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NordPass has released an interactive list of the 200 most-commonly-used passwords, with a drop-down menu that lets you see the list on a country-by-country basis. It's below. If you have a password on this list, please change it! If you'd like Brian or Tofi or me to teach you a Password Formula, so you don't have to stress about remembering them all, contact us.

In the screenshot above, you'll see (highlighted in yellow) that the email is not from Westjet, but from the longest gibberish @googlemail.com email address we've seen in a long time! And you'll see that the "Get Started Now" button, if clicked, would take you to a webpage at app.GetResponse.com. You'd be asked to answer four basic demographic questions and then you'd get to pick a prize box. You would not "win" on the first try, but you would "win" on the second, and then they'd want you to put in your contact and credit card info to pay a small "Shipping Fee" to get your $500 Gift Card "prize". If you do that, your credit card will be maxed-out with fake charges within hours. NEVER click on links in emails like this!

Microsoft is retiring the Windows Mail app in Windows 10 and Windows 11, and replacing it with the Outlook Mail app, which has the same layout and appearance as the outlook.com web-interface. It also brings several sought-after features, including the ability to block senders with one click, and also to report and block scammers. If you currently use the Windows Mail app (a blue and white envelope icon), I've created instructions on how to migrate and customize the new Outlook Mail app so it won't seem quite different. You can view, download, and print the instructions below. If you don't do this upgrade yourself, Microsoft will automatically upgrade you one day soon, and you'll be caught by surprise!

Apple has done a huge about-face. and has agreed to include support for RCS (Rich Communications Service) messaging "later next year". This'll bring a number of iMessage-style features to texts between Android and iPhone/iPad users, including read receipts, typing indicators, and higher-quality images and videos. The one thing that won’t be changing, though, is the colour of the messaging bubbles; Apple has confirmed that blue bubbles will still be used to represent iMessages, while green bubbles will represent RCS messages. Look for RCS support to debut in iOS/iPadOS 18.

BC Transit has expanded its new cashless payment system, called Umo (pronounced "YOU-mo"), to include the Cowichan Valley and Nanaimo, after its September launch in Greater Victoria. Install the Umo Mobility app, and then add money to your online wallet. When you want to hop on a bus, you scan the Validation Code in the app, and it deducts the fare from your online wallet. The app looks like this…

You can also use the Umo app to buy a 30-day pass ($85 for an adult or $45 for student/senior in Greater Victoria; $50/$38 in the Cowichan Valley and $65/$40 in Nanaimo). If you don't have a smartphone, you can also get a free Umo Card and add money onto it, and then tap the card when you board a bus. You can reload the card online or at any shop that gives out the cards. The app will also tell you which bus to get, and when the bus will pick you up and when you'll get to your destination. With the debut of Umo, BC Transit has stopped selling bus tickets, and with that, you no longer get a discount by buying a sheet of 10 tickets. More here.

"Tech Talk" listener Tom (a retired police officer) offers this tip: use your phone to shoot a walk-around video of a vehicle you're renting before you drive off the lot. That way, when you return it, if they want to charge you to repair a dent or scratch or other damage they say you caused, you can show then the video to prove it was there when you picked-up the vehicle.

If you have difficulty understanding what someone is saying on a Skype video call, look for a button to turn on Closed Captions. That'll overlay their image with the words they're speaking, in real-time. If they speak a language that's hard for you to understand, you can also turn on Translation, which will display on the screen a translation into the language of your choice. More here.

Quebec-based Vidéotron (the new owners of Freedom Mobile), will soon be bringing their budget brand -- Fizz -- to Western Canada, to compete with other budget brands like Fido, Virgin+ and Koodo. Fizz will initially be available in major cities like Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. More here.

Quebec-based Vidéotron is now offering a Canada/France/USA plan that includes calling and data-roaming in all three countries. For $50/month, you get 100GB of Canada-wide data, plus 50GB of USA/France data, as well as unlimited calling to, from, and in, all three countries. More here.

I've updated my Shaw Mobile Migration Tips:

If you've received a Shaw-to-Rogers Self-Migration kit in the mail, and had a problem getting your smartphone number migrated, Rogers has set up a special website to help you finish the process.

This brilliantly-innovative and potentially life-saving service is available on all iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models. When it launched a year ago, Apple said it would be free for the first year, but has now confirmed that it'll remain free for at least another year, with Apple footing the cost of running the GlobalStar call centres that receive Emergency Satellite SOS calls. More here.

The new Group Voice Chat feature is for groups of 33 to 128 people. When you start a Group Voice Chat, the people in the group all get a silent push notification inviting them to join. More here.

Answer to a listener question: to capture a still image from a video on an iPhone or iPad, play the video and pause it at the point you want to capture. Tap the video to make the controls vanish, and then say, "Hey Siri, take a screenshot". On an Android device, use the Gallery app to play the video, and drag the duration bar to the point where you want to capture the image. Then, tap the Image Capture or Screenshot-like icon on your screen. On a Windows PC, play the video full-screen starting at least 10 seconds before the point you want to capture, so the controls will fade away. Hold down the Windows key, and at the point you want to capture, tap the PrtScr key. On a Mac, play the video full-screen starting at least 10 seconds before the point you want to capture, so the controls will fade away, and at the point you want to capture, simultaneously tap these three keys: Shift, Command and 3.

A new study has found that Apple's iPhone 15 models are capable of handling noticably faster 5G internet speeds than iPhone 14 models. The same is true, to a lesser degree, for Samsung's 2023 Flip models compared to their 2022 predecessors. More here.

Apple Canada has updated its Extended Returns Policy for the upcoming Christmas season: if you want to buy someone a gift early to ensure you get it, if you buy direct from Apple (online or in-store), you can return it up to January 8, 2024.

If you're flying Air Canada, you can now watch Disney+ Originals such as "Obi-Wan Kenobi", "Loki", and "Cars On The Road" for free on the airline's onboard streaming platform, as well as familiar favourites from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and more. Air Canada also lets you watch Apple TV+ shows.

40) See why critics say Sony's new a9iii digital camera is a game-changer, being the first in the world to have a global digital shutter, and why that's such a big deal…

41) Join the "Yes Theory" crew on an eye-opening and uplifting journey to one of the richest, strangest, and hard-to-access countries in the world, Turkmenistan…

42) a digitally-restored video of The Tokens performing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in stereo in 1961…

…and then, the same video with the instruments removed...

43) Watch the long version of our first 2023 Christmas ad, "Snapper: The Perfect Christmas Tree", from John Lewis & Sons in England…

44) Watch and listen: the Toccata and Fugue bwv. 565 in d minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, played on a bandoneon (a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay) by Claudio Constantini…

45) Watch (and listen): "Kling, Glöckchen, Klingelingeling", or "Ring, Little Bell", a German Christmas carol from the 19th century…