Welcome to a tech-marvelous Monday, friend! If you forget the password to your $3,500 Vision Pro headset, you must take it to the Apple Store for a reset. Yes, that’s true! I’m sure the policy has to do with keeping this super-expensive gadget out of the hands of thieves.

⚠️ Beware: Scammers are circulating fake Podcast Editor job listings for my company, WestStar MultiMedia Entertainment. Find real opportunities at Komando.com/careers.

🤓 Don’t forget to share the important tech tidbits you won’t find anywhere else but here with your coworkers or pals. They’ll think you’re brilliant, gifted and a savant. Tech smarts, here we come! — Kim

Before you say, “Oh, Kim Komando, what do recalls have to do with tech?” keep in mind today’s cars are just moving computers. Food recalls, though? Not really, but hey, I make it my job to keep you safe. This is important stuff, so share it with your circle.

Who wants food poisoning for dinner?

Red alert, Trader Joe’s, Costco and Walmart shoppers! There’s a deadly listeria outbreak tied to cheese and dairy products from California-based Rizo-López Foods.

“Never heard of it, Kim.” You’re not out of the woods. Their products were used in dips, dressings, and salad and taco kits sold at Albertson's, Costco, H‑E‑B and Trader Joe's, along with salad kits sold at Costco, Walmart and Winco. (Get the complete product lists at those links.)

Burning down the house (You just sang that, right?)

Have any of these items? Click the links to find out how to get a refund or exchange.

• About 2 million garment steamers from Steamfast, Vornado and Sharper Image can spray hot water where you don’t want it.
• Frigidaire’s side-by-side refrigerators have an issue with plastic pieces making it into the ice bucket. Yummy.
• More than 400,000 gas-powered yard trimmers sold at Lowe’s and on Amazon can catch fire.
• Bissell hand and floor vacs sold at Lowe’s, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Target, Walmart and Best Buy can catch fire.
• Hometics massagers can overheat when charging, causing burns and fires.
• BlendJet is recalling 4.8 million portable blender units because of fire and laceration hazards. I have one of these … jeez.
• Snapchat’s flying selfie drone, Pixy, has a lithium-ion battery that — you guessed it — can catch fire. Don’t use it.

Car recalls are exhaust‑ing

Drive one of these beauties? Call your dealership ASAP.

• Honda: Over 750,000 models have airbags that could injure kids, babies in car seats and anyone under 4’11” in height. The list includes 2020‑22 Honda Civics, Accords, CR‑Vs, Fits, HR‑Vs, Insights, Odysseys, Pilots, Passports and Ridgelines, along with 2020‑22 models of the Acura MDX, RDX and TLX.
• GM: About 323,000 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 trucks and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles have major tailgate issues. Read: Your stuff could fall out.
• Volvo: Over 17,000 2024 XC40 models have a nonfunctioning turn signal. Yeah, that’s a crash risk.
• Ford: Approximately 1.9 million 2011‑19 Explorer SUVs have crappy A‑pillar trim that can detach and become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
• Kia: More than 101,000 2022‑24 Carnivals and 2023‑24 Sportages have roof molding problems.

Plus, add to this recall list every single Tesla ever sold. Yes, that’s a fact.

😂 Did you hear Tickle Me Elmo was recalled? They forgot to give him two test tickles. (I heard you laugh at that one!)

• Brooms, rakes, shovels, oh my! Keep them tidy with a tool tower rack.
• Stop buying tomato soup! You have 11 cans already. Now you'll know with this stackable can rack.
• Spice drawer liners are a genius way to keep your spices organized and your drawer clean.
• Manage cords and cables on your desk and even in your car with these clever cable clips.
• Keep your cleansers, soaps, sponges or whatever organized under the sink with heavy-duty metal shelves.

🛑 Don't click on Chrome update links: McAfee says that’s what’s spreading the new MoqHao malware. Unlike other viruses, MoqHao infects your computer immediately. Oh, brother. For the real update, just restart your browser.

The last straw: Password manager LastPass has all kinds of drama around keeping its customers’ logins safe. The latest: A fake app pretending to be the real deal was pulled from the Apple App Store. If you recently downloaded LastPass onto your iPhone, iPad or Mac, it’s time for a complete password purge. I recommend Total Password* (it’s just $19).

🏠 There’s always that weird roommate: Zillow’s solution to high rents and housing shortages is a new feature that lets you sublet a room in your apartment or house. Renters can post, too. Get ready for a new level of Zillow strangeness to scroll through.

For true crime fans: The new doc "Lover, Stalker, Killer" on Netflix is about Dave Kroupa, a Nebraska single dad who meets a gal on a dating site … and it goes really bad. Check out the trailer. Happy Valentine’s Day!

🦠 Bacteria Turner Overdrive: Scientists swabbed smartwatch bands, and the results are nasty — everything from E. coli to staph. A crazy 95% of bands tested positive for bacteria. The dirtiest bands belonged to healthcare workers. So many sources of ick! Grab the wipes.

“Make me look 18 again”: Yeah, that level of voice editing is here. Apple's new AI model takes your commands to edit pictures — crop, resize, brighten, crop out the cat, anything you want. Try it here.

Maybe don’t look for a job on Facebook: An ad campaign is pushing “digital advertising” jobs. Click it, and you’ll end up with password-stealing Ov3r_Stealer malware on your machine. Stick with LinkedIn,* folks.

Your future depends on your dreams: Samsung’s Galaxy Watch just got FDA approval to detect sleep apnea. Look for the feature to be added to the watch this year and, in true Apple fashion, next year in the Apple Watch. Btw, sleep apnea affects around 25% of men and one-tenth of women in the U.S.

Instagram recently got some privacy tech Facebook’s had for years. You can now block the platforms’ parent company, Meta, from watching what you do once you close Instagram and move on to other apps and sites.

• Open Instagram, then tap the silhouette (profile icon) in the bottom right corner.
• Select the three-line More menu > Settings and privacy > Accounts Center.
• Select Your information and permissions.
• Tap Your activity off Meta technologies. Here, you can see what info IG is getting.
• For each one, you need to choose Disconnect specific activity.
• You should also remove your history. Tap the Clear previous activity button to do that.

“Kim, I feel like they could’ve made it easier.” Yes, you’re right. It’s almost like they don’t want you to go through all those steps.

🔗 Knock old links from your search results: First, enter your search into Google. On the results page, look to the top right (desktop) for Tools. Tap that, then select Any time > Custom range. A little box called Custom date range will pop up, along with a calendar. Choose your start and end dates.

Share a specific section of a webpage: In Google Chrome, highlight the text, right-click your selection and choose Copy link to highlight. Paste in that link, and it'll send your recipient right to that spot.

Free SEO help for your website: ChatGPT can generate titles, find strong keywords and create meta descriptions to attract site visitors. Try prompts like, “Suggest title ideas for a category about Android accessories” or “Summarize this article in less than 160 characters.”

🧩 Need a brain break? Maybe you had one too many yesterday. This browser puzzle game is a nice 5-minute escape.

Work smarter: Love this trick to use with your smartphone assistant. Say, "Remind me to do [task] when I get to [location]." Perfect for when you need to do something specific when you arrive at a place, like, "Remind me to email Kim when I get to the office."

The only way to keep it your business do that is with a VPN. A virtual private network encrypts your data and hides your IP address, giving you an extra layer of protection from snoops, advertisers and Big Tech companies looking to profit off you.

Some VPNs slow your connection or, worse, track your internet activity and compromise your security. Not ExpressVPN. Plus, you can connect in just one click from a Windows PC, Mac, iPhone, Android, iPad, you name it.

🚨 Deal alert: Get an extra THREE months free since you subscribe to my newsletter.

Depends on how many cocktails …

Over and out, folks. Send me your prayers and good thoughts. I’m getting more of my eyeball stitches out today! Follow me on social if you want to see a pic and read some cornea jokes. I’m on Instagram, X, YouTube, Facebook and everywhere else.

Speaking of ... Did you hear about the new website for people with chronic eye pain? It’s a site for sore eyes.

🫡 See you right back here tomorrow with more tech smarts. Need help with something specific? Reply to this email and let me know! And be sure to rate this newsletter. — Kim