allheart55 Cindy E

Not surprisingly, the leakers who have been dribbling out details about the Windows 9 Technical Preview have provided a few more videos over the weekend. These show the new virtual desktops and notification center functionality in Windows 9. So let's take a look. Virtual desktops According to a new video of the leaked build, the new virtual desktops functionality in Windows 9 starts with a new application that is pinned to the taskbar. When you click this, a Metro-style notification band at the bottom of the screen. You can then click "Add" repeatedly to add multiple desktops. While there is almost certainly some kind of a keyboard shortcut for accessing virtual desktops, you can of course click the application's taskbar button to access the various available desktops as well. A new Task view appears to combine the virtual desktop user experience with the Windows Flip (ALT + TAB) UI, too, providing access to each virtual desktop and their open windows and applications. You can also close a virtual desktop by clicking its thumbnail's Close box. Notification Center As noted previously, Windows Phone 8.1 introduces a notification center feature called Action Center. But I was curious what they would name this feature in Big Windows since we've had a feature there called Action Center since Windows 7, and it has nothing to do with notifications. Based on a new Winfuture.de video, the new notification center in Windows 9 is not called Action Center. It's just called ... Notifications. This notification center commingles classic desktop notifications ("Safe to remove hardware," and so on) with Modern app and system notifications. And its access through a system tray icon that, yes, is identical to the Action Center icon in Windows Phone 8.1. When you click it, the Notifications window appears. All notifications now appear as Metro-style banners in the upper right corner of the screen, even desktop notifications. This is nicely consistent, and it means that system, Modern app and desktop notifications all appear in the same place. If you miss a notification, you can of course see it later in the notification center. This is a big issue today with Windows 8.1 system and Modern app notifications since once they come and go there's no way to even know they happened. As with Windows Phone 8.1, you can remove notifications from the notification center individually if you wish. Or you can click Clear All at the top of the window.

See if this will help, N3. http://help.opera.com/Mac/12.10/en/importexport.html

F-Secure has uncovered an unusual kind of malware that's spreading through Twitch's chat feature, which they're calling "Eskimo." The virus starts with a simple phishing scheme, claiming the target has won a phony raffle and offering a bad link to confirm. If users click the link, they'll be infected with the malware, which logs into the gaming platform Steam and takes control of the target's account. From there, the program empties the target's wallet and sells off any valuable items he may have bought or acquired through the service. Users are also reporting that more valuable items were being traded to an account called "Youni," the owner of which has yet to be tracked down. Twitch is an immensely popular destination for live-streaming video games, which makes it the perfect platform for such an attack. What's less clear is why Steam is being targeted. Some players may be keeping a lot of cash in their Steam wallets, but compared to a credit card or a checking account, it seems like a less than lucrative target. It's also surprisingly well secured. Steam's basic user settings mean the "Youni" account should be linked to a specific computer, which should make it trivial to trace back to whoever's behind the attack. In the meantime, the message is simple enough: beware of strangers bearing links, on Twitch and otherwise.

Verizon is finally ready to acknowledge that cable TV just isn't working for a lot of us anymore. The company is planning to launch its Internet-based TV service that can be watched on mobile devices in the "late first half of 2015," Lowell McAdam, Verizon's CEO, said at a Goldman Sachs investor conference in New York on Thursday. It's unclear what exactly the service would look like, but McAdam said it would offer "a la carte" options, rather than being bundled like expensive cable packages are now. Think Netflix, but with live streaming. McAdam said at the conference that the service would include programming from "the big four" networks -- CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox. "No one wants to have 300 channels on your wireless device," he said, according to a transcript of the conference. Greg Ireland, a research manager at IDC, the technology research firm, said Verizon's offering could borrow ideas from services like Netflix or Amazon Instant Video, which offer interactive menus and will remember where you are in a program, regardless of what device you started watching it on. Verizon's move comes as the TV industry is set to undergo a massive shift. The rise of streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video and Hulu, which for a flat fee offer on-demand viewing of movies, TV shows and original programming, pose a threat to traditional "linear" cable and satellite. An increasing number of people -- especially young people, a highly coveted demographic for advertisers -- are cutting the pay TV cord and opting for streaming services over expensive cable or satellite packages. According to a report this spring from Experian Marketing Services , nearly a quarter of young adults between 18 and 34 who subscribe to Hulu or Netflix don't pay for TV. Experian also said that the number of cord-cutting homes has increased dramatically in just three years, from 5.1 million homes in 2010 to 7.6 million homes in 2013. Pay TV subscriptions have been flat or declining slightly, while Netflix continues to grow at a rapid clip. Netflix ended the June quarter with 36.24 million members in the U.S., up from 29.81 million at the same time last year. About 100 million households in the U.S. pay for traditional TV. It's unclear what exactly Verizon's product would look like. But to get an idea, said IDC's Ireland, it could be helpful to look to what Dish is working on. The company is developing a service that would allow you to watch live TV on multiple devices, but not require a cable box. "[it could be] a service that offers fewer channels at a smaller price point, targeting a piece of the market that may not now be pay TV subscribers," Ireland said of Verizon's new product. Such a service would "appeal to those outside of the pay TV universe today and get them back into that universe." Verizon's Internet TV product will incorporate technology from Intel's OnCue, which Verizon announced it would buy from the chip maker in January. Intel previously planned to launch its own TV product by the end of last year, but ran into opposition from cable and satellite companies, which make tons of money from expensive bundles. Verizon's McAdam told investors that much of the technology is in place for the network. Now, the company is negotiating with content providers, which in the last two years have become much more receptive to delivering programming in different ways.

The latest Windows 9 leaks, showing a Start-menu fusion of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, beg the question: Microsoft, why are you scooping ice cream over a hot dog? Editor's Note: It's also worth checking out the leaked Windows 9 Start page video which shows a lot more, including what appears to be the ability to kill the Start page entirely.) On the surface, there’s really no reason for the straightforward, icon-driven approach of the Windows-7-like left hand menu bar to coexist with the Windows-8.1-like, brightly colored tiles arrayed to the right of it. And we hardly pay attention to Live Tiles anyway: A typical Windows 8.1 user bounces to the Start page for a split second to launch an app, and that's it. There's not enough time for the user’s eyes to track the information Microsoft could be showing you via its Live Tiles before you're off in your new app. More of the same...or not But yes, there is a reason that Microsoft may be trying to combine the two: because the icons represented in the screenshots are true Live Tiles. That's not always the case. So many tiles on a typical Windows 8.1 Start page simply show a static application icon, such as launch buttons for OneNote, or PowerPoint, or Adobe Reader. Many users undoubtedly still wonder what the point of all those massive icons floating in space actually are, and many wondered how to get rid of them when they appeared in Windows 8. But in the screenshot of the leaked menu, the right hand Tiles should actually do something. If a user establishes an Outlook.com account, it’s a sure bet that the Mail tile will flip up to reveal new email. Or the News tile will deliver the headlines. Or Calendar will highlight a user’s upcoming appointments. (Yes, a user could also use them as easily navigable shortcuts to favorite apps, but that's kind of a waste of space, no?) So it’s going to be up to both Microsoft and the user to manage those tiles effectively. How long does anyone actually spend on the Windows 8.1 Start page, anyway? From a marketing perspective, however, we’re stuck in the same quandary as before: if Microsoft leaves the Live Tiles there, the same users who were turned off by Windows 8 may not return. And if they hide them entirely, then Microsoft tacitly acknowledges that the Windows 8 design schema was a mistake. That’s the tough choice I’d make. I don’t advocate eliminating the Live Tiles of Windows 8 entirely, but I’d leave them as an option for power users. Then I’d either replace the Charms bar with one that exposes a row of these tiles, or else replace them with a series of small, popup notifications. Microsoft undoubtedly has its own design goals in mind, but it’s not too late for a little feedback. How say you, users?

Windows 8.1′s user base is small, especially when compared to the now-ancient Windows XP, and Windows 7, which is approaching five years of age. Part of the reason for this is due to the introduction of features like the Charms menu, which turned a lot of Windows devotees off when it debuted with Windows 8 in 2012. Many of the Charms menu’s detractors feel that it was an unnecessary addition that just made Windows 8 and 8.1 a bigger headache to use. Thankfully, with the use of a simple program, there’s a way to disable the Charms menu once and for all. By the way, if you think the site/author may be iffy, don’t worry. We scanned the folder and the app’s execute-able with Malwarebytes. They both came out clean. How to turn off the Charms menu in Windows 8.1 Step 1. Click here and download the Winaero Charms Bar Killer by clicking the gray button labeled “download.” Step 2. Install the program once you finish downloading it. It should take less than a second to download, considering it’s less than a megabyte. Step 3. Once you install the Winaero Charms Bar Killer, it will take up residence in your System Tray. Find the green icon, and right-click on it. Step 4. Click “Kill Charms Bar” when you right-click on the bar killer’s system tray icon. Also, click “Run at startup.” That’s it! From here on out, the Charms menu should not pop up again. Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-turn-off-the-charms-menu-in-windows-8-1/#ixzz3D6WRn1A5

Microsoft may have demonstrated its new Start menu earlier this year, but thanks to a recent “Windows 9” leak we’re now seeing every single part of the company’s plans for bringing back this popular feature. German site WinFuture has posted a two-minute video that demonstrates how the Start menu works in the next major release of Windows. As you’d expect, it’s very similar to what Microsoft demonstrated with traditional apps mixing with modern apps (and their Live Tiles) into a familiar Start menu. The account options have been placed at the top of the Start menu for now, allowing you to lock and sign out of a machine, while shutdown and restart options can be access by a visible button alongside the account section. The new Start menu consists of two sections: one for a list of traditional apps in the familiar left pane, and a new section on the right that consists mainly of modern apps with Live Tiles. However, the right section can collapse to make way for Start menu users to dig into File Explorer, otherwise it appears to work just like the Windows 7 menu with options to pin apps and browse through a list of all apps. Once more and more apps are pinned to the Start menu, it expands automatically and there are options to resize Tiles in a way that’s identical to the regular Start screen in Windows 8. While this new Start menu clearly isn’t designed for tablet users, there appears to be an option to “use the Start menu instead of the Start screen” for those with mouse and keyboard users. That will likely be enabled by default, and Microsoft may even remove the fullscreen Start screen altogether for desktop users in favor of a Start menu that expands. Windows Technical Preview is coming soon Floating modern apps are also demonstrated several times during the video, and they appear to work as you would expect. Modern apps will no longer need to be snapped into position or run fullscreen, instead they work like traditional Windows apps and can be resized freely. This is only a very early look at the next version of Windows, expected to be named just Windows or Windows 9, and the user interface of the desktop is bound to change significantly by the time this ships next year. Microsoft is expected to distribute an early Windows Technical Preview at the end of the month or early October so that developers and enterprise customers can evaluate the many changes the company is making.

Two German technology blogs have leaked screenshots of the upcoming Windows 9 Technical Preview, which is billed as build 9834. Here's a further analysis of the shots and what they reveal about the next Windows. As noted previously, Winfuture.de and Computerbase.de originally leaked the shots, apparently in concert. Here are the second 10 of 20 shots, with commentary. Check out Windows 9 Technical Preview Screenshots Leak: An Analysis (Part 1) if you haven't already. Taskbar and Start Menu Properties and a taskbar button jump menu. The navigation tab of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window depicted here is identical to Windows 8.1. But the styling on the taskbar jump menu is new (though its content, in this case, is not). Internet Explorer ... 11? Were you expecting IE 12? I was. Start menu. This second peek at the Start menu shows a right-click content menu, similar to what was available in the Windows 7 Start menu (and on the Windows 8.1 with Update 1 Start screen). Microsoft Feedback. After years of neglect in Windows 7 and Windows 8, Microsoft is once again interested in your opinion. More to the point, this window refernces the "Windows Insider Preview Program," which must be the real name of the public preview program. Device properties. It's not super clear what we're looking at here, but it appears to be a very early version of a device properties in PC Settings. I would guess that this is sort of a replacement for similar control's in today's Sound control panel. Command prompt. Nothing new to the window itself beyond the new styling. But the version number of the OS is reported here as 6.4.9834. (Windows 8.1 is 6.3.9600.) About box. Here, we see the version number again with a more complex build string (also on the desktop). Virtual desktops. Here's a second look at that desktop workspaces UI, this time with actual windows in each workspace. Setup properties. Yet another look at the version number. We get it, guys. It's newer. Windows Features. Nothing all that new except for the highlighted item, EdgeCP Model for Config 1.5. Just guess, but since CP clearly stands for Control Panel, I suspect this is related to that new Charms replacement, where "edge" means "edge of screen/edge interface," which is what the Charms were.

Two German technology blogs have leaked screenshots of the upcoming Windows 9 Technical Preview, which is billed as build 9834. The shots depict the new Start menu, floating Modern app windows, a notification center, multiple desktop workspaces, a flat new design for the desktop, and many other changes that we've long expected. While it's unclear which was first, or whether the two sites cross-posted simultaneously, the shots are the same on both sites, Winfuture.de and Computerbase.de. Here they are, with commentary. Here are the first 10 of 20 shots, with commentary. Setup. Nothing super-notable here, except for one thing: There is no Windows codename or version number listed. Which suggests that rumors about this next version of WIndows possibly just being called Windows (i.e. not "Windows 9" or "Windows Yoghurt" or whatever) are true. New Start menu. As expected, the new Start menu includes Windows 7-like elements on the left, with a most-recently used list, search, and All Apps access, and Metro-like tiles on the right. There is also a way to access power options at the top, whic his a new location for that kind of thing. Notifications. The new Windows was recently expected to gain a notification center similar to Action Center in Windows Phone. You can see that here, plus the tray icon which, shocker, looks exactly like the Action Center icon in Windows Phone. Flat new desktop design. While the Windows 8 desktop environment is flat, the new Windows goes further with a short of borderless new window style and tweaked visual elements like icons. The notion of a Home location in File Explorer is new as well. Modern windows on the desktop. Here you can see a maximized Modern app window--the Windows Store app--on the desktop. As shown here, it looks a lot like this would in Windows 8 with Stardock ModernMix. But hold on a sec, as there's more going on here. Modern windows on the desktop ... and the Charms replacement. This shot shows a number of interesting things. Not just a floating Modern app window, with the new title bar style, but also how Microsoft intends to replace the Charms by placing those controls directly on each Modern window, via a menu that appears when you click the window control box. We can't see it here because this is a traditioanl PC/VM, but I bet the touch interface for accessing these controls works as it does now in Windows 8.x. Start menu, floating window. Nothing really new in this one, but another look at the Start menu and a floating Modern app window. System window. Same as today. But as you can see, this is branded as "Windows Technical Preview" and not as "Windows 9 Technical Preview" or "Windows Threshold" Technical Preview. Virtual desktops. Here, we see the interface for virtual desktops--or desktop workspaces, or whatever--exactly as rumored.

Leaked Windows 9 screenshots have surfaced previously, but this time we’re getting a closer look at how the desktop is transforming in the future release of Windows. German sites Computer Base and WinFuture have obtained 20 photos of what appears to be the "Windows Technical Preview," which is expected to be made available later this month or in early October. The screenshots, from a Windows build provided to close Microsoft partners, provide an even closer look at the new Start Menu, and some obvious changes to the Windows taskbar. Firstly, there’s a new search icon next to the Start button on the taskbar, alongside what appears to be a button for the virtual desktops feature. In later screenshots the virtual desktops feature is demonstrated, with a pane along the bottom of the Windows desktop that allows you to switch between virtualized desktop areas. Windows 8-style apps can also be seen floating on the desktop in several screenshots, with app commands for search, share, play, and settings available in context menus within the apps. Metro-style icons finally coming to the desktop Microsoft also appears to be readying new icons for File Explorer, Desktop, and other elements in Windows 9, a change that appears to flatten the UI out slightly to match its "Metro-style" look and feel on Windows 8. There’s also an early look at what appears to be a Notification Center which is accessed from the system tray area of the Windows taskbar. Microsoft is also making slight adjustments to the jump list menus in the taskbar (available when you right-click) to flatten out the UI. Overall, the changes appear to be early and basic ready for the Technical Preview, but they'll be welcome additions to desktop users who are used to the familiar interface of Windows. The Verge has reached out to Microsoft to comment on the authenticity of the screenshots, and we'll update you accordingly.

After you’ve finished up with a two-year smartphone contract, one of the easiest ways to save money is to keep your old device and bring it to a compatible carrier with a lower monthly cost. But if your device is carrier locked — and if you bought it on contract from one of the big four carriers, it probably is — you’ll need to unlock it first. Last week Congress passed a bill that requires carriers to unlock eligible devices, although the carriers were already doing that voluntarily in some situations. On Friday, August 1, Barack Obama signed the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act into law. So now that’s it’s officially legal, how do you go about unlocking your smartphone? First things first… Unlocking a phone from a wireless carrier isn’t an instantaneous process. Sometimes unlocking a device can take several phone calls and hours (up to two days, according to CTIA guidelines.) If you’re taking your device overseas, I recommend you start the process at least a week in advance. I would also recommend unlocking your phone before you leave your current carrier. After all, once you’re no longer a customer, there isn’t the same customer service incentive to help you through the process, as my colleague Jeff Roberts found out last year when he brought his AT&T iPhone to T-Mobile. Before you make the call to your carrier, gather some information: The account holder’s name and account number The account holder’s social security number (they’ll ask you for the last four digits) or password The IMEI of your device — often found underneath the battery cover, it can also be accessed through software on either an iPhone or Android handset. The phone number of your device Your overseas deployment papers if you’re requesting an unlock before your contract is up and you’re in the military Most importantly: Make sure your contract is finished. Carriers aren’t required to unlock your device if you’ve still got months on your plan. Here’s how you should approach the unlocking process depending on which carrier you currently use. AT&T How can I tell if my phone is eligible? It needs to be a device from a current AT&T customer or a former customer, and you’ll need to verify that with either a phone number or account number. The device will need to have been paid for in full and not reported lost or stolen. AT&T customers can unlock up to five devices per account per year. Caveats: Your unlock code comes in through your email, and can take a few days to arrive. Check your spam folder. Officially, AT&T doesn’t do SIM unlocks over the phone; instead, it funnels all requests to an online form, which is a good system until it isn’t. Can I unlock it online? Yup, just plug in your IMEI number right here. What’s the best phone number? Customer support can be reached at 1-800-331-0500 but the web form is your best bet. Where’s the official documentation? Here. Alternate carriers or prepaid MVNOs: Straight Talk, AT&T’s GoPhone, and T-Mobile are the biggest names offering plans for GSM devices. Other options include H20 Wireless, Ultra Mobile, Net10, LycaMobile, Spot Mobile, Telcel America, GIV Mobile, Simple Mobile, Red Pocket, and Pure Talk. Verizon How can I tell if my phone is eligible? Here’s a list of Verizon devices sold with an unlocked SIM slot. Verizon uses the CDMA network in the United States, but many of its devices also include an unlocked SIM slot. This means most Verizon phones — including all LTE devices — aren’t locked. Unlike Sprint, the SIM slot on Verizon iPhones comes unlocked. Caveats: While you can use SIM-equipped Verizon phones on AT&T, T-Mobile and other GSM carriers, unless the device has roaming GSM radios it won’t be able to make phone calls or send texts in the United States. Most recent Verizon phones will work on American GSM bands, but LTE support can be a mixed bag depending on your device. In the past, Verizon has sold a small number of phones described as “Global Ready 3G.” Often older phones — think Blackberrys — with a SIM slot come locked. Can I unlock it online? Verizon currently doesn’t have an online unlock request form. What’s the best phone number? Call 1-800-711-8300 and ask for a SIM unlock. Where’s the official documentation? Here. Alternate carriers or prepaid MVNOs: PagePlus operates a prepaid plan on Verizon’s network, and you can use most modern (LTE) SIM-equipped Verizon phones on AT&T, T-Mobile, and other GSM carriers, although LTE support will depend on your specific device. Verizon also offers a prepaid plan, which recently got LTE support. Sprint How can I tell if my phone is eligible? You’ll need to have an account with Sprint, verified either through an account number or a phone number. The account needs to be in good standing, and the phone can’t be reported or lost and stolen. Sprint does unlock devices for short overseas trips. If you’re an active member of the U.S. Military deployed overseas, you can request an unlock from Sprint, although the same caveats (good standing, account with Sprint) still apply. Caveats: If you’ve got a Sprint iPhone, you’re probably out of luck. From Sprint’s legal unlocking policy: Sprint-branded iPhones have been manufactured in a way that prevents them from being unlocked to allow the device to activate on a different carrier’s network in the United States. While Sprint uses radios that make it difficult to use its devices on other CDMA and LTE networks, almost all Sprint spectrum resellers are free to activate unlocked Sprint phones. If you’re using a Sprint prepaid affiliate, like Virgin or Boost, Sprint currently cannot unlock those devices. Supposedly help is on its way — as these policies are in violation of the CITA’s unlocking agreement, new, more consumer-friendly policies should be in place by February 11, 2015. Can I unlock it online? Yes, through an online chat with a customer service representative. What’s the best phone number? Call 1-888-211-4727, or *2 from a Sprint device. Where’s the official documentation? Here. Alternative prepaid carriers: Ting, iWireless, Voyager, FreedomPop, ROK Mobile, Sprint Prepaid T-Mobile How can I tell if my phone is eligible? Your device needs to meet four conditions: it must be a T-Mobile device, not reported as lost or stolen, associated with an account in good standing, and users can’t request more than two mobile device unlocks in the span of a year. If the device is paid for through an installment plan, it must be paid in full. Caveats: If you have a smartphone on a T-Mobile prepaid plan, you need to have made at least $100 in refills. Can I unlock it online? Yes, you can engage in a live chat that can unlock your device. What’s the best phone number? 1-877-746-0909 or 611 from a T-Mobile device. Where’s the official documentation? Here. Alternative prepaid MVNOs: AT&T GoPhone and Straight Talk. Other options include H20 Wireless, Ultra Mobile, Net10, LycaMobile, Spot Mobile, Telcel America, GIV Mobile, Simple Mobile, Red Pocket, and Pure Talk.

It’s hard to imagine that we are already three-fourths of the way through 2014—at least as measured by Microsoft Patch Tuesdays. Today, Microsoft released four new security bulletins, but only one of them is Critical. Guess which one? Yes. Internet Explorer. Once again Microsoft’s web browser takes center stage as the most crucial of the Patch Tuesday security bulletins. Microsoft resolved a grand total of 42 separate vulnerabilities this month, but 37 of those 42 are addressed in MS14-052—the cumulative update for Internet Explorer. One of the flaws fixed by MS14-052 is publicly known and actively under attack in the wild, which is why this security bulletin is Critical. “The bulletin fixes zero day vulnerability CVE-2013-7331, which can be used to leak information about the targeted machine,” says Qualys CTO Wolfgang Kandek in a blog post. “CVE-2013-7331 allows attackers to determine remotely through a webpage the existence of local pathnames, UNC share pathnames, intranet hostnames, and intranet IP addresses by examining error codes. This capability has been used in the wild by malware to check if anti-malware products or Microsoft’s Enhanced Mitigation Toolkit (EMET) is installed on the target system and allows the malware to adapt its exploitation strategy.” Russ Ernst, director of product management for Lumension, says that MS14-054 should be your second priority. “This is an elevation of privilege vulnerability for one privately disclosed CVE in Task Scheduler," he says. "It’s rated important and Microsoft lists its deployment priority as 2.” A successful exploit of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to execute code on the system with elevated privileges. An attack that can run with System privileges has the potential to do more damage than one running with standard user privileges. There is also a Critical update today for Adobe Flash. The flaw can be exploited through a malicious web page or possibly through malicious Microsoft Office files to allow the attacker to remotely execute code on the affected system. “These issues are grouped by Adobe as APSB14-21, but actually include 12 CVEs, of which most are top priority patching issues for embedded Flash in the browser," says Ross Barrett, senior manager of security engineering for Rapid7. "These issues affect Chrome on Mac, Windows and Linux, Internet Explorer 10 and 11, and any browser using the Flash Desktop Runtime. In effect this is almost everyone with a browser that has Flash support.” As always, take a closer look at the security bulletins from Microsoft, as well as the updates from Adobe, and make sure you apply any appropriate patches as quickly as possible.

According to the Daily Dot, nearly 5 million usernames and passwords associated with Gmail accounts have been leaked on a Russian Bitcoin forum. Here's what you should know. The list has since been taken down, and there's no evidence that Gmail itself was hacked—just that these passwords have been leaked. Most sources are saying that lots of the information is quite old, so chances are they were leaked long ago—though others are claiming 60% of the passwords are still valid (not to mention really, really horrible). To check if your password was one of the leaked, plug your Gmail address into this tool (which also checks against recent Yandex and Mail.ru leaks). If you'd rather not give your email address to a tool you don't trust, you can alternatively change all of your passwords right now. No matter what you do, make sure you using a strong password on all your accounts and that you've enabled two-factor authentication. Hit the link to read more. Your Clever Password Tricks Aren't Protecting You from Today's HackersYour Clever Password Tricks Aren't Protecting You from Today's HackersYour Clever Password Tricks Aren't Protecting Security breaches happen so often nowadays, you're probably sick of hearing about them and all …Read moreRead on Please Turn On Two-Factor AuthenticationPlease Turn On Two-Factor AuthenticationPlease Turn On Two-Factor Authentication You should read Mat Honan's heartbreaking tale of a hack attack and the ensuing discussion on…Read moreRead on Update: Looks like the IsLeaked tool is having some trouble due to unusually high traffic—if you get an error message, try reloading the page or checking back later. Update 2: We still aren't sure how these passwords were leaked or when—but some folks over on Reddit discovered that these may not, in fact, be Gmail passwords, as original reports claimed. Instead, it looks like these are passwords leaked from other web sites over the years that were associated with Gmail addresses. But, as we know, many people used the same password for multiple accounts—which is why some of you may find that your old Gmail password was leaked (while others are seeing passwords not from Gmail). We still don't know the full details, but the lesson remains the same: use secure passwords and enable two-factor authentication on all of your accounts! 5 Million Gmail Passwords Leaked to Russian Bitcoin Forum | The Daily Dot

I do the same thing. My pass phrases usually contain a combination of capital and lower case letters with numbers totaling 15 or 16 letters and numbers.

Password. Believe it or not, this is still a common password. Don’t use it. Letmein. We recommend that you use passphrases that are memorable. Just don’t use this one. It ranks high on several lists of the most-used passwords. Monkey. This common word appears on many lists of popular passwords. It’s also too short. Make passwords at least eight characters—the longer the better. Your pet’s name. While you’re at it, don’t use any passwords that can be easily guessed, such as the name of your spouse or partner, your nickname, birth date, address, or driver's license number. 12345678. Avoid this and other sequences or repeated characters such as 222222, abcdefg, or adjacent letters on your keyboard (such as qwerty). Bonus password tips Don’t use the same password for multiple sites. Cybercriminals can steal passwords from websites that have poor security and then use those same passwords to target more secure environments, such as banking websites. Change your passwords regularly, particularly those that safeguard your computer, important accounts (like email or Facebook), and sensitive information, like financial and health data. For more password guidance, see Create strong passwords.

Thanks, Mike. I see you are into rap, too. My favorite is Eminem. :D

That looks cool, Mike.

Thanks, Pete. I just got a computer in with this very problem. You saved me a ton of time.