The knock-less monster

March 1, 2024

The knock-less monster: Consumer Reports discovered a gaping security hole in Eken’s $30 smart doorbells. Hackers simply need to download a separate app, press a button for 8 seconds, and boom — they’re in. They’re still up for sale on Amazon, Sears, TikTok and other sites, but don’t even think about buying one. Get a solid video doorbell instead — and 20% off the home security system I use with SimpliSafe.

Tags: Amazon, security

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Go smish! Texting scams impersonate these brands the most

Here’s a fun fact you can use to win a bet: 19.2 billion spam texts were sent this January. That works out to every person in the U.S. receiving around 19 spammy texts in just one month. Crazy, right?

Crooks have taken full advantage of how much we text by relying on SMS phishing, or “smishing,” the term for scam texts. They often pose as big brands to get you to give up personal info like credit card numbers and passwords.

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YouTubers are creating memorial videos for people they’ve never met

Earlier this year, a very dear friend of mine — and a talented 47-year-old cancer doctor and researcher — fell to the ground after delivering a presentation to hundreds of colleagues. All those doctors were in the room, and he passed away. So heartbreaking.

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Here’s something to get nostalgic about — the first banner ad on a website appeared in 1994. Was it for … A.) AOL, B.) Apple, C.) AT&T or D.) Intel?

Find the answer here →

5.8Gbps is the top speed of Wi-Fi 7 

The new standard was certified this month. Routers are available, but most devices don’t support it yet. Once we do connect, expect faster downloads, more stability and less latency.

See if your firewall is working

Even if a hacker knows your computer’s location and IP address, a firewall keeps them from accessing your system and network.

Newer Windows and Mac systems have built-in software firewalls — but one wrong setting can leave your computer vulnerable. I know it sounds complicated, but there’s a simple way to check if yours is working.

Gibson Research Corporation’s (GRC) ShieldsUP!! scans your firewall to make sure your ports aren’t exposed. If ShieldsUP!! can see your ports over the internet, so can someone else with the right port-scanning tools.

Click Proceed on the home page and then the GRC’s Instant UPnP Exposure Test button on the following page.
If your computer doesn’t respond to the test, your firewall is working. Yay!
If there are issues, GRC links to how-tos and articles to check for common problems.

🌨️ If girls are made of sugar, spice and everything nice and boys are made of slime, snails, and puppy-dog tails, what’s the cloud made from? Linux servers, mostly.

700 customer service agents laid off and replaced with AI 

Klarna says its customer service AI bot “is doing the equivalent work of 700 full-time agents” — yep, the number of customer service personnel it let go in 2022.

$30,000 right to a scammer

How much an 80-year-old man “invested.” The Michigan resident sent the moolah to someone he met on Words With Friends claiming to be an LA investment banker. The money and “advisor” are gone — along with his win streak, I’m guessing.

$5 to $20 for a selfie

The fee owners of the viral pink Stanley cup are charging. No kidding, the sold-out travel mugs are in that high of demand. I’m not usually a fan of altered photos, but to anyone considering this offer, Photoshop (and freebie versions) exist.

44 miles of electric driving 

For the Toyota Prius Prime SE before switching to hybrid mode. It’s the “greenest” car in America. Its weight, tech and build make it more efficient than fully electric cars. The real shocker: The Prime SE is available in six colors, and none of them are green.

Keep your comings and goings private

You can prevent iOS and Android from tracking you, but they don’t make it easy. The feature is buried inside your device’s privacy settings and, by default, records your daily routine. Here are the steps to take back some of your privacy.

Turn off location settings on Apple devices

Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
Scroll and tap System Services.
Choose Significant Locations to see the logged record of where you’ve been and toggle it off.
You can also remove your history here by clicking Clear History.

Change location settings on Android devices

Open Settings.
Scroll and tap Location or Advanced if you have a work profile.
At the top, turn off Use location.
To delete your device’s location cache, tap Delete Location History at the bottom of the screen under “Location History.”
Repeat this process for each Google account you have on your Android device.