Yesterday and today, the news is filled with Gov. Sarah Palin's Yahoo E-Mail account being hacked, and the contents spread over the web. Last night on TV, I heard that even her teenaged daughter's cellphone number was revealed - and that she was getting calls from strangers.
Look, I don't care how you're voting -- there are mentally ill people out there, surfing the web, who don't need to have personal contact information for the minor children of politicians, celebrities, and the like. That's just dangerous and children should be protected no matter how famous their parents are.
Okay, enough of the soapbox.
Freebies are great, but ....
Freebies are great. Simplifying life means taking advantage of freebies whereever you find them.
And one of the great free services that's out there is Yahoo Mail. I use it everyday -- along with Yahoo Calendar, and I'm very happy with the service.
But is it safe? Can my Yahoo E-Mail Be Easily Hacked? Just how private is my Yahoo mail?
Well, I went and found a blog with a detailed explanation of how Sarah Palin's email was hacked (go here for details) and discovered that you're only as safe as the hacker's access to your personal information.
In Palin's case, he (or she) had the opportunity to surf the web for all sorts of personal information (where Sarah Palin went to high school, her residence's zip code, etc.) which he/she then used to start playing around with the secret questions that Yahoo asks when you report to Yahoo that you've forgotten your password.
So, once the hacker had her username -- not sure how he/she got that -- he/she started playing around with the Secret Questions until he got to change the password himself. And then, the hacker took over the mailbox after changing the password to "popcorn" -- reading it, disseminating it.
What Can You Do to Protect Your Freebie Email Account?
Yahoo has some security suggestions -- they seem inadequate here. As of this posting, I did not find any clear, easy-to-follow article or post that provided clear guidance on how to protect your Yahoo E-Mail account from being hacked just like Sarah Palin's.
I did find these suggestions:
1. Use a long, strange password and change it often. Nothing connected to your personal information. Letters and numbers.
2. Use different emails for different things. Have disposal emails. (I do this -- I have an email address for newsletters and the like, not only a separate account but on a separate service. No personal information goes thru here.)
3. Protect your computer with firewalls and a good anti-virus software (me, I use AVG - it's free and it's good).
Two things I would add:
(1) have your own set, bizarre answer to any secret question - your mother's maiden name? Manufacturer or Llama ... name of your first pet? Lawn or Expense. Why? Even if they can get your username, no amount of personal information is going to give them your zany answer to the secret question; and
(2) change your IP address via your ISP periodically -just call and ask, they can do this remotely.
Maybe we'll get some good techie advice soon - and maybe Yahoo will even go public with some more advice on this issue. If I see/hear anything more, I'll post it here in the Comments.
Organizing and consolidating information dealing with simplifying life since January 2006, to help those considering a lifestyle change as well as those expert at living an abundant life in a frugal way.
September 18, 2008
September 16, 2008
Examples of Excess-7: "Excessive Leverage and Greed"
Eric Fry over at the Rude Awakening offers the following quote today in his post:
Wow. At least they know who they are -- I've always thought Richard III was less evil than Iago, when comparing those two great Shakespearean villians, because at least Richard III was honest about what he was doing.
Today's News - Lehman, AIG, and Merrill Lynch
In today's news, banks are pack-ratting their cash in a way that would make Ebenezer Scrooge proud -- Bloomberg is reporting that the cost of borrowing money doubled overnight -- to the highest rate since the fears right after 9/11 - and there's rumors it's not just Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and American International Group Inc. that are in serious trouble. (AIG stock has lost 94% of its value over the past year, and Lehman just filed bankruptcy.)
In response, the Federal Reserve added $70 billion to reserves - and news is still breaking by the hour on what's happening with the Dow and when the other shoe is going to drop (or if it's going to drop, or if there is another shoe ...).
The Big Kahuna Meeting
The Scotsman has a good read on the Lehman story -- the Big Kahuna meeting on Sunday where Lehman wasn't saved by Fed Reserve Chairman Bernanke (the stuff of movies, who will George Clooney play?), how Lehman began as a small little business in Alabama to become the "biggest overseas bank in America," ....
That was a big meeting on Sunday, by the way -- as The Scotman describes, not only was Lehman's fate decided, but so was AIG's and Merrill Lynch ... who had a happier ending to the day: Bank of America (remember that quote at the start of this post?) rode in like the cavalry and tookover the stockbrokerage firm for $50,000,000,000.00.
And it was just last week that we were reeling from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Long ago, in a time far away, I studied finance - and I remember my professor being almost in despair at the continued deregulation of the banking industry. He foresaw doom, he valued frugality, and he bought gold. To give you an idea, back then the market hadn't hit 1000. That's right: 1000. That wasn't so very long ago, you know.
Today, I see his face clearly and I remember his concerns: money is a temptation best left in different pots, and we're so far from being out of the woods. Letting a major national bank takeover a stock market firm is troubling to me. Should banks own brokerage firms?
"Excessive leverage and greed. " Indeed.
“Looking back, what was the cause of this credit crisis?” CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo asked Bank of America’s CEO, Ken Lewis, during an interview yesterday morning. “What caused this whole mess?”
“Excessive leverage and greed,” Lewis responded.
Wow. At least they know who they are -- I've always thought Richard III was less evil than Iago, when comparing those two great Shakespearean villians, because at least Richard III was honest about what he was doing.
Today's News - Lehman, AIG, and Merrill Lynch
In today's news, banks are pack-ratting their cash in a way that would make Ebenezer Scrooge proud -- Bloomberg is reporting that the cost of borrowing money doubled overnight -- to the highest rate since the fears right after 9/11 - and there's rumors it's not just Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and American International Group Inc. that are in serious trouble. (AIG stock has lost 94% of its value over the past year, and Lehman just filed bankruptcy.)
In response, the Federal Reserve added $70 billion to reserves - and news is still breaking by the hour on what's happening with the Dow and when the other shoe is going to drop (or if it's going to drop, or if there is another shoe ...).
The Big Kahuna Meeting
The Scotsman has a good read on the Lehman story -- the Big Kahuna meeting on Sunday where Lehman wasn't saved by Fed Reserve Chairman Bernanke (the stuff of movies, who will George Clooney play?), how Lehman began as a small little business in Alabama to become the "biggest overseas bank in America," ....
That was a big meeting on Sunday, by the way -- as The Scotman describes, not only was Lehman's fate decided, but so was AIG's and Merrill Lynch ... who had a happier ending to the day: Bank of America (remember that quote at the start of this post?) rode in like the cavalry and tookover the stockbrokerage firm for $50,000,000,000.00.
And it was just last week that we were reeling from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Long ago, in a time far away, I studied finance - and I remember my professor being almost in despair at the continued deregulation of the banking industry. He foresaw doom, he valued frugality, and he bought gold. To give you an idea, back then the market hadn't hit 1000. That's right: 1000. That wasn't so very long ago, you know.
Today, I see his face clearly and I remember his concerns: money is a temptation best left in different pots, and we're so far from being out of the woods. Letting a major national bank takeover a stock market firm is troubling to me. Should banks own brokerage firms?
"Excessive leverage and greed. " Indeed.
September 7, 2008
My Favorite Simplicity Posts of the Week
Here are some great reads for you:
1. Simplicity for the Novice over at HappyToBeAtHome -- Joy writes a great post on what simplicity means to her and her family, and how her Christian faith is the Cornerstone of this lifestyle (mine,too).
2. Realizing How Much You Already Have published by ChoosingVoluntarySimplicity. Pretty, inspiring.
3. The Weekend Round Up over at A Satisfying Journey Towards Simplicity -- Nikki's post is a fun, smooth read, and personally, I like the image of the chickens running around ....
4. Adele over at Simplicity has a wonderful post discussing the Theology of Work which is made even more inticing because she's writing from her home in Kenya, heading over to Capetown.
5. Nikki Painter's recipe for her Easy Tuna Mac Casserole, along with her description of being sick this past week, the family going out for Taco Bell, and a friend helping out made me smile - I don't like to think that simplicity is starting to sound trendy and even snooty, and it's great to read about other people who think it's hunky dorey to "break out of the box" and go to the Bell every once in a while (for me it's cheap, and it reminds me of high school). (I'm also gonna try that casserole.)
1. Simplicity for the Novice over at HappyToBeAtHome -- Joy writes a great post on what simplicity means to her and her family, and how her Christian faith is the Cornerstone of this lifestyle (mine,too).
2. Realizing How Much You Already Have published by ChoosingVoluntarySimplicity. Pretty, inspiring.
3. The Weekend Round Up over at A Satisfying Journey Towards Simplicity -- Nikki's post is a fun, smooth read, and personally, I like the image of the chickens running around ....
4. Adele over at Simplicity has a wonderful post discussing the Theology of Work which is made even more inticing because she's writing from her home in Kenya, heading over to Capetown.
5. Nikki Painter's recipe for her Easy Tuna Mac Casserole, along with her description of being sick this past week, the family going out for Taco Bell, and a friend helping out made me smile - I don't like to think that simplicity is starting to sound trendy and even snooty, and it's great to read about other people who think it's hunky dorey to "break out of the box" and go to the Bell every once in a while (for me it's cheap, and it reminds me of high school). (I'm also gonna try that casserole.)
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