Don’t want to drop $1K on a new phone? Do this instead
It was a little anticlimactic when I went from the iPhone 14 Pro Max to the 15 Pro Max. Side-by-side, they look an awful lot like the same phone. The one thing that stood out was how shiny and clean the 15 looked.
You don’t have to shell out a lot of money — jump into the settings and use a little elbow grease to make your current phone sparkle.
Wipe it out
No kidding, one IT genius at Komando HQ wipes his phone once a year. It seems like a pain (and it is a bit), but it can keep yours running fast and smooth. Think about it — there’s so much less junk piled up if you clear it all out regularly.
Be sure to back your phone up first, then a factory reset makes it easy to on-board all your important info.
On iPhone:
- Open Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset.
- Select Erase All Content and Settings.
On Samsung:
- Open Settings > General management.
- Swipe to and tap Reset, then Factory data reset > Reset.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to confirm, then tap Delete all.
On Google Pixel:
- Open Settings > System > Reset options > Erase all data (factory reset).
- To erase all data from your phone’s internal storage, tap Erase all data.
Your texts are an inbox, too
Your smart assistant is listening, but does that impact the ads you see?
Think of everything you do online and in real life that says something about who you are. Your likes, clicks, hobbies and activities all add to the wealth of data points companies already have on you.
What about your conversations with Alexa or Siri? How is that data used? Let’s take a deep look at how they use your conversations to create profiles.
10 tech freebies everyone should know about
The iPhone 15 Pro Max with tons of storage costs $1,599. The Razor Blade 18 gaming laptop starts at $2,899.99. Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay H95 over-the-ear headphones? $999.
You get the point. Tech can set you back a whole lot of money. That’s why you should take every freebie you can get — with one caveat. Security programs, antivirus and VPNs are common honeypots for scammers. This list, though, you can trust.
What’s cheaper, Airbnb or a hotel? The shocking answer
When Airbnb and Vrbo first hit the scene, they were terrific. It was so much cheaper than staying at a hotel. Now? Hotels are coming back. But why?
For one, there are all the Airbnb horror stories — from hidden cameras to a host secretly living in a rental’s attic. Seriously, it happened. And did you hear about the women renting an old Victorian to celebrate their 50th high school reunion? Instead of a fun time, they got bats. Some of the women were even bitten.
AI fakes are everywhere – How to spot them
Tom Hanks isn’t trying to sell you a dental plan. YouTuber MrBeast won’t give you an iPhone 15. CBS News host Gayle King isn’t recommending a weight-loss product.
I knew this stage of AI tomfoolery was coming, but it’s still surprising how fast it’s happening. Let’s take a closer look at how free and cheap tools fuel fraud — and the signs to watch for.
7 new iPhone security and privacy features you MUST use
Smartphone developers are constantly working to introduce patches and updates for your device. You shouldn’t hesitate to update as soon as one rolls out, as it could contain important security features to protect you from hacks, malware, viruses and more.
How to make sure important email isn’t marked as spam in Gmail, Apple Mail, Yahoo, AOL
The perks of email messaging made modern-day communications instantaneous and easy to deploy. Tap or click here for Gmail alternatives. But these same conveniences also makes it a trivial matter for spammers to duplicate and massively send out millions of junk email in seconds.