Happy Tuesday, friends! Hope you had a stellar long weekend.

🏁 Ready, set, refer! Be the first to the finish line and win that amazing $1,200 iPad or laptop. Just share your referral link found at the bottom of this newsletter on your social media, Nextdoor, LinkedIn — wherever! That’s all it takes.

⌛ Quick podcast tip: Ever want to listen to a podcast more quickly (to save time) or more slowly (to understand every word)? When playing an episode, there’s generally a "1x" on the now-playing screen. It’s your playback speed. You can increase it (e.g., by 1.25x, 1.5x or 2x) or decrease it (e.g., by 0.75x). Nice! — Kim

Your router isn’t just a dumb box that connects you to the internet. It stores a lot more information than you realize.

Case in point: Researchers bought a bunch of used routers. Half contained confidential or sensitive intel from the businesses that sold them. Nobody wiped the routers. Rookie mistake, people.

Treasure trove of info

The data found on every router could be used to identify the last owners and their network configurations. They also found:

🔐 Credentials — specifically, user names and passwords — are the keys to the kingdom.

‘How I could’ve stolen your corporate secrets for $100’

Clever name for the research paper, right? With the info left behind, a hacker could gain full access to a company’s network as if they were a high-level employee. From there, they can launch a cyberattack, steal information and hold a company for ransom.

Or consider this: A crook could buy a router for a couple hundred bucks, then sell the data left on it on the dark web. The average price of access credentials to corporate networks? $2,800. Not a bad profit.

Chance the router

You know to wipe your phone, tablet and computer before tossing, selling or giving them away. Even your printer and smart speaker should be reset to factory settings. The same applies to your router.

The bottom line: Reset your router as you would with any of your devices before letting it out into the world.

✅ How, dear Kim, how? I’ve always got your back. Go to my site for step-by-step instructions. I don’t have room for all the details here!

Watch out for this scam: PC users, a new Microsoft Defender scam is making the rounds, spreading through malicious Amazon search results. Click the ad (that appears to go to Amazon), then the popups begin. Do not call the number listed, do not click and do not pass go. Close your browser, then scan your computer for malware.

🖍 Shoulder to crayon: From the no-regrets department comes a new app called INKHUNTER, which allows you to test out a tattoo before committing. It shows the tattoo on your skin via augmented reality (AR). You can move around to see different angles, lighting and size. It’s free or pay a buck for no ads. Sorry, Android folks, but this one’s only for Apple users.

RIP, WordPad: Yup, the text editor that debuted with Windows 95 is dead. Use Notepad for plain-text docs (.txt) and Word for .doc and .rtf files. If you don’t want to pay for Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs are solid options.

🚙 Your Mercedes-Benz is getting an over-the-air update: Meaning no trip to the dealership. Fire up the Mercedes Me app to get better audio, NewsFlash (a news aggregator) and the YouTube app. FYI, the YouTube app only works with 2024 EQE, EQS and S-Class models equipped with the pricey Entertainment Package Plus.

Buy something, or you’re out: Shutterfly is backtracking on its plan to kick out inactive accounts, aka people who store photos but don’t buy anything — sorta. No purchases within five years and your photos and account will be deleted.

✔️ True story: My mom called me once and was so upset. “Superfly stole all my photos!” she said. I was like, “Superfly? Do you mean Shutterfly?” She said, “Superfly, Shutterfly, I just want my photos back!” Turned out she had two accounts. Because I have her emails forwarded to me, I still get messages with her photo memories. Sometimes, they're hard to see, but more often than not, they bring a smile to my face.

Every morning, brush your teeth to my Daily Tech Update. You get fresh breath and fresh tech know-how in a minute.

Listen to my podcast, Daily Tech Update, here.

Workaround: Does YouTube shut down if you’re using the official app and turn off your screen? You can pay $20 a month for premium, or try one of these tactics: Use picture-in-picture mode or, easier still, watch a video in your browser, not the app. Now you can turn off the screen and still hear the audio.

One wrong move: You’re doing some math on your calculator app and one wrong tap ruins it all. Not anymore. Swipe to the right or left to delete the last character. My high school math teacher called me average. How mean.

😎 Cool Hot site: Project Sunroof from Google analyzes your roof and local weather patterns to tell you how much you can save with solar panels. Beats answering the door when solar salespeople come knocking.

Happens to the best of us: Accidentally closed a tab in your browser? Press Ctrl + Shift + T (Cmd + Shift + T on Mac) to reopen the last closed tab. Keep pressing to reopen multiple tabs. (Was that a “Thank you!” I just heard?)

Good use for ChatGPT: Cover letters. Use your existing cover letter template, then provide the link to the job you’re applying for. The bot will customize things faster than you can. Just read it several times before sending it out!

That’s why I’m so excited to tell you about the latest innovation from SimpliSafe Home Security: 24/7 Live Guard Protection and the new Smart Alarm Wireless Indoor Camera.

With a Fast Protect Monitoring plan, if an intruder breaks into your home, SimpliSafe monitoring agents can actually see, speak to and deter them through the camera, warning them they’re being recorded and police are on their way.

Right now, get 20% off any SimpliSafe system when you sign up for Fast Protect Monitoring. This huge offer is only available for a limited time.

❓ Have a question for me? Drop it right here, or leave me a voicemail at 602‑381‑8200 ext. 290.

Swagbucks rewards you for easy online activities, like shopping, playing games and answering surveys. No, you won’t earn a boatload, but you will earn points toward gift cards to Amazon or Walmart or cash in PayPal.

It’s a classic for a reason. →

Work smarter, not harder. So cute, right?

💪🏻 If you made it all the way down here, I appreciate you. And if I can help you with something digital in your life or business, drop me a note here. See you tomorrow! — Kim