Dan Reilly
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Forgotten Password Questions Too Easy to Crack, Study Finds
Remember when Sarah Palin's e-mail account was accessed by a 20-year-old student who guessed the answer to her Yahoo! security question (where she and husband Todd first met)? Well, the former VP candidate is just one of many whose "forgotten password" questions are way too easy for others to guess, according to a new study published in the Technology Review..
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft found that 28-percent of 130 participants had their security questions correctly answered by people they know and trust. Another 17-percent were vulnerable to people they knew, but didn't trust. The problem, it seems, lies with both users and the ineffectiveness of the security method itself.
Best of the Rest: Watching 'Star Trek'...in Space, Topless NBC Exec
- Astronauts on the International Space Station got to watch the new 'Star Trek' movie. Yeah, that's cool and all, but we saw it in IMAX, so whatever. [Gizmodo]
- Speaking of 'Star Trek,' that clever JJ Abrams hid R2-D2 somewhere in the movie. Whoever spots it can submit an entry form that will make them eligible to win an official prop from the film. Maybe one of the astronauts will win. [WorstPreviews]
- NBC chief Ben Silverman stars in a YouTube clip in which he sings a blues song while only wearing a towel. If this doesn't get ratings up, we don't know what will. [NYmag.com]
- A British man built the world's tiniest car out of a kid's toy. Sure, it gets 70mpg and tops out at 40 mph, but if it doesn't have a kickin stereo, we're not interested. [Autoblog]
- The aptly name Blacksocks.com launches a subscription service that delivers black socks to you every few months. If you do the math, each pair costs somewhere around $10. But hey, you don't have to put on socks and go outside to buy them! [CrunchGear]
Cheap Ford Fusions E-Mail Just Another Spam Hoax
As AutoblogGreen reports, an e-mail from "Ford Motor Company" is making the rounds. The e-mail offers a deal on the popular model: "Due to the World Economy Recession, Ford Motor Company, Inc undergo a statistic fall in Sales and result in a drastic financial crisis this last season," it begins, before explaining that Ford is selling 500 Fusions at nearly half of the normal $27,270 starting price. As is the case with most spam e-mails, it includes some grammatical errors and shady attachment.
Cybersquatting's Latest Incarnation: the Fake Facebook Profile
Remember the days when people would buy up a domain name like "pizza.com," hoping that a company would come along and pay a hefty sum for it? Well, the same tactic is being used on Facebook -- only with the site's public profiles being claimed and then sold to companies.
According to Nick O'Neill at AllFacebook, Facebook users are following in the footsteps of cyber squatters, finding ways to rake in the dough with public profiles. While you can't exactly create a page for a product like Doritos, for example (You must be an "official representative" of the company, according to Facebook's rules), you can get around many of the site's limitations with a bit of creativity. Specifically, you can create a generic fan page that resembles the official page of the product or company in question. If you create the right profile, you can get millions of fans and have your updates appear in their newsfeeds -- a goldmine for any corporation.
So, what's the payoff? O'Neill claims that companies might shell out tens of thousands of dollars for public profiles, or $.05 for each Facebook user that has befriended the page in question since Facebook's redesign. If you have any ideas for a good public profile, we'd say now is the time to post it, since we'd assume that Facebook will eventually put more restrictions on this practice -- most likely in a way that makes them more money. Whether or not you think this Web-speculation is dishonest, it's at least a way to make money on a social network without resorting to blackmail. [From: AllFacebook]
Why You Shouldn't Toss Your Broken Xbox 360 Just Yet
Having trouble with your Xbox 360? Well, join the club. Plenty of people have tossed their consoles, figuring them for dead. But what they probably didn't know is that they could have gotten their favorite toy repaired or replaced, for cheap or for free.
From a post by our friends at Geeksugar, we learned how easy it can be to get back on the gaming horse. First off, if you've encountered the dreaded "Red Ring of Death" malfunction, all hope is not lost. Microsoft will replace your machine for up to three years after the purchase date. This is opposed to the one year warranty on all other repairs. Hopefully, you saved your receipt.
16 Biggest Tech No-Nos
Whether it's the colleague who CC's you on irrelevant e-mails or the stranger who makes loud, public phone calls, many people are downright rude in their gadget use and online behavior. You may not agree with all of them, but we've compiled 16 common tech no-nos, along with ways to avoid them in the future. Read on, because a little more respect and politeness never hurt anyone, right?
Next ...Biggest Tech No-Nos 2
Accidentally replying to everyone Hitting 'Reply All' by mistake is a far too common occurrence these days. At best, you send an irrelevant e-mail; at worst, you reveal sensitive, confidential, or offensive information. If you're going to say something that others shouldn't hear, then do it in private to avoid compromising your job, reputation, relationship, dignity, etc. Take a minute and ...Biggest Tech No-Nos 15
Forgetting attachments How many times have you had to send an e-mail twice because you forgot to include an attachment? If the entire point of an e-mail is to send a file, make sure you actually include it. The easiest strategy here is to attach the file before you write anything in the body. That way, if you click send too quickly, you at least know the important stuff went through. If you ...Biggest Tech No-Nos 3
WRITING IN ALL CAPS Leaving the caps lock engaged in e-mails or chats is like constantly shouting in normal conversation; it makes you seem angry or in need of attention. It's difficult to communicate inflection and tone in online communication, so use normal capitalization and punctuation to get your point across. If not, people won't take you seriously.
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...Biggest Tech No-Nos 4
Taking or posting incriminating photos The paparazzi are some of the most reviled people out there, so why must you act like them? Please, try to avoid taking incriminating or embarrassing photos of others. It rarely ends well. If you must take these pictures, refrain from posting them on public sites. The exception? If you're actually witnessing a crime. In that case, be a good citizen ...
