Beyond Connected

Happy holidays from the CyberGuy team! If you're a regular listener of the podcast and/or reader of our newsletter, chances are you got some fancy new tech gadgets for the holidays! It can be easy to get wrapped up in all of the fun new features and entertaining apps these devices have to offer, but it's also crucial to utilize privacy and security settings. A lot of new phones, computers, and TVs will track and share your sensitive information by default, and it's up to you to protect yourself from cyber threats. If you follow these simple steps, you'll be ready and all set in a matter of minutes. And if you utilize our best practices to keep yourself safe from the get-go, you'll be fully secure when scammers attempt to infiltrate your life down the road!  Stick around for a few tips and tricks to make sure you're fully utilizing all of the handy privacy features and settings your iPhone has to offer. Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms.   Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.    Related articles:   Got new electronics for the holidays? Here's what to do first: https://cyberguy.com/tech-tips-tricks/new-electronics-holidays-what-do-first/ (0:30) - Intro (2:47) - Setting Up New Tech (3:18) - Phone & Laptop Tips (6:32) - Common Mistakes to Avoid (11:20) - Smart TV Set-Up (13:30) - Amazon Trade-in (15:26) - iPhone Tip - Battery Life (16:45) - iPhone Tip - Safely Share Your Phone  

Wouldn't your niece or nephew like a cuddly teddy bear that could also tell them a bedtime story? That's the idea behind a flood of new AI toys. Powered by ChatGPT, they can have full conversations with your loved ones. So what's the issue? Well as Researcher R.J. Cross explains, there are quite a few issues. In her study with the Public Research Interest Group, she found that these toys would describe sexual and violent information in detail with enough prompting. The longer the conversation, the deeper the rabbit hole would go. And that's not all – the developers behind this tech are deliberately making it as addictive as possible, even making kids feel guilty for switching them off. The icing on the cake? They're also tracking large amounts of sensitive personal data and sending it off to third parties. This was a fascinating, somewhat scary chat, and I know you'll get some fantastic insight out of it.  Plus, tune in to hear about a new Cloud storage scam to avoid this holiday season. Happy Holidays from the CyberGuy team! We hope you're enjoying some nice quality time with the family. If you know someone who got their loved one an AI toy for the holidays, consider sending them this episode!  Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.  Related articles:  Learn about the the new Cloud storage scam and get our data removal/password manager recs here: www.cyberguy.com/storagescam Get more info on AI toys: www.cyberguy.com/AItoys  Chapters  (0:00) - Intro (2:12) - Cloud Storage Scam  (4:57) - Interview w/ R.J. Cross (6:24) - The Public Interest Research Group  (7:32) - Are AI Toys Safe for Kids? (9:28) - Kumma Teddy Bear  (11:29) - Curio's "Grok" Toy  (13:33) - Are All AI Toys Bad? (16:00) - Miko 3 Toy  (17:43) - Key Takeaways  (18:06) - Wait for Improvements (18:20) - Don't Replace Real Friends (18:50) - Test the Toys Yourself (19:21) - Supervise Playtime (19:50) - Secure the Toys  (20:00) - Utilize Privacy Settings  (21:17) - AI Barbies  (24:03) - Summary  

2025 was an incredibly diverse and exciting year for technological innovation, so for this week's episode I wanted to highlight 10 of my favorite inventions. Whether you're an aspiring tennis player looking for a high-tech way to level up your game or a water sports enthusiast looking for the next cool boat to hitch to your dock, sports tech innovation is at an all-time high. And if you're into sustainability, Glacier's recycling robot and Karapod's air-to-water-to-coffee machine are huge leaps forward. What about technology that might be able to harness lightning to power your house? Or a satellite that can detect fires before they reach a dangerous size? The list goes on and on! I also wanted to take a second to break down the Digital ID, which essentially replaces the controversial and confusing Real ID. Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail. Related articles:  For the full Top 10 Inventions companion guide: www.cyberguy.com/Top10Inventions How to Install Digital ID: https://cyberguy.com/tech-tips-tricks/apple-lets-add-passport-wallet/ For more of my tech tips & security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter https://CyberGuy.com/Subscribe Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you'd like us to cover https://CyberGuy.com/Contact Or Call 877-655-KURT How to delete yourself from the internet https://CyberGuy.com/Delete Chapters (0:00) - Intro (3:20) - Apple Digital ID (6:06) - Top 10 Inventions (6:50) - The Light Phone III (8:20) - 70Mai Dashcam 4K Omni (9:36) - Google FireSat (11:23) - Aurzen ZIP Projector (12:11) - NTT Lightning Drone (14:23) - Phia Shopping App (15:33) - Kara Pod (16:59) - Arc Sport (18:46) - Acemate Tennis Robot (19:44) - Glacier AI Recycling Robot

A couple of big stories caught my eye this week and I wanted to focus on them for this week's show.  For starters, a new report from NordPass revealed the 10 most commonly used passwords today and it was frankly a little crazy to see that so many people are still using such basic passwords! I break down how to create unique, complicated passwords for all of your accounts without losing your marbles in the process. The second big story was the unveiling of XPENG's new humanoid robot, IRON. This robot is so unbelievably life-like that many viewers thought it was a stunt at first. That is, until the engineers literally cut open one of its legs to show just how artificial it really was. I break down how this tech works and what it will likely be used for in the next several years.  To round things out, I also dove into some of the cool new features I've been finding in IOS 26. Want to check out some helpful new texting features? Tune in for my choice of iOS 26 tips & tricks.   Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.   

It's sad to say, but the holiday season is an incredibly active time for scammers and fraudsters out there. More people are buying products online and sending and receiving packages than at any other time of the year, and that means that your vulnerability is multiplied.  In this week's episode, I walk you through some easy steps to avoid popular holiday season scams, including gift card fraud, fake gift exchanges, package delivery ploys, fake charity donation traps, and fake online shopping sites. At the top of the show, I wanted to highlight a super new development in solar energy tech as well. And then to wrap things up, Producer Max cooked up a fun new game called "What's that Sound?" in which I have to guess different technology by just the beeps and bloops it makes. We know these tips and tricks will set you on the right path!  Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail. 

Our mailbag is already chock full of questions, so we decided to dive into some more listener questions this week! First, I wanted to touch on an exciting new piece of legislation on the table in Ohio that could create some helpful regulation for AI. Then we dig into the big questions! Is your phone constantly running out of storage, no matter what you do? I've got a handful of iPhone and Android tips to try out today. Are you going on a cruise sometime soon and worrying about your data security on board? I've got you covered in that department too! We also talk about a popular Amazon texting/email scam, a postage stamp hoax going around online, and an awful new trend called Facebook cloning. Make sure to watch the full episode for a detailed breakdown of all of the above, with actionable steps you can take to protect yourself today.  Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.  

This week, I wanted to set aside some time to answer some high-priority questions from our readers and listeners. How can I safely charge my phone in public places like airports? How do I avoid the new strain of sophisticated caller ID spoofing scams? How do I keep spam out of my email inbox in today's world? These issues are tricky and require a good amount of attention to detail, so I made sure to explain everything as thoroughly and clearly as possible. If you're willing to set aside some time to change a couple of settings on your phone and buy a few key pieces of tech, you'll be a much more secure person day-to-day. Stick around til the end, where Producer Max and I play a fun game called Name That Tech, where I have to come up with fun names for exciting (and sometimes fake) technology.  Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms. Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.

The first time I visited Dr. Ilan Kedan, I was completely blown away. His office in Beverly Hills is borderline futuristic, and I had 5 million questions to ask him right off the bat. How is AI influencing medical practice in the US? Is ChatGPT going to replace medical care for any number of Americans? Does wearable tech actually do anything? We dig into all of these pressing questions and more! I also take a moment to talk about some cool new Airtaxi technology I've been obsessed with lately. Plus, stick around for a quick game of Startup or Scam. And yes, some of these businesses are past the start-up stage, but they had to start somewhere!   Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms.

There are vets that specialize in pet fish?! When it comes to crazy-sounding jobs, Dr. Christina Dover of Aquatic Pet Vet takes the cake. With her specialty vet practice, she services a wide variety of pet fish in Southern California. In this exclusive interview, she walks us through the advanced technology she uses in each appointment to check-up on and care for her fishy patients. I also wanted to take a second to address the shocking Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage we all experienced last week and offer up some tips to help you out next time that kind of breakdown happens. Stick around to the end for a fun edition of Fish or Fiction, where I quiz Dr. Dover on a slate of outlandish-sounding fish and aquatic inventions.  Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms.

As much as I appreciate the ways in which technology enriches our lives, I also strongly believe that if we don't keep a close eye on what these tech companies are doing behind-the-scenes, we're in trouble. Today on the show, I talked with Kim W., a grandmother from Kansas whose grandson was recently targeted by a child predator while using Meta's Oculus VR headset. Luckily, Kim was able to swoop in and protect her family, but not every child has such a watchful guardian. Kim walks us through this harrowing story and offers guidance to parents to help prevent these kinds of situations. For our comprehensive guide to VR safety, head over to our website. I also explain the massive AWS outage from last week and what you can do to protect yourself in the future. Plus, stick around for a fun little round-up of viral videos to send you off with a laugh or two.    Statement from Meta: "We want young people to have safe, age-appropriate experiences on our platform, including letting parents set up parent-managed accounts on Quest for their children ages 10-12. Preteens need a parent's permission to create an account, parents can choose what apps their preteen can download, and they can block apps at any time. Parents can also watch their preteen's Quest experience in real time and report anyone who breaks our rules – as we understand happened in this instance. If we become aware of a preteen using an account meant for someone 13 or older, we'll take steps to ensure they're in the right experience. – Meta Spokesperson   Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms. 

For our first in-person episode, I knew I wanted to bring in an expert. But I also knew I needed someone who'd be fun to hang out with for an hour. David "The Miles Guy" Fleming checks both boxes, and I'm super excited for you all to dig into this engaging, educational chat. Does airline status actually matter anymore? How much are miles really worth? When should I use my rewards, and when should I save them? David knows all of the answers and more. Plus, we play a fun guessing game called Who's in that Private Jet? Stick around till the end for a bonus segment where I answer a listener question from my old friend Kathy: what smart home upgrades do you recommend? With a few simple installations from my list, your home will level up big time.  Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms. 

I knew I had to start the show with something unexpected... so I interviewed a robot! But not just any robot;The OM-1 humanoid robot is the most sophisticated creation yet from OpenMind, a revolutionary start-up that continues to make waves in the tech world. I talked with Iris – the latest model – alongside her creator Professor Jan Liphardt, to see how she would handle a podcast-style interview. I have to say...I was pretty blown away. She was articulate, respectful, and she even tried her best to be funny!  I also break down Apple's newest releases: what's impressive (and what's not) about the iPhone Air 17, whether the 17 Pro Max is really worth it, and how the AirPods Pro 3 stack up with their new heart-rate tracking and noise-canceling tricks. Plus, I test a trash-disposal robot called HARR-E, play a game where I guess if audio clips are real or AI-generated, and react to a few viral videos. Welcome to Beyond Connected! I'm beyond excited to begin this new podcasting journey with you!