Tag: security

Your clearance aisle find is a future paperweight

That $49 smart camera looked like a deal, until it forgot how to smart.

The gift that keeps on charging you

Not all gifts are created equal. Some come with surprise monthly charges.

Gifts under $50 (that they’ll actually love)

Chargers, cozy gadgets and smart home steals up to 52% off!

Your tech smart Thanksgiving travel survival guide

You need to know these pro travel tips, especially the one about how to see if your plane is on time.

✈️ Black Friday travel tech: Your gear is UP TO 50% OFF!

Pack smarter (and way safer) with these limited-time steals

$100 million stolen from the Louvre: The hack was Windows XP

Robbers didn’t defeat the Louvre alone. Outdated Windows and a password called “LOUVRE” helped.

Smart mirrors for your bathroom are here

I remember the first time I saw a bathroom mirror with a built-in TV. I was at a ski lodge in Vail and called Barry to come see it.

Identity theft starts small and ruins big

Last month, a friend of mine, we’ll call him David, got an alert from his identity protection service. It wasn’t a $2,000 charge for a new TV. It wasn’t $10,000 worth of phones in another country. It was a $48.50 bill opened in his full legal name for a utility company in a city he’d […]

Fly the unfriendly skies

Flying soon? Listen up. At 40 of the country’s busiest airports, flights coming and going will be reduced by 10% this week.  That means thousands of flights canceled, or in other words, 200,000 fewer seats and butts in the air per day. Blame it on a record‑long government shutdown. Major hubs will be the hardest hit: […]

🎁 Gifts under $50? You betcha!

Holiday shopping stressing you out? Skip the gift-card trap. I’ve rounded up 10 amazing gifts, all under $50, that bring joy, wow, and are easy on the wallet. Let’s jump in. 🔪 Titanium tough, easy clean Slice your meat on one side of this cutting board (43% off) and your veggies on the other. Nonstick […]

Stop porch pirates from ruining your holidays

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for gift-giving and the worst time because of gift-stealing. Over $2 billion worth of parcels got stolen in the last three months of 2024 alone. That’s a lot of missing presents and stocking stuffers. With the right gear, you can leave porch pirates out in the cold.  […]

Unleash your inner IT overlord

I read every comment you leave at the end of this newsletter, and one theme always stands out: You want to know all the hidden things your tech can do!  Lucky for you, uncovering those “I had no idea!” moments is my superpower.  🪟 Secret Windows restart trick Frequent shutdowns can fix most computer issues, […]

Ransomware hackers upped the game, and it’s personal

If you read one thing today, let it be this, because the rules of ransomware have officially changed, and not in a “Yay, innovation!” kind of way. For years, the scam was simple: Hackers locked up your computer, holding your files hostage and demanding a ransom in Bitcoin for a promise to give your data […]

Plug the leaks in your digital life

Hackers, scammers and snoopers are getting slicker every day. Your gear should, too. I did the digging (so you don’t have to) and found the best tools to outsmart them. Let’s check them out! 🛡️ Guard your cards RFID blocking cards ($5, 50% off) stop fraud before it even starts. Slip one into your wallet, […]

For whom the bell tolls unpaid

You’ve probably seen it: a text that says something like, “You have an overdue toll balance. Click here to avoid late fees.” It looks official, urgent and believable enough to make you think maybe it’s legit. That text is part of a very sophisticated scam run by Chinese criminal gangs, and they’ve already made over […]

How to freeze your credit and protect your identity

“Hey, Kim, I just was notified that my personal data was part of the recent SimonMed data breach. My data’s already out there from another breach. Does it even matter anymore?” — Sara in Newport Beach, CA Hearing about breach after breach at banks, hospitals, insurance companies, even schools, it’s easy to feel like throwing […]

Your password is too short. Let’s fix that

I hate passwords. They are a total pain in the butt. Now don’t kill the messenger… Hackers have amped up their game and are using powerful AI software that can rip through millions of password combinations in seconds. Brace yourself, your password really needs to be at least 20 characters, and there should be a […]

Amazon’s new gear is live: Everything you can buy right now

“Alexa, what’s new?” Oh, just about everything. Amazon just dropped a truckload of new gadgets, including smarter speakers, sharper sound and security tech that practically thinks for you. Don’t worry, I’ve translated all the techie stuff into plain English, so you know what’s worth your money. 🔊 Alexa gets bass (and smarts) Meet the Echo […]

The privacy threat no one blocks

You mention Antarctica once. Just a throwaway joke near your phone, “Wouldn’t it be cool to go freeze my face off?” Suddenly, your phone, laptop, smart TV, smart speaker and even your fridge are pitching you parkas like it’s QVC Arctic Edition. 🥶 Chances are, you were hit by ultrasonic cross-device tracking. This high-frequency sound […]

The suburban hacker house: She helped North Korea infiltrate American tech

This isn’t a ripped-from-the-headlines new Netflix series. This really happened in a quiet neighborhood called Litchfield Park that’s about a 20-minute drive from Phoenix, Arizona. Christina Chapman, 50, looked like your average middle-aged suburban woman. But inside her humble home? A secret cyber ops center built to help North Korean IT workers buy equipment and […]