Send your future self an email with your hopes, dreams, and maybe a reminder to stop doomscrolling. It’s easier than you think!
Kim Komando Daily Tech Update
Email your future self
Tech Talk Alert, after our latest digital life hack, you're going to hear one of my weekend shows best calls. You don't want to miss it. 2025 is just a couple of days away. It's a great moment to take a breath and reflect on the past year. Looking back at what you've done, where you are in life and where you're headed. Why not take this a step further? I'm Kim Camando for NordPass. Get 58% off right now on this easy to use password manager at NordPass.com/Kim. Write down all your hopes and dreams in an email and send it to your future self. I did this a few years ago and reading that email was an eye-opener. I jotted down my goals and snapped it on my life at that moment. It's really simple to do. Services like FutureMe.org make it super straightforward. You'd choose when you want to receive your email months or even years later. You can also do this yourself. Use Gmail Outlook or any other email service that allows scheduling. Tie bet your thoughts, schedule it for a future date, or just save it and set a calendar reminder to revisit it. This is a great way to see how far you've come. You can always be tech ahead with my free newsletter. Sign up at getchimp.com. From the first whistle to the final drive, FanDuel takes the NFL playoffs to the next level. Because right now, new customers can bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. That's $300 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. The FanDuel app gives you everything you need for live bets, same game parlays, and so much more. Plus, when you win, you get paid instantly. Just visit fanduel.com/betbig to join today and get started with $300 in bonus bets. That's F-A-N-D-U-E-L.com/betbig. Make this playoff season unforgettable with FanDuel. An official sportsbook partner of the NFL must be 21 and up in present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 and up and present in D.C. 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That's F-A-N-D-U-E-L dot com/betbig. Make this playoff season unforgettable with FanDuel. An official sportsbook partner of the NFL must be 21 and up in present and select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 and up and present in DC, first online real money wage or only, $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets which expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook dot fanduel dot com. Gambling problem call 1-800-Gambler or visit fanduel.com/arg. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8 Hope and Why or Text Hope and Why in New York. Hey there, tech lovers and wannabees. Want to stay ahead of the game? You've got to check out my YouTube channel. It's amazing. So many people are loving my new and improved channel. For starters, we've got fresh how-to videos every week like how to block those super annoying political text messages. Let important calls through even and do not disturb mode. And oh boy, watch out for sneaky QR codes that can actually brick your phone. It doesn't stop there. Join me for Kim Commando today, a fun podcast where we break down the latest tech news and trends. It's like talking tech with a friend, minus all the boring stuff. You'll get the latest tips and tricks to keep you in the know and have a little fun while doing it. Plus who doesn't love being the tech savvy one in the crowd? So head to youtube.com/Kim Commando, hit subscribe and make sure you never miss a new video or podcast. That's youtube.com/Kim Commando. And when you're there, be sure to hit that subscribe button. That's youtube.com/Kim Commando with a K of course. And I'll see you on the video. Now check out this amazing call from the show. It's a real gem. Marshall in Rockford, Illinois, either Marshall. So I wanted to indicate I had reached out because I enjoyed the articles that are published regularly and I've become hawkish about personal privacy and I enjoy following the tips and the articles of trying to minimize any attempts at capturing and selling personal information about myself. It's tough, isn't it? It's tough. It is. But you know, I currently have a 2005 small sedan that I drive that's got nearly 400,000 miles on it. Oh wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, did you just say you have 400,000 miles on a car? About 270,000. It's the fourth time on this particular brand that I've gotten that far with these. They tend to stick around a while. Wow, that's awesome. And everybody looks at me and teases me a little bit. But every single OEM car that was on that car would have rolled off except for tires and winter wipers. It's still on the car. That's amazing. You know, it's a simple car. It's got an AMF from radio and electric windows and that's about it for the luxuries. And you know, but we want to drive around the country. We're looking at a new set of wheels to do that. It's become that time in our lives. But I recently came across an article that was published by Mozilla, if I could mention that. Oh yeah, the whole car privacy report. Yeah, we did. We talked about that too. Yeah, that was you know what? Fascinating. Fascinating information, wasn't it? But it's also spooky. I didn't realize, I have, you know, again, because of articles, you know, that I've read there, you know, from Kim and it's interesting to me that only cell phones and computers are mainly targeted. No, what he thinks about their fall or their cars rather, spying on them. And my concern here is that there's there any way at all that this thing could be shut down. And is it simply as easy to not connect my phone to the car? Or is the process independent of connecting a cell phone? And it's so how does the car transmit my information without a cell phone? Well, yeah, right. Okay, you're right. One of the primary reasons that cars collect all the data is when you connect your smartphone up to it. So that's where you're going to sync contacts and got logs, location data. And you know, the whole idea is that maybe if I don't connect my phone to the car, then what kind of data can the car get? Well, they can still get some data, right? I mean, they still have onboard computers. You have GM's on star Toyota has something called safety connect. And these transmit location, it's all under the guise of, and it is a good one. I mean, as far as safety, if you get in an accident, they automatically know where it is. I mean, you can choose not to subscribe to these services, but you have to know whether or not the car's still going to transmit data even without an active subscription. So that's where you actually have to read the user agreement, or I can tell you another place, which I will in a second. If that car is a built-in GPS system, which they all do, okay, stores location data, your travel routes, what about telematics? These are all your monitor the health of the car. I mean, in my car, I got had a notification this morning when I was driving out that, you know, just wanted to let you know that your former has been updated. I'm like, thanks, glad to let you know that. Did he know that? Okay. Can you know? I actually had another question. Can I interject something here? What if this information is monitoring my driving style, and is it possible for the car to disseminate that information to my insurance carrier? And all of a sudden they say this guy doesn't drive well, which is not the case. I could tell you a whole story about my father's business and safety, and the national safety council. But that being said, you know, can they make a decision towards an insured that says we don't want you as an insured for dumping you? Well, you know, they're gonna, they will say no, okay. I believe personally that that information is being collected and being sent off. Why would it not? I mean, that data, that data is valuable. I mean, you know, think about the car manufacturers, or it's even, let's just talk about television manufacturers. Okay. TV manufacturers like Visio, they make more money selling data than they do, selling televisions. I mean, okay. So think about all the information and data that your car's collecting. Is, are they selling that? Yes. Now, there's a place where you can go online. It's called the Vehicle Privacy Report. And if you have trouble finding it, I have a link over my website. And that's where you can type in a, the year, make and model of a car, and it will tell you what data is being collected. And if they're selling the data, okay. Now, where did this website come from? And why are they doing this? That was my question. Why they're doing this is because when you sell an old car, part of the dealer's responsibility is to remove all the old data. So this company sprung up to certify that when a dealer sells an old car, that all of data is wiped out. So on the flip side, what they do is they tell you, here's the make and model, and here's the data that they're collecting. So it's kind of a, kind of a work around, you know, so are all cars spymobiles? You know, not, I, you know, and I, I read in a Reddit form, and I don't know if this is true, Marshall or not. But I did read in a Reddit form that some cars have an isolated circuit that if you pull one fuse, that that will end the data transmission. Now, I don't know which one it is. I don't know if you could wire a switch. I don't know anything about it. But I just, I thought, because I was investigating this and I thought for a second, like, you know, that would be interesting to see if maybe if you pulled a fuse, if that would necessarily end the data trims mission. But in case you're in the market for a new car, anybody else who's listening, like Marshall, just look up vehicle privacy report. If you have trouble finding it, just head over to commando.com for the official site for that. And Marshall, thank you for your call and go 400,000 miles. Yes. Hey, a huge thank you for streaming with me. Now, if you're puzzled about something techie, I'm your gal. Just find the email Kim link over at commando.com and let those questions fly away. Now, every email gets my eyeballs, I promise. And keep your digital life in the know. Be sure to sign up for my free newsletter over at get Kim.com.