Learn - Fresh From Cache (Page 2)

A woman at an office desk holding a corded desk phone to her ear, looking at the monitor in front of her

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Who is ShinyHunters, and why is that name in every breach letter?

A hacking group said it took millions of customer records. Somebody opened the file and counted. The first big number in a breach story is a count of rows, not people.

Fresh From Cache 5-Minute Tech Tip card reading What does Google Search say about you, over a duotone clock face

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Google will tell you when your address shows up in its search results

Google's Results about you tool watches Search for your address, your phone number, and since February your driver's license and Social Security numbers. Here is what it pulls down and what it will not touch.

A shopper in a supermarket aisle looking at her phone, one hand on her cart.

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Are you paying a different price than your neighbor?

Congress never gave the FTC the power to ban personalized pricing. What it can do is make stores admit to it, and it is taking comments until September 18.

A hand holding a phone that is running an internet speed test, showing a result of 119 Mbps.

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Why is my Wi-Fi slow?

Buffering at eight, a dead back bedroom, one laptop that crawls. Those are different problems, and the checks that tell them apart cost nothing.

A row of laptops open on a wooden display table in a computer store.

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What laptop specs actually matter in 2026?

A laptop price tag is covered in letters and numbers that were put there to sell you. Four of them decide whether you still like the machine in five years, and the one that matters most is often not printed at all.

A girl in a pink shirt checking the smartwatch on her wrist in a field at sunset

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Who is behind your child's GPS watch?

Consumer Reports found kids GPS trackers that skip the second login step, and the cheapest watches run on shared platforms the buyer cannot name. Here is how to check the one on your child's wrist.

Fresh From Cache 5-Minute Tech Tip card over a clock face, reading: Want to see your mail before it gets to the mailbox?

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The post office already photographs your mail. It will send you the pictures.

USPS will email you a photo of the letters coming to your house that day, for free. Most eligible addresses have never turned it on.

A pencil eraser rubbing out the letters A and I written in pencil, with the I half erased and smearing rather than coming clean, beside a stack of books

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Can you stop AI companies from training on what you write?

The opt-out settings are real, they only work going forward, and they only bind companies that choose to honor them. What each one actually does, and the one place you have real power.

A bank of wall outlets crowded with white phone chargers, lit by afternoon sun through blinds

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What is a CPSC product safety warning?

A second kind of safety notice has grown to a fifth of the total, and it comes with no refund. Here is what to check before you buy a charger, a power strip, or a power bank.

An HP 63 tri-color ink cartridge in a printer's magenta cradle, the number 63 printed on its label

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What you own when your printer is on a subscription

Cancel the subscription and the cartridge stops working, ink and all. HP writes it down, and so do Brother, Canon and Epson. What the contracts say, and how to leave without a dead printer.

A MacBook nearly closed in the dark, with colorful light from its screen glowing through the gap

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Do you need antivirus on a Mac?

macOS already runs three layers of protection for free. What XProtect and Gatekeeper cover, the one rule that does more than any scanner, and who should still install something.

Fresh From Cache 5-Minute Tech Tip card over a clock face, reading: When's the last time you used your library card?

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Your library card is a subscription you already pay for

Free audiobooks, ebooks, and magazines on the phone already in your pocket. No card? You can probably fix that today without leaving home.