Looks like it was "unsecured" software (a Trojan or malware) installed in Hannaford's servers that was to blame for the massive data breach that affected me and millions of other shoppers.

Hannaford Bros. Co. says unauthorized software that was installed on servers in nearly all of its supermarkets caused the massive data breach that compromised up to 4.2 million credit and data cards. The grocer confirmed a report in the Boston Globe that it told Massachusetts regulators this week about the link to an illicit computer program known as "malware."

Hannaford spokeswoman Carol Eleazer said the company doesn't know if the malware -- industry shorthand for malicious software -- was downloaded to the servers or installed by some other means.

The company has said that the data theft, which occurred between Dec. 7 and March 10, took place as shoppers swiped their cards at checkout line machines and the information was transmitted to banks for approval.

This is very, very chilling. Of course, we all know that the electronic voting machines can be easily hacked this same way (one guy even demonstrated it for a YouTube video).

This data breach wasn't a "slip up." It was intentional theft. You'd think everyone would be up in arms, racing to secure everything (especially banks). Nope.

There's a good editorial here that is very informative. It's better than those lame news stories, for sure. Here's a tidbit:

Hannaford Bros. says it has secured its credit and debit card transaction system to block future unauthorized access and the Secret Service is investigating. So far, 1,800 cases of fraud are linked to the breach.

Kevin Mandia, president of Alexandria, Va.-based computer security firm Mandiant Corp., said retailers are most vulnerable during the processing of the credit or debit transaction. Hackers can create a type of software called a "sniffer" that acts like a wiretap and can intercept credit and debit card data as it travels between the retailer's point of sale and the credit card processing company. It can be very difficult to detect sniffers.

While the banks appear all but ready to blame Hannaford for failing to follow payment card industry standards on security, there are signs that this may be the first of many cases to surface this year wherein the affected retailer was hacked even though it appeared to be following all of the security rules laid out by the credit card associations.

..."I would say a trend we're seeing hitting a lot of retailers right now is that these organizations can be [compliant with the credit card industry security standards] and still have customer data stolen," Sartin said. "The data in transit is allowed to traverse private links and internal infrastructure without being encrypted, and the attackers are taking advantage of that."

It gets better. Or, rather, worse.

There have been some very good articles recently at Brave New Traveler. I liked the post The 20 Most memorable Travel Films, but the author's 20 and my 20 are like oil and water. A good post, though, and it really brought out the comments!

And the Budget Travelers are Hippie-Scum was entertaining. However, I budget travel by lifestyle, and I'm about as far from hippie as one can get.

Today's article title caught my eye: The Joy of Traveling Unplugged. I felt a little prick of conscience, as I have become quite accustomed to my gadgets when I travel.

...I say that many of us remain slaves to technology miles away from home.

In this way, travel can remind us how inundated our lives are with the distractions of modern conveniences. Backpacking this past December, I rediscovered the freedom of being unplugged, and came home with a renewed desire to downsize my digital addictions, both at home and on the road.

Here’s a look at five tech vices that can be difficult to ditch on the road, and how giving them up can help us rediscover some of the most important rewards of travel.

The author lists off the usual suspects: the TV, the cell phone, the Internet. But the buck stops here at the digital camera. I could never travel without my digital camera!

Wanna see a great movie? This is --bar none-- one of the best movies I have ever seen. I got it from my local library and have watched it again. And again I am awed by the masterful production. It's John and Abigail Adams, a PBS special directed by Elizabeth Deane.

We've seen a hefty share of movies about the founding of America, and this is the best one on John Adams, ever. As I watched it again, I marvel about how many things in our own society that parallel what the colonists went through with Britain.

I've always loved John Adams-- we've read much of his writings and letters. He was blunt, truthful, passionate, and so very right. He at least deserves a face on our currency or something!

Watch this movie. Expect to be wowed. And then come back and leave a comment so we can talk about it together! (It's free at most local libraries).

Look for it as "John and Abigail Adams" a PBS American Experience DVD (released in 2006) Narrated by David Ogden Stiers.

A local news story has its headline "Gasoline or Groceries?" All too true. And it's idiotic government policies that are wreaking havoc with both. With the gasoline, it's the high taxes and exorbitantly expensive refining costs. With the food prices, it's the idiotic ethanol joke. Our entire food supply is founded on corn. Who came up with the dumb idea to use corn as a fuel, and as a fuel that costs more to use than not? Arg!

But why are gasoline prices so much more expensive in Central New York. This is one of the highest taxed, most expensive area to live yet the poorest people of New York State live here. Why is that?

According to Triple A, the average cost of a gallon of gas nationwide is $3.28. Here at home the average cost is $3.41. That high number is leaving some to choose between filling the tank and buying groceries.

This isn't a fluke. Gas is always more expensive here. Why why why?

Hannaford's is a big-chain grocery store here in the Northeast. Looks like Hannaford shoppers are the newest victims of another big store data breach.

A security breach at an East Coast supermarket chain exposed 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers and led to 1,800 cases of fraud, the Hannaford Bros. grocery chain announced Monday.

Hannaford said credit and debit card numbers were stolen during the card authorization process and about 4.2 million unique account numbers were exposed.

The breach affected all of its 165 stores in the Northeast, 106 Sweetbay stores in Florida and a smaller number of independent groceries that sell Hannaford products.

Details are sparse, as the current laws protect banks at the expense of the consumers. Bad news. I have used my cards at my local Hannaford's. Watch your credit card statements if you've shopped here. :(

I read an interesting but disturbing story at the online version of my local newspaper: Book Revisits Lost Village's Tale. What an intriguing title! The story is fascinating. New York history is thrilling, and I'm always ready to hear a new story about it.

The lost village of Delta, very much like the lost city of Atlantis, currently lies beneath the water, its history eroded away by the strong tides of time.

Myth and legend have developed around the two regions, and while Atlantis is said to sit thousands of leagues under the sea, traces of Delta lie at the bottom of a popular recreational reservoir. A new book to be released Monday, "The Lost Village of Delta” by Mary J. Centro, explores the saga of the lost village.

Wow, a sunken village here in Upstate! Unfortunately, the story continues on in horror. I read in shock the following:

In 1903, the state of New York approved the construction of several reservoirs to support the Barge Canal. After selecting the village of Delta as a reservoir site, construction on the dam began in November 1908. Just four years later, the entire village of Delta was submerged, and the lake created above the lost village was duly named Lake Delta.

Apparently, Delta, NY, was a prospering little town. The population of 250 (a good size for 1903) was undergoing a boom in construction. People were investing in their future there. But the "state" had "chosen" them for the wonderful honor of "sacrificing" their future and their property for the Barge Canal reservoir. The greater good, and all that, you know. (See The Worst Trip of My Life).

Also terribly shocking was the nonchalant attitude of the author of the news article.

The state compensated the townspeople for their property. Many buildings were removed or relocated. The 250 or so residents dispersed into surrounding areas.

“This was their world,” said Centro, and they lost it all. But it was with the sacrifice of the village that the lake was born. Lake Delta is home to many permanent and seasonal homes and to Delta Lake State Park, which has one of the area’s most popular beaches.

“The lake is such a delight,” Centro said, “and brings a lot of joy to a lot of people.”

I don't know about you, but I find this terribly disturbing. It is supposed to be a serious thing to take property from landowners. Couldn't the state have chosen a non-populated area? Why were these people forced from their homes? And why is no one mourning?

The villagers didn't "sacrifice" anything-- it was taken from them!

The book looks good, and I'm looking forward to reading it. But this part of New York's history is not a celebration, it's a blemish. And with NYRI, the Kelo Decision trend, and towns across the state forcing "development" upon citizens, this is something we would do well to remember, and learn not to repeat.

Buzz buzz buzz. I've been up to my eyeballs in technical problems with my web hosting service, and haven't paid any heed to the latest news churning out of the mill. I quickly glanced headlines to see something about New York's governor retiring, and nearly spit out my coffee. What's this???

You've probably heard the news already. Spitzer, champion of corruption-busting during his tenure as State Attorney General, has been caught red-handed patronizing a prostitution ring. Yuk.

And as is normal these days, Google even seems to have some say about things-- Adirondack Base Camp has an entertaining and lively post explaining the details. Haha!

It's a sad day for New Yorkers, however. Prostitution is a nasty thing. The liberals/democrats are going to complain that "republicans" are making mountains out of molehills, but prostitution and patronizing it is a very serious matter. I'd also like to know why everyone is calling for Spitzer's downfall but not the prostitution ring's downfall. Both are disgusting.

For the first time in almost 25 years, I forgot to set my clocks back last night. :| I couldn't believe that I missed it. How'd you do? I was just so busy and things were so hectic. Actually, some of my clocks still are not set correctly! Grrr I can't tell you how irritating the Daylight Saving Time change is. I do like the earlier daylight hours, but the change disrupts so much.

And you know you have too many electronic gadgets in the house when you just don't have the time to fiddle with their time settings twice a year. I have no idea where my manuals are to my TV and dvd player... thank God my computers switch over automatically!

Here's a great site to keep handy for crucial times as these: Retrevo. Actually, I've used this site before when I was scouting out reviews for digital cameras a few months ago. This site has an immense bank of manuals for all electronics, including instructions for switching time settings on all the gadgets we have. It's a huge timesaver. The search feature is nothing short of outstanding. I've used it to find manuals for my older computers, and it's given me the manual plus reviews, news, and forums relating to my product. Bookmark this site! And good luck setting the time settings on all your gadgets. Here's hoping I get mine done before October rolls around... or November, or whenever the next change is...

I cannot remember how on earth I came across this little blog, but I did and I am loving every minute of it. It is A Broad Abroad, written by a South African native whose husband's jobs takes their little family to Scotland and then to Zambia. Her writing style is as breezy as the Scottish wind she describes:

...Scotland has a year-round wind chill factor capable of turning even the slightest breeze into an arctic gale. In addition, and this you must have noticed, wind only ever blows the things you need away from you, while blowing things you don't want straight up your nose. Never have I found a breeze that could slide over the sandwiches, pass the pineapple or nudge over the noodles. Rather they send us charging after packets, cartons and children's toys, requiring us to lift rear from blanket. The blanket then takes off like a kite primed to strike you in the face as you turn back to face your point of departure.

Unfortunately, the blog hasn't been updated in several months. Where'd she go? Where is she now? I'm terribly curious! I'd also love to see more photos! What an interesting blog. I hope its author continues the journey; it's a delightful one for us all.

Here's a quick and cute video by Glenn Beck that I found. A little silly, but interesting.

I lost track of my Wordless Wednesday number. I'm just too busy to look it up! Things are busy, hectic enough to make me a little edgy with stress. Sometimes I have to back away, far far away from the blogs and just get back to basics. And this made me laugh:



I saw it at Pamibe, a new blog I've found via Entrecards. LOL!

A striped iceberg? I was checking out A Fish Blog and he posted a weird photo, taken by researchers on a Norwegian vessel. I'd love to post the photo here, but there was no link to it and I didn't want to take it off the blog. Go have a look. Can you solve the mystery? Got any ideas? It does look genuine. Weird!

I can't believe we traveled to Lake George and Fort Ticonderoga just five months ago... remember green trees and green leaves, people? :S We're getting lake effect snow as I write and I am SO SICK of hearing snowmobiles by now.

Well, I posted our trip to Lake George up on the new blog, New York Traveler.net. If you've got a case of cabin fever, go check it out. The autumn scenery is so beautiful. :)

I'm getting a lot of Server Errors on the Blogspot blogs, most notably, my own blogs. Anyone else having this problem? It's intermittent. I went to check the Blogger status, and couldn't even get into that for a few minutes. When the page finally did appear, there was nothing about problems for today. Hmm.. Then again, if Blogger is having problems, and my blog is having server errors, why am I blogging about it here? You'll never get the message! I'll never get my questions answered! Ahhhhhhhhh!!! hello? hello?