Leaked Twitter accounts 'mostly banned spammers'

Twitter has downplayed the significance of a data dump that leaked the login details of 55,000 twits.

Most of the usernames and passwords copied into a string of five Pastebin posts on Monday are either duplicates or belong to blocked spammers, according to the micro-blogging site. A spokesman said it was in the process of resetting the passwords of compromised legitimate accounts.

"We've discovered that the list of alleged accounts and passwords found on Pastebin consists of more than 20,000 duplicates, many spam accounts that have already been suspended and many login credentials that do not appear to be linked (that is, the password and username are not actually associated with each other)," Twitter's Robert Weeks told CNN.

"We are currently looking into the situation. In the meantime, we have pushed out password resets to accounts that may have been affected," he added.

It's unclear how the credentials were obtained, although one strong possibility is that hackers slurped the data from a phishing website that tricked users into revealing their login details. The motives of the miscreants who shovelled the passwords onto Pastebin also remain unclear. Airdemon, the site that broke news of the dump, suggested the dump is designed to highlight Twitter's supposed security shortcomings.

Twitter has reason to be sensitive about data breaches. A pair of digital break-ins back in 2009 resulted in a privacy lawsuit from the FTC, which was settled last year with an undertaking from the micro-blogging service to improve its security practices.
Occupy protest twit faces account occupation

In other Twitter-related news, the messaging service is fighting a court order that would compel it to turn over the personal details and direct messages sent by a tweeter allegedly involved in the Occupy Wall Street protests.

The case surrounds Malcolm Harris, who was charged with disorderly conduct during demonstrations on the Brooklyn Bridge last year. Harris was denied permission to challenge the disclosure order against the @destructuremal profile, a ruling that prompted Twitter to get involved in the case.

The American Civil Liberties Union praised Twitter over its stance, thanking Twitter for standing up for free speech and individual privacy. ®

How To Find Ideas For Your Next Great Blog Post

5 Tips for Frustrated Bloggers

When suffering from the writer’s block, coming up with new blog post ideas can seem like a near impossible challenge. However, the following tips can help writers find ways around their current drought of ideas.

Expand your Niche

Given time, a blog that focuses on a single niche may have exhausted all possible topics. If your blog suffers from this case, then you may want to consider expanding beyond your niche and addressing different topics. In addition to providing fresh ideas and topics, a new subject matter could also bring in new readers to your blog. However, if you choose to take this route, make sure that the topic you choose is not wildly different from your original niche. If your sports blog decides to focus on food and cooking, it may confuse readers.

Ask the Audience

Blogs should be written with the audience in mind: therefore, it may be useful to directly ask readers what they’d like to see on the blog. There are a number of ways through which bloggers can gauge audience interest, whether through voter polls or reader comments. By taking these opinions into consideration, the blogger can tailor their next post based on the reader’s expectations.

Write Down Ideas

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely of places, whether you’re out for a walk or at the grocery store. However, if you don’t have a means to write these ideas down, you may quickly forget these ideas. Keeping a notebook and pencil can help you quickly jot down ideas that can be integrated into your post. For more tech-savvy individuals, there are a number of notepad applications for smartphones that are incredibly useful.

Interviews

Interviewing is a great way to create a quality guest post that doesn’t require much original thought. Based on your blog’s subject and niche, interviewing experts and opinion leaders can be a great way to draw interested readers into your site. In addition, this also builds the credibility, increasing the reputation and quality of your blog.

Guest Post

If you’re completely stuck for ideas, never fear: there are an endless amount of writers online, looking to guest post on blogs. The benefits of guest posting are numerous, as it gives bloggers a much-needed respite. In addition, guest posters provide the blog with a fresh point of view and new readers. However, when looking for a guest poster, make sure that you carefully screen applicants and avoid spammy articles. A poorly written guest post will reflect badly on you and your blog.

Tips for New Bloggers: Difference - HTML and XHTML

Tips for New Bloggers: Difference - HTML and XHTML

10 devices to look forward to in 2012

Whether our utopian wish list turns into a reality or not, there are a handful of devices that aren’t a figment of imagination and would reach markets anytime this year....

Whether our utopian wish list turns into a reality or not, there are a handful of devices that aren’t a figment of imagination and would reach markets anytime this year. Although there isn't an exact release date, these upcoming devices are expected to launch anytime sooner or later, this year. We’ve picked 10 devices that you can look forward to this year. iPhone 5 This celebrated device is expected to come sometime this year. Whether it’s named iPhone 5 or not, the next generation of the iPhone is expected to release later this year in fall, the same time the iPhone 4S was released in 2011. The device is suggested to come in a tapering design, while some supposed design elements were revealed recently. Besides, we obviously expect some improvements over its key feature – Siri. So, if you're boggled over buying an iPhone 4S, especially owing to the hefty price that comes with unjustifiable upgrades (at least the price tag it attaches in India says so), we suggest you might as well wait for the newer version. iPad 3/Mini iPad Whether Apple plans to launch the iPad 3 or the iPad Mini or both, is unclear yet. But, a newer version of the iPad is seemingly in the making and on its way this year. As we’ve said earlier, tablets came and went, some stayed, but one still manages to rule. Do we name it? As the rumours are rife, you can put aside a piggy bank and get the next generation iPad, which presumably may get all/some functions of the iPhone 4S, ‘siri’ously. Our successors are on the way.. Samsung Galaxy S3 If Samsung Galaxy S II managed to woo the Android masses, its successor may just add to the fanfare. Samsung’s next generation of Galaxy S smartphones, the Galaxy S III, has been making rounds and is expected to be up for grabs this year. Obviously, it will get the taste of Ice Cream Sandwich along with a set of advanced attributes that have been making rounds on the Internet, such as quad core processor that clocks at 1.8GHz, 3D display capabilities and more. Wintel tablets Last year saw a slew of Android tablets come in, catering to almost every budget, but not many were successful at making a mark in the ‘i’-smitten tablet arena. This year, Windows has geared to step in with Intel's Clover Trail technology in tow. In the making are Wintel tablets from Acer and Lenovo (whoever gets it first) - something we are eagerly waiting to know is how would they shape up. Prime to shine in 2012 Transformer Prime Touted to be the most powerful tablet, the next generation leap of the Asus Transformer, theTransformer Prime is a device to look forward to this year. It is embedded with a 10.1-inch Super IPS+ capacitive touchscreen. Thinnest at 8.3mm and lightest at 586 grams, it comes with a full QWERTY dock, added battery pack, quad core Tegra 3 processor, A-GPS, Wi-Fi, DLNA support, Bluetooth along with USB port and SD card slot. Initially, to feature Honeycomb, the device is upgradable to Ice Cream Sandwich. BlackBerry 10 smartphones The ray of hope beaming through RIM’s abode is its new BlackBerry 10 platform, however, using a device running on this newest iteration of BlackBerry OS will reach users only after you’ve traversed through first half of the year. The BlackBerry 10 has some promising features. All we hope is that it isn’t too late for RIM and it keeps users glued onto screens, until then. New forms of Aakash tablet and Reliance 4G tablet Aakash has been talking about improved versions, even before its device hit store shelves. TheAakash has begun shipping and the UbiSlate is expected to start shipping soon. But sometime this year, the company is expected to dish out a spruced up version of the Aakash with a better processor, improved feature set and a detachable keyboard for a price that reads Rs.3,500. Needless to say, at the rate its versions are being talked about we shouldn’t be surprised to see some more variants of the Aakash. Nevertheless, we hope they hit store shelves too, and not just remain announcements. After Aakash set the stage for extremely-low end tablet range, Reliance had stepped in with poise to regenerate the buzz with a 4G tablet as it has begun setting up 4G services in India. If the news is to be believed, then you’d be glad to shell out mere Rs.10/GB data over 4G network. Windows smartphones We aren’t sure if the worst is over for Nokia, but Windows Phone has sure brought a bout of fresh air to a great extent. Some more Lumia handsets are set to set the stage ablaze this year. We also expect HTC and some more manufacturers push in the Windows handset across the globe. For Nokia, we don't know how easy it will be to craft affordable phones using the Windows Phone operating system for the Indian masses. Nevertheless, we’ve pinned our hopes on Windows smartphones for the year 2012. Ultrabooks We’ve already seen Ultrabooks from Asus (Zenbook) and also from Dell and HP. There could be many to follow after the CES kick starts. An array of laptops armed with Intel’s Ivy Bridge could just load the market with powerful devices in a sleeker form factor. So, probably later this year, we could expect powerful, sleeker Ultrabooks equipped with the Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge platform, making  it something to look forward to. Clicking-spree Canon EOS 1DX Professional photographers and photography enthusiasts can look forward to the Canon EOS 1DXthat is expected to make its debut this year. The 18 million effective pixel sensor has been roped in to offer quality images at higher sensitivities. It features a new layout, new metering system and an improved user interface. Be it ultrabooks, improved tablets or quad core smartphones, the year 2012 seems to be full of promises. So, which one of these devices are you looking forward to this year?

Gadget of the Year 2011 – High-end phones

This year, we saw some great handsets that really pushed the boundaries of what we thought was possible ...

This year, we saw some great handsets that really pushed the boundaries of what we thought was possible from a mobile phone. 2011 has been a great year for Samsung and the brand has certainly cemented itself as a front runner in the mobile space, setting new trends and creating new segments in the already crowded mobile space. While the smartphone may be now available at an affordable rate, the flagship handsets is where all the attention lies. For those with no budget constraints, here are the nominees for the best high-end mobile phone, 2011. Please keep in mind though, that the criteria for our selection is based strictly on handsets that were sent to our labs for review, their overall tech2 scores and value for money quotient. These are also handsets that we would recommend to our readers, should they be looking for mobiles in this budget. There are plenty of other devices out there that may very well be just as good as some of these, however, if we haven’t had the opportunity to test them ourselves; they won’t be there on our list. Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc This handset oozes sex appeal with its stylish looks and form factor. Out of the box, it comes with Android Gingerbread. Sony Ericsson has put plans in place to upgrade the handset to Ice Cream Sandwich. The 8MP AF camera featuring an ExmoR sensor comes with an LED flash and it will surely take care of your photographic needs. Though this handset came out in the first half of the year, it definitely deserves a nomination. Stylish and sexy Samsung Galaxy S II This is an obvious inclusion as it is one of the hottest selling smartphones of the year. It features an ultra slim design and a large 4.3-inch Gorilla Glass display. This handset has everything going for it. It packs a Super AMOLED Plus display, an 8MP auto-focus camera, a 1.2GHz Dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor, along with a host of other features. HTC Sensation XE One of the most eagerly awaited handsets of this year was the Sensation XE. HTC had strengthened its products by adding Beats Audio. This handset is a marked improvement over the HTC Sensation as it comes with a bigger battery, more on-board storage for apps and thankfully, no touchscreen issues. BlackBerry Bold 9900 The is the top of the line handset from RIM and this time around the iconic Bold range of smartphones gets a slight design refresh. It has BlackBerry OS 7 and also features touch and type capabilities. It comes with a 5MP fixed focus camera and being a top of the line handset, a BlackBerry user would definitely love it. Motorola RAZR XT910 This year, thin is in for smartphones and the RAZR is the thinnest of them all measuring at a mere 7.1mm in depth. Though it may be really slim, Motorola has amped this handset with features that can give any other handset manufacturer a run for its money. It runs on a 1.2GHz Dual Core processor with 1GB of RAM, has a Kevlar coating for the rear cover and is infused with a very intuitive software that customizes the experience for every user. A lot more fun than the old one HTC Evo 3D This may be a very niche segment for now, but as a first attempt, HTC did a splendid job with the Evo 3D. This handset is good looking, has impressive features and has good 3D capabilities. The only trouble with it is the lack of 3D content, which is why it failed to pick up steam. LG Optimus 3D A direct competitor to the HTC EVO 3D is the LG Optimus 3D. It is powered by an ARM Cortex-A9 dual-core processor running at 1GHz. Stereoscopic glassless 3D is the main feature of this handset and it doesn’t disappoint. LG has also gone one step further than HTC and provided their own app store where users can download fresh 3D content which gives it a slight edge over the Evo 3D. Nokia Lumia 800 This handset is Nokia’s big re-entry into the smartphone game. The Lumia 800 comes with a stylish body and 3.7-inch Clear Black display with a capacitive touchscreen featuring a 480 x 800 pixel resolution. It comes with an 8MP AF camera with Carl Zeiss optics and a Dual LED flash. How could we not include it Samsung Galaxy Note The biggest handset of them all is the Galaxy Note and it boasts of impressive features, such as a massive 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED touchscreen with a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. The handset is powered by a dual-core 1.4GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor and come with a stylus for taking notes, hence the name. It also features an 8MP camera with LED flash and 1080p video recording. Apple iPhone 4S The iPhone 4S did not get a design refresh, but Apple have added some interesting features to the iPhone, such as an 8MP camera, a voice recognition assistant called Siri, and loads of other features that make it a good upgrade, if you’re still on a 3GS. And the winner is... Samsung Galaxy Note The Galaxy Note may have been a late entrant, but it has won us over with its outstanding performance and a perfect blend of a smartphone and tablet. Some may argue that it’s too big to be used as a phone and that’s true, it is; but come to think of it, a couple or years back, we felt a 4-inch screen was massive. Although it has a HD screen, it’s not exactly ‘Retina’ grade, since the ppi count is still low, but that Super AMOLED screen more than makes up for it. One phone to rule them all The colours and brightness levels are rich and vibrant, which makes it a joy to use in any lighting condition. Samsung has managed to cram in almost every feature they could think of, which makes this very future proof as well. Despite this being a big and powerful phone, Samsung has managed to deliver well on the battery front as well, which means you won't have to reach for the charger at the end of every single day. Viewing 1 of 12 You could even say that it’s value for money, since given the other phones in the same price range, you’re getting a lot more for your money. This is the best solution for those who can’t make up their minds about buying a tablet or a smartphone, as it sort of gives you the best of both worlds. Early next year, Samsung will also be launching Ice Cream Sandwich or Android 4.0 for the Note, so there’s another reason to get it, not that you need one.

How to - Create a secret partition on a pen drive

A workshop, where we show you how to create a secret partition on your USB pen drive which can be accessed only on your PC

There is no way you can partition USB pen drives. They show up as a removable drive on the PC. In order to do so, you need to trick the operating system into recognizing the USB pen drive as a fixed hard drive. To do this, you will need to create your own set of drivers. In this workshop, we shall demonstrate just that. Doing so, you can create multiple partitions and store your private data on it. Only the first partition will be visible, and the other partitions will not show up on any other PC, but your own. This way, you can store your personal data away from your friends and family, and also you can avoid viruses affecting this data when plugged in on another computer. To do this, all you need is a simple universal USB pen drive driver, which can be downloaded from ‘http://www.mediafire.com/?oqlgdvcymzz’. Download the archive, uncompress it to a folder on your desktop and get started. Don’t forget to backup the contents of your pen drive, as it will format it. Step 1: Plug in your pen drive into your PC’s USB port. Next, right-click on ‘My Computer’ and click on ‘Manage’ in the context menu. Click on ‘Device Manager’ on the left pane. This will show all the hardware devices connected to your PC. Now, on the right pane, scroll down to ‘Disk Drives’ and you should see your pen drive connected here. Right-click on the pen drive and select ‘Properties’. Selecting properties for the flash drive Step 2: In the properties window that just opened, click on the ‘Details’ tab. From the scroll down menu under ‘Property’, choose ‘Device Instance Path’. You should see a string of characters highlighted in the ‘Value’ window below, which should read something like ‘USBSTORDISK&VEN_&PROD…..’ Right-click on this value and select ‘Copy’. Now close all the windows without saving changes. Selecting the Device Instance Path Step 3: Now open the folder that you uncompressed after downloading the universal USB flash drive driver. In this folder, find and open the file named ‘cfadisk.inf’ in ‘Notepad’ or any test editor you prefer (Notepad++ is ideal to be used here’ (download from ‘notepad-plus-plus.org’). Modifying the flash driver Step 4: Now locate the words ‘device_instance_id_goes_here’, which is available on line 26. You need to replace these words with the string you just copied to the clipboard from the Device Manager. Save the file and close the editor. Step 5: Now go back to the ‘Device Manager’ page (repeat step 1). This time click on the ‘Driver’ tab and click the button ‘Update driver’ Switching to the updated driver Step 6: On the next window, choose ‘Browse my computer for driver software’ when the system asks how you want to search for the driver software. Then on the next window, choose ‘Let me pick from a list of drivers …. ‘.  Step 7: On the next window, uncheck the box ‘Show compatible hardware’ and click on the ‘Have disk button’. Now click on ‘Browse’ and from the universal USB driver folder on your desktop select the ‘cfadisk.inf’ file and click on the ‘Open button’, followed by the ‘OK’ and then ‘Next’ buttons on the previous windows. Step 8: An update driver warning message should show up stating that you are trying to install a driver, which is not compatible with your hardware. Ignore the message and click on ‘Yes’. The system will start installing the driver and show up another warning that the driver is not a verified or authentic driver. Ignore this one message and click on ‘Install this driver software anyway’. Let the system update the driver and you shall receive a message of a successful driver update.  Windows security warning for the driver Note: You can use this modified driver for this pen drive only. To use another pen drive, you will need to do the whole process again. Step 9: That’s all you needed to do. Now once you are back to the ‘Computer Management’ window, click on ‘Disk Management’ from the left pane and start partitioning your pen drive as you would with a regular hard drive. You can create multiple partitions and format them, accordingly.  Partiitioning the flash drive, like you would a hard drive Note: You can access all the partitions on the pen drive only from your PC. Other PCs will only be able to see the first partition and the rest will be unavailable. Make a copy of the driver on the first partition of the pen drive and you can install it on other PCs, in case you need to access the other partitions. This way, you can plug in the pen drive on your friend’s PCs without worrying about your private data. To reset everything back to the way it was, simply delete the partitions completely and uninstall/delete the driver for the pen drive from the Device Manager.