Many smartphones and tablets are preset to find and join networks automatically. This may seem like a good idea as it could save you on data fees, but be careful.

Many public networks are unsecure and can easily be breached by hackers.

You can solve this problem in two ways.

First, turn off the option on your device(s) to automatically connect to networks and turn on the option to ask you first. Second, simply make sure your phone or tablet is off when you’re not using it. Hackers can’t access a device if it’s off the grid.

At the age of 22 in 1969, Tommy James had a string of 14 TOP 40 hits and was riding high. By 1972 at the age of 25, he was washed up.

What happened to one of the 1960’s most prolific rockers?

In the first place, Tommy James (born Thomas Jackson) hit recording pay dirt almost by accident.

Tommy and his first band, the Shondells, were a local sensation in the Niles, Michigan area. They recorded a Jeff Barry-Ellie Greenwich tune called “Hanky Panky” for a small label owned by Niles DJ Jack Douglas. The record got some local airplay and promptly sank from sight. The Shondells, like most young bands in the mid-sixties, broke up and went their separate ways.

In the meantime, a Pittsburgh dance promoter named Bob Mack found a copy of “Hank Panky” in a used record bin at a store and started playing it at dances and sock hops in the Pittsburgh area. The song caught on with the Pittsburgh kids and a local record bootlegger started pressing copies on his own. When he sold 80,000 copies in the space of a few weeks, the major labels took notice.

Tommy James along with Douglas, Mack and Mack’s partner, Chuck Rubin, traveled to New York. At first, all the major labels seemed interested. Then, they suddenly backed away. It appears that the head of Roulette Records, Morris Levy, had actually threatened the other labels. Roulette was rumored to be a front for the mob and nobody wanted to mess with Levy. So Tommy James signed with the label.

After recruiting a Pennsylvania band, the Raconteurs, as the new Shondells, Tommy James cranked out an impressive string of hits over the next 4 years:

• Say I Am
• It’s Only Love
• I Think We’re Alone Now
• Mirage
• I Like the Way
• Getting’ Together
• Mony Mony (James claims the name came from a Mutual of New York MONY billboard he saw when he was recording the song)
• Do Something to Me
• Crimson and Clover
• Sweet Cherry Wine
• Crystal Blue Persuasion
• Ball of Fire
• She

By 1969, James could clearly see that the focus of the music business was shifting from pop singles to longer, more complex albums.

Unfortunately, James tried hard but could never make the transition. He turned down an invitation to play at Woodstock, failing to understand how significant that concert would be. The Shondells broke up.

After two minor hits as a solo artist (“Draggin’ the Line” and “Three Ties in Love”) and one as co-writer and producer (“Tighter & Tighter” for Alive ‘n’ Kickin’), experiencing some drug problems, and tired of the pressures of the music scene, he left Roulette Records in 1974.

James spent some time recording in Nashville and made an album in 2008 with the surviving members of the Shondells.

James racked up 23 gold singles, 9 gold and platinum albums. His early hits have been covered by over 300 other musicians.

His autobiography Me, the Mob and the Music, was published in 2010. In it, James claims that Roulette still owes him $30 to $40 million in royalties that were never paid. He also details how strong a hold organized crime had on the music business during that time.

James currently lives in Cedar Grove, New Jersey.

You can find his official website at TommyJames.com.

Did you mis it?

What do you give the Three Stooges fan who has everything?

How about a trip to the Stoogeum!

The world’s first and largest museum dedicated to Larry, Moe, Curly (and sometimes Shemp) is located in Amber, Pennsylvania. This is no “garage museum” at somebody’s home. This is a 3-story building that houses close to 100,000 pieces of Stooges' memorabilia, including costumes and props from the Stooges' classic shorts and feature films.

It’s more fun than a poke in the eye! Nyuck! Nyuck! Nyuck!

But visits are by appointment only. To see available dates for making such an appointment and to learn more about this unusual venue, you can visit the Stoogeum website here.

Chances are he or she is very good. But about 1% if doctors account for nearly 33% of all malpractice claims paid.

If you’ve just moved to a new area or maybe you had to change doctors for one reason or another, you can research physicians on Surgeon Scorecard. You can find it at: www.projects.propublica.org/surgeons/

Think there are some bad reality TV shows on the air now?

Back in the summer of 1950, Toni Home Permanents (remember those?) actually sponsored a 15-minute prime-time show that featured twins with the audience having to guess which one had had her hair styled professionally and which had used Toni’s home hair care products. In other words.

The only reason anyone should remember this show is its host – a young guy named Jack Lemmon!