Happy Tuesday, friends! Buckle up for a ride of tech news, savvy tips and a sprinkle of humor. First, our trivia. Which Hollywood actress played a big role in the development of Wi-Fi? Was it … A.) Audrey Hepburn, B.) Marilyn Monroe, C.) Hedy Lamarr or D.) Elizabeth Taylor? You’ll find the answer at the end.

👋 If you’re new here, welcome! If you’ve been listening and reading for years, thank you. No matter what, I’ve got something for you below. Let’s do this! — Kim

Travel is stressful, no bones about it. But with the right tricks up your sleeve, you can make things so much easier on yourself and anyone coming to see you. And that’s what I’m passing along right now.

So your trip isn't a total suitcase‑strophe

Little trackers use signals from other phones to determine where they’re located. Toss one in your luggage and you can see whether it made it to your destination or point out to the airlines where they lost it.

• Apple’s AirTags are ideal if you have an iPhone, Mac or iPad.
• The Tile 2-pack is Android compatible and has a tracker for your luggage and one to slide into your wallet.

And you can track your luggage using the airline’s official app, too.

3 more reasons to use your airline’s app

1. Book on the fly: Search, book and manage your flights right from your smartphone. Pro tip: In the case of a canceled flight, don’t follow the folks standing in a huge line or waiting on hold for 30 minutes. Rebook through the app and save yourself time (and stress!).
2. Get your boarding pass: Ditch the paper. Store your boarding pass in the app and simply scan your phone at the gate. You can check in for your flight this way, too.
3. Real-time updates: Get instant updates on gate changes, delays, cancellations and where to grab your bags.

Make the worst-case a little less bad

You know what I’m talking about, right? A canceled or delayed flight. Before I leave for the airport, I look up my trip on FlightAware. If your plane is stuck in another city, you’ll see that here before your airline updates its app.

Check if the credit card you booked with offers trip insurance. Coverage varies and it can be hard to understand, so call your card company to discuss your options. They might pay for a hotel room when the airline won’t.

‘Hi, I landed!’

Before you take off, text your airline and flight number, such as “Southwest Airlines 1175,” to the person picking you up. They can tap on the message to open a flight tracker if they have an iPhone. It shows the flight’s progress and estimated arrival time.

If your ride uses an Android, they can do a web search for the airline and flight number to see the same info. Still easy!

And don’t forget, traveler

When something goes wrong, there’s probably a jerk ready to make it worse. If you run into any problems with your flight — you overslept, missed your connection, booked the wrong ticket, left your laptop on the plane — do not Google “(airline) phone number.”

It’s easier than you’d think for someone to buy a top spot in the search results to push a scam phone number. That’ll make a bad day downright terrible.

🛬 I was on Southwest Airlines, and after a very hard landing, the flight attendant said over the intercom, “That was quite a bump right there, and I know what y’all are thinking. I’m here to tell you it wasn’t the airline’s fault or the pilot’s fault — it was the asphalt.” Everyone laughed!

I’m hosting a Christmas party, and, uh, yeah, I need to start cleaning. If you want the house to look tip-top, you need the right tools.

• My dog, Abby, sheds a ton, and these rubber brooms rock for getting it all out of the rugs.
• Deep-clean brushes are a must to get all the nooks and crannies.
• Cleaning stainless steel is such a pain — that’s why I use these wipes that make it easy.
• A steam cleaner makes getting gunk off the floors easy, too.
• Pop a bottle of Poo-Pourri in the bathroom, and your guests will be thankful.

🎁 Is that a steal or steal-th? Looking for hot tech gifts like iPads, toys or air fryers? Beware! Hackers are hijacking Google search results, leading you to fake sites ready to plant malware. Protect yourself: Stick to trusted sites and keep your browser and antivirus updated. Remember, if the deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

📰 Fake news flood: AI-generated articles have spiked over 1,000% since May. Sites like “Global Village Space” mix both, fooling readers with realistic yet false stories. Think AI tales about Netanyahu's psychiatrist — totally made-up. Scary stuff, especially since another site pops up as soon as one site is shut down. Think twice before you share.

Mortgage company hacked: Thieves swiped info from 14.6 million customers of Dallas-based Mr. Cooper — way more than its 4 million customer base. That includes Social Security and bank numbers and even old data from when the company was called Nationstar Mortgage. They first denied they were hacked, and now they're staring at a $25 million bill for identity protection services. Ch‑ching.

Fake art on Facebook: Did you see that viral dog carving? It's a real artist's work, now twisted into endless fake variations thanks to AI. Millions of people were fooled into liking and sharing the ripoffs. Next up: AI-generated marketplace ads — as if it couldn’t get worse.

It was only a matter of time: Apple is pulling every single Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 from the web on Dec. 21 and stores on Dec. 24. They’re in a patent fight with med-tech company Masimo over blood oxygen sensors. Sound familiar? Yup, I told you this would happen over a month ago.

🚚 Thank my driver! Say that to your Alexa devices, or type it in the Amazon app or on Amazon.com — and your driver will get a $5 tip at no cost to you. Spread some cheer. Holiday workers deserve it!

Bag and bougie: A mom posted a parenting hack to TikTok and she’s getting more flack than she bargained for. She uses a Ziploc bag and smartphone to create an instant backseat movie theater. The drama: Studies link increased screen time to sleep, weight and mood issues, plus lower grades.

🐳 Whale-come to the future: OK, it's not tech, but I had to share. Scientists had a 20-minute convo with a whale named Twain in Alaska. They used underwater speakers to transmit whale speak, called a “whup/throp” greeting. Twain actually replied, changing her call frequencies. Just think how “Moby-Dick” would’ve turned out if Ahab had today’s tech.

• For the coffee lover: Mix up better drinks with a frother wand (51% off). This was a hit at our company’s White Elephant party.
• For the golfer: A ball retriever for if theirs ends up in sand or water (26% off)
• For your favorite gal: Viral fuzzy slippers everyone wants
• For the car person: The holy grail! All the gear to detail your ride ($18 off)
• For the clumsy one: Pretty stemless champagne glasses that won’t break

💋 Psst, I bought this for myself: A lip mask you sleep in and wake up without the winter dryness!

There are built-in tools to help find your lost phone. Here’s the caveat: You have to make sure the feature is enabled ahead of time for it to work. Do it now!

Turn on Find My for your iPhone

• Go to Settings > [your name] > Find My.
• Tap Find My iPhone, then turn on Find My iPhone.
• To see your device even when it’s offline, turn on Find My network.
• To have the location of your device sent to Apple when the battery’s low, turn on Send Last Location.

Turn on Find My Device for your Android

• Go to Settings > Security > Find My Device, or try Security & location or Google > Security.
• Make sure Find My Device is turned on.

✏️ Don’t you feel a little better? You can even lock or erase your phone remotely if it’s really gone. Here’s how.

🔦 Light it up: Your iPhone’s flashlight has more brightness levels than the default "like the sun" mode. Hold down the flashlight button, then drag the slider up or down. Sweet. Btw, you can also say, “Siri, turn on the flashlight” when you need it. And tell her to turn it off, too.

Pro tip: Put all your internet-connected devices on a separate guest network. This way, your primary laptop, computer, phone, tablet — whatever — is safe if your camera, doorbell, lights, etc., gets hacked. I’ve got the steps to set up a guest network on my site.

Paste without the mess: Use Ctrl + Shift + V on PC or Option + Cmd + Shift + V on Mac to paste text without the formatting.

🌐 Mile-high club: No connection, no problem. You can read, search and reply to emails with no connection. (Note: Your replies won’t be sent until you have service again.) How? In Gmail, hit the settings cog > See all settings > find the Offline tab. Click the box to enable.

Get shorty: Do you, or someone you know, have a YouTube channel? Shorts (videos under 60 seconds) are hot right now. I found this video that tells you how to get more viewers to your Shorts by gaming Google’s algorithms.

Oh, deer.

The answer: C.) Hedy Lamarr. This is super interesting. Lamarr and her co-inventor, George Antheil, developed frequency-hopping tech in 1941. It prevented enemy forces from jamming torpedoes during World War II, which led to the development of Wi‑Fi.

🐴 The internet connection at my farm was really poor, so I moved the router to the barn. Now, I have stable Wi‑Fi. (Oh, I crack myself up sometimes!)

🤗 I hope you're wrapped up in a cozy blanket of cheer and love during this Christmas and holiday season. If not, let me give you a huge virtual hug. Thank you for increasing your tech knowledge with me by your side. I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow with the best newsletter in the USA! — Kim