SERVICE: Yahoo email hacked … …

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Greetings from XXXXX – Alive and Well in Singapore
Posted by: “XXXXX”

Sat Apr 9, 2011 12:01 am (PDT)

HI Guys, Saturday, April 9th, 2011.

Greetings from Singapore.

I understand that on March 22nd an “Emergency Help!!!” SCAM e-mail was sent in my name to the Manhattan Prep 1964 Yahoo Group.

My apologies if it created any alarm.

However, I am sure that any Prepster who received this e-mail would have realized that the exaggerated emotional tone and piss poor grammar gave it away as a scam…

Here is the background on the scam…

On the evening of March 22nd, someone hacked into my Yahoo/Prodigy Account, hijacked my address book, which contained about 1,400 addresses and then proceeded to send out an “Emergency Help” E-mail asking for money. The hacker even changed my password and set up a forwarding address edward1.coll@yahoo.com to which all my incoming e-mails went so he could try and continue to perpetrate this scam.

Within a few minutes of the scam e-mail being sent, I started receiving phone calls and e-mails from all over the world from people on my contact list enquiring if I was O.K. and whether they should send money to me via a Western Union Office in London .

I told them that this was a big SCAM and to just ignore the e-mail and not even reply as the hacker had arranged to have all the replies forwarded to him. What an operator !!!

It was really frustrating as this hacker also changed my password so I could not initially access my account to see what was going on

I was finally able to get in touch with Yahoo’s Customer Service Department and spent about two hours on the phone with them to get my password reset so I could access the account and cancel out all the forwarding addresses that the hacker had set up.

The worst thing was that he erased my Yahoo Address book and the 1,400 names it contained. Fortunately, I had backed up the address book so I was able to re-import the contacts to my yahoo account.

I hope this matter is settled now. and that no one was duped into sending this hacker any money.

My e-mail address, {Privacy Invoked} should be secure now.

Best regards,

# – # – #

I’m glad you’re OK. It’s not that we have any fellow alum to spare.
On a technical note, were you able to determine, how the hack was accomplished? I’m interested from an InfoSec pov. The default assumption was that someone kept “knocking on the door” with passwords until it opened. It’s not hard to imagine a bot (software robot) doing that. But, it’s also possible that it was malware on your computer or malware on a site you visited with an old browser.
Interesting?
May I suggest that you, or anyone, have your own domain? The common wisdom, or is that common whizdumb, is to own your own name as a domain name. I own “reinke.cc”. (I like saying “sea sea me at reinke.cc”! me@reinke.cc will actually work!)
I can send you some links to stuff that I’ve posted on my blog “Reinke Faces Life” about how to “do” email to avoid such unpleasantries. It’s neither hard not expensive.
Unfortunately, having a yahoo, gmail, or hotmail account makes you are target for the black hats. Eventually they find everyone who has one of those “free accounts”.
At the very least, one can hide by using a very long random string password. I use twenty characters. Of course, I use tools like roboform, last pass, and even the infamous yellow stickie to remember them.
But I doubt anyone has as many unique ids and passwords as I do. I’m a little nuts about it.
I’m now off to change my Yahoo password to something longer. I’m sure someone is listening.
:-)

# – # – # – # – #

Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: Defending against the Epsilon Hack

Friday, April 8, 2011

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2011/04/epsilon_hack.html

Schneier on Security
A blog covering security and security technology.

April 5, 2011
Epsilon Hack

*** begin quote ***

I have no idea why the Epsilon hack is getting so much press.

Yes, millions of names and e-mail addresses might have been stolen. Yes, other customer information might have been stolen, too. Yes, this personal information could be used to create more personalized and better targeted phishing attacks.

*** end quote ***

You should shift to your own domain. Sorry, but yahoo, gmail, and hotmail make you a sitting duck for this hack.Your own domain just moves you out of the target zone.

Alpha spammers just keep trying every id from AA@yahoo.com to ZZZZZZZZZ@hotmail.com and then they turn around and repeat.

So you get “MYDOMAIN.COM”. (You can even push all the email to GMAIL for free.)

Then you create a spreadsheet or use a tool like LASTPASS, ROBOFORM, or such.

Now you assign email addresses to your correspondents. And, add a magic random string to the name, like, k7sa yk2k3 ggfn a2zq

Best Buy ==> BestBuy_k7sa @ MYDOMAIN.COM
Target ===>  Target_yk2k3  @ MYDOMAIN.COM
Verizon ===> Verizon_ggfn  @ MYDOMAIN.COM
Walgreens ==> Walgreens_a2zq @ MYDOMAIN.COM

You can then write email filters that will quarantine emails that arrive without the proper address.

If Best Buy messages come without the “k7sa”, you know that it’s not the address that you gave them.

If non-Best Buy messages come in with the “k7sa”, you know that it’s a compromised email address.

Go change your address at Best Buy and write a filter to trash any “k7sa” email.

It’s just like having unique passwords for all accounts.

# # # # #

1 Comment | SERVICE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: Epsilon #1, #2, and #3

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

A good reason to use unique email addresses for each of your “special” correspondents. Just like passwords, unique. A little bit of trouble to administrate, but it certainly isolates the trouble. And, it’s trivial to do when you have your own domain. You can even subcontract the email to GMAIL if you want by repointing a few records. It also automagicaly detects financial spam, when a message purporting to be from “your bank” arrives on the “wrong email” account. Wish I could teach this technique to more people. We could have email “security” even if the ISPs don’t want to do IPv6 or email providers, like Yahoo, won’t authenticate when email arrives from outside labeled as if originated from Yahoo itself. (I even tried to sell them a consulting engagement but they said “it wasn’t their problem”. With an attitude like that, no wonder we have problems.)

# – # – #

Walgreens
Dear Valued Customer,

On March 30th, we were informed by Epsilon, a company we use to send emails to our customers, that files containing the email addresses of some Walgreens customers were accessed without authorization.

We have been assured by Epsilon that the only information that was obtained was your email address. No other personally identifiable information was at risk because such data is not contained in Epsilon’s email system.

For your security, we encourage you to be aware of common email scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Walgreens will not send you emails asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information. If ever asked for this information, you can be confident it is not from Walgreens.

We regret this has taken place and any inconvenience this may have caused you. If you have any questions regarding this issue, please contact us at 1-855-814-0010. We take your privacy very seriously, and we will continue to work diligently to protect your personal information.

Sincerely,

Walgreens Customer Service Team
PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE.
This is a system-generated Walgreens email. Replies will not be read or forwarded for handling.

This message was sent to

Contact Us | Unsubscribe | Update Email Address | Privacy Policy

Copyright 2010 Walgreen Co., 200 Wilmot Road, Deerfield, IL 60015-4620. All rights reserved.

# – # – #

Scottrade®
For our Chinese-speaking
customers:
As a valued Scottrade customer or someone who previously provided us with your email address, we want to make you aware of a situation that affects your email security. We have been notified by Epsilon, a company we use to send emails, that an unauthorized person outside of their company accessed records that contained your name and email address.

This incident occurred at Epsilon. We want to assure you that Scottrade’s systems were not affected and your account information remains secure.

The security of your information is important to us and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. You may receive an increase in spam email as a result of this incident. We encourage you to be cautious when opening emails, links or attachments from unknown sources. Scottrade will never ask you for personal or account information in an email.

Please visit Scottrade’s Security Center http://www.scottrade.com/security/ for more information on online security.

Sincerely,

Scottrade Customer Support

Email is not a secure communications channel. Please do not reply to this message with sensitive information, such as account number, social security number or password.

Privacy Statement  Scottrade Security Center

Brokerage Products and Services offered by Scottrade, Inc. –
Member FINRA/SIPC.

To ensure Scottrade emails do not get blocked from your inbox, please add scottrade@email.scottrade.com to your address book.

This email was sent by:
Scottrade, Inc.
P.O. Box 31759
Saint Louis, MO 63131-0759

# – # – #


<!– NOTE USE OF TD PADDING TO CONTROL LINE WRAP IN THE FOLLOWING TEXT… No
–>

Verizon To ensure our emails reach your inbox, please add
email@info.verizon.com to your address book.
Dear Verizon Customer,

We have been informed by Epsilon, a provider of Verizon’s email marketing services, that your email address was exposed due to unauthorized access to its systems. Verizon uses Epsilon to send marketing communications on our behalf.

Epsilon has assured us that the information exposed was limited to email addresses, and that no other information about you or your account was exposed.

As always, you should be cautious when opening email links or attachments from unknown or suspicious parties, or emails purporting to be from Verizon and asking for financial or account password information. It is our policy to never ask for this information in emails. If you receive such emails, do not reply to them. You can report suspect or unwanted emails to Verizon at abuse@verizon.net and can obtain more information on how to protect against spam and phishing attacks on Verizon’s Privacy Policy page by clicking on “Tips for Guarding Your Information” located at the top right hand corner of the page. Our privacy policy can be found at Verizon.com/privacy.

We regret any inconvenience this may cause you. Please be assured that we take the privacy of your information very seriously.

Sincerely,

Verizon
Having trouble with the links in this email? You can also copy and paste the following address into your browser to view your account:

Ensure Verizon emails reach your inbox by adding reply-isnot-monitored@verizon.com to your “safe” email list. Your email or Internet provider can provide instructions on how it works.

This email has been sent from an auto-notification system that cannot accept incoming email.
©2011 Verizon. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy
Verizon Online – PO Box 33056 / St Petersburg, FL 33733

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: China’s building nuke plants

Saturday, April 2, 2011

http://dumpdc.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/china-embraces-new-nuclear-technology/

China Embraces New Nuclear Technology
by Russell D. Longcore

*** begin quote ***

Did I say ALL the reactors are using old technology? Pardon me. China has build a 10 MW (megawatt) prototype “Pebble Bed” reactor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. It holds the promise of safe nuclear-generated power going forward into tomorrow.

The Pebble Bed reactor was actually invented in 1947 by Dr. Farrington Daniels at Oak Ridge National Laboratory here in the USA. Then, German scientists took the concept and have been perfecting it since. America…to its shame…has not embraced this technology.

*** end quote ***

We need nukes to wean ourselves off imported oil. Americans tamed the frontier. Are you telling me we can’t have safe nukes?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Technology | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

HARDWARE: POGOPLUG becomes much more valuable

Thursday, March 31, 2011

201103240619.jpg

http://www.pogoplug.com/home-en.html?

For a C Note and an external USB hard drive, you have your own “cloud”. This is an amazing solution. And, the fact, that it has no monthly charge, is stunning.

Put one in a friend’s house and you have off-site backup. And, it doesn’t preclude him putting his own along side it. I can see a lot of mutual back scenarios being created.

Hurry before they raise the price.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | HARDWARE | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

NOTRECOMMENDED: WD MYBOOKFORMAC

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

IMHO this has been a technology disaster.

Not so much the device. I had that working in minutes.

In the accompanying software. What good is a backup device without the snazzy software that will make the backups painless.

Otherwise it’s just a USB Hard DIsk. Which is nice, but there are many on the market and many much cheaper.

I have a WD Go Flex that I bought without the snazzy software and use IBACKUP with.

During the “panic attacks” I feared for my data. And despite CARBONITE and DROPBOX and GOFLEXDRIVE, the TIMEMACHINE failure scared me. So I wanted more protection.

(I’ve done bare metal restores on WINDOZE and MACBOOKAIR, they are NOT pretty. Stuff never comes back 100%.)

I bought the MYBOOKFORMAC based on the box’s promise of simple complete backup. And, I got something that was Adobe Flash dependent and browser dependent. That’s not what I bargained for.

CAVEAT EMPTOR

And, I may be wrong but in the “support email exchanges”, I think I was dealing with a softeware robot, not a real person, Even dial 1 800 a third world country is more honest. Did these guys watch WATSON on Jeopardy and think they can fool people?

# – # – #

Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response. We hope we have answered your question(s). If we do not receive an update from you within 4 business days, the incident will automatically close. However, if you still need further assistance from us, please do not hesitate to update your question(s) or contact us at 1-800-ASK-4WDC and we will be happy to assist you further.

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To access your question from our support site, click here.

Subject
wd smartware doesn’t exec
Discussion Thread
Response Via Email (Carmen D) 03/29/2011 02:18 PM
Dear Ferdinand,

Thank you for your reply.

Once again I apologize for the inconvenience. If you decide to return the product to the store you do not need an RMA number to get a credit refund from retailer. An RMA number is used for replacement purpose with our company. If you wish to get your money back for the product from store, this is something that is handled by the retailer you purchased the product. Western Digital does not refund back money to customers, if the drive is defective or needs replacement for some other reason, we proceed with RMA options.

If you wish to replace the drive, we have two warranty replacement options available to you, Advance RMA and Standard RMA. Both options are available online from our we bsite. In an Advance RMA, we will ship you the replacement drive prior to receiving your defective drive. A credit/debit card is required to insure against the receipt your defective drive. If we do not receive your drive 30 days from the date the replacement drive was shipped, the fair market value of the replacement drive will be charged/debited to your credit/debit card. In a Standard RMA, we will ship you the replacement drive only after we have received your defective product. No credit/debit card is required in a Standard RMA.

The current turnaround time for an Advance RMA is 3 to 5 business days and 5 to 7 business days for a Standard RMA.

You may create your RMA online by visiting the links below. Please remember that an RMA number is required in order to replace your defective drive.

Title: How can I check the warranty of my drive?
URL: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=915&p_created=1047361575

Title: How can I replace a product under warranty?
URL: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=8&p_created=1003424317

Title: Where can I get packaging and shipping information for an RMA?
URL: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=683&p_created=1036445537

Current RMA turnaround: http://support.wdc.com/warranty/rmapost.asp

If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.

Sincerely,
Carmen D
Western Digital Service and Support
http://support.wdc.com

Note: If you have not visited our community forums, please make sure to do so. You may also find answer(s) to your question(s) there.
Link to WD community forums: http://websupport.wdc.com/rn/cl.asp?i=110326-003152&e=reinkefj@gmail.com

This electronic message contains information from Western Digital and is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is confidential. The dissemination of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this electronic transmission in error, please respond back to this e-mail or contact us by phone (http://support.wdc.com/contact/index.asp?wdc_lang=en).
Customer By Email (Ferdinand Reinke) 03/29/2011 11:44 AM
>
> How about if you just give me an RMA and have Best Buy issue me a
> credit? This is far more than I wanted to do to get this to work.
> Nothing on the box disclosed this torture.
>
>
>
Response Via Email (Carmen D) 03/28/2011 10:23 AM
Dear Ferdinand,

Thank you for your reply.

I apologize for the inconvenience. Is the file downloading but once you click on the executable file is not running? Does the application get installed but is not performing the backup? Could you please send me a screen shot of where the issue is occurring and of any message that you get when your trying the installation of application.

If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.

Sincerely,
Carmen D
Western Digital Service and Support
http://support.wdc.com

Note: If you have not visited our community forums, please make sure to do so. You may also find answer(s) to your question(s) there.
Link to WD community forums: http://websupport.wdc.com/rn/cl.asp?i=110326-003152&e=reinkefj@gmail.com

This electronic message contains information from Western Digital and is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is confidential. The dissemination of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this electronic transmission in error, please respond back to this e-mail or contact us by phone (http://support.wdc.com/contact/index.asp?wdc_lang=en).
Customer By Email (Ferdinand Reinke) 03/28/2011 04:42 AM
>
> Are you seriously telling me that I have to install another browser?
>

Where exactly on the box does it say that? I don’t see anything, even in the
small print, that Adobe Flash or a browser other than Chrome is required?

Now what exactly do you want me to place where to execute?

>
>
>
Customer By Email (Ferdinand Reinke) 03/28/2011 04:12 AM
>
So what you are saying, that is not on the box, that this software
doesn’t execute with Chrome?

Are you seriously saying you want me to install ANOTHER browser so that
your software can execute?

What do you want me to put where and execute?
>
>
>
>
Response Via Email (Carmen D) 03/27/2011 03:04 PM
Dear Ferdinand,

Thank you for your reply.

I truly apologize for the inconvenience. If it is not executing in Chrome try another browser. Also try to save the executable on your computer then try to install.

If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.

Sincerely,
Carmen D
Western Digital Service and Support
http://support.wdc.com

Note: If you have not visited our community forums, please make sure to do so. You may also find answer(s) to your question(s) there.
Link to WD community forums: http://websupport.wdc.com/rn/cl.asp?i=110326-003152&e=reinkefj@gmail.com

This electronic message contains information from Western Digital and is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is confidential. The dissemination of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this electronic transmission in error, please respond back to this e-mail or contact us by phone (http://support.wdc.com/contact/index.asp?wdc_lang=en).
Customer By Email (Ferdinand Reinke) 03/27/2011 02:42 PM
>
> *** begin quote ***

Your Google Chrome browser already includes Adobe® Flash® Player
built-in. Google Chrome will automatically update when new versions of
Flash Player are available.

To learn more about the enhanced support for Flash Player in Chrome,
including information for developers, seethis TechNote
<http://www.adobe.com/go/flashplayerchrome>.

*** end quote ***

Still doesn’t work. I can copy files to and from the device. But none of
the promised utilities are available.
>
>
>
Response Via Email (Carmen D) 03/27/2011 09:31 AM
Dear Ferdinand,

Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support. My name is Carmen D.

I apologize for the inconvenience that you are experiencing. Please, follow the troubleshooting steps below.

1. Uninstall any versions of Smartware from your system and reboot after disconnecting the device.

Answer Title: How to uninstall WD SmartWare from Windows (7, Vista, or XP) and Mac OSX (10.4, 10.5, and 10.6)
Answer Link: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=5373

2. Double-check that you have all high-priority AND optional updates for MAC

3. First uninstall from your add/remove programs adobe flash player, and then reinstall. Check for latest versions
of adobe flash player here: http://adobe.com and also for the Java runtime environment

4. Reconnect the device and Update the software here:

http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/wdsmartwareupdate/Step1.asp?id=wdfMB_forMac&os=MAC

Download this updated version of the WD Smartware, and using this version, install the application, do not install the version bundled with your drive and then update to the latest version, install directly from the file downloaded from the link.

5. Try running the Smartware backup.

If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.

Sincerely,
Carmen D
Western Digital Service and Support
http://support.wdc.com

Note: If you have not visited our community forums, please make sure to do so. You may also find answer(s) to your question(s) there. Link to WD community forums at: http://websupport.wdc.com/rn/cl.asp?i=110326-003152&e=reinkefj@gmail.com

This electronic message contains information from Western Digital and is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is confidential. The dissemination of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this electronic transmission in error, please respond back to this e-mail or contact us by phone (http://support.wdc.com/contact/index.asp?wdc_lang=en).
Auto-Response 03/26/2011 01:07 PM
Dear Ferdinand,

Thank you for your email. If you need to update your question, please click the link below to update your question. Our goal is to answer your email within one (1) business day. However, sometimes due to heavy volume, it may take us a little longer to respond (Hours of Operation: M-F 8AM-5PM PST). If you have not visited our community forums, please make sure to do so. You may find the answer(s) to your question(s) there.

Link to WD community forum: http://websupport.wdc.com/rn/cl.asp?i=110326-003152&e=reinkefj@gmail.com

Link to update my question: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/acct_login.php?p_userid=reinkefj@gmail.com

Link to contact us: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1048

Our knowledge base may have some suggested answers below which may resolve your question. If no answers are listed or the answers are not helpful, please allow us one (1) business day to reply to your email.
The following answers might help you immediately. (Answers open in a separate window.)

Title: How to remove (disable / hide) WD SmartWare Virtual CD (VCD) for Windows or Mac OSX on a WD My Book or WD My Passport
Link: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3835

Title: WD SmartWare for Mac OSX has an inaccurate file count in the backup and retrieve tab
Link: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6567

Title: Backing up a large file to a drive creates an endless backup loop in WD SmartWare for Mac OSX (ver. 1.2.x.x)
Link: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6557

Title: After updating WD SmartWare for Mac OSX, the backup and retrieve gauges no longer properly update
Link: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6556

Title: Switching Users on a Mac OS X 10.4 computer after installing and running SmartWare causes an error
Link: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5313

Sincerely,

# – # – #

It goes back to Best Buy today.

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-30 @ 08:13

Leave a Comment » | HARDWARE, NOTRECOMMENDED | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: AMAZON CLOUDPLAYER just stopped

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

I knew it, I knew it. “Cloud Services” are subject to network and hosting issues.

AMAZON CLOUDPLAYER just had a “brain fart”. For at least three minutes.

For me listening to music sadly, who cares. For folks betting their ranch on a cloud strategy, they better care.

It’s back now. Let the finger pointing begin.

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-30 @ 10:59

Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: AMAZON CLOUD_DRIVE and CLOUD_PLAYER scoops Google and Apple

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Introducing Amazon Cloud Player for Web and Android

Seems like Amazon has scooped Google and Apple. It appears to work.

Just as you should buy your ebooks for Kindle, seems like you music should be from Amazon. (The buying process is clunky! imho)

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-29 @ 19:31

Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: The problem with “cloud” services; they “disappear”

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Ahh, yes, a plaxo competitor, but not as obnoxious, is going down.

First they stopped performing the service in January. Then, they told folks at the end of March.

It was a useful service (i.e., update your email once and it told every one who had your card). It was originally tied to the business card scanner. No word if they are going to stop selling those. (Who uses business cards today?) I doubt it.

Sigh, an idea who’s time has past.

BTW, their product still had the same fatal flaw it’s always had: YOUR data was locked in their database with no way to extract it.

I blogged that they needed to be open. Interact with Google contacts. Instead of keeping their own database, use people’s GMAIL contacts as their database. Require some innovative business and technical thinking, sure.

Go to Google and offer to make GMAIL’s contacts “social”.

I think their problem was in their thinking — memes and paradigms again — they thought they were selling business card scanners. What they should have been thinking was “we enable communication”.

They could have been LinkedIn, ACT / Salesforce, or something else.

Their thinking did them in.

RIP CARDSCAN. “Ya coulda been a contender”

# – # – #

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DYMO Logo DYMO.com    |  Support    |   Forward to a Friend
CardScan @ Your Service Discontinuance notice

Dear At Your Service user,

We are contacting you because, after careful consideration, DYMO CardScan has decided to discontinue our At Your Service program effective Dec 31, 2011. Due to the cost of the hardware and network bandwidth up keep, a business decision was made to discontinue the no cost CardScan At Your Service online database program.

The first step in this process was to stop sending out the update service email notifications which just happened at the end of January 2011. We apologize for the inconvenience but users of AYS can continue to use it to back up their contacts, as well as to access their contacts remotely over the web, until the service is completely shut down at the end of this year.

Just as a reminder, our End User License Agreement specifically states that services provided in addition to the CardScan software application can be modified or discontinued at any time.

Sincerely,

The DYMO team
DYMO, a member of the Newell Rubbermaid family of brands.

Please do not respond to this email address, this mailbox is not attended. Please click here to email us directly.

# # # # #

4 Comments | SERVICE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MACBOOKAIR: AppleCare …

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

fcsk-ed the disk cmd-opt-r-p reset. Reboot.

Case #212-319-493

Cross your fingers!

There’s 17 minutes of my life I’ll never get back. What life?

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-29 @ 11:21

Leave a Comment » | MACBOOKAIR | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MACBOOKAIR: another panic; lost a document I was writing

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Argh!

Scheduled a call with support.

Dropping back to netbook. Can’t take the losses. And interruptions.

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-29 @ 09:00

Leave a Comment » | MACBOOKAIR | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MACBOOKAIR: yet another panic

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Have to solve this or “mare metal restore”.

The Apple Time Machine isn’t working either.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-29 @ 08:14

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Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Geo tagged photos

Monday, March 28, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2vARzvWxwY

Opinion: Smart phones might be a tad too smart.

Bottom line: Turn off geo tagging on your smart phone for ANY pic you plan to post on the inet.

# – # – #

Tip of the hat to my oldest friend who finally spammed me something useful.

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Leave a Comment » | Technology | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

HARDWARE: WD’s MyBookForMac installs but …

Saturday, March 26, 2011

WD’s MyBookForMac installs but …

… … the Smart Ware software doesn’t install or execute. Argh!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | HARDWARE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MACBOOKAIR: another panic

Saturday, March 26, 2011

I am going to have to schedule a trip to the apple store?

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-26 @ 07:55

Leave a Comment » | MACBOOKAIR | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MACBOOKAIR: Yet another panic last night

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-26 @ 07:06

Leave a Comment » | MACBOOKAIR | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: Any color as long as it’s black

Saturday, March 26, 2011

EMAIL TO A VENDOR EMAIL CAMPAIGN SOFTWARE

I’m interested in offering my 100 chapter book by email.

I want to set up a sequence of 100 emails that will form up what I would call a “campaign”. When I get a victim, I want to put in that email address and forget it. I want the software to every day fire out the appropriate day’s email.

At any given point in time, I could (hopefully) have lots of them at different points in the process.

Every time I have spent time investigating a software product or web offering, I eventually found out it couldn’t. Sometimes I was told it could, installed the software and tried a test. Fail.

Hence the email message before I waste everyone’s time.

If yours doesn’t, do you know something that does?

Thanks,
fjohn

AND THEIR PROMPT RESPONSE

Hello fjohn,

Mailings can not send out a schedule of separate emails, but it can send out one specific message at a specific scheduled time, and then repeat that using a specified time interval:

I am not aware of other products that do exactly what you want.

Ciao
Joe

# – # – #

How expensive is an Indian Programming Project?

Do it myself? Argh, that sounds like work.

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Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SOFTWARE: APPLE IPHOTO doesn’t allow you to …

Thursday, March 24, 2011

APPLE IPHOTO doesn’t allow you to …

… easily mange the size of the Photo Library.

And, the backup function is lame. There’s no way to do a backup to an external drive except by doing individual exports.

It would have been trivial to allow it, but they didn’t.

One can only imagine that the decision to implement this way was to drive sales to Time Machine or Mobile Me. Clearly, that might be speculation. But, it fits how I see APPLE. Exploitive. The software is designed and implemented in a way that’s best for APPLE; not the User. imho

# – # – #

IPHOTO is unsuitable for use on the MACBOOKAIR due to limited hard disk space and the software’s inability to compensate for that.

When one imports pictures into IPHOTO from a camera, that is the easiest time to create the external backup.

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Leave a Comment » | SOFTWARE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MACBOOKAIR: two panics today

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-24 @ 16:49

Leave a Comment » | MACBOOKAIR | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MACBOOKAIR: So much for that upgrade

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Spent a lot of time yday making space for the upgrade purported to fix panics.

Had one last night after the upgrande and two today so far.

“Bare metal restore” is looking like my only option.

If I wanted to have these type of problems, I could have stay on windoze.

Outlook’s looking better and better.

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-23 @ 06:54

Another panic

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-23 @ 08:15

Another panic

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-23 @ 08:34

Another panic. Moved to backup machine. Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-23 @ 12:22

Leave a Comment » | MACBOOKAIR | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MACBOOKAIR: Applied 10.6.7 update but still having panics

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Bare metal restore time?

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-22 @ 22:29

Leave a Comment » | MACBOOKAIR | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SOFTWARE: POSTBOX2 on MACBOOKAIR doesn’t have scheduled send

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Fedinand Reinke, Mar-18 11:49 pm (PDT):

Sometimes I would like a message to be delayed until tomorrow, next week, or some time next year. I can’t find how to induce POSTBOX2 to do that for me. I know it’s in Outlook. How does a POSTBOX2 User do that?

It would be really nice if POSTBOX2 would handle that very smartly (i.e., wake up when a deferred request triggers and send it) but I could even live with it doing it the next time it is “alive”.

# – # – #

Justin Rochell, Mar-21 07:47 pm (PDT):

Hi Fedinand,

Postbox has a “Send Later” feature, but without scheduling.

http://support.postbox-inc.com/entries/247672-using-the-send-later-command

If you don’t mind, please submit a request for scheduling in the Ideas & Feature Requests Forum so we can keep track of it.

Thanks for using postbox!

Best,
Justin Rochell
Postbox, Inc.

# – # – #

(1) This seems to me to be an OBVIOUSLY needed feature. OUTLOOK does it; I’m no MICROSOFT fan, but they have certain features. It just WINDOZE that sucks.

(2) WINDOZE may suck; MACOSX has its problems too. The question is how much suckiness will you the User tolerate. If you do a real good job of separating your data, your applications, and the OS on a WINDOZE platform, AND IF you do a real good job of managing your WINDOZE OS — slipstreaming fixes into a WINDOZE DISKIMAGE (by like ACRONIS) so you can bare metal restore at the drop of a hat, I’d give the nod to WINDOZE over MACOSX. On to Linux anyone?

(3) The meme of “personal computing” is that you can have your little PLATFORM and it’s “personal”. The new meme of “cloud computing” is nice if you never leave home and you high speed connection to the inet never fails. Once you leave home or if your inet provider is flaky, then cloud computing is challenging at best. Wifi ain’t that ubiquitous or that “free”. If you use the phone as you’re inet gateway, you’re stuck with an expensive “data plan” and find out that “unlimited” doesn’t mean “unlimited”.

(4) Clearly, the applications developers have to design applications that can work either with or without the cloud. I haven’t seen one yet that does.

(5) The regulators are back in 1910 and are (deliberately?) clueless about how companies are ripping the folks off.

(6) I love how developers want the Users to do their work for them. Assuming that “scheduled send” is a valid useful “new idea”. Why ask me, the User, to do your data entry work? That’s down right rude. Do I get paid, or anything, to be your R&D staff? It’s not like this is Open Source Software, where there’s more of a collaboration between developer and User. Argh!

(7) Many enterprises treat the Customer like they are an unpaid staff. The cable and telephone companies come to mind. I may have no choice but to put up your “barbara streisand” now, but there will come a time. Payback is a bitch!

Argh!

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Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: KODALGALLERY is down?

Sunday, March 20, 2011

It’s not just you! http://kodakgallery.com looks down from here.

# – # – #

Argh!

# – # – # – # – # 2011-Mar-20 @ 23:09

Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

HARDWARE: FIOS is “tone deaf”

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Here;s yet another example of an organization being “tone deaf”. An unmonitored email address? Wasn’t one of their commercials “Can you hear me now”. (Just shaking my head) Argh!

<!–

–>

Verizon <!–

ADVERTISEMENT
Having trouble viewing this e-mail? Click here for an online version.

–>

Dear Verizon Customer,
Your replacement Set Top Box (STB) has been ordered and will be delivered via UPS. Included with the STB are instructions for connecting and activating your new equipment. To check on the status of your delivery, please use the reference number below in the Track by Reference option on www.ups.com.

Tracking Number : NJDQ0157BY
*If ordered after4pm EST, it may take 24 hours for tracking information to appear on ups.com.
Connecting your Set Top Box:
When your replacement Set Top Box arrives, locate your STB?s serial number on the packing slip and make a note of it. You may need it during the activation process.
* Check your STB location. It should have good ventilation, free of obstruction.
* Do not place anything on top of the STB, especially other home video components.
* Included in the STB packaging are instructions and diagrams to assist with the connection of the cables.
Set Top Box Activation:
Your replacement Set Top Box has been programmed to activate automatically. To start the activation, complete the steps below in the following order.
1. Connect the COAX video cable from the wall to the COAX IN port on the STB.
2. Connect the STB cables (either COAX, Component video/RCA audio, or HDMI) from the video OUT ports on the STB to the video IN ports on the television.
3. Connect the STB power cord to an electrical outlet.
The activation process should start within a minute and should take less than 15 minutes to complete. You will be able to follow along with the activation process on the television screen.
If the auto provisioning fails, you should attempt to power cycle the STB by removing the power, verifying all video cables are connected correctly and then reinstalling the STB power cord to the power outlet.
If this second attempt fails, you should use the manual activation method of entering the activation code in the voice portal or via the internet. You will need the STB Serial Number and the six digit activation code included in the STB instructions.
* Call the Verizon Set Top Box Activation Line included in the STB instructions and simply follow the prompts to complete the activation.
* The manual activation process can take up to 30 minutes.
* After 30 minutes turn on the STB.
* Then turn on your TV, select the proper input and set to channel 3.
Program your Remote Control:
Your FiOS TV Remote Control is a universal remote. It can also control your TV, VCR, or Home Entertainment System.
To program your remote, please follow the instructions in the user guide.
Help videos are also available and can be found on the On Demand Menu, under Help.
Return Authorization:
Also included with the replacement STB is a Return Authorization label. Please use this label to return your defective Set Top Box within 30 days. Failure to return the defective STB may result in charges being applied to your FiOS account.
Thank you for contacting Verizon. This email box is used for outgoing email only.
Thank you for being a valued Verizon customer and it is our goal that you recommend us to your family, friends and colleagues!
Sincerely,
FiOS Solution Center Team
THIS IS FiOS. THIS IS BIG.

&sup1; Engadget

This message was sent from a notification-only email address that cannot accept incoming messages.
Please do not reply to this message.
© 2009 Verizon. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy
Verizon Online | PO Box 33056 | St Petersburg, FL 33733

Get FiOS

Ok guys, now that hardware you said is defective is working perfectly today. And, I have no way to tell you!
And look at all the stuff I’m supposed to do for free! Argh!
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Leave a Comment » | HARDWARE | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

HARDWARE: Verizon sucks; FIOS NOTRECOMMENDED!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

It was a pleasure to assist you. Your chat session has ended. Thank You.

  Your chat ID number is 03191189238.

Chat Subject: FiOS Television (Other)

Your Question: Box is cycling every few minutes.

A Verizon Service Representative will be with you shortly. Thank you. (21:05:16)

<<< Ten minutes?>>>

21:15:01 Estimated wait time is 4 mins 42 secs. We apologize for the delay. You are next in the queue. A representative will be with you shortly.

Agent George has joined. (21:15:22)

George : Chat ID for this session is 03191189238. (21:15:22)

George(21:15:27): Thank you for using Verizon FiOS Technical Support. I apologize for any delays in reaching an agent today.

My name is George, for security purposes please post the name and address on the account as well as a good can be reached telephone number.

While I access your account and start running some diagnostic tests, please open a new browser window and type http://www.verizon.com/inhomeagent in the address bar and follow the prompts to download our new In Home Agent support tool, if you?ve not already done so.

Ferdinand Reinke(21:15:28): I don’t think there is much that can be done. The box is recycling every few minutes. And, my other box is running fine. Argh!

Ferdinand Reinke(21:16:11): I don’t want the inhome agent on my hardware.

George(21:16:36): please provide the information, i have asked for above please

Ferdinand Reinke(21:16:50): {Extraneous Deleted}

George(21:17:30): address on the account also

Ferdinand Reinke(21:17:45): {Extraneous Deleted}

George(21:18:20): ok

George(21:18:30): After our chat session is completed, I will send you a helpful email to the email address listed above reinke@reinke.cc

George(21:18:30): I’m sorry for any frustration this has caused, but I’d be glad to assist you with your issue today.

George(21:18:51): For security purposes can I please get you to confirm the account number, the last amount you paid, or the install date, please.

Ferdinand Reinke(21:19:07): I have no idea of that information.

George(21:19:42): i also need that information, i can wait also. if you need me to

Ferdinand Reinke(21:20:26):

{Extraneous Deleted}

George(21:21:01): thank you

George(21:21:27): also which box has the issue, the dvr or the sd box?

Ferdinand Reinke(21:21:51): the hd dvr box

George(21:22:22): is there any clicking or humming noise from the dvr/

Ferdinand Reinke(21:22:29): no

George(21:22:50): are you in front of it now?

George(21:22:55): i just flashed the programming on it

George(21:23:00): i need you to test it and see if it reboots

Ferdinand Reinke(21:23:03): sounds like the other tv has stopped playing

Ferdinand Reinke(21:23:19): press menu

George(21:23:34): i programmed both

George(21:23:40): go ahead and press menu

Ferdinand Reinke(21:23:44): done

George(21:23:54): picture?

Ferdinand Reinke(21:23:57): yes

George(21:24:03): let it play ok

Ferdinand Reinke(21:24:08): yup

Ferdinand Reinke(21:24:18): recylced

George(21:24:29): just did?

Ferdinand Reinke(21:24:32): yes

George(21:25:07): I’m going to mail out a replacement Set Top Box to you. It will arrive by UPS Next-Day Air (typically within 2-3 business days).

1. Once you receive the new Set Top Box, unplug the bad STB and power adapter and use the new STB and power adapter.

2. Then send back the bad Set Top Box using the supplied UPS shipping label and dropoff at the nearest UPS Store (www.theupsstore.com) or UPS Dropoff location.

Ferdinand Reinke(21:26:11): And I’m supposed to be happy about that. I’m without the TV service for 2-3 business days and I lose all the programs on the DVR?

George(21:26:31): yes you will lose all the recorded programs

Ferdinand Reinke(21:26:47): I know but I am NOT happy about that.

George(21:27:02): i am sorry, there is nothing we can do to make it not reboot

Ferdinand Reinke(21:27:36): OK let’s delete the DVR service completely. Just send me a replacement HD box.

George(21:28:06): can not do that, you have to talk to billing to do that

Ferdinand Reinke(21:28:26): This is the third DVR box that is being replaced.

George(21:28:31): if you want to swap to a lower priced box, they will have to do an ordr

George(21:28:36): i am sorry, but this isnt billing and orders

George(21:28:52): we do not, do orders to downgrade your box

George(21:29:02): i can only send you out a like for like unit

George(21:29:07): no downgrades

Ferdinand Reinke(21:29:43): Well you can credit the bill for at least four days out of service.

George(21:29:53): no

George(21:29:59): this isnt biling, this is repair

Ferdinand Reinke(21:30:04): NO>

George(21:30:24): repair, does not handle your bill or orders

Ferdinand Reinke(21:30:25): just shaking my head.

George(21:30:45): you understand, in repair we do not handle billing or orders

George(21:30:45): correct?

George(21:31:00): im going to send you out a replacement unit for your dvr

Ferdinand Reinke(21:31:00): I understand only to well.

George(21:31:05): since it keeps rebooting

George(21:31:11): it has been ordered

George(21:34:07): do you have any other questions, about the replacement unit

Ferdinand Reinke(21:34:32): NO!

George(21:35:08): I’m glad I could help. Chat Support is available everyday from 8am-9pm Central. Additional information on all 3 FiOS services can be found online at http://verizon.com/residentialhelp/.

Also, we have the Verizon In Home Agent that you can download at http://www.verizon.com/inhomeagent Thank you for choosing Verizon and have a great day.

Your session is now closed.

Thank you, have a nice day.

Your session is now closed.

Thank you, have a nice day.

# # # # #

This is not help.

This is the THIRD DVR!

VERIZON FIOS is NOTRECOMMENDED!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | HARDWARE, NOTRECOMMENDED, VERIZON | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MACBOOKAIR: Another panic

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Argh!

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Leave a Comment » | MACBOOKAIR | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

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