An IT director from Toronto called corporate life quits after doctors told him his son had an ultra-rare neurodegenerative disease with no cure. They said his boy would be paralyzed from the waist down by 10 and quadriplegic by 20. Dad liquidated his savings and teamed up with researchers working on a promising gene therapy. Years later, his son received the treatment and can now stand up.
Wait, are public phone chargers dangerous?
Those charging kiosks in airports, hotels and malls are so tempting when you’re out and about with a dying phone. Their owners promise they’re safe. The government disagrees, and so do I. Groan, I know.
Welcome to the newest phase of juice jacking. The phenomenon has been around for more than 10 years. Hackers use public phone-charging stations to upload malware to your devices. Then, they ransom your device or steal your passwords. Super-duper.
Have no fear. When your batteries hit the low, low point, just follow these Koman-do’s and don’ts (never gets old).
Don’t use public USBs – just outlets
Good news: Actual cases of juice jacking are rare in the U.S. They happen through USB connections, so if a kiosk has actual power outlets to charge your phone using your own adapter, you’re good to go.
Stay away from USB ports of any size, though, especially when traveling overseas. USB standards are international, and foreign hackers can target USB ports in hotels or rentals to steal your data, even if you’re not using a kiosk.
Do go cable-free
Use wireless charging pads instead of USBs when possible. More and more public kiosks have them. This method doesn’t exchange data directly with your phone, so it’s virus-free by default. Score.
Don’t use a data cable
If you’re desperate for juice, you can use a USB connection safely … with the right cable. Pack a charge-only cable for your trip. They’re cheap and compact, and they don’t allow for data transfers.
Don’t choose the ‘trust’ option
Newer phones are smart enough to be wary of an unknown USB connection. (Some humans could learn a thing or two, huh?). Plug in and you’ll get a prompt to “trust this device” or “share data.”
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Carmakers will charge for anything, including your safety
New cars are basically snazzy computers on wheels, packing 1,000 to 3,000 processors. That means we get all kinds of great features, but that’s not all — the more complex our cars get, the more at risk we are. I’m not talking about theft; I mean remote carjacking … or worse.
📖 Storytime: Create a shared e-book library for your whole family to enjoy. On Kindle, head to Menu > Settings > Household & Family Library > Add a New Person > Add Adult or Child (click here for parental controls info). Hit Next, tap Done and you’re all set.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
👨👩👧👦 Chosen family: This number surprised me: About 27% of folks are estranged from their families. So sad. Enter the 11,000-member Facebook group Surrogate Grandparents USA. Donna Skora, a retired paralegal in Florida, started it in 2015. Folks can post ads or respond to others’ requests for surrogate grandparents. It’s helped people like Karen Tautges Malinak, a goat farmer in Minnesota who’s lost touch with her daughters.
$11.99
Monthly price for Amazon Music Unlimited after the latest $1 hike. The Family Plan went up $3 to $19.99 a month, or $199 a year. Sick of paying an arm and a leg for subscriptions? No kidding, the first time I logged into Rocket Money, it saved me $360.
Tech to-do: Get your free credit report and look for these mistakes
The other night, I was out to dinner with a friend who works in medical billing. She shared a story that really stuck with me.
One of her coworkers forgot to include a patient’s disability status on a billing report. That disability status covered her medical treatments. When the bills came due, the patient didn’t pay — why would she? The medical office sent thousands of dollars to collections, and it tanked her credit.
Life after death: AI chatbots bringing lost loved ones back
For me, the holidays are when I miss my parents, grandparents and loved ones who’ve passed away the most. But maybe we can still keep our lost family and friends with us in a different way.
You see, there’s been an upsurge in people tapping into AI to create virtual versions of their loved ones. I wanted to get a deeper look, and now you can, too.
New font, who dis? Change your Kindle’s font to match your book’s vibe. Look for the toolbar (top of the screen) and hit the Aa icon. Select Font > Font Family and pick the style you want.
Swatting spree: You’re sitting at home when the SWAT team rushes in, convinced someone inside just committed murder and has explosives set up. A 23-year-old in Wisconsin, along with another guy, hacked into the family’s Ring camera and called the cops with that story. Once police arrived, they livestreamed it all. One of them is already serving 17 years in prison. If you have a Ring camera, turn on 2FA.
🚨 A new AI-based hoax: Don’t fall for a news video claiming you’re wanted for a crime. These videos look real, complete with legitimate branding like CNN logos, on-screen text describing the incident with your name and an AI newsreader reporting it. The scammers threaten to share it with your friends and family unless you pay up.
Keep calm and robot on: This is something. OpenAI’s new Operator AI agent is like having a real personal assistant. Prompt it with something like, “Find me a family-friendly campsite at Joshua Tree this weekend,” and it’ll look up options, select dates, check pricing and even book it for you if you give the OK. Right now, it’s only available with ChatGPT Pro accounts ($200 per month). I’m going to try it next week when I have a spare moment.
30%
Increase for the Microsoft 365 family subscription, up to $130 a year. The personal (individual) subscription is getting bumped up to $100 annually. You can blame the snazzy new AI tools for the increase. Just because I care, here are seven free Word options to use instead.
This is so very sad: Open AI CEO Sam Altman’s sister, Ann, filed a lawsuit saying he sexually abused her during their childhood. This allegedly started when she was just three years old, lasting from 1997 to 2006. Sam and his family say Ann suffers from mental health issues and she’s made untrue claims before. Here’s Sam’s full statement on X.
💸 $50K Facebook payout: A Georgia lawyer’s Facebook account got hacked and used to share child porn. Meta deleted the account, along with all his family photos, so he sued. When they missed the deadline to respond, the guy hired a private investigator to track down a Meta bank account. Bam, a judge awarded him $52,325.89. I wonder how many others will follow suit.
👸🏽 A game of thrones: Meghan Markle, the former B-grade actress and, by marriage, the Duchess of Sussex, has a new Netflix show that paints her as entitled, out of touch and unoriginal, as you’d expect. This is strange: Princess Kate is a bona fide beekeeper and shared a heartfelt family beach video post-chemo. In her Netflix show, Meghan’s wearing a beekeeper outfit and recently posted a beach video to Instagram. Coincidence? Doubt it. Looks like she stole the recipes she cooks, too. Such a waste.
Tough love: After Kelly’s 73-year-old mother-in-law lost $150,000 to a scammer over nine months, the family took over, and the MIL is pissed. The family froze her credit, moved into a bigger home so they could live all together and took over her finances. Kelly’s MIL has shown no signs of being mentally incapacitated. What do you think? Let me know when you rate this newsletter at the end.
Teach Alexa your voice: I had Barry do this because she only understood me. In the Alexa app, go to More > Settings > Your Profile & Family > Your Profile > Add Your Voice. Even still, Alexa likes me better.
9 days after going missing
A four-year-old German shepherd mix named Athena rang her owner’s doorbell. It was Christmas Eve at 2:30 a.m. — a holiday miracle! The Green Cove Springs, Florida, family searched as far as Jacksonville and St. Augustine. Check out the doorbell cam video that melted my heart.