🚨 Porch pirates are hacking tracking numbers to beat you home

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When Wi-Fi first entered our lives, most of us were happy to ditch dial-up tones and stop fighting over the landline. But this wireless wonder wasn’t designed so you could stream cat videos from your couch. Nope, its origin story is straight out of science fiction.  

👩🏼‍🔬 Can you guess what scientists were trying to detect when they stumbled upon what became Wi-Fi? Was it: A) Weather patterns, B) Submarines, C) Exploding stars or D) Airplane turbulence? Stick around, the answer’s patiently waiting for you at the end.

🚀 Spread the smarts. See those little icons under the top story for Facebook, X, LinkedIn, email? One click, and boom, send it straight to your friends, coworkers or that one relative who really needs to see it. Btw, I handpicked every story in this free newsletter just for you. Even the corny jokes are all me. — Kim

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Porch pirates are getting bold. Really bold. Last year, someone disguised as a bag of trash crawled up to a porch to steal packages. Funny to watch, not funny when it’s your stuff.

Forget following around Amazon delivery vans. Thieves are hacking into AT&T, UPS and FedEx records to watch tracking updates and pounce on packages seconds after they arrive.

Request a signature: For anything expensive, always require someone to sign. Amazon can email you a secure passcode you have to give to the delivery driver in person for pricey deliveries. Here’s how. 

Get it right to the garage: Amazon’s In-Garage Delivery lets drivers use a one-time secure code to open your garage, drop the package and leave. Background-checked drivers only. No repeat access. See if it’s available in your area.

Send it to work: If your office allows it, send your packages to the front desk. Make sure you’re not ordering anything you would be embarrassed to pick up in front of HR. 😳

Try an Amazon Locker: Amazon Lockers are smart PO boxes. When the package arrives, you get a single-use code to open the locker. There are more than 40,000 nationwide. Use this map to find one near you.

And if thieves still manage to snag something, call your credit card company. Many cards include purchase protection for theft.

📸 I set up a quick reply on my doorbell camera so it says, “Smile big for the cops!” Porch pirates don’t stick around for the photo shoot.

Oh, did you hear that Apple came up with a new revolutionary eye patch for pirates. It’s called the iEye patch. (Tell that one to the kids for a huge groan!)

Keep your eyes open. AI is coming for your man. Chatbot affairs are causing a wave of divorce. Plus, your digital clone for sale, doctors vs. chatbots and how to sell your stuff online for extra cash.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now wherever you get your podcasts, search for “Komando.”

🧾 Tax the bots! Bill Gates is like, “If a robot takes your job, it should pay taxes, too.” His idea is simple. If AI replaces a $50,000 worker, it should kick in the same amount to help fund public services. In other words, if the machines are joining the workforce, they ought to pitch in like the rest of us. Next up, air fryers asking for paid time off.

New playground rules: Roblox finally admitted the obvious: Strangers, pedos and weirdos are talking to kids. Now they want folks to prove their age with AI facial scans before chatting. No face, no chat. Users who verify their age can chat with people in their own age group, unless they’re marked as a “Trusted Connection” (like family). Why now? Oh, right, 35 lawsuits. Nothing says “we care” like court pressure.

Grand theft cargo: Who would have thought? Organized crime rings are teaming up with hackers (paywall link) to pull off a wild new heist. They’re hijacking tractor trailers without ever touching the truck. They break into onboard computers, reroute GPS, unlock cargo doors remotely and unload the goods without the driver suspecting.

🧲 Speaking of trucks: Add this to the list of things to worry about. These guys stole a truck without breaking in by waving an antenna by the owner’s front door. That let them grab the truck key’s wireless signal and start the vehicle like they owned it. It looks like dark magic, but basically, the car thinks the key is nearby, so it unlocks and starts. You don’t hear a thing. Seriously, watch this video. Pro tip: Put your keys in this Faraday bag to block signals from stealing the key fob’s code and your car.

How to keep secret sauce a secret: Behind the golden chicken fingers at Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is a digital fortress (paywall link). The chain uses secure ingredient bags, NDA‑bound managers and locked safes to protect its iconic sauce recipe. The recipe is not in the cloud, either. They mix the sauce using pre‑blended spice bags shipped in unmarked sacks. The result? Around 800 million single‑serve sauce cups per year. Next up, the KFC meets the CIA. 

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Be the Group Chat Chef. Start a temporary family text group chat and share your cooking timeline. One text saves you from answering 20 “When’s dinner?” questions.

Make it insanely easy for guests to get on your Wi-Fi: Head to QRCode Monkey, choose “WiFi” from the top menu, type in your network name and password, and download or take a pic of your custom QR code. Print it and stick it on the fridge. Now anyone can join your network with one quick scan. No more spelling out passwords like “PumpkinPieInMyEye2025!”

Kitchen memory hack: Ask your smart speaker, “Remember this,” then tell it where you hid the backup pie, the extra rolls or the fancy serving spoon. Tomorrow, ask “What did I tell you to remember?” and boom, instant recall.

iPad shortcuts: Don’t forget you can press and hold an app icon for quick actions. In Safari, you’ll see options like opening a new tab or showing bookmarks. In Photos, you can jump to recent pictures or favorites. YouTube lets you open Shorts or subscriptions. And in Files, you can scan a document with your iPad’s camera.

Read Kindle sideways: If you prefer a wider view, switch your Kindle to landscape mode. Tap the Aa button at the top, go to Layout, then under Orientation, choose the landscape icon. Bonus: You can change the font size by pinching in or out with your fingers like on a phone screen.

Ever wanted to dunk a basketball and thought, “Hey, rocket-powered shoes could get me there”? Too bad, at least for now.

There’s a video floating around of some Aerofo “levitation sneakers,” and it’s, tragically, AI. No thrusters, no hover, no Michael Jordan arc.

A designer posted the concept to show what “future footwear” might look like and conveniently didn’t label it as AI. The clip went so viral that people started asking where to preorder. 

Spoiler: You can’t. Your feet are staying firmly on the sad, boring ground.

📡 The answer: C) Exploding stars! Bet you didn’t see that coming. Scientists in Australia were trying to detect cosmic radio waves from dying stars when they ended up inventing the tech that became the Wi-Fi we use to stream conspiracy documentaries. That’s right, stars died, so you could get to the bottom of whether the Earth is flat. How poetic! 

Reminds me of the Thanksgiving dinner when my nephew asked me, “Kim, how do stars die?” I said, “Drugs, usually.” My sister was not amused.

Tomorrow, I’m giving thanks for you in ways you don’t want to miss. This is the #1 free tech newsletter in the United States.

🧑‍🎄 Special thanks to Incogni for supporting our Christmas Cash Giveaway: Keep your personal info private and secure this holiday season with Incogni. Get my spam-busting deal, 60% off now.

🦃 Thanksgiving’s about gratitude, not perfection. If there’s love in the room, you’ve already won. — Kim

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Photo credit(s): Gemini, JBL, @jyo_john_mulloor via Instagram

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