Gmail Alert!

[jtarin]

Don't be stupid!!! Use your head.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13623378

[3Miro]

We should teach everybody how to read URLs.


some_garbage.gmail.com/some_more_garbage

is part of Google!



gmail.some_garbage.com/whatever

is NOT part of Google!

[jtarin]

We should teach everybody how to read URLs.


some_garbage.gmail.com/some_more_garbage

is part of Google!



gmail.some_garbage.com/whatever

is NOT part of Google!Agreed!!! +1

[akand074]

We should teach everybody how to read URLs.


some_garbage.gmail.com/some_more_garbage is part of Google!



gmail.some_garbage.com/whateveris NOT part of Google!

And here I thought that was common sense.

[alphacrucis2]

Often the url link text will look valid until you hover your mouse over it and then you see what the url really is. I was a member of a forum where the forum admin got scammed to revealing the forum admin login and password to some script kiddies. He basically was sent an email which pretended to ask about a problem with the forum. The email had a link which looked like it was to a thread in the forum but actually went to the script kiddies web site with a mock up of the real forum homepage requesting a login. Hence the guy gave the script kiddies full admin acces to the real forum. It turned out they were only interested in pulling a silly prank but it shows you that even people who should know better can slip up.

[cheapie]

Often the url link text will look valid until you hover your mouse over it and then you see what the url really is.

Yes. Just like this (completely harmless, for example purposes only) link:

http://ubuntuforums.org/ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ)

[akand074]

Yes. Just like this (completely harmless, for example purposes only) link:

http://ubuntuforums.org/ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ)

Sure, but once you click the link the URL in the address bar shows the real one, it's usually not very difficult to notice something wrong with the domain. I always look at the address bar intrinsically whenever I load a new page. Perhaps not everyone does.

[matthewbpt]

Government officials should not be using gmail for secret/sensitive information, and their communications should be required to be fully encrypted. This seems like common sense to me :S

[t0p]

I use the status bar in FF, which shows me the real destination of any link I want to point my mouse pointer at. So if you know how to read URLs, all should be fine... ;)

The only problem I've noticed with this is the use of URL-shortening services like bit.ly (http://bit.ly) and tinyurl.com (http://shorturl.com). But what can you do? Oftentimes I come across URLs that won't even fit in the status bar, they're so damn long. You gotta get the URL-scissors then, I guess.

Incidentally, with all the drama and carnage in Libya at the moment, isn't it grand that bit.ly (http://bit.ly) still works. Is this an example of wonderful dedication by webmasters? Or is bit.ly actually not physically located in Libya?

Oh yeah, a cookie or No-Prize for the first person to spot my evil act in this post.

[Canis familiaris]

Yes. Just like this (completely harmless, for example purposes only) link:

http://ubuntuforums.org/ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ)

Somehow I guessed which youtube video are you linking when I hovered over than link ;)

[Grenage]

That's about as high tech as sending a mail redirection request to the local post office.

Hmm, I wonder....

[jtarin]

Government officials should not be using gmail for secret/sensitive information, and their communications should be required to be fully encrypted. This seems like common sense to me :S
Actually Gmail wasn't used for sensitive mail the fact was that people that had access and worked with sensitive info had personal Gmail accounts that were being monitored. Link (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13626548)

[jhonan]

And here I thought that was common sense.
Seriously? - Most casual users I've seen think Google *is* the internet.

This has happened to me more than once: Tell a user to go to a URL. Instead of typing it into the location bar, they go to google.com, type it into the search box, and then click on the first result. That's how little people pay attention to URLs and what they mean.

Now, what hope do you have of teaching these users to check the URL in the status bar when they hover over a link, and then showing them how to interpret that URL as 'good' or 'bad'. Mostly they are vaguely aware of some gibberish appearing at the bottom of their browser right before they click a link. And that's as far as it goes.

It's been called 'the cloud' for a reason. Because that's how most people see it.

[Canime]

I have been wondering if my account has been compromised, but then again they did say, senior US officials, I'm not sure I am included. Perhaps they are reusing old material in a planned scare campaign. I hope nothing comes of it for the hackers, it just ends up as a journalistic technique employed to drum up awareness about security rather than reality.

[cyberhood]

Another reason to use alternative email services Here (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1703193&highlight=alternative+hotmail+gmail)'s an interesting ubuntuforums.org thread on multiple possible alternatives.

[PC_load_letter]

Seriously? - Most casual users I've seen think Google *is* the internet.
...

LOL My wife, sometimes as part of her job, takes web page support phone calls. One time she had a hard time trying to give someone the relevant url. After like 15 mins. of troubleshooting the browser, it turned out that the person on the other end was typing the link into Google's search :D.