🇨🇳 Communist China-based hackers are the suspects: Yup, they’re the ones suspected of breaking into three major telecom companies and causing major outages — AT&T, Verizon and Lumen Technologies. Details are scarce, but the hackers probably gained access to the systems used for court-approved wiretapping and eavesdropping. Truly frightening.
I wasted 36 hours trying to do it myself
So many of the calls, emails, messages and DMs I get are about privacy and security. I can’t remember the last time I had a full day where no one asked me some version of “How do I get all this info about me off the internet?”
It’s not just you. It’s me, too. After finding my personal cellphone number available on a free people-search site last year, I made it my mission to scrub everything online about me. There are literally hundreds of companies and sites that collect personal info, and they make it extremely hard to get your data removed. Why? Because they profit from selling your data — and mine.
I called the series Opt-Out Tuesday. We put together articles, newsletters and radio segments promoting it. I shared the steps in my nationally syndicated columns. And yet …
I didn’t make a dent
To be fair, we heard from a ton of people who had success following our instructions and removing their info. In fact, the big people search site networks got so peeved, they changed the steps to remove your data after one of my articles went viral.
I spent 36 hours emailing the scummy sites, filling out forms, making calls and even sending letters by USPS. I gave up when I had no real progress. That’s when I researched services to do this for me. I tried three, and I ultimately picked Incogni.
It took me about 3 minutes
Creating an account was easy, and I was immediately opted out of 27 databases, with 47 more requests sent. Now we’re talking about hundreds of sites I’m opted out of with no extra work on my end.
All you have to do is create an account and then enter your name and address. These sites require this info to remove your data — so you’d do that whether or not you use Incogni. Bonus: You can add up to three addresses and three phone numbers, too, so they can catch all the sneaky records.
Then, you grant Incogni permission to reach out on your behalf. After you finish the setup process, you’ll see a list of sites you’ve been removed from and pending requests.
Massive data leak impacts 1 in 3 Americans
Data broker MC2 Data left more than 100 million records of Americans exposed online for anyone to copy, grab, forward, sell on the Dark Web — you name it. This comes only a month after the National Public Data breach of 2.9 billion records. I’m getting so tired of these data broker companies and people-search sites screwing up, and it’s you and me who have to pay for their mistakes.
Update your PC now: The Windows 11 2024 update (24H2) brings improvements to the Start Menu, File Explorer and Power Settings. Several features and apps are going away, including WordPad, Paint 3D, Tips and Cortana. To update, head to Settings > Windows Update.
🚨 Comcast and Truist Bank data breach: Both used Financial Business and Consumer Solutions (FBCS) to collect unpaid debts on their behalf. Around 7.4 million FBCS customers had their full name, SSN, DOB, driver’s license number or ID card, and other personal data breached. You know the drill — freeze your credit and watch out for phishing scams, texts and phone calls.
Born to be root, not reboot: That’s total geek humor. Stealthy malware has been infecting Linux systems since 2021. It secretly mines crypto and turns computers into spambots, hiding as common system processes. Extra sneaky: It stops when someone logs in. Telltale sign: Constantly high CPU usage. Make sure CVE-2023-33246 is patched.
You have no expectation of privacy in public: Students, parents and activists are pushing the U.S. Department of Education to ban facial recognition in public schools. The system lets anyone with access watch the kids, analyze their facial expressions and even monitor bathroom trips. I just hope the data is locked down.
No woofin’ around: The U.S. Army is testing robot dogs armed with AI-enabled gun turrets in the Middle East. The robo-pups pack some serious heat, like a rotating AR-15/M16-pattern rifle and an electro-optical targeting system. They’re way cheaper than using missiles to take down drones. FYI, China showed off its own four-legged war dog in May.
That was close: Security researchers found a flaw in Kia’s web portal. With just the license plate number and VIN, someone could hack in and remotely unlock doors, honk the horn and even start the engine. The portal didn’t verify dealer-level privileges. Oops. Kia says they’ve patched the vulnerability.
👓 Privacy nightmare: Two Harvard students used Meta’s smart glasses to create a tool that identifies any stranger walking by and pulls up their personal info. It scrapes the web to find where that person’s face appears, grabs their name, and digs up details like their home address, phone number and occupation. This is terrifying in the wrong (or any) hands.
Big Brother is watching: License plate reader systems were once used to track stolen cars and gather insurance data. Now, they’re snapping pics of political signs, abortion-rights bumper stickers and clothing with text. Millions of pics are uploaded every month to massive, searchable databases with precise locations for each image. Wild.
🛡️ Microsoft offers built-in ransomware protection for Windows PCs: The catch? You must use OneDrive to back up your data. Keep in mind it’s not 100% foolproof, either. If you want to try it, open the Windows Security app > Virus & threat protection > Manage ransomware protection, and turn on Controlled folder access. It’s free for now, but I’ll bet they’ll start charging for this soon.
🧬 Your DNA, for sale: 23andMe’s stock is close to being delisted, and the entire board of directors has quit. Now, the CEO says she’s open to selling the company, including the DNA of 15 million customers. Imagine insurers using your genetic predispositions to calculate your risk. Ugh. Log in and delete your account ASAP. Here’s how. I told ya not to use this service so many times for so many years …
Poor Swiftie: A Taylor Swift fan had her $3,500 concert tickets swiped right from her Ticketmaster account. Someone hacked in and transferred them out. It’s happening more often, and support says it could take days to resolve — with no guarantees. Ticketmaster’s brilliant advice? Create stronger passwords.
🚨 Seven years of slacking: Meta’s been slapped with a $101 million fine for storing up to 600 million Facebook and Instagram passwords in plain-text format. That’s a major security no-no. Even worse? The breach was discovered in 2019, but some passwords had been unprotected since 2012 and were searchable by over 20,000 Meta employees. The fine isn’t big enough.
🚨 Scammers are gonna scam: When there’s a Big Tech product release like the iPhone 16, scammers get busy. They used trusted names (think Apple and Microsoft) to get into search results and lure you into opening spam emails. Their tricks hide in pop-up ads, too. Stay safe: A trusted brand will never ask you for personal information out of nowhere.
🚨 eBay scam alert: People are buying high-ticket items on eBay, filing returns, then sending back thank-you cards instead of products. Sellers report the scam (with proof, but the return label is on a tiny envelope) and get stuck in an endless appeals process. Find another place to sell your expensive stuff.
Check your phone: Necro malware has infected 11 million Android devices through the Wuta Camera and Max Browser apps. The malware steals info and downloads harmful programs. If you downloaded either app, uninstall it and run a malware scan. My pick is TotalAV.
🏠 Buying or selling property? Scammers are targeting you. A sharp title company owner just stopped a fraudulent sale. The first clue: The seller’s driver’s license was from West Virginia, but the property tax bills had been sent to the Bahamas since 1978. They asked the seller to video chat to confirm, and the seller, a woman who said she was deaf, turned out to be a looped AI video. Here’s what the faker looked like.