| Plus: GPS app leaks secret locations, fake election texts, spot a recall  In partnership with Oracle NetSuite | | 🎃 It's a boo-tiful Thursday, friend! I'll never forget when Alice Cooper, along with his kids, rang my doorbell one Halloween, sporting all his dark eye makeup. I winked at him and said, "Nice costume." He said, "It's my daily look." Before the trick-or-treaters arrive, brush up on the most popular Halloween costumes so you know who (or what) the heck is at your door. This map shows costumes trending in your area. I expect a lot of little Deadpools and flappers this year. But first, I have a lot to share to make sure you're tech-ahead and never tech-behind, left in the digital dust! — Kim 🆕 Today's podcast: Chinese hackers in your phone ⏱️ Daily Tech Update: Should you get Apple's iOS 18 and AI? 💡 Digital Life Hack: Send that cold email, now 📬 Was this email forwarded? Sign up here for free | TODAY'S TOP STORY Don't skip this  Your Social Security number is one of the most sensitive pieces of personal information you own. Too bad yours (and mine and every other Americans') has likely been leaked and sold on the Dark Web. Before you panic, there are a few steps you can take right now to protect yourself and your identity. Is it really that big a deal? It sure is. Your Social Security number is the key to the castle. It's the unique identifier that connects your financial, government and personal records. ▶️ With your SSN, criminals can open credit card accounts, apply for loans, hijack your tax refunds, use your government benefits or even apply for jobs. Yikes. There's an easy step you can take To safeguard your Social Security number, use the government's free Self Lock feature. This tool prevents your SSN from being used for unauthorized employment verifications. You'll need an E‑Verify account to do this online. You can also request a block by calling the Social Security Administration at 1‑800‑772‑1213. Expect to wait on hold for a long time. So many red flags, I thought I was at the circus How do you know if your SSN is in someone else's hands? Let me count the ways … - Unexpected bills or strange accounts: Receiving bills or statements for accounts you never opened, especially credit cards or loans, is a bad sign.
- Unfamiliar tax forms: If you get tax documents like W‑2s or 1099s from jobs you didn't hold, it could mean someone used your SSN for employment.
- Tax filing issues: This is a major way folks find out their SSN has been compromised. If the IRS reports a return already filed under your SSN, someone may have claimed a fraudulent refund.
- Credit report surprises: Look for unexplained changes, accounts or inquiries on your credit report. Get yours free once a year here.
- Government benefit denials: We're talking disability, Medicare and other benefits someone else already claimed with your SSN.
Suspect your SSN was stolen? Move quickly. Start with the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov. Fill out the form there, and you'll get an entire plan for how to recover your identity and protect yourself going forward. The IRS also has a place to report if you suspect someone is using your SSN: Identity Theft Central. Check with your bank, credit card providers and insurance company, too. Some offer free fraud and identity theft protection services that can help you keep everything locked down. 🦸 Phew, I know. That was a lot, but this is important stuff. Send this to the people in your life, and you'll be a privacy hero. | DEALS OF THE DAY Hello, problem – meet your solution 🛠️ I love an easy fix. These are worth having around when you need 'em. - Your hair sheds. Get a pack of easy drain clog removers ($8 for a 9-piece set).
- If your old charging cables are starting to fray, slap on some cord protectors to keep 'em going (4-pack for under $5).
- The car is a sticky mess. Put coasters (33% off a 4-pack, $6) in your cup holders for easy cleaning. So many colors!
- Your plant babies are looking sad. Try this leaf shine spray from Miracle‑Gro (under $9).
- Fall boots looking dingy and water-spotted? Reviewers say this suede and leather brush is a miracle worker (35% off, $6.49).
| WEB WATERCOOLER 📍 Secret Service agents spilling secrets: How? By using the GPS fitness app Strava, which is more like a social media site. Sure, agents can't use their personal devices while on duty, but it's OK off the clock. Agents' Strava profiles gave away the locations of President Biden and his wife, former President Trump and his wife, and Vice President Harris. If you use Strava, set your privacy to the "Only You" setting. You'd think that the Secret Service's top brass would've known about this. FWIW, I've been warning about this app for years. Don't believe the text: Thousands of Pennsylvania residents got a text message that read, "Records show you voted" with a link to an official Pennsylvania site. The scammy organization behind it, "AllVote," says it was a mistake. I call BS. Hit this link for your state's official ballot tracker. 🔍 Facebook, Instagram, Bumble and Hinge are guilty: They're just some of the social media and dating apps quietly collecting your political and religious views and selling them to third parties. They claim it's for app functionality and analytics, but we're smarter than that. And you can get your personal info out of these databases by signing up for Incogni. Use this link for 60% off.* 🏠 Knock-knock! Who's there? Elon Musk dropped $35 million on two massive homes within walking distance of each other in Austin, Texas. The big plan? A family compound for two of the three mothers of his 11 kids. Rumor has it only one mom has agreed to move in. Musk tried to keep it hush-hush, making sellers sign NDAs and offering 70% above market value. Didn't work. I get this: My Amazon Astro robot has been turned off, and I miss the little guy. Rationally, we know robots don't feel emotions. Practically, we're still softies. Researchers in the Netherlands asked participants to shake a robot. If it was silent, they'd do it again — no problem. If the bot made a sad sound, they'd try to avoid it. ✈️ This new rule is so fly: Woohoo! U.S. airlines now have to give you a cash refund if your flight is significantly delayed or canceled. The best part? It'll happen automatically; you won't be required to ask for a refund. Airlines will have to pay you back within seven business days if you paid by credit card or 20 calendar days for other payment methods. See ya, vouchers. Go ahead, take my money: Apple is upgrading its 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with its zippy M4 line of processors. The basic 14-inch M4 MacBook starts at $1,599 with 16GB of RAM, and the 16-inch M4 Max is $3,999. Preorders are open, with shipping slated to start on Nov. 8. Psst, this means the older models are on sale. 🎗️ All survivors are warriors: This is great news. MIT researchers are inserting miniature particles directly into tumors. They use heat to kill tumor cells and chemo to attack cancer cells. In tests, tumors in mice were completely eliminated, and they lived far longer than those with single treatments. I hate that cancer took my mom from me and my family. | TECH LIFE UPGRADES 🤑 Work for or volunteer at a nonprofit? Score free or discounted Microsoft 365, aka Office and all the Copilot AI tools. Hit this page to see if you qualify. To apply for a grant, have your legal identifier, physical address and contact info on hand. Take Apple's hearing test: You need an iPhone running iOS 18.1 and a pair of AirPods Pro 2. Put in your headphones, open Settings on your iPhone, then tap the shortcut for AirPods settings. Look for Hearing Health, then tap Take a hearing test. Follow the on-screen prompts. Do it in a quiet place for the best results. If you have more than mild hearing loss, get a 45-day risk-free trial of the Horizon IX hearing aids.* Repeat after me: I will not download some random PDF editing app. Scummy developers can sneak in malware. Next time you need to adjust a PDF or add your John Hancock, go to edit.ing or sign.ing from Adobe. 🤳🏼 Stranger danger: If you use apps like FaceTime or WhatsApp for calls, your IP address could be shared with the person you're talking to. Want to keep your IP private? Open the app, hit Settings, find Privacy or Connection, and switch off Peer-to-peer. Your calls might not be as clear, but your IP will stay hidden. Keyboard rockstar: Move through your open tabs with just your keyboard. Press Ctrl + Tab on Windows or Cmd + Tab on a Mac to cycle. To quickly close your active tab, hit Ctrl + W on Windows or, on a Mac, Cmd + W. | BY THE NUMBERS 400,000 products Sold on Amazon that can injure or kill you. Amazon may or may not notify you, so log in to check if any of your past orders have been recalled. Use the Your Recalls and Product Safety Alerts page now to see if something you bought could harm you. $29.9 million in profits For Reddit in the third quarter. What's the big deal? It's the first time the company has been profitable in its nearly 20-year existence. The number of users jumped almost 50%, too, and they're making millions letting AI companies use posts and comments for training. 80 times the going rate What the Air Force paid for soap dispensers on its C‑17 aircraft — almost $150,000. They also overpaid by nearly $1 million for a dozen different spare parts. Why? Contracting officials failed to review invoices. If you're reading this with any government pull, I can provide a daily newsletter 80 times the going rate. Oh … that'd still be free. | WHAT THE TECH?  For sale on Facebook Marketplace. | UNTIL NEXT TIME ... 👻 I stumbled upon this and had to share. In the 1930s, a guy named William Hope claimed he'd captured dozens of photographs of spirits floating alongside the subjects of his portraits. You have to see these pics. For the record, he faked it. Why'd the ghost go to the doctor? He couldn't stop coffin. OK, that was bad, even for me. That's a wrap! See you back here tomorrow, friend. I've got the skinny on weight loss drugs for sale all over social media and online. Until then, stay your amazing self. I appreciate YOU! — Kim | Komando Referral Program Refer one person That's all you need to get my latest eBook, "50 Smart Ways to Use AI," a $9.95 value — yours for FREE! 1️⃣ Copy your link: https://referrer.komando.com/69cb7d0c/3 2️⃣ Share your link on social media, through email, in a text — your call! 3️⃣ Kick back and relax! When someone uses your link to sign up for my newsletter, I'll send my new eBook to your email address. CLICK TO SHARE → Or copy and paste this link to others:
https://referrer.komando.com/69cb7d0c/3 | In "50 Smart Ways to Use AI," Kim shares helpful prompts for today's most common AI chatbots. Whether you're tackling spreadsheets, planning rainy-day activities or developing a wellness plan, let AI handle the heavy lifting for you! |  | | How'd we do? What did you think of today's issue? | | |
|
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.