Technology

Social media verification systems lose power as scammers purchase checkmarks to appear legitimate

Published

3 months ago

September 24, 2025

Social media verification systems lose power as scammers purchase checkmarks to appear legitimate

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Social media makes it easy to connect with people, but it also makes it just as easy for fraudsters to pretend they are someone they are not. Fake accounts, misleading checkmarks and smooth-talking profiles are everywhere, and not everyone knows how to spot them. I recently received an email from Marie from Boynton Beach, Florida, with a similar concern:

“I have been on X, and it seems quite a few people turn out to be not who they say they are. Mostly the ones that are verified. I am not that good tech-wise. Is there a way other than me knowing immediately they are a fraud?? Thank God I am not the type to give personal information or money.”

It is a fair concern, Marie. With scams becoming more polished, the line between real and fake accounts is harder to see. Let’s break down why fraud is so common on social media, the red flags you should look out for, and the simple habits that can keep you from getting duped.

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WHATSAPP BANS 6.8M SCAM ACCOUNTS, LAUNCHES SAFETY TOOL

A man logs into his social media account on a laptop. Fraudsters often exploit online activity to trick users. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Why social media is a playground for scammers

Social platforms are built for speed and visibility. Anyone can create an account in minutes, post content instantly and connect with strangers worldwide. This openness is what makes social media engaging, but it is also what makes it ripe for abuse. Fraudsters exploit the fact that posts, comments and messages are consumed quickly and often without much scrutiny.

Verification systems that were once meant to help users identify legitimate accounts have also lost some of their power. On platforms where checkmarks can be purchased, scammers can buy credibility without earning it. Add in the algorithms that reward viral content and sudden spikes in engagement, and you get the perfect environment for fraud to spread unnoticed.

Scammers know people often lower their guard on social media. In these spaces, users share personal details, build emotional ties with influencers and trust posts that look familiar. As a result, the combination of speed, trust and visibility creates an ideal environment for fraud to spread rapidly.

META DELETES 10 MILLION FACEBOOK ACCOUNTS THIS YEAR, BUT WHY?

A woman browses social media on her laptop. Scammers use fake accounts and misleading profiles to lure victims. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

The cost of falling for a scam

When people think of scams, they often imagine losing a one-time sum of money. The reality is far more damaging. Clicking a bad link or handing over credentials can snowball into long-term consequences. Once scammers get access to your information, it can be sold on dark web marketplaces, used to open fraudulent accounts or leveraged for identity theft.

There is also the reputational cost. If your social media account is hijacked, scammers can use it to trick your friends, family or followers, spreading fraud even further under your name. Cleaning up that mess can take weeks and may permanently damage your credibility.

Social media apps are prime hunting grounds for scammers who rely on speed and trust to deceive victims. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Practical steps you can take to stay safe on social media

There are simple ways to protect yourself without needing technical expertise. I have listed some of the crucial steps below.

1) Scrutinize profiles before engaging

Fake accounts often have clear giveaways. Look at how long the account has existed, whether it posts original content and the kind of followers it has. Scammers usually recycle generic profile photos or steal images from real people. Reverse image searches can help you confirm if a photo belongs to someone else.

Even with verification, be skeptical. On platforms where checkmarks can be purchased, anyone can appear “official” without being trustworthy. Treat every new interaction with caution until proven otherwise.

FACEBOOK CRYPTO ADS LEAD TO DANGEROUS MALWARE SCAMS

2) Avoid clicking on random links

Fraudsters often send links over DMs, comments or even ads. These links may lead to phishing sites designed to steal your credentials or malware that installs silently on your device. One careless click can expose your information.

This is where having strong antivirus software comes in. Even if you accidentally land on a malicious site, a strong antivirus can block harmful downloads and warn you before malware runs. Think of it as a safety net for moments when curiosity gets the better of you.

The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.

Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy.com/.

3) Protect your logins

Phishing scams frequently mimic login screens for X, Instagram or Facebook. They are designed to trick you into typing your username and password into a fake form. Once you do, the scammer immediately takes over your account.

A password manager can be a lifesaver here. It only fills in your login details on the genuine site you have saved. If it does not recognize the page, that is a red flag that you are looking at a fake. On top of that, a password manager makes it easier to use strong, unique passwords for each account, which limits damage if one gets compromised.

Next, see if your email has been exposed in past breaches. Our No. 1 password manager pick includes a built-in breach scanner that checks whether your email address or passwords have appeared in known leaks. If you discover a match, immediately change any reused passwords and secure those accounts with new, unique credentials.

Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 at Cyberguy.com/.

4) Keep personal info under wraps

The less information fraudsters can find about you, the weaker their scams become. Many impersonators use details like your hometown, job or relatives to build trust. If your email, phone number or address is floating around the web, scammers can weaponize that too.

A personal data removal service can help here by scrubbing your details from people-search sites and data brokers. While not foolproof, reducing your digital footprint makes you a harder target for impersonation or social engineering scams. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com/.

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION PHISHING SCAM TARGETS RETIREES

5) Stay alert to impersonation scams

Fraudsters often pretend to be well-known figures, influencers or even customer support staff. They use urgency like “limited offer,” “you have won” or “your account will be closed” to pressure you into responding fast.

When money, gift cards or personal details are involved, slow down. Contact the real brand or person through official channels to verify. If you are unsure, simply ignore the request.

6) Trust your instincts

One of the strongest defenses you have is your gut feeling. If a verified profile is asking for money, if a giveaway sounds too good to be true or if someone’s tone feels off, it probably is. Scammers rely on you ignoring that little voice that says something is not right.

Take a breath, pause and think before you act. That moment of hesitation often makes the difference between staying safe and becoming a victim.

Kurt’s key takeaway

Social media can be entertaining, informative and even empowering, but it is also one of the easiest hunting grounds for fraudsters. They thrive on speed, trust and distraction, hoping you will react before you think. While no tool or habit can guarantee absolute safety, combining skepticism with smart protective steps puts you in a much stronger position.

Do you think paid verification badges make it harder to spot scammers? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

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Technology

You need to listen to Sudan Archives’ violin opus for the club

Published

4 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

You need to listen to Sudan Archives’ violin opus for the club

My introduction to Sudan Archives was the song “Nont for Sale” from her first EP Sink in 2018. I’ve been a die-hard fan ever since. With each album, she finds new ways to sculpt the sound of her violin, contorting it in defiance of expectations.

Athena found her in conversation with it, leaving its timbre largely recognizable and organic, veering from experimental pop to more ambient passages. Natural Brown Prom Queen embraced the aesthetics of sound collage, samples, and modern R&B, blending her violin with more expressly electronic elements. The BPM has identifiable violin passages, but it fully embraces the more technological elements of Sudan Archives’ sound.

The album opens with “Dead,” which begins with gentle orchestral swells and a processed, but identifiable violin. Then, at the 1:30 mark, the beat drops — what sounds like high-pitched vocal chops dance around the stereo field, and an undulating synth bass drags he whole thing to the dance floor. The track serves as something of a mission statement, with multiple movements exploring the various incarnations of Archives’ sound as she asks, “Where my old self at? Where my nеw self at?” answering herself by chanting “right here, right hеre” in response to each.

What follows is a volatile tour of dance music, from the four-on-the-floor funk of “My Type,” to the trap-tinged tongue-in-cheek sex raps of “Ms. Pac Man” — there’s even an Irish jig in the middle of “She Got Pain.” Across the record, there are flashes of autotune, drum ’n’ bass breaks, house piano stabs, techno synth bass, and, of course, soaring violin flourishes. Often, there are multiple of these things in a single track as Archives eschews typical pop song structures, bouncing giddily from one style to the next.

Unsurprisingly, the tempo on The BPM is generally amped up compared to much of Archive’s previous records. But it’s not all club bangers. “Come and Find You,” winks at 80s and early 90s R&B of acts like Sade. And often the lyrics turn to matters of the heart, “I found a way to travel to you even when we’re not in sync, I’m gonna find my way back to you, Even when it’s really hard I like the push and pull,” she sings on “David & Goliath.”

The BPM is a dense, hectic record that revels in its unpredictability and sonic shrapnel. It’s also my favorite record of 2025. Despite only coming out in mid-October, it was my most listened to album according to my Apple Music Recap. Sudan Archives The BPM is available on Bandcamp and most streaming services, including Qobuz, Tidal, Apple Music, Deezer, YouTube Music, and Spotify.

Technology

Smart home hacking fears: What’s real and what’s hype

Published

5 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Smart home hacking fears: What’s real and what’s hype

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News of more than 120,000 Korean home cameras being hacked recently can shake your confidence in connected devices. Stories like that make you picture cybercriminals breaking into homes with high-tech gadgets and spying on families through smart cams. That reaction is natural. But most of these headlines leave out important context that can help you breathe a little easier.

First, smart home hacking is rare. Most incidents stem from weak passwords or from someone you already know, rather than from a stranger with advanced tools. Today’s smart home brands push out updates to block intrusion attempts, including patches for new AI-related vulnerabilities that often make headlines.

Let’s break down what actually puts a smart home at risk and what you can do to stay safe.

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SMART HOME DEVICE MAKER EXPOSES 2.7 BILLION RECORDS IN HUGE DATA BREACH

Smart home hacking headlines can look scary, but most threats come from weak passwords rather than targeted attacks. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Why criminals are not circling your house with hacking gear

Many people imagine cybercriminals driving around neighborhoods with scanners that look for vulnerable devices. In reality, Wi-Fi ranges and technical limits make that nearly impossible. Even high-profile hacks of casinos and large companies do not translate to criminals trying to breach residential smart locks for petty theft.

Burglars still choose low-tech methods. They look for unlocked doors or easy entry points. They avoid complicated hacking tools because the payoff is too small to justify the work.

So how do smart homes get hacked? Here are the real attack paths and how they work.

Common ways smart homes get attacked

Smart homes face a handful of digital threats, but most come from broad automated attacks rather than someone targeting your house.

1) Automated online attacks

Bots constantly scan the internet for weak passwords and outdated logins. These brute force attacks throw billions of guesses at connected accounts. When one works, the device becomes part of a botnet used for future attacks. That doesn’t mean someone is targeting your home on purpose. Bots search for anything they can breach. A strong password stops them.

2) Phishing attempts

Some phishing emails impersonate smart home brands. Clicking a fake link or sharing login details can open the door for criminals to reach your network. Even a general phishing attack can expose your Wi-Fi info and lead to broader access.

3) Data breaches from IoT companies

Hackers often go after company servers, not individual homes. These breaches may expose account details or stored camera footage kept in the cloud. Criminals may sell that data to others who might try to use it. It rarely leads to direct smart home hacking, but it still puts your accounts at risk.

4) Attacks on device communications

Early IoT devices had vulnerabilities that allowed criminals to intercept the data they sent and received. (IoT stands for Internet of Things and includes everyday connected gadgets like smart plugs, smart thermostats or Wi-Fi cameras.) Modern products now use stronger encryption, making these attacks extremely rare in the real world.

5) Bluetooth malware

Bluetooth issues still pop up from time to time, but most modern smart home devices use stronger security than older models. When a new flaw is discovered, companies usually release fast patches, which is why it’s important to keep your apps and gadgets updated. Today, these Bluetooth risks rarely lead to real smart home problems.

ADT HACKED: IS YOUR HOME SECURITY SYSTEM REALLY SECURE?

Who actually tries to hack smart homes

When hacking happens, it usually involves someone with some level of access already. In many cases, no technical hack occurs at all.

Simple steps like stronger Wi-Fi security and regular updates go a long way toward protecting connected devices. ( Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A relation or acquaintance

Exes, former roommates or relatives often know login info. They may try to spy or cause trouble. Update all passwords if you suspect this.

Untrustworthy employees

There have been cases where employees at security companies snooped through camera feeds. This isn’t remote hacking. It’s a misuse of internal access.

Data thieves

They steal account lists and login details to sell. Others may buy those lists and try to log in using exposed credentials.

Blackmail scammers

Some send fake messages claiming they hacked your cameras and threaten you. Most of these scams rely on lies because they have no access at all.

Foreign governments

Some banned foreign manufacturers pose surveillance risks. The FCC maintains a list of companies that cannot sell security tech in the U.S. Always check that list before buying unfamiliar brands.

Smart home devices that can raise concerns

Some everyday gadgets create small but real entry points for trouble, especially when their settings or security features get overlooked.

Smart fridges

They often arrive with default passwords that owners forget to change. Older models may use outdated IoT protocols with weaker protections. Many do not get frequent security updates.

Wi-Fi baby monitors

Wi-Fi offers convenience but also adds risk. Weak routers and poor passwords can allow strangers to access a feed. Closed network monitors avoid Wi-Fi risks but still face basic signal interception attempts.

Smart bulbs

During setup, some bulbs broadcast an open temporary network. If a criminal joins at the exact right moment, they could reach the rest of your devices. These cases are rare but possible in theory.

Smart speakers

Voice ordering can be exploited by curious kids or guests. Set a purchase PIN so no one can order items with simple voice commands.

Steps to stay safe in your smart home

Strong habits and a few simple tools can block the most common threats that target connected homes.

1) Use strong passwords

Choose long, complex passwords for your Wi-Fi router and smart home apps. A password manager makes this simple. Consider using a password manager, which securely stores and generates complex passwords, reducing the risk of password reuse.

Next, see if your email has been exposed in past breaches. Our No. 1 password manager (see Cyberguy.com) pick includes a built-in breach scanner that checks whether your email address or passwords have appeared in known leaks. If you discover a match, immediately change any reused passwords and secure those accounts with new, unique credentials.

Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 at Cyberguy.com

2) Turn on two-factor authentication

Brands like Ring and Blink already use it. Add two-factor authentication (2FA) to every account that supports it.

3) Use a reputable data removal service

Removing your personal details from data broker sites helps prevent criminals from using leaked or scraped information to access your accounts or identify your home.

While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com

4) Add strong antivirus software on phones and computers

Strong antivirus protection blocks malware that could expose login details or give criminals a path into the devices that manage your smart home. The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.

Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com

Choosing brands with clear privacy practices and local storage options helps keep your home and data in your control. (CyberGuy.com)

5) Choose brands with strong encryption

Pick smart home products from companies that explain how they protect your data and use modern encryption to lock down your footage and account details. Look for brands that publish clear security policies, offer regular updates and show how they keep your information private.

6) Store sensitive footage locally

Pick security cameras that let you save video directly to an SD card or a home hub, rather than uploading it to the cloud. This keeps your recordings under your control (and helps protect them if a company server is breached). Many cameras from trusted lines support local storage, so you do not have to rely on a company server.

7) Keep devices updated

Install firmware updates quickly. Enable automatic updates when possible. Replace older gadgets that no longer receive patches.

8) Secure your Wi-Fi

Your router is the front door to your smart home, so lock it down with a few simple tweaks. Use WPA3 encryption if your router supports it, rename the default network, and install firmware updates to patch security holes. For a full step-by-step guide on tightening your home network, check out our instructions in “How to set up a home network like a pro.”

Kurt’s key takeaways

Smart homes feel intimidating when scary headlines surface. But when you look at real-world data, you see far fewer risks than the stories suggest. Most attacks rely on weak passwords, poor router settings or old devices. With the right habits, your smart home can stay both convenient and secure.

What smart home risk concerns you most, and what part of your setup makes you nervous? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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Technology

A new old idea about video stores

Published

16 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 109, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, hope you’re staying warm, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

This week, I’ve been reading about Google Maps and shopaganda and life as a pop star, finally getting to watch F1 now that it’s streaming, rewatching the first two Avatars ahead of the next one’s release, pretending the new Taylor Swift tour doc is a reasonable replacement for actually seeing the tour, buying a bunch of Ikea smart buttons now that they’re on sale in the US, playing with the excellent new Obsidian update for mobile devices, and spending altogether too much time trying to figure out why my house is so cold.

I also have for you a fun new source of movies to watch, a game to play this holiday season, a new speaker worth a listen, and much more.

And I have a question, looking ahead to the last Installer of the year: What’s your favorite new thing from this year? It doesn’t have to be new this year, just new to you. (And you don’t have to pick your one favorite forever, just hit me with something new you loved this year.) I want to hear about books you discovered, podcasts you’re into, decade-old games you’re loving, things that made your house or office or whatever better, anything and everything is fair game. I’ll share mine if you share yours — email me at installer@theverge.com, find me on Threads at @imdavidpierce, or message me on Signal at @davidpierce.11.

All right, lots of stuff this week! Let’s go.

(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you playing / reading / watching / listening to / cuddling up with by the fire this week? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, forward it to them and tell them to subscribe here.)

The Letterboxd Video Store. A tightly curated set of movies to rent, filled with stuff Letterboxd knows people want to see but that you almost certainly won’t find anywhere else. Like all things Letterboxd, it’s all a bit high-minded, but I love this idea and suspect I will check it often. Perfect amount of stuff in there, too.
Skate Story. A late-breaking contender for the best game of 2025! You’re a demon, you skate. And skate. And skate. A lot of reviews say the controls take a little getting used to, but that they give way to something that feels great and looks spectacular.
The iFixit app. I can’t say I’m shocked that iFixit’s AI bot, FixBot, isn’t quite up to the task of automatically sussing out how to fix all your gadgets. But that’s fine; I’ll just be using this new iOS and Android app as a library of manuals and repair guides. Plus, the built-in battery monitor for your phone is extremely clever.
Darkroom 7.0. I totally forgot about Darkroom! It has long been one of the best photo editors for Apple devices, and the new version cleans up the user experience a bunch while also adding some retro-film effects and some high-end video features. Also: Being able to zoom all the way down to the individual pixel is pretty wild.
Google Photos. On the other end of the professional spectrum, the Google Photos app just got a bunch of CapCut-style video editing features along with some better tools for making highlight reels and slideshows. I’m suddenly tempted to make a lot of stupid year-in-review stuff to send to my friends.
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. I’m a sucker for a weird re-edit of a movie, so this is extremely my jam: two Kill Bill movies turned into the single, 4.5-hour bloodfest they were apparently always supposed to be. Apparently it’s a totally different story now! This feels like the best possible use of a weekend afternoon in a movie theater.
The Wiim Sound Lite. From one of the Installerverse’s favorite audio brands comes a new $229 portable speaker that looks like a strong competitor to Sonos’ new gear. (Or a HomePod, I guess.) If I were starting a home audio system right now, I’d probably start with Wiim.
Google Disco. An experimental new browser based on a weird and novel idea: turning collections of tabs into AI-generated, one-off web apps. I don’t expect Disco itself to ever leave Google Labs, but there’s something awfully futuristic in here.

Raffi Chilingaryan’s Spotted in Prod has long been one of my favorite sites for finding cool design and product touches from around the web. (I feel like, if you’re an app developer, your goal should be to make something weird and cool enough to catch Raffi’s eye.) Raffi’s also a designer and developer. He says right now he’s working on two iOS apps, a Strava competitor called Runbuds and a super clever alarm app called Shift that is designed to help you wake up earlier.

That’s all well and good, but my personal favorite Raffi thing is his new personal website, which includes an actual interactive version of his phone, so you can click around his homescreen and see into his apps. Dude took the whole “show us your homescreen” and just put me to shame on it. (Also, it’s a .zip domain, which I kind of love for a personal site?)

Anyway, all I have for you is a humble screenshot, but here’s Raffi’s homescreen, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:

The phone: iPhone 15 Pro.

The wallpaper: Solid gray background.

The apps: Retro, (Not Boring) Camera, Google Maps, Photos, Claude, Safari, Apple Notes.

I have my apps organized into 4 folders (money, work, social, vibes), but that’s a bit boring so I’ll break it out like this:

TestFlights you should keep an eye on: Arena is a community of curious internet folks that I’ve long wanted to immerse myself into but only once the iOS build got to its current level did I find that easy to do. Net is a promising email startup that uses an AI card stack to make flipping through your emails a breeze with impeccable UX.
Apps that I will shill till I die: Retro is a weekly photo journal that inspires me to take more photos and lets you send POSTCARDS to your friends & family. (Not Boring) Camera is a gorgeous skeuomorphic camera with really nice presets. Bump is Find My Friends for Gen Z. Radio Garden lets you explore the world through local radio streams. Particle is an amazing AI native news app with super fluid UX. Mercury is the most lovely fintech product for both businesses and now personal banking — I hope they take over the world.

I also asked Raffi to share a few things he’s into right now. Here’s what he sent back:

TBPN & Stratechery podcasts.
Discovering creative developers and design engineers who showcase their work on tech Twitter.
Using Claude Code to ship iOS apps as someone without a formal background in software engineering.
The resurgence of Pokémon and the Trading Card Game app.

Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week. For even more great recommendations, check out the replies to this post on Threads and this post on Bluesky.

“Now that finals are over I have been diving into Ghost of Yotei. Crazy beautiful game.” — Jeremy

“Finally reading “The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. Despite John living an entirely different life than me, his experiences and understanding of the world possess so many similarities to mine. I give it five stars.” — Christopher

“I feel like everyone is sleeping on Amazon Luna, the cloud stream gaming platform that Amazon includes with its yearly subscription. It consistently has A+ games on it. I’m currently addicted to the newest Bethesda Indiana Jones game… I hooked up my PS4 controller and am playing one of the greatest games of the past few years at no extra cost.” — Alex

“Audible had an insane three months for $1 deal, so I’ve been getting back into audiobooks while I do chores and commute. Currently listening to / reading Alchemised by SenLinYu and it’s fantastic.” — Colin

“Got myself a Teenage Engineering PO-12 drum machine on a rare sale. What a glorious little device. Lovely design, and hours of music fun, even for a complete amateur like myself. Plus – it even has a headphone jack! That said – I kind of wish that I’d gotten the PO-20 instead.” —

“StoneBlock 4, an amazing Minecraft modpack, is ruining all my productivity this week.” — Anne

“Yesterday I watched a badass Polish dude ski down Mt. Everest without oxygen. The feat is unbelievable, but I still think about the incredible footage.” — Denim

“I’m OBSESSED with the Xbloom robotic barista machine I’ve owned for a few weeks now. It’s basically like having a barista on demand 24/7 – if you love drip coffee this is an endgame coffee machine.” — Andrew

“+1 for Skate Story. Also, the OST… 👌” — Andy

I spent a bunch of time this week learning about Model Context Protocol, which is one of those things that most people will never think about but might be crucial to how technology works going forward. The MCP story is fascinating, but if you just want to quickly understand how the protocol works, and why it’s so important to the whole supposed AI-based future of everything, you should watch this 20-minute video. Greg Isenberg and Ras Mic walk through the whole stack at the perfect level of complexity, and with visuals that actually help (unlike so many videos I watched this week). If every educational video on YouTube were like this one, I’d be a much smarter person.

One more Installer to come this year. See you next week!

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