database

T-Mobile has fixed a bug that let hackers get sensitive personal data just by using a phone number. In theory, it could have been possible to collect details on all the company's customers, though T-Mobile denies this. The problem was discovered by ... Karan Saini, a security researcher who discussed the problem with the Motherboard Vice website. The site then approached T-Mobile about the problem. It said "we were alerted to an issue that we investigated and fully resolved in less than 24 hours. There is no indication that it was shared more broadly." (Source: vice.com ) The bug had to do with T ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve P. writes: " Dear Dennis, The company I work for is renting a dedicated Linux web server, which runs CentOS 6.5 and PHPList to manage their mailing list. Recently we were faced with a power outage on the server which then ... caused corruption in the PHPList database. When I look at mysqld.log I see a lot of error messages that 'mysqld: Table './phplist/phplist_usermessage' is marked as crashed and should be repaired'. I checked the database drive for errors using 'e2fsck -n /dev/sdb1' and am getting an error message that '/dev/sdb1: ********** WARNING: Filesystem still ... (view more)

Voice messages from parents to children through a 'smart' cuddly toy could be compromised. The security risk is a combination of a flaw by the designers and poor security practices by users. The issue involves CloudPets, a range of $40 toys designed ... to help working parents stay in touch with their kids. The parent can leave a voice message via a phone app at any time and it will then be sent over the Internet and Bluetooth and played back through a speaker in the toy. The child can then press the toy's paw to record and send a reply. The problem is that while delivering messages ... (view more)

Some of the biggest Internet firms say they'll work together to remove images and videos that promote the message of terrorists. The announcement comes in the same week that European officials have criticized companies for failing to live up to a ... promise to tackle hate-based speech online. The agreement involves Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube. They'll build a joint database of images and videos that they have removed from their site after human moderators have flagged them as being either violent imagery produced by terrorists, or imagery specifically designed to recruit ... (view more)

Belgian computers are most exposed to hacking according to a new study, with the US in 14th place. It's all because of millions of computers having open, unsecured connections to the Internet. Research firm Rapid7 looked at the full range of data ... connection services on the Internet beyond just the more familiar HTTP that most users use while browsing the web. These include FTP (file transfer protocol) SSH (secure shell for remote connections), and SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol), used for many email services. To carry out the research, the company embarked on the massive task of ... (view more)

A series of massive but dated breaches of high-profile sites is yet another reminder of the dangers of poor password security. While the sites in question are taking preventative measures, experts warn that hackers could use the stolen details to ... access other sites. In the past few weeks, hackers have offered up massive hauls of stolen login details from four major sites. They include details of 360 million accounts from MySpace and 65 million accounts from Tumblr, both lists appearing to date from 2013. Questions Posed For Sites And Users This follows 164 million account details from ... (view more)

A major website used by hackers to exchange stolen data has itself been hacked. The breach has exposed hundreds of thousands of user accounts. The site called "Nulled" hosted discussion forums for users to exchange tips on how to hack into websites. ... It also included a section for buying and selling data such as stolen account information. Ironically, given the new development, the site had the slogan "Expect the unexpected." At the time of writing, the site was offline for "temporary unscheduled maintenance," with its database leaked onto other websites for ... (view more)

The people behind phishing emails appear to be getting more sophisticated. Reports from both sides of the Atlantic say such emails are including more personal details, something that was previously used only for high value target. Phishing emails ... are a way to try to trick people into either providing confidential information such as bank details or online passwords, or by clicking on links that install malware, usually through security weaknesses in web browsers or office software. More and more phishing attacks now involve trying to install ransomware that locks up a computer until the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sam S. writes: " Dear Dennis, A few days ago I booted my computer to the Windows 10 desktop, but now my Windows 10 start menu doesn't work. If I click on the start menu, it doesn't do anything at all - no menu, no tiles - nothing ... at all! The only options I have are the Windows 10 task bar which allows me to click on Microsoft Edge browser, so I can at least get on the Internet. Can you tell me why my Windows 10 start menu disappeared? I need to get into my tiles so can access my apps. Thanks for any help you can offer. " My response: This is a very vexing problem (based on ... (view more)

Toy manufacturer VTech has been the victim of a hack that exposed details of five million customers. The compromised data included some details, albeit limited, of the children who use the products. As its name suggests, VTech's product range ... includes many electronic toys that have increased in sophistication over the years. These include several tablet computers which don't allow web access, but do let children share messages with friends and family and download child-friendly apps through a system known as the "Learning Lodge." No Financial Data Compromised The company has ... (view more)