Linkedin Spam

A day or so ago I began receiving contacts from people on the social-networking service Linkedin (to which I do not subscribe). The first few wanted to use my picture, or somethingsomething, but today's got my attention to a higher degree: "Please stop spamming me with links to your business!"  Because this suggests that one's e-mail address has been hijacked (if not one's actual computer), I looked around for information. (Google: "linkedin spam".) Some of what Google found goes back to 2010 (or beyond).

I found several references to (this) new activity, including this from PCWorld: "Warning: Fake LinkedIn Spam Can Steal Your Bank Passwords". The spam came to my Apple eddress, which others have noticed: Is anyone else receiving LinkedIn spam...: Apple Support Communities. We hope Apple's mail servers or the MobileMe system have not been hacked. (Fairly scary thought.)

Oh--note also that some anti-malware software failed to protect Windows machines from this infection.

What isn't clear yet is whether the malware it installs can run on Macintosh; in the past, the bulk of this kind of thing was OS-specific (and therefore targeted only Windows). There are a couple of classes of code that can run on (virtually) any OS, though, so we'll be very careful not to click any links on such e-mails--not even on the unsubscribe (or in this case the "adjust...settings") links, which can lead to places you wouldn't want your browser to go.

In fact, it is a general rule that one should never unsubscribe using the link provided on an unwanted e-mail. Even if it seems to have come from a trusted source, a safer practice would be to use the unsubscribe link found on the source's own web site.

So, there is today's learned the hard way by someone else lesson. We shall consider ourselves lucky.

Mark_

11:57 16 January 2012

Navigation (Highway) on iOS

Here's a discussion of terrestrial navigation software on iOS devices (iPod touch, iPhone, iPad):
"Best Turn-byTurn Navigation App for iPhone" @ Lifehacker.

A couple of us are using MotionX, too, although not their turn-by-turn app.

There is surely more to know and to investigate; I just happened to come across the Lifehacker page today.

Mark_
27 December 2011

No Siri?

An app by the Dragon dictation people is suggested for iDevices on which Siri is not supported: Dragon Go.

Another candidate: Vlingo.

I have not investigated much. Let me know if you find these interesting.

Mark_
Westport, WA
22 December 2011

A Better Skype

Not everybody likes Skype version 5 for Macintosh; many have reverted to a perfectly good previous version that doesn't eat up as much screen real estate as the new one does: Version 2.8. This one is what I am using.

Quit and Trash version 5, then download and install _2.8_. And breathe a sigh of relief.

Mark_
12:39 08 November 2011

Tom Collier's _Malletheads_ Concert

18 November 2011, Meany Hall, University of Washington

• Event description: <http://www.music.washington.edu/upcoming/detail/41367> 

• Guest artist Alex Acuña @ Wikipedia: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Acuña>

• Tickets: <http://www.meany.org/tickets/?prod=4934> 

Acuña is well known (especially as a Latin drummer) and well regarded, and he has played with such a large subset of "everybody" that you are sure to have heard his playing before; obtaining tickets early is advised.

Mark_

12:17 28 October 2011

Stealth Marketing

I was somewhat surprised to hear this story on NPR recently <http://www.npr.org/2011/10/23/141470152/products-r-us-are-we-brandwashed>
about this book <http://www.martinlindstrom.com/brandwashed/>
because several months ago Cindy & I had seen this 2009 movie <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joneses>.

I recall during the movie feeling slightly creeped out, and I speculated that someone probably is doing that kind of "stealth marketing".

I occasionally enjoy a look at this web site <http://www.adbusters.org/>.

These are discussions of issues that go back further than we might like to admit; consider this 1957 book <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vance_Packard#The_Hidden_Persuaders>.

For more somewhat embarrassing déjà vu, look on that same Wikipedia page for mentions of other of Packard's books about issues that have not gone away:

• The Status Seekers - "describing American social stratification and behavior" (1959)
• The Waste Makers - "criticizes planned obsolescence describing the impact of American productivity, especially on the national character" (1960)
• The Naked Society - "on the threats to privacy posed by new technologies such as computerized filing, modern surveillance techniques and methods for influencing human behavior" (1964)
• Our Endangered Children - "discusses growing up in a changing world, warning that American preoccupation with money, power, status, and sex, ignored the needs of future generations" (1983)
• The Ultra Rich: How Much Is Too Much? - "examines the lives of thirty American multimillionaires and their extravagances" (1989)

(quotations from the Packard Wikipedia page)

Pay attention to those publication years. We aren't doing very well, are we?

Mark_
09:18 24 October 2011

Rock Musicians' Sailboats

I knew that David Crosby of Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Young) had owned a large sailing vessel named Mayan, and that he had written several songs (performed by his group/s) that were about sailing or that included sailing as important (metaphorical) themes. I have just learned that Mayan has been for sale. The broker's video presentation is quite interesting.

I did not know that "occasional" band-mate Neil Young (who has had a respected career on his own) also has had a sailboat, Ragland, which has been on the market in recent years as well. Oh--Ragland has even been "here". (2003)

I thought these were interesting.

Mark_
13:26 20 October 2011