Plus: Flights under attack, AV sneaky switch, small-biz marketing tip | In partnership with Oracle | | Welcome to your tech Tuesday, friend! Here’s a trivia factoid to get us started. A pristine copy of Super Mario 64, released in 1996, is the most expensive video game ever sold. Did the cartridge sell for … A.) $1.6 million, B.) $1.1 million, C.) $500,659 or D.) $221,812? The answer’s at the end. 🛑 Don't let Big Tech decide what you see! Simply reply to this email. I don’t care what you say, even if it’s just “Hi.” Replying will tell the algorithm you want my content. If you can reply for a few days this week, I would really appreciate it. Thank you so much. — Kim 📫 First-time reader? Sign up here. (It’s free!) IN THIS ISSUE ⚠️ Protect your kids ✈️ GPS spoofing is seriously scary 🏦 Banks going extinct |
TODAY'S TOP STORY Every parent needs to know this Social media is a minefield of dangers for teens, exposing them to extreme content like anorexia "thinspiration," drug culture, hardcore pornography, suicide glorification and even predatory grooming. Algorithms push the darkest corners of the internet right onto their screens, sometimes with devastating consequences. With increasing pressure from Washington, D.C., and outraged parents, social media platforms are finally starting to act. They’re rolling out much-needed tools to help monitor kids’ online activity, offering control over what teens are exposed to so you, as parents or guardians, can watch out for their mental health and safety. Know the Instagram settings From Family Center, you can see how much time your teen spends in the app (but not what they're doing). You can set daily time limits and establish times to put the app in “sleep mode” so they won’t get notifications. It starts with an invite: In the Instagram app, tap your profile picture (bottom right), followed by the menu button (top right) and then Family Center to connect to your teen. They can do it from their end, too, by choosing Supervision from the same menu. Two-way street: You can put hard rules in place or just have Instagram show warnings when your kid has gone beyond their limit. They can also request more time in the app, so be prepared for some negotiation. Put the ‘you’ in YouTube You can't see what your teen is watching on YouTube or set time limits, but you can get alerts when they start a livestream or upload a new video. You can also see who's subscribing to and commenting on their videos. Get connected: Open the YouTube app on your phone, tap your profile picture (bottom right), followed by the gear icon (top right), and pick Family Center. Tap Invite a teen to ask to supervise your kid's YouTube account. Keep communicating: This won't work unless you talk to your teen about it and explain how it keeps them safe. They can kick you out of their account any time they like, so you might have to rely on your diplomacy skills pretty regularly. Restrict the chats on Snapchat You can't see your teen's Snapchat messages or private photos and videos (which is probably for the best), but you can see who they're making friends with and who they've chatted with the most over the past seven days. Team up with your teen: From the Snapchat app on your phone, make sure you're friends with your teen. Then, tap your profile picture (top left), followed by the settings gear icon (top right) and Family Center to set up the parent-to-kid link. Taking more control: There's also a toggle switch for restricting your teen's access to content labeled “sensitive” in Stories and the Spotlight part of Snapchat. Additionally, you can disable your teen's access to the AI bot inside Snapchat. Action plan for parents Remember when you had a fake driver’s license or told a little white lie to get what you wanted? Kids have ways around parental controls and know how to spin the birth year wheel when signing up to get around age restrictions. Have the passcode to their phone: You need access to everything at any time. Set limits: Use the built-in app controls to monitor their time spent in the apps and tools like content filters to limit their exposure to inappropriate material. "Friend" or "Follow" them: Stay connected on social media to see their circle and interactions. Without open dialogue, they'll find ways around you. Learn about “finstas”: “Finsta” is slang for a fake Instagram account, and more than 50% of high schoolers have them. It’s a space where kids post unfiltered photos and opinions. Ian had one growing up. Ask your kid if they do, too. 💛 Even if you don’t have teens yourself, you likely know someone who does. Sharing this article could help parents stay informed and protect their kids from the dangers lurking online. Every share can make a difference. |
WEB WATERCOOLER ✈️ Hundreds of flights a day are under attack: GPS spoofing is an electronic warfare tactic that sends fake signals to disrupt aircraft navigation. Pilots get false warnings (like “pull up”), clocks reset and flight paths go off course. The scariest part is we won’t see an equipment upgrade or fix until next year, at the earliest (paywall link). Scary. They only care about the money: The FTC says social media platforms are engaging in massive online surveillance and failing to protect children. They track everything we do, combine it with data from third-party brokers, then sell it or use it to advertise to you. 🥽 The “future of human connection”: That’s what Mark Zuckerberg will talk about at the big Meta conference this Wednesday and Thursday. Expect updates for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, along with some AI goodies, a more affordable Meta Quest headset and maybe augmented-reality glasses. You heard it here first, folks. Banks are very loanly: A new study proves what we all know: In-person banking is on its way out, and the number of physical branches is dwindling. Since 2018, an average of 1,646 branches have closed annually in the U.S. At this rate, physical branches could be extinct by 2041. 👋 So long, farewell: Without warning, Russian cybersecurity provider Kaspersky Lab deleted its anti-malware protection from its subscribers’ computers and replaced it with something called UltraAV. This comes after the U.S. government added Kaspersky to its national security concern list because of its ties to the Kremlin. If you were using Kaspersky for antivirus protection, try my antivirus pick instead. Passwordless future: Google now lets you log into Android, Windows, macOS and Linux devices without a password. Instead, you'll use a passkey stored in Google Password Manager, which can be authenticated via fingerprint, face scan or screen lock. Chrome and iOS support coming soon. ✔️ It’s a yes from me: A new California bill could stop companies from collecting and sharing personal data with just one click. It’s a royal pain in the butt to opt out of every single site. If the bill passes, it could impact all Americans, since many companies apply the same privacy protections nationwide. 🚕 You can go your own Waymo: The self-driving car company owned by Google parent company Alphabet is expanding to Atlanta and Austin next year. Unlike in Phoenix, where Waymo riders can use either the Uber or Waymo apps, Atlanta and Austin riders will need the Uber app to hail a Waymo car, and getting a Waymo still isn't guaranteed. I don’t trust them enough to get in one. |
TECH LIFE UPGRADES Nosy, nosy: With iOS 18, you can now bring up a list of all apps with access to your contacts. Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Contacts. Here, you’ll see a list of apps. Tap Limited Access for any that shouldn’t get every little detail. 💃 Windows users need this: FancyZones lets you create custom grid layouts or use pre-configured options on a PC. To use it, download and install Microsoft’s free PowerToys utility and find FancyZones. Pick a layout you like, then hold down on Shift and drag a window into one of the zones. Voila! Personalize your biz emails: Instead of sending a one-size-fits-all marketing blast to your customers, try segmenting your audience to send the right message to the right person. Most email service providers let you set up multiple lists. MailChimp, Constant Contact and all the other big ones do. Smart! Turning off alerts from your video doorbell is a mistake: Instead, set up custom motion zones. On a Ring doorbell, open the Ring app and select your device. Go to Motion Settings > Edit Motion Settings. To go into full don’t-bug-me mode, choose People Only. 📺 The first time I saw a universal remote, I thought, “This changes everything”: Upgrade to a bitchin’ universal remote that controls it all and lets you set up shortcuts, aka macros. Say you make a “Movie Night” macro that turns on the TV, soundbar and streaming box, then switches the TV to the right HDMI output. This brand is regarded as the best out there. Enjoy! |
LISTEN UP Everything Apple does with your health data The FDA just approved new Apple health features — AirPods as hearing aids, Apple Watches detecting sleep apnea. But what’s happening with your health info? I’ve got the details!
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BY THE NUMBERS 4 companies Account for almost half of Nvidia’s revenue, or about $100 billion so far in 2024. So who are they? They’re not talking, but my bet is on some combo of Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and Tesla. I’m saddened to report Komando isn’t on the list. $2.2 billion How much movie theater chains are spending to lure us back. It’s not just better screens (though there are plans for 21,000 of those), beefed-up sound systems and comfier seats. You may see pickleball courts, arcades, ziplines and bowling alleys at a theater near you … all of which will be grossly overpriced. 26 years later A guy dislodged a Lego brick stuck up his nose. When he was 6, he wedged a plastic brick and a Lego man up his nostrils. Mom removed the Lego man but didn’t know about the individual brick. All that time, the 32-year-old dealt with congestion, asthma and sleep apnea. Watch the news about this crazy story! |
WHAT THE TECH? I bet this chef also serves Mice Krispies. |
UNTIL NEXT TIME ... The answer: A.) $1.6 million. An original sealed copy of Super Mario 64 sold at Heritage Auctions in 2021 for that gobsmacking price. This sale broke a record set just two days before when a 1987 Legend of Zelda NES cartridge sold for $870,000. Let’s clean out our game closets, stat. ⚔️ I knew a website with a lot of Zelda stuff, but I forgot the Link. That’s all, folks! It’s an honor to be in your inbox with the best tech newsletter in the USA. Take a second and rate this issue below so we know how we’re doing here in Komandoland. And in case no one told you today, I think you’re awesome! 🥳 — Kim |
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