$3,000 cellphones

White-collar criminals are shelling out to stay connected in prison. Some are smuggled in by guards and others via drone. A former securities broker who went to prison told Business Insider (paywall link) a box of 50 phones, camouflaged to look like grass, landed in the yard one day.

Tags: connected, criminals, drones, prison


23andMe is a sinking ship – Delete your data

23andMe is going down like a sinking ship, and CEO Anne Wojcicki is waffling on whether to sell. You know what else would be up for sale if she did? The DNA of 23andMe’s 15 million customers.

If you’ve used the genetic testing service, you have every right to be concerned. Depending on who buys it, your genetic information could be used in a whole new way. Here’s the latest on what’s happening and how you can protect yourself.

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How to take the perfect profile pic for social media sites

Your profile picture is more important than you might think. It’s your chance to make a good first impression on the world. That’s why you must know how to take the perfect profile picture for all your accounts.

Say you’re applying for a new job. Potential employers will run background checks on your social media presence. You need to have good pictures that show you at your best.

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🎾 Tennis takes balls: Wimbledon is replacing line judges with live AI electronic line calling to decide whether the ball is in or out. It’s already in play at big tournaments like the U.S. Open and Australian Open. My condolences to the 300 line judges out of a job. I’m going to miss the players throwing tantrums over the judges’ calls.

Everything we know about the MoneyGram breach

Another day, another massive data breach. This time, it’s MoneyGram, a global mega-company that handles money transfers, bill pay and other financial services. They have digital platforms and retail locations, and they even power Walmart’s money-transfer service.

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I couldn’t think of Ariel-y good pun: Grocery chain Kroger is offering a free subscription to Disney+, Hulu or ESPN+ for members of their Boost loyalty program, which is $59 a year. Heads-up: Spectrum and DirecTV customers get Disney+ free, too.

🔄 Patch Tuesday: Microsoft just dropped fixes for 118 security flaws, including five zero-day vulnerabilities. These bugs let hackers bypass security features, execute malicious code remotely and take control of your system — all bad stuff. Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, then click Check for updates.

🚨 12 states and Washington, D.C., are suing TikTok: The lawsuit claims the Communist China app is purposefully loaded with things like infinite scrolling, push notifications and in-app currency to keep kids glued to their screens, leading to anxiety, a lack of sleep or worse. This is great, but where were they in 2018, when TikTok launched in the U.S.?

💖 IRL Tony Stark: A 35-year-old man just became the second person with a titanium heart transplant. With severe heart failure and fluid in his lungs, doctors used a magnet-powered artificial heart as a last resort. The result? Normal circulation, blood flow and blood pressure. The only downside is he says it feels a little “heavier.” This is one great way to deal with organ shortage.

The “hams” are there when all else fails: After Hurricane Helene knocked out power and cell service across North Carolina, tens of thousands were left without a way to communicate. Amateur radio operators turned their hobby into a lifeline, helping families send messages, request medicine, find out when stores reopened and even share a “happy birthday.” You bet they’re going to be busy dealing with Hurricane Milton.

MoneyGram data breach: Over 150 million customers were exposed. We’re talking names, addresses, IDs, bank account numbers, the whole nine yards. How’d they do it? Someone pretended to work there and got in. If you’re affected, expect to get a notice offering two years of free identity protection and credit monitoring services.