Technology

How to reclaim your phone and block unwelcome political text messages

Published

5 months ago

August 10, 2024

How to reclaim your phone and block unwelcome political text messages

Text messages that come to your phone as spam messages are a nuisance at best and a risk to your personal security at worst. But somewhere in between lies a unique type of spam text message that includes propaganda to convince you of whom to vote for in the upcoming election.

Of course, this is a nuisance, but is it also something more than that? Something more dangerous that you need to be aware of?

If you’re receiving those unwelcome political text messages from fundraisers, here’s what you need to know about them and how you can reclaim your phone and block those messages for good. With the upcoming election, you should be free to vote without any influence from strangers texting your phone. How did they get your number, anyway?

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A man on his phone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

What are political text messages?

Political text messages are communications sent via SMS by political campaigns, party committees, political action committees (PACs) and interest groups. These messages aim to solicit support, funds, votes, gauge public opinion through surveys and provide information about political events and initiatives.

Due to their high open rates and direct reach, they have become a popular tool in modern campaigning. However, there is a risk that such messages can backfire because recipients may find them intrusive and choose to support a different candidate instead.

Political text message (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How to tell if a political text message is legitimate

As election season approaches, it’s important to be vigilant about the political text messages you receive. While some may be genuine communications from campaigns or organizations, others could be scams designed to deceive you.

Here are some tips to help you determine the legitimacy of these messages:

Check for grammatical errors: Fake messages often contain poor grammar, spelling mistakes or awkward sentence structures. Legitimate organizations typically ensure their communications are free from such errors.

Verify the source: If you receive a message claiming to be from a known political campaign or organization, verify it by contacting it directly using a phone number or website you trust, not the information provided in the message.

Look for unfamiliar numbers: Legitimate political campaigns usually send texts from identified numbers. Scam texts often come from unidentified or unusually long numbers.

Understand brand communication: Familiarize yourself with how political campaigns say they will contact you. Many organizations provide guidelines on their websites about what legitimate communications will look like.

A person receiving text messages on a cell phone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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How did they get my number?

Political organizations often obtain phone numbers from voter registration records, which include names, addresses and contact information of registered voters. These records are public and can be accessed by anyone involved in political communications.

Additionally, political groups may purchase phone numbers from data brokers who compile extensive profiles using various data points, including online activity, subscriptions and demographic information. Essentially, even if you haven’t directly given these campaigners your phone number, they’ve found it online some other way.

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Can these messages mean that they can take my information?

While the messages themselves typically do not extract personal information directly, responding to or engaging with these texts can contribute to the data profiles that political organizations maintain.

Each interaction provides additional data points that can be used to refine outreach strategies. However, be cautious of links within these messages because they could potentially lead to phishing attempts if not from a legitimate source.

What rules govern political texts

Here’s the thing. You’d think the Do Not Call Registry would help, but, sadly, it doesn’t cover political stuff. And those federal laws about phone communications? They’re not much help either.

Why? Well, it’s kind of a sticky situation. See, lawmakers are worried about stepping on First Amendment toes. Plus — let’s be honest — they need to reach voters themselves. So, they’re not exactly rushing to put up barriers.

Now, there is one rule. Political groups can’t use auto dialers to spam you with texts unless you’ve said it’s OK. But here’s the catch. The Supreme Court defined auto dialers in a way that lets a lot of texting tech off the hook.

So, what does this mean for you? Well, if you’ve ever liked a political meme, taken an online survey about democracy or donated to a cause, you might’ve put yourself on their radar. It’s like open season for political texters.

A man receiving a political text message on his smartphone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Best ways to stop political text messages and stay safe on your phone

1. Block the contact

If you regularly receive calls and messages from the same number, you can block it to prevent those calls and texts from reaching you. This is effective if the messages come from the same number but may be less effective if the sender uses multiple numbers.

On iPhone

Open the Messages app and locate the political text message.
Tap on the message to open it.
Tap on the phone number or contact name at the top of the screen.
Tap on the “i” information icon.
Scroll down and select “Block this Caller.”
Confirm by tapping “Block Contact.”

On Android

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Open the Messages app and find the political text message.
Tap and hold the message until a menu appears.
Tap on the “Block” option (this might also be labeled as “Block number” or “Add to Spam” depending on your device).
Confirm by tapping “OK” or “Block.

2. Reply and/or file a complaint

Responding to the text with “Stop,” “Unsubscribe” or “Cancel” can opt you out of future communications from that sender. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also provides options to report unsolicited texts by forwarding them to 7726 (“SPAM”) or filing a complaint online.

Responding to a text with Stop (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

3. Delete and report junk

On both iPhone and Android, you can delete and report unwanted messages as junk. Here’s how:

On iPhone:

If a sender isn’t in your contact list and you haven’t replied, you’ll see a “Report Junk” option below the message.
Select this option to delete the message and confirm your decision by clicking Delete and Report Junk to report it to Apple and your carrier.

Android:

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Open the Messages app and find the unwanted message.
Tap and hold the message until a menu appears.
Select “Report Spam” or “Report Junk” from the menu.
Confirm the action to delete the message and report it to your carrier.

Report junk and delete and report junk on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

4. Filter unknown senders

Both iPhone and Android have features to filter messages from unknown senders, reducing interruptions from unwanted texts.

On iPhone:

Open the Settings app.
Scroll down and select Messages.
Scroll down again to “Filter Unknown Senders” and toggle it on.

On Android:

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Open the Messages app.
Tap the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner.
Select “Settings” from the dropdown menu.
Choose “Spam protection.“
Toggle on “Enable spam protection” to filter messages from unknown senders into a separate folder

5. Contact the political campaign

As a last resort, you can contact the campaign’s office to report the message. This could help prevent future communications and bring the issue to the campaign’s attention, especially if they are not following best practices.

6. Invest in personal data removal services

To further reduce the number of unwanted political text messages, consider investing in personal data removal services. While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.

7. Never click on links in political texts

Be cautious of links, and do not click links in political texts because they may contain malware or lead to fraudulent websites. Also, be aware that some political texts may be fake, designed to mislead or defraud you. Scammers often disguise themselves as legitimate political campaigns, nonprofits or government agencies to exploit the election season’s heightened communication. These fake texts may attempt to extract personal information or solicit fraudulent donations by creating a sense of urgency or panic.

The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware and potentially access 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 2024 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices.

THE “DO NOT CALL” LIST LOOPHOLE: WHY YOUR PHONE STILL WON’T STOP RINGING

Kurt’s key takeaways

Political text messages may be a nuisance, but they can also pose risks to your privacy and influence your voting decisions. As the election approaches, it’s essential to take control of your phone and block these unwanted messages. Remember, your vote is your voice. Don’t let it be drowned out by unsolicited texts. By understanding how to manage these communications, you can focus on making informed choices this election season, free from outside influence.

Have you ever received a political text message? What did it say? Did they keep coming? Did you try one of these methods to try and stop it? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter

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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.

Technology

Intel still dreams of modular PCs — it brought a tablet laptop gaming handheld to CES

Published

5 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Intel still dreams of modular PCs — it brought a tablet laptop gaming handheld to CES

At CES 2025, Intel let journalists into its private “Innovation Showcase,” where we saw things like prototype next-gen laptops and giant stereo 3D handheld gaming PCs.

While I was there, I also spotted a heavy metal handheld on a table that didn’t seem… fully attached… to its screen. When I lifted the screen, it came away easily.

It felt suspiciously light to be a real tablet, so I flipped it over and saw three connectors underneath:

Above it, on a shelf, was a laptop with a suspiciously sized chunk of plastic on the bottom that looked like a perfect match. A minute later, Intel gaming evangelist Colin Helms confirmed: I was looking at a concept modular PC.

That module contains a complete Intel Lunar Lake computer, the entire guts you’d need to make one work outside of peripherals and screen. It’s basically a reboot of Intel’s abandoned Compute Card idea, except it’s not all Intel’s doing and you probably shouldn’t ever expect it to ship.

It’s a concept from Quanta, a company whose name you don’t typically see on the laptops and tablets they create, because Quanta is an ODM (like Compal, Pegatron, Wistron, and Apple’s better known iPhone supplier Foxconn) that designs and manufactures hardware on behalf of brand names.

Quanta’s calling the whole modular system the “AI8A,” and the aforementioned module at its heart is the “Detachable AI Core.” Helms told me it plugs into other concept computers as well, including an all-in-one desktop that Intel didn’t have to show off. And presumably, like the Compute Card idea, you could upgrade your computer just by putting a new new module into it.

The modular laptop has lots of concept-y bells and whistles too, so many that Intel’s CES staff hadn’t even worked them all out yet.

For starts, the laptop has a motorized hinge, so you can tell it to open and close its own lid; it also claims to offer eye-tracking that lets you sling around multitasking windows just by looking at where you’d like them to be. It apparently comes with a mouse integrated into a ring that you could wear.

The most mundane: a built-in Qi wireless charging pad in the palmrest, with indicator lights to show your battery’s remaining capacity.

I couldn’t try any of it working, unfortunately, nor did I manage to ask what “AI8A” means, because I mistakenly thought it said Aiba until I checked my photos closely just now. Nor could we hotswap the module between the handheld and laptop, since the module apparently doesn’t have a battery inside.

Again, this is a cool computing concept car: it’s not likely that this computer will ever ship, even in a more practical / less gadgety form. Thankfully, we have begun to see some real, practical modularity in the laptop space since the death of Intel’s Compute Card. Framework just celebrated its fifth anniversary this week, and Dell took a smaller step forward at CES with its first modular repairable USB-C port.

Photos by Sean Hollister / The Verge

Technology

AI isn’t going anywhere: Prompts to make life easier

Published

6 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

AI isn’t going anywhere: Prompts to make life easier

I was having dinner with my husband in Paris. We got the wine menu and all the names, of course, were in French. Barry wanted something equivalent to a Napa cabernet, so I took a picture of the menu and asked ChatGPT. In seconds, it recommended a wine. I double-checked with the waiter, and he gave it a thumbs-up.

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You might think AI is just for businesses, programmers, or the ultra tech-savvy, but it’s not. It’s for anyone willing to give it a try.

AI EXPERT: CHATGPT PROMPTS YOU’LL WISH YOU KNEW SOONER

Instead of ignoring this powerful tool, make this the year you embrace AI. It’s easier and more helpful than you think.

Let’s start with the basics

“So, uh, where do I find ChatGPT?” I get that in my email every day. Use it on the web or download it for iPhone or Android.

The free tier works for most people. I pay $20 a month for ChatGPT Plus. It’s worth it to me for access to the better features and faster response times. Start with free. If you find yourself relying on your favorite AI tool regularly, consider upgrading. It is worth considering.

A man is pictured working on an airplane and using a cellphone. (iStock)

ChatGPT isn’t the only option, but it is my preference (at least for now) and the most popular. You can also try Google Gemini, Perplexity and Claude.

With all these, the workflow is the same. Think of it like Google, but instead of punching in one search term and scrolling through results, you have a “conversation” with the bot to get exactly the output you want.

Like any tool, you need to use AI wisely and triple-check its results. Trust me, you don’t want to end up like those lawyers who used AI to draft court documents, only to have the judge catch the glaring mistakes.

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You’ve heard of prompts, right?

This is what we call the text, question or command you provide an AI system to guide its response or action. It’s your instruction on what you want, so the better your prompt, the more useful and accurate the response will be.

“Priming” is the insider term for telling a chatbot exactly what you want from it. With ChatGPT or any other, the more constraints you give, the better your answer. Examples: “Limit your response to 250 words,” “Give me the list in bullet points,” “Format the results as a table,” “Use this data to create a bar chart.”

Remember, AI can’t read your mind. It only knows what you tell it. Use “do” and “don’t” in your prompts to get the results you want. Say you’re cooking for friends, and some have allergies. Say, “Create a recipe for six people. Do include protein, fruits, vegetables and carbs. Don’t include dairy products, shellfish or nuts.”

ChatGPT app shown on a iPhone screen with many apps.

Close-up of the icon of the ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot app logo on a cellphone screen. (iStock)

7 prompts to make life easier

Make your goals actionable: “I have a goal for 2025 to [fill in the blank]. Can you help me make it SMART?” (SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-related.) Maybe you’re not there yet. Try this: “I want to [fill in the blank], but it feels overwhelming, and I don’t know where to start. Can you help me by breaking it down into more manageable tasks?”

“Give me 10 more examples”: That’s a prompt I use with ChatGPT all the time to make the chatbot a better brainstorming buddy. Some of its “ideas” are downright bad, but it might spark something creative in your brain, too.

“How can I make this better?” Add in anything you’ve written — a blog post, a travel plan, a resume or even a heartfelt email. This prompt works wonders for polishing your work and pointing out improvements, like a personal editor at your fingertips.

DO THIS WITH YOUR FAMILY VIDEOS BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

Your very own free assistant: Say you have messy notes from a meeting. By hand, you’d spend 15 minutes turning those into an email fit for your boss or team. Instead, open a chatbot and say, “Turn these notes into a professional, friendly email to my team.” Paste your notes at the end and voila. Pro tip: Ask your bot of choice, “Is there anything that needs more details?” to fill in any missing info.

Shortcut your inbox: When you get a really long email, open your AI chatbot of choice, and type in the prompt, “Summarize this email for me. Tell me what I need to do, then write a thoughtful reply. Here is the email.” Paste in the email and let AI do its magic.

Wanna get in shape? Ask your AI to create a custom fitness plan. Try this: “Create a 30-day fitness plan for fat loss and muscle gain tailored to a [male/female] beginner at [your age].” Or get specific: “Create a four-week fitness plan to help me run a mile for the first time.” Don’t sweat it.

A 12-year-old boy types as he uses a laptop computer on December 19, 2023, in Bath, England. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Spouse forgot to load the dishes again? Instead of firing off a rage-filled text, let AI step in. Ask your fave chatbot to reframe your frustration into something a bit more … constructive. I like this prompt: “Make this message sound more friendly.”

Don’t forget about privacy

It’s easy to think your bot is a trusted ally, especially when it’s pumping out helpful answers all day long. But it’s definitely not. It’s a data-collecting tool like any other.

Be smart about what you say. Never type in passwords, sensitive financial data, or confidential work or business information. My rule of thumb: Don’t tell a chatbot anything you wouldn’t want made public.

With a free ChatGPT or Perplexity account, you can turn off memory features in the app settings that remember everything you type in. For Google Gemini, you need a paid account to do this.

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Technology

Amazon is ‘winding down’ some of its DEI programs

Published

17 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Amazon is ‘winding down’ some of its DEI programs

As we head toward the end of the year, I want to give another update on the work we’ve been doing around representation and inclusion.

As a large, global company that operates in different countries and industries, we serve hundreds of millions of customers from a range of backgrounds and globally diverse communities. To serve them effectively, we need millions of employees and partners that reflect our customers and communities. We strive to be representative of those customers and build a culture that’s inclusive for everyone.

In the last few years we took a new approach, reviewing hundreds of programs across the company, using science to evaluate their effectiveness, impact, and ROI – identifying the ones we believed should continue. Each one of these addresses a specific disparity, and is designed to end when that disparity is eliminated. In parallel, we worked to unify employee groups together under one umbrella, and build programs that are open to all. Rather than have individual groups build programs, we are focusing on programs with proven outcomes – and we also aim to foster a more truly inclusive culture. You can read more about this on our Together at Amazon page on A to Z.

This approach – where we move away from programs that were separate from our existing processes, and instead integrating our work into existing processes so they become durable— is the evolution to “built in” and “born inclusive,” instead of “bolted on.” As part of this evolution, we’ve been winding down outdated programs and materials, and we’re aiming to complete that by the end of 2024. We also know there will always be individuals or teams who continue to do well-intentioned things that don’t align with our company-wide approach, and we might not always see those right away. But we’ll keep at it.

We’ll continue to share ongoing updates, and appreciate your hard work in driving this progress. We believe this is important work, so we’ll keep investing in programs that help us reflect those audiences, help employees grow, thrive, and connect, and we remain dedicated to delivering inclusive experiences for customers, employees, and communities around the world.