Hey, hi, it’s Saturday, friend! Here’s a fun trivia question to get us going. What inspired the iconic ding sound that welcomes you when booting up a Mac computer? Was it a … A.) Tibetan singing bowl, B.) Beatles' song, C.) Cash register opening or D.) Classical piano key note? You’ll find the answer at the end.

📻 Tune in for tech know-how and the best callers. Every weekend on my show, I cover important tech news I just don’t have enough room for in this newsletter. Plus, I answer folks' questions on the fly and throw in a few bad jokes, too.

You can find my award-winning show on over 420 radio stations all across the U.S. Find your local station to tune in or hit this link to open The Kim Komando Show as a podcast on your preferred podcast player. Sweet! — Kim

Sure, they’re called cookies, but there's nothing sweet about pervasive online tracking. These bite-sized crumbs of code are embedded in websites and ads that load in your browser. You get them automatically.

They’re how items stay in your online shopping cart and how the sites you use regularly remember your passwords. But they can do a lot of harm, too, especially when it comes to your security and privacy. That’s why when I find a tool like Total Adblock that’s great to use and helps limit all this junk, I want to tell you about it.

But first, let’s take a look at what cookies can keep tabs on:

• Everything you do on a site: Link or button clicks, what pages you visited, how much time you spend on a page … The list goes on.
• Anything you add to your cart or purchase.
• Your search and browser history — yep, including your Google searches.
• Every ad you’ve viewed and any you’ve clicked.
• Your IP address, browser type and even your screen resolution.

Tracking cookies are designed to stick around for extended periods of time, allowing advertisers to track your behavior long-term. Good for making that pair of shoes “follow” you around the internet, but not so great for your privacy and security.

Private eyes

What can they do with all that info? Glad you asked.

• Precise profiling: Advertisers create an incredibly detailed profile about you (and what you might buy), all based on everything from basic demographic info to your interests, habits, friends, politics, religion and income. Then, your personal info gets sold and sold and sold …
• Right on target: It also means they're always watching you to pick up changes in your life and behavior. They might even track you across multiple websites and apps. Major Big Brother vibes.

Feeling insecure?

As if the privacy concerns aren’t bad enough, there’s security to think about, too.

• Go phish: “Malvertising” is when malware or phishing links get embedded into ads on legitimate websites. Just like the real ads that follow you around, these bogus ones can, too.
• Criminals love to target ad networks: They're treasure troves of valuable info.
• Asleep at the wheel: Not all companies have bulletproof security measures in place, making them vulnerable to cyber crooks.

There’s an easy way to protect yourself

It’s an ad blocker, but never go looking for a free one. Criminals bake malware and other tracking into free products that are supposed to keep you safe. I found an option you can trust: Total Adblock. It’s compatible for Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android.

Total Adblock works to:

• Instantly identify and block ads, including those annoying Facebook and YouTube auto-playing ads on your smartphone.
• Automatically clear your browser history, cache and other cookies so advertisers can’t use them to track you. I love that.
• Let you read a website in peace without annoying pop-up ads, videos, surveys, links and more ads.

✅ Stop the ads on websites you use today. Go to TotalAdblock.com/kim to get all that for a year for just $19. Btw, I get no residuals or kickbacks if you buy. Hooray! A safer, cleaner web for you.

Even the highest-rated “waterproof” phones were tested in fresh, calm water — not the beach or a chlorinated water slide. Protect your stuff.

• Retire the Ziploc bag: Snag a two-pack of Pelican Marine pouches for your fam’s phones. There’s a lanyard so your phone won’t slip into the water, but even if it does, it floats! The olive color is 30% off.
• Float on: This floating HD speaker has eight colors of LED lights … that project flamingos underwater! So fun. Right now, it’s 13% off (under $40).
• Throw and go: Get a dry bag and don’t worry about your phone, tablet, book … You name it, It’s covered. The waterproof 5L Heeta Dry Bag is 20% off and just under $12.
• Look, ma! No hands: Store your phone, cash and cards with a waterproof pouch — just $9.89 for a black-and-white set of two. It’s touchscreen-friendly, so you can splash and text.
• Beach reads: Protect your Kindle or iPad with a waterproof pouch. This floating one fits tablets up to 11 inches and is on sale for 11% off.

🚨 FBI warning: The string of U.S. hospital hacks I’ve been warning you about for years? The FBI now says these attacks caused the death of a nine-month-old child and kept countless others from receiving lifesaving care. Don’t wait until you need them; download your medical records as a PDF. Here’s how to do it on your iPhone or Android.

Yada, yada, yada: Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld gifted their youngest son a flip phone for his high school graduation. Mom said on Instagram that, looking back, she wishes they'd held off on giving him a smartphone at age 12 and now, they're hoping he’ll trade in his smartphone in favor of the flip phone. I doubt it.

🍿 Movie deal: Parents, set up a new Uber for Teens account, and your kid can get a free ride to see “Inside Out 2” in theaters from June 14 to June 21. Open the app, tap Wallet > Promotions > Add Promo and enter INSIDEOUT2. Bonus: If you add your child to your Uber account between June 11 and June 17, you can also score two free movie tickets.

💔 He ain't winning: A man is suing Apple after his wife discovered his messages with prostitutes. He tried to cover his tracks by deleting the conversations on his iPhone, but they were still on the family’s shared iMac. His argument? “If you’re told a message is deleted, you are entitled to believe it's deleted.” Karma had other plans.

Calling all history nerds: A little robot captured never-before-seen footage from an unexplored area of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The secret hatch, discovered in the Queen's Chambers in 1993, had been blocked by a stone. The big reveal? A smaller chamber with intricate symbols painted on the floor. Its purpose is still a mystery. Check out the video here.

I put together a fun summer playlist: It’s my take on yacht rock — all those fun summer jams everyone will sing along to. Hit “Play” and let it run in the background. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel while you’re there so you never miss one of my vids!

Delete it: The most popular U.S. news app has strong ties to China.

🍎 Oooh, ahhh: That’s what everyone at Apple’s WWDC conference said. I’ve got the details, with none of the Apple PR fluff.

Is your city on the list? Homes are sellin’ like hotcakes in these 22 U.S. markets.

📻 Text or call your lawmakers: AM radio is important, and car manufacturers don’t want to pay to make it work in EVs. Let’s stop that together.

Bon voyage: Make your vacation better before it even starts with my money- and security-saving tips.

📖 Looking for summer reading material? Whoa, you have to check out this list: “Amazon’s Best Books in 2024 So Far.” I ordered “James” and “All the Worst Humans.” There truly is something for everyone here. Reading is such a novel idea!

Drip-drop: Google's latest Pixel feature drop is here, bringing Gemini Nano AI to Pixel 8 and Pixel 8A users. Update if you have a new Pixel! So far, they’ve said Nano AI will summarize voice recordings and then export them to Google Docs. Cool but, uh, what else?

Calling all tech nerds: In Chrome, you can access experimental or beta features. In the address bar, type chrome://flags and hit Enter. Scroll through and see if any catch your eye.

👪 For the next group pic: Don’t be that person who takes one photo and calls it good. You know at least one person’s eyes will be closed. Instead, be the hero and hold down your phone’s camera button. It’ll take a ton of pics in quick succession, giving you a much higher chance for a crowd-pleasing shot.

Imagine this: You’re in a crowded restaurant with friends, family, colleagues — take your pick. There’s music playing and people talking all around you. It’s not easy to hear the conversation. What do you do?

Some options: You can lean in, read lips, ask for repeats or — hear me out — you could give a tiny, new hearing aid a try. Hear.com’s bestselling device makes following the conversation easy, even with all that annoying background noise. And the clarity is flawless.

Join the 350,000 happy customers who aren’t struggling to keep up anymore.

Yasushi Takahashi quit his job to drive across Japan with a GPS tracker. He did it all for love. His six-month journey spelled out a proposal over 4,451 miles and set a record for the world’s longest GPS drawing. Ladies, if he wanted to, he would.

The answer: B.) Beatles’ song. Specifically, it’s the final chord of "A Day in the Life." Apple sound designer Jim Reekes wanted a sound that instilled happiness.

Speaking of … The Beatles were in a production meeting. Paul asked, “Any ideas on the ending for ‘Hey Jude’?”

John: “Nah.”
George: “Nah.”
Ringo: “Nah.”

💔 Thanks for reading, and I’ll be right back in your inbox tomorrow with help for a reader who asked me if her husband is “cheating” with his AI girlfriend. Yeah, I know! — Kim