I had a bit of an interweb scare over the weekend.
I received an e-mail in my junk box that had a password that I have used in the past - not one that is used currently mind you, but still one that is associated with a log in I use. The e-mail informed me that I had been "caught" ("bad luck for you" as the author said) and informed me that I could either send them $3000 in cryptocurrency or the activated camera and keyboard inputs would be sent out to family and friends. And there was a pixel dot in the e-mail to let the author know that I had read it.
Except, of course, I had not been on such sites. And my webcam is covered.
But the intent was real.
I did a bit of research on the internet and it turns out that some version of my passwords may exists on the "dark web", a place the InterWeb does not index and a place I do not want to be. But none the less, it was a good and needed reminder about security.
I went through and rechecked all my log ins. I also realized that I have gotten into the sloppy habit of remaining logged in to things like Blogger and my e-mail when I am out and about (which of course lets them track me. I went through and shored up a some security and re-examined all the places I think I exist on the web.
It was a good practice - not just for this, but for the general climate of today. People are now looking back across an individual's entire posting history to find any chance to exploit or accuse. I cannot go back and undo the past (although I do not think there is much to undo); I can go through and do what I can to limit my exposure and make sure it does not continue going forward.
We forget how dangerous our fellow man can be. In WW2 a woman told a joke about Der Furher in Germany - and was tried in court, convicted of reason and shot. Uncle Joe Stalin killed thousands, knowing full well that at least half his victims were innocent - because they might oppose him in the future. Think about that, and all the opinions or views you posted on the net... Google helped the Chinese govt identity bloggers and posters that did not agree with everything their govt did.
ReplyDeleteToday there are people that seriously want to bring all that back, too. The mind wobbles.
A very good reminder, TB! I think that can be expanded to the 'smart' phones, too. And I know what I'll be doing this week!
ReplyDelete~hobo
It truly does Glen. There is a sort of sick perverse shock in looking at Google - whose motto is "Do No Evil" - complying with an authoritarian regime with the sole purpose of using that information to threaten and destroy people.
ReplyDeleteI have, I suppose, not a great deal of illusions about how such a thing might happen here. My only solace is unlike ages past, civilization is so highly complex that removing whole segments of society will cause it to slip catastrophically rather quickly - that is, if we can outlast the collapse, we can at least work on what comes after.
Hobo, phones are even a greater black box to me than computers. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that using them for anything other than calling and the weather is probably an unwise move.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I will rescan things this week as well. Turns out you cannot be too paranoid about some things.
I had someone hijack my browser some time ago, claiming my computer was now infested with some new Windows virus. They demanded cryptocurrency for the "cure." At the time I didn't even know what cryptocurrency was, but the tip off it was a scam was because I don't use Windows. I went over to the Ubuntu Forums to ask for help and it was a matter of creating a new profile. It's scary because I have no interest in visiting suspicious websites, but someone had created a false link for some obscure agricultural related topic, something most folks could care less about. It's amazing what lengths some folks will go to just to be devious.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, they are certainly becoming more clever with how the e-mails appear. In times past - and this time too - I used the text from the e-mail and searched on that and found references to it being a fake.
ReplyDeleteI continue to try to bury myself under levels of blockers and securities - but yes, I am getting more selective about what websites I visit as well.