Wi-Fi Archives - Komando.com

Taking a summer vacation? Don't make these dumb mistakes

Did you hear about the woman who was scammed out of her $15,000 Carnival cruise? A day before the family was supposed to board, Tiffany found the trip she’d spent a year planning had been canceled … and not by her.

Carnival told her the $12,000 room she’d booked had been reserved — and then refunded — under someone else’s name. Ouch.

How’d it happen?

Tiffany posted her cruise tickets, including her booking reference number, on Facebook. The very same day, a scammer made a brand-new Carnival account using Tiffany’s confirmation number, and then they canceled the booking and cashed out.

Carnival traced the swindler’s IP address to somewhere in British Columbia, but they couldn’t uncover their full identity. No, Tiffany and her fam didn’t make it on the boat.

Summer travel season’s in full swing, and crooks would love to pull one over on you. You’ve worked way too hard this year to let your vacation get ruined by a scumbag. That’s why I’ve pulled together these nine tricky travel traps to avoid:

Don’t post about your travel plans before you go. It screams, “Rob me!”
Watch for fake booking sites and bogus trip insurance. Go directly to a company’s official website to make arrangements.
Don’t tell strangers where you’re staying. It’s fun to make friends on vacation, but even if someone seems trustworthy, you never know.
Don’t take unofficial rides, even if a car looks like a taxi. Reserve your transportation in advance, use a rideshare app or ask the airport info desk where to find the official taxi service.
Don’t fall for the “broken” meter. Shady cab drivers will tell you their meter is busted and charge you an insane amount. Check the meter before the ride starts. If your driver tells you it’s broken, ask them to reset it. If they can’t, hop out and get another cab.
Watch out for money-exchange skimmers. If you need local currency in another country, use an ATM at an official bank, not a tourist area. Use your credit card wherever you can for more protection.
Avoid public free Wi-Fi. Scammers create fake Wi-Fi hotspots, hacking into whoever jumps on. Always verify the Wi-Fi name with an employee before you connect. Crooks often use names very similar to the official Wi-Fi to trick people.
Watch your bags — even in the hotel. Scammers will start a scene while you’re checking in while another steals your bags. Always keep an eye on your luggage, and stay calm if someone approaches you.
No such thing as a “free” photo. If you’re approached by a person in costume or at a famous attraction and they offer to take your photo, it’s probably not free. Photo scammers will quickly snap a pic and then force you to pay for it. If someone forcefully jumps into your picture, don’t pose and don’t snap.

Bonus tip: A friend of mine was in Rome with her daughter. A stranger offered to take their photo. She handed him her $1,500 iPhone, and he ran off with it. Be careful out there!

😂➕ What do travelers like best about Switzerland? Not sure, but the flag’s a big plus.

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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Feelin’ like summer

Sounds like a gimmick, but the Chill-O-Matic cools a can in 60 seconds. Right now, it’s 14% off, too!
If you’re living on the porch this summer, this outdoor Wi-Fi extender (20% off) gives you better internet out there.
Forget a wet bandana. A neck fan (21% off) is your new gardening best friend.
When the kitchen is full of fruit flies, plug in one of these sticky traps. All the grossness is on the back, phew.
Love these LED lights ($9.99) that pop onto outdoor umbrellas. Dinner alfresco? Yes, please!

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

📶 Calling all RVers, travelers and campers: The new Starlink Mini dish gives you Wi-Fi anywhere, fueled by a power bank or solar generator. Price: $599 for the hardware, then $150 a month for unlimited data, or $50 per month for 50GB of data.

⚠️ Router warning: Linksys Velop Pro 6E and Velop Pro 7 mesh routers are sending Wi-Fi login details in plain text to Amazon servers. That means a hacker can gain access to your network. There’s no patch yet. For now, change your network name and password via the web interface.

Which of the following will totally destroy your Wi-Fi signal strength? Is it … A.) LED lights, B.) Wooden furniture, C.) Mirrors or D.) Ceramic tiles?

Find the answer here! →

82% of campsites

Offer Wi-Fi access. It used to be a nice-to-have feature, but now, it’s almost as common as running water, electricity and an actual toilet. Other hot perks to attract campers: Pickleball courts, dog parks, kayaks and canoes. Oh, all these extras are in-tents.

The art of the upsell

Airlines are pros at upselling - Don’t get duped

Did you hear United Airlines is going all-in on a new, premium, expensive business class? Private check-in, a fancy lounge with sit-down dining, nice pajamas and a mattress pad, extra food on the plane, and (my favorite) press a button and someone will whiz over with champagne. Cha‑ching.

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Tech trick: Boost the quality of your streaming audio

At any given time, there’s music playing in my house. I have my organizing music, sitting-by-the-pool jams, dinner playlists depending on how we’re feeling, tunes for getting ready … The list goes on.

If you’re a music lover, too, let’s get the bad news out of the way: The tunes you’re jamming to in your favorite streaming app are sub-par quality. The good news? It’s easy to fix that, and I can walk you through it.

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Listen on your stereo

Pam in Fort Lauderdale wrote to me to ask if there’s a cheap, easy way for her to play music from her phone on her home stereo.

📻 Heck yes, there are, Pam. Each one works a little differently. Follow the included instructions and you’ll be rockin’ in no time.

Super affordable: Connect this receiver ($23.99) to your stereo’s audio port, give it some juice via a USB cable, and then push one button to pair it with your phone. Easy-peasy.
Pricer but better sound: Audiophiles, this one is for you. A Wi-Fi connection will give you better sound than a Bluetooth option. The WiiM Mini audio player ($89) is worth the money.
Get smart: Some Echo models, like this refurbished 4th-gen Echo Dot (34% off, $58.99), can connect to your stereo with a 3.5mm aux cable. That’s pretty sweet.

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

Airplane Wi-Fi: Read this before you use the Wi-Fi on a plane. Anyone can grab your credentials. If you’re not flying soon, hit the site and email the article to yourself to read later.

Vacation upgrade: Before you sign onto the in-flight or hotel Wi-Fi, turn on a VPN. It’s a layer of protection and privacy between you, hackers and the network. Get an extra three months of my VPN pick here.

📶 Wi-Fi issues on Windows 11? Forget the network and start fresh. In the taskbar, click the network icon > the network status button (top left). Right-click the network you’re on, then hit Forget. Now, go back to the network icon, click the arrow next to the wireless icon, and re-add your Wi-Fi network. Lovely.

⚠️ It can happen anywhere: An Australian IT pro was caught running “evil twin” Wi-Fi attacks on flights and airports. He set up phony Wi-Fi networks to trick victims into logging in, and then he snagged their usernames and passwords for whatever they did. Pro tip: Always ask the flight staff for the real Wi-Fi network name.

⚠️ Urgent Windows update: Don’t use public Wi-Fi unless you’re running the latest update for Windows 10 and 11. It fixes a vulnerability that lets crooks take over your laptop just by connecting to the same Wi-Fi network. Go to System > About. If you see 14393.7070, 22621.3737 or 22631.3737, update right away.

Wi-Fi master: Angry IP Scanner keeps track of everything connected to your network. It scans for IP addresses and other information about the devices connected. It helps troubleshoot tech issues and catch hackers or moochers since it pinpoints unknown or suspicious devices.

🚨 Update Windows now: A new Wi-Fi vulnerability could let hackers take over your Windows device remotely — yep, without you ever lifting a finger. Every Windows device is at risk. Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update to update and get the patch.

I’m not a wave, but I travel. I’m intangible and can carry a conversation. What am I?

Find the answer here! →

It just works better: If you live in a home larger than 2,000 square feet or have a lot of devices, mesh networks are your Wi-Fi’s secret sauce. Instead of a single router struggling to send a signal to every nook and cranny, you’ve got multiple “nodes” working like a tag team.

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

Criminals using Wi-Fi jammers: Police caught an international crime ring staking out marks’ homes. Once the victims left, they used Wi-Fi jammers to disable the house’s Wi-Fi and security systems to rob them. A Chilean gang tried to do the same thing to me, and the Phoenix SWAT team even stormed my house! Worth the watch, promise.