I’m so happy to spend a bit of this Wednesday with you, friend. I saw this stat and was surprised it wasn’t higher: 33% of all U.S. college students’ parents track their location. Ian, Barry and a few family members are on Apple’s Find My Friends app. That doesn’t feel like tracking to me; it just feels like what families do now.

👉 Hackers and scammers are after you and your money. You need a total security suite that offers real-time scanning, phishing protection and ransomware defense. Don't leave your digital life to chance. Get what you need for just $19 with my exclusive link, which covers up to five of your (or your loved ones’) devices. Btw, I get no residuals if you buy. — Kim

A good router isn’t just about performance; it’s your first line of defense against network break-ins. If yours isn’t updating anymore or runs hot, or if you’re experiencing random Wi‑Fi freezes or frequent reboots, it’s time for a new one. Komando IT genius John replaces his every two years!

We all can’t be John. Most of us keep routers long enough that we should buy the best when it’s time to upgrade. That’s why I put together this list.

3+ bedrooms and lots of devices: Linksys Velop Pro 7 ($349.99)

• The newest of the new: 802.11 standard, designated Wi‑Fi 7. Yup, that’s life in the fast LAN.
• Covers up to 3,000 square feet
• Connect over 200 devices

Bonus: It's a mesh router, which means you can add on units for stronger coverage all across the house.

Great value for smaller homes: Netgear 4-Stream AX1800 ($89.99)

• Up-to-date AX Wi‑Fi 6
• Covers up to 1,500 square feet
• Connect over 20 devices

FYI, this one supports up to four streaming sessions at once — no more playing traffic cop.

Banish dead zones: TP‑Link Deco AXE5400 ($209.99)

• Tri‑band with Wi‑Fi 6E
• Two units cover up to 5,500 square feet, taking you to the promised LAN.

The 6GHz band works for new devices, while 5GHz and 2.5GHz bands support older devices. Nerd translation: Extra-speedy performance!

👯 Do the router two‑step

1. Write down important settings: Before disconnecting your old router, know your SSID (network name) and passwords. This will make setting up your new router much smoother.
2. Update the firmware: After installing your new router, install any firmware updates. (This happens automatically, in most cases.)

Look at how easy it was to pick the best router! Now, use those icons below to share this list with folks on social media. I bet you’ll get a ton of thank-you's in return.

☎️ Call me. I’m taking calls for my national radio show today at 1 p.m. Pacific (4 p.m. Eastern). I’d love to chat with YOU! Call me during that time at 1‑888‑825‑5254, and we'll talk tech.

Phishing attacks exploded last year as hackers got their hands on AI tools, increasing a whopping 1,265%. In just one quarter, there were almost 1.3 million phishing attacks reported. That’s in the top three highest ever recorded. If you think you can escape these criminals, you’re wrong.

Lucky for you, antivirus software can detect their schemes and protect you from them automatically. That’s why you need software that stops malware from getting on your devices before it becomes a real threat.

I use and recommend TotalAV. Their award-winning software keeps the bad guys off your computer and out of your business.

Fixes for Windows: A new patch includes security updates for 150 flaws and 77 remote code execution bugs. Update your PC today.

🛑 D-Link exploited: Over 92,000 older D‑Link network-attached storage devices that stopped getting updates have been hacked with a backdoor account. Got one? Stop using it and buy a new one.

He chose the road death traveled: What would you do to avoid paying $100,000 for child maintenance in a divorce? A hacker from Somerset, Kentucky, used a stolen doctor’s identity and declared himself gone in Hawaii’s death registry. Caught in this grave mistake, he faces up to seven years in prison and $500,000 in fines.

🛰️ Putin on a show: Russian troops in Ukraine are using Starlink terminals from black market networks for comms and drone ops. Despite SpaceX's no-sale policy to Russia and efforts to block access, these devices were smuggled in and the geofencing controls were bypassed. Ahem, why can’t SpaceX just shut the internet terminal down?

🚋 Blast from the past: San Francisco's trains chug along using floppy disks from 1998, raising alarms over a possible "catastrophic failure." Yep, each morning starts with a manual software load from these digital dinosaurs. Sure, an upgrade is on track, but it could take another decade and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Wok this way: Sansan Chicken in NYC is ditching the traditional cashier for a woman in the Philippines who works via Zoom. Customers tap orders on a digital kiosk and chat through a speaker system. The system has been dubbed “cost-effective” by the manager.

📍 Google’s Find My Device network is finally here! Android users can track their phones and tablets, even when offline. While it's not yet for your everyday items, Chipolo and Pebble Bluetooth tags will join the party in May. Heads-up: Your device must run Android 9 or newer.

Talk dirt to me: Dyson's dropping a new AR tool for its vacuums in June — the Dyson CleanTrace. It maps your cleaning path, marking cleaned zones in a majestic purple and spotlighting dirt you’ve missed. The catch? It only works with the great-but-pricey Dyson Gen5detect ($698 on sale now — 27% off!).

I wish this happened in 2017: That’s when my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. An experimental drug is shrinking tumors by a 30% to 98% range in lab studies. It targets the KRAS gene, the culprit behind 95% of deadly pancreatic cancers. She fought for almost four years after being diagnosed. I miss her every day. 😪

📚 Turn "da-da" into data: Get your kiddo ready for the future (and AI) with these 30 free STEM resources. The list includes apps, games and classes to teach youngsters stuff like coding, aeronautics, mathematics and, yes, data science. You could have the next little Elon.

PDF – Pretty Darn Fast: Here’s a shortcut to make any page a PDF on Windows. Go to print it (Windows + P), then choose Microsoft Print to PDF as your printer. So smart.

Watch your mouth: On your Mac, you can get Siri to respond with onscreen text rather than a voice. From the Apple menu, pick System Preferences > Siri > click off next to Voice Feedback. This will keep Siri’s responses shushed to captions so the guy next to you in the coffee shop doesn’t know all your business. Sweet.

For your meme folder: On Windows, you can pin frequently used folders in File Explorer. Right-click a folder and select Pin to Quick access for easy access. When you open File Explorer, you’ll see it on the left.

📖 Calling all bookworms: You can get a 30-day free trial of Kindle Unlimited. It includes over 4 million books and thousands of audiobooks. Nice.

Need a pick-me-up? I’m livestreaming today at 11:30 a.m. Pacific (2:30 p.m. Eastern). Come watch on YouTube, Rumble or Facebook, or catch the vid on demand when you want.

I know you’re not fancy, but let’s face it: You could use a few new things in your wardrobe. And just look at these awesome prices!

• $5 T-shirts: High-quality men’s tees that come in just the color you want for nearly 20% off. Yes, please!
• $25 polos: Performance polo for the golfers in your life. They come in many colors, and they’re 52% off right now.
• $35 shirts: Flex denim long-sleeve shirts for the DIY guys — save 20%.
• $10 dresses: A short-sleeve flare dress she'll look stunning in for 70% off.
• $9 dresses: For more casual days, try this tank maxi dress.
• $6 dresses: This scoop-neck swing dress is up to 70% off.

The XCOMP 10MB hard disk, which cost $3,398 in the early 1980s, would be about $11,900 in today's dollars.

Since we started today’s issue with a fact about location sharing, reply to this email and let me know if you’re sharing yours with anyone — or if you’re keeping an eye on your kids’ whereabouts, too. New to location sharing? Here’s my guide on how to do it.

🧞‍♀️ I wish there weren’t hackers. I wish the scammers would find a new gig. But as my mom would say, “Wish in one hand and crap in the other, and see which one you end up with.” Protect your computer, laptop, tablet and phone with a solid security suite. I negotiated a great deal at just $19 for the first year for up to five devices. Get it now.

🎉 That's a wrap, folks. Feel free to spread the word and forward this newsletter to your friends. 👫👭👬 I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow with more tech know‑how! — Kim