Techish

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

Amazon Prime Day scams ramp up, here’s how to protect yourself:

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Check Point Research (CPR) sent us an email this morning, saying they've spotted an increase in malicious activity in the run-up to Amazon Prime Day 2021, one of the largest online shopping events of the year. This year's event, slated to occur on June 21-22, promises millions of deals and special offers to Amazon’s 150-million-plus Prime subscribers around the world. CPR says of particular concern is that nearly 80% of domains containing the word “Amazon” are potentially dangerous. CPR also reports that cybercriminals are impersonating the Amazon brand ahead of the annual shopping event in order to trick people into credential theft of their email addresses, payment details and passwords, ... Read more

Can your kids sue you for oversharing on social media?

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If you are like 82% of parents in America, you have posted photos or videos of your kids to social media, a blog, or other places online. This might seem completely natural and innocent when you are doing it. There’s even a name for it — sharenting — and everyone else does it too, right? Your kids are cute, funny, and a big part of what you do every day. Why not share photos of them? Because your kids are humans with a moral — if not legal — right to privacy, they won’t always be children, and you are probably doing it wrong. “Kids at ages ten, eleven, and twelve, often have a digital coming of age,” explains Stephen Balkam, Founder and CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute.  “And ... 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

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

Tech That Makes Driving—for You and Your Kids—Safer

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The first time I drove a car with an advanced driver assistance system, I was humbled. It was a Volvo and I was test driving it in horrendous traffic in the San Francisco Bay Area. I turned on "adaptive cruise control," which keeps the car moving at a set speed while braking to prevent collisions. I also used "lane keep," where the car actually steers itself to stay in the lane. The traffic was stop-and-go but I didn't care because the car was handling it well—until traffic suddenly started moving, that is. My car sped up, trying to find the speed I'd set, at the very moment someone cut me off. My driver's reflexes kicked in and I hit the brakes. But by the time I did, the Volvo had ... Read more

Do you have a digital will? You should, here’s why:

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Every year, Facebook sends me a reminder to wish my sister a happy birthday. Sometimes, it tries to lure me back to Facebook by saying my sister hasn’t heard from me in a while. My sister is dead. But there is nothing I can do to stop these reminders. She didn’t tell anyone her Facebook password before she died. In fact, Facebook is just one element of her digital life that reaches out, like a ghost, pretending she is still with us. Most of her online life is completely lost to us and we will likely never find it. There might be bank accounts we don’t know about, online friends who are wondering why she never writes, photo collections, and email accounts full of people we don’t know. No ... 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

These are the safety gadgets women need right now!

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When Sarah Everard was abducted and killed while walking home at night, the women of social media (and London, where she lived) exploded in anger. Authorities responded by telling women not to walk alone or go out at night and every woman felt the frustration of being told that attacks by men are our fault. We have all been there, heart pounding, clutching our keys, with the knowledge that, probably, keys will do nothing to stop anyone who is determined. What happened to Sarah is what we all fear every day. Let’s face it, talking on the phone, holding your keys, wearing sensible shoes, and avoiding walking at night are not that helpful—as self-protection goes. And if bad men in the world ... Read more

This “tech support scam” is stealing millions from seniors, including my own mom:

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My 76-year old mom is an incredibly tech-savvy senior who commands her gadgets more like a Millennial than someone born the same year the ballpoint pen was invented. She also has an array of built-in tech support experts all around her — including me — her own daughter! Still, when a giant yellow “alert” covered half of her MacBook Pro screen a few weeks ago, warning her that hackers had taken control of her device and to call the “Apple Support” number on the screen immediately or else...she did just that. But the real danger wasn’t a virus on her computer. It was the man who answered on the other end of the phone. A NEW VERSION OF THE OLD TECH SUPPORT SCAM  “I’m so embarrassed,” she ... 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

HOW TO: Make Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri into Your Personal Assistant

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If you watched any science fiction when you were a kid, you probably expected that, by now, you would have a robot assistant and appliances to do all the work for you. You know what? If you have a computer, an Amazon Echo or Google Home, and a cell phone, you do have a personal assistant, and it will do a lot of the work for you. This is when you need it, too, right? After a year of working from home while trying to manage kids and be a homeschool teacher, you need some help. Here are seven tips for making the technology you already have -- do your work for you. 1.      Use Reminders How can you focus on your own work if you need to remind your kids to go to class, get someone to ... Read more

Consumer Reports: Treadmill safety warnings follow tragic death of a toddler

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***This article was shared with us by Consumer Reports. You can read the original here.*** By James McQueen, Consumer Reports Peloton's disclosure Thursday of a child's death involving the company's treadmill is a reminder of the dangers home exercise equipment can pose to children and adults alike. Company CEO John Foley told customers in a letter posted on the company’s website about the “tragic accident,” and advised Peloton owners to “take care to review and follow safety warnings and instructions” that come with the company’s exercise equipment including the treadmill called Tread+. Foley did not provide any details of the accident, but did note that the company was aware of ... Read more

How the latest fitness apps can hack human motivation (in a good way)

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This article and video originally appeared in USA Today 2021 https://youtu.be/9kyVtwP8Kwc More than 50% of Americans made the same New Year's resolution this year – to “do more exercise and improve their fitness” – according to a recent poll by international data and analytics group YouGov. By the second week of February though some 80% of us give up, and go right back to bad habits and old excuses. My longtime go-to: “Tomorrow, I’ll exercise tomorrow.” Sound familiar? Yeah, it did for me too until I spent the last few months trying out more than 20 different fitness apps and gadgets. I used each one at least three times, adoring some, abhorring others. Within the first week, some clear ... Read more

HOW TO: Use a Zoom filter (but not get stuck as a cat!)

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Sometimes the bloopers are the best part of the show. If you haven’t seen the best #zoomfail of all time yet — click here first. So what happened? An attorney accidentally showed up as a cat in a virtual hearing in Texas. The lawyer said he was using his secretary's computer, and she has a young daughter — which may have led to the mishap. Now — check out how to do it yourself — but not get stuck as a cat! (Or a potato - yep that happened too!) Pro tip: Don't get carried away with the filters - some bosses say it makes them crazy! That said - you show me your best filters and I’ll show you mine! ... Read more