What Are You Working On?

Let’s talk about your car.

You know, the thing in your driveway that goes vroom vroom?

If you own a car that was made before 2012, you’re fine.

Mostly.

It’s only after 2012 that car manufacturers started to get creepy.

So if you own a car that came out after 2012, or you’re renting one, it’s important not to sync your smartphone to your car.

Now, I know. Some of you may have already done this.

That’s ok. As long as you remember to do just one thing:

Get out your privacy notebook and make a note about what cars you’ve synced your device to.

Always make sure to clear your data, regardless if you’re renting or buying, before returning your vehicle.

And when you’re clearing that data, don’t forget to remove stuff like the code for your garage door.

You don’t want anyone breaking into your garage.

That’s where your Christmas decorations live!

These days, it seems like everything wants you to sync your phone to it. Try to avoid doing this as much as you can.

One trick is to buy a used phone, get a sim card from Mint Mobile, and then use that phone to sync to these devices.

This way, you can listen to your music or favorite podcasts on the cheap.

But another solution would be to do this:

The most secure phone you can own are the ones with a headphone jack,

There are two reasons for this:

1. You can then use an auxiliary cable, which is super cheap on eBay by the way, to plug your phone into most car entertainment systems.

And as a fun bonus tip, connecting your phone to your car stereo through an auxiliary cable will provide much better sound than you’d get from Bluetooth.

2. Smartphones with a headphone jack have fewer microphones, meaning you can purchase a Mic-Lock, plug that directly into your phone, and turn your microphone off when you’re not using it.

This will keep hackers and tech companies from eavesdropping on your conversations.

We’ll include a link in today’s show notes for where you can purchase a mic-lock.