🚀 Unlock your router’s secret powers (yes, it has them)

It’s a terrific Wednesday, {{first_name | friend}}. You look smashing!

Quick Q: What do your fridge, your phone and your social media account all have in common? If you said, “They can all get hacked,” bingo. 

🧤 A major refrigerator brand made headlines in the 2010s when its smart fridge posted gibberish tweets to Twitter ... because, yep, it got hacked. Guess who: A) Samsung, B) GE, C) Whirlpool or D) LG? See if you’re right by checking the answer at the end.

‼️ Quick reminder: I’m switching email providers, and Big Tech’s algorithms are in a panic. To keep my newsletter out of spam or the promo tab, click a few links inside each issue this week. It tells the algorithm, “Yes, I want this!” Thanks for keeping me in your good graces and inbox. — Kim

📬 Stay tech-ahead with my daily newsletter. Sign up free!

Your router has more to offer than just an on/off switch. One of the best ways to boost your Wi-Fi performance is to outsmart the interference swirling all around you.

Let’s talk about bands. Not the type that “break up” and go on a reunion tour when they run out of money. I’m talking about the Wi-Fi kind. 

This one’s your ranch dog. Not fast, but reliable for all the daily stuff. If you’ve got smart home gadgets, video doorbells or a tablet in the garage, 2.4 GHz is your go-to. But it’s crowded. Everyone and their pet’s camera uses this band.

Perfect for streaming, gaming or Zoom meetings in rooms close to your router. Less interference, higher speeds, but expect signal drop-off as you move farther from the source.

The new kid on the block. Virtually zero congestion, ultrafast and great for multiple devices at once. But you need a newer router that supports Wi-Fi 6E and devices that can use it (like recent iPhones, Pixels and newer laptops).

Right now, your router’s trying to be too helpful. Most mash all the bands under one name (called “band steering”), so your device decides which one to use. Spoiler: It usually chooses wrong.  

That makes things simple but less optimized. To take control:

Go ahead and give each one a clear, easy-to-recognize name. My Wi-Fi network’s name is FBI Surveillance Van. I’ll use it as an example. 

Think: “FBI Surveillance Van-2.4,” “FBI Surveillance Van-5G” and “FBI Surveillance Van-6E.” Boom, you’ll now see separate networks pop up on your phone, laptop, smart TV, etc. If you need inspiration for a new Wi-Fi network name, I listed some below.

How to use them

If your router is too old to handle this, buy a new one. 

Btw, say you’re not comfortable with these steps. You have one friend who is. Invite them over. Feed them. And then, tell them you need a favor. 

😂 Other funny Wi-Fi network names: Drop It Like It’s Hot Spot, Pretty Fly for a Wi-Fi, LAN Solo, It Hurts When IP, Lord of the Pings, Tell My WiF I Love Her, NSA Listening Post, Mom Click This One, Nacho Wi-Fi, No More Mr. Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Art Thou Romeo. I love that last one!

Scammers are hijacking tragedies on GoFundMe, and your donations may be going to fraud. Think twice before you give.

Listen on Komando.com →

🛁 Your bathroom shouldn’t feel like a locker room.

✨ Your glow-up continues: Click this special link for more fab finds. I’ve got even more top-rated picks you’ll actually use on my Amazon shop.

🧴 Your shampoo’s big break: TSA may finally drop the 3.4 oz liquid limit. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem says it’s “the next big announcement,” but there’s a catch: The tech that makes it possible (3D CT scanners) won’t be in every U.S. airport until 2040. For now, that travel-size mouthwash isn’t going anywhere.

Cloudy with a solid chance of deletion: AT&T is shutting down its Personal Cloud service on Oct. 31, 2025, and any files stored there will be deleted permanently. If you ever used the app to back up photos, videos or documents, download everything before it’s gone for good. You can move them to Google Photos, OneDrive or your device.

💸 $350M fake merch mess: A sports memorabilia dealer confessed on Facebook to selling over 4 million counterfeit items, then took his own life hours later. Brett Lemieux ran the MisterManCave site, allegedly faking holograms of Kobe, Jordan, Brady and more. The scam allegedly made $350 million. 

Price match, expired: Target’s pulling the plug on price matching Amazon and Walmart as of July 28. So if you were banking on a retroactive refund after spotting your air fryer cheaper elsewhere, this is your final week. The company says it’s staying “competitive,” but more shoppers are clicking to cart elsewhere.

🧪 Tumors, meet your match: Scientists may have found a workaround for cancer’s ghosting tendencies. Instead of waiting for tumors to “respond,” they’re forcing the convo with a generic RNA vaccine. It basically slaps the immune system awake, and in mouse tests, it worked solo or with backup. I hate cancer.

👶🏼 Billionaire baby mama drama: Ashley St. Clair, a 26-year-old conservative influencer, is suing Elon Musk (paywall link) for full custody of their son, Romulus (yes, really). She claims he offered $15M and $100K/month to keep quiet, then slashed support when she didn’t. Now the court’s involved, the windows are papered and Elon’s side quest is fully glitching.

The average American spends over $1,200 a year on subscriptions. Here’s how to cancel them.

Listen on Komando.com →

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: On Android, you can fix typos without lifting your fingers from the keyboard. Swipe your thumb left or right on the space bar to move the cursor through your text.

 Planned a route on your Mac but want it on your iPhone? No need to recreate it. Just keep your iPhone nearby, build the route in Maps, click the Share button (top right), and select Send to iPhone. It’ll show up on your phone.

📣 Change Alexa’s news source: By default, Alexa plays NPR when you ask for the news. Prefer something else? Open the Alexa app and go to More > Settings > News > My News Channel. From there, you can choose from networks like ABC, CNN and Bloomberg, among others. Oh, you can also ask Alexa to “Play The Kim Komando Show podcast.”

Snap layouts in Windows 11: Great for multitasking. Open any app and hover over the Maximize button. You’ll see layout options for splitting your screen, like halves or quarters. Click where you want the current app to go, and Windows will prompt you to fill in the rest. Way easier than dragging and resizing.

🌐 Set a start page in Chrome: You can make Chrome open your favorite website when you launch it. Go to Settings > On startup > Open a specific page or set of pages > Add a new page. Type in the URL (like https://www.komando.com) and click Add. Next time you open Chrome, it’ll take you straight there. Neat.

❤️ See your liked posts on Instagram: You can view everything you’ve liked, whether it’s posts, reels or whatever. Go to Profile > Menu (three lines) > Your activity > Interactions > Likes. Scroll through or sort by Newest to oldest to find what you’re looking for.

👂 Listen up. Watching my husband Barry struggle to hear was tough, so I did my research and found these high-tech hearing aids. See if you qualify for a 45-day, risk-free trial and a lifetime of support. Don’t wait, check today!*

Over 2,400 nautical miles
How far a father-son duo rowed from San Francisco to Hawaii in 48 days. The son is 18, and if verified, he’ll be the youngest person to complete the mid-Pacific route. The heartwarming part? They did it to raise awareness and funds for veterans living with PTSD. Total legends.

95 billion
That’s how many hours Netflix had people glued to their couch in the first half of 2025. That’s over 10 million years of screen time, roughly twice the age of Homo sapiens. Netflix plans to double its ad revenue with pause ads and interactive pop-ups. Nothing says “immersive drama” like a toothpaste ad mid-tear.

15 hours
That’s Spotify’s new audiobook cap. If you’re into long books, then tough luck. Try squeezing The Way of Kings into that window. Spotify’s Audiobooks Plus gives Premium users double the time (30 hours). Need more? Buy another top-up or, radical idea, switch to Audible. Prime Members get three months free using this link. This way, you get to keep the book instead of renting it like a literary Airbnb.

🏃🏼‍♂️‍➡️ Just when we thought personal transportation couldn’t get weirder, the Lopifit rolls in like a fitness-obsessed fever dream. 

Hope you’re coordinated. With a 46V battery and a 44-mile range, it’s part treadmill, part electric scooter, part multitasking crisis on wheels

Treadmill mode doesn’t charge the battery (tragic), and it tops out at a very polite 3 mph. The motor can still carry you to a breezy 15.5 mph without demanding a jog.

😳 Think of it as a Peloton for people who like holding up traffic with a $3,600 price tag and all the aerodynamic grace of a rolling Ikea bed frame. I’ll pass.

Answer: D) LG. Back in 2014, an LG smart fridge had been hijacked and used as part of a spam botnet, tweeting gibberish into the void while quietly chilling your oat milk and listening to cool jazz.

It was one of the first big wake-up calls about how internet-connected devices can become security nightmares when nobody thinks to install updates.

Fun fact: There are approximately 27 billion connected devices worldwide, and most still lack proper security patches. Yikes!

🍰 Last night Barry asked me, “Do you mind if I eat the last piece of cake in the fridge?” I smiled and said, “Sure, but the kitchen table would probably be more comfortable.” He didn’t laugh. He shook his head like you just did.

Anyway, this is the #1 tech newsletter in the United States, and it’ll never lose the cybersecurity war to a fridge, of all things. 

Tomorrow, your canceled vacation might actually pay your rent. No joke. I’m diving into the shady-beautiful world of reselling nonrefundable flights, hotel stays and travel deals you thought were dead.

Tech may change fast, but wisdom and curiosity never go out of style. 🌟 — Kim

📣 Don’t keep me a secret: Share this email with friends (or copy URL here)

Photo credit(s): ChatGPT, Lopifit

Companies noted with an asterisk (*) sponsor my national radio show. Also, as an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

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.

Missed something? View past issues

Join the lists for my weekly small biz and cryptocurrency newsletters!