This Week at TekSure

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.

It is like FaceTime, but nobody has to be available at the same time. You record a short video, they watch it whenever, they respond with a video back.

This turns out to be the perfect tool for grandparents and adult kids who have busy, mismatched schedules. The face and voice feel personal in a way that texting never does.

Free. Works on iPhone and Android. No ads, no algorithm — just you and the people you love.

The single biggest improvement in sleep quality, according to a huge meta-analysis, came from simply charging the phone outside the bedroom. No willpower needed — the device just isn't there.

Buy a $10 alarm clock if that was your only reason for the phone at night. Use it for a week. Most people report falling asleep faster and waking up less anxious.

If you need the phone nearby for emergency calls from family, turn on "Do Not Disturb" with exceptions for those people only.

TurboTax, H&R Block, FreeTaxUSA — these accounts hold everything a scammer wants. If you reused a password that got leaked in a breach years ago, your tax account is sitting there unprotected.

Change the password now. Make it unique. Turn on two-factor authentication while you are there — every tax site supports it.

After April, change it again, or just delete the account if you won't use it next year.

When one website gets hacked, the attackers take the password list and try it on every other site. Using the same password across accounts is how one breach becomes ten.

You do not have to fix everything at once. Start with your email account — because whoever has your email can reset every other password you own. Then your bank, then anything with a saved credit card.

A password manager remembers the new ones for you. Bitwarden is free and works on every device.