Virgin Mobile's no-contract iPhone brings savings -- at a cost
The iPhone gains another prepaid carrier, more Web sites are reporting user passwords hacked, and a Foursquare update focuses more on exploring and recommendations.
- Bridget has spent over 18 years as a consumer tech reporter, hosting daily tech news shows and writing syndicated newspaper columns. She's often a guest on national radio and television stations, including ABC, CBS, CNBC and NBC.
It's time to pony up for prepaid iPhones, avoid password scams and drop that mayor obsession:
The iPhone is coming to Virgin Mobile at the end of June. But you'll have to drop a hefty $650 to get the iPhone 4S, since there's no two-year contract. Plans start at $30 a month. It's cheaper in the long run to go prepaid with this plan instead of spending $200 upfront and paying for a more expensive monthly bill for two years (but you'll be limited with talk minutes). Virgin is on the Sprint network.
If Android is more your style, Samsung's flagship phone, the Galaxy S III, will soon be available on all four major U.S. carriers.
There have been several password security breaches this week. After LinkedIn confirmed hackers compromised user passwords, eHarmony sent an alert that many of it's user passwords were also hacked. Anyone who has been compromised will have their passwords reset and will be prompted to create a new one.
But it doesn't stop there. The music service Last.fm has also warned its users to change passwords after discovering some passwords have been leaked.
With all this news of passwords being exposed, some seriously shady websites have cropped up. Stay away from websites that ask you to enter your password to check if you've been hacked. I'm seeing these pop up on social networks. Even if you think it's trustworthy, do not give some random website your password to check anything - just change it on your own to be safe.
The biggest danger with password security breaches is that hackers will try your password on several sites -- like trying a key in many locks to see how many doors it can open. So make your passwords different for any site that stores personal information.
If it's a word in the dictionary, it's really easy to crack. If you want something memorable and complicated, abbreviate a song lyric or phrase, and spice it up with numbers and upper and lower case.
Today's app to watch is Foursquare, which just got an overhaul in design and function. The focus is shifting away from the race for points, badges and getting crowned mayor of the coffeshop. It's more about discovering new places and reading recommendations from other users. At the center is the Explore button, which highlights places near you that have a bargain or special, and which are popular at the moment. Users can also like and comment on other check-ins.
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Disclosure: Last.fm is owned by CBS, parent company of CNET.
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