Let that be a lesson to you

The most significant political revelation about Sarah Palin's Yahoo! email account being "hacked" is that she used a private email for official business (not unlike some other elected officials we know...perhaps she does have the experience to be VP!). Regardless about how you feel about that, the manner in which the account was accessed should be a lesson to anyone who posts online.

The reported way it happened was that the attacker got in by activating the "I forgot my password" functionality, which forced him (or her?) to answer some personal questions. The first questions were standard: birthdate and zip code. The last was self-selected, in this case, where Sarah Palin met her husband. The attacker successfully gained access because all of this information was easily available online.

A few articles have mentioned how this is a risk for people in the public eye; however, a similar attack can be made on people who post personal information, such as on MySpace or FaceBook.

Birthday is pretty common. Sure some people suppress the year "for security purposes," but all it takes is a post about a birthday milestone (21st, 30th, etc.) and some basic math skills to work around that.

Zip codes are more rare in personal posts, but addresses can sometimes be found through other sources. Also, if you live in a small town (Wasilla, AK?) there may be a limited number of choices, or if you frequently post about the neighborhood you live in you may have already narrowed down the options.

High schools and colleges are frequently posted with alumni pride, but they are also used as security prompts (either directly or indirectly as in where Sarah Palin met her hubby: Wasilla High).

What's a social networker or blogger to do?

First, limit the blatantly personal stuff, but realize some is likely to leak out. Even if you don't post under your real name someone may post a comment with your name or an obvious variant. References to milestone birthdays equal references to birthdates. Referring to maternal grandparents by name usually means you just revealled you "Mother's Maiden Name."

Second, limit access to all but the most generic information. Sadly, this can limit some of the fun of websharing (note that this blog is fully open as of this post); however, it can help prevent your data from being easily read by anyone. But don't think that limiting to "friends" will make everything okay. All but the most disciplined friends lists have a way of getting unwieldy and including people you may have never really met. Also, there can be security incidents in which data is "accidentally" made public due to a security flaw. Or the site can be hacked. Oh, and there can be a lot of developers (for the site you use as well as plug in applications) that may have access to your data. The simple answer is if it's on the Internet assume a lot of people may be able to see it.

Third, lie in your security questions or modify the truth to make the answers unguessable. Say you were born in a city you've never been to. Answer your mother's maiden name with your parent's anniversary date. Move your hands over on the keyboard so typing the same word ends up as nonsense. Of course the risk in these cases is that YOU will forget the answer, which is why number four is important.

Fourth, be sure to list an alternate email. If you have another email on file most sites give you the option of having the password reset sent there. That will protect you if you make your security question so difficult that even you can't answer it. (Note, however, that this won't protect someone else from getting into your account using the question, so be sure it's a good one.)

Admittedly, the sort of attack and prevention described above implies a scenario in which someone has targetted your specific account. Hopefully, no one will want to do that. But when you realize the above can hold true for your online banking as well, perhaps it's better to be cautious. You never know when you might make someone angry or a "friend" wants to play a prank on you or you get tapped to be the Republican vice-presidential nominee. It happened to a "hockey mom" from Alaska; it can happen to you!

My brain reverts to the juvenile when bored

I was just in a meeting that had very little impact on me, so it made it all the more distractingly amusing when this conversation occurred:

Female Manager: "What do you think about Dick?"

Female Lawyer: "I'm thinking no Dick."

FM: "But this looks like it's 90% Dick."

FL: "Yeah. This is a lot of Dick."

Male Accountant: "I thought we wanted Dick except for administrative."

FL: "I think we should do it again and pull the Dick out."

Seriously, it went on like this. Don't these people know what they are saying? Maybe they're just too sophisticated. The thing is, we all seem to be about the same age. It's not like I was the kid...I just think like one sometimes.

Flattering and Disappointing at the Same Time

"Claire's Departure" took first runner-up for best play at the Silver Spring One-Act Festival. It's nice to know the play was appreciated by the audience, but it's frustrating to have been not quite good enough.

Winning would have been a particularly nice ego boost as I wait to hear from a festival where this same play is a finalist. They were supposed to be tallying the votes on Monday, but I haven't heard anything. A bad sign or just a sign they haven't had the time to tally the votes and/or notify people? Who knows.

But I hate to wait.

Oh, as for that other overdue festival that I complained about in a previous post. They ended up making their announcement on the last day of August. And I was selected. I guess good things come to those who wait...no matter how impatiently!

The TV Report

I was raised on TV, and I haven't yet broken the habit. I comfortably sit in my living room letting my life get sucked away by talking box. And I like it.

It's a new season. Time for the return of old friends and exploration of new ones.

What I'm watching right now
Mad Men - aka the best show on TV
The Shield - The final season is going to be out of control
Project Runway - This season is pretty awful, but it's a habit.
America's Next Top Model - A REALLY bad habit. I am ashamed.
The Soup - The trasy clips I want without the shame of watching the shows. (Except ANTM. I can't help myself.)
Dexter (on DVD) - Cable costs too much to add another premium channel, but I love this show. I'm currently Netflixing my way through Season Two.

What I've been giving a try
True Blood - The first episode didn't wow me, but neither did the first episode of Big Love. The show did intrigue me, so I'll give it a few more weeks to make an impact.
Sons of Anarchy - Not as well written as, say, The Shield, but pulpy with some potential for dramatic plot lines. Plus, it's giving work to Katey Sagal and Mitch Pileggi who I haven't seen for a while. And it's nice when Ron Perlman gets to act without a bunch of crazy make-up on.

What I'm Waiting For
Heroes - Just a great show
CSI - Another guilty pleasure
Criminal Minds - More or less of a guilty pleasure than CSI? Depends on the episode.
Amazing Race - How sucked in I get depends on the teams
House - It started to lose me last season, but I'm willing to go back for more
Law & Order: SVU - Do you get that I'm a sucker for crime dramas?
Big Love - Is this even coming back?
Battlestar Gallactica - A long, long wait.

Wow, it's a wonder that I find time to do anything else at all.

Stereotypical Girls

The lesbian couple downstairs loves to blast Melissa Etheridge music on Saturday nights.

My Word Coach forgives me?

As follow up from yesterday's post, I should report that despite a lackluster series of exercises today I am back up to a 99% Expression Potential. What does that tell me about yesterday's lapse? Nothing. What does this mean for my quest for 100%? Who knows.

Could My Word Coach be taunting me? Is this like converting to Judaism or joining Project Mayhem, and I have to stand up to the rejection before I am taken seriously? Oh, My Word Coach, you are a cold bastard, but you have not broken me yet!