🔒 Hackers are now leaking your secrets online

🧐 Can you guess which of these words and not-so-words claimed the throne? A) “Rizz” (again), B) “Skibidi,” C) “67” or D) “Delulu”? Go on, take a stab at it. The answer’s waiting for you at the end. 

Ever Googled yourself and wished you hadn’t? 😬 With a few clicks, strangers can easily and quickly find your home address, phone number, political affiliation and insurance records, along with complete details about your family. Yeah, that’s terrifying. Incogni finds and removes your info from over 420+ data brokers and people-search sites and works to keep it off for good.

📂 Click the “From:” address above and add me to your address book. Old school, but so is missing a great thing. — Kim

📬 Was this forwarded to you? Be the first to know, not the last to hear. Sign up now. It’s free!

If you read one thing today, let it be this, because the rules of ransomware have officially changed, and not in a “Yay, innovation!” kind of way.

For years, the scam was simple: Hackers locked up your computer, holding your files hostage and demanding a ransom in Bitcoin for a promise to give your data back. 

But people and companies started getting wise and saying, “No thanks, we’ve got backups. Go pound sand.”

So the crooks got meaner. Like, Real Housewives reunion-level mean. They’re stealing your files before you even know they’re there and threatening to dump them online for the world to see.

I’m not talking about boring spreadsheets or a few tax forms. 

They’re after your deepest, most private secrets, such as all your emails, your medical records, browsing history, AI chatbot sessions, the videos you never meant to share or the ones you would not want anyone to know you ever watched, the contracts, the texts, the photos. Anything they can use to humiliate you or wreck your reputation.

Some criminals run their own public leak sites, where they post stolen data as a warning. Pay up, or everyone you know will see exactly what we’ve got on you. That includes all your personal and business contacts because they have those, too.

Say you still don’t pay up. Then, they take it up a notch. They dump it all on the dark web where there is no way you can buy it back. 

This isn’t about locking you out and collecting a few hundred in Bitcoin anymore. It’s about dragging your life into the light. 

Embarrassment. Blackmail. Legal trouble. They want to destroy you. And the only way to avoid it all is to make yourself too hard a target.

You don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert, just be smarter than the scammers.

The hackers aren’t bluffing. They’re counting on you being lazy, distracted or trusting. But now you know better.

Use the share icons below, so your friends and family are in the know, too.

An AI startup offered to build me a digital avatar of my late mom, using photos, videos and recordings. Thousands of you wrote to me about it. In this show, I reveal my emotional decision.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now on your favorite platform:

🪓 Amazon trims the suits: Amazon axed 14,000 corporate jobs, about 4% of its white-collar crew. Yep, it’s not the warehouse workers getting replaced this time, it’s the middle managers (paywall link). Gartner says one in five companies will flatten management with AI by 2026. AI can handle reports, strategy planning and meetings without needing HR drama sessions, paid paternity leave or sabbaticals.

Let. Them. Fly. So you finally dropped your teen off at college, cried in the car and told yourself you’d let them figure it out. Then you joined your kids’ school parent Facebook group. Now you’re asking complete strangers if professors take emails and how to check grades without the little cherubs knowing. Countless parents are going into full helicopter mode. Deep breath, college is for them to learn, not you. 

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? China built a $226 million underwater data center off the coast of Shanghai. Why? Seawater keeps everything cool for free, and the project runs on offshore wind power. The servers are literally sitting under the ocean, and I’m here worrying about spilling tea on my MacBook. 

📈 Protect what you’ve earned: If you’ve been watching the markets or feeling uneasy about your savings, you’re not alone. That’s why I trust Goldco. They help you move part of your retirement into gold or silver to guard against inflation and market swings. Simple, smart and secure.*

Apple’s family problem: A mom with legal custody says her ex used Apple’s Family Sharing to spy on and control their kids, track locations, set screen limits, even block apps during her custody time. As you can imagine, Apple’s hands are tied. Turns out, only the account “organizer” holds power, leaving the other parent locked out, even with a court order. Share this with someone you know who is recently divorced.

👻 Now you see it: Boo! Threads dropped “ghost posts” that vanish after 24 hours, and only you can see the likes or replies, which show up as DMs. Meta says it’s for “unfiltered thoughts.” Finally, a feature for people who can’t stop deleting their posts.

What your scrolling says about your bank account: Ever caught yourself scrolling bad news before bed? That might say more than you think. A viral creator claims constant scrolling is both a bad habit and a class signal. Overworked, burned-out folks escape online, while the wealthy and trust-fund types scroll the wine list. We all cope how we can. Here’s something to think about: Tablets were replaced by scrolls. Scrolls were replaced by books. Now we scroll through books on our tablets. Wild.

Four years and billions of dollars later, it seems the Microsoft cofounder changed his mind on climate change. Why? Get the lowdown in this short podcast.

Listen on Komando.com →

Got a honey-do list a mile long? Start here.

🧰 The ultimate gift set: A full 276-piece toolbox ($100, 21% off) and a power drill? You betcha. Wrap this up and make someone’s Christmas morning.

Your pipe’s winter coat: Slip on a two-pack of outdoor faucet covers ($6, 40% off) before the first frost. Way cheaper than a plumber visit.

👟 Solid grip, no fuss: Tracking in dirt? A pack of 100 disposable shoe covers ($8, 47% off) saves you from having to whip out your mop.

Tiny fix, big win: These rubber chair leg caps ($10, 17% off) stop your furniture from scratching your beautiful floors. 16 in a pack = enough for four chairs.

✅ For your inner Mr. or Ms. Fix-It: See 25 more gadgets that made my “home helper” list over on my Amazon page.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: When your cell service is “wonky” (technical term that means acting like a toddler without a nap), turn on Airplane or Flight mode, wait 10 seconds, then turn it off. Your phone will reconnect to the nearest tower. This one’s a favorite, it almost always does the trick.

🎃 Keep tabs on Halloween night: Worried about the kids heading out after dark? Slip an AirTag or Tile tracker into their costume or treat bag, so you’ll always know where they are. Add a few glow bracelets to their wrists for extra visibility on the roads. Peace of mind for you, more candy for them.

Speed up your startup: If your computer feels slow when it first turns on, too many apps might be launching in the background. Go to Settings > Apps > Startup to see what’s set to open automatically. Look for anything marked “High impact,” and toggle off what you don’t need (like Microsoft Edge). It’ll free up some memory. 

🤖 Lead smarter, not harder: You’ve asked for book recommendations, and here’s one. AI’s here to stay. Geoff Woods’ book The AI-Driven Leader shows you how to harness AI to make faster, smarter decisions. Each chapter is packed with real-world examples, prompts and tips you can start using today. A must-read to help you stay tech ahead and not fall behind.

On the hunt: I tried all the job sites, word of mouth and even talking up job openings on my shows. It didn’t work. But I’ve had great success finding really wonderful, hardworking people on LinkedIn. Post a job for free right now using my link.*

😅 Hide old YouTube videos: Keep those cringey family vlogs to yourself by making them private. Go to your Profile > YouTube Studio > Content, and change Visibility to Unlisted. They’ll disappear from search and recommendations, and only people with the link can watch. Memories preserved, pride intact (and the kids will thank you).

Are you in the market for a new roommate who actually loads the dishwasher instead of pretending not to see it?

Meet NEO, the world’s first humanoid robot built for your home, and yes, you can actually buy one. It’ll set you back $20,000.

NEO chats, folds clothes, tidies shelves, suggests recipes based on what’s sitting on your counter (leftover pizza?) and even lifts up to 66 pounds. It moves quieter than a whisper (just 22 decibels), and it can also stare at you while you sleep. Comforting, right?

It’s only available for preorder because the tech isn’t quite there yet. 

So unless you’re dying to be the beta tester for what may or may not be the future of domestic bliss, you might want to hold off. Or at least make sure it doesn’t learn how to open the front door.

The answer: C) “67.” Not a sound, not slang, just a number that Gen Alpha has apparently turned into a punch line, reaction and inside joke all rolled into one. What’s it mean? Nothing, and that’s the whole joke. It started with meme culture and TikTok edits, and somehow “67” became shorthand for the next-gen tastemakers’ absurdity.

As I’ve always said, if you don’t rizz your delulu, you’ll skibidi your 67. Slang is short for “shortened language.” It’s not. But it should be.

You may not control the internet, but you can control your data. Incogni removes your personal details from hundreds of people-search sites and data brokers. Protect your privacy now and save 60% with my special offer at privacykim.com.

Tomorrow, why your car insurance rates went up and secret ways to save on those expensive premiums. This is the #1 tech newsletter in the United States.

⚡ Keep that spark buzzing all day long. I’ll see you back here for the next round. — Kim

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