It’s a beautiful Wednesday! I’m feeling fine, and I hope you’re feeling fine, too, friend! Today’s trivia: Amazon wasn’t always called “Amazon.” Our pal, Jeff Bezos, considered two other names first. Were they … A.) Caboodle, B.) Relentless, C.) Cadabra and/or D.) Tireless? Answer’s at the end!

✅ Share the know-how. When you see icons below the main story or tip, click one to instantly share it with your coworkers, family and friends. Now, let’s dive into today’s tech smarts. — Kim

Seven million 23andMe customers thought they were just getting insights into their family history; instead, they had their personal data hacked. (Btw, I’ve told you so many times not to sign up for 23andMe!)

Unfortunately, the 23andMe breach went beyond just names and addresses. Hackers got their hands on DNA genotypes and predispositions to certain conditions. They also were able to hunt down genetic relatives for millions of 23andMe customers. So scary.

Here’s the good news: You can research your family history without handing over your DNA. I found ancestry resources, and none are paid family tree research sites that collect a ton of your personal data.

Start with a free site

Get started with these research tools, and remember — you’re in control of what info you hand over.

• AccessGenealogy: An online directory of digital genealogy resources. They specialize in Native American family histories and have helpful links for pre-Civil War African-American research. Some of the sites they link to are paid, but they indicate this with a dollar sign. Otherwise, AccessGenealogy is 100% free and doesn’t require registration (links to other sites might).
• The Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation: Know your family came through Ellis Island? Use the site's free passenger-search function to view the names of tens of millions of immigrants who passed through the port.
• FamilySearch: From the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this platform includes a collaborative global family tree tool and is free for anyone, regardless of religious affiliation. Note: You choose what data you share, but keep in mind, your info could be shared with third parties or Mormon churches near you.

Then, head to these libraries

They’re for more than your next book club read. Local and statewide libraries and historical and genealogical societies host a wealth of knowledge resources.

• HeritageQuest Online: This free tool is offered by thousands of public and state libraries. It’s an online database, but you’ll have to visit a physical library and use your library card to access it.
• Digital Public Library of America: This one is free to access online — no library card needed! You can search for family names or ask cool questions, like, “What did downtown Memphis look like in the 1910s, when my family lived there?”

Go deeper with public records and community archives

• The National Archives: These include census, military service, immigration and naturalization records. You might hit gold at county courthouses, too, which have localized (and sometimes orginal!) deeds, wills and land records that may not have been transcribed or digitized yet. Some statewide archives also have county-level records.
• Find a Grave: A subset of Ancestry; browse this free community record of cemeteries and pay your virtual respects. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs also hosts a Gravesite Locator for veterans. 

So … what about DNA testing?

At-home DNA testing kits are popular, but that doesn’t mean they’re accurate. Two key differences are how the testing is done and how it’s analyzed.

Most at-home tests don’t take your DNA into context. If you’re planning for a family or want to know your risk for chronic diseases or cancer, working with your doctor can give you more accurate data. You can have a molecular geneticist — a medical professional specializing in DNA, genetic testing and hereditary diseases — figure out what your test results mean for you.

Have a history buff in your family? Share these resources and send them off to the races.

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🚨 Newest scam making the rounds: If you have automatic deposits enabled with your banking or financial institutions, cybercriminals can put money into your account. Why is that bad, you ask? They’ll immediately follow up with a sob story email asking you to send it back via a phishing link, effectively stealing your login info in the process. Don’t click any random links, and turn on 2FA for your banking logins.

Keanu believe this story: A 65-year-old Colorado woman is convinced she's been in a relationship with actor Keanu Reeves since 2022. It’s a romance scam, and she’s already in for over $5,000. Her "proof"? A fake driver’s license. She says she'll only stop believing if Keanu himself walks through her door. If you know this woman, tell her to call me — I know Keanu.

Just like I told ya: Apple announced a larger 13-inch iPad Air with an M2 chip, its first iPad Pro with an OLED display and a 10th-generation iPad that starts at $349. Plus, they teased the AI-compatible M4 chip, a new Pencil Pro with haptic feedback, and an upgraded Magic Keyboard with a larger trackpad and a row of function keys. You can pick them up beginning next week.

🍬 Candy recall: Palmer Candy Company is recalling its white-coated confectionery items due to a possible salmonella contamination. The FDA says these snacks, including pretzels, popcorn and chocolate, are sold in 17 states at stores like Walmart, Hy‑Vee, Target and Dollar General. Got some? Return ‘em where you bought 'em for a full refund.

💳 Free money: If your business accepted Visa and Mastercard between Jan. 1, 2004, and Jan. 25, 2019, you might be eligible for part of a $5.5 billion settlement. It all stems from excessive transaction fees, and even businesses that have since closed or gone bankrupt could qualify. File your claim here before May 31. I did.

Search warning: Google’s latest Chrome update adds Gemini AI to the address bar, but be careful — the chats aren’t private. Google uses this data to train its systems. Your chats might be reviewed by a real person. To try it out, type “@” in the Chrome URL bar and select “Chat with Gemini.”

Great in bed: A Florida retiree discovered his 1989 Microsoft Word tutorial has millions of views on YouTube. The main audience? Insomniacs. The "most boring video of all time" promises to lull you to sleep with two hours of Randy Smith explaining the ins and outs of Word docs. To be fair, his voice is pretty soothing.

Tech to the rescue: A drone found a blind man who’d been missing for over 24 hours in Oklahoma. Thermal cameras spotted him on the ground without his shirt and one shoe. He’d been crawling for hours before the drone’s camera detected his body temperature. Thankfully, he's safely back home.

Free AI test drive: Nothing has changed our lives quite like AI has — and will. That’s why you need to start using AI in your business before it’s too late. Take a free test drive of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure now at Oracle.com/kim. No one does data better than Oracle.*

📹 Lights, camera, action! Catch our podcast (and my smiling face) streaming every Monday, Wednesday and Friday live at 11:30 a.m. Pacific (2:30 p.m. Eastern) on YouTube, Rumble and Facebook.

Send a fax for free: FaxZero.com is free if you send no more than five faxes per day and only three pages at a time. GotFreeFax.com is free for three pages per fax and two free faxes per day — with no ads on the cover page. Just upload your document and enter the fax number, and the service handles the rest.

Check your laptop battery: On Windows, get a detailed report that includes usage, capacity and battery life estimates. Open the command prompt by hitting the Start menu, then typing in cmd or cmd⁠.⁠exe in the Run command box. Press Enter. Now, smarty-pants, type or paste in the following: powercfg /batteryreport

And stay out! Programs love to sneak their way into your Mac’s dock (usually found at the bottom of your screen). You have two ways to kick them out: Click and drag up on the program icon, then let go, or use two fingers to click > Options > Remove from dock.

Hiring is tricky: Are they the right fit? Will they mesh with the team? Do they have the skills you need? Let LinkedIn do a lot of that work for you. It’s the easiest way to reach your next superstar. Post a job for free at LinkedIn.com/Kim.*

The other day, I was at a friend’s house, and she used her microwave as a timer. I’m all for multitasking, but come on — terrible interface, beeping buttons and you have to walk across the room to turn it off! Forget that. Get one of these instead.

Digital: Set your timer easily by rotating this model’s big, bright screen. Read: No repeated button pressing! It’s magnetic, too, so you can stick it to your fridge or exhaust hood. Grab it on sale now for 30% off ($14.03).

Visual: While countdown timers are usually seen in classrooms, but I find them useful for tracking time left! This one maxes out at an hour, so it’s perfect for quick timers. Plus, it’s 33% off ($16.14) and comes in 14 fun colors.

Verbal: I used to joke that in our house, Alexa was mostly an expensive kitchen timer, but honestly, she’s a great kitchen timer (no hands!) and not that expensive. This colorful Echo Dot is 50% off ($19.99) and available in four great colors. Love the teal!

“I’ve been trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty.”

The answer: Both B.) Relentless and C.) Cadabra were starter names for Amazon. “Relentless” was deemed too sinister, and “Cadabra” sounded too much like “cadaver,” but “Amazon” was just right — it starts with “A” and references that really long river.

Personally, I think “Relentless” really captures the spirit of the thing (world domination). If you do, too, you'll be happy to know Relentless⁠.⁠com still forwards to Amazon’s website.

🎉 That's a wrap, folks. Feel free to spread the word and forward this newsletter to your friends. Every single share helps us reach more smart folks like you! — Kim