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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: passwords

passwords stories: 9 news summaries

Email Scam Reveals How Crummy Passwords Are

'123456' was most common single password of 10,000 revealed

(Newser) - The hackers who stole the logins and passwords for thousands of email accounts in a phishing scam that came to light this week likely lured users with fake “security check” forms. But for many users, they wouldn’t have needed to expend that much energy: the most common single... More »

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ANALYSIS

 A 5-Minute Fix for 
 Your Insecure Passwords 

Twitter break-in shows how vulnerable weak passwords are, writes blogger for Slate

(Newser) - The recent hacking debacle at Twitter proved how vulnerable the company was, writes Farhad Manjoo for Slate. All of its internal communication was held in email accounts protected only by insecure passwords. And chances are your password security is also terrible—a familiar word, like your favorite album, with a... More »

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Hacker Sends Confidential Twitter Files to Blogs

Cyber-scoundrel also hacks Twitter CEO's Gmail, Paypal accounts

(Newser) - A hacker who gained access to a Twitter administrative account two months ago has been sending confidential files to bloggers, InformationWeek reports. Most of the documents sent to blogs such as TechCrunch have been only mildly embarrassing internal correspondence, but some contain security passwords. The hacker, who goes by “... More »

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 Hackers Dupe Facebook Users 

Phishing scheme scores password information

(Newser) - Hackers went Facebook-phishing yesterday, nabbing the passwords of an undisclosed number of users, Reuters reports. Facebook is working to restore the site and has blocked accounts hit in what it believes was a ploy to spread future spam. Hackers broke into accounts, sending users’ friends emails that contained links to... More »

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Top US Execs Victimized by Devious Phishing Scam

Virus, disguised as subpoena, thought to come from Singapore or China

(Newser) - American executives are the latest targets of an incognito email virus that comes packaged as an authentic-looking subpoena demanding the corporate heads appear before a California grand jury. There have been several victims of the attack, the New York Times reports, which is thought to originated in Singapore or China—... More »

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Website Offers Post-Mortem Security

Departed users can leave wills, photos, passwords to family

(Newser) - Think of it as a safe deposit box for the dearly departed: A website in California allows subscribers to store digital versions of important stuff—wills, photos, credit card numbers, bicycle lock combinations, you name it—so beneficiaries don't have to scramble after the funeral, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.... More »

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Judge: Cops Can't Force Defendant to Tell Password

An accused child pornographer has the right to keep his laptop password, and images, private

(Newser) - In what could turn out to be a landmark decision on computer privacy and Fifth Amendment rights against self incrimination, a federal judge in Vermont has ruled that a man accused of transporting child pornography across the US border with Canada can’t be forced to turn over his laptop... More »

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Don't Take
the Bait on
Phishing Scams

MarketWatch's tips for avoiding the lure of fraud e-mails

(Newser) - We've all learned to avoid the obvious e-mail scams—but sometimes it's just hard to tell.  MarketWatch gives you some tips from separating the chaff from the wheat:
  1. Know what a phishing scam is: an attempt to con you into supplying ID info, account numbers, names, passwords and
... More »

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Dutch Teen Busted for Virtual Theft

He ripped off Habbo game 'furniture' that cost players $6K: cops

(Newser) - In what's believed to be the first arrest ever for theft of virtual property, a Dutch teenager has been busted for stealing "furniture" from an online game. He allegedly stole login information from gamers playing "Habbo Hotel," a Sims-like operation in which players create guests and furnish... More »

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9 Stories