Hello on this tech-tacular Thursday, friend! Let’s start with some trivia. This week in 1997, a group of hackers cracked code written in Data Encryption Standard, which was designed to be impenetrable. Oops. How long did it take the hackers to crack? Was it … A.) Five days, B.) Five weeks, C.) Five months or D.) Five years? Answer’s at the end!

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Your Amazon, Google or Apple smart speaker has a lifesaving feature I bet you don’t know about: It can tell you if there’s smoke or carbon monoxide (CO) in your home.

The speaker can’t actually detect smoke or CO, but it can “listen” for devices that do. So, if your smoke or CO alarm goes off and you're away from home, your smart speaker can ping your phone, saving your property, belongings and precious pets inside.

Keep in mind that your smart speaker has to be within hearing distance of the alarms. It’s not too hard; those alarms are loud.

Amazon Echo

To get smoke and CO alarm detection on any Echo speaker or display, you’ll need to sign up for Alexa Emergency Assist ($5.99 per month or $59 per year). It detects glass breakage, sends push notifications and lets you have up to 25 emergency contacts, too. It’s a great option if you no longer have a landline. In the Alexa app on your phone:

Google Nest

For Google Nest cameras and speakers, it’s a similar deal. It can listen for smoke and CO alarm sounds, but you have to pay for Nest Aware ($8 a month or $80 a year). It also listens for breaking glass. From the Google Home app on your phone:

Apple HomePod

Kudos to Apple for making this important feature free. You don't need a subscription; you just need a HomePod or HomePod mini. From the Home app on your iPhone:

If you don’t have a smart speaker yet, I’d choose a HomePod for this feature alone!

✅ No detector in your house? This combination smoke and CO model lasts 10 years. This portable CO detector plugs into an outlet and can travel with you to a rental or hotel.

💡 Pro tip: If you want to protect your home from theft, too, SimpliSafe is my pick.* It has a combo fire alarm and CO detector that can tell the difference between dangerous smoke and burning food. Sweet.

🐾 Now, if only a smart speaker could tell me when my 95-pound golden retriever, Abby, is jumping up on the kitchen counter. Last night, I grilled some chicken, went out to turn off the grill, and when I came back in, there she was, chomping on her third piece of chicken. Woof.

When a service is free, you're the product. Email providers like Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook aren't really free. You’re constantly paying with your privacy. From where you are to what you click to who you talk to most, they know it all.

StartMail is the secure alternative email provider I trust. It’s free from invasive tracking and ads. Plus, it’s packed with privacy features, like unlimited disposable email addresses and easy-to-use encrypted communication.

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It’s not just sketchy ATMs and gas pumps: Watch out for card skimmers at the grocery store, too. Two guys are wanted in Georgia for putting a fake PIN pad on a self-checkout lane in Kroger. Be smart: If the buttons on the PIN pad are off-center and hard to push, or if part of the pad feels loose, don’t use it.

🇷🇺 The new “cold war:” Russia has a new avenue for disinformation: AI chatbots. A recent study found 10 leading chatbots spouted Russian propaganda 32% of the time. Where are they getting the info? An American fugitive in Moscow, who published over 160 fake news sites for the Kremlin. Don’t trust AI for your news — especially election news.

Cold case victim identified: A human skull discovered in 1983 has finally been identified, thanks to Facebook. In 1979, Maritza Gean Grimmet filed for divorce. Then, she disappeared. When investigators posted renderings of her on an FB group for missing women in 2023, her daughter immediately came forward. They’re still investigating the cause of death. I wonder where the husband’s hiding out …

Want your FB page back? Ask your local TV station for help. An Indianapolis man got his hacked Facebook account back after the local news investigated “shallow fakes.” That’s where scammers use your videos to pose as you on social. Might be a strat for you to try.

Celebrity catfish: Kate Beckinsale just called out a scammer who used her identity to con an elderly man out of thousands. His kids reached out to the actress, begging her to prove that she wasn’t the one contacting him. He was convinced she proposed to him via text.

🪄 You need a magic wand: The FCC says Adobe has predatory subscription billing practices. When you try to cancel Creative Cloud, Adobe charges you half of your leftover subscription, and they make it nearly impossible to cancel without calling. Caught in their web? The FCC put out a guide to help you dispute your charges.

The “perfect meal” has three things: Caesar salad, fries and an ice-cold martini. Social media is calling it the “NYC happy meal.” I call it the “magic eraser,” guaranteed to delete the stress of the week. What’s your perfect food and bev combo? Reply and let me know!

🥵 He’s lucky he didn’t get boiled alive for a social media pic: A 21-year-old tourist at Yellowstone National Park got seven days in jail and a $1,500 fine for trying to sneak a close-up of the world’s largest geyser. He blew past all the warning signs and got within 15 feet of Steamboat Geyser’s steam vent. What a dope.

Stop leaving it up to chance: Today’s hackers have more tricks at their disposal than ever to fool even the savviest person. Protect your devices with a solid antivirus solution. It’s def worth $19 a year — trust me.

👙 Don’t let Bob in Accounting see your bikini pics: Organize your Facebook friends into lists to share posts with specific groups, like “Close Friends,” “Family” or “Work.” This way, you can tailor your audience for each post. Create lists by going to Friends > Custom Lists.

YouTube special letter tricks: Press M to mute or unmute a video, K to pause or play a video, and F to enter or exit full-screen mode.

🎨 AI prompt fun: The next time you have a few minutes, try your hand at creating art using AI. Whether it’s a logo or an image of a superhero for your autobiography, drop by here. Tap into the tutorials, too. Super fun!

Be a beta tester: Get early access to new operating system upgrades, if you’re willing to deal with potential bugs and glitches. Here’s the link for iPhone beta, and you can also become a Windows Insider.

Next time you go to the mall: Don’t lose your car yet again. Open the Google Maps app, tap the blue dot that shows your location, then select Save parking.

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Do you use Amazon's Subscribe & Save program? You can save anywhere from 5% to 15% on items you order regularly, and you can adjust your schedule or cancel before your item ships again automatically (two weeks to every six months).

There are a heck of a lot of useful Subscribe & Save options. Here are some of the most popular, according to Amazon:

🛑 Whoa, stop right there! If you see this error message, it’s a scam. Just close Chrome and restart it.

The answer: C.) Five months. A group of hackers organized online to crack what was, at that point, the strongest legally exportable encryption software in the United States. Hey, at least it stood up that long, right?

Reminds me … What do you call an excavated pyramid? Unencrypted. Share that one with your geekiest friend!

Stop letting Big Tech decide what emails you see. StartMail is my pick for privacy-first email. It’s super easy to switch over your contacts and mail, or you can treat it as a fresh inbox for only your VIPs. Save 60% now with my special link. Btw, I get no residuals if you buy.

🪇 Thanks for reading. See you back here tomorrow — same place, same time! If you learned one thing, do me a solid and forward this email to someone you think it might help. Appreciate you! It’s an honor to be in your inbox. — Kim