It’s Friday, friends! We begin our tech know-how with trivia. In 2010, a unique test was conducted to compare data transfer speed: A USB drive versus a carrier pigeon. Which emerged victorious in transferring a 4GB file over approximately 60 miles? You’ll find the answer at the end.

🚗 Drive your way to the finish line! Refer friends using your unique referral code at the bottom of this email, get entries, and race to win a $1,200 iPad, MacBook or Windows laptop! — Kim

It's no secret our devices spy on us. The shocker is that it goes way beyond smartphones and laptops. That smart fridge of yours just might be tracking your eating habits and selling them to advertisers. Still want another beer?

Research group Which? discovered many of our favorite household appliances and gadgets share private information with tech giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook and TikTok. Surprise, these companies take far more data than they need for the device to function correctly. How cute.

Washing your every move

Which? researchers found the Google Nest suite of products, which includes everything from doorbell cameras to heating control systems, gathers a "huge amount" of location information.

Users who connect to the devices through Android smartphones are the most vulnerable. They don't collect as much info on iPhone users.

Bose smart speakers share user data with Facebook's parent company, Meta. Many smart camera and doorbell brands Which? studied used Google's tracking services. Blink and Ring also connect to their parent company, Amazon.

In the appliance arena, LG collects the most data of all washing machine brands, including your precise location and phone contacts. You know, in case your neighbor's missing sock winds up in your dryer.

Whose data is it anyway?

You may think your smart speakers and doorbell only share information if you allow it. True … sorta. Some tracking functions are automatically activated by default. Ultimately, it's up to you to opt out. 

There's also a chance you were tricked into opting in. Many smart TVs personalize advertisements based on user data. You might have unknowingly agreed during setup by clicking an "accept all" button.

Google says it "fully complies with applicable privacy laws and provides transparency to our users regarding the data we collect and how we use it." I guess "transparency" means you’ll have to get your magnifying glass to comb through their lengthy terms and conditions.

Amazon says it designs products "to protect its customers' privacy and security and to put customers in control of their experience." Wouldn't it be nice if little ol' users like us actually felt in control?

The more you know

I get it. Ditching your smart appliances isn't in the cards. Try these methods to take back some privacy:

• Be aware of what you say out loud to smart assistants. If you say something private, check your device's settings for a feature that allows you to delete recorded commands and conversations.
• Disable information sharing with third parties. You'll find this in the settings section.
• If your appliances have cameras and/or microphones, consider disabling them.
• On your smart TV, turn off automatic content recognition (ACR) to prevent the device from sharing data on your family's viewing habits. Here’s a guide to do that by manufacturer.

Remember, friend: Your data is worth a whole lot of money. It's up to you to protect it.

Captain Underpants: The Department of Defense is hard at work on new spy gear as part of project SMART ePANTS (short for “Smart Electrically Powered and Networked Textile Systems”). Yes, folks, spy underwear — or shirts, pants, socks, whatever — equipped with mini cameras, microphones and sensors. Cash dumped into this so far? $22 million.

Peloton death: The family of late Ryan Furtado of New York says he was killed by his Peleton bike. The 32-year-old was doing a workout on the floor and used his bike to stand up. It spun and severed his carotid artery. The lawsuit says he died instantly. Peloton says the bike wasn’t the problem but the guy’s negligence was. Either way, such a tragedy.

🚘 Storage full: It’s not just your phone. Toyota had to stop all its factory production lines in Japan because it had no disk space. No cyberattack here, Toyota says. It was simply a case of not enough server space. They transferred the data, and the assembly factories are back up and running.

Political ad tricksters: If you use artificial intelligence (AI) to alter voices or images in political ads, Google and YouTube say you need to disclose it. Some 2024 presidential campaigns, including those for Ron DeSantis, already use AI, and more are sure to follow. Does anyone think disclosures will put a dent in deepfake political ads? Me, neither.

BMW? Break My Wallet: BMW’s test to lock features like heated seats behind a monthly fee is over, and its customers won. BMW now says you can either buy a car with heated seats from its factory or deal with that cold backside in the winter. I sure hope other carmakers follow its lead, but I doubt it.

🍅 Rotten Tomatoes is rotten. New York Magazine says the movie review site (owned by Fandango and Warner Bros.) uses some pretty shady tactics. They found PR firms hire no-name critics and pay them for positive reviews. They also “discourage” critics from posting negative reviews. So much for honest reviews.

Don’t use LastPass: A crypto theft operation has stolen over $35 million from 150 victims since a November 2022 leak. The link: Victims used password manager LastPass, security researcher Brian Krebs found. If you use LastPass, stop. If you store crypto info in any password manager, stop that right this second.

📻 AM radio needs your help: More than 80 million folks depend on AM radio for news, entertainment and safety information. But auto manufacturers are removing AM radios in some cars. There’s a campaign to stop this. I signed the petition and encourage you to, as well. Thank you!

I make the complex world of tech simple and approachable. From explaining the latest gadgets in plain English to offering easy-to-follow cybersecurity advice, I’ve got you covered.

👉 Tech understanding is just a click away!

Nearly half of all people said they can tell a coworker’s mood by their greetings and sign-offs. Get this: 91% said the people they work with are sometimes passive-aggressive via email. Ouch.

A survey from Preply has guidance if you’re maybe, accidentally, oops, that person.

Hey, hi, hello: The most aggressive way to start an email, in fact, is with no greeting at all. A super-casual greeting like “hiya” can come off the same way. And 43% say using someone’s name with a colon (e.g., “Kim:”) is always too aggressive.

“Hi, Kim,” “Good morning/afternoon/evening” and “Hello, Kim” are all perfectly fine. The most “uptight” greetings? “Dear Kim,” “Greetings, Kim” and just plain “Greetings.”

See ya: Sign-offs matter, too. Of those surveyed, 80% go with “Thank you.” About half of the respondents only sign off with their names. Way down at the bottom: “Kind regards,” at 16%. Why? It’s too old-fashioned.

It’s useless: Lose the “Sent from my iPhone” or “Sent from my phone, please excuse typos.” We all know by now.

Emojis are contentious: About 40% of the survey respondents said emojis are never appropriate in work emails, and everyone else thinks they’re OK sometimes. I’m all for them unless it’s a super-serious email.

Yours truly,
Kim

P.S. What’s a cow emoji called? An e-moo-ji!

Have you ever stopped to think about all the sensitive information stored on your computer? From passwords to legal documents and work-related files, there’s a lot the wrong person would love to get their hands on.

The good news is there's a tool out there for checking for online threats like malware and viruses — and it’s super easy to use.

• Go to VirusTotal.com. 
• Enter a suspicious URL in the search bar to determine whether it's safe to visit. The scanner will let you know instantly if it contains malware. 

Another way to double-check a site? Use common sense! Take a look at the entire URL. Hackers often create multiple versions of their generic sites and throw them online with strange names.

Pro tip: Here’s a trick our fabulous graphic designer, Amber, uses: Hover over the site’s logo. A legit website will almost always link the image back to its homepage. Now, let me ask you, where else can you learn things like this?

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But you sure don’t look as cool with your phone on speaker as you do holding a jukebox.

The answer: The pigeon. “Winston” was set against the ADSL data transfer of a 4GB file over roughly 60 miles. He took just over two hours to reach his destination, while the download was only at about 4% completion. Isn’t that something? I thought so, too!

😂 Why don’t pigeons echo? A coo sticks.

Thanks for reading, friend. Glad to have you here with me and the best tech newsletter in the USA. I’ll be back in your inbox on Sunday with my special weekend edition. Be sure to hit reply or drop me a line here if there’s something tech you want to know. Stay awesome! 😎 — Kim