Elliott C. Back: Internet & Technology

I was using my GMail today and was surprised to see a little link that read “Last account activity: 1 minute ago at this IP (74.101.6.15). Details.” If you click on Details, it brings up a popup with the latest activity on your account–who accessed your email last, and from where:

Activity on this account: This feature provides information about the last activity on this mail account and any concurrent activity.

GMail now tells you with timestamps (a) what kind of thing (browser, IMAP client, etc) accessed your email (b) when it happened, and (c) what the IP address was. The only thing lacking is a log of what content precisely was downloaded. So finally Google has solved the “is my significant other spying on me” or “do my parents secretly read my email” questions.

I was somewhat scared when I noticed this list of usernames / passwords for MySpace. Yeah, someone actually managed to hack my MySpace account, which is more incredible given that I don’t ever log into it:

Myspace hacked accounts 3/20/08
Here a list of myspace accounts and passwords

Example:
Username : Passwords get it

MySpace is pretty advanced in this regard; somehow they detected that my account had been compromised and when I logged in now to change the password, I received this neat message warning me:

MySpace Announcement: Your account has been phished!

What can I do?
Change your password. And don’t use your current password ever again. Why do I care? We’ve blocked your account until you change your password. This means you can’t send a message, post a bulletin, send a comment or add a friend until you’ve changed your password.

What does “phished” mean?
“Phished” means that someone stole the email address & password that you use to login to MySpace. They might be sending out messages, comments or bulletins as you!

How did this happen?
You went to a fake page that asked for your MySpace login email and password, and you gave them your info. Only login to www.myspace.com. Learn more

I’ve changed all my users and passwords now, but still it’s a tiring experience…

The two who posted a Craiglist ad saying that anyone could take what they wanted from a home in Oregon have been tracked down and arrested by following their IP address. The stunt was a diversion to steal two horses.

It’s nice to see that internet crime doesn’t pay. Unfortunately, it’s also troubling to read this article and realize that had this couple simply used an anonymizing service, a proxy chain, an internet cafe, or a TOR node, there would have been no way to catch them from what they posted on Craigslist.