Spoiled Rotten

I really hate when TV show finales are spoiled. With DVR and on-demand viewing, I rarely watch shows when they are on live. Don't the reporters realize this? It's really difficult to avoid spoilers unless you live in a cave (lucky you, Osama).

If you want to report on a winner, DON'T put the name in your article title. Try AMERICAN IDOL WINNER CROWNED" instead of "KRIS ALLEN WINS AMERICAN IDOL". All you do by putting it in the title is piss off the people who didn't want to know.

Radio DJ's and TV talk show hosts, don't start off your segment with the name of the winner, instead let the audience know you are about to talk about the show so they can avoid a spoiler if they don't want to hear it. And, DON'T show a spoiler in your advertisement for an upcoming show! "Join us at 10pm when we talk to James Thomas Jr., aka JT, the winner of Survivor Tocantins."

That really spoils my day.

Test Your Dannon Yogurt IQ

Look at the yogurt container pictured above. What flavor do you think the yogurt is in this container?

Did you guess Caramel?

Sorry, you clearly didn't recognize that the top of the yogurt container is a place for advertising other flavors of yogurt.

The correct answer is: Raspberry!

Security Rule #1: Do not keep my password!

Most articles on web security talk about all the measures you should take in coming up with clever passwords and changing them frequently. Little is mentioned about how it is important for the website providers to maintain security. In fact, many websites to not properly protect your information.

Rule #1: Don't keep (or display or email) the users' passwords in clear text (unencrypted).

If a website has your password stored in its database, you can kiss it goodbye if it is ever hacked. You also probably use the same password on other sites (let's not be naive), so those sites are at risk too. Additionally, if a website emails your password to you (on first registration or if you forget it), it could easily be viewed or intercepted. And if you are like most people, you probably keep that email (so you don't forget the password) which also puts you at risk your email gets hacked.

The best way to protect yourself is to use a "dummy" password when first registering for a site. After registering, click the "forgot password" link and see if they end up sending you your password by email. If they do, DO NOT GIVE THE SITE A SECURE PASSWORD. Consider not using the site, complaining to the developers, or using a password you don't care if it gets hacked.

In general, sites that are run by large companies or contain sensitive material don't fail to follow rule #1. I've found, however, that quite a few less reputable sites fail this simple security test.

Here are some sites that fail Rule#1 that you may recognize: del.icio.us, Evite, Friendster, Hilton Honors