Yahoo is expected to confirm massive data breach, impacting hundreds of millions of users

recode ^ | SEP 22, 2016 | KARA SWISHER

[Leaning Right]

Yahoo is poised to confirm a massive data breach of its service, according to several sources close to the situation, hacking that has exposed several hundred million user accounts.

*snip* Earlier this summer, Yahoo said it was investigating a data breach in which hackers claimed to have access to 200 million user accounts and was selling them online. “It’s as bad as that,” said one source. “Worse, really.”

[Leaning Right]

For the last couple of weeks Yahoo has been prompting me repeatedly to change my email password. But they never explained the urgency.

I guess now I know why.

[FreedomPoster]

Yahoo runs the email for AT&T. If true, this could potentially affect virtually all AT&T users.

[SaveFerris]

Shoot, they’ve been trying to get me to change my password AND give them a cell phone number (NEVER!!!) for about 2 years now.

I don’t see what’s wrong with “Password”, anyways.

[Does so]

Any word on AOL?

I've been trying to get a friend off a clunky AOL.

[Blueflag]

They use the cell phone to send you an authentication code.

It’s a good multifactor authentication tactic.

Recommend you do it.

[Ken H]

They recommend at least 2 capital letters and 2 numbers. I changed all mine to ‘PowerThrough16’, which will be difficult to guess.

[SamAdams76]

You definitely should use your cellphone number for authentication. That makes it very difficult to get hacked.

[a fool in paradise]

Nana Hillary says there is NOTHING to worry about from hackers, you’re just talking about yoga classes and wedding plans, right?!!!

[SaveFerris]

Every one of my emails has a C on it - so I send it out to multiple recipients.

Does anybody know of a sale on Pantsuits?

[Mr. Douglas]

I have an AT&T phone, but my email accounts are Gmail.

[Carriage Hill]

Same one I use. (heh)

[wally_bert]

I have a freebie Flickr account that I haven’t posted to in years and an email account that gets a lot of spam.

Maybe I should migrate to hushmail completely.

[VRWCarea51]

Wow, you got game. I hear the Clintons are looking for a savy Professional with your level of talent.

P.S. Do you Reddit?

[Excellence]

Just great.

[moovova]

I use all asterisks.

**********

I should probably change it because it appears a lot of people use all asterisks.

[T-Bone Texan]

"...I've been trying to get a friend off a clunky AOL..."

You should tell them about this new service called Prodigy. It rocks, but you gotta have a high baud rate.

[Cowgirl of Justice]

I got an email from amazon yesterday that a list of email addresses and their passwords was found on the internet and mine was on it.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Guess this explains how they got Colin Powell’s emails.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Lifelock sent me a similar notice at the end of July.

[Paladin2]

P@$$w0rd would be better for a 733t person such as yourself ;-)