Alexa sure is handy, as long as you know the pro tricks for getting the most out of the Amazon smart assistant. Kim shares 7 tips to make your Echo experience more secure, useful and fun. Learn how to adjust your privacy settings, change the way Alexa sounds, upgrade your audio and much more with this week’s Digital Life Hack.
Kim Komando answers about black hat hackers, VHS archives, smart homes for seniors and more: Tech Q&A
Each week, I receive tons of questions from my listeners about tech concerns, new products and all things digital.
Sometimes, choosing the most interesting questions to highlight is the best part of my job.
This week, I received questions about black hat hackers, VHS archives, smart tech for seniors and more.
Do you have a question you’d like to ask me? Tap or click here to email me directly.
Hacker tales
Q: I’ve heard of white hat hackers and black hat hackers. What do they do? Have you ever been hacked?
A: Most of us will never encounter a white hat hacker. In general, they are busy testing major security networks. But you have almost certainly benefited from their work, even if you will never know who they are: white hat hackers help companies protect consumers against black hat hackers.
If you want to learn more about the difference, as well as my own experiences with internet security, I strongly recommend watching my interview with a white hat hacker. It’s pretty enlightening. Tap or click here for a video about my hacking experience.
Archive your analog
Q: My photos and videotapes are sitting in shoe boxes. It’s a mess. What can I do to get them into the cloud or something like that?
A: Not long ago, I knew several people who were re-photographing their old slides. They would project the old carousel images on the wall and then, using a tripod, snap a picture with a digital camera. Just remember: the digital versions are all you’ll have, so you don’t necessarily want to scrimp on quality.
Luckily, an entire industry has grown around digital transfers, and you no longer require bulky or expensive equipment to turn old Polaroids and VHS tapes into sharp digital files. Such services are likely as close as your nearest Costco. They aren’t exactly free, but you may be surprised how affordable these upgraded copies are. Tap or click here for easy ways to preserve your old photos and videotapes.
5 essential steps to protect yourself from hackers and online criminals
Only you can safeguard your own device. You have plenty of tools at your disposal, but unless you use them, you will lose this battle. To help you protect yourself from viruses, phishing, malware, and ransomware, here are five tactics that will bolster your defenses and keep the invaders at bay.
Virtual assistant spies, saving texts, burner phones, and more: Tech Q&A
Each week, I receive tons of questions from my listeners about tech concerns, new products and all things digital. Sometimes, choosing the most interesting questions to highlight is the best part of my job.
This week, I received questions about virtual assistant spies, saving important texts, burner phones, and more.
Use this one trick to protect yourself as data breaches hit all-time high
Every week seems to bring news of corporate data breaches that are putting millions of Americans’ information in peril. The year isn’t even over, but 2019 is shaping up to be the worst in terms of data breaches. We’ll look at how 2019 is measuring up to 2018 and what have been the most egregious hacks so far.
Get faster internet by changing this one setting
Have you ever been frustrated by slow internet speeds? There are many things that could be causing delays in your connection speed. No one likes waiting for web pages to load or videos to play. But if you haven’t changed this setting on your computer, you’re probably not getting the speeds you deserve.
Phone trackers, search deletion, checking strange links and more: Tech Q&A
Each week, I receive tons of questions from my listeners about tech concerns, new products, and all things digital. Sometimes, choosing the most interesting questions to highlight is the best part of my job.
This week, I received questions about hidden phone trackers, ending robocalls, checking strange links, and more.
Best internet browsers: Comparing Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge | Digital Life Hack from Kim Komando
Which internet browser should you use? Kim compares well-known and top-used browsers based on safety, privacy, ease of use and personalization. Find out why you may or may not want to use Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, Tor and even Internet Explorer.
Nearly half of our readers polled at Komando.com use Google Chrome. What’s your favorite browser? Which will you never use?
Kim's son Ian gives a moving speech
It’s graduation season, and many of you will be watching your kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews reach that big life milestone over the next few weeks. I’m right there with you. My son, Ian, just gave his senior speech and talked about something very near and dear to my heart, his hero — my mother. Warning: Grab the tissues. (Ian’s speech starts just after the 6-minute mark.)
Deepfake videos are getting terrifyingly real
If you thought fake news was bad, then you won’t believe what’s coming our way in the future. Widely seen as the next generation of hoaxes, Deepfakes are videos that use artificial intelligence to edit faces, motion, and speech with scary accuracy. In a Deepfake video, you can make any politician say anything you want, or swap the face of a person you know on a salacious picture for instant blackmail. The worst part: it’s getting harder to tell them apart from the real thing. This video might disturb you.
Urgent! Update to iOS 12.2 now – It has 50-plus critical security patches
If you’re an Apple fan, it’s an exciting time. Earlier this week, the company held another reveal event. But this time, it didn’t focus on all of its new shiny gadgets.
Instead, we learned about a bunch of new services. AppleTV+, Apple News, Apple Arcade, and there’s even a new Apple credit card in the works.
How to make money selling your photos online
There are many amazing views in the world that make for spectacular photos. Whether you’re on vacation and capturing a beautiful sunset or just out on a local hiking trail, the opportunity to take some great pictures is out there.
Apps known to track you and steal your data
Have you ever had an app ask you to access your phone’s location? Of course you have, we all have. How about those apps that want access to your smartphone camera and contact list?
If you think about why they do this, it might creep you out. In this Komando on Demand podcast, you’ll learn the dirty secrets that some app developers don’t want you to know.
Find nearly anyone online
Do you want to connect with old friends? Perhaps a long-lost classmate from your childhood or a former neighbor or co-worker who moved on years ago.
Whatever the reason you wish to track down an old acquaintance, searching on Google or Facebook might not always bring up the best results you want. But I found a cool website that could be a better way for you to find people online.
This 'Home on the Range' ranch home costs $35 million
Have you ever wanted to fulfill your dreams of living the cowboy lifestyle on a large farm estate? Maybe wake up in the morning to feed the cows, ride the horses and then later explore your 30,000 acres? The Hobble Diamond Ranch offers a multitude of amenities, and is accentuated by the Yellowstone River that runs through the property.
Clearing cache made easy
So what is your computer’s cache? Why do you need to empty it? And when? Here’s how to do it. It’s easier than you think, and you can do it in less than 2 minutes.
Highlights from the Jerry Lewis telethon
For 44 years, the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon was a tradition of the holiday. The telethon raised billions for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and gave us “Jerry’s Kids.” Check out the best moments of telethon over the years, including the comedian’s surprise reunion with old pal and partner Dean Martin.
Is your browser secure? See if it needs updating
Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari and Opera. What do all these things have in common? They’re all web browsers, and they all need to be kept up to date to stay safe online.
Each browser has multiple versions out there at any given time. Why? Because when updates are released, some people choose not to install them. This is not a good idea.
Remove yourself from people search sites
Want to hear something a little bit creepy? Anybody who’s willing to pay online information brokers – aka people-search sites – can learn your phone number, address, criminal record and a lot more. Even more creepy? This information doesn’t always come at a price. You could be giving it away.
What is life like in a supermax prison?
For the worst of the worst criminals, there’s one prison in the mountains of Colorado that they won’t be able to break out of. Isolated from the rest of the world, this prison is the only supermax in the country, and is a life sentence to all who go there.