Welcome to a wonderful Wednesday! Let’s begin with a tech brain teaser. If Facebook was a country, how many people would live there? Is it … 100 million, 900 million, 1 billion or 3 billion? You’ll find the answer at the end.

🚀 Welcome aboard the Komando Tech News Rocket! No algorithms here. I hand-pick every single item in these newsletters, so no cloud is unexplored in cyberspace. Let’s blast off! — Kim

RentAHitman[.]com creator Bob Innes never thought things would go this far. Back in the day, he and some friends kicked around the idea of starting a web security business.

In 2005, he bought the domain, mainly as a clickbait-y way to drive traffic to the security business site. His friends moved away, and the business stalled. He put the site up for sale and forgot about it for a few years …

… Until he checked the inbox

Inside the website’s “Contact us” inbox were hundreds (yes, hundreds) of messages from people who wanted a real killer for hire. Whoa. Innes turned over the info to the local police department. That was just the beginning.

Today, Innes dedicates his life to catching these wannabe killers online. He spends about four hours per day looking through emails for serious requests. Sometimes, he says, the emails are tough to read — especially when kids are involved.

Methods to the madness

Visitors to the site are first directed to a service request page with an application to fill in personal information and details about their "intended target." While many requests are a joke or pranks on friends and relatives, a startling number are real. We're talking around 150 per month.

To date, RentAHitman[.]com has led to dozens of arrests and at least 12 convictions of people with plans to make others disappear.

Since 2015, the site has been visited 507,000 times. Just last week alone, the site was viewed almost 45,000 times! Most of the visitors are male and roughly one-third are under the age of 18.

What kind of person would use this site?

The very first fish Innes caught was a sicko British woman living in Canada named Helen Kaplan. She wanted her mom, aunt and uncle taken out to get even over what she believed was a stolen inheritance.

More recently, 18-year-old Jazmin Paez was arrested after ordering a hit on her 3-year-old son. Sickening.

Wendy Wein, 53, sent in an application in January 2022 to request a hit on her ex-husband. She went on to offer $5,000 to an undercover cop instead. Wein was convicted and will spend seven to 24 years in jail.

You've got to ask yourself, “How did we get to a place where someone might sit down at their computer or phone, look up this site, and fill out an application to do something so unthinkable?” It's mind-boggling and deeply concerning. Sometimes, I think the world has really gone off the rails.

Car-theft tech: Using a smartphone app or a $25 Bluetooth signal finder, clever criminals scan cars for signals emitted by phones, laptops and tablets locked inside. This way, they know what vehicles to break into. Keep your electronics with you, folks — or at least turn them off.

Facebook to Meta: Mark Zuckerberg called the claim that the name change was to avoid bad press “ridiculous.” But, back in November 2021, Meta’s chief product officer said coverage of Meta’s name change was drowning out the disastrous testimony of whistleblower Frances Haugen. So, changing the name worked to squelch negative PR.

🎓 Congrats, grad! Research from UCLA says ChatGPT is now as smart as a college undergrad, at least in terms of standardized tests. In late 2022, the AI chatbot was described by another researcher as a “very smart 12th-grader.” They grow up so fast.

Travel PSA: Hotels[.]com gutted its rewards program. No more “Stay 10 nights, get 1 free” — a good enough deal to make a slightly more expensive stay booked through the site worth it. Why the change? It just merged loyalty programs with Expedia and rental site Vrbo. Check your points.

TikTok Shop: Not long ago, I told you shopping is coming to TikTok, and now it’s here. Influencers can shill products and get a cut when users buy. Don’t be lured in, folks. It’s still run by Chinese-owned ByteDance.

⌚ Hurry up and wait: New, smarter TSA scanners in 228 U.S. airports mean no more getting your laptop out to go through security. But passengers say waits are longer than ever. TSA advice: Get to the airport at least two hours before your flight, but three is better. Ouch.

Amazon, M.D.: Amazon Clinic telemedicine is now available in every state. Convenient? Sure. Worth it? No. Here’s why I won’t use it. Spoiler: HIPAA doesn’t apply to everything and I don’t trust Amazon to keep my most personal information private.

🕵️ iSpy: A private detective took to social media to spill one of the tricks of the trade. He says if someone comes to your door looking for help with a lost pet, it’s just a ploy to see your face and verify you’re home. Ask some random questions, and if the answers are iffy, watch to make sure they’re not still around waiting to see when you leave.

I make the complex world of tech simple and approachable. From explaining the latest gadgets in plain English to offering easy-to-follow cybersecurity advice, I’ve got you covered.

👉 Tech understanding is just a click away!

You’re target No. 1 for hackers. Get this: 80% of schools suffered ransomware attacks last year. That number is only growing.

We’re No. 1

Security company Sophos polled IT professionals, including 400 who work in education. U.S. institutions are a “prime target” — much more than schools in other countries.

Why? One problem is that schools (and their data) aren't as well protected as major businesses. They're an easier target. Another problem is that schools have given in too often. The report shows 47% of last year's ransomware attacks led to payments. Hackers will keep shaking a tree that rains cash.

How does your industry fare?

Here’s a breakdown of ransomware attacks by industry:

'So, Kim, how the heck do I avoid this stuff?’

The short answer: Sound cybersecurity comes from the top down, and you can't overcome a company's inadequate security practices alone.

What you can do is be extra aware, especially if you work in one of the industries above. Think twice before you click links, don't download attachments you weren't expecting, keep an eye on your work laptop and phone, and immediately report anything amiss to your IT department.

😂 How did the cybercriminal escape? He ransomware.

You’ve come across a website that offers an incredible promise of a free trip to Hawaii. Aloha! All the site needs is your personal info and a credit card. Before you take the plunge, make sure you’re not getting screwed over.

A WHOIS lookup search checks a database that contains information about domain names and their registrants — so you can find out who owns the website and see if they have a real business address and contact information.

How do you get this done?

💸 Next time you think a friend is getting scammed, pull out this awesome tech party trick. You could save them some cash — and embarrassment!

Same goes for a tablet, router, smart speaker, whatever. The tech support pros at GetKimsHelp.com are patient, smart and available 24/7.

My team can remote into your device and do it for you, so no trying to figure out complicated steps when something goes wrong. They can fix tech you already have in place, too, like that printer that never prints.

Get unlimited help for just $14.99 a month. Call them as much as you want! That’s hard to beat, friend. And if they don’t fix your problem, you don’t pay!

I don’t eat clubs anymore. I quit cold turkey.

The answer: Facebook has 3 billion users. To put this into perspective, on Aug. 1, 2023, Earth’s population was 8,051,378,000, according to the U.N. I know what you’re thinking: “Kim, 99% of the world is just dumb. Good thing I’m part of the 3%!”

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Whew, there was a lot to cover with you today. Super thrilled to be in your inbox every morning with the best tech newsletter in the universe! — Kim