Happy Monday! A bright and shiny new week is here, friend. The other day, I got a note from Laurie in Atlanta asking for a very simple, useful way to try AI. Your wish is my command-o. When you get a really long email, open your AI chatbot of choice, and type in the prompt, “Summarize this email for me. Tell me what I need to do, then write a thoughtful reply. Here is the email.” Paste in the email and let AI do its magic. Prepare to be amazed!

Help me help you stay safe online: Today’s newsletter is brought to you by the awesome team at NordPass — my top pick for keeping all your passwords secure in one easy-to-access place. Don’t leave your digital life unprotected! — Kim

I ran across this story (paywall link) about the morning routines of tech billionaire CEOs. It was interesting but not that thorough, so I did additional research. Here’s what I found, and even though I’m far from a billionaire, I’ll share my morning recipe for success, too.

Jeff Bezos (Amazon): Likes to “putter” in the morning, reading newspapers and having coffee with his wife-to-be — no phones allowed! Then, breakfast with his kids. Jeff likes "breakfast octopus.” Oh, and he says his brain is most alert at 10 a.m., so that’s when holds his most important meetings of the day.

Sam Altman (OpenAI): He likes a big shot of espresso as soon as he gets up, followed by a fast for about 15 hours — no breakfast. While catching up on emails, he uses a full-spectrum LED light for 15 minutes to make him more alert. Altman doesn’t hold meetings in the mornings, preferring afternoons. I saw one of his two $27 million McLaren F1s parked outside the Rosewood Hotel in Montecito. It must’ve been an exception, as he was having Sunday brunch.

Evan Spiegel (Snapchat): He wakes up at 5 a.m. for "Evan time," which includes alone time, checking emails and enjoying a shot of double espresso. This is followed by 45 minutes at the gym or Kriya meditation. He also reads the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. His wife says he likes morning exfoliating masks, too. Relatable.

Mark Zuckerberg (Meta): Zuck begins his day around 8 a.m. by checking Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp on his phone, a habit he acknowledges isn't ideal. He’s giving up running for practicing jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts. He likes to wear similar outfits daily so he can focus his mental energy on more significant decisions.

Bob Iger (Disney): He wakes up at 4:15 a.m. and immediately works out alone on a Versaclimber in a dark room with a TV on mute. He doesn’t like distractions and doesn’t even check his phone until his workout is done. He gets to work at 6:30 a.m. and is usually the first person in the office, turning on lights and making coffee.

Tim Cook (Apple): Tim wakes up between 3:45 and 5:00 a.m. and reads about 700 emails from customers and employees for an hour. Then, he heads to the gym for an hour. Morning workouts are pretty common for CEOs; it sure helps me focus.

Peter Warwick (Scholastic): He wakes up between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. and reads the news (the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times). Then, he takes a long walk with his wife, followed by a walk to work, picking up an avocado toast and skinny latte on the way. Yes, every day.

Kim Komando (WestStar Multimedia Entertainment): I’m up by 6 a.m. I say my prayers, check my emails and get in some steps. No coffee for me — I drink my concoction of passion fruit with green tea, iced. After, I mix egg whites, a little milk, tomatoes and super spinach in a bread pan, top it with low-fat feta cheese, and bake it for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. It cooks while I’m getting dressed. Then, I’m out the door with lunch in hand, heading to the studios.

Is there a perfect routine?

Well, we know CEOs love coffee, emails and working out. Are those the secrets to success? Probably not, but there’s definitely a theme. It’s all about being intentional and setting the tone for success.

⚡ Knowing the insider tools and tricks helps, too. Starting in the new year, I’ll share all my secrets in my brand-new small-biz edition of The Current. Add your name to the list here so you’re the first to get it!

Anyways, I’ve gotta jet. My daily morning poolside masseuse is waiting. 😏

I get it. I do. Letting your browser save your passwords is quick, automatic and doesn’t require much thought. But convenience and security don’t always go hand in hand. What you really need is a password manager like NordPass. It offers so much more than your Big Tech-owned browser.

Here are some ways NordPass beats your browser:

I’ve been there, trusting my browser to do it all. But once I switched to NordPass, the difference was night and day. It’s fast, it’s secure and it’s the password manager I recommend to everyone who asks.

🕵️‍♂️ Internet sleuths aren’t helping police: They’re silent about tracking down the UnitedHealthcare CEO killer. Why? They’re angry about the U.S. health care system’s policies. It gets darker; some people have even taken to social media to celebrate his death. And anyone who tries to help? They’re being bullied into silence.

🚨 Watch out for these numbers: Fraudsters are using local area codes to gain your trust and steal your personal info. The most popular ones include 720 (Colorado), 272 (Pennsylvania), 959 (Connecticut) and 346 (Texas). The three most identified numbers were (763) 274‑3899, (217) 402‑1312 and (202) 456‑1111. Calls from these numbers are usually banking scams. If you get one, hang up and contact your bank directly.

PR BS: Google's CEO says the search engine will “change profoundly” next year … without giving any details. This news comes as Google is updating its crappy Gemini AI model to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and with Perplexity. Dang, it’s like watching the Titanic sinking.

No more green bubbles … kinda: Apple’s upcoming iOS 18.2 update for iPhones ends the blue-versus-green speech bubble dilemma. Blue bubbles have always meant secure iMessage chats (iPhone to iPhone), whereas green bubbles lacked end-to-end encryption (Android to iPhone). Now, you'll be able to set third-party apps like WhatsApp or Signal as your default encrypted messenger.

Rental spikes, exposed: Landlords are using AI tools to drive up rent prices. Take RealPage: Its software lets them input lease info, pool it with data from other landlords and use an algorithm to recommend (usually higher) rent prices, even when the market trends downward. San Francisco has already banned AI rent-setting software, and more cities are drafting similar laws.

It cost him $165,999: A driver bricked his new Cybertruck in less than 24 hours. Only a day into owning it, the truck failed to defrost, wouldn’t shift gears and completely shut down. Its owner spent four hours on the phone with Tesla’s customer service, but the vehicle ultimately had to be towed.

🤖 Autonomous warfare: A U.S. Air Force general says the military is still years away from letting robots replace human pilots. Even though they’re testing AI software to fly fighter jets, there’s still a big gap between the digital world and the real deal. Apparently, robot pilots continue to make “unexpected” choices during test flights. Meanwhile, Trump’s advisors have other plans; Elon Musk says to forget pricry F‑35 jets because we’re in the age of drones.

👑 One-third of our lives is spent sleeping. These gifts will make your recipient feel like royalty doing it.

Banks close, just like other businesses: Search the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation site to see if money in your name was left in failed financial institutions. For funds left in credit unions, search the National Credit Union Administration site. It’s like the digital version of finding a $20 bill under the couch cushions!

📸 Your year in pics: In Google Photos, open the app to see its Spotify Wrapped rip-off, which crunches the numbers on your pictures for the year. You’ll see the faces you took the most photos of (I bet at least one is your pet) and your “vibe” for the year based on what you snapped most.

Use an Apple watch? Make sure Fall Detection is turned on so you can get help if there’s an emergency. On your iPhone, open the Watch app, tap the My Watch tab > Emergency SOS. From here, you can choose Always on or Only on during workouts. Pick Always on.

⚠️ “Evil twin” attacks: That’s when scammers set up a public Wi‑Fi network where folks are already logging on, like an airport or coffee shop. The goal is to get you to connect so they can intercept everything you type — social media logins, credit card numbers and personal data. Always ask staff for the exact Wi‑Fi network, and use a VPN to encrypt your internet traffic. My pick is ExpressVPN.*

Need a screenshot fast? On Windows, hold down on the Windows key + Shift + S to capture and save what you want. On a Mac, use Cmd + Shift + 4 for a custom crop.

💬 Dot, dot, dot: Gmail ignores periods in an email address. Say yours is greatname@gmail⁠.⁠com. You’ll still get your messages if you type it as “great⁠.⁠name” or “grea⁠.⁠t⁠.⁠name.” That’s an easy way to create a quick alias for forms that don’t let you add a plus sign when making an account.

I’m pretty darn proud of myself — I know all but one of these artists.

📏 Length matters: A good password needs to be at least 12 characters, but 16 or more is better. You want a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and other characters. And you must have a unique password for every single one of your accounts — no cheating here!

It’s a lot of work, I know. Or you could always do the tech-smart thing and make your life easier using a password manager. Less than $1.25 a month for airtight security? It’s a no‑brainer.

😂 A scammer called my aunt and said he had all her passwords. She said, “Thank God for that. What are they?”

Hey, you. Yeah, you. Thanks for all you do to support me and the team behind the radio show, podcasts, newsletters and website. We wouldn’t be here without you! See you here tomorrow for another edition of the best tech newsletter in the USA. — Kim