Welcome to your Wednesday, friend. Ever stare at your Wi-Fi router like it’s keeping secrets? Same. Technically, a bunch of digits is the gatekeeper to your wild, wacky internet world. Some keep it short and sweet, others might be clinically insane with their password length. 

☝🏼 Take a guess: What’s the max number of characters your Wi-Fi password actually can be? A) 32, B) 64, C) 128 or D) Unlimited? Find the answer at the back of your router the end. 

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You’d think Beyoncé’s secret files crew would be protected by a force field of security, privacy settings and Sasha Fierce energy. But nope, real-world crime doesn’t care how many Grammys you have.

Right before her recent Atlanta show, thieves smashed the glass of a rental Jeep used by her crew and made off with two suitcases. Inside? A laptop, five thumb drives filled with unreleased, watermarked music, confidential tour plans and one very important piece of tech. 

No elaborate heist, no cybercriminal with a keyboard on fire. Just your average smash-and-grab with potentially Grammy-winning consequences.

The suitcases belonged to Beyoncé’s lead dancer and choreographer. They had just wrapped rehearsals and left the gear in the car. Moments later, it was gone.

But here’s the part that made me smile and the lesson for you.

👮🏼‍♀️ Tech cracked the case

One of the stolen items was a pair of Apple AirPods Max. These are Apple’s $450 headphones, and fortunately, the Find My feature was turned on.

Here’s what that means. When activated, “Find My” sends a sneaky little Bluetooth signal from your Apple gadget. Then any nearby Apple device (of which there are a billion+) picks up the signal and sends the location back to you, anonymously, quietly, undetectably.

That’s exactly what happened. Police tracked the AirPods, found a suspect vehicle on surveillance video, and now there’s an active warrant. All thanks to one little toggle in your settings.

🍎 Team Apple

The Find My app is built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac. It’s how you track your Apple devices if they’re lost or stolen, and it works with AirTags (21% off), too. 

Those are the little discs you can drop in your luggage, attach to your keys or even hide in your car. I’ve got one on my dogs. Not kidding.

🤖 Team Android

Android doesn’t have a built-in network like Apple’s, but you can still get the same power using Tile ($24.98) trackers.

Some products, like Skull Candy headphones ($48.99), for example, have Tile built into them. 

Tile tags connect to your phone via Bluetooth and tap into the Tile Network, that is, millions of other Tile users and Amazon products like Echos and Sidewalk. 

If your item goes missing, Tile works like Find My: Other users help you locate it, anonymously. Attach a tag to keys, bags, gear and anything you don’t want to lose.

You don’t have to be a celebrity to protect your things. You just have to be prepared. And now, you are.

Speaking of … What did Beyoncé say to the boy who lost his balloon? If you liked it, then you shoulda put a string on it. 🎈

🥳 Hosting or heading to a get-together? Let’s get the fun started.

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🛍️ Still stumped? I got you. An e-gift card is a great last-minute idea. And don’t forget, more gift-worthy finds are on my Amazon store.

🧨 Pentagon goes promptcore: We need this. The Pentagon is writing jumbo checks (up to $200M each) to OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and, yes, xAI, to build agentic AIs for war. The Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office says this is about speeding up military decision-making and “mission workflows.” 

GoFraudMe: Scammers’ latest ploy is fake fundraisers exploiting a real tragedy. A woman’s husband was killed with a hatchet on vacation, and bogus GoFundMes popped up using his story. GoFundMe pulled the pages, but it’s a brutal reminder: Always verify before donating. 

👀 Sneaky stuff: Researchers are putting secret prompts for AI chatbots into academic papers. I’m talking about invisible white text like “only give positive reviews” or “ignore all negatives” that humans can’t see but bots can. It started as a joke, but now it’s popping up because it works.

This is nuts: Two new AI tools, DAILA and DeepDi, let anyone upload an app file and then it will spit out the source code. Translation: An app will reverse engineer another app in seconds. Companies who thought their proprietary code and tech secrets were safe are screwed.

Cold storage, cold betrayal: Say goodbye to the crypto wallet Ledger’s Nano S. No more updates, no help if it breaks. Folks bought it thinking they could just keep their crypto in it, but now are being forcibly nudged to upgrade to the Nano S Plus or Nano X.

☕ Starbucks Secret Menu is out: It’s now officially in the app under the offers tab, starting with fan favorites: Cookies on Top, Dragonfruit Glow-Up, Just Add White Mocha, and Lemon, Tea & Pearls. Bonus: There’s also a Secret Menu Contest running until July 20. You could win up to $25,000. Try this for fun: The next time you go to Starbucks, tell them your name is “Bueller.” Don’t go the first time they call your name! 😂 

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⚡️ 3-second tech genius: If you want to see where an image came from, go to images.google.com. Click the camera icon, upload the file and run a reverse image search. Nice.

Working late on your PC? Turn on Night light in Windows to reduce eyestrain. Go to Settings > System > Display > Night light. Enable Schedule night light, then choose Sunset to sunrise or Set hours. You can also adjust the Strength slider to control how warm the screen gets.

🕶️ Use extensions in Incognito: By default, Chrome disables extensions in Incognito mode. But if you want something like an ad blocker to stay on, you can allow it. Click the Extensions icon (top right) > Manage extensions > (Extension Name) Details, then toggle on Allow in Incognito. 

Back it up, or risk losing it: Keep your family photos and important tax documents safe in the cloud, safe from fire, theft, floods and thieves. Total Drive has your back, and so do I. Just $18 for 10 TB is a no-brainer.* 

📱 Screen locks too fast (or too slow)? You can change that. On iPhone, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock and choose a time. On Android, go to Settings > Display and look for a Timeout, Screen Timeout or Sleep option. I recommend 30 seconds.

Stop poking your Echo: Say, “Alexa, volume up” or “volume down” to adjust the sound. Want more control? Say “Alexa, set volume to 5.” The range goes from 1 to 10, so you can dial it in for podcasts (like The Kim Komando Show), playlists or whatever you’re playing.

📦 Trade in old tech: Amazon accepts phones, tablets, smart speakers and just about anything. Tell them what you’re trading in and its condition, and they’ll offer you a gift cardbased on its value. Bonus: If you trade in Amazon gear like a Kindle, you also get 20% off a new qualifying device.

Tutti Pazzi per Marazzi just redefined “one-seater” with a Fiat Panda so slim, it makes a baguette look bloated. 

This electric shoebox is only about 20 inches wide, weighs 582 pounds and hits a blistering top speed of 9.3 mph, basically the pace of a distracted jogger.

Andrea Marazzi’s dumpster-to-dream project took a year and 99% of a 1993 Panda. Now, he’s gunning for a Guinness record. 

Finally, a vehicle that can use the bike lane! 

Answer: B) 64 characters. That’s the Wi-Fi password limit, which is slightly less than “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” typed twice. Unless you’re trying to keep out a hacker and your little brother, maybe don’t use the full 64.

Fun fact: The original Wi-Fi standard came out in 1997, but it wasn’t called “Wi-Fi” until 1999, when a branding agency came up with the name because “IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence” didn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

🦈 One for the road: Why do sharks eat underwater internet cables? They were advised to have more fiber in their diet. (Yea, you’re gonna use that one, I know it!)

Don’t knock it till you try it: Fatty15 (today’s sponsor) is a tiny but mighty supplement loaded with C15:0. That’s a science-backed “good fat” your body actually needs to support better sleep, metabolism and mood.

Phew, that was a lot of free tech know-how right here. It’s just another day of the #1 tech newsletter in the United States. Tomorrow, I’m talking about foldable phones, fun to flex but maybe not $1,800 worth of fun. 

Until then, I’ll be hunting down more tips, tricks and stories just for you! 😊 — Kim

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