November 24, 2025

Best & Worst Gifts for 2025!

1 hour 29 minutes

Holiday shopping season is here! And that must mean that it’s time again for my annual Best & Worst Gift Guide! But this time I’ve recruited some top minds from Consumer Reports to lend their expertise and enlighten us with their tech gift-giving strategies! Yael Grauer, Stacey Higginbotham and Jeff Landale join me for a round table discussion of how to give tech gifts that won’t ruin the security and privacy of your recipients!

Interview Notes

$10 off Consumer Reports!! https://www.consumerreports.org/fdsd/

Consumer Reports: https://www.consumerreports.org/

Cyber Readiness Report: https://innovation.consumerreports.org/new-report-2025-consumer-cyber-readiness/

Security Planner: https://securityplanner.consumerreports.org/

Vulnerability Disclosure Programs: https://innovation.consumerreports.org/who-ya-gonna-call/

Give Dragon Coupons! https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/give-the-gift-of-security-and-privacy/

Library Freedom Project: https://libraryfreedom.org/

Yael on spyware and iPhone 17: https://innovation.consumerreports.org/apples-new-iphone-memory-protections-safeguards-devices-against-sophisticated-attacks/

Yael interview (Security Planner): https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2025/02/17/security-planner/

Stacey interview (software tethering): https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2024/11/11/cutting-the-software-tether/

iVerify interview: https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2023/11/13/securing-your-smartphone/

Further Info

All my Best & Worst guides: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/category/best-worst-gifts/

My book: https://fdsd.me/book

My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter

Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support

Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons

Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch

Table of Contents

0:00:15: Intro

0:02:18: What is your tech gift giving philosophy?

0:08:37: What are some worrying tech trends?

0:17:41: What are your tech gift horror stories?

0:22:09: What are your thoughts on giving tech gifts to kids?

0:29:52: What gifts are on your naughty list?

0:42:31: What’s on your nice tech gift list?

0:54:51: How should you handle receiving a bad gift?

1:07:06: Any other hot tips or advice?

1:11:08: What are some great non-tech gifts?

1:17:40: How can Consumer Reports help here?

1:20:39: Wrap-up

1:22:35: Dealing with phone spyware

1:24:35: Newsletter info

1:24:51: IoT vulnerability programs

1:25:04: Give Thanks

1:25:37: Patron podcast preview

1:26:28: Other gift ideas

1:27:27: EasyOptOuts and PayPal

1:28:12: Looking ahead

...more

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By Carey Parker

4.9

6464 ratings