Rise and Shine: Your Daily Dose Of Business Tech Inspiration

You installed a free VPN to protect your privacy, but what if it is actually doing the exact opposite? Most free VPN providers need to make money somehow, and if you are not paying with your wallet, you are almost certainly paying with your data.

In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ Why running a VPN service is expensive and how free providers cover those costs
✅ How free VPNs collect and sell your browsing history, habits, and behavioural data to brokers
✅ Why “no logs” marketing claims cannot be trusted without independent audits
✅ Why a free VPN is worse than other dodgy apps - because ALL your traffic flows through it
✅ Three practical steps: uninstall, change passwords, and budget for a paid provider

Stop being the product. A decent paid VPN costs less than a coffee a month and keeps your data where it belongs - with you.

✅ Free VPN 101 Course: https://askcharlyleetham.com/business-tech-boost/vpns-101/

(No signup required - Charly built this so you can sort it yourself)

✅ Get up to 3 months free with NordVPN

https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/nordvpn

And I'll get the same as you (affiliate link)

Book a Free 30 minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me
(1 per person only)

***

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Music and Credits to:
Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.
"Paradise Found" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Struggling to add a Gravity Forms form to a page builder that does not have a built-in connector? If you are using Divi, Thrive Architect, or another WordPress page builder without native Gravity Forms support, there is a simple workaround you need to know about.

In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ Why Gravity Forms is worth using over built-in form builders for better spam protection and integrations
✅ How to find and copy the Gravity Forms shortcode from the embed button
✅ Using the custom HTML or custom code block in your page builder to display the form
✅ Tips on customising the shortcode options like hiding the form title

This technique works across most page builders - if it has a custom HTML or code block, you can use it. Stop wrestling with missing connectors and get your forms on the page the easy way.

Book a Free 30 minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me
(1 per person only)

***

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721
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Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/662f1e44-115d-4094-862b-efe9307e0df4/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager

Music and Credits to:
Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.
"Paradise Found" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Your browser knows more about you than your best mate does, and it is quietly handing that information to strangers every single time you jump online. Browser privacy is not a paranoid concern, it is a business one, because the searches you make about suppliers, competitors and funding all paint a detailed picture of where your business is heading.

In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ What device fingerprinting actually is and why it goes far beyond cookies
✅ The two dangerous mindsets that keep business owners exposed
✅ Why incognito mode is not the privacy shield most people think it is
✅ Practical steps to take back control without turning your life upside down

If you have ever clicked "accept all" on a cookie banner without thinking, this episode is the nudge you need to stop running on autopilot and start making conscious choices about your data.

Book a Free 30 minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me
(1 per person only)

***

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-ask-charly-leetham-online-105944212/
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Music and Credits to:
Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.
"Paradise Found"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By

Many business owners assume their AI tools are safe because the software is installed locally - but is your data really staying on your machine? If you are using AI agents, you need to understand where your data goes before you expose yourself and your customers to unnecessary risk.

In this episode, Charly talks with Ken McLoud from Laconic Tech about how small businesses can use AI to solve real problems - and the critical security pitfalls to avoid. Ken covers:

✅ Three practical AI use cases: lead magnets, workflow agents, and data analysis
📌 Why replacing your customer service team with AI can cost you more than it saves
🛡️ Prompt injection explained - and how attackers trick AI agents into following bad instructions
🔗 The "solution in search of a problem" trap - how to choose AI projects that deliver ROI
🛡️ Context rot - why your AI gets worse the longer you talk to it
📌 Why "it is on a Mac Mini" does not mean your data is secure

If you are thinking about AI for your business, start with the business problem - not the technology.

Find out more about Ken:

Website: Laconic Tech - https://laconictech.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-mcloud

Book a Free 30 minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me
(1 per person only)

***

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Spotify: https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/rise-and-shine
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-ask-charly-leetham-online-105944212/
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/662f1e44-115d-4094-862b-efe9307e0df4/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager

Music and Credits to:
Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.
"Paradise Found"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/

We all receive scam emails and dodgy text messages, but most of us just delete them and move on. The problem is, when scams go unreported, the scammers keep running the same tricks on the next person and the next.

In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ Why reporting scams matters and how it feeds into the bigger intelligence picture
✅ Real results - over 7,500 scam websites taken down in Australia in 2025 alone
✅ Where to report scams in Australia (Scamwatch, ReportCyber) and the US (FTC, IC3)
✅ Why business owners need that paper trail for banks, insurers and compliance
✅ Which scams are worth the five minutes it takes to lodge a report

Your single report might not feel like much, but it could be the one that connects enough dots to stop someone else from getting caught.

Book a Free 30 minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me
(1 per person only)

***

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LinkedIn Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ask-charly-leetham/
Spotify: https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/rise-and-shine
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-ask-charly-leetham-online-105944212/
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/662f1e44-115d-4094-862b-efe9307e0df4/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager

Music and Credits to:
Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.
"Paradise Found"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed