Category: Technology

How many times a day are you asked to prove your identity?  That number is increasing as a growing number of businesses, apps, and organizations want to make sure you’re the real you. For most of us, logging in and authenticating ourselves has become a ubiquitous part of everyday life, whether it’s to access our banking information, our emails, or our social media accounts.  They might even text us a code, or ask us to pick out photos, all in an effort to make sure we’re human.  And actor John O’Hurley says that’s what was driving him crazy.  “I am not a robot,” O’Hurley jokes.  “That’s going to be the title of my memoir when I put this all down to pen.”

O’Hurley is best known as the host of the annual National Dog Show, and for playing the eccentric catalog magnate J. Peterman on “Seinfeld.”  But he’s also an entrepreneur, and his latest venture is a partnership with a new company aiming to make all that authentication easier and more secure using biometrics – things like fingerprints, voice authentication, and facial scans.  The company, Q5ID, has an easy-to-use mobile app that allows users to enroll and authenticate securely, no matter where they are, complete with step by step directions, often in three minutes or less.

O’Hurley says he was inspired to work with Q5ID after seeing the damage that could be done with unverified users.  “When I saw a ‘deepfake’ the other night, I immediately went to saying that it would be nothing for a CEO, someone to fake a CEO, make some sort of statement about the financial wherewithal of the company and the stock would tank”, he explains. “Well, there would be no retrieving that by saying, ‘Well, it wasn’t really that person.  It was a fake’.”

And with bots now beating most authentication programs, Q5ID’s app will use your phone to scan your face or your palm, keeping the data on your own device.  Simultaneously, it proves to your bank, a social media platform, or any other company that it’s really you.  And it’s not just for businesses; better authentication could help schools, law enforcement, and government agencies cut down on digital fraud, which costs Americans tens of billions of dollars every year.

The company also offers an app called “Guardian,” with the goal of revamping and revolutionizing how missing people can be found.  It’s a free download that allows subscribers to add profiles of their loved ones should the worst happen, giving them the power to alert law enforcement immediately.

Ultimately, most experts are predicting our use of biometrics to increase significantly in the next few years.  It’s still not clear when – or if – it will replace the clunky two-factor authentication now in widespread use, but biometric apps are expected to be a $185 billion industry by 2031.  O’Hurley credits the boom to the ease of use, saying it’s a hit with consumers “because it’s the last time you technically would ever need a password, or a username. Because you are you.”

Think Big Tech, and I bet Google comes to mind. They control our inboxes, calendars, document storage, cloud storage, routes, and more. Most of their products are free to use, which means you are the product they are selling. 

You have options. Tap or click here for my list of search engines that better protect your privacy. 

We put up with Google tracking because these services are free and incredibly easy to use. Hey, if you’re in Google’s ecosystem, you might as well get the most out of it. Here are five ways to do that. 

5 WAYS TECH CAN HELP YOU FEEL SAFER AT HOME

1. A solution to your packed inbox 

One of the best privacy features built right into Gmail is spam protection. I’m not talking about a junk folder. This tip is even better. 

You can create a new email address, called an alias, without any special set-up. All you have to do is add a plus sign and a word after your username to your email address, like this: “username+aliasname@gmail.com.” 

A handy use is tying your recurring subscription services to one alias, like this: “username+subscriptions@gmail.com.” You can use this trick for email newsletters, correspondence with friends, neighborhood association info, or anything else you can think up. 

Pro-tip: This is also an excellent way to see if a company is selling or leasing your email address. If you notice a message you didn’t sign up to receive, see which of your email addresses it came to. 

Go further: To make aliases truly useful, you need to filter them into their own designated spots in your inbox. Tap or click here and scroll to No. 2 for directions.  

2. Share your emails without giving away the password 

Don’t share your email password with anyone. Period. But you can share an inbox with someone. In certain situations, it works really well.  

Say you run a small business and want multiple people to have access to the customer service email. Or maybe someone in your family is sick or just getting older and needs help managing their emails. They can share their inbox with you. 

To add a delegate: 

Open Gmail on your computer and click Settings > See all settings > Accounts and Import or Account > Add another account.  

Enter the email address of your delegate and hit Next Step > Send email to grant access. 

When you grant someone access to your Gmail account, they can sort emails with filters, archive emails, and use labels to organize emails. They can also send, read, and delete email messages. 

Pro tip: Another good use for sharing an inbox is if you have an email address for your home where you send all your bills. Share that with your spouse. Tap or click for the reason every home should have its own email address. 

Go further: Checking several different email accounts can be a pain. Tap or click here for steps to forward all your mail to one place. 

3. This Google shortcut saves so much time 

Creating a new Google Calendar invite takes time. You have to open your calendar, then click a few buttons. There’s a much easier way: “cal.new.” Seriously, try typing that into your browser’s URL bar without the quotes. Just make sure you are logged into your Google account. 

Like magic, a new calendar invite will pop up, ready for you to fill out. 

This works with lots of other Google services, too. You can open a Google Doc by typing in “doc.new” or a Google Keep reminder by typing “note.new.” 

You can use any of the following shortcuts for each application: 

Google Docs: document.new, docs.new, doc.new 

Google Sheets: spreadsheet.new, sheets.new, sheet.new 

Google Slides: presentation.new, slides.new, slide.new 

Google Forms: forms.new, form.new 

Google Keep: keep.new, notes.new, note.new 

Google Calendar: meeting.new, cal.new 

Google Meeting: meet.new 

Pro tip: One of the simplest ways to organize your Google Drive folders is by color-coding them, which is surprisingly simple. Open your Google Drive and right-click on the folder you want to change. Click Change color and choose the color you want to use. Done. 

Go further: Keyboard shortcuts are a big timesaver. Tap or click for seven of my favorites, including Ctrl + shift + V. 

4. See everywhere you’ve gone with Google Maps 

Google Maps makes it easy to get around, but you might not like the stark reality of seeing every single place you’ve been laid out on a map. Here’s how to check your location history: 

When logged into your Google account on a computer, open maps.google.com. 

Click on the hamburger menu in the top left corner. 

When the full side menu is open, click on Your timeline. This will bring up a complete map of where you’ve been. 

Data of places you visited can also be recalled by opening the side menu, clicking on Your Places, and then clicking Visited. 

Pro tip: You can keep certain trips out of your search history by switching on Incognito mode. Google Maps won’t keep your search history or update your location history to include this location. Tap or click here for the simple steps to enable it. 

Go further: You can disable location history altogether if you don’t like it. Tap or click here to get that done. It just takes a minute. 

5. Work offline (but you have to set this up ahead of time) 

There’s nothing like settling in to do some work on the road, then realizing you don’t have internet. The good news is you can read, respond to, and search your Gmail inbox even when you don’t have an internet connection. 

Note: Emails won’t actually be sent until you have a connection again, and you will not receive new emails until you’re connected to the internet. Think of this as queuing up all your responses. 

Open Gmail, then click the Settings cog. Choose See all settings. 

Click the tab that says Offline, and check the box to enable offline mail. 

Pro tip: You can schedule emails to go out exactly when you want them to. Tap or click here and scroll to No. 8 for steps on how to schedule. It’s easy. I use this all the time. 

Go further: You can also work in Google Drive offline. Get the steps here. Make sure you set this up before you need it. 

ARE HACKERS IN YOUR PHONE? HERE’S HOW TO FIND OUT

Keep your tech-know going  

My popular podcast is called “Kim Komando Today.” It’s a solid 30 minutes of tech news, tips, and callers with tech questions like you from all over the country. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. For your convenience, hit the link below for a recent episode. 

PODCAST PICK: GPS survival tip, sign digital docs, Google Photos update 

In this episode, Google updates Photos with redesigned Memories and a new collage editor, use your photos for a virtual clothing fit at Walmart, Keurig’s new smart brewer makes a mind-blowing amount of coffee and how to get your real signature on digital docs. Plus, a rescue helicopter nearly abandoned a stranded man by mistaking his distress call. 

Find my podcast “Kim Komando Today” on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast player. 

Just search for my last name, “Komando.” 

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

What digital lifestyle questions do you have? Call Kim’s national radio show and tap or click here to find it on your local radio station. 

You can listen to or watch The Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet, television or computer. Or tap or click here for Kim’s free podcasts.

Copyright 2022, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products I believe in. 

Learn about all the latest technology on The Kim Komando Show, the nation’s largest weekend radio talk show. Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today’s digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. 

For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at Komando.com.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen is launching a nonprofit organization that will seek solutions to harms created by social media, she said on Thursday.

The former product manager at Facebook, since renamed Meta Platforms, made headlines last year after coming out as the source of thousands of leaked internal documents, which she said detailed the social media company’s failures to protect teen girls on Instagram and clamp down on vaccine misinformation.

Facebook has consistently said it disagrees with Haugen’s characterization.

YOUTUBE, META, OTHER TECH COMPANIES TAKING STEPS TO COMBAT ONLINE EXTREMISM

Her nonprofit, Beyond the Screen, will create an open database to document ways that Big Tech companies are failing their “ethical obligations to society” and outline possible solutions, according to a press release.

TWITTER, MUSK LEGAL TEAMS REPORTEDLY DEPOSING JACK DORSEY

It will partner with Project Liberty, an organization working to build a new operating protocol for social networking, and Common Sense Media, which advocates for safe media content for kids.

Readers can now get their Fox News headlines right on their iPhone’s lock screen! Here’s how to do it.

First, you’ll need to download the iOS 16 Apple operating system and update your Fox News app. 

To update the operating system, if you haven’t already done so: under “Settings,” select “General,” then “Software Update,” and iOS 16.0 will appear as an “Available Update.”

To update your Fox News app, open the “App Store” application, then tap “Search” on the bottom-right corner, and search for Fox News. Tap on the Fox News icon in the search results, then tap “UPDATE.” (If it says “OPEN” instead, it’s already updated to the most current version.) Open the app to launch it.

HOW TO GET FOX BUSINESS HEADLINES ON YOUR IPHONE LOCK SCREEN

Next, swipe down from the top-left side of the screen to view the iPhone lock screen. Tap and hold it until the screen pops up with a button that says “Customize” and a plus sign in a blue circle appears at the bottom right.

Select “Add Widgets” and scroll to search for the Fox News widget. 

IPHONE AND ANDROID ANNOYANCES: HOW TO FIX THE 5 MOST ANNOYING THINGS FOR GOOD

Tap or drag to add the widget to the bar below the time. 

Once you’ve added the widget, tap “Done” in the top right-hand corner to save the widget and wallpaper and “Set as Wallpaper Pair.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

That’s it! Now you’ll be able to read Fox News headlines as soon as you pull up your phone.

The headlines update automatically. Tap the headline to read the full story on your Fox News app.

If I were a betting woman, I’d guess you use Google Chrome. It’s far and away the world’s most popular browser. It’s not my pick if you’re looking for the most privacy. Scan my list of browsers ranked by privacy. 

After all, Google likely knows every website you visit, where you go, what you buy online, who you communicate with, and much more. Tap or click here for eight ways Google invades your privacy. 

That said, Chrome is a solid browser. There are ways to make it even better. 

5 WAYS TECH CAN HELP YOU FEEL SAFER AT HOME

First things first 

Before we get into settings, take the time to ensure Chrome is up to date. This happens automatically when you shut down and reopen the program, but it’s worth checking now and again. 

Open Chrome, then tap the three vertical dots to the right of your profile icon. 

From the drop-down menu, hover over Help and select About Google Chrome. 

If an update is available, it will start. Click Relaunch to finish. 

More Google smarts: 10 Google Search tricks to help you find what you’re looking for 

1. Make your account harder to crack 

Your Chrome profile is tied to your Google account. Two-step verification (or two-factor authentication) adds an extra layer of security to your account.  

Once you set it up, you’ll sign into your Google account using two steps: something you know (your password) and something you have (like your phone). Remember, this is only necessary when you sign on with a new device.  

Here’s how to set it up for Google: 

Go to myaccount.google.com. 

Select Security from the left panel. 

Under Signing in to Google, select 2-Step Verification, then Get started. 

Follow the on-screen steps. 

Better safe than sorry: Hackers want Google accounts. Give yours this security check now! 

2. Run Chrome’s Safety Check tool 

Chrome’s Safety Check scans your account for compromised passwords and available updates. It also turns on Safe Browsing, a setting that identifies unsafe websites and notifies you of potential harm. 

You can run a Safety Check at any time: 

Open Chrome, then tap the three vertical dots to the right of your profile icon. 

Select Settings > Privacy and security from the left panel. 

Under Safety Check, select Check now. 

Select the item and follow the on-screen instructions. Chrome will scan for updates, compromised passwords, harmful extensions, and more. 

MAINTENANCE 101: Your printer needs a cleanup – Follow this 3-step checklist 

3. Extensions can put you at risk 

Extensions let you add powerful features to your browser. Think coupon finders, grammar checkers, and screenshot tools. But not all extensions are helpful. Some track you across the internet, hog your bandwidth, or even infect your computer with malware. 

It’s not just unknown downloads, either. Five extensions with 1.4 million downloads were recently spotted hiding malware. Tap or click for the list to see if you have one installed. 

Not sure what is safe? Chrome assigns a “Featured” badge to extensions that follow Google’s “technical best practices and meet a high standard of user experience and design.”  

It’s also helpful to search the web for phrases like, “Is (the extension you’re using) safe to use?”  

Here’s how to remove an extension from Chrome: 

Open Chrome, then tap the three vertical dots to the right of your profile icon. 

Hover over More tools and select Extensions. 

Click Remove on the extension you want to remove, then click Remove again. 

4. Enable HTTPS-First mode 

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is used to load pages using hypertext links. Websites that use HTTP are not secure. That’s why you should stick to sites that start with HTTPS. (The extra “S” stands for secure.) This encrypts a website’s content. 

Chrome’s HTTPS-First mode attempts to load all sites over HTTPS and displays a warning before visiting a site that doesn’t support it. Here’s how to enable it: 

Open Chrome, then tap the three vertical dots to the right of your profile icon. 

Select Settings > Privacy and Security, then Security. 

In the Advanced section, slide the toggle next to Always use secure connections to the right (on) to enable it. 

Speaking of security, I hear from folks all the time who fell for an online scam. It’s a bummer, but it happens. Here are three steps to take if that happens to you. 

5. Be careful with Incognito mode 

No, Incognito Mode does not make everything you do private. It does have some uses, but let’s be clear. Incognito Mode doesn’t hide your activity from the websites you visit. You can still be tracked, your ISP can still see what you do, and your data can still be shared with third parties. 

So, what does it do? When you surf the web incognito, your browser doesn’t save your browsing history, cookies, site data or information you enter in forms. However, it keeps any downloaded files or bookmarks created during the session. 

There are a few things I think Incognito is especially good for: shopping, keeping embarrassing searches out of your history, and keeping home and work separate. 

Tap or click for my tips for using Incognito to the best of its ability. 

ARE HACKERS IN YOUR PHONE? HERE’S HOW TO FIND OUT

Keep your tech-know going  

My popular podcast is called “Kim Komando Today.” It’s a solid 30 minutes of tech news, tips, and callers with tech questions like you from all over the country. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. For your convenience, hit the link below for a recent episode. 

PODCAST PICK: Amazon police plans, flying taxis, robotic manicures 

Get a $10 manicure from a robot, change this secret Google Maps setting, and watch out for flying taxis. Plus, Amazon tests police stations as package pickup points, WFH jobs that pay $20/hour, and YouTube will let creators offer paid video courses next year. 

Find my podcast “Kim Komando Today” on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast player. 

Just search for my last name, “Komando.” 

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

What digital lifestyle questions do you have? Call Kim’s national radio show and tap or click here to find it on your local radio station. 

You can listen to or watch The Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet, television or computer. Or tap or click here for Kim’s free podcasts.

Copyright 2022, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products I believe in. 

Learn about all the latest technology on The Kim Komando Show, the nation’s largest weekend radio talk show. Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today’s digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. 

For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at Komando.com.

When it comes to consumer tech, there’s a huge list of things that can drive us all bananas. 

Take your slow Wi-Fi. You can’t stream, you can’t join a video meeting, and it always happens at the worst time. Tap or click for clever ways to speed up your home’s connection. 

What about wading through thousands of photos, looking for the one you want? Tap or click for a quick shortcut, along with four more smart tech fixes — like a hidden way to know a scammer is calling without picking up your phone. 

Our smartphones help us get a ton done, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to chuck them out the window sometimes. Here are the top complaints I hear about and ways to fix them. 

5 WAYS TECH CAN HELP YOU FEEL SAFER AT HOME

1. Your screen brightness keeps changing 

Apple’s Face ID does more than unlock your phone. It also can tell when you’re paying attention to your phone. If you look away, your screen dims, and your alert volume also decreases. 

The fluctuating brightness can be frustrating. You can switch this feature off.  

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Face ID & Attention. 

Turn off Attention Aware Features. 

On Android, adaptive brightness or auto-brightness uses a sensor to adjust the screen based on your environment. Sometimes it works well, but not always.  

Steps will vary based on your phone’s model, but here’s a starting point.  

Go to Settings, then Display. 

Look for Adaptive brightness and toggle it off. 

SECURITY 101: The smart trick to know when your phone’s camera or mic is being used 

2. The person you’re talking to can’t hear you 

When you’re on a call, your iPhone monitors the noise around you and tries to cut it down, so the person you’re talking to hears you better. It’s a neat feature, but it might lead to “Wait, what did you say?” too often. 

First, check your microphone volume. Press the volume up button on a call to adjust this. You can turn off the noise cancellation feature if people still have problems hearing you. 

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual and switch off Phone Noise Cancellation. 

Another tech annoyance: 5 ways to help Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant to understand you better 

3. You don’t want the bloatware 

Android phones are notorious for coming preloaded with apps you don’t want or need. These extraneous programs slow down your phone and consume storage space and battery life. 

There are a few ways to get rid of the bloat. 

Remove apps from your Android phone: 

Open the Google Play Store app. 

At the top right, tap your Profile icon. 

Tap Manage apps & devices > Manage. 

Tap the name of the app you want to delete, then select Uninstall. 

Some apps can’t be deleted. You can disable them by long-pressing on the app and tapping the Disable option — or you can hide them on some Android phones. 

Hide apps by tapping and holding the app and dragging it to the bottom of the screen to the Remove from home screen box. This doesn’t remove or disable the app; it just moves it out of view. 

Hide apps from your Samsung phone 

Open your App drawer, then tap the three dots in the top right. 

Open Home Screen Settings (or just Settings). 

Select the Hide apps option. 

Choose the apps you want to hide. 

Confirm via the Apply or Done button. 

Losing your texts is a nightmare. Don’t be that person. Here’s how to save text messages on iOS and Android before it’s too late. 

4. Your group text is too chatty 

Group messages are a fantastic way to stay in touch with friends and family, but the constant pings can be too much. Here’s how to silence conversations on your iPhone: 

Open Messages, then tap and hold a conversation. 

Tap Hide Alerts. 

You can also do this within the conversation by tapping the name(s) at the top of the screen and then switching on Hide Alerts. 

That’s a helpful option, but you’ll still get notifications if someone mentions you in a group text. You can turn this type of notification off, too.  

Go to Settings > Messages. 

Scroll down to Mentions and switch off Notify Me. 

On Android, steps to hide conversation alerts will vary based on your phone’s model. Try this: 

Open Messages, then tap and hold a conversation. 

Tap the three-dot icon in the top right corner. 

Select Mute notifications to open up settings for that contact or conversation. 

Apple secret: This might be the best iPhone feature you never knew existed 

5. You miss the home button 

The iPhone 8 was the last model with a home button. That was a long time ago, but I know change is hard, and you still might miss it. You can’t install a physical home button on your phone, but there’s a feature that lets you come close: 

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch. 

Turn on AssistiveTouch. A button will appear on your screen. 

Under Custom Actions, change Single-Tap, Double-Tap and Long Press settings. 

If you want the closest home button experience, set Single-Tap to Home, then drag the button to the middle-bottom of your screen. 

Now, whenever you tap that virtual button, you’ll be taken to your home screen. Neat! 

ARE HACKERS IN YOUR PHONE? HERE’S HOW TO FIND OUT

Keep your tech-know going  

My popular podcast is called “Kim Komando Today.” It’s a solid 30 minutes of tech news, tips, and callers with tech questions like you from all over the country. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. For your convenience, hit the link below for a recent episode. 

PODCAST PICK: Amazon police plans, flying taxis, robotic manicures 

In this episode, get a $10 manicure from a robot, change this secret Google Maps setting, and watch out for flying taxis. Plus, Amazon tests police stations as package pickup points, WFH jobs that pay $20/hour, and YouTube will let creators offer paid video courses next year. 

Find my podcast “Kim Komando Today” on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast player. 

Just search for my last name, “Komando.” 

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

What digital lifestyle questions do you have? Call Kim’s national radio show and tap or click here to find it on your local radio station. 

You can listen to or watch The Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet, television or computer. Or tap or click here for Kim’s free podcasts.

Copyright 2022, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products I believe in. 

Learn about all the latest technology on The Kim Komando Show, the nation’s largest weekend radio talk show. Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today’s digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. 

For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at Komando.com

The cryptocurrency community is abuzz about what could prove to be a landmark event in the burgeoning digital currency world: a major upgrade — dubbed “the Merge”— of the ethereum blockchain. Crypto enthusiasts say the Merge, which went live Thursday, will greatly reduce the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining and more broadly enhance its utility as a way to conduct financial transactions, among other uses. 

But what exactly is the Merge, and how could it change the future of crypto?

What is the Merge?

Ethereum, which was launched by Canadian computer programmer Vitalik Buterin in 2015, is a blockchain (or a digital ledger) used when cryptocurrency investors buy ether. It’s one of the world’s most used blockchains, second only to the bitcoin network. There are more than 71 million crypto wallets on the ethereum blockchain today, according to the Ethereum Foundation, a group of developers who now oversee the blockchain.

And we finalized!

Happy merge all. This is a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem. Everyone who helped make the merge happen should feel very proud today.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 15, 2022

Think of the Merge as the next generation, or 2.0 version, of ethereum. After nearly two years thinking about and testing a new way of conducting transactions, ethereum developers say it’s finally ready for prime time. Put simply, the Merge aims to reduce the number of people and computers it takes to add another data block to the ethereum network. 

The change is called the Merge because previously there were several ways to create a new data block. Developers have now combined (or merged) those methods into a single process.

When is it supposed to happen and why now?

The Merge officially launched on Thursday and, so far, it has had no discernible impact on the value of popular cryptocurrencies. Both bitcoin and ether were down more than 1% hours after the upgrade went live. 

The Merge is happening now because ethereum is mature enough to handle financial payments, store non-fungible tokens, trade crypto and host smart contracts, said blockchain expert Merav Ozair. But streamlining the process to add data to the blockchain could make those and other transactions much faster, according to developers. 

Ethereum can carry out 15 transactions per second in its current form, said Ozair, founder of startup company Blockchain Intelligence. But if the Merge is successful, the blockchain could eventually handle up to 100,000 transactions per second — “way above and beyond what Visa and Mastercard can do,” she said. 

How would the Merge reduce carbon emissions?

In a blockchain network, transactions aren’t verified by a bank, credit card company or other third party. Rather, it relies on a network of computers competing to solve complex problems in exchange for tokens. It takes thousands of computers to verify transactions on the ethereum blockchain, a process known as “proof of work.” 

All of those powerful server computers chugging away together require vast amounts of power. The ethereum blockchain uses about 112 terawatt-hours of electricity a year — roughly the same amount of energy used to power the Netherlands. That level of energy consumption releases about 53 metric tons of harmful carbon emissions into the environment annually, the same amount Singapore produces in a year.

The Merge replaces the proof-of-work system with an alternative method called “proof of stake.” In that system, cryptocurrency owners known as “validators” put up a share of their coins in exchange for the right to be randomly chosen to verify transactions and record them on a new block. Because proof of stake involves fewer people using their computers to verify transactions, fewer terawatt-hours are burned. 

Using proof-of-stake, the Merge is projected to reduce ethereum blockchain’s energy consumption by 99.9%, developers said. 

Will the Merge make is safer to use cryptocurrency?

Quite possibly. Since December 2020, ethereum developers have been running essentially two different versions of the blockchain at the same time. The Beacon version was used so they could test the proof-of-stake system, while the Mainnet version carried on with business as usual using proof of work. But having both versions running gave hackers twice as many entry points to potentially attack ethereum. 

With the Merge now complete, Mainnet has been deleted and all financial transactions only live on Beacon. Deleting one version of the chain, combined with having a small pool of validators, will reduce the odds of a hacker harming the blockchain, developers said. 

It’s important to note that these changes have not yet proven to make accounts safer because they haven’t been tested on a wide enough scale. Ethereum developers have posted a warning on the foundation’s website, explaining the way hackers may try to scam users for the digital currency.  

Are there any risks or downsides?

Moving to a proof-of-stake system will likely create haves and have-nots among the validators and everyone else who uses ethereum, said Bryan Daugherty, the global public policy director for BSV Blockchain Association. 

That’s because, to become a validator on ethereum, someone must invest at least 32 ether — roughly $52,000 — and agree to keep those tokens stashed away in a separate account. Under those rules, anyone who doesn’t have that much cryptocurrency can’t serve to validate ethereum transactions, Daugherty said. 

“The way I look at this is the plan now is to eliminate mining overall and award these coins to those with the biggest positions,” he said. 

Agreeing to stash away ether in exchange could come back to haunt the validators, too, especially if the price of ether falls dramatically and someone wants to sell, Daugherty said.

“You’re forcing people to lock up your coins,” he said. “That seems major red-flaggy to me.”