The Current Plus: Taylor Swift terrorism, RIP to Chromecast, AI trained on kid pics  In partnership with The Free Kim Komando Show podcast | | Say hello to a fantastic Friday, friend! I’ve got some electrifying trivia to start. The surge protector was invented in 1970. What was its official name back then? Was it … A.) Zap Trap, B.) Power Devourer, C.) Watt Wad or D.) Shock Block? Answer at the end! 🎉 Exciting news! You can now listen to The Kim Komando Show as a free podcast. Get all the tech news, tips and listener calls on your schedule, wherever you are. Tune in through your favorite podcast app today! More on this below. — Kim 📫 First-time reader? Sign up here. (It’s free!) IN THIS ISSUE - 👿 It never ends
- 🎶 Taylor Swift tour scare
- ⚾ Free sports from Roku
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TODAY'S TOP STORY These are the big ones  From big banks to car dealerships, 2024 has been a banner year for data breaches. Yes, I mean that in the worst way possible. I’d be shocked if there’s any American left unexposed at this point. Let’s take a walk down the data breach memory lane. I’ve got steps for remediation at the end for you and everyone you care about. 🔍 National Public Data: 2.9 billion people A background-check company, National Public Data (NPD), was allegedly hacked, exposing 2.9 billion people. Hackers accessed Social Security numbers, full names and addresses, selling the database for $3.5 million. NPD is being sued. FWIW, obviously, there aren’t 2.9 billion SSNs on the list. 🏥 Ascension: 140 hospitals In May, a malware download led to a massive cyberattack on Ascension, which runs 140 hospitals across the U.S. The attack disrupted emergency services and patient care. Hackers compromised seven of Ascension’s 25,000 servers. 🛻 CDK Global: 15,000 car dealerships In June, CDK Global, a major car dealership software provider, faced two cyberattacks, severely disrupting operations for 15,000 dealerships. Reports suggest tens of millions in ransom was paid out. 🩺 Change Healthcare: $22 million payout The tech firm owned by UnitedHealth is used by thousands of pharmacies, hospitals and health care facilities to receive payments and process claims. UnitedHealth paid $22 million to prevent data leaks by Russia’s BlackCat hacker group. This one affected about 50% of all Americans. Another group, RansomHub, also claimed to have stolen data belonging to Change in February. Estimates say as much as one-third of all Americans were impacted. That includes sensitive medical data, like test results, diagnoses and images. 📲 AT&T: 73 million customers In March, AT&T disclosed hackers stole data from “nearly all” current and former customers. The data goes back as far as 2019 and includes some really personal information, such as Social Security numbers. They reportedly paid hackers a $370,000 ransom to delete the info. 🥈 Visit my site for seven more significant breaches you should know about including Roku, Tile, Dropbox and Microsoft. Locked down You can't stop a hacker from breaching a major company, but you can protect yourself from the fallout. - Double-check all health care communications. If you get an explanation of benefits (EOB) or bill for services you didn’t receive, contact your health care provider and insurance company ASAP. It likely means someone is using your benefits for their own care.
- Treat email requests with caution. Be skeptical of anything that seems super urgent. It's OK to slow down for safety. My rule of thumb: If it’s a strange written request, like a text or email, I make a phone call.
- Freeze your credit. This will keep scammers from opening a credit card or loan in your name. Like setting up a fraud alert, you’ll need to contact each of the three credit bureaus.
🔐 Hit my site for three more smart and very important steps everyone should take. While you’re there, share this critical info with friends and family using the social icons. Let’s keep our loved ones safe and secure. |
WEB WATERCOOLER A big crowd is a big target: Taylor Swift’s Vienna concerts were canceled after two men were arrested for plotting terrorist attacks. One suspect, a 19-year-old would-be ISIS member, was radicalized online and. planned to use “chemicals” at the Eras Tour shows. No word yet if it was a bomb. Frightening. The wild, wild AI west: AI age scanners verify who’s an adult online. But dig into the history of how they were made, and it's pretty dark (paywall link). Tech companies used publically accessible photos of real children to train the AI bots. It’s not clear how long they store these pics. Yup, no regulations about this practice at all. An Airbnb host's favorite dance is the Cha-cha Check-in: Airbnb’s stock price plummeted 14% after some not-so-great second-quarter earnings. Demand is slowing as folks head back to hotels to avoid creepy hosts and for safety. Looks like the pervy secret camera stories are finally turning people away. 🆕 No more Chromecast: It's being replaced by the $99 Google TV Streamer, which ships in September. The new streaming device is equipped with Gemini AI and better specs, like on-screen smart home controls, detailed video summaries and finetuned recommendations. Lost in space: Two astronauts who left Earth on an eight-day mission could be stuck in space until next year. They departed in June aboard the Boeing Starliner and are now docked at the ISS due to thruster problems. If their spacecraft can’t be repaired, NASA could let them catch a ride on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon in February 2025. When an X-ray is a tooth pic: A robot performed the world’s first fully automated dental procedure. It scanned a patient's gumline, analyzed it with AI and then its little arms got to work. In the video, you can see the bot shaving down a tooth. They claim it’s so safe that it even works when a patient moves. I’ll stick with my human dentist for now. 🔥 You really have to see this: An indoor cam caught a dog chewing on a lithium-ion battery power bank, which then set the house on fire (video here). The flames spread through the living room in minutes. The family and all their pets got out safely. Phew. |
DEALS OF THE DAY I’d buy them all again |
TECH LIFE UPGRADES Never lose your car again: Google Maps can keep track of where you parked. On iPhone or Android, open the Google Maps app. Tap the blue dot that shows your location, then Save parking. Steps here to do it automatically every time. 🔋 More battery in a hurry: You must leave in 15 minutes and your phone battery is hovering around 3%. Plug it in, switch it into Airplane mode and give it as much time as possible. Shutting off extra processes means your phone can focus on charging. No more credit card offers in the mail: Visit optoutprescreen.com to stop financial junk mail you later have to shred. Choose to opt out for five years or forever. Opting out permanently? You’ll have to use snail mail, but it’s worth it. Print, sign and mail a confirmation form. I did it. 📅 Cheaper than a personal assistant: ChatGPT can plan your day for you. Tell the AI your top three priorities, appointments or commitments and how long a task typically takes, then ask it to create a schedule. Bam, a bulleted list, scheduled to the minute. On the hunt: I tried all the job sites, word of mouth and even talking up job openings on my shows. It didn’t work. But I’ve had great success finding really wonderful, hardworking people on LinkedIn.* Post a job for free right now using my link. |
LISTEN UP  | He spent a year 'on Mars' Last year, four NASA volunteers entered a Mars simulation in Houston. They just came out of isolation. Dr. Nathan Jones, the Crew Medical Officer of the mission, tells us what it was like. Plus, how to claim your Cash App settlement and a Facebook missing person scam. |
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BY THE NUMBERS $14,200 a month To answer questions from his couch. A mechanic quit his full-time job at Ford after he started making more money helping folks on JustAnswer. He works hard for that money — eight to 10 hours a day, seven days a week. I’m signing Barry up! $20 subscription fee Rumored for Apple Intelligence. It would likely come as part of Apple One, which also includes Apple Music and 2TB of iCloud storage. It’d better beat Siri by a long shot if anyone is going to pay for it. 13% decrease In LDL cholesterol (the “bad” one) by eating corn flour daily. Researchers tested a few different combos and found refined cornmeal mixed with corn bran was the winner at lowering cholesterol. Time to bake some cornbread. |
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Delete them: Apps with ties to Communist China. ✈️ Flying anytime soon? There’s one way to contact customer service that you should skip. 1 in 4 kids: Will be identity theft victims by the time they turn 18. 🎙️ Try my show’s podcast: It’s super easy. Hit this link to find my national radio show in your favorite podcast player. If you need a hand, reply to this email. I’m here for you! |
UNTIL NEXT TIME ... The answer: A.) Zap Trap. It was the name Harold P. Kopp of Buffalo, New York, coined for his invention to protect electronics against television blowouts. Kinda wish that name had stuck around … ⚡ Speaking of, I just opened my water bill and electricity bill at the same time. I was shocked! Shocked, I tell you! Shoutout to you for making it to the end. And an even bigger shoutout if you leave a rating to let me know how we’re doing. I’m honored you let me in your inbox. Back tomorrow with a highly requested guide: Tech to prep for emergencies. You don’t want to miss that! — Kim |
How'd we do? What did you think of today's issue? |
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