TECHNOLOGY: Passwords and secondary questions

Friday, April 24, 2009

http://www.electronicpulp.net/2009/04/24/salma-hayeks-apple-mobileme-account-hacked-couldnt-have-been-easier/

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As I write this, people are accessing the personal Apple MobileMe account of Hollywood actress Salma Hayek, after its login details were posted earlier today on Anonymous imageboard 4chan.org. Hacking into a famous celebrity’s e-mail account might sound like it would take an awful lot of work and experience and knowledge in hacking, but as it turns out, the evil deed could be carried out with just a few keystrokes. The Anonymous poster who started it all left the following bits of information for all to see and use to access Salma Hayek’s MobileMe e-mail account.

   Her email address is shayek@mac.com

   Go to me.com, forgot password, type shayek@mac.com

   Her birthday is Sept. 2

   Answer to change password question is: frida

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My non-critical passwords are 16 random alphanumeric characters. I have pages of them developed with ROBOFORM’s “PASSWORD GENERATE” function. My critical ones are long mnemonics of my favorite sayings.

AND, I treat secondary questions as exactly what they are — backdoors.

SO if you see my Grandmother C9HJLPQVK say hi. Say hi to my little dog KEZNBF6N9. And, I will be at my first school — VRT9ZWDX6.

If you know these “answers”, then you own my account at the New York Times. The free one. That they make you set up to read the slanted stories of the day.

Bottom line, security is for everyone. And, it’s easy.

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Posted by reinkefj

LIBERTY: What percentage of a slave are you?

Monday, April 13, 2009

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=94199

A Minority View Walter Williams
Government deception: The rule not the exception
Posted: April 08, 2009 1:00 am Eastern

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Today’s politicians are not likely to take measures to avoid the coming chaos because senior citizens, the major beneficiaries of Social Security and Medicare, vote in large numbers and will exact a high political price. Plus, neither today’s senior citizens nor today’s politicians will be alive in 2050. I’d be more optimistic if my fellow Americans were simply suffering from congressional deception as opposed to their not caring about the economic calamity that awaits tomorrow’s Americans. I’d be even more optimistic if today’s seniors started putting heat on Congress to allow those Americans who want nothing to do with Social Security to opt out.

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Like that is ever going to happen. Politicians and bureaucrats will never release the “wage slaves” without a fight.

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system {Breaking News}

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_mccaughey&sid=aLzfDxfbwhzs

Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan
Commentary by Betsy McCaughey
reported on Bloomberg

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Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) — Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy.

Tragically, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped in without discussion. These provisions reflect the handiwork of Tom Daschle, until recently the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department.

Senators should read these provisions and vote against them because they are dangerous to your health. (Page numbers refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version).

The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.

But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.”

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Surprise, surprise, surprise.

We’re like the Jim Neighbor’s character, the village idiot, and we’ll be “suprised” that this “stimulus bill” has a lot of “interesting ideas” in it.

DownSizeDC is right: Read The Bills (make the congresscritters read what they are voting on), One Subject At A Time (No mash ups), and all their other suggestions. (www.downsizedc.org)

This is a disaster. It has NO —- none, zero, nada —- redeeming value.

It’s going to send us down the road to debt and a ultimately societal collapse. Not in the next thirty minutes. Thankfully, I won’t have to pick up the pieces, but a terrible legacy to leave behind.

I wonder if the citizens of the Roman Empire saw it coming as well? Debt, Inflation, Circuses, collapse.

Privacy and security down the tubes. There are no computer break ins or leaks. The gooferment can’t secure its prisons, but your medical records will be just fine. Ask ARod how it feels to have private medical records discussed by the President on National TV!

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Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: FACEBOOK pops and an unusual message and I’m locked out

Monday, January 26, 2009

From: Facebook <password+frohghzf@facebookmail.com>

Date: January 26, 2009 2:20:49 PM EST
To: FJohn Reinke
Subject: Security Warning From Facebook
Reply-To: Facebook <password+frohghzf@facebookmail.com>

We have detected suspicious activity on your Facebook account and have reset your password as a security precaution. It is possible that malicious software was downloaded to your computer or that your password was stolen by a phishing website designed to look like Facebook. Please carefully follow the steps provided:

1. Run Anti-Virus Software: If your computer has been infected with a virus or with malware, you will need to run anti-virus software to remove these harmful programs and keep your information secure. For Microsoft:

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/viruses/xp/av.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/default.mspx

For Apple:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

2. Reset Password: Be sure that you use a complex string of numbers, letters, and punctuation marks that is at least six characters in length.

To reset your password, follow the link below:

http://login.facebook.com/reset.php?
(If clicking on the link doesn’t work, try copying and pasting it into your browser.)

3. Never Click Suspicious Links: It is possible that your friends could unwillingly send spam, viruses, or malware through Facebook if their accounts are infected. Do not click this material and do not run any .exe files on your computer without knowing what they are. Also, be sure to use the most current version of your browser as they contain important security warnings and protection features.

4. Log in at Facebook.com: Make sure that when you access the site, you always log in from a legitimate Facebook page with the facebook.com domain. If something looks or feels suspicious, go directly to http://www.facebook.com to log in.

5. Report Suspicious Activity: Please visit the following pages for further information about Facebook security and information on reporting material: http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=420 and http://www.facebook.com/security

Once you have performed all these steps, your account should once again be secure. Please be sure to visit the Facebook Help Center for further information regarding these security issues and let us know if you need assistance.

Thanks,
Facebook Security Team
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Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: Generate safe passwords

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

http://www.safepasswd.com/  

I like it but I’d prefer if it would generate a page at a time.

Like a one time pad.

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Posted by reinkefj

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