Well, howdy, Sunday. Glad to be here with you. Maybe this is the year you try to make money with YouTube. What time should you post your video masterpiece to give it the best chance of going viral? Is it … A.) 7 a.m., B.) 9 a.m., C.) 2 p.m. or D.) 7 p.m.? Answer at the bottom!

🧢 Win an official "The Kim Komando Show" ball cap (a $24.95 value). How? Just reply to this email with, "I love The Current!" That's it. I will pick one person who does this today to win the cap! Now, on to tech goodness. — Kim

You may not be looking for love online, but many people are. Tinder says about 40% of couples meet via apps. Whoa. And wouldn’t you know it? Today is the busiest online dating day all year.

It makes sense, right? Folks who spent New Year’s Eve with no one to smooch are looking for love.

There are happily ever-afters, of course, but dating apps are a complete nightmare for some. I’m not telling you about this to be a downer. I want you (and anyone you know who is dating) to be safe out there!

Dating disasters

There are countless stories (Mother Jones, paywall link). A 21-year-old named Laura matched with a guy on Bumble and Tinder. She rejected him and he went off the rails, so she researched his phone number. He wasn't the hot 22-year-old his profile showed; he was a 55-year-old registered sex offender.

A woman in Milwaukee went on a date with a guy she met on Match. She woke up confused the next morning, not remembering what happened. Her car was gone, there were $800 in charges on her debit card, and she was likely drugged. As if that's not enough, the man is currently a "person of interest" in a murder case.

Aspiring actor Matthew Herrick was accosted by 1,000 men, some of whom even broke into his apartment building and showed up at his workplace. He never actually matched with these people. Herrick's ex created a bunch of fake dating profiles on Grindr using his name and pictures — which was easy since the app didn't require any verification.

These stories aren't unique and happen to more people than you'd think.

A safe search for love

Looking for love online today comes with a warning, but you don't have to throw in the towel. Practice these tips to find your new sweetie safely:

• Look for a verified profile badge. Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and OkCupid have them. If they're verified, they're not using fake photos.
• Keep an eye out for photos that look overly edited. Try a reverse image search to see if the picture pops up elsewhere.
• Only talk to new matches through the app. If they want to immediately take things to text or another app, that's a red flag.
• Try to video chat with a match before you meet them in person.
• Steer clear of people who want to meet up immediately or don't want to meet at all.
• Always meet dates in public and let friends or family know where you are. Take your own transportation so you can bolt if you feel uncomfortable.

Safety? Check. Now, how to find a good match

The first big hurdle is creating a profile interesting enough to make the people you have the hots for respond. Here are five simple ways to improve your profile:

• Avoid self-deprecating remarks like, “I know I’m no supermodel.” Yeah, very few people are.
• On the other hand, don’t be an arrogant jerk. Showcase your confidence, but go too far and you’ll push people away.
• Leave out comments about things you hate. That’s probably one of the least interesting things about you. The one exception: If it’s something really funny or strange that will spark conversation.
• Don’t say, “I hate it here and I hate online dating.” What a downer!
• Skip the links to your social media profiles. You don’t want that date gone wrong to stalk your pictures after you block them.

💋 If you know someone trying to find love, pass this along so they know what to watch for! One more thing: Be careful of anyone who says they live in a gated community … It could be prison.

You don’t need to spend a ton of money to make your home look a heck of a lot nicer. Case in point: These five goodies.

• Bring your old furniture back to life. This thick cushion insert will add support and comfort to your sofa, no matter how saggy it is.
• This fabric shaver and lint remover safely eliminates fuzz, lint and pills from your favorite fabrics, from clothing to furniture.
• Tiles, tubs, sinks and your toilet bowl looking gross? Don't redo the caulk — whiten it with mold and mildew stain cleaner.
• This leather cleaner removes dirt and grime from furniture, jackets, car interiors and even horse saddles. Use it on your crusty, old chair.
• Cleaning stainless steel stinks unless you use something like this 2‑in‑1 cleaner and polish. No more stubborn fingerprints, smudges or streaks.

⚠️ Medical hacks on the rise: Hackers are targeting devices like MRIs, ventilators and pacemakers. Why? As hospitals improve cybersecurity, hackers see older versions of this equipment as a backdoor. Many medical devices run outdated software and are more vulnerable to hacks. Just horrifying.

PC on Mac: Microsoft just dropped its new Windows App. With it, you can connect an iPhone, iPad or Mac to Windows 365, remote into a PC and more. Cool. Download it through Apple's TestFlight app. It's just a preview version for now, FYI.

Parents, listen up: Researchers in Japan looked at the screen times of more than 7,000 kids. They found babies and toddlers who spend over four hours a day in front of a screen are more likely to have communication, motor skill and problem-solving delays. The WHO says kids under a year old should get zero screen time, and kids under two should have no more than an hour daily.

No more waiting: This year, if you buy a qualifying electric or plug-in hybrid car, you can get the federal tax credit right at the dealership — no waiting for tax season. Reminder: To get the credit, 60% of your battery components must come from the U.S. All told, you can get up to $7,500 off new EVs and hybrids and $4,000 off used models.

🚽 Tush cush: Kohler’s latest innovation is a bidet you can talk to. The PureWash Bidet Seat will be at CES. If you've hooked it up to Alexa or Google Assistant, ask it to crank up the water pressure or seat warmer. It's got a dryer, too, and yes, you can tell it to blast that warm air when you're all clean.

🌱 It’s a blue agave: A free app called PlantNet, developed by French scientists, can tell you almost anything about nearby plants. You can submit up to four photos of the plant: Leaf, flower, bark and fruit. The better the close-up, the better the results. Download for Android or iPhone.

Before you buy a laptop: Dell is waving goodbye to the XPS 15, 17 and 2‑in‑1. They’re all either discontinued, or it’s happening soon. Don’t buy an outdated computer, folks. The XPS 13 is the new laptop standard for Dell if you’re shopping.

⌨️ WORD UP: You’re typing away, and then you realize you’re in Caps Lock mode. Annoying. In Microsoft Word, hit Shift + F3. You’ll shift between all caps, first letter capitalized and no caps. Bummer it doesn’t work in Google Docs.

After 20-plus years operating a business in the radio and tech industry, I know you have to let the data do the talking. The numbers show you where your company excels — and where it’s not doing so great. I wish someone had told me this a long time ago.

You can’t run a successful business with Quicken. Sure, you get a basic P&L, but that’s not enough. You need more than just accounting software.

That’s what is so great about NetSuite by Oracle. In one easy-to-use dashboard, you see everything that makes your business tick — revenue, inventory, sales, employees, expenses, you name it. Over 37,000 businesses rely on NetSuite.

Eat: Salmon cooked my favorite way — on a salt block. So dang good and easy! Who says healthy has to be bland and boring?

Watch: The hilarious story of a good dog who did a bad thing. Cecil ate $4,000!

Upgrade: Your desk with a nice big leather mat and toss out your gross mouse pad. I did and will never go back.

Read: No surprise, “Atomic Habits” is the No. 1 bestseller right now. It’s a smart book about how to break your bad habits and build better ones.

Wonder if they had as many recalls as we do now.

The answer: B.) 9 a.m. and C.) 2 p.m. OK, this was kind of a trick question. It takes YouTube up to two hours to fully optimize a video. That means Monday through Friday, post between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. is best. Now you know!

🙏 Hey, you. Are we friends on social media? I’m not mad … Just disappointed. Come say hey. I’m on Instagram, X, YouTube, Facebook and everywhere else, too!

🧢 And remember to reply to this email right now with "I love The Current!" for your shot at winning an official "The Kim Komando Show" ball cap. See ya Monday with the best tech newsletter in the USA! — Kim