Daily Bits

Internet

iTunes Is Safe. Are You?

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If you have an iTunes account that you use to purchase apps, songs, etc. for, then you were probably one of those who have been anxious in the past day or so.  Reports that iTunes has been hacked spread like wildfire the other day.  Posts in mainstream sites such as TechCrunch probably served to make people more anxious and alleviate fears at the same time.  I say people probably got more anxious because TechCrunch showed proof that unauthorized (at least by the account owners) purchases had been made, but at the end of the post, there is a statement from Apple saying that they have not been hacked (which is still kind of a good thing).

So what is really happening?  What happened?  If iTunes has not bee hacked, then why have so many people lost money via “illegal” purchases?

John Paczkowski of Digital Daily offers an explanation:

…not much to their assertion that Apple (AAPL) is at fault here. There’s no security hole in iTunes, and if you’ve been unfortunate enough to have hundreds of dollars in unauthorized purchases charged to your iTunes account, it’s likely because you’ve fallen victim to a bot attack or phishing scam–a variation on the one that’s been around for years now. Sources close to Apple tell me iTunes has not been compromised and the company isn’t aware of any sudden increase in fraudulent transactions.

More likely than not, the PayPal accounts of the affected users are the ones that had been compromised.  Bottom line: iTunes is safe.

The question is: how secure are your PayPal accounts?  This is happening now, it has happened before, it will happen again.  Remember all those tips about passwords and phishing.  They just might save you a whole load of money.

Is Your Privacy Online Protected?

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Practically everyone is online these days, and you can’t really keep track of all the information on you out there.  While you may be careful with what you post and what you do on the Internet, threats to privacy are very much real.  We’ve heard of horror stories about these issues all too often, but for those who haven’t experienced any problems, the threat may not seem that urgent. If you think this way, it is about time that you take a look at how protected you are.

Judging by the number of articles and posts on online privacy you can find, one should really take this issue seriously.  Here are a few ways by which you can make sure that your online privacy is protected.

Be smart with passwords

This is such a basic thing, but the need for solid passwords cannot be emphasized enough. Remember the simple rules: don’t use one password for all your accounts. Don’t use your name, your birth date, etc. If necessary, keep a file of all your passwords so you won’t have to worry about forgetting them.

Do not “engage” spammers in anyway

That means you automatically click SPAM. Do not bother to reply. Do not even click on the link that says “Unsubscribe” or something similar. Just click SPAM.

Don’t forget to log out

We used to own an Internet cafe many years ago, and I cannot count the instances wherein I would use a computer only to see that the previous user did not log out of Yahoo. You may say that you don’t use public computers, but it still is a good habit to develop.

For more tips and details, visit my sources for this post: The Telegraph and EFF.

Photo credit: opensourceway

Happy 15th Birthday, Internet Explorer!

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You probably haven’t used Internet Explorer in ages – I hardly know anyone who does anymore – but it is still worth noting that this week marks the 15th anniversary of this web browser. If you’ve been going on the Internet for a decade or so, you probably have had your own experiences with Internet Explorer. After all, in the old days, we didn’t have much of a choice. All that changed with the entry of other, more efficient browsers. Still, it’s nice to take a look back and see what the browser has gone through.

A quick rundown on the origins of Internet Explorer…

The first version was released in 1995, August 16. Soon after, in April of 1996, the second version was born. Less than a year – in August of 1996 – IE 3 was released. This was a huge improvement over the first two versions in that it was more integrated with other applications and developers were able to use Cascading Style Style.

IE 4 came in the next year, surrounded by controversy. At this point, Microsoft’s propensity for monopoly was already becoming well known, and their web browser was no exception. Some of you might remember the issue of IE being the sole browser used for Windows, which the courts declared to be unfair. (As an aside: thank God we have other browsers at our disposal now.)

The numbers (IE#) went up with each version and now, in 2010, we are looking at Internet Explorer 9. It is slated to be released on the 15th of September. Supposed to be on the cutting edge of technology, IE 9 is proof of this browser’s tenacity. Despite having a lot of competition in the recent years, it seems that it still has a solid foothold.

Never mind that I haven’t used this browser since forever – Happy Birthday anyway, IE!

Is Your Geotag Function Disabled?

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Tech-savvy individuals would know all about geotags. Initially, the whole idea can make you overly excited. When you hear about what happened to Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame), though, you might think twice about enabling thing function.

Basically, geotagging allows data to be embedded in different media such as photos and videos. For example, when you use your iPhone to take a picture, the longitude and latitude can be included in the file. When uploaded to a web site, anyone who views the file can extract that data.

That’s what happened to Adam Savage, who posted a photo of his ride to work on Twitter. As a caption, he wrote “Now it’s off to work in my beast. Wait…How’d that DOG get in there?”

Nothing’s wrong with that, right? Think again. The photo included details on the exact location of his home (where it was taken). His caption also revealed the information that the house might be empty in the next several hours. You see where I am going with this?

You’d think that someone like Adam Savage would have known better than to do something like this, but he salvaged the situation quite well by saying that he was not at all concerned about the issue as he is not famous enough to be stalked. Now I am not so sure about that…Oh, and yeah, he moved to another house.

Anyhow, even if you are not a public figure like Adam Savage, you might want to disable that geotag function. After all, you know how ingenious unscrupulous individuals can get.

Photo from The New York Times

The Internet’s Carbon Footprint Will Make You Think Twice

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If you are concerned for the environment, then this post just might make you think twice about spending so much time on your computer and on the Internet. According to The Guardian, the carbon footprint of the Internet is astounding: 300 million tones of carbon dioxide per year. Just to make that more understandable:

• Almost as much as all the coal, gas, and oil burned in Turkey or Poland
• More than half of the fossil fuels that the UK burns
• Imagine every person in the UK flying to the US and back – twice.

Astounding is the word, right? It makes you think – all the effort you’ve been putting into making the world a better place might be going down the drain. All because you spend so much time on the Internet. (Yeah, I am talking about myself here.)

Then again, the Internet does help cut back on energy consumption in so many ways. The same article outlines a couple of points:

• Smart grids are possible because of the Internet, and we all know they save energy.
• Tools such as video conferencing software help cut back on flights (read: higher carbon footprint).

More interesting are the ideas that Leo Hickman posted about a year ago. In his article, he posed the suggestion of cutting back on Internet usage:

Might we now have to ration our use of the internet to ensure its very survival? If so, what would be considering a fair share of the internet? Thirty minutes of browsing a day per person? Fifty megs of download a day? Just as we are being asked to “do our bit” for the environment by flying less, using public transport more, eating less meat and the like, might we now be asked to download fewer bulging multimedia files?

Call me biased and totally subjective, but just how accurate are these figures anyway? Isn’t it possible that the situation isn’t that bad? But yes, this post is making me think twice.

Photo credit: Green Office Projects

Netflix to Add More Films

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Movie enthusiasts will be happy to hear that they will be able to access more movies from Netflix soon. It’s not that the service has a shortage of choices. However, this move is necessary in order to remain at the head of the game. Internet streaming is definitely becoming the medium of choice for the average consumer, and Netflix is simply providing for the need.

How is Netflix going to manage this? They’ve struck a deal with Epix, a company that holds the rights to films from Lions Gate, MGM, and Paramount. This pretty deal is going to cost Netflix a hefty $900 million over the next five years, money that is sure to come rushing back to them.

What’s going to happen is that hit movies like “Iron Man” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” are soon going to be available for streaming. Netflix is offering a package that combines streaming access and DVD deliveries for only $8.99. If there are going to be a whole lot more big titles coming Netflix’s way, then customers just might be flocking to avail of their service more and more.

They’re not stopping here, though. It seems that they also have HBO (the main competitor of Epix) in sight. When this subject was brought up, Ted Sarandos (Netflix’s chief content officer) replied, “Every deal expires, and every deal has to be renewed.” Indeed. And, if they get the rights to HBO’s content, there really might be no stopping the company. As long as they’re offering reasonable packages, I don’t really see any problem.