WEEKLY WHEATIES #2540
Online Threats, Amazon Event, Science and Health
In this newsletter:
📝 Post: Think Hackers Can’t Get Anything From You?
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Amazon Devices & Services Event
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Tech Headlines
😎 Pick of the Week: Science (and Health?)
📦 Featured Product: AirFly Pro 2 Bluetooth Adapter
📝 Think Hackers Can’t Get Anything From You?
Before you read too much here, I’d suggest catching up on last week’s post - Are You Giving Away Your Login Info Without Realizing It? I’ve heard from a lot of you who have said, “I don’t care if [insert hacker] has my password. They can’t get anything from me anyway.” Hopefully, you’ve read enough or trust me enough to believe what I’m about to tell you. That is 100% not true. You have a name, an address, a social security number, possibly bank accounts, and tons of other logins that if you were compromised once — you are now a target.
Before going too deep, let me be clearer. You should have a different password for all of your accounts, especially anything with personal identifiers (bank accounts, shopping, etc). Not sure how to keep up with all of that? Check out this post on Why You Need a Password Manager. However, you should also look at some Tips to Keep Your Personal Information Private. As mentioned, there’s literally an entire business around helping people stay safe online.
Something else I’ve heard people say before revolves around not having any online presence, and I would like to address the most extreme side of this argument. Let’s assume someone does not bank online, does not have any social media accounts, doesn’t have an email, or even a smartphone. All that said, there’s still a high probability they have a Facebook Shadow Profile. And that’s just on Facebook.
Longer story short - in the world we live in, people are always trying to hack your accounts. Or to put it in more recent terms - your Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) is something you should try to protect online before it is used without your knowing.
On the other hand, here’s something else you don’t want to believe — there’s no such thing as an unhackable password. Literally any password can be hacked, regardless of the number of characters or the type of characters in the password (letters, numbers, or special characters). That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make a secure password.
When you create a password within the service or product you may be using, it is either stored in plaintext or will be encrypted. Obviously, storing in plaintext is not a good practice, but on the other hand, encryption can only go so far. As mentioned, any password can be hacked given enough time and computing power. If the hacker has the encrypted file from where the password is physically stored, they can then put it on their local computer and brute force access. And it doesn’t matter how long it takes.
To get an idea of how this works in practice, let’s use a basic 4-digit phone pin as an example. Basic math shows 10x10x10x10 (or 10^4) = 10,000 possible combinations. While no one can try all combinations in one sitting, given a long enough time (and the phone does not lock them out after a while), it can be ‘hacked’ within a reasonable time frame. That also doesn’t include if the hacker tries the most common codes first.
Which leads us to the next level of security: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This allows you to help Stay Safe Online Through Hacks, Phishing, and Scams by providing an extra layer of security when logging into an account. Just like passwords, there is a chance it can be hacked, but it’s minimal. At least in comparison. MFA codes are usually sent through a text message, an email, or through an Authenticator App. The authenticator apps are generally the best option since they reset fairly often (30 seconds is most common) and cannot be spoofed like your email and phone number can be.
With all of this, what can hackers actually do once they’ve gained any type of information about you? Well, for starters, getting any information - especially passwords - gives a big head start because they then know it’s ‘possible’ to get something. Having a name, email, and other personal identifiers helps them narrow down their targets, to which they can then get even more personal information that escalates what they can do. Any and all information gathered helps build out your profile, furthering their reach into potential scams.
If they gain access to your phone number or email, they can phish others from your accounts. But that’s minimal damage to then resetting other passwords on other accounts you may have. If you don’t have bank accounts set up, they can find your social security number and create one. Possibly even taking loans out in your name. They could file fraudulent tax returns and claim direct deposit (to a bank in your name they have access to). The list goes on. However, nothing compares to the potential long-term issues you may deal with around the concept of identity theft.
This is why it is important to be careful not only with your login information, but your personal identification information. Be wary of people you don’t know asking personal questions, and who and when you give out your social security number, birthday, next of kin, and more.
What are you doing to protect your online presence?
🗞️ ICYMI: Amazon Devices & Services Event
Last week, Amazon held an in-person event sharing some updates to their hardware and Alexa+ Subscription. You can read about everything announced at Amazon’s fall hardware event, or watch their short video on YouTube.
Announcements include all new speakers, the Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio; an updated Echo Show 8/11; updated Ring Doorbells with smart greetings; updated Ring Cameras with 4K; three new Amazon TVs; a new 4K Firestick; and a new Kindle Scribe and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. A lot of these devices are either currently on sale or will be for Prime Day on October 7th-8th.
🗞️ ICYMI: Tech Headlines
Electronic Arts Goes Private for $55 Billion in Largest LBO Ever
OpenAI announces Sora 2 and an AI video and audio app that allows for user ‘cameos’
😎 POTW: Science (and Health?)
Yeah Science! Exclaimed in my best Jesse Pinkman voice…. Who doesn’t love science? Well, maybe not the studying part. But seeing what we’re capable of either learning or doing through science should always be fun. Check out these picks this week that involve science in some way and may help your health in others.
📦 Featured Product
The AirFly Pro 2 Bluetooth Adapter is marked as “more than a travel essential,” and that’s really not hyperbole. This small, lightweight device comes with two main features (transmitting and receiving audio), allowing use for over 24 hours. First, the AirFly can act as a Bluetooth receiver, allowing your phone or computer to send audio via Bluetooth to your car, boat, dumb speaker, or any device with an Aux-In connection from a headphone jack. Second, and probably most important, is that the AirFly can connect to any device with a headphone jack and send audio over Bluetooth (to headphones, speakers, and more), but can do this simultaneously to TWO different devices. Meaning, you and a friend can listen to the same thing on a plane, at the gym, on vacation, or even at home. No more sharing headphones!
