WEEKLY WHEATIES #2422
Online Purchases, Microsoft, Mobile Devices, Food Picks
In this newsletter:
Post: How to Protect Your Online Purchases
In Case You Missed It: Microsoft Updates
In Case You Missed It: Mobile Updates
Pick of the Week: Food Around the World
Featured Product: Hyponix Foldable Pickleball Net
How to Protect Your Online Purchases
Since talking about staying safe online with password security, VPNs, and more, there is one other area I’d like to address - buying products online.
While your online accounts are only as secure as your weakest password, your credit cards and other payment information used online is only as secure as the weakest website you use. Oh, you think the websites you use are secure? How about Target, do they sound secure? Well, unfortunately, they were subject to a data breach years ago.
Remember, anything and everything can be hacked. What we want to do is limit our vulnerabilities to any data breaches that may happen on sites we frequent. This also isn’t a talk for crypto. It’s not there yet, at least for the masses.
I’m assuming everyone starts with having money in a bank account. This is our last line of defense to any purchase, so we want to protect it as best we can. Especially debit accounts as opposed to credit accounts. I’m not willing to debate that too much, but solely based on experience and research, a debit card is less secure than a credit card. I know there are nuances, but overall, credit cards are safer.
Either way, if your card gets hacked, your account can be frozen as they have to send a new card. Sometimes you’re held liable, sometimes not. Aggravating on all fronts. So instead, let’s plan for and mitigate that as an issue.
A first step here could be to simply create a new bank account. It can be from the same bank you normally use or another, possibly online-only, bank. The only thing that matters is that you are able to move money from one to the other easily, and they use different logins (usernames and passwords).
You can then use this new account to make recurring purchases and other online purchases. You can even set up reoccurring payments to move from one bank account to the other and treat it as another budgeted line item. Once it’s set up, it’s set! A bigger benefit of this account is to connect it to PayPal, Venmo, and the like. That way, you know exactly what is going in and out of your account in regard to your online presence.
But! I have another tool you can use as even another intermediary safeguard. And I say this and share this while understanding a few qualms you may have. Yes, it also has the opportunity to get hacked. Yes, it’s one more thing you have to handle and deal with. Yes, you are required to connect a bank account to it. However, there is a mobile app making it easier. And even more importantly, this will all but eliminate any hacking or breaching of your online finances.
This site - or app, Privacy.com, allows you to create up to 12 new virtual-only credit cards a month. But it’s not just the creation of the cards that make this unique or interesting. Each card you create, you can lock it to the first merchant it is used on. You could also create a one-time use card, and/or limit the amount charged on the card monthly, or in total. This allows this service to shine for all of your subscription services (online or not), and especially for those with difficulty canceling your subscription.
For example, you could create a card for WeeklyWheaties.com and set a monthly limit of $5, and lock it to the first site used - Substack in this case (the site I host my newsletter). That means, if you created this card and used it once, you could then blast the card number online for all to see, and no one would be able to do anything with it. If you ever wanted to stop your subscription, you could log in to your Privacy account and just pause or cancel the card.
Another way of using this would be based on a total amount. You could create a card for Amazon and raise the limit every time you wanted to make a purchase. As mentioned, this may be a bit of a hassle, but it’s absolutely one of the safest ways to not get your account hacked or breached online.
Lastly, this is also a way to help with budgeting. By using this for all of your subscriptions, you can see where your money is going. It may also help keep your spending down if you see how much you are actually spending per retailer. Also, keep in mind that you don’t have to create new cards each month. I have multiple cards that are many years old I still use today. One potential downside is that they use Visa and Mastercard, and you don’t get to choose which one is used (should that be an issue). A last caveat is every purchase from Privacy comes through on your bank account looking the same, so it’s hard to tell them apart.
The link to Privacy.com mentioned here and above does include my referral link. By using this, they will give both of us $5! So, use this to test it out. There are plenty of ways to spend $5 online - maybe you want to support your favorite newsletter? Don’t forget that you can create a new bank account to connect for an extra layer of security.
What other ways are you staying safe with your online purchases?
ICYMI: Microsoft Updates
In a small spring (or early summer) event, Microsoft announced a handful of hardware devices to match updates to Windows 11. With AI front and center, Copilot+ PCs can take advantage of new software features like Volumetric Apps, Recall, image editing, live translations, and more. On the hardware side, Microsoft made some major updates to the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop lineup (including the pen and keyboard) to make them faster and thinner to compete with Apple’s Macbook lineup.
ICYMI: Mobile Updates
SpaceX’s Starlink internet provider is also working on a new Starlink Direct to Cell mobile service to compete with AT&T, Verizon, and the like. Recently, they demoed a video call to showcase the bandwidth supported.
While the FDA has approved Neuralink to implant their brain chip in a second patient, Apple continues its impact on the Accessibility Community by providing updates to help with navigating iOS and iPadOS - including eye-tracking and better voice control.
POTW: Food Around the World
A popular blog, 2foodtrippers, shares their 34 Best Foodie Cities in the World. Spoiler alert - New Orleans ranks 10th. I’m not sure how Charleston beat them out, especially since they listed Shrimp and Grits, but the other cities listed are common on many other food blogs I’ve seen, and the ones I’ve visited are great, so I’ll let it slide. Other neat food lists include:
And if you’d like a less expensive route, consider “Traveling” the World by Cooking Traditional Dishes From Each Country.
Featured Product
If your friends and family are anything like mine, perhaps they picked up Pickleball! Once we started getting into it, the Hyponix Foldable Net is one of the only easily foldable nets I’ve found, and it works very well. Pro tip - remove it at the halfway point instead of folding in thirds for even quicker teardown.
