🚨 Update your computer tonight

📬 Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here. Tomorrow: If your emergency fund is earning 0.01%, your bank is basically clowning you. I’ll explain why online banks can pay more and the simple checks to make before moving your money.

Welcome to your Thursday, {{first_name | friend}}. Grab the popcorn, because today’s trivia is a courtroom drama. Back in 2011, Apple sued Samsung, claiming the Galaxy Tab looked a little too iPad-ish: rectangle, rounded corners, big screen, thin slab of sleek. Samsung’s comeback? They told the judge Apple didn’t invent that look. Somebody beat them to it by decades.

📱 What did Samsung hand the court as “proof”? A) An episode of Star Trek, B) Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, C) A Jetsons cartoon or D) A sketch from Steve Jobs’ high school notebook? The answer is orbiting near the end.

Real quick: Do me (and yourself) a favor. When you click a link or two in this newsletter, your email provider’s algorithm learns you want me in your inbox instead of the promotions folder. Consider it a tiny tip for your robot mail carrier. Start with an easy one: Tap here to subscribe to my YouTube channel with one click. You get my best tech tips in video form, I get the algorithm’s blessing and everybody wins. OK, back to the show. — Kim

🤯 WOW! Microsoft just patched 570 security holes in one shot, the biggest update in company history and nearly triple last month’s record. It found them by turning more than 100 AI agents loose on its own code. Two of the flaws were already being used by attackers. And Mac owners, wipe that smirk off. Apple fixed about 155 holes on your machine, too.

The Short Version: Switch on automatic updates on your PC and your Mac, then actually reboot. Steps below.

📖 Read time: 2 minutes

Microsoft just shipped the biggest security update in company history. Not big like a new snazzy desktop wallpaper. Big like 570 separate security holes patched in a single afternoon.

For scale, a normal month runs 60 to 130 fixes. Last month set a record around 210. That record lasted exactly four weeks.

Why all the security problems? AI makes it easier for the malicious to exploit Windows. Macs got hit bigtime, too. More on that below.

I thought this was interesting. Microsoft pointed AI at its own code. The company built a scanning system that runs more than 100 AI agents across its software to find, argue over and prove real bugs. Microsoft executives warned in July that we’d start seeing far more updates because of it.

Read that again. These holes were always there. Some of them for years. Nobody had the manpower to find them. Now AI does, and it never sleeps.

Good news: Microsoft spotted them. Bad news: Crooks are aiming the same kind of tools at the same code. Three of the flaws were zero-days, meaning attackers were already using two of them before a fix existed. One let intruders walk right past BitLocker encryption. That’s bad.

I know what you’re thinking. “Oh, Kim Komando, I have a Mac. This is a Windows problem. I’m all good.” Nope.

On July 27, Apple pushed macOS Tahoe 26.6 with about 155 security fixes for your Mac in one update. One of them closed a Gatekeeper bypass. That’s the bouncer that keeps sketchy apps off your Mac, and this flaw let them slip past the velvet rope. Your iPhone got almost 90 fixes in iOS 26.6 the same day.

Apple is on pace for a record year of patches in 2026. Same story, different logo. 

Every major tech company is pointing AI at its own code, and the bug counts are exploding everywhere.

Patches close the holes we know about. They do nothing about the fake invoice in your inbox, the download your grandson clicked or the ransomware that lands on a Thursday. No patch stops those, Windows or Mac. That’s what real-time protection is for, on every device you own.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the antivirus I use and recommend. There are so many out there, most haven’t kept up and I don’t want you to have the wrong one.

Webroot runs cloud-based antivirus that scans fast and stays light, blocks phishing sites before you click. We’ve all run AV software that bogs down your system, especially older ones. This doesn’t happen with Webroot. That’s why I made them the official antivirus software for my show.

Plus, it will protect your PCs, Macs, Chromebooks, iPhones and Android. You’re covered no matter what device you’re using.

✅ Right now, it’s 62% off. This is a limited time offer. I think you’ll like knowing Webroot is on your side. I do. BTW, I get no kickbacks or residuals if you buy.

🎯 Send this to someone who clicks “remind me later” on every update. Windows or Mac, no one gets a pass tonight. Use the handy icons below.

📱 Text this in your group chat: Microsoft just patched 570 security holes in one update, the biggest ever. They found them by pointing AI at their own code. Two were already being exploited. Apple fixed 155 on the Mac, too. Go update your computer and restart it. Yes, tonight.

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(Starts at 1:45:42) Criminals pretend to be FBI agents, promising to recover lost money. For a price. We got the red flags and how to stop it.

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🛁 Faucets under fire: Remember I told you about that water company hack in Minnesota? It was Iran. They’ve targeted city treatment facilities (paywall link) in several states, breaking into vulnerable industrial software. Local boards are scrambling through emergency audits because small staffs and aging systems aren’t ready to be targeted in war. Somewhere, a 2007 control panel is defending Ohio with one blinking light and the password Water123. Most people have no idea that this could be a problem. Now you do. Check this list to make sure you’re prepared.

Rollback robbery alert: You know what they say about deals that sound too good to be true. Security researchers uncovered 120+ counterfeit sites that look convincing enough to fool a regular shopper, right down to the familiar colors. They promise jaw-dropping discounts on liquor and other goods. At checkout, they take your credit card number, expiration and security code. Yoink. No discount for you, money for them. Don’t put your card into any “Walmart” deal that came via text. 

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📶 Dead zones are officially dying. SpaceX launched three direct-to-cell satellites with antennas the size of a small house (2,400 square feet unfurled) that beam service straight to the regular phone in your pocket. No special hardware, no new plan yet and beta service is expected later this year. The middle of nowhere is about to get bars.

📱 Phone it in: Remember your first job interview? Nice clothes, nerves, a printed résumé and that handshake you practiced in your head a dozen times the day before. Today, Gen Z candidates are joining formal video interviews from beds, cars and sidewalks, holding a phone like it’s a quick TikTok. The moving camera, bad lighting and divided attention can look disrespectful and ruin first impressions. Putting convenience first on that first call can cost a real paycheck. Tell your favorite Gen Zer, gently. Preferably not while they’re merging onto the freeway mid-interview.

Police ambushed Joel Feder and his wife in a Kohl’s parking lot. Guns drawn. The tipster? Flock cameras. Wrongly tracked him for days over stolen plates he never took.

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🎧 Or search “Komando” wherever you get your podcasts. I’m everywhere.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Found something on your PC that you want on your phone? In Chrome, click the three dots > Cast, save, and share > Create QR Code. Scan it with your phone’s camera, and the page opens instantly. Reddit and YouTube links will jump straight into their apps, too. Computer to phone in three clicks, zero typos.

✈️ AirPods on a seatback screen? It’s possible. You don’t have to suffer through the airline’s cheap headphones while the engine roars. I found a little device called an AirFly that plugs into the screen’s headphone jack and beams audio to your wireless headphones. Pair it via Bluetooth, switch on noise cancellation and smile through the crying babies. 😭

📺 The TV crop nobody asked for: If faces, captions or channel logos are disappearing off the edges, the picture size is probably set wrong. Open Settings and look for Picture, Display or Screen. Under Aspect Ratio or Picture Size, choose 16:9 or Fit to Screen. Avoid the “zoom” option unless you enjoy watching chopped foreheads.

Your stove might not be broken: An induction burner can light up while the wrong pan stays stone cold. Stick a fridge magnet to the bottom of the pan. If it won’t hold, your cookware isn’t compatible. Size matters, too. Center a flat-bottomed magnetic pan that matches the cooking zone before calling someone to fix the stove.

🫰🏻 Microsoft Office without the bill: I always tell folks to try Google Docs (Word), Sheets (Excel) and Slides (PowerPoint) before paying for a subscription. 😒 They handle everyday jobs for free, work from your browser and follow you to any computer. Best part? Click Share at the top right, send the link and work on the same file together in real time.

BMW owners are learning the ultimate driving machine comes with the ultimate pop-up ad.

Start an eligible BMW built after July 2020, and a Spider-Man: Brand New Day banner appears on the control display. Tap it and you get a full-screen animation, music and even synchronized ambient lighting. BMW calls it a “festive” experience, which is adorable branding for turning your dashboard into a Times Square billboard with leather seats.

Remember when Apple force-gifted everyone that U2 album? At least Bono couldn’t interrupt your parking camera.

How annoying is this? Watch it now.

🎓 What you learned today: Microsoft and Apple both pushed monster security updates because AI is finding bugs at record speed, water systems are getting pulled into cyberwar territory, fake deal sites are stealing cards at checkout, and BMW drivers are discovering their dashboard doubles as an ad screen. Not bad for one email. Your savings account might be insulting you. Big banks pay pennies while FDIC-insured online banks pay way more. Tomorrow, I’ll show you how to check your rate, avoid sketchy fintech apps and switch safely.

🎥 The answer: B) Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Open the pod bay doors, Your Honor. Yep, Samsung filed the film as prior art, arguing the movie tablets had an overall rectangular shape, a dominant display, narrow borders, a flat front and back and a thin body. 

The court didn’t let that bit of sci-fi evidence make it to trial, but for one really surreal moment, a space movie starred in a billion-dollar tech patent fight. 

Speaking of… What did Alexa say when she powered down? HAL be back.

Kim Komando • Komando.com • 510+ radio stations • Trusted by millions daily

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Photo credit(s): ChatGPT/Kim Komando, Phueut, @pitdesi via X

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