Classic Yahoo Dead and privacy completely gone :(

fj12ryder wrote:

bwanshoom wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
Just one word: "Carnivore".

I think you mean PRISM. The FBI doesn't have nearly the capability the NSA does.

But "Carnivore" goes back a lot farther. Hopefully people realize that e-mail snooping isn't a new thing.

Oh, if it's historical snooping you want then check out Project SHAMROCK. That goes back much further.

1492 wrote:
As I've mentioned previously, all the major free email providers use some form of target marketing scheme. As many are aware, nothing is truly free. How else do they pay for the service?

The New Yahoo Mail outlined their target marketing to users in Yahoo's Privacy FAQs:

What are “relevant ads” as they relate to Yahoo! Mail?

To make our ads more relevant and useful for you, we make educated guesses about your interests based on your activity on Yahoo!’s sites and services, as well as provide ads that are contextually relevant to the page they are being served with. When you use the new Yahoo! Mail our automated systems scan and analyze all incoming and outgoing communications content sent and received from your account (such as Mail and Messenger content including instant messages and SMS messages) to detect, among other things, certain words and phrases (we call them "keywords") within these communications. This might result in ads being shown to you in Mail for products and services that are related to those keywords. In addition, these keywords may contribute to the interest categories we assign to your browser for interest-based ads that we show throughout the Yahoo! Ad Network. No additional ads are shown to you, just more relevant ads.

But that IMO, is the least of their issues, and only one reason I don't recommend Yahoo Mail. The primary being that though Yahoo Mail is the second largest free email provider, their security for users lack behind GMail, MS, and even AOL. For one, Yahoo still does not use secure email sessions(SSL) by default. They only secure login, which means all emails are transmitted as unencrypted text. As such, they don't use secure cookies. Without doing so, it makes it possible to hijack an email users session, and gain access without needing a user's login/password.

How do I know? Because my Yahoo email account was compromised just recently, which I believe was done by stealing session credentials through cross site scripting. A security issue that Yahoo has claimed on a couple occasions as being fixed, but obviously, not the case.

The damage was minimal, as I essentially only use Yahoo Mail for access to Yahoo Groups. Virtually all my Yahoo contacts are just to my other email accounts, which ended up receiving spam email from what was likely automated account hacking. I immediately changed the password.

If I get around to it, I'll post more details on Yahoo account hijacks and where I traced mine originating from. In the meantime, I can offer a few security tips if you insist on using Yahoo Mail:

• First, access Yahoo Mail only from some type of wired or encrypted wireless net connection. Either from a router encrypted using a password or by a wireless mobile data device. Avoid using public or unencrypted wireless hotspots.
  
  
• Log in and out of your Yahoo Mail account each time. Do not leave your Yahoo Mail session open. Many do this as a convenience, but can subject one to cross site scripting exploits to steal your session credentials, and allow a third party to gain access to your email account without a login/password.
  
  
• Don't use your Yahoo account to register on other sites as partners. This has become quite popular as a convenience, such as for posting comments on other websites, but does represent a security risk. Register uniquely for access to another site. I also suggest if you've already done so, go into your Yahoo account and remove all partner websites which are linked to your Yahoo account.

Until Yahoo Mail takes users security seriously, and at least provide similar email protection as the other major free email providers, than I would seriously consider not using it for any type of personal, confidential or financial communications.

Wow. Didn't know all that. I got automated hacked too. Looked it up on google and a ton of people had the same thing happen too.
Thanks for posting the info.

I clicked on the "Basic" button and stuck with it. it's even more basic than what I had last week... But it works.

As I've mentioned previously, all the major free email providers use some form of target marketing scheme. As many are aware, nothing is truly free. How else do they pay for the service?

The New Yahoo Mail outlined their target marketing to users in Yahoo's Privacy FAQs:

What are “relevant ads” as they relate to Yahoo! Mail?

To make our ads more relevant and useful for you, we make educated guesses about your interests based on your activity on Yahoo!’s sites and services, as well as provide ads that are contextually relevant to the page they are being served with. When you use the new Yahoo! Mail our automated systems scan and analyze all incoming and outgoing communications content sent and received from your account (such as Mail and Messenger content including instant messages and SMS messages) to detect, among other things, certain words and phrases (we call them "keywords") within these communications. This might result in ads being shown to you in Mail for products and services that are related to those keywords. In addition, these keywords may contribute to the interest categories we assign to your browser for interest-based ads that we show throughout the Yahoo! Ad Network. No additional ads are shown to you, just more relevant ads.

But that IMO, is the least of their issues, and only one reason I don't recommend Yahoo Mail. The primary being that though Yahoo Mail is the second largest free email provider, their security for users lack behind GMail, MS, and even AOL. For one, Yahoo still does not use secure email sessions(SSL) by default. They only secure login, which means all emails are transmitted as unencrypted text. As such, they don't use secure cookies. Without doing so, it makes it possible to hijack an email users session, and gain access without needing a user's login/password.

How do I know? Because my Yahoo email account was compromised just recently, which I believe was done by stealing session credentials through cross site scripting. A security issue that Yahoo has claimed on a couple occasions as being fixed, but obviously, not the case.

The damage was minimal, as I essentially only use Yahoo Mail for access to Yahoo Groups. Virtually all my Yahoo contacts are just to my other email accounts, which ended up receiving spam email from what was likely automated account hacking. I immediately changed the password.

If I get around to it, I'll post more details on Yahoo account hijacks and where I traced mine originating from. In the meantime, I can offer a few security tips if you insist on using Yahoo Mail:

• First, access Yahoo Mail only from some type of wired or encrypted wireless net connection. Either from a router encrypted using a password or by a wireless mobile data device. Avoid using public or unencrypted wireless hotspots.
  
  
• Log in and out of your Yahoo Mail account each time. Do not leave your Yahoo Mail session open. Many do this as a convenience, but can subject one to cross site scripting exploits to steal your session credentials, and allow a third party to gain access to your email account without a login/password.
  
  
• Don't use your Yahoo account to register on other sites as partners. This has become quite popular as a convenience, such as for posting comments on other websites, but does represent a security risk. Register uniquely for access to another site. I also suggest if you've already done so, go into your Yahoo account and remove all partner websites which are linked to your Yahoo account.

Until Yahoo Mail takes users security seriously, and at least provide similar email protection as the other major free email providers, than I would seriously consider not using it for any type of personal, confidential or financial communications.

rockhillmanor wrote:
My crazy friend is so beside himself about this and just yesterday sent me an email with the heading bomb, bomb, bomb.

I have a few friends like that. If you ignore them they eventually stop.

bwanshoom wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
Just one word: "Carnivore".

I think you mean PRISM. The FBI doesn't have nearly the capability the NSA does.

But "Carnivore" goes back a lot farther. Hopefully people realize that e-mail snooping isn't a new thing.

If you have a private domain with email, as we do, they are NOT scanning your email. I have checked several times with the webmaster and the response is NO, they are NOT allowing or forwarding any info about my account or domain. They said that they would notify us if they received any correspondence from the government that required them to participate.

WyoTraveler wrote:
Don't say anything in an e-mail you wouldn't say in public. That has been around since e-mail started. You can some what limit the tracking. I I would never put critical info in an e-mail. Have you ever seen where things posted on forums go?

Just choose a subject you just typed on this forum, then go to google and google the subject. You will find it posted on google and even a picture of your RV and all the info that normally is on your post.

For tracking I use "Ghostery" in Firefox. Doesn't stop this stuff, just limits it.

I get grief all the time that I don't put my name rank and serial number and address and pics of it all on this forum.........
THAT is why I don't. All your posts and all the info proudly displayed are made public by one of the largest companies Infinity.

Experienced first hand just how dangerous it is to think it won't happen to you.

Horse forum, safe place right? Everyone is proudly putting pictures of their entire horse property, gates and the whole layout of their new barns they are so proud of. Then talk with friends about going on vacation or on what dates heading out for horse show which horse you're taking, when you will be back. etc etc.

We had such a rush of horse theft that the local county called in help from the FBI. Long, long story short the criminals would join the groups on the internet and lurk and take notes and lift pictures.

They had complete pictures of how to get on the property, where everything was, KNEW when the owner was not going to be there, what horses would be there and where, and how to exit the property.

The cops said there was so much info for these thieves on the internet that it was a piece of cake for them and they actually increased all what they could get in a day 10 fold.

I just recently found out that the shows I enter link my entry results directly to google!:E
If you know my name or the name of any of the animals I show you can find out what state I am traveling in at any given time. THAT will come to a halt very soon when I am done with them.

Ya the internet is a public place and we all know that if we play on that playground it is what it is. BUT you sure CAN limit what the thieves and deviates can have access to of your personal info that can cause you harm.

And as WyoTraveler posted, Google your email or a subject your are interested in and participate in and see all your posts and all the info you offered up on those sites, for all to see and use. And not always for the good. Put your real name and the town you live in on your RVnet profile and then post on 'what day' you are going to a specific CG......and the lurker thief knows exactly when he's going to burglarize you home without a worry or care of being caught.:W

If I've got a secret, I won't share it in writing. But got nothing to hide, so enjoy the visual of black attired agents scouring my emails looking for something, anything interesting at all.

Because I have a website, I use the same ISP for email via my domain. Gmail address I give out when I suspect it will become a spam collector.

Don't say anything in an e-mail you wouldn't say in public. That has been around since e-mail started. You can some what limit the tracking. I I would never put critical info in an e-mail. Have you ever seen where things posted on forums go? Just choose a subject you just typed on this forum, then go to google and google the subject. You will find it posted on google and even a picture of your RV and all the info that normally is on your post. For tracking I use "Ghostery" in Firefox. Doesn't stop this stuff, just limits it.