Hey, Monday! And it’s the last day of July. Whoa — this year is flying by. Glad to have you here with me on the whirlwind tech journey, friend.

⌛ Quick tip: Ah, the annoyance of Bluetooth problems. If your earbuds won’t connect to your phone or your PC can’t recognize the wireless mouse, shut it down. Yep, a restart often fixes Bluetooth glitches. I just saved you 10 minutes of tinkering in the settings. You’re welcome! — Kim

Imagine if this true story happened to you. Someone drops a yogurt on the grocery store floor. You slip and shatter your knee. The grocery store says, “Not our fault. You were probably drunk. Just look at all the booze you buy!”

You know the drill: Unless you hand over a unique way that identifies you to a grocery store, you’re paying more for milk, meat and Fritos.

More than you’re checking out

Every time you shop, you supply the store (and whoever they share your data with to make extra money) with more information. Each swipe of your loyalty card, keypad entry of your phone number or submission of your email address tells the store everything you bought, when you bought it, in what quantity and at what price, along with your payment details. 

“Who cares if they know I’m 45 and love Lucky Charms?” you might be thinking. Fair question. 

Rewards cards store data that can include your name, address, phone number, and credit and debit cards. Thieves can steal this information and create a fake identity to go on a crime spree.

Get discounts without giving away data

• Use your office phone number as your loyalty number. If the store needs an email address, give them a disposable one. Let them try to figure out who’s buying what.
• Look for stores that don’t require loyalty programs for discounts, like Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Target. 
• Don’t forget physical coupons. Most grocery stores have a coupon section on their website where you can print, snip and hand in paper copies. 
• Whatever you do, never give your Social Security number or driver’s license number.
• Ask for the discount anyway. Cashiers usually have a code to charge the digital price without your belonging to their loyalty program. 
• If all else fails, smile politely and ask the person behind you, “Hey, mind if I use your card?” I bet you’ll get a yes.

🤣 Business idea: A discount grocery store where everything expires in a week. I’m going to call it Best By. (Oh, was that a groan I heard?)

Attn. Verizon or AT&T phone plan users: Brace yourself for fees. Verizon is slapping an extra $3 per line each month on your bill if you're on the 5G Start plan. AT&T is following suit, charging another $2.50 monthly if you're on its older Unlimited Elite plan. Call them now and see if they have a cheaper plan.

Kids no longer complaining about parental controls? Apple says there's a major bug in its Screen Time and Family Sharing controls. Now, when you set screen time limits, these settings are magically reset. The sneakiest part? Your kids are getting in extra gaming time. Expect a fix soon.

Lost drivers, rejoice: Google Maps has new voice controls to make navigation easier. Tap the mic in the search bar and simply speak your destination aloud. Google Assistant whips up the directions and recommends the quickest way to get there. No update needed!

A new Windows “feature”: Many Windows 10 and 11 users are saying the “Update and shut down” command isn’t working. Update, check … but then their computers are rebooting. If it’s happening to you, you’re not losin’ it.

It’s all fun and games, until … you get malware. A strain called Realst is hiding in online games, including Brawl Earth, WildWorld, Dawnland, Destruction, Evolion, Pearl, Olymp of Reptiles and SaintLegend. Pro tip: Only download from official app stores, not random online game sites.

Sound like a tech pro, even if you're not one. Try my award-winning, daily podcast. Search for my last name with "K" wherever you get your podcasts and "Go Komando!"

Listen to my podcast, Kim Komando Today, here.

Turn it off and on again like a boss: There’s a better way to reboot your grumpy PC that shuts down all the background processes. Before you click to restart, hold down the Shift key. Keep holding until the machine powers up, then click Continue.

No-Wi-Fi productivity hack: You’re on a flight, there’s no Wi-Fi and an annoying person is using your armrest. Great time to organize your apps and delete the ones you don’t use. Another great use of time: Organize your photos. Here’s my simple method.

Greetings, colleague: Dreading writing an email for work? Open ChatGPT and give it a head start by typing who you are, who your recipient is and what the email needs to communicate. If the first draft is awful, give feedback (like “Make it sound more conversational” or “Be more confident”) until you get a workable starting place.

Wipe out: Paste text without copying all the extra formatting like size, font and color. Hit Control + Shift + V on Windows or Command + Shift + V on Mac. This tip alone was worth the cost of the subscription to this newsletter. Oh, right — it’s free.

📵 Mythbusting: You dropped your phone in water. What’s Step 1? If you said, “Stick it in rice,” sorry, your phone is toast. Turn it off as fast as you can. The longer it’s on, the more chances circuits have to malfunction. Then, be patient. Let it dry for at least 24 hours. (If you have an iPhone, say, “Hey, Siri, water eject,” to blow the water out of the speakers before you turn it off.)

I believe in word of mouth and sharing what works for you. That’s why I’m looking for your help. You share this newsletter with your friends and family, and I’ll send you sweet prizes for every milestone you hit.

Here’s how it works:

1. Copy your unique referral URL. You’ll see this at the bottom of the newsletter.
2. Paste it in a text, email, social media message, post, whatever.
3. Your friends click that link and sign up for my free newsletter.
4. You earn points toward prizes — including an iPad mini!
5. Hit a milestone and I’ll ship out your reward.

That’s it. Just copy your link, share it and you’re good to go. We’ll keep track of your referrals for you. Easy peasy.

❓ Have a question for me? Drop it right here, or leave me a voicemail at 602‑381‑8200 ext. 290.

With just one click, Fotor turns a pic into any type of colorful painting you can imagine. You don’t even have to make an account. Just upload a picture to the site in your browser, then select the type of painting you want, from watercolors to oil. In less than a minute, you’ll make a museum-worthy image — or at least something good enough to set as your phone background.

Move over, Michelangelo →

So, what is that? You’ll see the answer tomorrow in this spot. Speaking of gadgets … What’s the best device to locate furniture in the dark? Your pinkie toe.

Hey, I’m glad you’re here. Now it’s time to tell your friends, family, coworkers or anyone else in your life about the best tech newsletter around. Copy the link down below and send it to them, or post it to social media. When those you refer sign up, you’ll earn sweet prizes. Win-win! — Kim