🔒 Over 200 PC models are at risk: This affects millions of PCs. Secure Boot keeps your PC from booting on sketchy software but is now completely useless. Why? An employee posted the platform’s four-digit password online. Acer, Dell, Gigabyte, Intel and Supermicro PCs are all vulnerable. If you’re downloading software, use a sandbox. I’ll let you know when there’s a patch.
Your bank wants your voice – Will they keep it safe?
You already gave your bank your DOB, Social Security number and your mother’s maiden name. Now, they want your voice.
Banks say it’s an extra layer of biometric protection against fraud and cybercrime. But with the rise of hackers stealing voice data for deepfakes, is it worth the risk?
The identity arms race
Hackers are always one step ahead. If you’re skeptical of your bank having your voice data on record, you’re not crazy — you’re smart. A voice can be cloned using AI with as little as 10 seconds of audio. Frightening.
No matter how much money you have in the bank, a hacker or scammer wants it. Call your bank’s customer service line that you see on its website and ask to opt out of voice authentication. It takes two minutes.
Make the hackers ‘loan‑ly’
Of course, because you’re smart, you use strong unique passwords, you enable 2FA, you don’t bank on public Wi‑Fi, and you always monitor your accounts. But it might be worth a phone call or trip to your local bank branch to ask if they offer extra security features.
Secure keys: This physical or digital device generates one-time passcodes that are usually only good for 30 seconds for safer online banking.
Banking alerts: Set up text or email notifications for various real-time account activities, such as large transactions, failed login attempts and account changes.
Account lockout features: Many banks offer options to automatically lock your account after a certain number of failed login attempts.
Advanced access: This is enhanced security for certain activities using additional verification steps. For example, Morgan Stanley asks me for a one-time passcode if I log in at a new location.
🌀 Help me get the word out. Share this story with friends and family to keep them safe before the tsunami of voice-cloning scams hits. They’re coming!
1 in 4 kids
Faces identity theft before they turn 18. And age verification might make the problem much worse. Think about it: To get access to social media, your kid uploads their name, face, and a document or two. One breach and a criminal has it all.
The latest must-have for the elite? High-worth individuals are less cyber-protected than organizations, making them bigger targets. Case in point: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Bill Gates have all had their phones or X accounts hacked. Now folks are paying experts big bucks to protect them from cyber threats, because, well, big money is on the line.
No takebacks: After Google vowed to get rid of third-party cookies on Chrome, they basically said, “Just kidding.” Instead, you’ll get a “new experience in Chrome” that lets you “adjust” your cookie preferences. No word on how yet. Get ahead of it: Try Total Adblock for an ad-free experience.
🚨 $400K MIA: A Silicon Valley woman nearly lost her down payment when a scammer infiltrated the email thread between her and her real estate broker. They convinced her to wire the money to a new account. It took banks five months to get it back. If you’re buying, talk through the wire instructions upfront with your broker, and when it’s time to send, call to confirm the details.
Was your PC hit by the CrowdStrike fiasco? Microsoft just released a recovery tool to help. You’ll need admin privileges and a $7 USB stick to run it (steps here). The tool will walk you through creating a bootable USB drive. FYI: It’ll wipe anything already saved on the USB, so make sure it’s empty first!
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Ctrl + Space + X is Musk’s favorite keyboard shortcut: You used to be able to break into Elon Musk’s Starlink with just a leaked username and password. Then, bingo — you’ve got yourself some pricey hardware with someone else’s credit card. Now, they’re finally adding a two-factor authentication pop-up if someone tries to change your account email address or phone number. About time.
Stay far, far away: Scammers use crypto ATMs to defraud U.S. victims out of millions every year. They’re less regulated and let you send money overseas instantaneously. A 77-year-old woman just got scammed out of $9,000. Once her money left the country, she was SOL. Listen up: No legitimate entity will ever ask you to send money in crypto or from an ATM.
⚠️ Job seekers, beware: North Korean hackers are setting up fake job interviews. Their goal is to break into Macs. How it works: They ask you to join a meeting by downloading a file called “MiroTalk.dmg.” It’s hiding info-stealing malware. Next time you get an offer, vet the company and stick to using trusted software already on your computer.
Some 51% of people think sharing their smartphone PIN with a partner is normal and healthy. Checking internet search histories and tracking a partner’s location are a different story; 74% of those surveyed think location tracking is toxic, and that percentage jumps to 95% if the location tracking is done without the other party’s knowledge.
✈️ You can opt out of airport facial recognition scans: Stand away from the camera, present your ID and say something like, “I opt out of biometrics. I want the standard verification process.” It could save you from a data breach or misidentification as a criminal suspect. Both have happened.
An 82-year-old woman almost lost $3 million in a gold bar scam: First, she was swindled out of nearly $1 million of her life savings. A pop-up ad on her PC scared her into calling a fake federal agent. The “agent” said her money was in danger and would only be safe if she converted it to gold. Good news: Just as she was ready to hand over another $2 million in gold bars, they caught the 19-year-old scum behind this.
🚨 Hide and C:/Seek: Hackers grabbed the personal info of more than 400,000 Life360 users, including names, phone numbers, emails and more. Life360’s location-sharing app is used primarily to help parents keep an eye on their kids. More bad news: Life360 owns tracker company Tile, which hackers also breached, nabbing not only personal info, but also device IDs. Don’t wait to change your passwords, and be on alert for phishing, phone and texting scams.
Check your car: A guy who bought a Toyota Corolla discovered a hidden GPS he thinks the dealer installed. When the car’s battery died, he checked the OBDII port and there was a tracker. Uh, why? Theories range from making it easier to steal to selling info on driving habits to insurance companies. Here’s how he found the tracker.
🚨 Social Security emails: The U.S. Social Security Administration just sent out a mass email saying you need to create a Login.gov account. It’s legit. To create yours, head to Login.gov, go to Sign in at the top of the page and select Create an account. They also recommend an authenticator app. I like Google Authenticator.
When a Superhost is super creepy: Airbnb Superhosts have high ratings and low cancellation rates. One in Texas recorded over 2,000 images using security cameras of adults and children sleeping and undressing. He got a year in jail for it.
Spy versus spy: mSpy is a surveillance app used to track children, relatives and romantic partners without their consent. Hackers just exposed the identities of millions of customers, and the list includes senior U.S. military personnel, a U.S. federal judge and a government watchdog. Juicy stuff.