How to know whether your LinkedIn password is hacked

So here’s how to check if your LinkedIn password was among the hacked accounts that are already being used to generate phishing attacks. Go to LastPass.com/linkedin:

Enter your password, and the website will tell you whether or not your password is now out in the wild. The obvious question: is it safe to give LastPass your password?

Here’s what the company says about their tool:

"Only the hash of your password will be sent to LastPass.com’s servers, not your actual password. This hash will not be stored or logged at all. Please view source the page if you’re technically inclined."

One caveat: because the search will look through all the passwords in the file, if you have a very common word or password, it will come up as compromised. For example, here’s what LastPass shows when the all-too-common password “password” is entered:

This does not mean your account is compromised, necessarily. It does mean your password is too common and should be changed. Ultimately, of course, we should all be smarter about passwords and use a tool like LastPass or 1Password to make sure we have complex and unique passwords for every single service and site we use.

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LinkedIn breached: 6.5 million passwords compromised

Attention LinkedIn users, your privacy has been breached. Millions of internet users can now see your password posted online. We request you not to be under false pretenses that you are safe from this epidemic. LinkedIn has already confirmed this news and has stated that passwords that are reset will now be stored in a salted format, which technically means that passwords are in an encrypted format AND adjoined with a random bunch of characters to make the password-cracking process a pain-in-the-neck for the hacker.

According to Imperva:

The passwords weren't properly protected.  The hashes, in geek speak, were unsalted sha1 hashes.  Not salting is a bad practice that we detailed in last month’s report on the Military singles breach.   Salting, in layman’s terms, complicates the process of a hacker cracking a password.  Not only do you encrypt the password, but append it with a random string of characters so even if those passwords are revealed, they look like gobbledygook.

LinkedIn was probably breached but the password database doesn’t indicate this specifically.  Many of the passwords contained a high volume of the word, or a variation of the word, “linkedin”.  This indicates that the pool of passwords comes from LinkedIn, though the hacker hasn’t specifically made such a connection.  The password set shows:

• 13 passwords contained “linkedin”
• 509 passwords contained “linked”
• 1134 passwords contained “link”

Imperva suggest that the list of the security breach could be much larger than the already whooping number of 6.5 million. They have provided two reasons for their theory:

1. The list doesn't have any easy passwords such as 123456 (which is the most used password in the history of passwords) included.

2. All passwords are listed only once, leaving us to a guessing game wondering how many times was a certain password used.

After this massacre, SophosLabs geniuses did a little research of their own, testing which passwords were commonly used among the 6.5 million users and should never be used by anyone. Their study suggested that only 2 passwords of the 6.5 million passwords were unique and not used by anyone else. "mypc123" and "ihavenopass" are the lucky winners of the day. Unfortunately, these, too, were cracked and exploited.

click here to know if your password is compromised

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5 New gadgets to look for in 2012

 Most of the gadgets the previous year showed that the digital industry has improved greatly from mobility and transportation to entertainment and communication.For 2012, a lot more new devices will emerge. The list below of five items is the likely best buys of the new year.


ASUS NX90Jq

An impressive 18-inch notebook co-developed with Bang & Olufsen ICEpower, this device is powered by Genuine Windows 7, new Intel Core processor and ultra-fast USB 3.0 connectivity.

One of its amazing features is the SonicMaster technology, a suite of hardware and software collaborated with Bang & Olufsen ICEpower. The notebook is equipped with best and up-to-date Codec and amplifier. The resonance chambers is oversized 10 times than standard notebooks and delivers wider sonic ranger, louder volume and deeper bass.
The visuals also of this notebook is stunning since it is equipped with full hi-definition 1080p 18.4-inch widescreen LED backlit display combined with NVIDIA GeForce that will deliver crisp, detailed and richer coloured images. It also features a slot-in Blu-Ray combo or DVD Super Multi Drive for high quality movie viewing.

TOSHIBA CELLTV

This kind of television may be insane because of its awesome features that will welcome 2012. The Toshiba CellTV has the same processor type similarly used in Sony PS3, the manufacturer claims the TV operates 10 times faster than an Intel Core Duo chip found in desktop and the unit share a lot of abilities with a high powered PC.

It has a hard drive, wireless capability, ripping of media files from DVDs and streaming via Digital Media Server. So far, the CellTV is for the waiting, Toshiba gave teasers about this new television which shows a different kind of world in digital entertainment.

The unit itself can convert any movie in 2D format into 3D without the use of glasses. The unit supports numerous 3D formats like MPEG4-AVC, RealD and more

PLASTIC LOGIC QUE E-READER

For people who are fond of lifetime data connection, digital innovations, news, magazines and everything in between, this e-Reader is the device to welcome in 2012.

The Que E-Reader is built using plastic electronics technology. The form factor is sleek, lightweight and sure easy to read. Its touchscreen-based interface is stunning and user-friendly.

The Plastic Logic will be offering a million titles including a rich collection of reading materials especially geared for the business professional. New content partnerships with some leading business and publishers include The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Contra Costa Times, Huffington Post, The Sporting News Today alongside with Barron's, Fast Company and Forbes.

The device enables newspapers, magazines and other types of content to have richer reading experiences with complete images and formatting. User can also save their documents inside the reader rather to print them. The Que E-Reader can access PDF, MS Office documents and EPub as well.


PANASONIC 3D CAMCORDER

For those who want to add more in multimedia use or maximise film capturing, Panasonic is ready with its 3D capturing camcorder. Panasonic AG-3DA1 is fully integrated FULL HD 3D Camcorder that records to SD card media. This camcorder has 3D production which gives professional videographers a more affordable, flexible, reliable and easier-to-use tool. It is equipped with dual lenses and two full 1920x1080 2.07 MP imagers that can record up to 180 minutes on dual 32GB SD cards.

The camcorder is easier to use for its dual lenses which automatically corrects horizontal and vertical displacement. It is flexible as well on more challenging shooting environment through the use of the SD card as storage since it has higher reliability than tapes, disc and similar storage devices. The camcorder is also tough against extreme temperatures, shock, and vibration.

KODAK PLAYSPORT

Most electronic devices won't survive submersion, but this video camera can record underwater. The KODAK PlaySport can be plunged up to 10 feet underwater and record it all in full 1080p HD. It is insanely tough, dustproof, shockproof and waterproof up to 10 feet.

When it comes to recording, the PlaySport has an image stabiliser which will fix the shaky effect. It has 5MP lens and formats the video/pictures into 16:9 HD. It has LCD Glare Shield which helps display viewing outdoors.

After shooting, the film can be shared through Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter with ease since these applications have built-in software in PlaySport. For longer video moments storage capacity can be expanded up to 32GB which records up to 10 hours of HD video. The videos come right out directly via HDMI cable to the big screen. Errors can be edited and narration could be added to the video by using the video editing software included in the package.

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Really amazing concept of new nokia model GEM

Nokia releases a new phone concept - GEM - which revolutionary mobile design by turning the entire handset into a touchscreen.

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