This Week at TekSure
Five tips to help you stay safer, save money, and get more out of the tech in your life.
Week of Sep 7 – Sep 13, 2026
Turn on iCloud / Google One backup — your photos survive a lost phone.
If your phone fell in the lake right now, would you lose photos? Contacts? Text messages? For most people, the answer is a sad yes.
iPhone: Settings → your name → iCloud → iCloud Backup → turn on. Free plan covers 5GB — upgrade to 50GB for 99¢/month if you have lots of photos.
Android: Settings → Google → Backup → turn on. 15GB free through Google One.
Computer says "storage almost full"? Empty your Downloads folder first.
The Downloads folder is where installers, PDFs, and random attachments pile up for years. For many people, deleting it recovers 20-50GB instantly.
Windows: File Explorer → Downloads → Ctrl+A → Delete. Mac: Finder → Downloads → Cmd+A → Command+Delete. Then empty the Trash or Recycle Bin to truly free the space.
Next biggest wins: old photos backed up to iCloud/Google Photos (you can delete local copies), and video files you've already watched.
Holiday shipping scam season is here — track packages only through official apps.
November through January sees a huge spike in fake "package delivery" texts. If you have 15 Amazon packages coming, one more "delivery update" seems perfectly plausible — which is exactly why scammers time it this way.
Never tap links in a delivery text. Open the Amazon, UPS, USPS, or FedEx app directly — the real tracking lives there.
If you've already tapped a shady link and entered anything, change your password on that account and check your bank activity immediately.
Daylight saving confusing your smart devices? Here is the 5-minute fix.
After the time change, some smart devices get stuck on the old time — especially older thermostats, garage door openers, and ovens. It is always a simple setting tweak, not a hardware failure.
For smart home hubs (Alexa, Google, Apple Home), open the app → Settings → check Location and Time Zone. Sometimes they just need a nudge.
If the time is wrong only on one device, restart that device specifically. That forces it to re-sync with the network time.
Your phone's lock screen is the weakest link — use 6 digits, not 4.
A 4-digit PIN has 10,000 combinations. A thief can try a lot of them. A 6-digit PIN has a million, which is effectively unguessable without erasing the phone.
iPhone: Settings → Face ID & Passcode → Change Passcode → Passcode Options → 6-Digit Numeric Code. Android: Settings → Security → Screen Lock. Takes 30 seconds.
Also turn on Face ID or fingerprint unlock. It is faster AND more secure than any PIN.
Previous weeks
Missed a week? Catch up on recent tips.
Want these delivered to your email?
One short email every week. Five tips, no fluff, always free. Unsubscribe any time.
We don’t sell your email. We don’t track clicks. Ever.
Send this to a friend
A little tech help goes a long way. Share this week’s tips with someone who’d find them useful.
I read this week’s tech tips on TekSure and thought of you. Five quick, practical tips for Sep 7 – Sep 13, 2026: https://www.teksure.com/this-week