How to Fortify Your Passwords
With phishing scams sweeping across the Net, including recent Facebook and Twitter attacks, it's important to take extra measures in protecting personal information from identity thieves. One method of avoiding phishing traps and hackers is to ensure that your passwords are virtually undetectable.
Riva Richmond, in the New York Times, outlines some easy and effective ways to secure passwords and make them harder to decipher. Important precautionary measures include using different passwords for different online accounts, specifically banking and bill-paying sites, and also using as many characters as possible in the password. Also, don't use easily obtained personal information, like birthdays, or street or pet names. Instead, try using obscure references, like a character or line from a favored book or song. Mix in symbols and numbers as well, in order to add another level of difficulty. If you love 'The Office,' you could use "dw1ght$833tf@rm," which translates into "Dwight's beet farm," or, if you're a sci-fi junkie, you could try "m0nt@g45I," which refers to the character Montag in the novel 'Fahrenheit 451.'
Be unique and creative. Use easy-to-remember names or phrases that other people wouldn't readily identify with you, like inside jokes, even if they amuse only you (fr@kk1nh@ck3r$ -- frakkinhackers). For additional tips on preventing identity theft and protecting your personal information, you can check out our helpful guide right here. [From: The New York Times]
Weirdest Techie Heists and Scams
Elderly Amish Man Caught on Film With Prostitute, Blackmailed
When a 75-year-old Amish widower slept with a prostitute, he -- we feel certain -- felt pretty bad about it the next morning. As if that guilt weren't enough for the old man, the prostitute and her boyfriend demanded $67,000 from him, claiming that they had filmed the scene with wall-mounted cameras and would upload the recording to the Internet. The pair was later arrested and, we can only imagine, the Amish man abhorred technology more than ever.
Bank Robber Gets Away With the Help of Craiglist
In October, a bank robber -- wearing a safety vest, blue shirt, face mask and goggles -- eluded police with the help of Craiglist. Just outside the bank, while the robbery was in progress, stood a group of men who were responding to a Craiglist day labor opportunity. As the advertisement required, they were all wearing safety vests, blue shirts, face masks and goggles.
Nude New Zealander Arrested After Responding to Fake Sexy Text Message
Late in 2007, a Wellington, New Zealand man received a racy text message from two anonymous "ladies," giving him only an address and a request that he show up naked. Well, he indeed showed up naked... at the home of one appalled, unsuspecting New Zealander. Both the nude Romeo and the sadistic texter were arrested, though neither were prosecuted.
Fake Craiglist Ad Costs Man Most of What He Owns
Last Spring, a post appeared on an Oregon Craigslist board stating that the owner of a specific house was leaving all of his worldly possessions (still in said house) to whoever wanted them. When homeowner Robert Salisbury rushed home -- on a tip from a woman suspicious about the offer of a free horse -- he found his house being ransacked by 30 strangers. We suggest he take that horse and collect some vengeance Clint Eastwood-style.
17-Year-Old Jailed for Stealing Virtual 'Furniture'
When a 17-year-old Dutch boy hacked into several accounts on the Second Life-style site 'Habbo' in 2007, the the law got involved. The boy was discovered to have stolen $5,800 worth of virtual furniture and knick-knacks. Apparently, crime -- whether actual or virtual -- does not pay.
Phishers Going After Your Phones in New 'Vishing' Trend
Over the past year, sneaky spammers have begun to forsake the worn-out territory of e-mail in favor of cell phones' fertile frontier. The result? "Vishing." Get it? Voice mail + phishing. It might be more ominous if it didn't sound like a James Bond villain saying, "Wishing."
Burglars Break Into Restaurant, Steal HDTV, Leave Money / Food Behind
Around Halloween of last year, a truckload of thieves drove into -- that's right, into -- a Pennsylvania Mexican restaurant, where they -- apparently uninterested in the cash register -- stole a mid-grade 47-inch HDTV and fled the scene. We've all heard about how this generation is lacking in ambition, but this generation's thieves, too?
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