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Quora User Data Compromised

blog.quora.com

131–140 of 525 posts

Re: Quora User Data Compromised

#131
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just got my email from Quroa...Who writes this drivel: Conclusion It is our responsibility to make sure things like this don’t happen, and we failed to meet that responsibility. We recognize that in order to maintain user trust, we need to work very hard to make sure this does not happen again. There’s little hope of sharing and growing the world’s knowledge if those doing so cannot feel safe and secure, and cannot t…

Some poor peon at the bottom of the ladder instead of the engineers/managers actually responsible for the mistake. The great thing about being at the top is being able to delegate away blame. After all, it's your job.

Much more likely some highly paid PR flack, likely with corporate counsel sitting adjacent.

Re: Quora User Data Compromised

#132
post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could just use a normal Citi or BoA or any other card that generates virtual card numbers and that'll also lock it to that vendor after the first charge. So that they couldn't even hit it for $0.80 if they wanted to.

Last time I checked, both Citi and BofA give me virtual card numbers via a Flash plugin. I really have no desire to run Flash any more. Has that changed?

It hasn't changed for either one, sadly. [1] [2]

[1]: https://www.bankofamerica.com/privacy/accounts-cards/shopsaf...

[2]: http://www.citibank.com/transactionservices/home/card_soluti...

Re: Quora User Data Compromised

#133
post #91

This is why I hate companies that force you to sign up to gain access to content. I do not want that relationship. Sooner or later those systems will be legacy and then maintaining them will be a pain. Bitrot will set in and sooner or later there will be a breach. One new development is that you used to be able to get your invoices mailed via snail mail. Then that disappeared and you got your invoices mailed via emai…

I use privacy.com and Lastpass to help with this problem. Any time there is a service I have to have a business relationship with that I don't trust to keep my info secure, I use a unique password and a unique credit card number with a tight limit. What's nice is that they tie the card to a single vendor too. For example, the water company. I know the water bill is usually $50 or less, so I set the limit to $60/mo. A…

[deleted]

Re: Quora User Data Compromised

#134

Barely a month back in the facebook data breach thread in HN, I was downvoted and my comment removed when I said that it has become a fashion for the top 500 web/e-com companies to come one day and announce data breach and walk away. I said there that it all looks to me as part of a conspiracy theory where they hide behind a breach to sell data/ buy data en masse for marketing purposes.

The long term cost / benefit for this sort of deal doesn't work in favour of the company selling their user's data

Re: Quora User Data Compromised

#135
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use privacy.com and Lastpass to help with this problem. Any time there is a service I have to have a business relationship with that I don't trust to keep my info secure, I use a unique password and a unique credit card number with a tight limit. What's nice is that they tie the card to a single vendor too. For example, the water company. I know the water bill is usually $50 or less, so I set the limit to $60/mo. A…

Lastpass has been going downhill with every acquisition and had gotten to the point where autofill failed on the majority of sites and the "copy password" menu item disappeared, bringing clicks-to-login from 1 to ~10. A few weeks ago I saw bitwarden finish their third party security audit and took the opportunity to jump. Couldn't be happier. Autofill fails less, the "copy password" menu works, the mobile experience…

I've never used any other password manager but just wanted to say I love Lastpass. It very rarely fails on autofill for me, it saves all my passowords nicely, has secure notes, organizational sharing for teams. I find it to be really great.

Re: Quora User Data Compromised

#136
post #91

This is why I hate companies that force you to sign up to gain access to content. I do not want that relationship. Sooner or later those systems will be legacy and then maintaining them will be a pain. Bitrot will set in and sooner or later there will be a breach. One new development is that you used to be able to get your invoices mailed via snail mail. Then that disappeared and you got your invoices mailed via emai…

I use privacy.com and Lastpass to help with this problem. Any time there is a service I have to have a business relationship with that I don't trust to keep my info secure, I use a unique password and a unique credit card number with a tight limit. What's nice is that they tie the card to a single vendor too. For example, the water company. I know the water bill is usually $50 or less, so I set the limit to $60/mo. A…

LastPass is not helping you with privacy here. From their tos

tos:

> You may use our Services only as permitted in these Terms, and you consent to our Privacy Policy at https://www.logmeininc.com/legal/privacy, which is incorporated by reference.

pp:

> When you use our Services, we receive information generated through the use of the Service, either entered by you or others who use the Services with you (for example, schedules, attendee info, etc.), or from the Service infrastructure itself, (for example, duration of session, use of webcams, connection information, etc.) We may also collect usage and log data about how the services are accessed and used, including information about the device you are using the Services on, IP addresses, location information, language settings, what operating system you are using, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data to help us support the Services.

> Third Party Data: We may receive information about you from other sources, including publicly available databases or third parties from whom we have purchased data, and combine this data with information we already have about you. We may also receive information from other affiliated companies that are a part of our corporate group. This helps us to update, expand and analyze our records, identify new prospects for marketing, and provide products and services that may be of interest to you.

> Location Information: We collect your location-based information for the purpose of providing and supporting the service and for fraud prevention and security monitoring. If you wish to opt-out of the collection and use of your collection information, you may do so by turning it off on your device settings.

> Device Information: When you use our Services, we automatically collect information on the type of device you use, operating system version, and the device identifier (or "UDID").

and

> Some specific examples of how we use the information:

> * Conduct research and analysis

> * Display content based upon your interests

> * Market services of our third-party business partners

and

> 4. Information Sharing

> ... We may share your personal information with (a) third party service providers; (b) business partners; (c) affiliated companies within our corporate structure and (d) as needed for legal purposes.

and

> Examples of how we may share information with service providers include:

> * Sending marketing communications

etc...

Re: Quora User Data Compromised

#137
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use privacy.com and Lastpass to help with this problem. Any time there is a service I have to have a business relationship with that I don't trust to keep my info secure, I use a unique password and a unique credit card number with a tight limit. What's nice is that they tie the card to a single vendor too. For example, the water company. I know the water bill is usually $50 or less, so I set the limit to $60/mo. A…

Lastpass has been going downhill with every acquisition and had gotten to the point where autofill failed on the majority of sites and the "copy password" menu item disappeared, bringing clicks-to-login from 1 to ~10. A few weeks ago I saw bitwarden finish their third party security audit and took the opportunity to jump. Couldn't be happier. Autofill fails less, the "copy password" menu works, the mobile experience…

I do love lastpass but since switching to Firefox 100% away from Chrome, the lack of copying a password to the clipboard without seeing it first really stings. What if someone is sitting next to me, or someone is grabbing screenshots or streaming my screen? It's like having this super secure electrified iron door installed but neglecting to lock it.

Is anyone aware of a technical reason that copy to clipboard is absent in Firefox, or is just laziness? If laziness, I'll dump them tomorrow.

Re: Quora User Data Compromised

#138

This is why I hate companies that force you to sign up to gain access to content. I do not want that relationship. Sooner or later those systems will be legacy and then maintaining them will be a pain. Bitrot will set in and sooner or later there will be a breach. One new development is that you used to be able to get your invoices mailed via snail mail. Then that disappeared and you got your invoices mailed via emai…

Annoying as it is, it’s better than sensitive data in cleartext email attachments.

Re: Quora User Data Compromised

#139
post #85

This is why I hate companies that force you to sign up to gain access to content. I do not want that relationship. Sooner or later those systems will be legacy and then maintaining them will be a pain. Bitrot will set in and sooner or later there will be a breach. One new development is that you used to be able to get your invoices mailed via snail mail. Then that disappeared and you got your invoices mailed via emai…

If your main concern is the sheer number of username/unique password combos, pick a good password manager that works well across the devices you use. I’ve literally stopped caring about this aspect of my family’s online life thanks to 1Password. That iOS 12 added OS level integration for the service was the icing on the cake for me.

Using a password manager (which I do) is a valid coping mechanism, but does not fix the root concern: for 90% of these cases, one shouldn't even need an account. I don't want personalization. I don't want some new identity to manage. I don't want a relationship with your service. I just want to browse the goddamned web! How did we get to this point where in order to use the Internet you have to sign up for all these free accounts and generate all these ridiculous username/password combinations?

Oh, and OAuth is a similar coping mechanism. You shouldn't need to log in to something to browse the web!

Re: Quora User Data Compromised

#140

This is why I hate companies that force you to sign up to gain access to content. I do not want that relationship. Sooner or later those systems will be legacy and then maintaining them will be a pain. Bitrot will set in and sooner or later there will be a breach. One new development is that you used to be able to get your invoices mailed via snail mail. Then that disappeared and you got your invoices mailed via emai…

This is exactly what has me excited about the new content model for the web Eich proposes. I just commented in another thread [1] but essentially:

1. enable donations / tips / subscriptions to sites using a browser-native crypto wallet

2. use ZKP anonymity

This enables a publisher / subscriber business model of 'dollars without data'. Which should really be the Minimum Viable Product for a publisher.

PII data for marketing is the icing on the cake for publishers, but the bar is high (and getting higher) around sharing that, and many of us want to support sites, but don't want to go through N+1 payment gateways and digital identity forms just to read some content.

From this perspective I see Brave and BAT as enabling a very old model: I give you a quarter, you give me your newspaper. End of story.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18595792

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