Massive X data leak affects over 200 million users.
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This vulnerability made it possible to collect user data simply by knowing someone’s email address or phone number.
Another example of where it pays off to have separate email addresses/aliases for every website/service you use.
Wait, so you literally have hundreds of accounts? How do you manage them all?
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A self-proclaimed data enthusiast calling themselves ‘ThinkingOne’ has made a huge database containing 201 million pieces of user data from X freely available. The data is said to have come from two previous leaks and includes email addresses, locations and profile data of users of the social media platform.
How many of them are Elmo's alt-accounts?
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Wait, so you literally have hundreds of accounts? How do you manage them all?
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That's re-victimization. People do people stuff, like using social networks. Furthermore, the database probably goes as far as previous being bought and renamed by Musk. So... you're note being fair.
I think there's a fine line between victim-blaming and identifying an object lesson. We all understand why people started using twitter, and people are creatures of habit. But this is an example of why people should stop using twitter. We're not saying "this is your fault because you're stupid if you're still on twitter." The message is "this should serve as a wake up call to anyone stuck in their habits."
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A self-proclaimed data enthusiast calling themselves ‘ThinkingOne’ has made a huge database containing 201 million pieces of user data from X freely available. The data is said to have come from two previous leaks and includes email addresses, locations and profile data of users of the social media platform.
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Wait, so you literally have hundreds of accounts? How do you manage them all?
My email provider allows for unlimited aliases. So, while I have 600+ email addresses, emails to them all end up in the same mailbox.
The accounts for all the websites and services (with their specific email address) are in a KeePass database and they all have random passwords, too.
The only small issue is when you have to contact support of some service. Then, I have to configure the specific email address in my client so they can match that to my account with them. But most email clients allow multiple sender addresses without having to fiddle with the rest of the settings.
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Wait, so you literally have hundreds of accounts? How do you manage them all?
Yes, and Bitwarden+SimpleLogin. Bitwarden to keep track of login info including the alias that is used for that site. SimpleLogin is where the aliasing is actually handled, they have a decent UI for enabling/disabling or generating reverse aliases (for outgoing emails) when needed.
It does take a little more effort to manage it, but it’s worth the payoff. I’ve been using this setup for about 9 months now and I finally got my first spam email a week ago. I looked at the address it was sent to, it was a site I ordered something from about 6 months ago. I sent them a message letting them know that either someone at their company is selling customer info to scammers or their database has been leaked, then I shut off the alias.
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My email provider allows for unlimited aliases. So, while I have 600+ email addresses, emails to them all end up in the same mailbox.
The accounts for all the websites and services (with their specific email address) are in a KeePass database and they all have random passwords, too.
The only small issue is when you have to contact support of some service. Then, I have to configure the specific email address in my client so they can match that to my account with them. But most email clients allow multiple sender addresses without having to fiddle with the rest of the settings.
My email provider allows for unlimited aliases. So, while I have 600+ email addresses, emails to them all end up in the same mailbox.
I do this too. The unique email address I create for each is identifiable to the place I'm using it. This has other benefits. If an organization you created and account with sells or has a data breech you know exactly which company it was when you start receiving spam or phishing email directed to that address. This is also nice because you can "black hole" that email address and all the spam goes with it even future spam not sent yet.
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A self-proclaimed data enthusiast calling themselves ‘ThinkingOne’ has made a huge database containing 201 million pieces of user data from X freely available. The data is said to have come from two previous leaks and includes email addresses, locations and profile data of users of the social media platform.
In July 2022, Twitter confirmed that someone had exploited the vulnerability before it could be fixed. “After reviewing a sample of the data offered for sale, we confirmed that a malicious party had taken advantage of the problem before it was addressed,” Twitter stated at the time.
lol
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A self-proclaimed data enthusiast calling themselves ‘ThinkingOne’ has made a huge database containing 201 million pieces of user data from X freely available. The data is said to have come from two previous leaks and includes email addresses, locations and profile data of users of the social media platform.
Anyone know where these files where originally posted?
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That's re-victimization. People do people stuff, like using social networks. Furthermore, the database probably goes as far as previous being bought and renamed by Musk. So... you're note being fair.
That's re-victimization. People do people stuff, like using social networks.
Giving one's real name and real information to a social network who is intending to track everything one does or says and the people one does or says it with is idiocy and it has never not been.
People do people stuff like not listening to people who have constantly been telling them not to push the button.
People stuff also includes continuing to use these horror networks for years after knowing full well they shouldn't.
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My email provider allows for unlimited aliases. So, while I have 600+ email addresses, emails to them all end up in the same mailbox.
I do this too. The unique email address I create for each is identifiable to the place I'm using it. This has other benefits. If an organization you created and account with sells or has a data breech you know exactly which company it was when you start receiving spam or phishing email directed to that address. This is also nice because you can "black hole" that email address and all the spam goes with it even future spam not sent yet.
Exactly! I add a random string to each email address, too, so you can’t just guess other addresses. So, it’s usually something similar to
[email protected]. And, whenever a breach happens, I’ll generate a new random part and set that as my email address and invalidate the old one. Until the next breach. (Looking at you, LinkedIn…) -
Wait, so you literally have hundreds of accounts? How do you manage them all?
My email provider will auto-generate aliases with no limit, and I also subscribe to Mozilla Firefox Relay, which allows me to invent email addresses on the fly and have them relay emails to my inbox. The advantage of the Firefox Relay is that it isn't tied to the email provider so if I switch provider the aliases can still work.
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That's re-victimization. People do people stuff, like using social networks. Furthermore, the database probably goes as far as previous being bought and renamed by Musk. So... you're note being fair.
I'm fairy sure the guy above said "use X" not use social media. X is a particularly shitty platform.
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A self-proclaimed data enthusiast calling themselves ‘ThinkingOne’ has made a huge database containing 201 million pieces of user data from X freely available. The data is said to have come from two previous leaks and includes email addresses, locations and profile data of users of the social media platform.
That’s like, 400 actual non-bot accounts. Nobody is safe anymore!
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Exactly! I add a random string to each email address, too, so you can’t just guess other addresses. So, it’s usually something similar to
[email protected]. And, whenever a breach happens, I’ll generate a new random part and set that as my email address and invalidate the old one. Until the next breach. (Looking at you, LinkedIn…)That is clever!
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Wait, so you literally have hundreds of accounts? How do you manage them all?
This is what I do as well. I purchased my own custom domain name and run aliases off it using Addy. So as an example, an email for an online account would look like: ‘[email protected]’
Then I feed these accounts into a password manager so I don’t have to remember them.
All the aliases forward mail directly to my main inbox. Companies never see what my real address is. If I get spam, I know which company either sold my data or leaked my data. I can then take action by simply turning off that email alias and then spinning up a new one.
The best thing about owning your custom domain is that you’re in control and never have to change your email addresses. If I want to move to a new email provider, I can easily do that. The process, simplified:
- Buy a domain name
- Sign up for an email account at Tuta, Mailbox, etc.
- Set up your custom domain at that provider.
- Go to your Domain provider and update your MX records so that it syncs with the email provider.
- if you want to switch email providers, get a new one and then update your MX records to point to the new provider.
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That's re-victimization. People do people stuff, like using social networks. Furthermore, the database probably goes as far as previous being bought and renamed by Musk. So... you're note being fair.
The actual data compromise happened sometime before July 2022, months before Elon's purchase of Twitter happened. Telling people they shouldn't have registered their real phone numbers to Twitter in 2015 or whatever isn't really a helpful argument to make today.
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Bluesky will be in the same boat given enough time. Mastodon is the only proper stand-in for twitter.
OK but it's not even remotely close today.
