Hack Attack: Internet & Email Security - Knowledge Share Wednesday, 04/26/17, 1-4pm ET

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@Tigereyze209 wrote:

I have lost count of the number of "free" 50 dollar walmart card offers i have gotten.. or how concerned folks seem to be about my romantic functions.... you know what I'm refering too...

Or perspective loved ones that are just wanting to continue the conversations from the facebook chats we have never had (don't even have a fb account, sigh)

or the (pick country origion of choice) prince who needs my help desperately to get his millions out of his country..   and on.. and on.. and...   well, you get the idea.

Yahoo (which as i said in an earlier post handles ATT's e-mail service) seems to have a fairly good unwanted mail blocker.. (ironically, some claim it is so good, they want to disable it completely..  I dunno why either) not sure i can compare it to hotmail, and yes, I do have an account there too. Google, like it or not, seems to have one of the best spam filters.

All seem to have their advantages and disadvantages.

And even the good ones need updating once in a while as the spammers are always working on ways to bypass blocking.

Not a real offer of a solution, more of a commiseration of shared misery.

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@Tigereyze209Yeah, like @Jeramy_G mentions, the algorithm gets more robust by users, like ourselves, consciously making the exception choices, and building it up.

The way the hotmail version works, it's always present, no matter which device/interface I'm on, my filtering is there.

I suspect the Yahoo/AT&T algorithm is similar, always "learning" and constantly updating, essentially in "real time" (yeah, dangerous words, but I threw them in ;-]).

I definitely get tons of the same (and I do have a FB account), but can get my 200-300 messages/day down to maybe only 5-10 spam that make it into my regular Inbox.

Sure, I have to go manually scan for "good" messages that get accidentally filtered, which I try to do daily, and then re-refine the process.

Eventually, machine-learning will get smarter, and more and more ISPs will employ advanced  algorithms here...

just for the sake of idle curiosity, does anyone here actually know the e-mail customer support number or link for yahoo? I have found that locating it is suprisingly hard. )Let me put it this way.. *I* have yet to find it. Oh, pleanty of pay as you go 3rd party help sites, but not the actual this is yahoo support...)

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@Tigereyze209 wrote:

just for the sake of idle curiosity, does anyone here actually know the e-mail customer support number or link for yahoo? I have found that locating it is suprisingly hard. )Let me put it this way.. *I* have yet to find it. Oh, pleanty of pay as you go 3rd party help sites, but not the actual this is yahoo support...)

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@Tigereyze209

The only method of engagement would be help.yahoo.com, there are options there for self-support and if needed the site will have you submit a ticket and they have an internal team that will contact you.

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@Tigereyze209 wrote:

just for the sake of idle curiosity, does anyone here actually know the e-mail customer support number or link for yahoo? I have found that locating it is suprisingly hard. )Let me put it this way.. *I* have yet to find it. Oh, pleanty of pay as you go 3rd party help sites, but not the actual this is yahoo support...)

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https://help.yahoo.com/kb/account

Note: I don't have a Yahoo account, and haven't tried the "contact" method on the support page here, but it looks like they provide a way, at least on the surface.

@MsMaggie So you're saying my phone will try to connect to any wifi AP station named "attwifi'? I am asking whether my phone (with at&t firmware) does any additional authentication before connecting to AP named "attwifi" ?

What encryption is there for calls made on voWifi? I ask because at&t corporate reps are telling me to use vowifi when I complained about LTE congestion in Omaha.

I would also appreciate an answer re official vowifi router recommendations and settings.

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@MsMaggie wrote:

@LTE_blues AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots almost always have the network name attwifi. You can learn more about our hotspots and their connections at https://www.att.com/esupport/article.html#!/wireless/KM1103818

 

@pgrey - excellent answers, especially about public wi-fi not being the most secure

 

 

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Yeah..  PUBLIC wi-fi is the biggest clue. just like a police radio scanner, if it broadcasts over the airwaves, it can be intercepted.

The same is true for home wi-fi systems.. it is just with the password enabled, it is harder to decrypt them.

With all the advances in technology, it is easy to forget, at it's heart, all the wireless signals are just radio waves. If you have the right tuner, you can pick up any of them.

With real time encryption becoming more common, it is parder to make sense of them, but if one is determined enough, it can be undone.

It is just that your average hacker is not that sophisticated. (In fact, most of them are called script kitties, as they simply know how to use programs and apps real hackers have written.)

but, I digress.

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@LTE_blues wrote:

How secure are AT&T hotspots?

 

1. How do I know I am on a legitimate hotspot (ie. what precautions does my phone do to not join onto a honeypot AP?)
2. How secure are vowifi calls made through a hotspot?
3. How do I report a problem with a malfunctioning AT&T ap?

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1) If you use WiFi hotspots at all, treat them the same: Expect that your communications are being looked at and stored.  Use HTTPS for everything you do.

2) My understanding is that Wi-Fi calling is encrypted, but I don't know the specifics.

3) As far as I know, there is no one single route for reporting an issue with an AT&T App.  You can try reporting it through your device's OS' app store (Apple Store, Google Play).  If it is related to a line of business, you can try sending a Private Message to the appropriate team on these forums.

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@ATTMarianaCM wrote:

Hey there, @pgrey! I think you and I are on the same left coast. WA state represent!

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@ms_unicorn, I thought you were a Georgia girl.

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@Tigereyze209 wrote:

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@MsMaggie wrote:

@LTE_blues AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots almost always have the network name attwifi. You can learn more about our hotspots and their connections at https://www.att.com/esupport/article.html#!/wireless/KM1103818

 

@pgrey - excellent answers, especially about public wi-fi not being the most secure

 

 

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Yeah..  PUBLIC wi-fi is the biggest clue. just like a police radio scanner, if it broadcasts over the airwaves, it can be intercepted.

The same is true for home wi-fi systems.. it is just with the password enabled, it is harder to decrypt them.

With all the advances in technology, it is easy to forget, at it's heart, all the wireless signals are just radio waves. If you have the right tuner, you can pick up any of them.

With real time encryption becoming more common, it is parder to make sense of them, but if one is determined enough, it can be undone.

It is just that your average hacker is not that sophisticated. (In fact, most of them are called script kitties, as they simply know how to use programs and apps real hackers have written.)

but, I digress.

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@Tigereyze209Yeah, true, but if you use an encrypted VPN or tunnel, from said public connection, then you're chances (like you mention, there are bigger fish) of getting your 1024-bit session hacked are basically zilch.

Sure, if you're being "monitored" by a highly sophisticated "person" or similar, and they're motivated enough, they'll probably figure out a way (typically through social-engineering you, probably the biggest problem with highly secure data).

@JefferMC Not anymore! I'm all the way up in Seattle now. Loving it, too!