Mrs. Mecomber’s Scrapbook

Wanna know what really irks me? The latest public radio ads I keep hearing on TV. They are set to corny country music, trying to be humorous about something that is not humorous at all. In the ad, a guy sings a song, telling why he is now working at a cheap diner trying to scrape by– because he didn’t protect his identity and it was stolen… and he was robbed out of his skin. So, he works three lousy jobs trying to build his life back again.

Hardy har har! So funny! The ad ends with the government telling you how you really should protect your identity more.

Then I read stories like this one:

Personal information on about 650,000 customers of J.C. Penney and up to 100 other retailers could be compromised after a computer tape went missing. GE Money, which handles credit card operations for Penney and many other retailers, said Thursday night that the missing information includes Social Security numbers for about 150,000 people.

The information was on a backup computer tape that was discovered missing last October. It was being stored at a warehouse run by Iron Mountain Inc., a data storage company, and was never checked out but can’t be found either, said Richard C. Jones, a spokesman for GE Money, part of General Electric Capital Corp.

Jones said there was “no indication of theft or anything of that sort,” and no evidence of fraudulent activity on the accounts involved.

Iron Mountain spokesman Dan O’Neill said it would take specialized skills for someone to glean the personal data from the tape. He said the company regretted losing the tape, “but because of the volume of information we handle and the fact people are involved, we have occasionally made mistakes.”

Uhhh.. occasionally? When else have we been notified of these occasional mistakes? They are popping up left and right!

It irks me to no end to be hounded over “protecting” my “identity” when God-knows-who else has it and “loses” it; and without penalty, too. These companies should be driven out of business. Funny thing is, the companies’ names are one of the best kept secrets in the country!

Well, I’m ignoring my own technical problems with my stupid printer to let you know about some important developments in the computer world. One has to do with an important security breach on home routers. It’s important because more and more people are using routers to connect to the Internet via broadband or cable.

In this particular attack, an email is infected with malware. if you open the email, malicious code takes over.

According to Symantec researcher Zulfikar Ramzan, the attack changes a router’s settings controlling the domain name system server that translates domain names like theregister.co.uk into numerical IP address.

Malicious javascript code embedded into one email message he uncovered caused the URL for a popular Mexico-based bank to map to a fraudulent website controlled by the attackers. Anyone who tried to do business on the rogue site would have their banking credentials lifted.

If you have changed the default administration name and password (most routers use “admin”), you should be OK. But a lot of people never bother to change these things. Secure your network and Internet connection, people! Even in my small town, my wireless laptop has picked up multiple neighbors with no security. I could connect to their networks without a hitch! If the users had no firewall, I could even view their computer’s files or change them. This is awful! If you don’t know how to change your router’s settings, look in your manual, or do a search for your manufacturer online. Or find a geeky teen-aged relative to help you. Always secure your connection!

I haven’t had any time to devote to this blog lately. I’m actually avoiding technical news right now… because I have HAD IT with technical things these days. I’ve been in the midst of a major printing problem (my stupid laser printer won’t print via my home network, and I’ve tried everything!), and have had a few new problems compound on top of it. And there are some other tecchie issues I’m working on that are absorbing all my attention. Soon I’ll be writing about more cool gadgets and blogging more information.

But right now… well, what I always say, “Technology is a great convenience, until something goes wrong!”