Well, hey there, friend. It’s another tech-licious Thursday! Today’s trivia is a real throwback. Which Hollywood actress played a big role in the development of Wi‑Fi? Was it … A.) Audrey Hepburn, B.) Marilyn Monroe, C.) Hedy Lamarr or D.) Elizabeth Taylor? Answer at the end, as always!

🥳 Get my new eBook about AI for FREE (a $14.95 value)! Simply share your unique referral link at the bottom of this newsletter on your social media or anywhere you like. When one person signs up using your link, you’ll receive a free copy of my book. It’s that easy! One person = A free book for you! Don’t miss out — this offer is available for a limited time only! — Kim

Parents everywhere are thrilled it’s back-to-school time. How can you keep the kids focused after a screen-filled summer, but also keep them safe? It’s a process, I know. For starters, get my free Kids’ Tech Contract.

✏️ Next, stay sharp

First, let’s look at some tech for kids and parents. Don’t worry, I’ll cover more essential tools, too.

An Apple a day: The Apple Watch provides GPS tracking, SOS emergency calling and fall detection. If your kid has one, teach them how to use SOS. It pains me to say this, but it’s much safer to hit a button on a watch than make a phone call in situations like a school shooting. Pro tip: You may need a band made for smaller wrists, depending on your child’s age.

Up in the air: Attach an AirTag (21% off!) to your child’s backpack or keychain. You can use the Find My network to locate lost stuff … or a kid who isn’t home on time.

Are you an Android family? The Galaxy Watch is a great Apple alternative. It tracks location and health data and integrates phone features, like calling and texting.

Lost and found: Tile (28% off) is a handy-dandy tracker tag that works like an AirTag but with any phone. Clip it to a backpack or clothing and use the companion app to track their location.

Monitoring matters

Your kid won’t be thrilled about you playing Big Brother, but if you don’t, who will? When no one is paying attention, pedophiles and sickos step in.

• Explain, don’t force: With Ian, I told him why it was important to me to know where he was and who he was with.
• Hold your boundaries: Your kid might whine and beg to go over their screen time, download apps or surf without monitoring. This whole “permissive parenting” trend where kids say what’s OK is bull. Kids need rules. You need to enforce them.
• Check in now and then: For most older kids, knowing you could watch is enough of a deterrent. I always knew the PIN to Ian’s phone. After school, I made him put his phone in this fake Bible box in the kitchen. I never set a combination, but you could.

I have to tell you this: As Ian got older, I started to share links to stories of kids meeting strangers online, getting into trouble and worse. My dad did that to me when there was a car accident and the teens weren’t wearing seat belts.

Like Ian, I’d say, “That would never happen to me.” But it made me think and it did with Ian, too. That’s why I share news about kids in this newsletter — it’s for you to read, know and share.

No public pics

Parents are all over social media, posting pics of their kid’s first day of school. Nope. It’s too easy for some creep to learn that little Julia is a third grader at Brown Elementary. They can clone your voice, call her out of school for a dentist appointment and pick her up. Keep those pics in your camera roll.

🤗 Because of email size limits, if you need recommendations for age-appropriate trackers, parental monitoring software, screen management tools and others, read this article in full on my website. Share this info using the icons below with family and friends who have anyone under 18 they care for. It’s so important to keep our kids safe.

AI is changing the world at a pace we’ve never seen before in the history of mankind. That’s why you need to take a free test drive to learn how you can save time and money using AI in your business.

The problem: Buying the tech to make it happen is expensive — and who knows if you’re even choosing what you truly need?

The pros at Oracle will bring AI to your company the easy way. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure uses NVIDIA GPUs, so you know you’re getting the gold standard in processing power. Let them worry about updates and maintenance so you can focus on the future.

⚠️ 2.9 billion records leaked: Background-check company National Public Data may be responsible for one of the biggest data breaches in history. A lawsuit claims their negligence exposed 2.9 billion Social Security numbers, full names, addresses and so much more on the Dark Web. We all need to freeze our credit. Steps here.

Sounds familiar: Scammers are after Google Voice accounts. If they trick you into giving up your multifactor authentication code, they can make calls that look like they're coming from you. Never share this info. If you already have, go to Protect your verification code and disconnect your number.

🗣️ Ring camera hacked: A Texas family got the scare of a lifetime when a man hacked into their Ring camera and whispered to their 5-year-old son in the middle of the night. Even scarier? The video “deleted” itself 15 minutes later. This is your reminder to keep your devices up to date, never use your router’s default Wi‑Fi password, set up 2FA and create strong passwords. Watch the scary 42-second video here.

No Waze! Navigation apps are turning men into worse drivers. A study shows female voice assistants trigger mating-related cues, like risky behavior. Seriously, 40% of men in the experiment were more likely to run a yellow light. Switch to a male voice, dudes.

A whole new world: Starting in September, Disney+ is cracking down on password sharing outside your household. Rumor has it you can add paid sharing, but no word on the cost yet. Oh, and the price for Disney+ will increase in October; the ad-supported tier will go from $8 per month to $10 monthly, and the ad-free version will rise from $14 to $16 a month. Yup, Mickey needs the money.

Kendrick Lamar is somewhere laughing: Drake just dropped a 100GB folder of music, videos, photos and random content for his superfans. There are three unreleased tracks, but the bulk is behind-the-scenes footage of him making music, as well as storms in Miami. There are 13 videos of just rain and wind knocking around palm trees. Uh, neat.

🔥 Baby, you’re as hot as the bottom of my laptop: An analysis of 200,000 AI chatbot conversations shows close to 10% are adult in nature. Folks love asking for racy role-play sessions or spicy AI-generated images. FYI, most bots limit NSFW content.

• I don’t like dark hallways and stairwells. Dangerous! These night-lights look nice and cost less than $10 for eight.
• Smart bulbs don’t have to be expensive. WiZ smart lights are only $6.49 a pop right now (41% off!).
• Upgrade your evening porch time with app-controlled outdoor LED lights. Click the box for $35 off.
• A smart table lamp that’ll look good in any room (15% off).
• Prefer paper books to electronic versions? I do, too. All good! Grab a book light for under $10.

❓ Since you asked: I got a ton of questions about StartMail yesterday after they were in the newsletter. Yes, it is truly private email without the tracking. Yes, you can import your old emails from other services. Yes, you can try it for free. If you decide to buy, yes, you’ll get a 60% discount, but you have to use this link. I get no kickbacks if you sign up, btw.

A full wash: Just because Chromebooks use web apps doesn't mean they don't need resetting every once in a while. A reset is called a “Powerwash.” Sign out of ChromeOS, hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R, then choose Restart and Powerwash.

Check your car: Get the free NHTSA SaferCar app. Put in your car’s VIN and receive automatic alerts about any recalls. There have been a ton lately. They don’t make ‘em like they used to.

🎞️ Thanks for the memories: Every year that passes, your physical photos and negatives degrade a little more. Digitize them before it’s too late.

Amazon product safety check: Go to your Amazon account and look under Account & Lists > Account for Recalls and Product Safety Alerts. Click the link, and you’ll see details about recalls for any products you’ve purchased and how to get a refund or return the items.

Greeting next time I go to yoga: “What’s up, dog?”

The answer: C.) Hedy Lamarr. Lamarr and George Antheil developed frequency-hopping tech in 1941. It prevented enemy forces from jamming torpedoes during World War II, which led to the development of Wi‑Fi. So cool.

😂 Need a fun name for your network? Take your pick: “A LAN time ago,” “I believe Wi can Fi,” “The Promised LAN,” “Chance the Router” or “That's what she SSID.” Barry’s still annoyed he thought someone hacked us and renamed our Wi-Fi network “FBI Surveillance Van.” That was me.

🚀 Unlock your free AI eBook! It’s easy! Just share your unique referral link at the bottom of this newsletter on your social media feed or anywhere you choose. When someone signs up through your link, you get the book for free. Hurry, this limited-time offer won’t last, so grab your chance now!

I’ll see you tomorrow with the best newsletter in the USA! Until then, stay your wonderful self! — Kim