When you swipe your card, you might be asked the question, “Credit or debit?” Many people use debit cards since they’re connected to a bank account. However, when it comes to safety, it turns out that one of these offers better protection. Here are four reasons why I recommend paying with a credit card.

For Personal Tech Media, this is Two Minute Tech. I’m Jim Herman.

First, with a credit card, the law gives you 60 days to report fraud, and you’re only liable for $50 of fraudulent purchases. With a debit card, you only have two days to report fraudulent transactions with a $50 liability. After the two days, your liability increases to $500. Credit cards have much better fraud protection.

Second, a debit card purchase deducts money directly from your bank account. While that might be good for authorized transactions, it’s a problem when fraud happens. You don’t have to pay for a fraudulent purchase on your credit card, but your bank may not refund the money to your bank account while it investigates a fraudulent debit card purchase.

Third, if you have a problem with your purchase, such as poor quality work, you can also file a dispute with your credit card. As with the fraudulent transactions, you don’t have to pay for that transaction until the bank has resolved the dispute.

And finally, some credit cards also offer other benefits, like rental car insurance, travel insurance, or extended warranties. These benefits can give you peace of mind or added protection. However, due to the limits on the fees to run debit card transactions, these benefits rarely exist for debit cards.

If you’ve listened to the security advice on this show, you know I recommend keeping your software up to date. However, at some point, developers will no longer update older software. Here’s why you shouldn’t use this old software, and how to find out what programs and what versions won’t be updated anymore.

For Personal Tech Media, this is Two Minute Tech. I’m Jim Herman.

Typically, any software product will have a designated amount of time that it will receive updates, and then a separate timeframe beyond that, where it will still receive security updates. Once the end of the security updates has passed, it is said to have reached its end of life date.

While the product you have will still work beyond that date, certain functions may not work with the more modern operating systems. If the product in question is an operating system, like Windows, the operating system may not run new programs without crashing or producing unexpected errors.

But beyond the compatibility issues, there’s a more critical issue with older software. Once a product no longer receives security updates, the developers won’t patch any issues discovered by malicious actors. That means if someone finds a security hole in the version of software you’re using, that person will be able to exploit that hole forever.

Most companies publish the end of life date for each version on their website. However, there’s a website that makes it very simple. Endoflife.date has a database of the end of life date for thousands of programs. Choose the app from the list and look for the version that you’re running. If you’re using a version that is no longer updated, upgrade it or look for an alternate program.

Printers are the devices that everyone loves to hate. While they’re still useful, they can be very finicky. However, Microsoft has recently taken steps to help reduce the complexity of the printing process. This could be the end of the infamous printer driver.

For Personal Tech Media, this is Two Minute Tech. I’m Jim Herman.

Drivers are small programs that interface between the operating system, like Windows, and the device itself. In 2021, Microsoft released the IPP driver, which can work with many modern printers. This eliminates the need for a driver specific to your printer model. Now, two years after the release of the Microsoft driver, the tech giant has revealed a plan for eliminating printer drivers altogether.

The three-step plan begins in 2025, when Microsoft will stop allowing printer manufacturers to add drivers to the Windows update process. At this time, you’ll still be able to update existing printer drivers through the update process.

In 2026, Windows will always prefer the Microsoft driver instead of third-party drivers. And starting in 2027, printer drivers will no longer be able to receive updates through the Windows update process, except for security fixes. This process will move printers from relying on their own individual drivers to printing with the Microsoft default option.

Although this change isn’t going to eliminate every problem that might make you want to chuck your printer out the window, it will eliminate one possible source of printing problems.

The age of app stores has brought about a massive rise in free software, and many of these free apps are wonderful. But as we continue our October series on the biggest cyber security mistakes you might make, we come to mistake number three, trusting free software without evaluating it.

For Personal Tech Media, this is Two Minute Tech. I’m Jim Herman.

Many of the most popular apps are available for free. That’s usually what makes them so popular. The people who made the software will find different ways to make money from it. Some companies will offer the software for free and then sell support contracts to businesses. Some offer free versions of the software, but then have premium upgrades. And of course, some companies collect advertising data on their customers in exchange for using the software.

However, not every free program is safe to use. Here are a few of the dangers of free software.

First, the program could come with malware. Some free downloads will do what they claim they will do, but also bring extra malicious features.

Second, the free software could contain adware or other unwanted software. Often, this sneaks in through the installation process. While these technically aren’t malware, they’re almost never wanted.

Third, free software may be poorly written or may be abandoned by the people who wrote it. When there are problems with the software, you want them fixed quickly. For free software, you’ll likely have little to no help with any problems that arise, and any issues that are found may not be fixed at all.

Browser extensions are one of the great things about modern web browsers. They let you add functions that aren’t available through the browser alone. However, like many things in technology, some browser extensions are malicious. Here are four strategies you can use to avoid these harmful extensions.

For Personal Tech Media, this is Two Minute Tech. I’m Jim Herman.

First, avoid searching for extensions in the Chrome Web Store or the Firefox Add-Ons. While the stores seem convenient, it can be a challenge to distinguish between a legitimate extension and a malicious one. Instead of searching in the extension or add-on store, go to the official website for the extension and follow the links to the download.

Second, confirm that the information regarding the extension matches what you expect. For example, if you’re preparing to install a Google Docs extension, you would expect the developer’s name to say Google. You would also expect that extension to have many installs and few typos in the description.

Third, read the permissions the app is requesting. When you add an extension, you will receive a pop-up displaying what permissions are needed. Don’t click on the Add Extension button without reading these permissions. Ask yourself if the permissions seem reasonable for the job that it will do.

And finally, once you’ve installed the extension, keep monitoring your browser for signs of problems. If your computer suddenly starts running slow, or if you start seeing a massive number of ads on sites that never had ads before, you’ve likely installed a malicious extension into your browser.

Typing is an essential skill in a world that is increasingly digital. Typing has been a required subject in school for many years, but if you never took it or you need a refresh, here are five sites you can use to build your typing skills.

For Personal Tech Media, this is Two Minute Tech. I’m Jim Herman.

First, the website Typing Club has hundreds of lessons available to help you learn how to type and improve your speed. You can also take a placement test, which will help you see what videos would be most helpful to improve your typing. There’s also a section for teachers to monitor the problem areas of their students.

Second, if you have a kid trying to learn to type, consider Dance Mat Typing. This site uses animal characters and games to make typing fun. The site also breaks down the lessons into small, manageable chunks so your child won’t feel overwhelmed.

Third, Turtle Diary is a great place to visit if you have no experience. The first lesson covers locating the home row and typing just J and F with your two index fingers. It gradually introduces more letters, capitals, numbers, and symbols as you progress through the lessons.

And finally, the last two websites take a fun approach to improving your typing. Z-Type and TypeRacer offer games to help you improve. Z-Type is a space-themed game where you shoot the enemy ships by typing the correct word. TypeRacer allows you to compete against people worldwide in a short typing sprint.

You’ve probably been horrified at some of the reports from the Middle East in the past few days. However, amid the accurate reports from Israel and Gaza, there has also been a multitude of false information. Here are five questions that can help you recognize when news is true and when it’s fake.

For Personal Tech Media, this is Two Minute Tech. I’m Jim Herman.

First, ask what timestamps are available on the report. Sometimes the information reported is accurate, but it’s old. Looking at the timestamp on an article or a social media post can let you know if the report is current or outdated.

Second, ask if you’ve heard of the organization making the report. Registering a domain and setting up a website takes very little effort, but having a domain and a website doesn’t make the data on the site legitimate.

Third, ask if the headline seems overly dramatic or overly vague. Overly dramatic headlines usually mean the site is just looking for clicks to increase its advertising revenue.

Fourth, ask who wrote the article. If you click on the author’s name, you can usually view the author’s biography. Evaluate the author’s experience as a journalist or in the field being covered.

And fifth, ask what sources are cited in the story. While journalists do sometimes use anonymous sources, you should be hesitant to trust any report that relies on them. Most journalists will do a good job vetting their sources, but those who want to spread false information will often hide behind anonymous sources with no other evidence to support their claims.

Today is the start of Amazon’s Big Deal Days. However, shopping on Amazon isn’t always a great deal. Whether you’re a seasoned Amazon Prime member or just an occasional shopper, here are four costly mistakes you might make while shopping on Amazon.

For Personal Tech Media, this is Two Minute Tech. I’m Jim Herman.

First, you can lose money by not monitoring prices. If the purchase isn’t something you need immediately, use the Amazon Assistant browser extension or CamelCamelCamel to see the price history.

Second, you can lose money by not checking product reviews before you buy. Product reviews can be beneficial in identifying whether a product is worth the money. However, be aware that some reviews can be faked. Trust the ones that provide a balanced view of a product. Reviews that are all positive or all negative are often fake or paid.

Third, you can lose money by not using Subscribe and Save. If you’re buying consumable items regularly, schedule to have the order automatically fulfilled. You can choose anywhere from two weeks to six months for your delivery schedule, and you can save as much as 15% by subscribing.

Fourth, you can lose money by not checking out all of Amazon’s options. Check out the Amazon Warehouse for deals on used products and the Amazon Outlet for overstock items. Also, the Amazon Smile program will give a small amount of your purchase to a charitable cause of your choice. It won’t cost you anymore, but it directs a portion of the money you’re spending anyway to a good cause.

Our phones have turned into miniature computers that we carry everywhere. But these devices contain massive amounts of data about us and our lifestyles. Today, we continue our series on the biggest cybersecurity mistakes people make with mistake number two: not locking down your mobile devices.

For Personal Tech Media, this is Two Minute Tech. I’m Jim Herman.

Phones, tablets, and even laptops are designed to be mobile. That mobility makes them convenient, but it can also be problematic if they become too mobile and end up in someone else’s hands.

While it would be great to think that someone won’t try to access your information, a criminal, a curious person, or someone trying to get your device back to you could encounter private files or photos. Here are some steps you can take to protect your mobile devices in case they’re lost or stolen.

First, protect them with a password, passcode, fingerprint, or face scan. If you don’t use any kind of lock on your device, anyone who finds it has full access to the files and data on it.

Second, configure your device to wipe everything on it after a number of failed unlock attempts.

Third, pay attention to permissions. Don’t grant permission to everything an app requests. Many malicious apps exploit your inattentiveness to permissions to unnecessarily gain access to the microphone, camera, or location data.

And fourth, be careful where you connect. Public Wi-Fi networks aren’t always the safest place to connect your phone. Only connect through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or other methods if you have no other option.

If you were an early purchaser of the iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, you might have noticed your phone getting very hot. Last weekend, Apple confirmed it wasn’t your imagination. Apple says the problem is the result of some iOS bugs and some apps that weren’t properly configured. Here’s what you need to do now.

For Personal Tech Media, this is Two Minute Tech. I’m Jim Herman.

When people noticed their iPhones were running hot, many wondered if the problem was related to the new A17 Pro chip, the new USB-C charging port, or the new titanium case on the Pro line. However, Apple says it is confident the cause is software issues and not the new hardware on its phones.

Apple identified three possible causes. First, they say new phones will typically feel warmer as data syncing increases background activity. Second, it said that some apps, including a few common ones, had improper configuration. And third, the company also added that some users were impacted by a bug in iOS 17.

Fortunately, Apple has taken steps to address the second and third causes. Apple says it has contacted developers with affected apps, including the companies behind Instagram, Uber, and the game Asphalt 9.

Then, on Wednesday, Apple also released an update to iOS 17 to address the operating system bug. Apple was very clear that the changes would not impact the new chip’s performance.

The impacted apps have already been updated or will be updated soon, so updating apps to the latest version is recommended if you have an affected iPhone 15.