VPNs: How they work and how to choose the best one for you
I’m sure you’ve heard me mention VPNs before on my show. With hackers, thieves and scammers constantly out in full force, ready to steal your money, now’s the time to get on board.
VPN is short for virtual private network. What this means is when doing your banking online, hackers can’t step in the middle and steal your account information and drain your money. A VPN also stops your internet provider from tracking you and lets you unblock websites and bypass filters. You need it on your computer, laptop, tablet and phone.
I know you’re frugal like me. There are a lot of free things in tech. Most of the time, huge gotchas go along with free tech, so you have to know that you shouldn’t ever want to use a free VPN.
Here’s the dirty secret those other companies do not want you to know
Usually, a free VPN will sell your data and collect everything, and I mean everything, that you do when you’re using it. A free VPN will slow down your connection while collecting all your data. It’s free for a reason. You are paying with your data, and boom, it begins. You start getting more spam, targeted ads and maybe robocalls.
Here’s a geeky definition. A VPN is a layer of protection between your devices and the internet. It hides your IP address and your location. It also encrypts your data after leaving your device and traveling to whatever website you’re visiting.
Most importantly, a VPN provides a layer of security. Look at the picture below.
ExpressVPN
Whether it’s a computer, smartphone or tablet, it connects to the web through an internet service provider. Those servers send you information and they pick up information about you, your IP address, location, device and more.
A VPN blocks the two-way exchange of information. The IP address and location data come from the VPN host’s server, so the servers on the other end learn nothing about you or your data. Hackers, scammers and thieves won’t be able to access your data, travel or money.
📅 Cheaper than a personal assistant:ChatGPT can plan your day for you. Tell the AI your top three priorities, appointments or commitments and how long a task typically takes, then ask it to create a schedule. Bam, a bulleted list, scheduled to the minute.
🔥 You really have to see this: An indoor cam caught a dog chewing on a lithium-ion battery power bank, which then set the house on fire (video here). The flames spread through the living room in minutes. The family and all their pets got out safely. Phew.
When an X-ray is a tooth pic: A robot performed the world’s first fully automated dental procedure. It scanned a patient’s gumline, analyzed it with AI and then its little arms got to work. In the video, you can see the bot shaving down a tooth. They claim it’s so safe that it even works when a patient moves. I’ll stick with my human dentist for now.
Thinking about updating? You might want to hold off — sticking with your current version could save you a lot of headaches.
Trivia
Share:
The surge protector was invented in 1970. What was its official name back then? Was it … A.) Zap Trap, B.) Power Devourer, C.) Watt Wad or D.) Shock Block?
In LDL cholesterol (the “bad” one) by eating corn flour daily.Researchers tested a few different combos and found refined cornmeal mixed with corn bran was the winner at lowering cholesterol. Time to bake some cornbread.
Lost in space: Two astronauts who left Earth on an eight-day mission could be stuck in space until next year. They departed in June aboard the Boeing Starliner and are now docked at the ISS due to thruster problems. If their spacecraft can’t be repaired, NASA could let them catch a ride on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon in February 2025.
No more credit card offers in the mail: Visit optoutprescreen.com to stop financial junk mail you later have to shred. Choose to opt out for five years or forever. Opting out permanently? You’ll have to use snail mail, but it’s worth it. Print, sign and mail a confirmation form. I did it.
One guy ditched his $75K gig after making more on JustAnswers. Plus, a mom’s nightmare: her 5-year-old’s bedroom cam was hacked. Apple’s throwing shade at Bing, AI robot dentists.
Rumored for Apple Intelligence. It would likely come as part of Apple One, which also includes Apple Music and 2TB of iCloud storage. It’d better beat Siri by a long shot if anyone is going to pay for it.
🔋 More battery in a hurry: You must leave in 15 minutes and your phone battery is hovering around 3%. Plug it in, switch it into Airplane mode and give it as much time as possible. Shutting off extra processes means your phone can focus on charging.
🆕 No more Chromecast: It’s being replaced by the $99 Google TV Streamer, which ships in September. The new streaming device is equipped with Gemini AI and better specs, like on-screen smart home controls, detailed video summaries and finetuned recommendations.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
An Airbnb host’s favorite dance is the Cha-cha Check-in: Airbnb’s stock price plummeted 14% after some not-so-great second-quarter earnings. Demand is slowing as folks head back to hotels to avoid creepy hosts and for safety. Looks like the pervy secret camera stories are finally turning people away.
The wild, wild AI west: AI age scanners verify who’s an adult online. But dig into the history of how they were made, and it’s pretty dark (paywall link). Tech companies used publically accessible photos of real children to train the AI bots. It’s not clear how long they store these pics. Yup, no regulations about this practice at all.
A big crowd is a big target: Taylor Swift’s Vienna concerts were canceled after two men were arrested for plotting terrorist attacks. One suspect, a 19-year-old would-be ISIS member, was radicalized online and. planned to use “chemicals” at the Eras Tour shows. No word yet if it was a bomb. Frightening.
Never lose your car again: Google Maps can keep track of where you parked. On iPhone or Android, open the Google Maps app. Tap the blue dot that shows your location, then Save parking. Steps here to do it automatically every time.
