Get the best vacation deals, without getting scammed
Aloha! I’m so excited. I just booked a trip to Hawaii. I scored a great hotel, a fabulous room and a knockout price (hello, extra night free!), so I figured there’s no better time to share my tricks.
And, because cyber creeps are everywhere, I have travel scams to warn you about, too. Let’s book your summer vacay or upgrade the one you have the right way.
Website detective: You can use this IP address tool to look up any URL. Click the IP address when it’s brought up to see where it’s located. Look for suspicious signs, like an American business with an IP address from somewhere overseas that just doesn’t make sense.
Browse on the sly: You looked up a tutorial to fix the dishwasher … and YouTube won’t stop recommending more fix-it vids. Next time, open the YouTube app > tap your profile picture > select Turn on Incognito.
Because you’re not going to read it: Terms of Service; Didn’t Read is both a website and a browser add-on that summarizes the key points before you hit “Agree.”
🔎 Quick search: Hit the Windows logo key + S. You’ll get search results across your files and the web. On a Mac, Cmd (⌘) + spacebar is your search shortcut.
Mac video upgrade: When you’re in a vid meeting, click the camera icon in the top right corner of the toolbar. Select Studio Light, and click the arrow to make your face bright and your background darker. The downside? It only works on newer Macs with an Apple chip.
Who the heck is that? There’s a spiffy new feature coming to the Google Phone app in the next update. Tap on a number in your “Recents” list, and you’ll see a Lookup option. It opens up a search for that number so you can see who it is. Yup, reverse lookup right on your phone. Nice.
🩻 Doctors get paid by drug and medical device companies: That can influence what they recommend to patients. You can look up your doctor on this site for free.