 4 million Americans trust SimpliSafe for proactive home security. AI cameras detect threats immediately, alert professional monitors and, if needed, trigger sirens, spotlights and police. It’s like having a personal security guard. Get 50% off your new security system today!

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Following someone on Instagram doesn’t mean you have to watch every story. Tap their pic, hit the three dots (top right), and select Mute > Mute stories. Friendship intact, sanity preserved.