🚨 How you could get blackmailed by your webcam

Welcome to a wonderful Wednesday, {{first_name | friend}}. AI’s been used for everything but predicting your death? Forget step counters and sleep scores. In one experiment, researchers trained an AI model to predict how long someone would live based on their health data. No crystal ball, no palm reading … just machine learning.

🪦 Now, for the brain teaser. How accurate was the AI predicting a person’s risk of death within one year? Was it … A) 52%, barely better than a coin toss, B) 68%, about as good as most doctors, C) 76%, impressive, or D) 91%, nearly perfect? Take a wild guess, then scroll down to the end to see if the AI outsmarted you.

👆 Just one, uno, un. That’s how many people I need you to forward this newsletter to. It helps us grow, keeps this newsletter free and makes the world tech-smarter. Plus, it’s your good deed of the day! Thanks in advance. I knew I could count on you!— Kim

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I hate passwords. They are a total pain in the butt. Now don’t kill the messenger…

Hackers have amped up their game and are using powerful AI software that can rip through millions of password combinations in seconds. Brace yourself, your password really needs to be at least 20 characters, and there should be a completely different one for each account.

Let me guess: You have a few passwords you just tweak depending on the site. That “hack” is exactly what hackers count on. Stop that.

Next mistake, maybe you’re saving passwords in your browser? 

I get it, it’s easy. Chrome, Safari, Edge, all offer to remember your logins with one click. Here’s the problem with that. If malware sneaks onto your device (and it doesn’t take much), it can grab everything you’ve stored, logins, emails, even credit card info, without you ever knowing. 

And rogue browser extensions? Some are built to harvest your passwords right from under your nose. 

Maybe you’re thinking, I’ve got this, Kim. I don’t need a password manager. Or maybe you’re using a bad one.

LastPass? Federal agents have linked the 2022 LastPass breach to a $150 million cryptocurrency theft. They say attackers used data stolen from LastPass, including private keys and vault info, to siphon off crypto. Myki shut down. Dashlane scaled back its free plan. RememBear hasn’t been updated since 2023. 

KeePassX? Abandoned. And even the main KeePass has had real vulnerabilities, including one that let attackers extract passwords from memory if the system was already compromised.

Bottom line: Not all password managers are created equal, and some have aged out of the job.

Maybe you haven’t checked it out yet. But if you’ve been thinking about finally getting a password manager (or upgrading from one that’s clunky or outdated), now’s a great time. I thoroughly tested NordPass, as a sponsor of my national radio show.

NordPass is fast, clean and built with security that actually holds up. It supports passwords up to 60 characters long, checks for data leaks, autofills like a dream and syncs across all your devices. Switching from another manager? Super easy.

Right now, there’s even a deal running:

Click here to check it out now. No pressure, just a heads-up in case now feels like the right time. You’ll feel the difference the instant you use it.

Your passwords deserve more than a sticky note or a half-broken vault. NordPass gets it right.

Windows 10 is officially done for. RIP. Don’t worry — you can pay Microsoft $61 per device for extended support. And it doubles every year. Cool. Plus, the “Hello, pervert” scam sweeping inboxes, side hustles that actually pay and AI gunning for your job.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now on your favorite platform:

You’ve got the tech. Now let’s level up their superpowers.

⌨️ Foldable keyboard & mouse (25% off): Switch between your laptop, tablet or phone with a single click.

Light-blocking stickers (40% off): Dim those darn LEDs. These covers block 50%-80% of glare, so your room feels like nighttime.

📺 TV cord covers (40% off): Because your TV shouldn’t have spaghetti hanging from it. Pop these on for a pro look in seconds.

Multi-port adapter (28% off): Seven more ports = zero headaches. HDMI, SD, charging, you name it.

📱 Suction cup mount (23% off): Need an extra hand? Get double-sided suction that sticks to almost anything.

Promo code of the day: Snag 35% off a new Apple AirPods Max Case with KE96P3I9. Hurry, it expires tomorrow at midnight (while supplies last).

🧠 More genius gear? Click here for my handpicked gadgets … all on sale!

🚨 Webcam’s worst nightmare: Remember those scam emails claiming someone caught you on camera during some “private” browsing? Stealerium makes that threat real. This dangerous malware spies on your screen and webcam while you browse, especially on adult sites, capturing what you’re watching and your reactions, then packages it all for blackmail. It’s spreading through fake “Payment Due” or “Court Summons” emails and can also steal passwords, cookies and browser history. Rule of thumb: Use a webcam cover, keep your software updated, and never click attachments or links unless you’re absolutely sure they’re legit.

Fake refund frenzy: Get ready for scammers pretending to be the state tax department texting promises of “Inflation Refunds.” The messages link to a fake site that steals personal info like Social Security numbers. Real refunds are automatic, so no links, no forms, no “enter your bank info or else” vibes.

🧰 Remember Facebook’s “Local Jobs”? Meta’s reviving the feature they axed in 2022, but now it’s tucked inside Marketplace, Groups and Pages, so people can find nearby work and message employers right in Messenger. You can expect to see it pop up this week. Basically Craigslist meets LinkedIn, but with more moms selling restored furniture. 

Tiny TVs, big feelings: If you had “’90s-style kitchen TVs making a comeback” on your 2025 bingo card, good for you. People are scooping up old under-cabinet sets that play nothing but DVDs, static and childhood serotonin. No apps, no autoplay, only a clicky knob and Good Morning America. 

📦 Santa’s little workforce: Amazon’s hiring 250,000 U.S. workers for the holidays, nearly half of the nation’s entire seasonal workforce. Competitors like Target and Kohl’s are keeping quiet, maybe because they’re not hiring much at all. Average pay? Up to $23 an hour. If you’re interested, apply before the jobs are all scooped up. 

🛒 AI meets aisle five: Starting in a few weeks, you’ll be able to shop Walmart inside ChatGPT. Yep, you can chat your way to new jeans or a TV without leaving the app (paywall link). It’s part of Walmart’s push with OpenAI, letting people link their Walmart or Sam’s Club accounts and hit “buy.” Fresh food’s not included yet, but everything else’s fair game. Next up: Black Friday brawls in-app. 

🩻 Ransomware meets radiology: Hackers hit one of the largest U.S. radiology chains, SimonMed Imaging, exposing data from 1.2 million patients. The Medusa ransomware gang claims it stole 212 GB, including scans, IDs and payment info. SimonMed says no fraud yet, which feels about as comforting as “it’s just a sprain” before you see the X-ray bill.

Dig through your drawers. Old BlackBerrys, Nokias and even cassette answering machines are now collectibles.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now on your favorite platform:

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: On Discord, you can temporarily mute a friend’s DMs so you don’t get notifications. Right-click their profile > Mute, and choose how long. You’ll still see the chat, just no pings.

“Help me schedule”: That’s Gmail’s new AI feature that makes setting up meetings easier. Hit the button in your toolbar, and Gemini checks your Google Calendar and the email’s context to figure out what you need (like a 30-minute slot next week). It then suggests times you can drop right into your reply. It’s rolling out to Workspace customers, AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers.

🤖 Free AI classes from Google: Google’s got an AI learning hub that’s worth checking out. Learn prompting basics, how to use chatbots like Gemini effectively and ways AI can help with marketing and automation. There are mini guides on getting your business on Google for more visibility. And yes, it’s free.

Uninstall stubborn apps on Windows: If Windows 11 won’t let you remove a program, it’s probably still running in the background. Open Task Manager, find the app, right-click and select End task. Then go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, click the three-dot menu next to it and hit Uninstall.

👥 Hide your Facebook friends list: Keeping your social circle private is always smart. Open the Facebook app and go to Menu > Settings & privacy > Audience and visibility > How people find and contact you > Who can see your friends list. Choose Friends, Specific friends or Only me, then tap Save.

🗣️ Going on vacay? AirPods Pro 3 can translate conversations in real time, so you can understand someone speaking another language. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and toggle it on. Then open the Translate app, tap Live > Set Up Live Translation, choose the languages and press Start Translation.

Looking for that luxury-car audio experience without, you know, buying the car? Say bonjour to the Odyssee Terre, a $27,000 Bluetooth speaker that’s more showroom than shelf.

Wrapped in hand-stitched calfskin and real wood, this French-made beauty features a 3-in-1 setup with detachable satellite speakers and a sculpted dock for full-body sound. 

It’s bold, it’s bougie, and it’s absolutely not coming with you to the beach.

Made in France, it has a certain je ne sais quoi, which is French for “Holy crap, who’d ever buy this thing!?!”

🩺 The answer: C) 76%. Researchers at the University of Nottingham trained an AI on 500,000+ patient records, and it predicted early death with 76% accuracy, even without using detailed notes or imaging. It found subtle patterns in age, habits and medical history that most humans miss. No ghosts, no Ouija board, just cold data. AI might not know where you’re going in the afterlife … but it might know when. ⏳

Speaking of… Did you hear about the man who swallowed six plastic horses? Thankfully, his doctors said he is stable now.

Guess what? This is the #1 tech newsletter in the United States. Tomorrow, I’m talking about when smart rings act stupid, and nearly cost a finger. 

🔮 You’re the future, and it looks good on you. — Kim

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Photo credit(s): ChatGPT, Hermes

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This newsletter and its content are intended for informational purposes only. They are provided without warranty of any kind. You shouldn’t construe anything provided here as legal, health, medical, technical, tax, investment, financial or any other kind of advice.

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