Hackers are using more sophisticated methods in gaining personal information

[Hot Mega]

So you set up your web based mail account with the yahoos at Yahoo!, make your password hint the name of the elementary school you attended or your pet's name..then proceed to talk about your pet and to the people you went to elementary school with on your goofy spacebook or myface page and wonder how scammers get to use your email to try and scam people you know..

Diane Solomon was on her way from her Santa Clarita home to a run/walk at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum earlier this month when her smartphone alerted her to an e-mail received on her work account - sent from her own personal e-mail address.

According to the e-mail, titled "MY PLIGHT!!!" Solomon was currently stranded in Europe after being robbed at gunpoint. She didn't have any money, her cell phone wasn't working, and she needed 1,500 pounds to be wired to the U.K. to get back to the States.

Within minutes, she began receiving concerned texts and e-mails from some of the 400 contacts in her Yahoo! e-mail account.

"I'm talking to you on Facebook right now," one neighbor wrote in a text.

Solomon didn't have a Facebook account. Whoever had hacked into her e-mail had used pictures in the account to make a Facebook page for her and was pleading for her friends to send money.

"It completely freaked me out," Solomon said. "For me, it's such a violation because (the hacker) pretended to be me. I could have jeopardized so many people."

Continued at link....

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_15195748?source=rss

 

[shayd]

This isn't new at all. It's been common knowledge for a long time that you should use strong passwords, and varied ones at that, online. A friend of mine wrote a blog article about weak passwords, which was pretty interesting, I'll have to see if I can find it.

EDIT:
http://onemansblog.com/2007/03/26/how-id-hack-your-weak-passwords/

 

[Ace Bandage]

I use the same password for everything. It's 16 characters long - 8 random digits mixed in with 8 random upper and lower case letters. Good luck with that.

 

[~~whimsy~~]

I have one password that is 31 letters, numbers, and characters. I range them anywhere from 15-35 letters, numbers, and characters. I don't mess around when it comes to protecting my privacy on public pages even with private settings on.

I never disclose my real city, maybe the state, and I never use my last name.

 

[Hot Mega]

Even if you have the strongest, most sophisticated p/w in the known universe, it won't matter if you set your p/w hint to your dog's name or kid's nickname then proceed to talk about "Fido" or "Kimmy" all over your spacebook and myface page.

You should also never leave retrieved passwords anywhere in your emails...just in case your email it hacked or cracked.

An obscure 8 (or more) letter word spelled backwards where all the vowels are replaced with consonants, characters and/or numbers should do the trick. Then in cases where hints are necessary for retrieval, make your hint something only you know that you never fucking talk about...anywhere.:dunno:

 

[~~whimsy~~]

Even if you have the strongest, most sophisticated p/w in the known universe, it won't matter if you set your p/w hint to your dog's name or kid's nickname then proceed to talk about "Fido" or "Kimmy" all over your spacebook and myface page.

You should also never leave retrieved passwords anywhere in your emails...just in case you email it hacked or cracked.

An obscure 8 (or more) letter word spelled backwards where all the vowels are replaced with consonants, characters and/or numbers should do the trick. Then in cases where hints are necessary for retrieval, make your hint something only you know that you never fucking talk about...anywhere.:dunno:

I actually hate security questions. I often go with the first book read or whatever. Come up with some bullshit title and leave it at that. I never answer straightforward in those.

Though Kimmy would seem to be a decent answer for one of them......

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

If someone stole my identity they'd have trouble getting served in a soup line.

 

[Lust]

i wonder if she sent herself some money to help herself get un-stranded in europe?

alpha-numeric + uppercase/lowercase + length goes a long way. but stealthy keyloggers will bypass that. so disabling scripts, running anti-stealth programs etc....

but hackers are currently getting more personal information off social networks thats free and open for anyone to view. crazy how people don't use the privacy settings available to them. its like walking down the street and handing over your driver's license to a random stranger.

 

[Hot Mega]

If someone stole my identity they'd have trouble getting served in a soup line.

If someone stole your identity...they'd take one look and give it back.:tongue:

J/K...:o

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

If someone stole your identity...they'd take one look and give it back.:tongue:

J/K...:o

That's what I'm afraid of Mega! I need to hack myself and not give it back.

 

[Doc Scurlock]

I never used those stupid password hint questions. My dog's name: fjklsjsdkljfksdjkl9u90409jk That's all they get.

 

[Agent Z]

If someone stole my identity they'd have trouble getting served in a soup line.

HAHahHAHah !!
Good one !

:rofl:

 

[Member2019]

It's called ...

It's called social engineering. The best, alleged "hackers" are not computer ultra-wizzes, they are computer savvy combined with common, but computer-oriented con-artist aptitudes.

As far as strong passwords and biometrics, key loggers and home phoning software -- often dropped in by things as simple as web script -- can defeat those easily. That's why it's important to only enable scripting and other, dynamic content on explicitly trusted sites.

I use Firefox with tools that whitelist sites, denying anything and everything by default on all others. MS IE is pretty much a non-option here, as things are still enabled, even when you disable them.

 

[LaLiLuLeLohan]

If someone stole my identity they'd have trouble getting served in a soup line.

That'd be awesome if the penalty for stealing somebody's identity is having to take on their debt. I'd put my SS number on my business cards. :1orglaugh

But thankfully my parents were smart and named my first pet, T43763gfdbfbfvzSasetet. I still miss T43763gfdbfbfvzSasetet when I look at old family photos.

 

[STDiva]

If someone stole my identity they'd have trouble getting served in a soup line.

George Costanza?

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

That'd be awesome if the penalty for stealing somebody's identity is having to take on their debt. I'd put my SS number on my business cards. :1orglaugh

But thankfully my parents were smart and named my first pet, . I still miss T43763gfdbfbfvzSasetet when I look at old family photos.

That's a good idea. I'll put a sign on my car. They can't have that though, its paid for.

And um... my condolences on your pet, T43763gfdbfbfvzSasetet.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

George Costanza?

Yes?

 

[PlasmaTwa2]

My password is the same for pretty much everything.

Please don't hack it.

 

[shayd]

An obscure 8 (or more) letter word spelled backwards where all the vowels are replaced with consonants, characters and/or numbers should do the trick. Then in cases where hints are necessary for retrieval, make your hint something only you know that you never fucking talk about...anywhere.:dunno:

Any password that's alphanumeric in nature at this point is a breeze to get past with the right tools, and those tools are pretty easily available.

 

[Red Spyder]

Interesting read, made me shudder about the days when my old password was something like "password" or "secret" or something like this:



Nowadays it's uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols, not in that particular order