Connect with us

Technology

Is your next flight scheduled on a 737 Max 9 aircraft?

Published

on

Is your next flight scheduled on a 737 Max 9 aircraft?

Hundreds of flight cancellations continue days after both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines cope with the mandatory grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.

A Max 9 was involved in a midair incident when the plug covering a section designed for a door failed, leaving a gaping hole and sucking out parts of the adjacent seats. 

Chances are that if a future flight is showing a 737 Max 9 aircraft type, your flight will be canceled.

As of Friday morning, there were 1,600-plus flight cancellations, according to FlightAware, although some attributed to weather conditions.

CLICK TO GET KURT’S FREE CYBERGUY NEWSLETTER WITH SECURITY ALERTS, QUICK VIDEO TIPS, TECH REVIEWS, AND EASY HOW-TO’S TO MAKE YOU SMARTER

Advertisement

Boeing 737 Max  (Boeing)

Four ways to tell whether your flight is assigned the 737 Max 9 aircraft

Determining whether your upcoming flight is using a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft involves a few steps.

PARENTS URGED TO RECONSIDER HOLDING BABIES ON FLIGHTS AFTER ALASKA AIRLINES DOOR BLOWOUT

1) Check your booking details: Start by reviewing your flight confirmation or booking details. Airlines often list the aircraft type on your ticket or itinerary. Look for terms like “Boeing 737 Max 9” or “B737 Max 9”.

Alaska Airlines itinerary showing Boeing 737-9 Max   (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Advertisement

2) Visit the airline’s website or app: If the aircraft type isn’t specified in your booking details, visit the airline’s website. Search for your flight by entering the flight number or your booking reference. Many airlines provide detailed information about the aircraft, including the model.

ALASKA AIRLINES CANCELS ALL FLIGHTS ON BOEING 737-9 MAX AIRCRAFT THROUGH JAN. 13 AFTER MID-AIR DOOR BLOWOUT

3) Use flight-tracking websites: Websites like FlightAware or Flightradar24 can provide detailed information about specific flights, including the type of aircraft used. Enter your flight number on these platforms to see if your flight will be operated with a Boeing 737 Max 9. My new fave Flighty app alerts you when the aircraft type changes or a flight is going to be disrupted.

MORE: HOW TO MAKE USE OF GOOGLE FLIGHTS NEWEST FEATURE  

Advertisement

4) Check the day of the flight: Sometimes, airlines may change the aircraft type last minute due to operational needs. Check the information screens at the airport, or ask at the gate to confirm the aircraft type on the day of your flight.

Woman at the airport checking information screens (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

A Boeing 737-900 is not the same as a 737 Max 9 aircraft. In person, a 737 Max can be identified visually by the forward-mounted engines ahead of the wing and the notches on the back edge design of the engines.

Boeing 737 Max  (Boeing)

MORE: 6 TOP TIPS FOR STRESS-FREE TRAVEL 

Advertisement

What to do when your flight on a 737 Max 9 is canceled

Both United and Alaska Airlines were affected by the FAA grounding and mandatory inspection of the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft equipped with a fuselage plug where the frame was originally designed for a door in a spot that’s about 12 rows aft of the wing.

I was scheduled to fly from LAX to Newark on Alaska Airlines this past Friday when my flight was canceled about 36 hours ahead of departure. Alaska sent me to their app to confirm or change the automatically rebooked itinerary, but it failed when I logged in, saying that change could not be made online.

Alaska Airlines app   (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Alaska Airlines call center wait time eight hours, nine minutes

When I called Alaska Airlines, the recorded message said that wait times were eight hours, nine minutes on my recent trip. On another phone support line for the airline VIPs, of which I am not one, though I decided to dial in desperation, I was able to select an option to receive a callback, which did come a few hours later when I was able to speak with an Alaska representative.

By that time, I had chosen to book another flight on JetBlue at the last minute, having no confidence in their operational stability, and asked for a refund.

Advertisement

If I had not already rebooked on my own, I would have pushed for a direct flight on their partner American instead of the unreasonable 14-hour zigzag series of Alaska flights automatically selected for me by their recovery algorithm.

Chat to rebook is hit or miss

Alaska offers chat as an alternative to get customer support by texting 82008. But in my case, I received a text message after a considerable wait, saying that they were “unable to accept additional chats.”

Alaska Airlines text message  (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

You can send a text message to United Airlines at 800-UNITED-1 (800-864-8331). This service allows you to ask questions, get assistance and manage your bookings via text.

Social media direct messaging for help

United Airlines can be contacted through its social media channels, like X (@united) or Facebook, and it is fairly responsive to customer outreach. For Alaska Airlines on X, its handle is @AlaskaAir. Be sure to provide essential details like your flight number and booking reference, but avoid sharing sensitive personal information publicly.

Advertisement

Know your options before you reach out for rebooking help

Consider using every path to access the airline when you need help.  If your flight is canceled on United or Alaska Airlines, know your options before reaching a representative to rebook. You may have more options than are offered on the airlines’ apps or websites.

MORE: THE BEST TRAVEL GEAR  

Best sites and apps to rescue your canceled flight

  • Expertflyer is my go-to favorite site to see broad seat and flight inventory between cities.
  • Flightsfrom.com shows all flights out of a particular departure airport, regardless of the carrier, which can come in handy when dealing with rebooking to suggest alternatives that are better than what the airline is suggesting to rebook you on.

Remember that airlines are very conscious of passenger concerns, especially regarding specific aircraft models like the Boeing 737 Max series. If you have concerns about flying on this aircraft, you can discuss them with the airline, and it might be able to accommodate your preferences, depending on its policies and the availability of alternative flights or aircraft.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Knowledge is key to avoiding travel disruptions related to the plagued 737 Max 9 aircraft.  Be ready with the right tech travel apps and tools before heading to the airport. Smart travel apps can alert you to trouble before it happens, giving you a chance to solve a problem before it becomes yours.

What are your thoughts on the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft and its safety issues? Would you fly on one if you had the choice? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

Advertisement

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

Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover

Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:

Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.

Advertisement

Technology

Here’s your first look at Kratos in Amazon’s God of War show

Published

on

Here’s your first look at Kratos in Amazon’s God of War show

Amazon has slowly been teasing out casting details for its live-action adaptation of God of War, and now we have our first look at the show. It’s a single image but a notable one showing protagonist Kratos and his son Atreus. The characters are played by Ryan Hurst and Callum Vinson, respectively, and they look relatively close to their video game counterparts.

There aren’t a lot of other details about the show just yet, but this is Amazon’s official description:

The God of War series storyline follows father and son Kratos and Atreus as they embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye. Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.

That sounds a lot like the recent soft reboot of the franchise, which started with 2018’s God of War and continued through Ragnarök in 2022. For the Amazon series, Ronald D. Moore, best-known for his work on For All Mankind and Battlestar Galactica, will serve as showrunner. The rest of the cast includes: Mandy Patinkin (Odin), Ed Skrein (Baldur), Max Parker (Heimdall), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Thor), Teresa Palmer (Sif), Alastair Duncan (Mimir), Jeff Gulka (Sindri), and Danny Woodburn (Brok).

While production is underway on the God of War series, there’s no word on when it might start streaming.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Technology

300,000 Chrome users hit by fake AI extensions

Published

on

300,000 Chrome users hit by fake AI extensions

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Your web browser may feel like a safe place, especially when you install helpful tools that promise to make your life easier. But security researchers have uncovered a dangerous campaign in which more than 300,000 people installed Chrome extensions pretending to be artificial intelligence (AI) assistants. Instead of helping, these fake tools secretly collect sensitive information like your emails, passwords and browsing activity.

They used familiar names like ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Assistant. If you use Chrome and have installed any AI-related extension, your personal information may already be exposed. Even worse, some of these malicious extensions are still available today, putting more people at risk without their knowing.

Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide – free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter.

More than 300,000 Chrome users installed fake AI extensions that secretly harvested sensitive data. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Advertisement

What you need to know about fake AI extensions

Security researchers at browser security company LayerX discovered a large campaign involving 30 malicious Chrome extensions disguised as AI-powered assistants (via BleepingComputer). Together, these extensions were installed more than 300,000 times by unsuspecting users.

Some of the most popular extensions included names like AI Sidebar with 70,000 users, AI Assistant with 60,000 users, ChatGPT Translate with 30,000 users, and Google Gemini with 10,000 users. Another extension called Gemini AI Sidebar had 80,000 users before it was removed.

These extensions were distributed through the official Chrome Web Store, which made them appear legitimate and trustworthy. Even more concerning, researchers found that many of these extensions were connected to the same malicious server, showing they were part of a coordinated effort.

While some extensions have since been removed, others remain available. This means new users could still unknowingly install them and expose their personal data. Here’s the list of the affected extensions:

  • AI Assistant
  • Llama
  • Gemini AI Sidebar
  • AI Sidebar
  • ChatGPT Sidebar
  • Grok
  • Asking ChatGPT
  • ChatGBT
  • Chat Bot GPT
  • Grok Chatbot
  • Chat With Gemini
  • XAI
  • Google Gemini
  • Ask Gemini
  • AI Letter Generator
  • AI Message Generator
  • AI Translator
  • AI For Translation
  • AI Cover Letter Generator
  • AI Image Generator ChatGPT
  • Ai Wallpaper Generator
  • Ai Picture Generator
  • DeepSeek Download
  • AI Email Writer
  • Email Generator AI
  • DeepSeek Chat
  • ChatGPT Picture Generator
  • ChatGPT Translate
  • AI GPT
  • ChatGPT Translation
  • ChatGPT for Gmail

FAKE AI CHAT RESULTS ARE SPREADING DANGEROUS MAC MALWARE

These malicious tools were listed in the official Chrome Web Store, making them appear legitimate and trustworthy. (LayerX)

Advertisement

How the fake AI Chrome extension attack works

These fake extensions pretend to offer helpful AI features, such as translating text, summarizing emails, or acting as an AI assistant. But behind the scenes, they quietly monitor what you are doing online.

Once installed, the extension gains permission to view and interact with the websites you visit. This allows it to read the contents of web pages, including login screens where you enter your username and password.

In some cases, the extensions specifically targeted Gmail. They could read your email messages directly from your browser, including emails you received and even drafts you were still writing. This means attackers could access private conversations, financial information and sensitive personal details.

The extensions then sent this information to servers controlled by the attackers. Because they loaded content remotely, the attackers could change their behavior at any time without needing to update the extension.

Some versions could also activate voice features through your browser. This could potentially capture spoken conversations near your device and send transcripts back to the attackers.

Advertisement

If you installed one of these extensions, attackers may already have access to extremely sensitive information. This includes your email content, login credentials, browsing habits and possibly even voice recordings.

We reached out to Google for comment, and a spokesperson told CyberGuy that the company “can confirm that the extensions from this report have all been removed from the Google Web Store.”

BROWSER EXTENSION MALWARE INFECTED 8.8M USERS IN DARKSPECTRE ATTACK

Once installed, the extensions could read emails, capture passwords, monitor browsing activity and send the data to attacker-controlled servers. (Bildquelle/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

7 ways you can protect yourself from malicious Chrome extensions

If you have ever installed an AI-related Chrome extension, taking a few simple precautions now can help protect your accounts and prevent further damage.

Advertisement

1) Remove any suspicious or unused browser extensions

On a Windows PC or Mac, open Chrome and type chrome://extensions into the address bar. Review every extension listed. If you see anything unfamiliar, especially AI assistants you don’t remember installing, click “Remove” immediately. Malicious extensions depend on going unnoticed. Removing them stops further data collection and cuts off the attacker’s access to your information.

2) Change your passwords

If you installed any suspicious extension, assume your passwords may be compromised. Start by changing your email password first, since email controls access to most other accounts. Then update passwords for banking, shopping and social media accounts. This prevents attackers from using stolen credentials to break into your accounts.

3) Use a password manager to create and protect strong passwords

A password manager generates unique, complex passwords for each account and stores them securely. This prevents attackers from accessing multiple accounts if one password is stolen. Password managers also alert you if your login credentials appear in known data breaches, helping you respond quickly and protect your identity. Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2026 at Cyberguy.com.

4) Install strong antivirus software and keep it active

Good antivirus software can detect malicious browser extensions, spyware, and other hidden threats. It scans your system for suspicious activity and blocks harmful programs before they can steal your information. This adds an important layer of protection that works continuously in the background to keep your device safe. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.

5) Use an identity theft protection service

Identity theft protection services monitor your personal data, including email addresses, financial accounts, and Social Security numbers, for signs of misuse. If criminals try to open accounts or commit fraud using your information, you receive alerts quickly. Early detection allows you to act fast and limit financial and personal damage. See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft at Cyberguy.com.

Advertisement

6) Keep your browser and computer fully updated

Software updates fix security vulnerabilities that attackers exploit. Enable automatic updates for Chrome and your operating system so you always have the latest protections. These updates strengthen your defenses against malicious extensions and prevent attackers from taking advantage of known weaknesses.

7) Use a personal data removal service

Personal data removal services scan data broker websites that collect and sell your personal information. They help remove your data from these sites, reducing what attackers can find and use against you. Less exposed information means fewer opportunities for criminals to target you with scams, identity theft or phishing attacks.

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.

Kurt’s key takeaway

Even tools designed to make your life easier can become tools for cybercriminals. Malicious extensions often hide behind trusted names and convincing features, making them difficult to spot. You can significantly reduce your risk by reviewing your browser extensions regularly, removing anything suspicious and using protective tools like password managers and strong antivirus software.

Advertisement

Have you checked your browser extensions recently? Let us know your thoughts by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report 
Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide – free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter.

Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.

Advertisement

Related Article

Malicious browser extensions hit 4.3M users
Continue Reading

Technology

Anthropic refuses Pentagon’s new terms, standing firm on lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance

Published

on

Anthropic refuses Pentagon’s new terms, standing firm on lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance

Less than 24 hours before the deadline in an ultimatum issued by the Pentagon, Anthropic has refused the Department of Defense’s demands for unrestricted access to its AI.

It’s the culmination of a dramatic exchange of public statements, social media posts, and behind-the-scenes negotiations, coming down to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s desire to renegotiate all AI labs’ current contracts with the military. But Anthropic, so far, has refused to back down from its two current red lines: no mass surveillance of Americans, and no lethal autonomous weapons (or weapons with license to kill targets with no human oversight whatsoever). OpenAI and xAI had reportedly already agreed to the new terms, while Anthropic’s refusal had led to CEO Dario Amodei being summoned to the White House this week for a meeting with Hegseth himself, in which the Secretary reportedly issued an ultimatum to the CEO to back down by the end of business day on Friday or else.

In a statement late Thursday, Amodei wrote, “I believe deeply in the existential importance of using AI to defend the United States and other democracies, and to defeat our autocratic adversaries. Anthropic has therefore worked proactively to deploy our models to the Department of War and the intelligence community.”

He added that the company has “never raised objections to particular military operations nor attempted to limit use of our technology in an ad hoc manner” but that in a “narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values” — going on to specifically mention mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. (Amodei mentioned that “partial autonomous weapons … are vital to the defense of democracy” and that fully autonomous weapons may eventually “prove critical for our national defense,” but that “today, frontier AI systems are simply not reliable enough to power fully autonomous weapons.” He did not rule out Anthropic acquiescing to the military’s use of fully autonomous weapons in the future but mentioned that they were not ready now.)

The Pentagon had already reportedly asked major defense contractors to assess their dependence on Anthropic’s Claude, which could be seen as the first step to designating the company a “supply chain risk” – a public threat that the Pentagon had made recently (and a classification usually reserved for threats to national security). The Pentagon was also reportedly considering invoking the Defense Production Act to make Anthropic comply.

Advertisement

Amodei wrote in his statement that the Pentagon’s “threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.” He also wrote that “should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider, avoiding any disruption to ongoing military planning, operations, or other critical missions. Our models will be available on the expansive terms we have proposed for as long as required.”

Continue Reading

Trending