uComcast Resets Passwords For 200,000 Email Customers After Possible Account Leakr

4 4 4 9

• 

  Comcast email customers became the latest victims of a potential hack attack this weekend, as the company confirmed it reset passwords for nearly 200,000 users after their email addresses and passwords were posted for sale on a hacker marketplace.

  As first reported by CSO, the list of emails and corresponding passwords made up roughly 590,000 accounts. However, Comcast determined that nearly 60% of that information was for inactive accounts, leaving just 200,000 compromised customers.

  The company says it has forced a reset for those accounts and that customers would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

  A rep for Comcast says the company’s security teams are certain that none of its systems or apps had been compromised.

  According to CSO, the list of information was posted on Dark Web Saturday, and was purchased for $1,000.

  CSO theorizes that the information on the list was likely recycled, either from previous breaches or via Phishing scams.

  Comcast resets nearly 200,000 passwords after customer list goes on sale [CSO]
  [via The Verge]

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uTarget Will Open At 6:00 PM On Thanksgiving Dayr

4 4 4 9

• 
  We could be incredibly lazy today, since it turns out that Target’s Black Friday plans are pretty much identical to what they did last year. They’re opening at 6 PM on Thanksgiving Day, which is also what they did last year. They’re starting Black Friday-style deals on November 9 instead of November 10, so we’d have to change that. Otherwise? Pretty much the same.

  In their announcement of the opening time and deals, Target points out that they try to mostly use volunteers to work on the holiday, who receive extra pay and another, unnamed reward. While 6 PM is relatively late, we hope that Target and other stores opening in the afternoon serve up a nice turkey dinner anyway.

  The discounter’s Black Friday deals will include electronics and toys, including gaming consoles and telvisions. Some deals will start this week, and others will be available on Wednesday.

  Target Debuts Black Friday Promotional Strategy, Stores to Open at 6 p.m. [Target]

  RELATED:
  Boston Market: Official Caterer Of People Stuck At Work On Thanksgiving

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uSeaWorld San Diego Will Phase Out “Shamu Show” For One With A “Conservation” Messager

4 4 4 9

• 

  Even amid growing concern about the safety and welfare of both the animals and their trainers, SeaWorld had remained steadfast in defending its signature “Shamu Show,” with commercials and marketing trying to reassure the public that it was doing right by these large and potentially deadly marine animals. Today, the heavily scrutinized theme park company took a step intended to quiet at least some of its critics.

  SeaWorld’s flagship San Diego location will be pulling the plug on its current entertainment-oriented orca show, with the goal of replacing it with an event that is more informative for audiences.

  Executives for the company announced the attempt to re-position itself amid several efforts from advocates, states and federal agencies to shut down the park’s breeding and entertainment shows, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

  SeaWorld said in a webcast about its vision for the future, that it will phase out its current show over the next year in favor of a more informative program.

  That show, expected to debut in 2017, will be designed to take place in a natural setting carrying a “conservation message inspiring people to act.”

  The termination of the Shamu Show would effectively bring an end to the San Diego park’s theatrical shows. There was no word from SeaWorld on whether orca shows at its Orlando and San Antonio parks would be discontinued, The Union-Tribune reports.

  SeaWorld has been the subject of much criticism since the documentary Blackfish came out in 2013, chronicling alleged mistreatment of orca whales by the park as well as accusing it of violating Occupational Safe and Health Administration laws.

  The documentary looked at the death of SeaWorld Orlando trainer Dawn Brancheau, who was killed in front of park visitors when an orca named Tilikum pulled her into the water and kept her under it during a performance. The documentary created quite a public relations headache for the marine park, landing it in Consumerist’s Worst Company In America contest for the first time in 2014.

  The company has been trying to repair its tarnished public image ever since, launching a campaign called “Ask SeaWorld” and pledging to spend $10 million on orca research and expand the whale environment at the park, among other things.

  Although SeaWorld has said it beefed up safety measures for its workers, in May the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in California cited SeaWorld San Diego for not properly protecting employees.

  SeaWorld to phase out killer whale show [The San Diego Union-Tribune]

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uComcast: Data Caps Will Save You Money, Except You Won’t Actually Pay Lessr

4 4 4 9

• 
  Now that Comcast isn’t trying to acquire anyone and doesn’t have to kiss regulatory/legislative derriere to make a merger happen, the company is expanding its push on using data caps and overage fees. Last week, leaked internal documents showed that these limits have nothing to do with network congestion, but that Comcast employees were to explain the caps as being in the name of “fairness.” Even though that sounds like a risible claim to anyone familiar with Comcast, the company is really sticking with it.

  Speaking to Fierce Cable, a Comcast rep explained that the whole idea of the data caps — where users either have to pay for gigabytes over a monthly allotment of 300GB, or pay $30-35 on top of their bill for “Unlimited” access — is to “create a more fair approach, where the heaviest data users pay a little more and the light data users get to pay a little less.”

  This statement was a bit of a headscratcher to DSL Reports’ Karl Bode, who noted that “The problem with that narrative continues to be that nobody gets to ‘pay a little less’ under Comcast’s new pricing model.”

  Unlike Comcast’s previous attempt to offer a $5 discount for people who only drove their Internet to church every other Sunday, this model only penalizes the biggest users.

  The Comcast rep does mention that the overage charges mean that “heavier data users will pay a little more for us to re-double capacity on our network every 12 to 18 months,” but that’s not really the same as light users paying less. That’s just an explanation of how Comcast intends to use the additional revenue.

  Meanwhile, like a gas company encouraging drivers to go on really long drives with their air-conditioners on and the windows down, Comcast eggs consumers on to consume more data.

  The advertising for its Xfinity broadband service plays up all the data-heavy videos, gaming, and messaging you can use it for. Then there are the multiple Comcast-owned NBC Universal online services, not to mention its stake in Hulu, all of which encourage more data use.

  Comcast is also actively deploying fiber service in some markets that is twice as fast as Google Fiber, and is planning to test new tech that will allow it to offer even faster connections over existing cable lines. With faster access comes more data use.

  Yes, you’ll be able to quickly download a brand new full-length video game and a 4K ultra-HD movie in almost no time, but you could be looking at more than 80GB for just those two downloads. Four days like that in a month and you’ve hit your Comcast limit, even though you were just doing what Comcast has encouraged you to do.

  Being the nation’s largest cable company and broadband provider, and being one of its biggest content producers for TVs and movies, along with its involvement in services like Hulu, Comcast can see — probably as well, if not better, than any other U.S. company — that the 300GB monthly limit will soon be a commonly hit ceiling for many consumers.

  Putting the caps in now, when — according to Comcast — only around 8% of its users cross the current threshold, is really about preempting the backlash that AT&T and Verizon felt after having to shutter unlimited wireless data plans.

  Some companies have already been using data caps throughout their networks. As Fierce Cable notes, SuddenLink’s CEO has acknowledged that tiered pricing as resulted in “significant” revenue for the company.

  Perhaps “revenue” is industry-speak for “fairness”?

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uVolkswagen Offers $1,000 in Cash, Credits To Owners Of Deceptive Dieselsr

4 4 4 9

• 

  Volkswagen, in an apparent attempt to alleviate the strained relationship with hundreds of thousands of consumers still waiting to hear just how the carmaker plans to fix their “clean diesel” vehicles rigged to cheat emissions tests, is offering those owners $1,000 in cash and credits. 

  The car company, now at the center of two scandals related to nitrogen oxide and carbon emissions, announced Monday that it would provide vehicle owners affected by the diesel-emissions scandal with $1,000 as a goodwill gesture, The Los Angeles Times reports.

  VW unveiled the program in an email to customers today, offering the payments in two ways: a $500 Visa prepaid card to be used however the customer desires, and $500 in credits toward a VW purchase and three years of free roadside assistance.

  “We are working tirelessly to develop an approved remedy for affected vehicles,” Michael Horn, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, said. “In the meantime, we are providing this Goodwill Package as a first step towards regaining our customers’ trust.”

  To be eligible, consumers must be the registered owner or lessee of a Volkswagen diesel with the 2-liter TDI engine as of Nov. 8. VW owners must visit http://ift.tt/1P20i3q, enter their Vehicle Identification Number, their mileage and contact information by April 30. Customers must also take their vehicles to a dealer to activate the gift cards and prove they own the car.

  A VW spokesperson tells L.A. Times that customers taking part in the program do not have to sign a release of claims against the company.

  The Goodwill Package is the second initiative VW has created in recent months to attract new and keep existing customers in wake of its emissions scandal.

  Last month, the company offered owners a $2,000 “Loyalty Bonus” for leasing or buying a new car. That deal, which ended Nov. 2, extended to any individual who currently owns a VW, or anyone in that person’s family as long as they live at the same address.

  The first initiative came just weeks after the Environmental Protection Agency issues a notice of violation covering 482,000 diesel vehicles since 2008. The agency, along with the California Air Resources Board, deemed the vehicles to be equipped with “defeat devices” designed to cheat emission tests.

  The agencies announced last week that they had found an additional 10,000 VW, Audi and Porsche models to have the same devices.

  The “sophisticated software algorithm” in the vehicles is programmed to detect when the car is undergoing official emissions testing, and to only turn on full emissions control systems – the temperature conditioning mode – during that testing.

  A day later, on Nov. 3, VW announced that an internal investigation had found nearly 800,000 cars have issues with carbon dioxide emissions.

  Investigators found that CO2 levels and fuel consumption figures for some models were set too low during the carbon certification process.

  Volkswagen offers cash, credit to help placate diesel owners [The Los Angeles Times]

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uCourt Throws Out StubHub’s Lawsuit Against Ticketmaster, Golden State Warriorsr

4 4 4 9

• Last spring, StubHub sued both Ticketmaster and the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, alleging that the team had threatened to cancel the subscriptions of season ticket holders if they tried to resell any of their tickets via StubHub instead of Ticketmaster’s secondary ticket exchange service. But last week, a federal judge dismissed StubHub’s case.

  StubHub alleged that forcing Warriors fans to only resell their season tickets through a Ticketmaster service constituted an illegal “tying” relationship in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

  Ticketmaster is the sole vendor for new Golden State Warriors tickets, and by having rules that make Ticketmaster the only allowed reseller of Warriors tickets, StubHub claimed that this gave its competitor an unfair monopoly on NBA tickets in the San Francisco Bay Area.

  However, Ticketmaster argued that (A) there is nothing illegal about having an exclusive vendor for selling the primary-market tickets to a game; and (B) that — aside from fluctuations in pricing — there is no real difference between secondary-market tickets and primary-market tickets. If these two markets are, in the eyes of the law, reasonably interchangeable, then it’s really difficult to make an antitrust claim.

  And the judge agreed [PDF], first noting that it’s okay for the Warriors to only sell its tickets through Ticketmaster, citing precedent that the “natural monopoly every manufacturer has in the production and sale of its own product cannot be the basis for antitrust liability.”

  With regard to the secondary market for tickets, StubHub had pointed to the Justice Department’s review of the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, in which the government recognized “primary ticketing services” and “secondary ticketing companies” as “relevant and distinct markets.”

  But the judge pointed out that the DOJ was talking about antitrust concerns on a national level — a scope she believes is too broad to apply in this case. She said that StubHub fell short of showing that the DOJ is “of the view that primary tickets to a single team’s games played at a single arena are not reasonably interchangeable with secondary tickets to the same games.”

  In a statement e-mailed to Consumerist, Ticketmaster says it is pleased with the court’s ruling. We won’t include the rest of the statement, which is an irrelevant mess of marketing terms like “innovative,” “cutting-edge,” and “superior.”

  We’d argue that if Ticketmaster lived up to its own marketing hype, it wouldn’t need to freeze out the competition through (apparently legal) terms that lock customers into using one company for buying and reselling their tickets.

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uFederal Judge Dismisses Apple Store Employees’ Lawsuit Over Bag Searchesr

4 4 4 9

• Earlier this year, a 2013 lawsuit filed by Apple Store employees went forward, seeking class action status. The workers complained that mandatory searches of their bags before leaving the store premises occurred while they were off the clock, and the searches were “insulting and demeaning.” Over the weekend, the class action was dismissed. The judge’s reasoning: there’s no reason why employees need to bring a bag to work, or their personal Apple devices.

  Yes, modern people do tend to bring their mobile phones everywhere with them, and if those people are Apple Store sales staff, they’re unlikely to not use an iPhone. Employees contacted CEO Tim Cook about the policy to complain, but that apparently didn’t go anywhere.

  This class action included only current and former Apple Store employees in California, but that still meant 12,000 plaintiffs. The judge turned the question of searches around on employees and instead asked why they need to bring a bag to work in the first place, writing:

  Rather than prohibiting employees from bringing bags and personal Apple devices into the store altogether, Apple took a milder approach to theft prevention and offered its employees the option to bring bags and personal Apple devices into a store subject to the condition that such items must be searched when they leave the store.

  The plaintiffs didn’t object to the searches, exactly, but did object to the time to perform them being taken out of their breaks and occurring off the clock, and to the inspections happening on the sales floor in front of customers.

  Apple Class Action Lawsuit Is Dismissed [Reuters]

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist