Tivo looses customer database of email addresses as addressed in a letter to customers...



TiVo® Service Announcement

Dear TiVo Customer,

Today we were informed by our email service provider that your email address was exposed due to unauthorized access of their system. Our email service provider deploys emails on our behalf to customers who have opted into email-based communications from us.

We were advised by our email service provider that the information that was obtained was limited to first name and/or email addresses only. Your service and any other personally identifiable information were not at risk and remain secure.

Please note, it is possible you may receive spam email messages as a result. We want to urge you to be cautious when opening links or attachments from unknown third parties.

We regret this has taken place and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We take your privacy very seriously, and we will continue to work diligently to protect your personal information.

If you have unsubscribed in the past, there is no need to unsubscribe again. Your preferences will remain in place.

Sincerely,
The TiVo Team


UPDATE 04/04/11: The email company that handles Tivo's Accounts also handles many others including Best Buy:


Dear Valued Best Buy Customer,

On March 31, we were informed by Epsilon, a company we use to send emails to our customers, that files containing the email addresses of some Best Buy customers were accessed without authorization.

We have been assured by Epsilon that the only information that may have been obtained was your email address and that the accessed files did not include any other information. A rigorous assessment by Epsilon determined that no other information is at risk. We are actively investigating to confirm this.

For your security, however, we wanted to call this matter to your attention. We ask that you remain alert to any unusual or suspicious emails. As our experts at Geek Squad would tell you, be very cautious when opening links or attachments from unknown senders.

In keeping with best industry security practices, Best Buy will never ask you to provide or confirm any information, including credit card numbers, unless you are on our secure e-commerce site, www.bestbuy.com. If you receive an email asking for personal information, delete it. It did not come from Best Buy.

Our service provider has reported this incident to the appropriate authorities.

We regret this has taken place and for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We take your privacy very seriously, and we will continue to work diligently to protect your personal information. For more information on keeping your data safe, please visit:
http://www.geeksquad.com/do-it-yourself/tech-tip/six-steps-to-keeping-your-data-safe.aspx.

Sincerely,

Barry Judge
Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer
Best Buy

Viruses are so common place these days that people use the phrase "I think I have a virus" almost every time something goes wrong with their PC.

The simple fact is most computer problems are not caused by a virus. Most computer problems are software problems with Mirosoft Wndows. Usually it's something acting hinky (not a technical term) in windows itself. It might be a software conflict such as a program you installed causing the computer to crash or run slow or a driver. A "driver" is a program that tells windows how to use something in you computer such as a printer or camera. All it takes is a poorly writing driver or program to cause your computer to do any number of weird things.

How do I know if it's really a virus?

Actually, today its pretty easy to tell. The most common type of virus is a "fake alert" virus. This is a program that pops up on your computer usually telling you your computer is infected with a virus. Sounds strange right? A virus telling you you have a virus. It then give you the option to remove the virus, but when you click yes to do this, it tells you you need to purchase the full version. You can then make the very bad mistake of clicking to purchase and entering your credit card number and personal information as many people do. What usually happens next is even more interesting...nothing. They don't remove anything as this program IS the virus. But they do have your credit card information any may or may not charge some crazy fee to it, but they can also sell your credit card information online or use it for other purchases. They pray on your fear making your believe the program is legit by making it look similar to a real antivirus program. Almost every virus we see today displays this type of behavior as a program that pops up on your screen, warns you of problems that don't really exist and usually won't let you continue using the computer until you click on them. The worse part is the instant your infected with one of these viruses, it can immediately be stealing any personal information on your computer such as files, credit card information and passsords to websites in the background.

What you need to do is know what Antivirus software you really do have. Some of the popular ones are Microsoft Security Essentails, Nortons, McAfee, AVG and there are others. Knowing what you have will allow you to know if whats on your screen is the real thing or not.

How did you get this virus?

The number one way people get viruses, over 90% of the time is via email. Either by clicking on a link in an email or clicking on an attachment. Attackers use two main methods. The fear method and the random probability method. In the fear method emails are sent out that might look like their from your bank, eBay or PayPal. They look real, have real company logos, may look very professional but are completely fake. It might say something like "due to recently security problems we highly recommend you change your password" and they tell you to click a link. When you do you are taking to website that looks just like the real thing, but of course it's not. It might ask you to enter your old password and a new password. The new password is meaningless as they of course are not changing your password but you did just give them your old password. And you were probably infected with a virus the instant you clicked the link.

In the random probability method, the attacker sends out millions of emails a day in hopes to hit the right person at the right time. Let's say your company orders from Staples regularly. You might receive and email that looks like a real staples email that says "Your order has been shipped. Click here to view your order." and if you didn't just order something you might think "what order, I didn't order anything today" and then you do the worst thing...you click the link...and your infected. Or this time of year you might get an email that appears to be from the IRS at www.irs.gov saying that this year there is a new 1040ez form. If you file a 1040ez form on your taxs you might click the adobe PDF file attachment to print it. Well that file is infected and depending on your version of the adobe PDF reader on your computer you will get the virus.

The simple rule is NEVER click on a link or attachment in an email that your not expecting. You may get something from your brother to "Check out this funny video" but I don't recommend ever clicking on them. If you want to check if there was really an order shipped from staples, open your browser and type in www.staples.com then log in and check it, don't click the link. If you want to know if there is a new 1040ez form go to www.irs.gov. If you are worried about your eBay password. Go to www.eBay.com, login and change your password. The only time it's safe to click a link is if you requested it. If you went to www.ebay.com and clicked on "Retrieve Lost Password" then you got an email to change your password a minute later, you know it's legit since you requested it.

What should I do if I get a virus?

Unfortunately there is little most users can do on their own. First is turn off the computer and don't use it until it's been serviced. If it's off, the bad guys can't be stealing information. Next, seek a professional. Half the time the virus can be removed, sort of. The other half, it can't and the computer must be reformatted. Almost always your data can still be retrieved first. The reason I say it can sort of be removed is unfortuntly the rule is that once your infected, even if its removed and everything appears fine, there is not way to know with 100% certainty the computer is clean. There is always the change something was missed. Reformatting is the only sure way to know your computer is completely clean.

So if you wish to avoid credit card theft, someone accessing your bank account, accessing your personal website accounts, and hundreds of dollars in computer repair costs...don't click on links in emails or open unknown attachments. With just that simple rule you are protected as much as is possible these days.

Something you would like us to explain or write about? Send us your ideas at blogideas@ineedbob.com

So you have this nice new Android phone. Now what? You can use facebook, sent texts, maybe even email. But is that it? Not by a long shot!


There are many more things you can do that you probably dont realize. Your Android phone can do much more than even an iPhone can do. Your Android phone is the most customizable, powerful mobile device that has ever existed.

First to clarity a few things. Android is an operating system. Just like Windows, Linux or the Mac OS. Its called "Android" not "Droid". "Droid" is a name given by Verizon and Verizon only to its line of smart phones running the Android operating system. An Android phone on AT&T or Spring or TMoble is the same as on Verizon, but only Verizon advertises their phones as "Droids". An Operating System is the software that runs a device. The iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch uses iOS from Apple. Blackberry uses their own Blackberry Operating System, etc.

Now, how to install programs or Apps (short for Applications) on your Android device...you will have an icon on your phone for the Marketplace. This is the google store where you can download and get both free and paid apps. If you cant find it easily, try clicking the Magnifying Glass button on the phone (commonly called the Search Button) then typing "market" and it should come up. Here you can search for and install new apps.

So start, here are some of the most popular things to do with your Android Phone...



Facebook: Many Android phones come with Facebook already installed but you can always download and install it for free from the market. You can do the most popular things you do on facebook which are read/write/comment and upload pictures right from your phone.



Twitter: Twitter is a popular site which allows you to write short messages up to 140 characters at a time. You "Follow" people you know or who write interesting things and people can follow you. Its a great way to let friends know what your up to, get news, have small conversations. Check it out at www.twitter.com

 



Foursquare: Foursquare uses the GPS in your phone to know were you are and allow you to "check in" at businesses or locations you visit. You can do it just to let peopel know where you are, or even get discounts at stores. Many businesses advertise on foursquare things such as free coffee when you check in on four square when at our store. Four square also makes it fun by giving you points and badges in the program to encourage you to check in everywhere you go.



The Internet: Obvious but many people dont realize that having access to information anytime you need it is very handy. Store information, restaurant menus, check a price on an item, anything you normally use the web for but with you all the time.

 

 



Maps: Your Android phone has a full GPS system with Google Maps and turn-by-turn directions built right in and its more up to date than any stand alone GPS system you have in your car.

 

 

Music: With that Android phone in your pocket, you dont need an iPod. This little device can do everythign the iPod does and much more. Get a program like Double Twist and it makes it even easier. Also you can use APPS like Slacker to stream music right over the internet to your phone anytime.

 

 

Movies & Videos: You can transfer movies, watch YouTube, use VeVo for music videos right on your device. Just search the Marketplace store for these programs. By the way, NetFlix is coming soon!

 

 

Evernote: Are you someone who likes to make lists? keep notes? stay organized? Everynote will even allow you to take a picture and store it in there. One popular example is taking a picture of a wine bottle label. Evernote will read the information and store it along with the picture. Next time you can just type "merlot" and that picture will pop right up. Dont worry about remember things, just Evernote it.

 

 

News: There are many ways to get your news today on your phone. The old way: NYTimes app, Fox News App, etc. The New Way: Twitter, Facebook, Google Reader. Either way you like it, its all in there.

 

 

CardStar: Carry a lot of cards in your wallet? Grocery Store, CVS, BJ's, Staples. Why bother? Just scan then with your phones camera or enter the number from the card and Cardstar will put a complete replica of the card on your phone alone with the barcode. Just show that to the casher or scanner next time. Dont be shy, all us geeks do it these days!

 

 

There are dozens of other great things you can use your Android device for, way to many to list here but these should get you started. Just search around in the Marketplace and discover some of the over 100,000 out there.

Now a little more about what makes your phone so much more powerful than a blackberry or iPhone.

Unlike those phones with allow you to just download an App, Android allows you to be much more specific with how you can customize your phone. Make it your own! Everything from animated backgrounds or widgets that are interactive right on the screen. Dont like that you can only fit a certain number of icons on main screen, Get Multicon and fit up 64 icons in the normal 16 space. Want a single button on your screen to do things like turn on wifi, turn off bluetooth, etc? Get Widgetsoid. Want to read/write Word and Excel documents? Get DocumentsToGo. Want a spefic music program to launch automatically when you plug your headphoens in? Get PlugInLauncher. Want a better texting program that allows bigger text, customer messages, and more, get Handcent.

Some examples of customizing your phone:



The point is you have choices! You may find you can do more with your Android phone that on your desktop computer. At least some more interesting things because a mobile device today can incorporate The Internet, Phone, Texting, GPS, Camera, Camcorder, Music, Speech to Text, Text to Speech, so many things into one single device.

Take the time to search the Android Market on your phone, search the internet for Recommended Android Apps or Android App Reviews. You will be amazined that your probably not taking advantage of 10% of this incredibly powerful device.

Something you would like us to explain or write about? Send us your ideas at blogideas@ineedbob.com

This week Apple released the iPad 2, but should you buy one?

Don't have an iPad? Then the answer is Yes.
Have an iPad now? The answer is almost certainly No.

Here's why...

The iPad is the first tablet (and yes there have been many before it)
that is easy for anyone to use and perhaps more importantly, fun to
use.
The iPad 2 gets some new improvements but nothing earth shattering.
Ok, it's got cameras. Are you going to hold it up to take pictures or
videos? Probably not. Your cell phone does a much better job at that
and won't make your arms tired. Front camera...you can use Apple's
Facetime to video chat with anyone with an iPad 2, iPhone 4, or iPod
Tough but from everything I hear from most people who have this on
their iPhone 4 right now, its cool, you use it and love it then find
you rarely or never use it again. I find it great when I or my wife is
out of town for seeing the kids but for most of us thats not very
often. As for the redesign, its 1/3rd thinner, 15% lighter. Nice, but
not worth spending another $499 or more on if you have an iPad
already. Speed...the only reason I would even concider upgrading to
the iPad 2. They say it's twice as face and the graphics up to nine
times faster. But if you have an iPad now, have you ever complained
about the speed? I have never read anything or heard anyone complain
the current iPad is too slow. Power users who jump back and forth
between multiple apps constantly would appreciate this and new games
will certainly take advantage of this. That's it. There really isn't
anything more to discuss about important changes, so for most people
the answer is pretty clean about upgrading.

So if you don't own an iPad, the iPad 2 is great, and highly
recommende if you ever wanted an iPad. If you have an iPad already and
don't absolutely need the Facetime video chat (and who does?) then
there is no reason to upgrade. Like me, enjoy your current iPad
knowing your not missing anything great by sticking with your current
model.

The next question is, What could Apple have done to make the iPad 2 a must have?

The answer is probably nothing more than they did. There just haven't
been any real complaints with the origional iPad. It has a great 10
hour battery life (iPad 2 is the same), pretty responsive, aside from
a little lighter, a litter thinner, a little faster, there just isn't
anything people have been asking for. It's rare a company gets a tech
device right the first time around, but that's the key to the success
of most Apple products. A lot of design and a lot of thought about the
user experience. Oh, also coming out with new models every year like
clockwork and making it the must have thing to get to keep you
upgrading and making them a lot of money. But we do like Apple's products and as long as they continue the excellent level and design and quality, we will continue to buy them.

Apple's iPad 2 Video (Click to view)
Apple's Smart Cover Video (Click to view)

If you have never had an account hacked into you probably dont worry much about your passwords, but you should! Its incredible how many people use the same password for everything from their email to their banking. Or they use a short simple password because they dont want to have to remember a long password. A "complex" password does not have to be complex. Let me explain then we will discuss more about being safe and why its important.

First, "complex" passwords. One school of thought is long random passwords consisting of uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols. Something like "dfhhUH4345$hjdjfhdER87&^@". This is obviously long, complex and next to impossible to remember. You can use passwords like this realativly easy if you only need to use it from one computer, lets say at home, where you have saved passwords like this in a file and can copy and paste them as you need it. But a complex password could also be something easy to remember such as "Iliketotakewalksinthepark3timesaweek!". This password is even longer, and although its a sentence its Very safe! The important thing is, you could easily remember a password like this which is a sentence the human brain can relate to. You probably would not even need to write it down.

A little about making a good password. How long should it be? Some background...If you make a 5 character password using only lowercase letters and numbers it would have 60 million possible combinations. Sound like a lot right? it must be safe, right? Wrong! 60 million possible combinations is as simple as saying pick a number from 1 to 10. It can easily be cracked.

Using upper and lowercase plus numbers, if 5 characters long there would now be 916 million combinations. Better right? NO! With the power of computers today, its also easy to crack. But make it just a little bit longer, say 8 characters of upper/lower/numbners and now there are 218 Trillion possible combinations! Now we are getting somewhere! Add some symbols in there such as $, !, #, etc and now there are over 7 Quadrillion possible combinations. Now your getting safe. Realizing this, is it really that hard to use a password such as "BeSafe9!"? And for every extra character you add to it, you double the amount of possible combinations!

How much should I worry about my accounts getting hacked? If you dont practice safe passwords, you should be very worried. The most common type of attack is someone breaking into your email. Once they get in there, all the rest is easy. They can go to one of the many sites you might use such as facebook and click on "Recover Lost Password" in which case the website will EMail you a new password or a link to reset your password. Since the bad guy now has access to your email, They will get the email and be able to reset your password for that website and they are in and you are out! This is why your email password should probably be the most complex and the most guarded.

Another type of attack is a hacker might send out millions of emails to random people making it look as if its from a popular site such as Facebook. They would send it saying something like "For security reasons we ask that you reset your password, please click here to change your password now." It looks legit, it has the facebook logo, so you click it. It takes you to a site that looks like facebook. Might even have facebook in the name such as www.facebook.faceaccountreset.com (its the name before the .com at the end that shows what site your really on). It would ask you to enter your old password to verify who you are, then to choose a new password. The new password means nothing as your not even on facebook's website. But what you did just do is give them your your current password and now they are in. Anytime you get such an email or are worried, manually go to the site by typing www.whateversite.com and logging in and changing your password, NEVER click on any links in an email unless you went to the website first and requested it.

Now imagine this is your bank account the hacker gets into. First thing they do is use the automatic bill pay to write a payment to themselves and send it to a PO Box. Is it worth the hassle of having a complex password to prevent this? If your lucky they hack into your account just for fun, and yes some hackers do it just to proove they can and dont do anything terrible. They may just watch what you do on facebook or post inappropriate content. Or they may email your friends as if it was from you and try to get their private information or send them a virus. Many things can happen that will at best disrupt your life. At worst, cost you a lot of headach and lost of money.

Now that you undestand what can happen and how dangerous it is, here is what to do about it. First, If you use the same password on all or most sites, if your passwords are short and simple, if they dont contain upper/lower/numbers/symboles...STOP IT RIGHT NOW! Your the person that 15 year old hacker or that foreign mafia organization is trying to get to slip up so they can hack your accounts!

The Rules:

1) Your passwords need to be at least 10 characters long

2) At the minimum they should be upper and lower case and contain numbers. Adding a single symbol in there would be even better.

3) If you worry about remembering them, I know I certainly cant remember all my passwords, then create a Word or Excel
document on your computer and write them all down in there as you create them. Word and Excel can password protect the document (click HELP then search for "password protect" and the instructions will come up). Then you only need to remember that one password to that document on your computer.

4) If you want to use the same password more than once to simplfy things a little, fine. But not for your email, not for your bank or any critical sites. If you want to use the same password on multiple sites make sure its for things like Facebook, Twitter, etc. Sites that if someone got into, it would not be the end of the world. This helps makes your online experience a little simpler when using social networks, or sites that are for fun and not critical.

5) If you can, take advantage of multi factor authentication. What is this? For example, Google recently introduced this for GMail. You can setup gmail so that when you log in from a computer other than your home, after your enter your password it will text your phone with a code that you must enter. This way, even if someone got your password, they would not have your phone and there for could not get in. Banks often have something similar like a small credit card device that has a constantly changing number that you also must enter. These devices are often free or under twenty dollars.

Using a little common sence and not being lazy about your passwords can go a long way to protecting your online identity.

So remember a good password only 8 character long with upper/lower/numbers/symbols has 7,200,000,000,000,000
possible combinations and over the internet would take almost 29,000 years to crack. Even on a file on a super computer would take 2.25 years. Assuming my math and research is correct. So use a complex password please. :)