Seriously frightening

March 21, 2024

Seriously frightening: The White House warns the nation’s water systems are a big target for foreign hackers. Case in point: Iranian hackers recently targeted a Pennsylvania facility. Their advice? Beef up cybersecurity by changing default passwords and ensuring software is up to date. Uh, ya think? I recommend keeping a few cases of drinking water on hand.

Tags: cybersecurity, hackers, passwords, software, White House

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Reader question: 'I want cameras to watch my house when I'm gone, but not when I am home'

In times of crisis, it’s hard to get a clear view of the situation. That’s why irrefutable evidence is so valuable. Say a friend visits for a party, and your favorite vase is missing the next day.

Or maybe two family members get into a fight, and their stories contradict each other. You’ll have a hard time hammering down the facts. Security cameras can tell you what really happened when you have doubts. Tap or click here for five uses for security cameras you never thought of before now.

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Financial safety: Protect yourself from these emerging tax scams

It happens every year. We need to file our taxes, and scammers come out to steal from us. Here’s what you need to know right now.

Every year, the IRS releases a list of scams to watch out for. These are the biggest ones for this year:

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$30,134.75 per video could be in North West’s pockets 

That’s if the 10-year-old daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West decides to monetize her TikTok account, which currently has 18.8 million followers. What a world.

A safe phone is a locked phone

If your phone locks after 10 seconds (too fast) or 2 minutes (too long), change that. I recommend 30 seconds — it’s ju-u-u-st right.

On iPhone: Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock and choose a length of time.
On Android: Go to Settings > Display and look for a Timeout, Screen Timeout or Sleep option.

94% of hospitals disrupted by a cyberattack

It was on a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary. The company said it’s paid out $2 billion in advances to providers while it rebuilds its payment claims systems. I’m not saying this wouldn’t have happened if they read this newsletter … but it probably wouldn’t have.

$495,000 for dinner in the stratosphere per person

SpaceVIP will soon offer dinners for six in a spacecraft 100,000 feet above Earth. I hope the place has some atmosphere.

32% drop in used EV prices thanks to Tesla’s big price cuts

Used gas car values are down just 3.6%. Cue the party horn if you’re shopping for a used EV … and the sad trombone if you’re selling.

$12 off your DirecTV bill 

That’s per month when you drop local stations. The “No Local” package is expected to be popular during the summer (reruns!), with people resubscribing to local channels for the NFL season.

52% of daters surveyed have used LinkedIn to get a date

And that jumps to 61% for folks ages 35 to 40. LinkedIn: Good for your career and your love life.

It’s covered in gross

Did you take off your smartwatch the last time you were sweaty or when you took a potty break? Yeah, didn’t think so. Wearable gadgets host 30 times more bacteria than your toilet. Do this, like, now:

Turn it off and remove any straps attached to it.
Take a small amount of rubbing alcohol to a cloth or cotton swab. Use it to wipe the screen and exterior of the watch. Avoid the straps!
Let the watch air dry completely before reattaching the straps and turning it back on.

✂️ Better way: Use a UV sanitizing box to kill bacteria on your smartwatch. While you’re at it, toss in your phone and keys, too.

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