Welcome to a wonderful Wednesday! Let’s start with a little brain teaser trivia. What was the original name of the popular search engine Google? Was it … BackRub, FrontRub, BellyRub or HeadRub? Answer’s at the end, friends.

Get set to immerse yourself in a deluge of knowledge from the most dynamic tech newsletter this side of the cosmos! — Kim

If you're still mailing checks, now’s the time to go paperless. 

New reports show check fraud has doubled in the past year. In fact, things are so concerning, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) wants Americans to stop mailing checks entirely.

Fraud business is booming

In 2022, banks issued around 680,000 reports of check fraud to FinCEN. That’s a significant jump from 350,000 reports in 2021. Additionally, the USPS received 300,000 complaints of mail theft in 2021, more than twice the number of complaints received in 2020.

The new check mafia

Checks are old school, but these fraudsters are sophisticated. Criminals get into U.S. postal boxes and pick up envelopes that look like checks or bill payments. Through check washing, a crook then alters the payee's name so they can cash it for themselves. 

Some criminals take things a step further and use data from checks to find more information on their victims. They then create fake identities, open credit lines or even start fake businesses.

What you need to do now

If you need to write a check, use a security pen, also known as a check-washing pen. Uni-ball’s 207 series pens, for instance, use specially formulated ink that bonds to paper, making it difficult for criminals to wash or erase it from checks.

Other smart steps to take

• Monitor your accounts. Regularly review your bank statements. 
• Be direct. Use electronic transfers or direct deposit methods for payments instead of checks. 
• Secure your personal information. Be cautious about who you give your checking account and bank routing numbers. In the wrong hands, these can be used to create counterfeit checks.
• Limit the amount of information on your checks. Don’t include your phone number or Social Security number, for instance.
• Use digital money. Paying bills online eliminates paper checks that can be stolen from your mailbox or trash. You can also use Zelle, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo or other payment apps.
• Secure your mailbox. Send outgoing mail containing checks only from the post office or a secure postal service mailbox. If you believe you're the victim of check fraud, contact your bank ASAP. 

If you suspect a check was stolen in the mail, file reports with your local police department and the Postal Inspection Service. 

✅ Paying bills online is safer than checks, but you still have to watch for scammers. Use these five tips to avoid dangerous links.

Deep sea disaster: A costly submarine trip to the Titanic has taken a tragic turn, with five passengers lost at sea. I was surprised to learn the sub was being navigated with a cheapo $30 Logitech PC gaming controller. It has no GPS but has internet using Starlink for short text messages. So sad.

Scam alert: It’s not just older adults — the BBB says people ages 18 to 34 are the primary targets in job and apartment scams. One clue you’re being scammed? Hasty credit checks asking for your Social Security number. Have kids looking for their first apartment? Be sure to let them know.

🏭 Do no evil: Google just got the go-ahead for a 153-acre office, shops and housing project in the Bay Area for 7,000 residents … right next to its headquarters. Reminds me of the horrendous “company towns” of the industrial revolution, only this one also has Google Docs.

Keep it legal: You can create AI-generated Windows product keys with ChatGPT and Google Bard for free. Not only is this stealing, but the codes are also generic, and installing them will royally screw up your operating system — and your day.

🚨 Check your router now: A number of ASUS routers need updating for nine highly serious security bugs. Two of these let hackers execute malicious code or trigger a denial-of-service attack. Bad stuff. Check if you're impacted. 

Is it real or AI? A new web app called "AI or Not" might have the answers. This free tool uses content recognition tech to identify if a pic is the product of AI tomfoolery. Drop in an image to see here.

Farewell, passwords: You can now use your face or thumbprint to log in to iCloud.com or Apple.com. Apple just added passkey support for these on iOS 17. Want to use it? Head to either site and look for the “Sign in with iPhone” button. 

📺 Roll the reel: That tape inside your old VHS player? Turns out it holds a ton of storage. And IBM wants to bring it back into the spotlight for tech that’ll compete with the modern hard drive. Check it out in this video.

Every morning, brush your teeth to my Daily Tech Update. You get fresh breath and fresh tech know-how in a minute.

Listen to my podcast, Daily Tech Update, here.

New AI analysis of facial expressions in 63,000 Instagram photos taken at tourist destinations worldwide shows not all vacations are created equal — and some places are more grin-inducing than others.

So, where’s the real happiest vacation destination on Earth?

Step aside, Disneyland

Natural attractions in Brazil scooped up four of the top 20 happiest tourist destinations, and Honduras captured two of the top five:

1. Manawakie Eco Nature Park, Honduras (smiles in 76% of selfies)
2. Tobago Forest Reserve, Trinidad & Tobago (70.6% smiles)
3. Gumbalina Park, Honduras (68.5% smiles)
4. Botanical Gardens, Brazil (66.7% smiles)
5. Inca Trail, Peru (66.7% smiles)

Noticing a theme?

Among the top 20, there are two common trends:

1. 💃 Latin America: Destinations here provide the most joy collectively, accounting for 14 of the top 20! 
2. 🌳 Nature: Every one of the top spots featured natural attractions, from native gardens to rock formations to hiking trails.

My take? If you want a break from the old grind, get outside. Even if you can’t swing a trip around the world, the U.S. is full of natural wonders. Check out the 10 best apps to plan your next RV, camping or road trip here.

📈 Bonus: Researchers also noticed a common phenomenon called the “holiday happiness curve.” On vacation, travelers’ happiness skyrockets with their arrival (around the time that first piña colada hits your lips), dips in the middle, then soars in the final days of freedom.

Keyboard shortcuts are nothing new. So many people don’t know their mouse has its share of shortcuts, too!

• Zoom in or out: You can zoom in or out on whatever’s on your screen without missing a step by hitting the Control key and spinning your scroll wheel up to zoom in and down to zoom out.
• Select a word or paragraph: If you’re in a document or on a webpage with text, double-click to highlight a word. Triple-clicking highlights an entire paragraph.
• Copy and move items: Highlight some text, hold down the Control key and your left or primary mouse button, then drag the text elsewhere. Let go of the mouse button and your text will be pasted there. 
• Open a link in a new browser tab: When you want to open a link without losing the page you’re currently on, right-click and select the “Open in new tab” option. But there’s an easier way! Click on the link with your scroll wheel to open a link in a new tab.

✅ Here are more tricks to mouse around!

Stop fighting with spreadsheets and trying to figure out what the heck you did with last year’s inventory list. I have the solution: NetSuite by Oracle.

You get visibility and control of your financials, inventory, HR, planning, budgeting and more, all from one easy dashboard. Don’t just take my word for it — over 33,000 businesses already use NetSuite.

Lower IT costs, less work and higher profits? Yes, please. Right now, you can get started with NetSuite with no payments and no interest for six months. (Big deal alert: They’ve never had an offer like this before!)

The last time I went to Costco, the clerk asked me, “You wanna box for your groceries?” I said, “Why is everyone so violent these days?” She didn’t get it.

🤔 The answer: BackRub was a contender because the system checked backlinks to estimate the importance of a website. BellyRub and HeadRub were never an option. But Google’s founders did consider FrontRub. Here’s a video of them discussing why they didn't use it.

Absolutely thrilled to have you here! It's readers like you who make this journey worthwhile. Keep diving into the exciting world of technology with the greatest tech newsletter in the world. Your presence is greatly cherished! — Kim