Security: Prankster Got Senior Gov Officials To Reveal Personal Emails and Punked CEOs

Source:  CNN.

If President Donald Trump were to tweet about this, it'll be one word:  bad!

Apparently, a prankster going by @SINON_REBORN got White House officials into think he was the president's son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner.  And the person whom he got the personal e-mail from was none other than a Homeland Security advisor.  You can head to CNN to find out his name but, more importantly, these guys are clueless.

These guys are supposed to safeguard our homeland after all.  The thing is that this happens all the time to ordinary Americans.  Ordinary citizens of most countries I think.

But just to show how easily even educated men and women (in the CNN story, it's all men by the way) could be tricked into thinking they're talking to someone they know - keep reading the whole article.  It involves the chief of staff (fake one) and the communication director who got him fired and was later fired today and apparently, his e-mail exchange with the prankster had something to do with the level of tension in the White House staff.

Oh, and also involves a Trump getting pranked.

Here's the thing, be careful who you exchange messages and information with.  A lot of time, all it needs is a little common sense because this small amount of thinking could go far in safeguarding yourself against a phishing attempt or a benign prank like this one.

Here, I got the ball rolling and googled it for you.  It's worth it.  Today, cyber thieves are just a few clicks away from knowing a lot about you and with a little acting and experience, they can become you and do a lot far worse than this British prankster.

Twitter Might Not Be Growing In User Base But It's Importance Is Undeniable

In the latest financial quarter, Twitter reported earnings that most of us would think is pretty good.  Twitter made money (non-GAAP).  Yeah!  Right?  Well, apparently, in the financial world where metrics are created that most of us won't use or care about, it is not enough.  Sure, I would live to see Twitter at 1 billion users to rival Facebook but at least with its present business model, it's not to be the case.

Still, it's impact has not diminish or stagnanted since the 2016 US election.  If anything, it's impact on American politics continues to impressively be disproportionate to its size.  And it continues to grow with President Donald Trump in the White House.  Why just last week, Trump announced what sounded like policy when he "decreed" a ban on transgender military service.  Of course, while he tweeted it, it was not policy directed at the Pentagon.  Trump has yet to direct the Secretary of Defense to issue the order to the military.

Nevertheless, to millions and the media, it sounded liked official policy.

Of course, you still have celebrities, pundits, and still more politicians take to Twitter to let their thoughts and feelings be known.  The media is not reporting what is unveiled on Facebook, Goole+, or press releases.

And it's on Twitter where discussions from users are being tweeted and retweeted by its more than three hundred and twenty-five million users.  Eventually, it'll get to half a billion and on to a billion.

Once Twitter acknowledges that it should stop worrying about what Wall Street thinks and focus on its users, new users will come.

iPhone Plus Versus the iPad Mini - The iPhone Plus Ain't the Same As A Small iPad

Most who follow Apple closely will agree with me that it was disappointing Apple did not upgrade the iPad mini along with the rest of the iPad line.  Most predict that Apple will eventually let it go the way of the iPod now that the iPhone Plus screen is big enough that it may represent a good alternative for folks who want a bigger screen mobile device but doesn't want to go as big as the 9.7" iPad. 

Frankly, I think that's a pretty lame comparision and excuse.  First of all, the iPhone Plus is not a tablet.  I have the iPhone 7 Plus and I love it.  It's powerful, gets me through the day with no issue, and has the best camera as far as I can of any that I have ever owned.  But here is why I don't think it's a good replacement for the iPad mini.

The mini can do many things that the iPhone cannot do.  Split screen.  A little cramp but works well.  The iPhone doesn't do split screen.  Picture-in-picture is a feature that the iPad owns the iPhone.  The mini does that too but the iPhone doesn't.  I think it should and allow can easily allow it to do that but it doesn't.  It's obvious that Apple does want to keep some features that as exlcusive to the iPad. Which kinda says a lot about how Apple does not think the iPhone 7 Plus is a viable replacement for the mini.

Furthermore, the mini is more a productive device than the iPhone.  I've done my share of work on the iPhone but if you put the iPhone Plus and the iPad mini on a table and ask me to crank out a spreadsheet, drawing, or just about anything else, I'll reached for the mini every time.

So, it is perplexing that Apple decided to forgo upgrading the mini in 2017.  Perhaps, we might see an upgrade down the line, perhaps in time for the Holiday Seasons in 2017 or next spring when Apple may decide to use that time show off new iPads. 

The mini serves a need that the iPhone Plus can be a viable substitute for.  Reading, watching videos, or play games.  For other things that can offer greater productivity, the mini has the iPhone beat.  And let's face it, the iPhone Plus costs way more than the mini.  Some might say that's the reason Apple decided not to upgrade the mini and will eventually kill it off.  If so, it should have done that earlier this year.

My guess is that Apple does have plans for the iPad mini.  Maybe it'll get an biannual upgrade like the iPhone SE.  If it does, it makes sense.  The iPhone SE did not get an upgrade this year and if Apple does want to keep the mini in the lineup, upgrading the SE and the iPad mini at the same time next year would make a lot of sense.  That means I'l be more than willing to retire my current iPad mini and opt for the iPad mini 5.