LastPass password system possibly compromised; no panic

If you use LastPass, be careful. In fact, change your master password. Like right now.

A security incident was reported May 3, and the company says that there is no proof of a security breach but they're "erring on the side of caution." Or something.

Here's how they put it:

LastPass Security Incident Information

Dear LastPass User,

We have reason to believe that LastPass user account information may have been accessed due to an illegal intrusion into our network. Despite not having definitive proof of this, we are erring on the side of caution and alerting you on how to safeguard your data.

Thanks,
The LastPass Team

The remedy? Again, change your master password.

From LastPass:

1. How Likely Is It That My Actual Data Is Compromised?

   It's not. If you used a weak LastPass master password, then it is then conceivable that your master password might be compromised.
   
   Even if this occurred, it is still extremely unlikely that your actual LastPass account data (site passwords, form fill data, etc.) will be compromised.
   
   This is because the attackers do not posses your actual encrypted data, and because we prevented access to the actual encrypted data immediately after discovering the potential breach. We did this by denying access to your LastPass Vault if you tried to login from a location that you never used before. Access to your vault from unknown locations is permitted only after you re-verify your identity: LastPass sends you an email and asks you to click on a link within the email.

2. Why was I not notified by email immediately?

   Our existing email notifications were inefficient. In the interest of securing our users we acted quickly, only notifying the userbase via the company blog and interviews with the media.
   
   We recognize that users deserved immediate notification of the situation, and are working to develop a system for the future that will be much more efficient in quickly updating our entire userbase.

Here's the actual status report:

https://lastpass.com/status.php

I use LastPass, and will continue to do so. It's a solid system. However, I am looking toward other password-keeping programs, such as KeePass (which saves my password data to disk rather than in the cloud).

Upshot: I don't see this as a panic situation. But still ...

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From suborbital lob, manned space flight program grew

It was 50 years ago this week that America's version of the manned space program really began.

On May 5, 1921, 37-year-old Alan Shepard caught a ride on a Redstone rocket and traveling about 300 miles in a Mercury capsule with about the cabin space of a phone booth.

According to Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff, he spent that 15-minute suborbital flight lying in a puddle of his own pee, as urine-recovery systems were not worked into the space suits just yet.

But this flight was a short answer to Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's first orbital flight from three weeks ago, and proved a few things. Like the U.S. had the stuff to send people into space. Like our rockets could lift off without blowing up first.

Shepard was later grounded due to an inner-ear problem but was reactivated several years later, in time to command Apollo 14 in 1971. Of the original seven astronauts, Shepard was the only one to walk on the Moon. He died in 1998.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the first flight, The Atlantic ran an article with a series of previously-unreleased photos. Check it out.

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.txt file makes a simple, elegant to-do solution

Daily agenda (as todo.txt) is shown on this Linux desktop; it works just as well in Windows too. The file is easily accessible from the Fluxbox menu to the left, but you can also create an icon and store that on your desktop.

Quick and dirty productivity is made possible by using a simple text file that anything can read ... check it out.

As seen in Hubpages.

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Hipster PDA: Getting mileage from index cards

What's that in my pocket?

It's only a stack of index cards, but man, does it get a following from the geeky and GTD crowd.

An excerpt:

It's simple enough to assemble: 1) Grab some index cards and 2) Clip them together with the binder clip. That's it. As Mann puts it in his website, there is no Step 3 ... it's a whole lot fancier than the old Redneck PDA, and it's easier to share information with someone (i.e. give him an index card, which is easier than chopping off your hand). And unlike the old PDA (or smartphones, which picked up where the PDA technology left off) you don't have to worry about batteries, system crashes, or the usual electonics catastrophes.

From Hubpages: Check it out -- if for no other reason than to find out what a Redneck PDA is.

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Web-enabled cell phones having trouble accessing Google Mail

My Google Mail is acting all weird, and answers seem a little few and far between. But I'm not the only one with this particular problem.

For the record, I really like my Gmail. It is probably the best email innovation since ... well, the computer. It's easy to like the search functions, the way it integrates with other Google tools, and the huge storage. A friend turned me on to Gmail several years ago when it was in beta, and I never looked back. What's Yahoo?

When away from a wireless connection I can usually check my news and process my email by phone. I have a Samsung 451 phone with a slider keyboard. It's good with phone calls on those rare occasions that I actually talk on the phone. It's super with text messages, and I can do a lot of things with it. It can surf the Internet, kinda sorta. The phone doesn't have the Java fixins and the browser is prehistoric, so its Internet powers are limited.

Call it what it is. My phone is not a smartphone. At risk of going all non-politically-correct on y'all here, I'm using a tardphone.

But that's OK, too. While I'm not qualified to be a hacker (in this case, meaning programmer), I can whip up a few baling-wire tricks that can make my computers and phone do things do things you wouldn't expect. I get a lot of mileage out of my tardphone.

So the other day I needed to check my email on the phone. I hit the link out of my mobile iGoogle homepage, like always.

No joy. This error message flashed on my tiny, two-inch screen:

HTTP Error: 404 Not Found

At first blush I thought maybe my links got screwed up. Such things happen. So I tried hand-typing it in:

http://google.com/mail

http://gmail.com

No luck. Let's try the mobile site, although that's usually automatic:

http://m.google.com/mail

http://m.gmail.com

Tried again, this time using https:// as the prefix. Even went so far as to try the straight .html version of Gmail, and got the same result. That error message.

What's odd is that I can access many of my other Google services. I can get the search engine, iGoogle, Google Reader for RSS, Voice, my Gmail contacts through Voice, and my calendar. But not Gmail.

It turns out, though, it's not just me. I'm glad to hear that. I think.

A Twitter search using #gmail as the key shows several others having this problem. As far as the mainstream and tech media, not a peep through Sunday.

Several have written to the Google Support Forum, saying they lost access around Feb 8 (my connection went Tango Uniform on the 11th). Some report losing access to all Google functions (Calendar, etc.), and apparently the problem is not just with tardphones. Real smartphones seem to get this problem, particularly of the Crackberry variety.

A fella named Ethan, who identifies himself as a Google employee in the support forum, seems just as baffled as anyone else. Another person on the forum, The C Man, reported this Saturday: "Google employees are investigating the problem and have not been able to reproduce it."

Already this doesn't sound promising.

It was recommended the user clean out the phone browser cache. I did this, and it worked about as well as it did with some other folks who tried -- like, not at all.

I pulled the battery out, reset the phone, even reprogrammed it in case that worked. Again, nothing. At this point I was so desperate that if the Verizon/StraightTalk folks suggested I dance naked in a bucket of steaming chicken guts during a full moon (now that's a visual for you!) I would have tried it.

So far, this error seems awfully random. Some folks report it, others don't. Some have problems getting access to all Google services, some -- like me -- just Gmail. Several cell phone carriers were involved. The whole thing seems like a crapshoot, one of those problems where no one knows exactly what's going on, how it happened, or how to fix it.

I should feel better that it's not just me, and not just my non-Java phone.

I'd hate to think Gmail is revamping its system so that you can't access it from a tardphone like mine. It could be something that corrects itself in time, but you never know.

Knowing all that, I should feel better.

But I don't.

[As this situation progresses and/or finds resolution, don't be surprised if I report back in this space.]

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Cloud Computing 101: A starter's toolkit

Here I try to cut some of the mystery out of cloud computing ... or maybe really muddy the waters up some more.

Article appears in Hubpages.

Excerpt:

"Here's the beauty of cloud computing: You can conceivably get by without a hard drive at all. Shoot, all you really need for cloud computing is an operating system, Web connection and browser, and perhaps a USB thumb drive for local storage. If you want to do it like a real geek, put your operating system and Web browser on the thumb drive and boot off that. Hard drive? What's a hard drive?"

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Drug wars bring a real blast from the past to the front

Weapons of yore: A catapult, much like this one here, was being used as a low-tech drug mule (Photo from Wikipedia)

-----

It seems Mexican drug smugglers have gone old school in moving their wares into the United States. Like, very old school.

According to Fox News, smugglers were using a catapult to lob dope over the fence.

Here's part of the story:

---

"National Guard troops operating a remote video surveillance system at the Naco Border Patrol Station say they observed several people preparing a catapult and launching packages over the International Border fence last Friday evening ... "It looks like a medieval catapult that was used back in the day," Tucson sector Border Patrol spokesman David Jimarez told Reuters ... Tucson TV station KVOA said Border Patrol agents working with the National Guard contacted Mexican authorities, who went to the location and disrupted the catapult operation ... the 3-yard tall catapult was found about 20 yards from the U.S. border on a flatbed towed by a sports utility vehicle, according to a Mexican army officer with the 45th military zone in the border state of Sonora ... the catapult was capable of launching 4.4 pounds of marijuana at a time ..."

---

What? They couldn't get an old cannon?

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What's in your writer's toolbox?

I'll show you mine.

Check out Hubpages for the whole story.

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Lightning strike gives woman a Blackberry brand

When you think about it, there's almost something poetic about the whole thing, unfortunate as it is:

Lightning bolts cause problems across area:

"HANAHAN -- A lightning blast seared through a television cable into a laptop computer and burned a woman in her bedroom Monday. The blast was so strong that it left on her ear an impression of the screen of a Blackberry device she was listening to."

I live about a mile from there, as the crow flies. That thunderstorm blew hot and heavy in my neighborhood, and it had me plenty worried. I left my computer running, but shut down my cable modem and disconnected it until the storm passed. It did give me an excuse to knock off from work for a little bit, anyway.

When I reconnected everything, I had no Internet signal for a couple of hours. Apparently a lightning strike blew something out. Withdrawal symptoms were minimal. But I'm fine now, and playing some catch-up.

Now, I don't know this lady who got, uhh, branded. But there are quite a few folks I know that are so married to their cell phones and crackberries, and are so rude about it that, if something like this happened to them I would have to laugh.

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Survey: A majority of phone users have ditched the landline

Found this in Consumerist, and it gives an idea of how the times are a-changing. In an informal, admittedly nonscientific poll, more than half of respondents said they no longer have one of those home phones that comes with wires. Not even a cordless phone.

Cell phones have taken over.

Do You Still Use Your Land Line?: 

According to a recently released study, there are more than 5 billion cell phones in use around the world today, with 20% of those just coming into use in the last 18 months. More and more, people are either ditching their traditional land lines or relegating it to a secondary role, especially in large metropolitan areas.

A few months ago, when we polled readers on whether or not they still needed their physical White Pages phone book anymore, an overwhelming number of respondents voted 'no.'

So, in the interest of pseudo-science, we now want to know just how frequently you use your land line compared to your mobile -- or if you even have a land line at all anymore.

Take the survey: How Frequently Do You Use Your Land Line?

Over 5 billion mobile phone connections worldwide [BBC]

Of course, I had to take this survey, and as soon as I put my answer in I grabbed the results:

In all, 4,479 people voted in this poll.

- It's my main mode of telephonic communication -- 14 percent (643).

- As frequently as I use my cell phone -- 11 percent (499 votes).

- My cell is the main phone, but I use the land line on occasion -- 23 percent (1,010 votes).

- What's a land line? -- 52 percent (2,327 votes).

By the way, I am one of those who does not have a land line. Got rid of it seven or eight years ago, after realizing the only calls I got on it were telemarketers. My parents thought that was funny, and they thought it was even funnier that their attorney uses a cell phone for home and office use.

Landlines? We don't need no steenkin' landlines.

(By the way, I still keep a current phone directory in my office. Can't remember when I last used the white pages, though.)

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Sending aggressive-sounding emails? There's a (Windows) app for that

OK, so you're sending snarky emails in the heat of the moment? Maybe you told off a co-worker or your boss in an interoffice communication? Or worse, had the mother of all rectal-cranial inversions and told your spouse where to get off in an email?

I ran into this in lifehacker.com:

ToneCheck Stops You from Sending Passive Aggressive (or Plain Aggressive) Emails

Here's an excerpt:

ToneCheck is an email plug-in that checks the content of your emails for tone and alerts you to language that may be misunderstood or interpreted as particularly negative ... let's face it: Sometimes you send an email that you fully intend to convey anger or annoyance. But text communication is rife with misunderstandings, and often an email with perfectly pleasant intentions can lead to a lot of upset coworkers. That's what ToneCheck aims to address.

I find this a little disturbing, actually. Let's get in the toboggan and ride the slippery slope for a minute: I can see versions of this that can plug into your word processor, and screen out any language that is not deemed politically correct. Under that scenario, I might be tripping that alarm an awful lot.

Right now, it's in beta and during this period it is free. So far, this works only with Windows systems running Outlook, though I understand other versions are in the pipeline.

I don't think I'll be beta-testing this one.

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Hubpages: Making your 'dumb' cell phone smarter

From Hubpages:

Why are you messing with that ridiculously expensive smart phone? You know, the one that came with that draconian contract you got suckered into?

(OK, this does sound like a sales pitch, but bear with me.)

In Hubpages: Making your 'dumb' cell phone smarter.

This article outlines a bunch of uses for text messaging; things like controlling your email box and Google calendar, keeping up with your bank balances, and getting weather forecasts. All of this battle-tested. By me.

Anyway, check it out. Ya might learn something.

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Technology takes a holiday: A trip up the mountain

As published in HubPages:

... I checked my own cell phone. It's a plain-vanilla model with no camera and no mp3 player, but I can still control much of my online life through text messages. Like the others, I'm showing no signal-strength bars. And for the first time since I've had that phone, the "no service" message was on the screen ... the hike up the mountain is rigorous enough that you need to pack light, so forget about bringing the laptop. Besides, that won't matter; there's no wireless connection available and no electricity in the cabins. You're roughing it. Tech takes a holiday on this trip ...

Now that we've sufficiently whetted your appetite, go on over and read the rest, OK?

Or just check out my entire HubPages site. That's where I hide my best writing.

HuffPo: Children are more likely to own a cell phone than a book

The numbers may be a little suspect, but it doesn't surprise me. 

I got this from The Huffington Post:

Children Are More Likely To Own A Cell Phone Than A Book, Study Says: "

Almost nine-in-10 pupils now have a mobile compared with fewer than three-quarters who have their own books in the home, it was disclosed ... the study by the National Literacy Trust suggested a link between regular access to books outside school and high test scores ... 

You can take this info and unpack it any way you like. We've already noticed kids don't read, and they grow up into adults who also don't read. Then they raise more children who don't read. Nothing new there.

Bottom line, parents: If you want your kids to read, set the example. Read to them. Read for yourself. Even if you grow up to be a totally evil uncool unhip parent (usually when the child hits about age 12), there's a chance some of that influence may stick. 

A generation ago, my friend Marco and I were bemoaning the popularity of Nintendo, which was the kiddie toy of the day. "We're raising a generation of Nintidiots," was how Marco put it.

But if Marco, a reader and guitar player, was reading this news article he might wonder how many of these pupils today have a guitar in their homes. And we're not talking about Guitar Hero either.

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Please pass the gas ... or NOT!

This is classic ...

Here's an interview with inventor Frank Bibbo, from salon.com -- you may have to wade through a bunch of ads to get to it, though.

I'm wondering if this takes one of the fun aspects out of marriage  ... i.e. pulling the blanket over her head? 

I mean, there are some things in life that just ought to be shared.

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On The Workbench: Browser war gets tighter

From The Workbench, Reloaded:

Firefox has improved its browser. Opera has a new upgrade in the can. And Chrome is, well, Chrome.

... Firefox, with its new 3.6 version, has seen enough improvements to almost make it a fair fight. Some of the benchmark tests comparing the two intrigued me. When you figure in that impossible stability+speed combination, reviewers are calling them almost neck and neck ...

Check it out.

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Multitasking? Do I have a browser for you!

Here's a bit of fun for the computer ubergeek, particularly if you just don't have enough time to get four things done.

It's called googlegooglegooglegoogle.com, and here's a screenie of the site in action.

Each quadrant of the browser window (I'm using Chrome here) is a working Web page of its own. Forget the browser tabs, this is the real deal.

Of course if something like this interests y'all, there's a phrase that just about says it all: Get a life!

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On The Workbench: Got my Chrome on, finally

It took long enough, with a lot of Web searching and evil experiments, but I have Google Chrome working on my Linux box. I'm using it now.

The story, plus links and the ever-important "how-I-dunnit" can be found in The Workbench, Reloaded.

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On The Workbench: Chrome for Linux isn't there yet

... as it stands now, I can work Chrome all day, as long as I don't use it to go online. That's when it quits ... (Read more in The Workbench, Reloaded)

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On The Workbench: New text editors force single-tasking

I'm noticing new computer programs that blot out the rest of your computer when you write. Doesn't sound like it's much fun, but it's great for productivity. Read more about this in The Workbench, Reloaded.

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