🦃💻🌟 Happy Techs-giving Eve, friends! It’s your daily feast of tech tidbits! Let’s kick things off with trivia. The first email message sent was a head-scratcher. What did this groundbreaking digital memo contain? Was it … A.) "Hello, world!" B.) A math formula, C.) A knock-knock joke or D.) A bunch of letters? You’ll find the answer at the end.

📩 I get so many notes about email. Most often it’s something like, “Kim, how do I get rid of Big Tech tracking my email or Gmail?” That’s why I’m teaming up with StartMail — a privacy-focused email that doesn’t analyze what you send or show you ads. Check it out and get 3 months FREE. Thanks! — Kim

Not sure where this year went, but it’s time to dive headfirst into the festive frenzy. I've got some tech tips up my sleeve that'll sprinkle a little magic on your celebrations. You’re gonna love ‘em!

1. Cook up a storm with a digital cookbook

Picture this: All your go-to holiday recipes are neatly corralled in one digital cookbook. No more frantic shuffling, clicking through a million tabs or misplaced ingredient lists.

If your recipes are printed or handwritten, snap a pic with your tablet. Add all the pics to one folder (or try the Notes app if you’re on an iPad) for easy swiping between them. Cooking from recipes you found online? Save the PDF versions and toss them in one spot. No iPad? Use your phone!

Bonus: An inexpensive cookbook holder will keep your tablet out of the mess of flour, stock and butter in the kitchen. (This one is gorgeous if you have a bit more to spend.)

2. Do cards the easier way

I’m giving you permission to go digital with holiday cards this year. Canva, Adobe Express, Paperless Post and Mailchimp are solid options. You can choose a template, whip up a greeting and send it off in just a few minutes — no trip to the post office required.

3. Say ‘Cheese!’ to better group pics

Remember the days of designating one unlucky soul to be the photographer? You know, the family friend or someone’s random date. Upgrade to your smartphone camera's timer.

• On iPhone: Open your Camera app and tap the up-facing arrow at the top of the screen. Scroll right to the option that looks like a clock, then tap it. Select a 3- or 10-second delay.
• On Android: In the Camera app, select Timer and turn it on. Choose from a delay of 2, 5 or 10 seconds.

If someone insists on taking the pic, ask them to use burst mode. All they have to do is hold down on the shutter button to capture a ton of photos at once. Better chance you’ll get everyone smiling!

4. Remove the screen temptation

It’s not the weekend to be glued to your phone, scrolling headlines or social media. Need a little help disconnecting? I’ve got ya.

• On iPhone: Open Settings > Screen Time.
• On Android: Open Settings > Digital Wellbeing.

Rather than a blanket screen time limit, be strategic and limit the stuff that sucks you in. Maybe you set a 10-minute limit on Instagram, for example.

🌟 There you have it, my friend. Embrace the hacks, savor the moments and let's make this holiday season epic.

🎶 I always listen to Neil Diamond during the holidays. He’s got sweet carol lines. (Sing it with me: Bum-bum-bum!)

When a service is free, you're the product. Email providers like Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook aren't really free — you pay with your privacy. That’s why I want to tell you about StartMail, a private and secure alternative.

Unlike free providers, StartMail skips the invasive tracking, profiling and unwanted ads. You’ll also get security features like unlimited disposable email addresses to protect you from phishing and hacking attempts, and the ability to send encrypted emails to anyone.

This Black Friday, StartMail is offering 60% off annual subscriptions, plus an additional 3 months free. Folks, this deal is the best one you’ll find out there. I negotiated a special rate just for you that ends Nov. 30, so don’t wait.

⛔ Old dog, new trick: You get a call from a random number asking you to confirm your identity or if you can hear them. Don't say yes. Scammers may be recording your voice to get you to confirm an unauthorized purchase. Most of us ignore these spammy calls, but you should def let older relatives know about this one.

Calling their bluff: AviaGames, which owns games like Solitaire Clash, Bingo Clash and Bingo Tour, might not be playing fair. People are suing after newly leaked internal communications confirmed their suspicions: They’re being matched with bots instead of real-life players. No such thing as free money, folks.

🛍️ Shopping at the speed of sound: This is wild. A live streamer on the Chinese e-commerce app Douyin reportedly sold over $13.7 million in products in just over a week. Her secret? She showcases each item just 3 seconds before moving on to the next one. I don't get how she's so popular, but it's cool to watch her do her thing.

Stuffing with a side of feelings: Go ahead, share Bumble’s new dating app trends with single relatives this Thanksgiving. One-third of folks surveyed say emotional intimacy is more important than doing the horizontal mambo. Four in five women want their partner to understand emotions. Yes, you’re going to have to talk about your feelings.

Here VR: Apple is pushing back the release of its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset from January to March. Apparently, the headset isn’t out of the testing phase. The Vision Pro is expected to cost $3,499, so it’d better work from the jump.

Black Friday brawl: For the first time, there's an NFL game the day after Thanksgiving. Amazon Prime is hosting the Black Friday broadcast, complete with "shoppable ads" with QR codes during breaks in play. Not a Prime member? Here’s a 30-day free trial.

Let’s talk turkey: Some retailers are closing shop on Thursday to let employees celebrate Thanksgiving. Aldi, Best Buy, Publix and Costco are a few of the chains that will be closed. Check out the complete list to find out where you can get cranberry sauce before the last minute.

🐶 Reverse psychology: A Texas animal shelter got a naughty dog adopted with a very creative Facebook post. They described Eddie, a 1-year-old dachshund mix, as an "a$$hole" who'd make the perfect partner in a bar fight. A young woman adopted Eddie within hours. Hilarious.

Before you start buying holiday gifts in a frenzy, make sure your Amazon account is set up the right way.

• Hide and seek: Archive any orders you don’t want someone else to see. On a computer, hover your cursor over Account & Lists and click on Orders. Find the order you want to hide and click View order details, then Archive Order. Click Archive Order again to confirm.
• Banish the browser: Remove items from your browsing history to avoid revealing your gift ideas. Hover your cursor over Account & Lists and click on Browsing History. For each item that you want to hide, tap Remove from view.

🎁 Now, don’t you feel tech smarter? I have a few more tricks to share. You can also have your orders sent to an Amazon Locker versus your house. Sweet. And there’s one final option to change if you have an Amazon Echo at home. Get steps for both here.

Whether you have a few minutes to spare during your drive or you're just chilling at home, it's the perfect time to tune in to The Kim Komando Show podcast! I keep it real, breaking down the latest tech trends, cybersecurity tips and gadget reviews into snack-sized, easy-to-understand episodes.

👉 Get my podcasts today!

🔥 Hot ones: If your phone gets too toasty, remove the case to see if it helps. Don’t put your overheated phone in the fridge or freezer; the drastic temperature shift could create condensation.

Is free antivirus software safe to use? I get this question all the time. At best, it works just OK. At worst, it’s selling your data to who-knows-who. My pick is TotalAV and it’s only $19 for the first year.*

You ditched TikTok … but now and then, you want to scroll mindlessly. Go to YouTube and click Shorts. This is YouTube’s version of quick videos you’ll want to keep watching — just like TikTok.

Tighten up: Smartwatches will never track perfectly, but a lousy fit really throws things off. Swap the loose-fitting band that slips around on your arm for an adjustable model.

🍿 Before movie night, turn off your TV’s “Motion Smoothing” feature. It’s a setting made for sports that makes everything else look, well, weird. Look for it in your TV’s picture settings. Get more steps here if you need help.

Taters gonna tate.

The answer: D.) A bunch of letters. In 1971, the first email message sent by Ray Tomlinson said, "QWERTYUIOP." No, that wasn’t Ray saying, “Qwerty U I Op.” It’s the first line of letters on a standard keyboard.

💡 Hate Big Tech’s tracking? Do what I did and go check out StartMail. They’ll make it super easy to transfer over all your old email and contacts. Love that.

Last but not feast, I’ll see you tomorrow with a special Thanksgiving edition because it’s all in a holiday’s work! — Kim