Your forbidden book section: Keep your steamy romance novels on lock by creating a passkey for your Kindle. Tap the three dots (upper right) and go to Settings > Device Options > Device Passcode. Your passcode can be up to 12 digits long. That’s hot!
Tags: Amazon Kindle, books/e-books, Passkeys, settings
You’re pulling your hair out, trying to fix something on your computer. You Google it and find what looks like a helpful website or a tutorial with easy step-by-step instructions.
Phew, you’re finally solving your problem, but hold up! You’ve just walked into a “scam-yourself” attack. Cybercreeps use this clever strategy to trick you into compromising your tech so they don’t have to do the dirty work.
It seems like every week, there’s another disturbing story in the news about hidden cameras. Spying on unsuspecting victims is nothing new, and, thanks to today’s tech, these creeps have taken their creepiness to a whole new level. Unfortunately, it’s easier than ever to get away with these crimes. Here are some recent ones we know about.
🥳 I’m gonna live to 94: That’s according to the viral Death Clock app that’s all over social media, with people sharing eerie “save the date” results. Drawing from over 1,200 life expectancy studies with 53 million participants, the app analyzes your diet, cholesterol, blood pressure, exercise, stress and sleep to calculate your expiration date. PSA: After you answer the questions, the app tries to sell you a membership. Just click the faint gray “X” in the top left corner to see your results for free.
For older adults is linked to bone loss. A whopping 23 million Americans take Levothyroxine. A Johns Hopkins Medicine study found it may lead to osteoporosis. Chat with your doc if you take this medication and ask what you can do.
It’s Computer Security Day, and there’s no better time to remind you malware is lurking everywhere. From phishing emails to unsuspecting ads, just one wrong click can compromise your personal info or infect your devices.
🖥️ A solid CCleaner alternative: Microsoft released a new version of its free PC Manager app for Windows 10 and 11, and it’s way better. You can view your internet speed in real time from the taskbar and delete temp and unnecessary files even faster. Bonus: On Windows 11, you can integrate it directly into your widgets. Go get it, my Windows friends.
🚨 Netflix renewal scam: Cybercriminals are sending fake Netflix texts claiming your account’s about to be suspended. They’ll say there was an “issue processing your payment” or a “failure in your recent payment” and ask you to sign in through a link. It’s just a trick to steal your login details and credit card info. Don’t fall for it.
Text-raordinary mistake: RCS messaging makes texting between an iPhone and Android device better, but there’s a catch: These messages aren’t encrypted. Google Messages is encrypted for Android-to-Android, and Apple Messages does the same for iPhone-to-iPhone texts. Between Android and iPhone? No encryption, meaning it’s super easy for a hacker to see your texts.
An allowance for grown-ups: Social Security is upgrading its login system and ditching mySocialSecurity usernames and passwords. Using the mySocialSecurity site? You’ll need to create a new login ID for Login.gov. If you already have a Login.gov account or an ID.me login, you’re good to go. Yeah, it’s confusing, but what do you expect from the government?
Gen Z is paying the price: Around 47% plan to use buy now, pay later services for their holiday shopping, and about 65% like using credit card installment plans — higher than any other generation. But many Gen Zers are spending on things like meals at fancy restaurants, designer goods and first-class plane tickets. This isn’t going to end well.
