It’s a beautiful Friday, friend! How’s that turkey hangover? Just type your leftovers into ChatGPT or your favorite AI bot (e.g., “turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce”), and it’ll whip up recipes based on what you have. Your Thanksgiving leftovers could become a turkey pot pie, cranberry muffins or even a mashed potato waffle. 😉

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Incogni. They’ve stopped all the annoying spam phone calls and texts that used to flood my phone. It takes a little time to get off those lists, but it works! On to the tech smarts. — Kim

Just about everything on Amazon is on sale. Here’s a handy link to the top Black Friday deals. New ones are popping up all day, so it’s worth checking a few times.

✅ Oh, and here are all the coupons available right now on one money-saving page. Yeah, you’ll def want to bookmark that link. Happy shopping!

‘Kim, what about a present for my …’

I’ve got your back. I whipped up lists for all the people in your life:

💸 Or shop by price: Under $10 | Under $25 | Under $50

Russian hackers at work: They exploited two security flaws in web browsers Firefox and Tor to plant malware. Mozilla and Microsoft patched the issues, so update ASAP. Restart your browser (or browsers), then, in Windows, go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and hit Check for updates. Yet another reason you need real-time antivirus protection.*

📚 A novel idea: Spines plans to pump out 8,000 AI-published books next year. The startup promises authors can keep 100% of their royalties and pay between $1,200 to $5,000 for editing, design and distribution. As you can imagine, many writers worry AI is taking the heart, soul and creativity out of the whole process. This is bound to get interesting.

iScam, you scam: Cybercriminals are sending fake emails claiming your Apple ID is suspended, urging you to click a link to "verify" your info. Don’t fall for it. Apple never asks for sensitive info via email.

"Man cave on wheels": That’s how Steven Shao described his Cybertruck in a viral Facebook post. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Cybertrucks turn heads, and that’s the point. The dentist says “loneliness” drove him to drop $100,000 on the over-the-top vehicle no one can ignore. Over 40 other owners commented they felt the same, which explains so much …

⚾ Talk about a home run: A collector bought a trunk of old baseball magazines for $75 on Facebook Marketplace and hit the jackpot. Inside were rare Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson collectibles, including Goudey sheets worth over $35,000 and Bond Bread cards. Collecting baseball cards can be ruthless.

😢 In his feelings: Drake is taking legal action against Universal Music Group and Spotify, saying they illegally boosted Kendrick Lamar’s song "Not Like Us" with bots to make it more popular. Why does he care? The song roasts Drake pretty hard. He should just take the “L.” (That’s what the kids say, right?)

Un-bell-ievable: The FCC is slapping Chinese video doorbell maker Eken with a $735,000 fine. Sold by big names like Amazon and Walmart, Eken’s doorbells exposed users’ IP addresses and Wi‑Fi network names and gave others unauthorized access to videos. Ditch your cheap doorbell and upgrade to a full home system you can trust.*

Need a break from football? Netflix’s new docuseries “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey” revisits the infamous 1996 murder mystery. It includes interviews with JonBenét’s father and unpacks the embarrassingly bad investigation, media circus and, of course, the ransom note. Watch the trailer here.

Data brokers make money scooping up your personal and sensitive info — like your phone number, date of birth, the places you’ve lived, your Social Security number and so much more.

Then they sell it to the highest bidder. Best case scenario, companies that target you with ads are the ones buying. Worst case scenario, it’s scammers and identity thieves.

Incogni helped me scrub my personal data from the web, dealing with the world’s data brokers head-on so I don’t have to. Let them do the same for you.

▶️ Incogni removes your info from people-search sites and databases using three of your email addresses, phone numbers and physical addresses. All that info helps them catch all the profiles floating around online.

🔒 Keep your passport safe: Don’t carry it around with you on vacation. A photo of it is good enough in almost all cases, so snap a pic and show that on your phone. Bonus: The pic will make getting a new passport much easier if you lose it or it gets stolen. If you truly need the real thing, secure it close to your body. I like this option.

What does it all mean? AI writing tools like Evernote can make sense of your messy notes. In ChatGPT, for instance, you can paste in what you have and ask, “Help me organize these notes into categories.” Be sure to check the output to verify your original meaning wasn’t changed. Pro tip: Ask your bot of choice, “Is there anything that needs more details?” to fill in any missing info.

Give your printer some love: Soak a piece of paper with rubbing alcohol (not too much and leave the edges dry), and run that through your printer’s roller. It’ll clean it right up.

🖱️ Click-clack: Hover over a hyperlink and click the wheel of your mouse. This automatically opens that link in a new tab, keeping you on your current screen. I use this shortcut all the time.

(File)sharing is caring: Stop emailing docs to people on the same wireless network as you. There’s a setting that lets you share. On Windows, go to Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Advanced sharing settings. Then, open Private networks and turn on File and printer sharing. On a Mac, use AirDrop. Yeah, Apple wins this round.

The gift of better hearing: You owe it to yourself if you struggle to keep up with conversations or your hearing just isn’t as good as it used to be. Things will only get worse, not better. Check out hear.com right now to see if you qualify for a 45-day free trial.*

Phone security do’s and don’ts from the NSA — the only government agency that actually listens to you!

Top tech gifts | Kids | Teens and Gen Z | Gals | Guys | The person who has it all | Health & fitness | Self-care & beauty | Travel | Under $10 | Under $25 | Under $50

The Mac daddy of weirdness: To de-stress, Steve Jobs soaked his feet in office toilets. Yes, you read that right. He didn’t wear shoes, either, and he believed cars didn’t need license plates. His workaround? California gives drivers six months to put plates on new cars, so he leased identical cars twice a year.

😂 Just got the personalized license plate “BAA BAA” … For my black Jeep. (I crack myself up.)

You deserve privacy. It’s not impossible — it just takes work. I used Incogni to wipe my info from scummy people-search and data-broker sites. Use this link to try it for 60% off. You’ll be glad you did. Until tomorrow, stay your awesome self. — Kim