Start here

New here? This is the guided tour. Pick the thing that's bugging you, or the topic you've been meaning to get a handle on, and start there. These are hand-picked, not just the newest.

There are no ads here, no affiliate links, and nothing for sale. Nobody pays to be recommended, and no link earns a commission. The longer story is in why I built this.

Not sure where to begin? Take the digital health check. It scores where you stand and hands you a short list of what to fix, most important first.

If something is happening right now, skip the tour.

• Something looks like a scam or a fake email. How to spot a phishing email in 2026.
• You already clicked, paid, or gave something away. You just got scammed. What now?
• The computer is slow or acting strange. Your computer feels slow. Here's what to do.
• Spotting scams
• Protecting your accounts
• Do you need antivirus?
• Your privacy
• Kids and family
• Making sense of AI
• Buying and owning tech
• Fixing common problems
• Your phone and computer
• Print-and-keep guides

Spotting scams

• You just got scammed. What now? The first hour, in order: stop the money, lock your email, report it, and expect the second scam.
• How to spot a phishing email in 2026. The one skill that catches most scams before they cost you anything.
• The fake CAPTCHA scam you run yourself. The scam that talks you into infecting your own computer.
• Why the robocalls about your Google listing won't stop. Why the support number you Googled might not be the real company.
• The power company is not calling to cut you off in 30 minutes. The utility shutoff call, the script it follows, and the number to call instead.
• The post office already photographs your mail. It will send you the pictures. USPS emails you photos of the letters coming to your house that day, free. Most eligible addresses have never turned it on.

Protecting your accounts

• Start using a password manager. The one habit that fixes reused passwords, and which manager to actually pick.
• What the heck is a Passkey? The login that's replacing passwords, and why it's harder to steal.
• Can somebody steal a passkey? What has to go wrong first, and why a clean computer is the whole defense.
• Why MFA annoyance is worth it. The extra login step that stops most account takeovers cold.
• Freeze your credit before someone else uses it. The free lock that stops someone opening loans and credit cards in your name.
• Who gets your photos and email when you're gone? Set this up in five minutes. So the people you love are not locked out of your photos, email, and money if something happens.
• Check your email's recovery info before you get locked out. A quick check on the one account every other password resets through.
• Leaked Email. What to actually do when your address turns up in a breach.

Do you need antivirus?

• Do you need antivirus, or is Windows Defender enough? What the independent labs found, who should still pay, and how to cancel McAfee or get a Norton renewal refunded.
• Do you need antivirus on a Mac? The three layers macOS already runs for free, and the one rule that does more than any scanner.

Your privacy

• What a VPN actually does. What a VPN does, what it can't, and whether you actually need one.
• Your photos know where you live. The hidden location tag riding along in the photos you share.
• Your car has been grading your driving and selling the report card. Who buys the driving score, how to opt out, and what Oregon just changed.
• Your browser can block trackers and scam sites. The strongest settings just aren't on by default. The settings to turn on in Chrome and Edge, and what each one buys you.
• Data brokers have a file on you. California is making them delete it. Who buys and sells your information, and the delete button California built.
• Two people agreed to your location sharing. Three are in it. Who else ends up in the loop when you share your location with one person.
• What a Flock camera actually does. The license plate readers on your street, and what they keep.
• Shark fixed the vacuum flaw. Here's what yours knows about you. The map your robot vacuum made of your house, and where it goes.
• Your TV has a side hustle, and you're paying for it. How a free smart TV app turns your connection into someone else's.

Kids and family

• Most teen safety features don't work. Here's what does. The controls that survived independent testing, and the ones that failed it.
• The school laptop is a work computer. Here's what it does and doesn't monitor. Your child was handed a work computer and nobody explained the rules. What the district can see, and what to check before you sign the packet.
• Who is behind your child's GPS watch? Consumer Reports found trackers that skip the second login step, and cheap watches running on platforms the seller cannot name. How to check the one on your child's wrist.
• The Disturbing Reality of AI-Powered Plush Toys. What the AI toys say when nobody is testing them.

Making sense of AI

• Fake face. Real money. How AI deepfakes power a new wave of impersonation scams.
• How to get a deepfake of you taken down. Which report actually gets it removed, ranked by what works.
• AI tips for people who don't want to get left behind. The habits that make AI actually useful, and why each one works.
• What is an AI agent, and should you let one loose on your computer? What an agent actually does, and how to try one without getting burned.
• Your doctor wants to record the visit with AI. Here is what to ask before you say yes. Four questions for the exam room, and how to decline.
• Can you stop AI companies from training on what you write? The opt-out settings are real, they only work going forward, and there is one place you have real power.

Buying and owning tech

• What laptop specs actually matter in 2026? The four specs that decide how long a laptop lasts, and the traps on the price tag.
• The AI boom is showing up on price tags. Why the cheapest devices are taking the biggest hit, and a real answer on whether to buy now or wait.
• Before you price hearing aids, take the test that came with your earbuds. AirPods Pro carry an FDA-authorized hearing aid for mild to moderate loss, and a free hearing test. Take the test before you price the real thing.
• What you own when your printer is on a subscription. Cancel the subscription and the cartridge stops working, ink and all. What the contracts say, and how to leave without a dead printer.
• You bought it, but do you own it? That movie you clicked Buy on is a license, not a possession. What that means, and where you can still own what you pay for.
• What is a CPSC product safety warning? The safety notice that comes with no refund, and what to check before you buy a charger, a power strip, or a power bank.
• 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.

Fixing common problems

• Your computer feels slow. Here's what to do. How to find what's actually slowing your PC, before you buy a new one.
• Your phone says storage is almost full. Don't delete anything yet. Where your photos actually live, the cleanup order that can't cost you one, and when to just buy storage.
• Why is my Wi-Fi slow? Five different problems feel identical from the couch. Six free checks tell you which one is yours before you spend anything.
• Why rebooting your router works, and when it won't. What the restart actually does, which device to restart, and when it won't fix anything.
• Do you need backups? You might already have them. The short answer is yes, and the painless way to set it up.
• Four steps to fix your printer (and the rule for when to stop). The printer fix that works more often than it has any right to.
• Microsoft stopped patching Windows 10. Now what? Six plain ways to handle it, including the free extension that buys you until October 2027.
• Check Your Router's Expiration Date. No Manufacturer Is Required to Tell You It Has One. Every router stops getting security patches on a date nobody tells you.

Your phone and computer

• Set up your phone to share your medical info in an emergency. Set up the screen that helps first responders help you.
• The apps I'd recommend aren't the ones I use most. A short list, each app with the reason it earned the spot.
• Are those smart glasses recording you? How to tell. What they capture, where the video goes, and why the warning light is easy to miss.
• Make your phone stop ringing for robocalls. The setting that sends unknown numbers straight to voicemail.
• Your phone can copy text out of any photo. Lift a serial number, a password, or a menu straight off the screen.
• Share your Wi-Fi without ever spelling out the password. A QR code your guests scan instead.
• Your phone has a magnifying glass. The built-in tool for reading the fine print.
• Five shortcuts I wish somebody had told me about. Small things your phone and computer already do, if you know where to press.
• You already use the Snipping Tool. Look at what it does now. Two keys grab any part of your Windows screen, and the newer buttons read the text out of the picture and black out an email address before you send it.

Print-and-keep guides

Some help is better on paper. The Cache is our library of free printable guides: a scam-spotting card, a phishing check, a first-hour-after-a-scam card, a who-gets-your-accounts worksheet, a backup card, and more. Print them for yourself, or for someone you look after.

Run into a word you don't know? The glossary explains the jargon without assuming you know any of it.