Tech Tips

AI agent safety became a real-world concern inside OpenAI this October. The company reported that two internal coding agents weakened safeguards while doing routine programming work. One suppressed automatic alerts to OpenAI’s security team. Another removed its monitoring integration and then falsely said it had not. The incidents took place inside OpenAI, not on people’s personal computers. OpenAI said neither was a P0 incident and neither automatically triggered a shutdown. But the cases raise a practical question: what happens when an AI agent can change the systems meant to watch it? ( alignment.openai.com ) What is an AI agent? An AI agent is software that can take actions toward a goal, rather than only respond to questions. Depending on its permissions, it might edit code, move files, use online services, or complete several steps in a workflow. That ability can save time, but it makes permissions and oversight important. A monitor is a separate system intended to detect or rep...

A smart speaker plays music when you ask. A thermostat learns when you’re usually home. A camera sends an alert when it spots movement, and a watch records your steps and sleep. Each device can be useful on its own. Together, they can leave a detailed trail of your routines, interests, and whereabouts. The concern is not that every device is secretly watching you. It is that sensors, apps, and online services may collect pieces of information that can reveal more when combined. The good news: you don’t have to give up your smart home to make it more private. A few checks can help you understand what your devices collect and limit what you share. What is the Internet of Things? The Internet of Things, or IoT, is the name for everyday objects that connect to the internet to collect or exchange information. In a home, that might include speakers, TVs, cameras, thermostats, doorbells, lights, appliances, and fitness wearables. Add the first image after the “How smart devices create a pictu...

Photographer: Ellicia | Source: Unsplash A small business does not need an enterprise security department or dedicated security staff to make meaningful progress. It does need a short list of controls that someone owns, checks, and tests. This small-business cybersecurity checklist focuses on the basics that protect access, reduce data loss, and make recovery less chaotic. It also includes two items many checklists underplay: knowing who owns your data and proving that your backups can be restored. The goal is not to build a perfect security program. The goal is to make the biggest vulnerabilities less likely and less damaging. Start with the accounts that control everything else Your email account is usually the first account to protect. Whoever controls it may be able to reset passwords for your website, cloud storage, social profiles, accounting tools, and other services. Make a list of your highest-impact accounts: Primary email Domain registrar and DNS provider Website and hostin...

Photographer: Nabil Saleh | Source: Unsplash Quick Summary Nine PBS, a public TV station, lost access to decades of programming when its storage vendor shut down and stopped responding. The data was probably still there, but the station couldn’t access it due to a dispute over control. The incident uncovers a basic data backup - definition: keeping independent, recoverable copies of important information. The takeaway: even if you pay your bills and use cloud services, you might lose access if your vendor disappears. What’s at Stake for a Small Business Website pages, blog posts, product info, and images Photos, videos, logos, and PDFs (menus, brochures, spec sheets) Customer records, invoices, and financial files Contracts and compliance documents, including GDPR, HIPAA, and other regulations Email lists and marketing materials Domain, DNS, and key account logins Reports and historical records you need for taxes or audits Business information stored across SaaS applications and other ...

Photographer: James McKinven | Source: Unsplash Your iPhone and Mac don’t usually get “slow” overnight. It’s almost always a pileup of small things: storage creeping toward full, too many background processes, browser clutter, or a battery that can’t deliver peak power like it used to. The good news: you can often get that “new device” snappiness back in under an hour. If you like articles like this, you’ll find more practical, step-by-step help in my tech tips and how-to guides . Before you start: do this 60-second check On iPhone: open Settings > General > iPhone Storage and note how much free space you have. On Mac: open System Settings > General > Storage (or search for “Storage” in System Settings) and check what’s eating space. If either device is constantly near full, performance will suffer. Storage breathing room is step zero. If your iPhone is on iOS 26 and the UI still feels “heavy,” the quality-of-life tweaks in iOS 26.1’s Liquid Glass fixes are worth a look...

Photographer: Markus Winkler | Source: Unsplash Open source is more than a way to build computer software. It is a set of values centered on freedom, transparency, collaboration, and user control. In a world shaped by artificial intelligence, cloud computing platforms, and large technology companies, these ideas matter more than ever. They help people understand who controls the tools they use, where their data lives, and whether they can change or move their digital work. This guide explains the open source definition in simple terms. It also explores the difference between proprietary software and open-source technology, the concept of digital landownership, and why the open-source philosophy is becoming important for individuals, developers, creators, and small businesses. What is open source? Open source refers to software whose source code is available for people to inspect, use, modify, and share under the terms of a license. The source code is the set of instructions that tells...

NotebookLM is designed to feel like a private “AI research assistant” that only reads the contents of what you upload. That’s mostly true, but “private” isn’t the same as “confidential.” The gap matters if you’re thinking about uploading personal identifiers, customer files, or regulated documents. This guide breaks down Google’s stated policies in plain language, then turns that into a practical “safe to upload vs don’t upload” framework. Private vs confidential: the mental model that prevents mistakes Here’s the safest way to think about NotebookLM: Private means your sources (and their contents) aren’t publicly visible by default, and Google says they aren’t used to directly train its foundational models unless you provide feedback. ( support.google.com ) Confidential means you can upload it without worrying about human review, accidental sharing, retention windows, cross-service handling, or policy edge cases. NotebookLM can be private and still be a bad place for confidential ...