A very techy Thursday to you, friend! Twenty years ago this week, Google went public, selling 22 million shares and making a few people instant millionaires and billionaires. At last check, a share of parent company Alphabet is $167.63. In 2004, did its first-day shares close at … A.) $25, B.) $42, C.) $100 or D.) $132? Answer at the end!

📨 Surveillance capitalism at work, right in your “free” Big Tech inbox. All your details are packaged up, used to target you with ads and sold to whoever wants to buy it. Check out StartMail. They put you first with secure, private email. Now, on to the tech smarts to keep you ahead and never behind! — Kim

I cleaned out a cabinet a few years ago and found a stack of old Super 8 tapes. I’ll never forget the way Mom’s face lit up after I digitized videos of her late brother Harold Jr.’s wedding. Tragically, he died in a car accident not long after his wedding day.

Memories like those are precious, but when was the last time you watched your old family videos? If they’re on VHS, it can be a pain. Even worse, every year that goes by, those tapes degrade just a little more.

Satish from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, called my national radio show for help digitizing old tapes, and I figured he wasn’t the only one.

Go the DIY route

To convert your VHS tapes to digital, you'll need a VCR or VHS camcorder. If you don’t have one, try eBay, OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace or another local sales platform. You’ll also need to transfer your VHS recordings in real time, so set aside a few hours, if you can.

After that, you’ve really got two options:

Option 1: Get a converter like this option from Elgato that digitizes video onto a computer. Plug it into your USB port, then connect your analog video source (VCR, DVD player, DVR or camcorder) using the included cables. The software bundled with your converter will guide you through the process.

Option 2: Try a handheld video-to-digital converter. You don’t need to use a computer or any software. Connect it to your video source, and insert a USB drive or SD card into the converter. Hit the “Record” button and watch your movies get digitized in real time on the LCD screen. Sweet!

Have someone do it for you

Costco, Walgreens and Walmart all convert tapes, with prices starting around $20 a pop. Not bad. They’ll take VHS footage and put it on a DVD for you, and they’ll give you a digital copy, too.

You can also try a service that specializes in this stuff. They’re more expensive for sure.

Getting this all done takes time

It helps to do it in baby steps. Gather your tapes, get the gear you need, or figure out the service you want to use. I put old digitized videos up on YouTube with a private link. This way, I can share that link with family and friends. Fun times!

🤣 Two goats are chewing on a VHS tape. One says, “This film is pretty good.” The other replies, “Yeah, but the book was better.”

Take a look at the cabinet under your sink in your kitchen or bathroom. Is it a mess? Mine isn’t — I bought under-sink organizers.

📦 Arrr, matey: A California woman turned the tables on USPS mail thieves. She mailed herself a package with an Apple AirTag in it. After crooks snatched the package from her P.O. Box, she called the cops. The tracker led police right to their hideout, where they found more stolen mail and packages.

After my Volvo broke, I was Saab‑ing: Cybercriminals leaked 240GB of Toyota customer info on a hacking forum. The stolen data includes emails, passwords, contracts and financial details. Toyota says they’ve reached out to those impacted. No word on how many folks that is.

💸 Old electronics lying around? Costco’s revamped trade-in program lets you swap them for a store gift card, no membership needed. The trade-in values aren’t small potatoes, either; you can get up to $1,080 for an old laptop! Go to this portal for a quote. If you’re cool with their offer, the shipping’s free and you’ll have your money in under three weeks. PSA: Amazon has a trade-in program, too, so compare both to see which gives you the better price.

⚠️ Scan at your own risk: YouTube is rolling out QR codes for all channels, making it easier to find creators. Be careful what you scan. It’s incredibly easy to whip up a fake QR code that leads to a malicious site. Double-check the URL to be sure it looks legit when you get there.

Suddenly, I’m not hungry: Want unlimited grocery delivery from Amazon? That’ll be $99, in addition to the $139 annual charge for Amazon Prime. It works on orders over $35 from Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods and select retailers on Amazon.com. I’ll stick with Instacart.

🔒 Getting back a hacked Facebook account: There are tricks — uploading a high-quality scan of your ID and connecting through your most-used Wi‑Fi network — but hackers can still game the process. Do not let your business or personal life rely on your Facebook account. Always keep a copy of your profile. Here’s how.

Grammarly who? Google is adding more AI-powered writing tools to Gmail. Open a draft, select Help me write and type 12 or more words. Click Refine my draft to polish, formalize, elaborate, shorten or even start fresh. The catch? It’s available if you pay for Google One AI Premium or the Gemini add-on for Workspace.

🥞 First-world problems: A home cook got a surprise when their smart stove “hacked” their Bluetooth headphones. The Siemens cooktop's magnetic field messed with the touch controls on their Sony headset. When they turned up the heat, the volume went up, too. If this ever happens to you, try disabling touch controls on your headphones.

When a service is free, you're the product. The email providers everyone knows (yes, I’m talking about Gmail, Yahoo, AOL and all the rest) aren't really free. You’re paying with your privacy. From your location to what you’re buying to who you email most and what you click on, they know it all.

StartMail is the secure email provider I trust. There’s no invasive tracking or annoying ads. Plus, it’s packed with top privacy features, like unlimited disposable email addresses and easy-to-use encrypted communication.

▶️ They even offer a business subscription that includes extra storage, shared email aliases and the flexibility to add unlimited domains.

Ready to take back your privacy? I negotiated a special deal just for you. Right now, StartMail is offering an exclusive 60% off annual subscriptions. You can’t beat that — I checked.

📢 Definitely, totally, sort of paying attention: Ever been in a Google Meet and wanted to get other work done, but you still need to look like you’re paying attention? Try picture-in-picture mode. Just move everyone’s faces right next to that email or doc. I did this during a video call with Barry, but don’t tell him.

Copy that: On your computer, double-click with your mouse or trackpad to highlight a word, or triple-click to highlight an entire paragraph. Simple little life‑changer!

👁️📢 Your eyes only: If you have sensitive pics like your driver’s license on your phone, set up a locked folder in Google Photos. Open the Google Photos app > Utilities > Set up Locked Folder. Follow the on-screen directions to finish up.

Have an iPhone? You can store secret pics in the Notes app. Open the pic in the Photos app, tap the share icon and select Notes. Open the note you want to protect, tap the three-dot icon in the upper right and then choose Lock.

🔐 Home security made easy: Feeling secure in your own home shouldn’t be a luxury — it should be a given. SimpliSafe Home Security* provides award-winning protection with no long-term contracts, hidden fees or hassles. Save 50% on your system today and get a free indoor camera for peace of mind.

An elephant came out of a bar, got into his car and drove off erratically. He was stopped by a police officer and charged with …

Trunk driving.

The answer: C.) $100. Well, $100.30 to be exact. The opening price in Google’s IPO was $85 per share. Alphabet’s all-time high was on July 10 of this year, when it hit $191.18 a share.

⭐ A whopping 60% off! That’s what you can save by getting StartMail with this link. It’s a privacy-focused email provider with no ads, no tracking and no scummy data collection. They make it super easy to get all your old mail and contacts, too.

I’ll see you right back here tomorrow with more tech smarts. Until then, have a wonderful day, my wonderful pal! — Kim