RECOM Blog

A dead key fob battery is an easy DIY fix that takes just minutes and costs a few dollars — no dealership trip required.

Battery for a Key Fob

The most common type of battery used in key fobs is CR2032, according to Battery Plus. While it’s the most common, it’s not the only type. Others include:

• CR2450.
• CR2025.
• CR1616.
• CR2016.

The good news? The battery in your key fob will have a number printed on the top, which will inform you of the type of battery you’ll need to buy to replace it. These batteries are available for purchase anywhere you buy batteries.

Most key fobs have a little slot you can use to pop them open with a small flathead screwdriver, a butter knife or another key.

To replace the battery:

1. Find the notch on the fob. Some fobs may require you to remove the interior key first.
2. Gently pop the two halves apart.
3. Remove the old battery, and replace it with a new one. Pay attention to the orientation of the battery before you remove it, so you can put the new one in correctly.
4. Snap the halves of the fob back together.
5. Test it to see if it works.

This process also works with other small devices, such as garage door openers.  Make sure to properly dispose of the old battery when you’re done.

Return to sender: Surprise! A package you never ordered landed on your porch. A 75-year-old Missouri woman keeps getting them, including silverware from TikTok Shop. It’s called brushing, and the FBI warns the nasty new version tucks a QR code inside. Scan it, and you land on a fake site built to steal your passwords and credit card numbers. My rule: Never scan a code or call a number from a mystery box. Toss the note. Don’t let them QR-code your Christmas.

At least 20 states allow their residents to demand that data brokers delete their personal data, but typically consumers must file requests with individual data brokers. California has a centralized portal for requesting such opt-outs, at privacy.ca.gov/drop/. People also can change their mobile device settings to prevent tracking:

To turn off location tracking on an iPhone: 

Go to “Settings” and enter “Location” into the search bar.

Click “Location Services.”

To turn off location tracking completely, click the “Location Services” toggle switch at the top of the screen to the off position.

Or, from the same “Location Services” screen, navigate through individual apps to turn off location access app by app.

To stop data brokers from tracking you:

Go to “Privacy & Security,” then “Tracking.”

Turn off “Allow Apps to Request to Track.”

To turn off location tracking on an Android:

Open the “Settings” app.

Scroll down and tap “Location.”

To turn off location tracking completely, toggle the switch next to the tab to the off position.

Click the “Close” button if given the option to turn on location again.

Or, from the same location settings screen, navigate through individual apps to turn off location access app by app.

Nearly 1 in 3 people who lost money last year were first contacted on social media. Scams that started on Facebook alone cost people more than texts and email combined. Here’s what’s landing:

• Fake delivery texts. “Your package is on hold. Update your address.” One tap, and they’ve got your card number.
• Copycat stores. Social media ads for 80% off brand-name gear lead to cloned sites. You pay. Nothing ships.
• Fake fraud alerts. “Did you authorize a $499 charge?” It’s not your bank. Business impersonators took about $1 billion last year, and fake banks pulled the biggest scores.
• AI voice clones. A panicked call from your “grandson” who needs bail money. It sounds exactly like him. The FBI says scams powered by AI cost Americans $893 million last year.
• Gift card demands. No real company, agency or utility wants payment in gift cards. Ever.

The tell is always urgency. Slow down, hang up and call back using a number you know is real.

Meta launched Your Algorithm on Facebook, letting people describe what they want more or less of in Feeds and Reels. Changes are supposed to appear in real time, with follow-up questions and buttons to gauge interest under the three-dot menu. 

Open Facebook > tap the three dots (•••) on any post or Reel > Select Your algorithm > add topics you want to see more or less of.

You can also tap Interested or Not interested on individual posts to fine-tune your feed.

Some everyday fixes need a computer step most people might skip:

• New windshield: The camera behind your rearview mirror runs lane assist and automatic emergency braking. New glass can knock it a hair off. AAA found recalibration averaged $360, so make sure it’s in your quote.
• New battery: Many BMW, Audi and VW models need the battery “registered” with the car’s computer. Skip it, and the car can overcharge the new one and shorten its life.

Your car remembers you. Pair your phone, and it can store your contacts, call logs and favorite addresses. Wipe the memory before the vehicle leaves your hands.

• Selling or trading in: Look for a factory reset or “delete personal data” option in the infotainment settings.
• Returning a rental: Delete your phone from the Bluetooth list.

Hold the fob right against the push-to-start button. Press the button wih the fob. A backup chip lets the car read it up close, no battery required.

Some cars use a special slot in the console instead. Check your owner's manual.

The FDA says this Class II recall could cause temporary or medically reversible harm; users should match product details against the agency's enforcement report.

By Anthony Thompson and USA TODAY                     October 2, 2026 

Hundreds of thousands of bottles of eye drops sold under several brand names, including Walgreens, are being recalled because the products may not be sterile, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Sterling Pharmaceutical Services LLC, based in Dupo, Illinois, initiated the recall Aug. 20, 2026, according to an FDA enforcement report. The agency classified the recall as Class II on Sept. 21.

The recall includes nine products: lubricant eye drops, a hypertonicity eye solution and a nighttime eye ointment. Consumers should check the product name, lot number and expiration date to determine whether their product is affected.

Which Eye Drops Are Recalled?

The recall covers nine products and 747,844 units in total:

·         Cameron Pharmaceuticals Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium 0.5% Eye Lubricant, 0.5 fl oz (15 mL): 19,284 bottles

·         AvKare Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium Ophthalmic Solution 0.5%, Lubricant Eye Drops, 0.5 fluid-ounce bottles: 12,864 packs

·         AvKare Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium Ophthalmic Solution 0.5%, Lubricant Eye Drops, two-count twin packs: 107,377 packs

·         Reliable-1 Laboratories Sodium Chloride Hypertonicity Ophthalmic Solution, 5%, 0.5 fluid ounces (15 mL): 11,083 bottles

·         Reliable-1 Laboratories Lubricating Tears, 0.5 fluid ounces (15 mL): 47,616 bottles

·         Walgreens Lubricant Eye Drops, Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium 0.5%, 0.5 fluid-ounce bottles: 301,114 bottles

·         Walgreens Lubricant Eye Drops, two-count twin packs: 199,600 packs

·         TRP The Relief Products Gentle Eyes Lubricant Eye Drops, Carboxymethylcellulose sodium 0.5%: 14,538 bottles

·         Major LubriFresh P.M. Nighttime Ointment, 0.125 ounces (3.5 g) tubes: 34,368 tubes

What Does a Class II Recall Mean?

The FDA says a Class II recall means exposure to or use of a recalled product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, or the risk of serious consequences is remote. The recall concerns a lack of assurance that the products are sterile.

What Should Consumers Check?

The FDA’s enforcement report includes specific lot numbers and expiration dates for the affected products. Compare those details with the information on your eye-drop package to determine whether it is included in the recall. If it is, the FDA suggests stopping use immediately and speaking with a doctor.

USA TODAY contacted Sterling Pharmaceutical Services on Oct. 2 for comment but had not received a response at publication time.

Scammers Took $3.5 Billion by Posing As Someone You Trust. Social Media Let Them In

The ‘Medicare representative’ with a better plan

The ‘Social Security raise’ you have to verify

The ‘fraud department’ that wants you to move your money

The surprise refund from Amazon or another retailer

The celebrity who wants to make you rich

The government grant nobody applied for

If you already clicked or paid

Act fast. Call your bank or card company, change your passwords, and report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

If you handed over personal information, go to IdentityTheft.gov for a step-by-step recovery plan, and consider freezing your credit. If you’re worried about what a thief could do with your data, you can compare identity protection services in our Solutions Center.

Want the FTC to hear from you? Once its notice is published in the Federal Register, you’ll have 60 days to comment at Regulations.gov on whether the platforms should do more.

And for defenses that work even on your worst day, read “The Scam Defense That Works Even When You’re Tired, Sick or Distracted.”

Crooks are building fake bank websites that play dead. Check one directly, and it’s a blank page. Click it from a Google search, and it turns into a perfect copy of your bank’s login. These fakes jumped 40% in three months.

And Google made the “hover to check” trick useless on many results. You used to be able to hover your mouse over the link and look at the bottom corner of your screen to see where it really goes.  Google broke that safeguard. 

Some search results now pass through a Google redirect first. Hover over one, and the corner of your screen shows google⁠.com/goto?url= followed by a string of gibberish. Not the bank. Not the store. Google.  Google says it’s fighting “evolving forms of abuse.” It didn’t say which. My read: It’s about stopping companies from bulk-copying its search results. You got caught in the cross fire. You can’t check where a result leads before you click.  Google still prints a website name above each result. That’s a label. The hover was your second opinion. Now you get one, and it’s Google’s.

Crooks game their way to the top of search results for phrases like “[bank name] login.” It works because that’s what you type when you’re in a hurry to pay a bill.

Here’s the sneaky part. Type the fake site’s address directly, and you get a dead, blank page. That’s what security scanners see, so they shrug and move on. Click it from a search result, and it turns into your bank’s login page. You type your password. They get your password.

The address looks close enough, your bank’s name with an odd ending like .ph.⁠com. On a phone screen, you’d never notice.

1. Stop googling your bank. Type the address yourself once, then bookmark it. In Chrome on a computer, click the star in the address bar. On iPhone Safari, tap Share > Add Bookmark.
2. Better yet, use the bank’s app. Download it straight from the App Store or Google Play.
3. Skip anything marked Sponsored when you’re looking for a login page.
4.  Read the address bar before you type a password. Your bank’s name should sit right before the .com, with nothing strange tacked on.
5. Use your password manager if you have one. It will only fill in your password on the real site!  If it stays quiet, you stop trying to login!