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At Least 500 Million Yahoo Accounts Hacked in Late 2014
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Well it was 500 Million accounts, it's very likely that only a fraction of that are actively used.
For various reasons in the past I felt compelled to create a Yahoo account. I created a unique User ID and Password. I then created unique answers to the standard security questions (a standard practice I perform). I entered those unique pieces of data into a database that I keep for these sorts of things.
I know using honest answers for my parent's names, schools, teachers' names and pets' names all exist in databases and that information can be compiled by someone who can then plug into a brute force attack. Or if the hacker gets the data from one service I use will not be able to use those data points in another attack with similar questions. Since my answers are unique for each service I use, data collection is much more challenging for a bad person. Of course I have serious problems if I loose that database.
Doing all those extra steps may sound paranoid, but as we keep seeing in the news there are hackers out to get us. I just don't take it personal and do not wear a tinfoil hat.
I know using honest answers for my parent's names, schools, teachers' names and pets' names all exist in databases and that information can be compiled by someone who can then plug into a brute force attack. Or if the hacker gets the data from one service I use will not be able to use those data points in another attack with similar questions. Since my answers are unique for each service I use, data collection is much more challenging for a bad person. Of course I have serious problems if I loose that database.
Doing all those extra steps may sound paranoid, but as we keep seeing in the news there are hackers out to get us. I just don't take it personal and do not wear a tinfoil hat.
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johnnyturbouk
macrumors 68000
Most are from the days when the alternative was AOL, hotmail, or local cable company; in so glad that I transitioned over to a @me.com account.
A lot of those inactive accounts probably hold a treasure trove of information considered useful by individals with the goal of doing bad things.
I haven't logged in to Yahoo in so long I don't even remember my password. Maybe one of the hackers can tell me.
I think I ditched Yahoo in the early 2000s as it didn't have a spam filter. Well, if it did have a spam filter, it was a folder called 'Inbox'.
Or maybe I moved to Hotmail just for MSN Messenger. Damn, that was ubiquitous back in the day.
Aaah... Who'd have thought that half a billion accounts getting hacked would bring such nostalgic memories.
Or maybe I moved to Hotmail just for MSN Messenger. Damn, that was ubiquitous back in the day.
Aaah... Who'd have thought that half a billion accounts getting hacked would bring such nostalgic memories.
I think the experts will tell you "nothing is hack proof." Its just a matter of time.
Oh Grasshopper! How wrong you are! It's that attitude that Google and others want to encourage. But as my relative who works in this area would explain to you there is much more than that they are gleaming and storing about you. In the future, folks will really regret that they gave Google and others, e.g., Facebook, all of their photos, all of their personal and business contacts, every email and message they wrote and received, everything you ever purchased, where they drive, who they visit, what they read and watch, what they search for, everything about their families and friends, etc.
That information is being assembled, stored, sold and stolen because it has value to advertisers, foreign countries, law enforcement, intelligence agencies, criminals and, depending on where you live now and in the future, totalitarian and/or evil governments.
Apple's focus on privacy is slowing this down for those who use its eco system, but can't stop all the leaks, e.g., when you use Google search, they have that forever for law enforcement, hackers, etc.
BTW, this website, MR, has a minimum of 15 trackers being loaded on your device as you read this.
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You know, this story is the kind of thing that usually makes the Yahoo front page. I went over there and looked - nothing. Huh.
CEO main job, protect the company. If the CEO fails in that endeavor, return ALL compensation to the said company. I for one getting a bit tired of companies paying outlandish compensation for failed results by CEO's. Especially publicly traded ones. The excuse, not my fault, not only tiring but inaccurate, as the buck does stop at his or her desk. The reason for the outlandish compensation in the first place.
I envy you. I just don't have the patience to do anything remotely close to what you've described.
Thankfully iCloud Keychain with suggested passwords & two-step verification can indulge both my laziness and paranoia.
You have to plan on it. All of them have likely been or will be. The key is that unlike Google, Apple hasn't been building a dossier on every aspect of your life that criminals, evil governments, peeping Toms, etc., will want to have.Aside from all of the arguments in favor of the Apple eco system, it is Number 1 by far IMO.
Correct: 500 million *accounts*. Yahoo was one of the early tech companies so that's why.
yeah that got me too. 2 years!
There ought to be a law that says companies have to disclose this asap to the public.
Would good does it do to know now?!
SMH
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I think it was Kiefer.Christian Slater did it