Russian Hackers Compromise 4.5 Billion Records
Hold Security had warned the media outlets that a gang of Russian hackers have gained access to 4.5 billion email addresses and passwords.
The Milwaukee based security firm estimates that 420,000 web and ftp sites, including some Fortune 500 company sites, have been compromised. But details on what specific websites were compromised were not released.
The New York Times have claimed to have had the information analyzed by a security expert not affiliated with the security firm who confirmed the authenticity of the database of stolen information. And The New York Times have also reported that some of the companies involved are aware of the situation.
Most of this information was gathered via a botnet, a collection of interconnected computers that have been infected with a virus that collects and forwards information to individuals who either sell it or use the information to send unsolicited commercial email or gain access to web sites and credit card information.
According to Hold Security the most vulnerable users are those that use a generic password on multiple sites, whose generic passwords can be used to gain access to sites that are not in the records.
They had found that out of the 4.5 billion records, only 1.2 billion had unique passwords so the firm suggest the use of more secure, unique passwords.
An individual password should not be used on multiple sites and a combination of letters (in upper and lower caps), numbers and special characters (punctuation, symbols, etc.) should be used to prevent predictability.
The use of a frequently updated anti-virus program also helps keep individual computers from being infected with viruses that keep track of the passwords used.
Gift Card Offer
Rexall Pharmaplus stores in Ontario are discounting select iTunes gift cards by 15% until July 31st, 2014.
I believe this discount is only applied on cards valued at $25 or more. Please consult your local flyer for details.
Tools To Check Your Internet Speed
Whenever I think my internet is slowing down I use speedtest.net. But it appears that Google have decided to create their own testing site after receiving complaints about Youtube videos lagging.
You can access your internet provider’s video quality report by clicking here.
Songza Joins Google
Music streaming service Songza has announced that they are joining Google on a July 1st, 20014 blog entry. Google confirmed this purchase on a Google Play post, stating it will add the best features from the service to Google Play.
Canada Day 2014
It’s Canada Day 2014 and most Canadians have probably noticed their email inboxes filling up with requests to confirm their subscriptions to several mailing lists.
This is of course because the new anti-spam legislation comes in effect today, restricting the sending of unsolicited emails to Canadians.
I’ve personally taken advantage of several offers to confirm my subscriptions in exchange for contest entries. But I have also used the opportunity to unsubscribe to the mailings lists I no longer read regularly and recommend that you do so as well, as soon as possible.
You should note that this legislation is not limited to commercial email but extends to “malware, spyware, address harvesting, and false or misleading representations involving the use of any means of telecommunications, short message services (SMS), social networking, websites, URLs and other locators, applications, blogs, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and any other current or future Internet and wireless telecommunication threats prohibited by Canada’s anti-spam legislation.”
You can also help stop some of this activity by securing your Wi-fi with a password and by updating your antivirus & firewall software regularly.