Kaspersky’s kaput

Kaspersky’s kaput: The U.S. has officially banned Kaspersky antivirus software over its shady ties to Russia. Officials say it poses a national security risk due to the Russian government’s influence. If you don’t have an antivirus solution (or you need a new one), TotalAV is my pick.

Tags: antivirus, antivirus software, antivirus solution, Russia, security, software


Best dashcams for 2024

Fourth of July is right around the corner, and we’re in for record-breaking holiday traffic. Some 71 million people are expected to travel over 50 miles during the week — the most on record.

I don’t mean to be a downer, but record-setting travel also means record-setting accidents, crashes and road rage. And being a defensive driver isn’t the only way to protect yourself on the road.

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Ask Kim: 'Help! My brother-in-law is spying on us'

Dear Kim,

My brother-in-law has our family cottage wired with a Ring security system. He is not to be trusted as he has been unfaithful to his wife and she has filed for divorce. My family is very suspicious that we are being watched or listened to all the time. 

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Trivia

This week in 1997, a group of hackers cracked code written in Data Encryption Standard, which was designed to be impenetrable. Oops. How long did it take the hackers to crack? Was it … A.) Five days, B.) Five weeks, C.) Five months or D.) Five years?

Find the answer here!

300,000-year-old face

Of our oldest human ancestor, revealed. A graphics expert 3D-scanned a skull to create a realistic render. Found in Morocco, the remains proved humans evolved 100,000 years earlier than we thought. Check out the pic of the handsome fellow here.

Your smart speaker can detect smoke and carbon monoxide alarms – Here's how

Your Amazon, Google or Apple smart speaker has a lifesaving feature I bet you don’t know about: It can tell you if there’s smoke or carbon monoxide (CO) in your home.

The speaker can’t actually detect smoke or CO, but it can “listen” for devices that do. So, if your smoke or CO alarm goes off and you’re away from home, your smart speaker can ping your phone, saving your property, belongings and precious pets inside.

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900% increase

In travel scams in the past year. That’s according to Booking.com, at least. ChatGPT has made it easier than ever to generate realistic scam emails. Do I believe there’s been an increase? Absolutely, but 900% …?

126 bird species

Haven’t been spotted for at least a decade. Are they extinct? Scientists aren’t sure. They’re turning to folks like you and me to keep a lookout. Think you’ve seen a purple-winged ground dove? Reach out at the official Lost Birds website with photo or audio evidence.

12 years

Spent on our phones. Yikes. The average person spends about five hours a day scrollin’ — exactly what app developers want. That’s one reason flip phone sales are up 15,369% in the past year among Gen Z and younger millennials. Time to dust off the old pink Razr …

38% of millennials and Gen Z

Love travel agents. Turns out, planning a trip takes a lot of work. After nearing extinction, travel agents are making an unexpected comeback. Only 12% of Gen X and 2% of baby boomers felt the same. I hear you: “I need six months of vacation twice a year.”

$100,000 set aside 

By Minnesota lawmakers to buy Dorothy’s stolen ruby slippers. They could go for 100 times that at auction. The shoes were stolen in 2005 while on loan from their owner to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota (her hometown). After being recovered in 2018, they’ll be back up for sale at the end of the year.