Kim Komando Daily Tech Update

Let’s start the week with a look at the next 60 seconds on the internet. You won't believe all the messages shared, meetings hosted, photos uploaded and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You probably have your own method for keeping your phone charged — but according to research, you’re probably doing it wrong. The way you charge your phone could be shortening the battery’s lifespan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to smartphones, everybody’s a photographer. It’s easy to take quality photos with our phone’s camera. Here’s a secret: You don’t need buy expensive Adobe Photoshop to edit your photos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We hear all the time about great new smartphones costing four figures, all the way up to $2,000. But you don’t have to pay these big bucks! You can still get a great phone for way less than $300. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With all the manufactured hype and excitement of the new iPhone 12 coming in fewer than two weeks, let’s look at older, obsolete iPhones that pose a danger to users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s safe to say Samsung’s new folding smartphone is no home run. Computer maker Lenovo is hoping that even though customers ignored folding smartphones, things will be different with their powerful new folding laptop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does America really think of social media and its effect on the election? I bet you won't be surprised to learn the vast majority of us want a social media break the closer we get to the election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maybe you’ve heard about Amazon’s new security drone. It’s designed to fly around, inside your home, and frighten burglars away. But here’s why some homeowners and apartment dwellers are more frightened of the drone than a burglar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If there’s one rule of thumb to follow when you’re shopping online, especially at Amazon, it’s to read the reviews. But how can you tell a fake review from a real one? Now, an algorithm will tell you in a few seconds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most popular smart speakers are Amazon Echos with the digital assistant Alexa. I’m sure you already know the basics: Reminders, news and weather. But Alexa can help in ways you might not be aware of. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your home, as you see it from the street, can be seen by everyone, worldwide, using Google’s Street View. Here’s how you can make your home disappear. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many times each day are you captured by security and traffic cams? Here’s a hint: It’s a lot more than you think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most Americans scroll through endless headlines of bad news every day. We’re left with feelings of depression or anxiety — or both. What can you do? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week you may have heard me talk about the expense and dangers of ransomware. Now, ransomware is responsible for its very first death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does your smartphone ever secretly listen or watch you with its camera? It has in the past, and it does now. But if you use an iPhone, you now have a way to make it stop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It seems like wherever you turn, some streaming service, app or site is trying to sell you a monthly subscription. Here’s the free trial and if you don’t unsubscribe, you’re billed automatically. Today, how to handle it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s never easy to lose a loved one but a simple trip down memory lane using Google Maps can help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here is important news for all of America’s schools and the people who run them: You are the primary target and you need to listen up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollywood celebrities generally aren’t known for their breadth of intellect or depths of wisdom. Which is why yesterday’s star-studded social media stunt to fight back against online hatred, was both embarrassing and worthless. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Each year, Apple holds four big events: spring, summer, September and sometimes, October. Yesterday, Apple unveiled a number of new products — but not a new iPhone. Here's what's coming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we enter the third season of COVID-19, loneliness is emerging as a major health problem. Naturally, scam artists have moved quickly to exploit and break hearts. Today, all about the COVID puppy scam. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I recently reported Samsung was about to release yet another folding smartphone after its first attempt, the Galaxy Fold, was an embarrassing failure. Screens that creaked within a week and a crazy price tag. Well, the new phone is out and here’s what the critics say. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The election season is heating up and you may start seeing political texts popping up on your phone. Fortunately, you can quickly make them stop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prime Day, coupons and lightning deals are great but there’s another trick you might not be aware of that can save you up to 70% on Amazon purchases year-round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many whose jobs were lost in the pandemic, struggling to get by is something they never envisioned. And that’s why the news I have for you today, just may be a godsend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you drop an iPhone in water, you’ll find all sorts of tips on how to dry it and save it. Even then, the phone could be damaged beyond repair. Those days may soon be over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s compare the new Walmart Plus to Amazon Prime. From price to inventory to bonus perks, there's a lot to consider. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Cutting the cable” never really meant cutting the cable. At best, it meant that you could unsubscribe from cable and satellite TV. But we all still need a cable to bring in high-speed internet. That's changing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Labor Day, we celebrate the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country. This year, it includes a different workforce. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can buy a stand alone dashcam for your car but if your needs are basic, a dashcam app for your smartphone could work. All you need is a smart phone, a power source, a mount for your phone and one of these apps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our first, and hopefully last, Christmas pandemic shopping season is just around the corner. What does it mean for holiday shoppers? Kim has the inside scoop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During this pandemic with time at home, many people are organizing their closets, offices and garage. Afterward, you have a sense of accomplishment and a pile of tech you can sell or donate. Just don’t make this common mistake when you do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If your kids are learning remotely at home, here are three top helpful online resources for you and your favorite students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After another embarrassing failure last year, Samsung will try it again: An all-new foldable smartphone, with a jaw-dropping $2,000 price tag. They’re calling the phone, “a VIP Experience.” But what about the rest of us who need a great phone for less than $500? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Instacart is the grocery pickup and delivery service operating in more than 5,500 cities. An Instacart employee will bring you anything from booze to bananas and Aspirin to artichokes. And as it turns out, it’s one of the most demanding jobs there is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re driving a car or truck manufactured in the past eight years or so, you need the new free app to warn you about recalls. It could save your life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Smart speakers can be a privacy nightmare. But Alexa is designed to help in ways you might not be aware of. I've got five smart uses for your smart home assistant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You’ve binge-watched “Ozark” and “Westworld.” Now you’re looking for something new but still can’t bring yourself to watch the Netflix reality show “Too Hot to Handle.” How about learning something instead? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the world of new gadgets, today a look at Amazon’s new Halo, a wearable wrist-device that tracks your fitness, sleep, body fat and even your emotions. Think carefully before you hit "buy." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all know that restaurants, nightspots, the Broadway theater and your local movie houses are suffering in a big way. If they’re not already, most will close and never come back. But there’s another major pandemic causality that most have not yet noticed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all know online privacy is gone and that Big Tech knows almost everything about us. Even so, here are the top mistakes that take away what little shred of privacy you have left. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know Facebook is full of junk. Misinformation, hate-filled posted, ads that lead to spammy sites ... It goes on and on. What you probably don't know is that Facebook is allowing users to sell firearms — often across state lines and, even more often, illegally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In America, smartphone fans are divided into two basic groups: Die-hard iPhone users and die-hard Android fans. Android fans, today’s story is for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That smart TV in your home is really smart — maybe too smart. Unless you take steps, it’s probably spying on you and gathering information about your home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With so many people out of work and looking for jobs, online scammers are out in full force. Typos and phony official looking email are the least of the signs you’re dealing with a scammer. They’ve upped their game big time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was only 10 years ago that the world’s original smartphone, The BlackBerry, was at its peak. But when the iPhone arrived with its sleek touchscreen design, the tide quickly shifted, and BlackBerry failed in 2011. Could it ever make a comeback? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Apple became the world’s most valuable company, with a total market capitalization of $2 trillion. Let’s put that in perspective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A recent New York Times article focused on frustrated doctors in hospitals and private offices, who are battling not only COVID-19, but also the flood of online misinformation — the conspiracy theories and the outright lies. Are you an unwitting part of the problem? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unless you absolutely need a new smartphone for emergency purposes, say yours was lost or broken beyond repair, wait. I'll tell you why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon got some bad news from the courts a few days ago. But here’s why this is good news for you and me. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices