It’s a techy Tuesday, friend! Chegg, a homework help company founded in 2006, has seen its stock price drop 99% since 2021. That’s $14.5 billion in value — poof — gone. Why? Over half a million subscribers are using ChatGPT instead. Chegg’s top brass said AI wouldn’t be a threat. Yup, you could say AI ate their homework. Speaking of, I have a homework assignment for you at the end of this newsletter.

🎙️ Catch up on my latest podcasts using the links below. While you’re at it, pop open your favorite podcast app, search for “Kim Komando,” and hit “Subscribe.” Thanks for being part of our community. Every listen makes a difference in keeping you tech‑ahead! — Kim

🆕 Today's podcast: Car companies are tracking your driving

⏱️ Daily Tech Update: This is what Apple should do with the iPhone

💡 Digital Life Hack: Your phone's secret privacy report

Here’s a tech-savvy tip most people overlook: Just like returning clothes that don’t fit, you can often return a laptop if it’s not the right fit for you. The key is understanding the seller’s return policy. I’ll break it down so you don’t end up with an expensive doorstop.

Know the basics

Here's what to look for in a return policy that lets you take a "try before you buy" approach:

1. Return period: These range from 15 days to 90 days.
2. Shipping and restocking fees: Some sellers hit you with return shipping or restocking fees of up to 25% of a laptop's original price.
3. Surprises: You may have to keep every bit of the original packaging, or the clock on your return windows could start the second you hit “Buy,” not when it’s delivered.

So, where’s the best place to buy?

• The best: Costco and Walmart both have a 90-day return window with very little in the way of fine print or picky policies.
• The worst: Best Buy’s return policy is only 15 days. You get 60 days if you pay up to $180 for a My Best Buy annual membership. Don’t shop here.

What about Amazon? The return window is 30 days for laptops that didn't start when they arrived, were delivered in a damaged condition or are still in an unopened box. If you open the box or it works, you’ll pay a 15% restocking fee. Pro tip: If you’re a good Amazon customer, hop into a chat with their customer service team and ask them to reverse the charge. This worked for me!

I asked my IT genius, John, to pick his favorite Windows and Mac laptops. He shops for the tech we use here in the studios, so you’re in fabulous hands.

Windows of opportunity

💰 HP 17 Business Laptop ($486): Powered by an i3 processor that gets the job done for browsing, banking and school or work. The 17.3-inch screen is also big without being bulky.

💰💰 Dell Inspiron ($616, 5% off): For about $100 more, you get a touchscreen and a slightly more powerful i5 processor. It can handle heavier-duty stuff, like casual gaming and programming.

💰💰💰 HP Envy ($1,129): All the bells and whistles, including an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, 32GB DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD. Zoom‑zoom!

Pro tip: Nineite makes it drop-dead easy to install all your desktop apps in a single session. Best of all, it’s free!

If you’re a Mac person

💰 2022 MacBook Air ($749, 25% off): Has the still-powerful-but-older M2 chip and 8GB RAM, plus 256GB SSD storage and a 1080p HD camera. Solid budget option for browsing and streaming.

💰💰 2024 MacBook Air ($1,099, 15% off): A step up, with the newer M3 chip that’s faster and gets you more battery life.

💰💰💰 2023 MacBook Pro ($1,869, 25% off): Fast M2 Pro chip, a 12-core CPU and a 19-core GPU, and a Liquid Retina XDR display (really nice screen). With more memory and storage, it can handle video editing, gaming — whatever. Santa, are you paying attention?

If you decide it’s not what you want …

You’ll need to undo all the work you put into setting up your machine before you return it.

✅ There’s too much to list here. Hit my site for Windows and Mac steps.

Retailers keep track of ‘problem returners’

That’s a good reason not to buy and return five different computers. And it's worth saying again: Read the return policy. Read all of it, even the boring stuff. (OK, it's all boring. Read it anyway.) That's the only way to know you’re not stuck with gotchas or tricky language when it's too late to bail out.

🐏 I put horns on my laptop. You know, to improve its RAM. (Haha! I think this is the only time in my life I’ve used the ram emoji!)

🏁 Here are some things I bought recently you might like, too!

• The other day, I set my curling iron down on a tube of toothpaste. A hair tool organizer would’ve saved me from that disaster.
• Stop rooting around in the junk drawer and get a battery organizer.
• Life hack: Hang up holiday wreaths using a cord bundler (a 6-pack is $11).
• Cheapo sweaters don’t age well. Try $50 cashmere you can toss in the washer.* Don’t tell Ian, but I’m getting him a cashmere hoodie for Christmas.
• A desktop vacuum cleaner (25% off) erases all evidence of your scarfing down three granola bars at your desk. It’s under $12, too.
• You know you need a Tupperware organizer. ‘Nuff said.

🚨 “Are Bengal cats legal in Australia?” Type that into Google Search and you’re in trouble. Hackers are creating fake websites and hijacking real ones to land at the top for popular search terms. No kidding, cat sites are a big target. Once you’re there, the goal is to get you to download a zip file. Safety first: Never download anything from a website you stumbled upon, and run antivirus with real-time protection.*

A new credit card fee: Several credit card companies, including Citibank and Synchrony Bank, are charging a $1.99 monthly fee for paper statements. Printing and mailing costs financial institutions $600 million, so they want us to pay for it. Call your card company and ask them to email you the "Schumer box.” It’s an easy-to-read table of all their fees.

Pass on this NAS: Over 60,000 D‑Link network-attached storage (NAS) devices let hackers slip in data-stealing code. Affected models include the DNS‑320 Version 1.00, DNS‑320LW Version 1.01.0914.2012, DNS‑325 versions 1.01 and 1.02, and the DNS‑340L Version 1.08. D‑Link’s advice? Replace it. Here’s an alternative.

🎣 Reeled in a big one: A 33-year-old Nigerian man was sentenced to 10 years for a phishing scam that stole $20 million in nest eggs from over 400 U.S. homebuyers. He sent phishing emails to real estate professionals, tricking them into providing their login credentials. Using those, he redirected home purchase payments to compromised accounts and laundered the money into bitcoin via Coinbase, according to the DOJ.

Just say no: An Uber or Lyft driver might ask you to pay in cash so they can take home more money. They make as little as $9 an hour (paywall link) through the app, but a cash payment means no safety features like the emergency button, and you’ll get hit with cancellation fees.

That was a bust: Apple is axing its $3,500 AR headset, the Vision Pro. They’ve already cut production in half and the end is near. In a podcast interview, Tim Cook called the headset an “early adopter product.” You know, like early adopters with a ton of money to spend on a device that developers are staying far away from.

🙊 Not that kind of Barbie girl: Mattel says it’s deeply sorry for printing the wrong URL on boxes of its “Wicked” movie-themed Barbie dolls. The mix-up swapped the movie’s site for trailers and tickets for another wicked site that offers a very different kind of girl-on-girl action — p*rn.

When a service is free, you're the product. The email providers everyone knows (yes, I’m talking about Gmail, Yahoo and all the rest) aren't really free. You’re paying with your privacy. From where you are and what you click, to who you talk to most, they know it all.

StartMail is the secure email provider I trust. There’s no invasive tracking or annoying ads. Plus, it’s packed with top privacy features, like unlimited disposable email addresses and easy-to-use encrypted communication. They offer a business subscription, too, that includes extra storage, shared email aliases and the flexibility to add unlimited domains.

🔎 FYI, Google users: Next time you need help, there’s a search box where you can type what you want to do in everyday language. It sure beats digging around in the tool menus. In Sheets, you can type Remove column, or, in a Doc, try Who last edited this? Handy!

eBay trick: Whether it’s a baseball card or a used car, there’s an excellent tool to determine its worth. Search for an item on eBay. After getting your search results, go to Filter and scroll to Sold Items. Tap or check the box to enable this filter. Now, you’ll only see listings for items that actually sold.

I put my supplements on auto-ship so I never run out: I’ve been taking magnesium for years, and it’s my secret to good, restful sleep. Want better z’s? Try BIOptimizers and their Magnesium Breakthrough supplement. Use code KK10 to get an additional 10% off.*

iPad keyboard trick: ​​When you need to type with one hand, switch to the floating keyboard. Then, all you have to do is pinch in with two fingers on the onscreen keyboard to shrink it. Move it wherever you want, and type away. To go back to normal, pinch out.

🤖 Have a kid who plays Roblox? Keep them safe from creeps. Go to Account Settings, select the Privacy tab and toggle the voice chat selector to Off. The toggle will go from green to gray, indicating voice chat has been disabled.

Ever wonder what happens to the massive amounts of U.S. military data stolen by Communist China’s spies? Its newest jet fighter aircraft (bottom pic) is a nearly identical design to America’s new F‑35 stealth fighter (top pic).

It took the U.S. over 20 years and $2 trillion to produce theirs; China duplicated it in less than five years, using hundreds of terabytes of stolen U.S. military secrets.

Tech homework: Are you getting the internet speed you pay for? 🚀

Test yours at SpeedTest.net to see. If things are slow, it might be time for a full system reboot to clear glitches and restore your speeds. Here’s the right way to do it:

1. Turn off everything. That’s your modem and router, or yours may be one combined unit.
2. Wait a full minute. Seriously, count it out!
3. Turn on the modem first. Give it time to boot completely, then power up the router. Restart your computer and you should be blazin’.

You deserve privacy. If you’re fed up with Big Tech, look into StartMail. It’s a privacy-focused email provider that puts you first. No ads, no tracking, no scummy data collection. Best of all, save 60% with my link.

See you tomorrow with another issue of the best tech newsletter in the USA! — Kim