Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


Klipspringer

2385 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user


#116389 27-Apr-2013 19:06
Send private message

Seems like these security breaches are happening more and more.

This one from Living Social just arrived in my inbox.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

LivingSocial recently experienced a security breach on our computer systems that resulted in unauthorised access to some customer data from our servers. We are actively working with the authorities to investigate this issue.

The information accessed includes names, email addresses, the date of birth of some users, and encrypted passwords; technically ‘hashed’ and ‘salted’ passwords. We never store passwords in plain text.

The database that stores customer credit card information was not affected or accessed.

Although your LivingSocial password would be difficult to decode, we want to take every precaution to ensure that your account is secure, so we are expiring your old password and requesting that you create a new one.




Create new topic


SaltyNZ
8229 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
2degrees
Lifetime subscriber

  #806464 27-Apr-2013 19:31
Send private message

Unfortunately I could not see a 'delete my account' option. Does anyone know where it is?




iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

 

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.


gzt

gzt
17122 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #806515 27-Apr-2013 21:34
Send private message

Yeah, really annoying. Changed my password this morning after the news. Later in the afternoon received the message about the system password reset. Hmm.



freitasm
BDFL - Memuneh
79270 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator
ID Verified
Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

  #806530 27-Apr-2013 22:01
Send private message

I actually never created an account, but might have entered a competition. They took this opportunity to spam my spare email address. Basically they sent an email to everyone in their database. I then checked my eWallet file and I don't have a password. Went to the site clicked "Forgot password" and entered my spare email address.

The results say "Even though you receive our newsletter you don't have an account. Create one now" (no, never received a newsletter).

Basically they not only had a security problem, they took the opportunity to send emails to everyone, regardless of having an account or not. Pretty poor.




Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSyncBackblaze backup


jarledb
Webhead
3257 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator
ID Verified
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #806574 28-Apr-2013 04:35
Send private message

A good time to remind people not to use the same password on several different services.

One good way to deal with lots of passwords, is to auto create them (good long passwords of 14+ letters/numbers) and use a service like Lastpassword or 1Password (my favorite) to deal with entering passwords on the different services.

That way your email and other services aren't in jeopardy if one of the services you use get hacked.

LinkedIn, PS Networks etc. are good examples that its not only small services/sites that gets hacked and bleed usernames and passwords.




Jarle Dahl Bergersen | Referral Links: Want $50 off when you join Octopus Energy? Use this referral code
Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by making a donation or subscribing.


Klipspringer

2385 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user


  #807083 29-Apr-2013 09:15
Send private message

jarledb: A good time to remind people not to use the same password on several different services.

One good way to deal with lots of passwords, is to auto create them (good long passwords of 14+ letters/numbers) and use a service like Lastpassword or 1Password (my favorite) to deal with entering passwords on the different services.

That way your email and other services aren't in jeopardy if one of the services you use get hacked.

LinkedIn, PS Networks etc. are good examples that its not only small services/sites that gets hacked and bleed usernames and passwords.


Thanks for the tip. Going to try this out.

gzt

gzt
17122 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #807095 29-Apr-2013 09:28
Send private message

Date of birth is another issue to consider.

How many services have a genuine need for your exact date of birth?

Not LivingSocial that's for sure.

 
 
 
 

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).
freitasm
BDFL - Memuneh
79270 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator
ID Verified
Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

  #807096 29-Apr-2013 09:30
Send private message

Klipspringer:
jarledb: One good way to deal with lots of passwords, is to auto create them (good long passwords of 14+ letters/numbers) and use a service like Lastpassword or 1Password (my favorite) to deal with entering passwords on the different services.


Thanks for the tip. Going to try this out.



LastPass (which I think jarledb is talking as "lastpassword") uses Google Authenticator for two factor security if you want to go even further. There are Google Authenticator apps in all mobile platforms.

I also use Google Authenticator on Google Account, Microsoft Windows account, Dropbox, Lastpass. I use SMS authentication on Facebook and a couple of other services.






Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSyncBackblaze backup


Oriphix
523 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #807097 29-Apr-2013 09:34

I personally use Keepass. Its free and you can get a portable version for iPhone (I think you can get it for android as well) so take your passwords with you as well.

Behodar
10504 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #807110 29-Apr-2013 09:53
Send private message

gzt: Date of birth is another issue to consider.

How many services have a genuine need for your exact date of birth?

Not LivingSocial that's for sure.

Agreed. I'm not familiar with LivingSocial but I don't like sites that "require" data that they don't actually need. For example, I haven't registered with Pizza Hut because they won't let me create an account without providing my physical address (I only ever do pickups). It's not that I don't trust Pizza Hut, but rather that I don't trust potential hackers!

Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.