Tag: network

Insurers cancel homeowners over aerial photos, sometimes outdated or flat wrong. Here’s how to fight the eye in the sky.

Homeowners are opening nonrenewal letters triggered by photos taken from planes and satellites: moss on the roof, a tarp, yard clutter. One insurer-backed imagery network says its cameras cover about 99% of the U.S. population. Nobody knocks, nobody calls, the letter just arrives. Four moves fight back, starting with demanding the photo.

Consumer Cellular runs on the same towers as the big guys. Here’s what’s different and what it means for your bill.

Ralph is saving $875 a year. Marta, $675. Jon, $1,095. Same towers, same 5G signal, way smaller bill. Here’s how Consumer Cellular pulls it off and the two catches to watch for.

Don’t lose interest

Your savings account might be earning $1 a year on $10,000 while an FDIC-insured online bank pays $400 on the same money, with the same government insurance. A fintech collapse once froze $112 million in customer deposits, so here’s how to verify a bank is real before you move a dime.

TSA warns you about fake airport Wi-Fi

One scammer got a 7-year prison sentence for tricking airline passengers. The weapon hackers use is legal and costs $100. And in a recent twist, criminals are compromising legitimate Wi-Fi networks at hotels.

Why 911 can’t always find you when you call from a cell phone

Uber can find your front door, but for years, 23 million 911 calls annually went to the wrong dispatch center. A federal fix just kicked in, but it still has holes. Here are the phone settings that close them.

You bought it. They can still switch it off.

Companies are quietly bricking gadgets you already paid for or locking the features behind a subscription. Here’s how to spot the problem and how to buy around it.

Three companies just confirmed data breaches in one week. Here’s what to watch for.

One Medical, Kodak and Novo Nordisk all confirmed breaches within days of each other, putting millions of records at risk. A health care network, a household name and a major drugmaker, all hit by the same wave of attacks. Here’s what each breach exposed and what to do if you’re affected.

Ron asked: My bill crept up $55. Which fees can I kill, and will Consumer Cellular pull the same stunt?

A reader in Detroit finally looked at his phone bill after 18 months and found it $55 fatter. Here are the exact charges you can delete tonight, plus the honest answer on whether switching to a cheaper carrier restarts the same trick.

Your Wi-Fi password won’t save you. Here’s what will.

A reader asked if he really needs a VPN at home when his network’s already locked. Short answer: Yes. Here’s the part your internet provider hopes you never find out.

Your dentist’s billing company just exposed 2.6 million people’s personal data

A hacker group called ShinyHunters broke into DentaQuest, one of the biggest dental benefits administrators in the country, and leaked 234 gigabytes of data after the company refused to pay. If you’ve ever been on Medicaid or Medicare Advantage, your name, address, birthdate, government ID and health insurance details may now be public. Here’s what to do right now.

7 companies owe you money. Here’s how to claim every dollar.

Amazon, Trader Joe’s, Bank of America, Krispy Kreme and more settled lawsuits over sneaky fees, bad receipts and data breaches. Payouts run from $3.25 to $5,000, most claims take five minutes and the first deadline is Tuesday.

You deleted it. Now it’s gone everywhere.

Two listeners thought they had backups. They didn’t. Here’s the difference that could save your photos, files and five years of memories.

Your Spectrum bill isn’t the only thing they took. Hackers claim 42 million customer records.

The group that hit Ticketmaster just targeted your internet provider. Here’s what was stolen, why Charter’s statement doesn’t add up and what to do before May 27.

Texas says Netflix was spying on your kids. And selling it.

Texas sued Netflix for secretly tracking your family’s every click and handing the data to strangers. Here’s exactly what got collected, how dark patterns kept you hooked and what to do about it right now.

Amazon quietly built the largest private surveillance network in America. You helped.

Tens of millions of Ring cameras. New Echo Shows with cameras pointed at your living room and no privacy shutter. A mesh network called Sidewalk covering 95% of the country. AI that scans an entire neighborhood for matches in seconds. Here’s what’s really happening at your front door.

That “free” hotel Wi-Fi is watching everything you do. Here’s what it’s collecting.

You connect to hotel Wi-Fi and think you’re just checking email. But hotels log every site you visit, every app you use, then sell that data to the highest bidder.

Microsoft warns: That ‘IT guy’ messaging you on Teams could be a hacker

Microsoft just sounded the alarm on a scam exploding across American workplaces. Hackers are sliding into Microsoft Teams posing as your help desk and talking employees into handing over their computers. Here’s the exact playbook, and the three moves that shut it down cold.

How one cell tower serves a $20 plan and an $80 plan at the same time

Mark from Colorado asked how Consumer Cellular can use the same towers as the big carriers. The answer is the open secret of the wireless world. Once you get it, your whole phone bill starts making sense.

Stanford and Harvard proved AI can outpick your fund manager

Three studies. Some very uncomfortable numbers for the guy in the Patagonia vest.

Your internet provider can see every show you watch. And they’re using it against you.

You’re paying $80 a month for internet. Your provider is watching exactly what you do with it and quietly punishing you for it. Here’s what’s happening inside your connection.