Techish

Getting Venmo’d money for your side hustle? The IRS wants to know:

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Tax Day is April 18th this year, but the IRS is throwing a few curveballs already. It recently introduced important new tax laws relating to payments for goods and services through mobile apps like PayPal, Venmo, and the Cash App, along with online marketplaces like Etsy and even Airbnb. These new laws come as quite a change for tens of millions of self-employed gig workers and people with side hustles. So here's the important info for anyone and everyone who uses these apps (which is pretty much ALL of us these days!) WHAT'S THE CHANGE? Starting January 1st, 2022, Venmo, PayPal, and all the other payment apps must tell the IRS if you make more than $600 for the sale of goods and services. ... Read more

Use these browser extensions to get the best deals on everything you buy!

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Amazon has a reputation for offering the lowest prices on many of its products, but it's not always the best place to find deals. Whether you're doing some casual online shopping or prepping for early Black Friday sales (check out the best discounts on TVs and headphones so far), using a coupon browser extension like OctoShop or Honey could help you find the lowest price possible. A quick privacy note: The extensions on this list work by scanning every site you visit for potential coupons, which could potentially expose you to some security issues. Before installing any of them, it's worth your while to check out its privacy policy. That noted, all the ones we've highlighted ... Read more

11 easy ways to get extra income renting out your stuff

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Looking for a side gig or a source of income that does not require you to learn a new skill, get up at dawn, or work for The Man? Look around your life. There might be something you aren’t using much that could easily become a second income.  With the help of a little technology, you can rent out everything from your boat to your truck to your backyard. Some of it will earn you hefty returns. Here are 11 ways to easily make money renting out your own stuff. 1. Your driveway If you live somewhere where parking is a challenge, you can rent your driveway or parking spot on Curb Flip and make money off of that situation. You can rent the spot out all the time or only when you aren’t using ... Read more

How to get a disposable email address and phone number (and why you’ll want to)

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You know that moment when you want to claim that discount for giving up your email address but aren’t sure you want to subscribe to whatever SPAM that site plans to send you? Or when you want to send an email to someone but wish you could do it without giving them your email address? There is an easy solution to both of those dilemmas and many more: Get a burner email address. Or maybe you want to give out your phone number to that hottie you just met but fear you'll end up with a stalker if that goes south? Or maybe you are selling on Craigslist and don't want that random couch buyer to be able to call you later. A disposable phone number, one you can shut off at any time without losing ... Read more

Are your smart home devices spying on you?

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As we approach – or pass – the dates of some of the dystopian futures predicted in the science fiction I read as a child, I’m looking around my home wondering if any of it came true. Are robots replacing humans? Are we living on spaceships? Do we have flying cars and replicants? Mostly, the answer is no. But there is one fantasy future that gives me pause: Terry Gilliam’s Brazil predicts a world where bureaucracies know everything about us and make life-altering decisions based on that data. In this fever-dream film, the bureaucracies make terrible mistakes and citizens are helpless to correct them. I frown at my smart TV, Amazon Echo, Google Assistant, and Siri and think, “Well, that’s ... Read more

How to tell if someone is watching you through your webcam

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That tiny camera on your laptop, smartphone, or tablet – the one that’s pointing your direction all hours of the day and night – has been the MVP of COVID. Many of us have relied on webcams for work, connecting with family, and even going to school this past year and a half. But webcams can have a dark side, too. Cybercriminals use them – or, more likely, use our fear about what a stranger might see if someone hacks into them – all too often these days. The Better Business Bureau warns people about a sextortion scam that’s been around for a few years but hit people especially hard as the pandemic boosted webcam use. It often starts with an email claiming that some creep’s been spying on ... Read more

How to get your tech to read that book out loud for you

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Have you ever been deep into a book and had to put it down to go somewhere? What if you could get in your car, put on your sneakers, or close your eyes and fire up that book – right where you left off – and have your phone read aloud while you get where you need to go, get some things done, or just lie in a tub with a damp cloth over your your eyes? Sound good? You don't have to buy anything, probably. You can do this from your phone, your Kindle, or your Amazon Echo. Here’s how. Use Amazon's Whispersync The easiest, slickest, and most enjoyable way to have a book read aloud is to use Amazon’s Whispersync. You have to own both the Kindle version and the Audible version of the book ... Read more

Are apps charging your credit card and you don’t know it?

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Over a year ago, I signed up for a free trial for online fitness site NEOU. I canceled my account before the trial was up, but the company charged my credit card $50 anyway, signing me up for the annual plan at the new member’s price. I noticed the charge, complained, and they quickly refunded my money. A year later, though, the company charged me again. Again, I complained, and again, I got an apology and a full refund. I write about technology, so I probably sign up for more free trials than most people and systematically cancel them. But, still, I am frequently hit with unwanted charges to my credit card. This happens so often that I wondered if free trials are a scam designed to ... Read more

Is Amazon Prime Day worth it? And, how do you snag the best sales?

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Amazon Prime Day is almost here. It starts at 12 AM PT on Monday, June 21, and concludes at 11:59 PM PT on Tuesday, June 22.  In 2015, Amazon launched Prime Day to commemorate its 20th anniversary. Typical of the site’s penchant for taking over the world, Prime Day has taken just six years to rival what was previously the only day of the year – Black Friday – when people went insane over a sale. I never thought there was a deal worth braving an angry crowd for, so Black Friday never held much appeal for me. But is Prime Day worth it? Given that you don’t have to get up at dawn, wait in line, or get into fisticuffs to participate, it’s pretty easy to say that that Prime Day is worth it. ... Read more

Amazon Sidewalk shares your Internet connection with neighbors. Here’s how to turn it off.

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Amazon is using our Ring doorbells and Echo smart speakers, among other smart home devices, to make a new kind of wireless network called Sidewalk. It automatically shares a slice of your home network with your neighbors’ devices, unless you OPT out of that function. Not everyone loves that idea. Nor do "all the people" like the idea of Amazon opting everyone "in." On Tuesday, June 8th, Amazon switched Sidewalk on — for everyone. If you don't love the idea of sharing your personal WiFi with everyone else around you, you have to opt-out of this new feature. We show you how below. But first, why, what, and WTF? Here's what it does: Sidewalk is a low-power, low-bandwidth, ... Read more

Five Super Easy Ways to Tell if That Link is Legit or a Scam

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You got an email – or a text – from your bank, Fedex, the IRS, or someone you tend to pay attention to when they send emails. So, wondering where your shipment is or attempting to resolve a financial issue, you click on the link in that message, log into your account, and … oops. You just fell for a phishing attack. A scammer has your login credentials. Phishing is a clever scam designed to trick you into giving important login credentials to a thief who wants to use those credentials to rob you. It is the most common form of internet crime, according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, with 241,342 known victims in 2020. This type of scam is most often done via email but is ... Read more

USA TODAY: Robocalls making you crazy? Here are 5 ways to stop them on your smartphone:

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***** THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY RAN IN USA TODAY***** Remember back in the day when your phone rang, and you would answer it? Robocallers have ruined that. Now we stare suspiciously at every call and send unknown numbers, even when it looks local, straight to voicemail. And for good reason! So far, in 2021, scammers have made 22 billion calls nationwide. That's roughly 67 calls to every man, woman, and child in America. Answering calls from an unknown number invites a scammer – and in many cases, actual criminals – into your life. Here are the five most straightforward ways to block robocalls and eventually get them to – mostly, hopefully, fingers crossed – stop calling us for ... Read more

Ready to travel? Take this tech along for the ride:

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***This story first posted to USA Today*** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hS4AzdqLCY After more than a year stuck at home — and thanks to the just-relaxed mask mandates for the fully vaccinated — some 37-million people plan to travel over Memorial Day. If all goes well, summer vacation season could be off to a banner start, and life might finally start resembling something closer to "normal." But the sudden freedom to travel again doesn't mean it's all smooth sailing. Airfares are on the rise, rental cars are in short supply, and hotel room rates are skyrocketing. Even finding an available — and affordable — vacation home or campsite near many popular destinations in the U.S. ... Read more

Check out these cool tech tools for our post-pandemic world

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As many states reopen businesses shuttered by Covid-19, everyone’s trying to figure out ‘what now?’ How do we go back to work safely? And what’s in store for all those places depending on our post-pandemic, in-person return to survive — like restaurants, bars, movie theaters, sport, and entertainment venues? The whole “new normal” means new worries for many small-to-medium-sized businesses in America. Just under a quarter (22%) closed for good as of February this year according to a recent report from Facebook. What's more, a study by economists at the Federal Reserve shows Covid-19 led to the permanent closure of some 200,000 more establishments in the U.S. than in a normal year. So the ... Read more

Ten Apps That Put Money in Your Pocket

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How often do you pay full price when you shop because finding a deal is too time-consuming? Do you shop online and leave the "discount code" section of the checkout interview blank because you don't have a code? And how much cash do you get back when you shop? If you aren't bragging right now about the deals you get, the fun you have watching the price drop in your shopping cart, or the hundreds of dollars you net in cashback rewards, you are leaving money out there that could be yours. You don't have to devote your weekends to coupon clipping or schooling up on savvy shopping tips for this. You just need to download an app or two and let it do the work for you. People are claiming ... Read more

10 Online/Cyber Scams You Need to Know About Right Now!

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A plague is terrorizing the nation. No. Not that one. A cyber plague! The cyber plague is a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but its target is your wealth and identity, not your health. For scammers, the pandemic is a perfect storm of opportunity. Entire workforces went from working on company networks – protected by security pros – to working from home. People are home, constantly online, already scared, and often slipping into debt. Then came stimulus checks. Next came vaccines. And then more stimulus checks. It has been a rough year for law-abiding citizens. But it has been a gold rush for scammers, hackers, and cybercriminals. Scammers reach you through any means available to ... Read more