Greetings human

April 13, 2024

Here’s some trivia about something you probably do every day — CAPTCHA. You know, those annoying “tests” to prove you’re a human and not a bot. Which of these words isn’t part of the CAPTCHA acronym? Is it … A.) Completely, B.) Automated, C.) Turing or D.) Hackers?

The answer: D.) Hackers. CAPTCHA stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.” Yes, it should be “CAPTTTCHA,” but that doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Tags: Amazon Ring, computers, hackers, humans, test, trivia

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The cartel’s latest target? Your retirement

What do Mexican gangs, murder and retirees have in common? They’re all part of one massive vishing operation. That’s right, Mexican drug cartels are targeting older people with timeshares — and walking away with millions.

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📺 Catch up on my video podcasts: The best place to do this is my YouTube channel. You have to watch Friday’s show. So funny!

Level up: OpenAI just launched GPT-4 Turbo, making ChatGPT sharper in writing, math, logical reasoning and coding. It’s now trained on public information up to December 2023. It’s for paying customers only; ChatGPT Plus, Team and Enterprise subscribers will get this upgrade.

Emergency FYI: Your phone can still call 911 even if you don’t have service or a SIM card. Any cellphone tower will put the call through — even if you’re on a competitor’s network.

Stop searching: You know you sent someone a pic but you can’t find it. On iPhone, open Messages, tap a convo then the person’s profile photo or group name. Scroll to Photos > See All. On Android, open Messages, then tap the search bar at the top.

Mouse trick: Zoom in (or out) on whatever’s on your screen by hitting the Ctrl key on Windows (Cmd on a Mac) and spinning your scroll wheel up to zoom in and down to zoom out.

Step inside buildings: Did you know you can virtually visit the inside of places such as stores, airports or hotels? Open the Google Maps app and tap the Search box. Enter a place name or address, then, at the bottom, tap that name or address. Scroll until you see photos, and tap on a 360-degree shot. To see more photos of this location, tap Photos. Cool!

Security software tech ban: Russia-based Kaspersky Lab is getting the boot in the U.S. Think about the damage a Communist government download can do to a customer base of over 4,000,000 computers worldwide. Time to switch, like, now. My pick is TotalAV — it covers up to five of your (or your loved ones’) computers and devices.

Don’t get fooled: After you download a file online, check the extension. You’re looking for something like .doc or .pdf. If the filename ends with .exe, delete it — it’s likely malware.

When your suitcase is jam-packed: Fancy credit card lounges (paywall link) loaded with workspaces, restaurants and more are popping up at U.S. airports. New perks include Peloton bikes, caviar and nap pods. I saw an ad for a new Singapore Airlines flight that has a full workout area in the first-class cabin. That’s something!