| IRS changes, creepy AI, Facebook ads that work ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏  | | Welcome to a wonderful Monday, friend! Let's start with a couple of keyboard shortcuts I know at least 1,000 of you will thank me for. ▶️ On your desktop, when watching a video on YouTube, tap the number keys to skip to a specific percentage of the video — press 5 to jump to 50%, 8 for 80% and so on. But wait, there's more! Press K to pause a video, J to rewind and L to fast‑forward. It's time to catch up on my podcast. Take me on a walk with you. Hit this link to find it on your favorite podcast player, then subscribe so you'll get each new episode as I release 'em! — Kim 📣 Don't keep me a secret: Share the email with friends (or copy URL here) | TODAY'S TOP STORY Free VPN, big problems  I'm cheap and try to save a buck wherever I can. I use all my credit card perks, always click the coupon boxes on Amazon, and, to my husband's great annoyance, cancel streaming services the minute we stop watching them. There's one place where free will harm you: Your online privacy and security. Let's take a deeper look at what happens if you trust the freebies, sponsored by the virtual private network (VPN) I've used for years. The numbers paint a scary picture One of the main benefits of a VPN is anonymity. With the click of a button, you can cloak your browsing history and pretend you're somewhere else in the world. Use a free VPN, though, and you're essentially agreeing to some kind of shady behavior. At best, the app that promises to keep your online activity "private" is selling it off to anyone willing to pay. At worst, it's a front for malware that steals everything from your bank login to your phone contacts. 👉 It's not just a few sketchy VPN apps, either. Data shows about 80% of free VPNs embed tracking features and 60% sell data to third parties. Free Android VPNs are an especially big target, with an estimated 39% hiding malware. Use one of these? Get it off your phone Some free VPNs are built primarily to serve malware. Others become infected when hackers target them. Either way, it's bad news for you. - MaskVPN, DewVPN, PaladinVPN, ProxyGate, ShieldVPN and ShineVPN: All infected with the same strain of malware that compromised 19 million IP addresses in 190 countries.
- Big Mama VPN: It's just a front for selling access to your home internet and network.
- LetsVPN: A target for hackers using SEO poisoning and phishing to lead people to fake download pages. It's a dangerous option to search for right now.
- Connect Secure VPN: This is another hacker target, and it's actively spreading malware.
When it comes to a VPN, it's all about trust I've tried so many VPNs over the years and ditched most after a few days. My pick, ExpressVPN, won't slow you down, and it's so easy to use. ExpressVPN encrypts your online activity so no one — not even your ISP — can see which sites you visit or what apps you use. It's a must if you're using public Wi-Fi, and it masks your IP address to prevent tracking. With a VPN, you can also unlock geo-restricted shows and movies on your favorite streaming platforms, change your location for shopping sites that charge more to ship to some areas, and prevent your ISP from throttling your internet speed. I chose ExpressVPN because it … - Keeps your activity private: It masks your identity by routing your connection through a secure server. ExpressVPN has servers in 105 countries.
- Encrypts your data: Nobody can peek into your personal info.
- Simple to use: Open the app, tap one button and you're protected.
- Works on all your devices: ExpressVPN has apps for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, routers, TVs and more. You can connect up to eight devices to one account.
- 24-hour live chat support: Real humans are available 24/7 to help you with setup and troubleshooting.
Even better? There's a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you're not happy, there's no risk. ✅ I want you to stay safe, so I negotiated a special deal just for you. Go to ExpressVPN.com/kim and get an extra four months FREE when you sign up for a one-year plan. | KIM KOMANDO TODAY Facebook's fake animal rescues Abandoned kitten! Pup caught in a gate! Many of those dramatic rescue videos are staged just for clicks. Awful. Tap or click below to play this podcast now. Use this link to listen on Komando.com → | DEALS OF THE DAY Stuff for life's little annoyances These finds will make your day-to-day issues a little easier. - Stop wasting your time pulling the ladder out of storage to change one bulb. Use a light bulb changer.
- Trying to hold onto your bag in a bathroom stall without a hook is one of life's greatest struggles. This portable hanger ($20) is genius, and every woman I know would want it.
- Let them eat bagels! This bagel guillotine is too fun and works surprisingly well.
- QR code labels ($10) stick onto boxes so you can scan to know exactly what's inside. Ah, storage nirvana.
- Use a cup holder expander ($10) so you don't have to let your big water bottle roll around the car.
🥶 Rough winter? This space heater is 43% off right now. Go, go, go, before the frostbite hits! | WEB WATERCOOLER ⚖️ TikTok hearing update: Legal experts say the Supreme Court appears likely to uphold a law banning TikTok in the U.S. on Jan. 19. While the platform's lawyers argue the ban violates free speech, the nine justices remain laser-focused on national security concerns. The app won't be completely forbidden, but you won't be able to download it from app stores or receive updates. No word yet on whether you'll still be able to use TikTok on the web. Tax tip: The IRS is urging taxpayers to enroll in its Identity Protection PIN program, which relaunches this week. This six-digit number is assigned to you and prevents scammers from filing tax returns using your SSN and personal info. To get yours, create an account on the IRS website, verify your identity through ID.me, then click Profile and scroll down to the IP PIN program. Mac warning: Hackers have developed sophisticated malware dubbed "Banshee macOS Stealer" that can swipe credentials and sensitive data. The scary part? It can lurk undetected for months. Only download apps from legitimate places and invest in antivirus software with real-time protection. My pick is TotalAV.* Mining my own business: I've followed this story for years. A British judge just said no to a man's plan to dig up a landfill in search of his hard drive holding the equivalent of $765 million in bitcoin. Why? First, the landfill legally owns the trash. Second, excavating it could release harmful substances and endanger local residents. Oh, and it's been over 11 years, so there's no guarantee the data is even recoverable. 🤢 This is gross: Creepy AI apps are allowing folks to create videos of real people making out without their consent, like this one, which uses a picture of a young girl and her older male crush. These videos can be generated in seconds. The worst part? Most of these apps are listed as safe for teens in the app stores. YouCam, Fotorama and Mova AI are just a few examples. Amazon's shutting down Prime Try Before You Buy: It's all over at the end of this month. Now, they're pushing AI features like Virtual Try-on AR, which lets you see 3D renders of shoes on your feet, for example, using just your smartphone camera. 🦖 No, thanks, Dad: Alex Volkov, an "AI enthusiast," gave his six-year-old daughter a $200 AI-powered dinosaur from Magical Toys. He showed her how to make the dinosaur talk using AI. She turned it off. Using the app, parents can view their kid's chat history and give the toy's AI topics to talk about. I'd never buy it; AI hallucinates, and just think of all the data being collected. 👨🚒 DIY firefighting: A 60-year-old man saved his home from the Palisades fire with special equipment he'd purchased in advance. He soaked his house with water pumps, sprinklers and a hydrogel retardant he mixed in his backyard hot tub. Sadly, the homes surrounding him weren't as lucky. Here's the video showing how he did it. | DAILY TECH UPDATE Is your resume bot-proof? Before a recruiter sees it, bots decide if your resume makes the cut. Here's how to beat the system. Tap or click below to play this podcast now. Use this link to listen on Komando.com → | TECH LIFE UPGRADES Fear of the unknown: On a Mac, preview files instantly with Quick Look. Just select a file and hit your spacebar. This works for docs, images, videos — whatever. Windows pals, there's a QuickLook app in the Microsoft Store so you can do the same. Nice. Screenshot with ease: On iPhone, press the side button + volume-up button. On Android, it's usually the power + volume-down buttons. 📈 Facebook ad tip for small-biz owners: Use Engagement Custom Audiences to target people who've already interacted with your content (e.g., someone who has liked one of your posts or watched a video). This cuts the cost of getting a qualified lead. Love that! To get started, go to Ads Manager > Audiences > Create a custom audience. Then, be sure to try my upcoming small-biz newsletter for more smarts like this. Don't just hope for the best: AI can help you stay on track. Just prompt your bot of choice with something like, "Help me create a daily habit that'll help me reach my resolution of [your goal] with a 30-day tracker. Include tasks for weekly milestones and small rewards for consistency." Be one of the 10% of people who stick to their 2025 goals! iPad and Kindle trick: Next time you read a word that stumps you, press and hold down on it, then select Look Up for the definition. 🚨 Keep your home safe with SimpliSafe, now 50% off! It's easy to set up, and there are no contracts. Plus, it comes with 24/7 professional monitoring, because peace of mind shouldn't break the bank. Don't wait — grab this deal and protect what matters most!* | BY THE NUMBERS 41% of companies Will replace jobs with AI by 2030. Clerks, secretaries and graphic designers could be the first to go. Know how to design using AI tools? 70% of employers want to hire you. 157 million users Watching ads on Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. About half of all new Disney+ subscribers picked the cheaper ad-supported option. That's helping the streamer rake in $321 million in operating income, a huge turnaround from their reported $387 million loss a year ago. 41% lower risk Of head and neck cancer by drinking three to four cups of coffee per day. Researchers dug into 14 studies with over 25,000 people. They found heavy coffee drinkers had a 30% lower risk of oral cancer. Even decaf helps. For tea drinkers like me, there's a 9% risk reduction for both and 29% lower for hypopharyngeal (lower throat) cancer. I hate cancer. | UNTIL NEXT TIME ... One final tech tip. I'm feelin' the keyboard shortcuts today. Here's a faster way to navigate when you have a lot of tabs open: Hit Ctrl + 1 (or 2, 3 and so on) to go to that tab number. On a Mac, it's Cmd + [number]. To cycle through your open tabs, hit Ctrl + Tab (Windows) or Cmd + Tab (Mac). Which keystroke combination beat all the rest in the shortcut contest? Win + R! (You can steal that one from me.) Phew, that was an action-packed issue. Leave a thumbs-up review if you liked this issue. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow with the USA's best tech newsletter designed to keep you tech-ahead in this crazy world! — Kim | How'd we do? What did you think of today's issue? | | |
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