Nice software

Recent additions to my toolbox:

• Firefox extension ForecastFox gives you a nice little section in your browser's status bar that shows you the current conditions and forecast. I use it when I'm on Windows. Oh, and Get Firefox.

• From 43 Folders' post "5 apps to rescue the distracted", I'm trying out two little apps that make a surprisingly big difference:

  • Backdrop blanks out your desktop and any other clutter you want to hide for a while so you can more easily concentrate on just the frontmost thing.
  • MenuShade turns down the brightness of the menubar at the top and brings it back only when you need it.

  Macintosh / Software   2 comment(s)  

I added ForecastFox to my browser and love it. Thanks for the tip!
      ...posted by Joni on March 21, 2006 3:49 PM

best Firefox extension ever? "How did I get here?" which tells you the path you took to a current page you are at (even if it came from another tab or window long closed, or from a bookmark from yesterday). a true boon to bloggers...
      ...posted by acm on March 27, 2006 4:28 PM

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 Lamest phish ever

Most phishing attempts (wikipedia definition) at least try to fool you into thinking you received a genuine communication from your bank or credit card company or PayPal. They send you official-looking graphics, official-sounding text, and their links take you to a real-looking but bogus site which then can trick the unsuspecting into typing in their ID and password which the phisher can then use for no good.

I got this as a text email earlier this week:

Dear _______ ____ member, This is an official notification that your login & password are out of date. To renew please click Reply in your mail client and mail back following information about your account Name: Account number: Login: Password: Thank you, _______ ____ support center.

So for this to work, someone has to:

1. ignore the atypical unparagraphed-plain-text nature of the mail,
2. type up a new email containing their sensitive information (which should be strange and unfamiliar.. has anyone ever renewed an account that way, ever?), and
3. not notice that the email address they're sending their account number and password to has nothing to do with the named financial services entity.

Mr. Phisher, you're not trying very hard.

Related: Anti-Phishing Working Group

  Malfeasance   1 comment(s)  

:))
      ...posted by acm on March 17, 2006 9:50 AM

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