Your computer probably isn't dying
How to find what's actually dragging it down before you spend a cent, plus the Edge add-ons that turned on their users.
Good news up top: if your computer feels slow, it is probably not dying. This week I wrote up how to find what is actually dragging it down, before you spend a cent. The rest of the issue is a reminder that the tech you already trust can end up working for someone else. Microsoft pulled 119 Edge add-ons that spent years being helpful, then started stealing logins. Your browser leaves its best protections turned down by default. Learn how to turn them on. Down in the Scary Headline of the week, the FBI found two million home devices moonlighting for criminals.
Your computer feels slow. Here's what to do.
The complaint "my computer is slow" doesn't always mean you need a new computer. Usually it is one hungry program, the internet, or years of clutter, not the machine giving out. I walk through how to find the real culprit before you spend a dime, and the one time a cheap part might be the answer.
Learn
Microsoft pulls Edge extensions due to malware
Microsoft removed 119 Edge add-ons that worked fine for years, then turned on the people using them and started stealing Google logins and two-factor codes. A store listing and a star rating aren't safety checks. Worth two minutes to look at what you have installed and clear out what you no longer use.
News
You can finally hide your phone number on WhatsApp
WhatsApp is rolling out usernames, so your phone number stops being the thing every new contact needs to reach you. You can reserve yours now; the feature turns on later this year. A small privacy win, and a rare one.
News
Google is changing how Android apps get installed.
A countdown clock going around online says your phone is about to be locked down. What is really happening: later this year, an app installs on most Android phones only if whoever built it has verified their identity with Google, sideloaded apps included. A real shift, but for most people the alarm is overblown.
News
How Much Water Does AI Really Use?
You have probably seen the line that every AI prompt drinks a bottle of water. The real number is smaller, and the real story is where and when the water gets pulled, which is local and concentrated. This article attempts to make sense of the numbers.
Blog
If you only read one: the Edge extensions. It is the story with real stakes this week, and the two-minute check applies whether you use Edge or Chrome.
5-Minute Tech Tip
Turn on your browser's strongest privacy and anti-scam settings. Chrome and Edge both leave their best protections turned down by default. A five-minute pass switches on tracker blocking and the built-in warning that flags scam and malware sites before they load. No VPN, nothing to buy, no account. Screenshots for both browsers here: Your browser can block trackers and scam sites.
Scary Headline of the Week
"Hackers hijacked 2 million home devices, and yours might be one."
Half true, which is what makes it scary. This week the FBI and Google took down NetNut, a network that had turned around 2 million home gadgets into hired help for criminals and even a few nation-state spies. The catch: they were not after your photos or passwords. They borrowed your internet connection and ran other people's traffic through it, so a scammer's activity looked like it came from an ordinary house.
Almost all of it was cheap, off-brand smart TVs and streaming boxes. These were sold with the malware already inside or infected later by a free app (knockoff YouTube-for-TV apps were a favorite). A name-brand TV you let update is a poor target. The $19 streaming stick from a marketplace you have never heard of is the one to worry about. Let your phone and TV take their updates, skip the no-name boxes, and be suspicious of any app that offers to pay you for "sharing your internet." That is the front door.
Verdict: real, and maybe your bargain streaming stick, but not your data.
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Could you figure out what was making your computer slow? Hit reply and let me know.
Joel
