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1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online: How to Protect Yourself If you’ve ever paid for something online that never arrived, or clicked a link in an email that led to a fake storefront, you’re not alone. According to a Pew Research Center survey from November 2025, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s a large enough number that it’s worth stepping back and looking at what’s actually going on, and what you can do about it. ...

Instagram’s new AI image generator: what it is and how to opt out Instagram quietly launched an AI image generator this week that can pull from your existing photos to create new images. If you have a public account, you’re automatically opted in. Privacy experts and consumer advocates are raising alarms about how this feature could be misused, and several news outlets have already published guides on turning it off. Here’s a clear look at what changed, why it matters, and what you can do right now. ...

1 in 3 Americans Have Been Scammed While Shopping Online — Here’s What to Watch For If you’ve ever clicked “buy now” on a deal that seemed too good to be true, only to realize later that the item never arrived or the payment siphoned more than expected, you’re not alone. According to a November 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, about a third of U.S. adults say they have experienced an online shopping scam. With the holiday season already amplifying e‑commerce traffic, that figure is a sobering reminder that fraudsters are actively refining their methods. ...

Instagram’s New AI Can Edit Your Photos Without Asking: How to Opt Out Now Instagram has quietly turned on a new AI image generator that can take any of your public photos and alter them—without your explicit permission. Privacy experts are raising alarms because most users are automatically opted in, and the tool opens the door to non-consensual deepfakes and misuse of personal images. The good news: there is a way to opt out, but it’s buried in the settings, and you need to do it yourself. ...

Using AI Coding Tools Without Lowering Your Guard: A Practical Security Guide AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and similar tools have become nearly indispensable for many developers. They can autocomplete functions, generate boilerplate, and even suggest complex algorithms — saving hours of manual work. But as their adoption accelerates, so do concerns about the security of the code they produce and the data they consume. ...

Instagram’s New AI Can Alter Your Photos — Here’s How to Opt Out and Protect Your Privacy Instagram has quietly rolled out an AI image generator that can take your public photos and use them to create or modify new images. The feature has alarmed privacy experts, who warn it could lead to deepfakes and unauthorized use of your likeness. This article explains what the tool does, why it matters, and — most importantly — how to opt out so your photos aren’t used without your permission. ...

AI Coding Assistants: How to Keep Your Code Safe Without Losing Speed Introduction AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and Amazon CodeWhisperer have changed how many developers write software. They autocomplete functions, suggest entire blocks, and explain unfamiliar libraries. The productivity gains are real—faster prototyping, less context-switching, and fewer trips to documentation. ...

5 Browser Settings You Should Change Now for Better Privacy Your web browser sees a lot of what you do online—the sites you visit, the searches you make, even where you click. That information is valuable to advertisers and data brokers, and browsers are designed to make sharing it easy by default. You don’t need to install extra software to take back some control. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge all include built‑in settings that can reduce tracking significantly. Here are five changes worth making. ...

Instagram’s New AI Can Turn Your Photos Into Deepfakes. Here’s How to Opt Out Instagram has quietly launched an AI image generator that can take any photo you’ve shared—or that others have shared of you—and rework it into new, AI-created images. The feature, powered by Meta’s latest generative models, is rolling out to users worldwide. Privacy experts are raising red flags, and for good reason: unless you actively opt out, your public photos may be used to train the tool or manipulated by anyone who has access to it. ...

Are AI Coding Tools Worth the Security Risk? What to Know Before You Use Them AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot, Amazon CodeWhisperer, and ChatGPT have become nearly indispensable for many developers. They promise dramatic productivity gains—faster code completion, boilerplate generation, and even entire functions written in seconds. But as these tools become mainstream, security teams and privacy advocates are raising a critical question: do the productivity benefits outweigh the security risks? ...