Evernote, today, reported that they detected and blocked suspicious activity on their network. As a precaution, they say, they’ve implemented a password reset for all users. When I first read about this, it sounded as if they had already reset your password and you would need to have it emailed to you. Instead, an email sent out instructed users to log in and change their passwords upon login.

What Happened?

Anything I say here would be purely speculation. However, attacks are often as simple as a SQL injection. This usually happens when a website takes user input (like a contact form or blog comment form) and does not properly run it through the ringer before adding it to a database. It’s more common than you think. For anyone interested in a more technical view of security vulnerabilities, check out OWASP’s Top 10 Project. In reality, any number of things could have let in a hacker and it’s too early to say for sure.

Should I Worry?

This is a two-part answer. First, your Evernote account is fine. According to Evernote, no data stored was lost or accessed (other than your credentials, of course). Just reset your password and you should be OK. Your other accounts, may not be, however. Take a look at the most important part of Evernote’s statement:

The investigation has shown, however, that the individual(s) responsible were able to gain access to Evernote user information, which includes usernames, email addresses associated with Evernote accounts, and encrypted passwords. Even though this information was accessed, the passwords stored by Evernote are protected by one-way encryption. (In technical terms, they are hashed and salted.)

This tells me that my username, email and encrypted password are out there in the hands of a hacker and because Evernote is a large service, it wouldn’t surprise me if a torrent file of this information shows up for download by anyone with an internet connection. “hashed and salted” means that, like they said, it’s one-way encryption. A hacker can try to encrypt a word using the same methods and see if it matches the blob of characters next to your username, but they can’t directly decrypt your password. This is important, but if your password was cracked, the hackers would now have a username/email/password combination to try on many other services. If I were that hacker, I would start with other cloud services, namely Apple’s. If you use the same username and password anywhere else, you should change your password there, too.

How To Protect Yourself

While websites and online services have legal and ethical obligations when it comes to storing your information, you should have some rules of your own.

Use a secure password that you can remember. The word “password” is sadly not only the most insecure password, but also the most popular. If it was easy for you to come up with and type in, it’s likely easier to crack. Don’t use your birthday, any word that can be found in a dictionary, or anything someone could guess with a little information about you.

Don’t write it down if you can help it. If I was in your house and wanted to get into your computer, the first place I would look is under your computer. Shockingly often, people just put their password on a sticky note and stick it to their monitor. The password is only as good as the user. Protect it like you’re protecting what it gets access to. If you wouldn’t leave your life’s savings on your desk, don’t put your password to it there, either.

Split up your passwords. This is a hard pill to swallow, but you absolutely should use a different password for each site. The cost is convenience, but the reward is not having every account you have hacked just because one site let your password get out. If this is too hard for you, use individual passwords for any site with finances, or sensitive information and another “global” password for the 150 other sites that are less critical.

Don’t just stick to one rule, either. I know from experience that thinking you’re doing so awesome with one rule (like having an incredibly hard to crack password) excuses you from the other rules is a good way to get hacked.

While most reviews are for products sent to me for review, this one is based on my experience purchasing a camcorder for use in creating future reviews. I had done a little research and locked myself into a budget of $200 or less. My purchase had to be for a camera that provided good quality video, storage options compatible with my existing media, sported a brand name I recognize and am comfortable with, and has decent optical zoom. I bought the Sony DCR-SX45 Handycam.

I purchased this video camera, tried it out, reviewed it, and eventually returned it. The return was ultimately my own fault for paying too little attention to specifications when making my purchase, but let’s take a look at the pros and cons over-all first and I’ll explain my personal decision at the end of this review.

Cons

I’m starting with the pitfalls of this camera because one of them ended up being the sole reason I couldn’t accept it as a permanent solution for my needs.

Standard Definition – This was the deal-breaker. In the end, I really need HD video to provide you with the best possible look at products that I’m reviewing, and standard definition just won’t do.

Unresponsive touchscreen – The touchscreen is a nice feature, but it’s the only way to acccess many of the other features and functionality and often it was not very responsive to my touch. It works, just not as well as I’d like.

No on-board memory – Not a big deal, but it’s a nice-to-have.

Pros

Despite the deal-breaker mentioned above, this camcorder included a bevy of features that were hard to overlook. They may not have been must-have features for me, but are certainly worth looking into when making a purchase decision.

70x optical zoom – It may be a little-used feature for me, but a great one when needed. And a must if you have kids in sports programs.

Small and lightweight – Unless you’re shooting serious professional video, there’s absolutely no reason to have a bulky video camera. Just over 8 ounces is perfect.

Image stabilization – The perfect cure for shaky hands and zoomed video.

Under $200 – I paid $200.34 at Wal-Mart and they had it for $149 when I returned it. Sony has them refurbished for $109, as well.

Automatic lens cover – This is a great little plus.

In-camera editing – I would likely rarely use it, but it could be very handy if you record for 10 minutes and want to trim down to just the minute you want to keep in order to make room for more video.

Spot meter and many other functions – There are too many features to note here and some not quite as noteworthy but this camcorder has plenty.

Review Video and Sample Video

Aside from going out and getting your hands on one, there’s no better way to check out the quality of a camcorder than to see the video for yourself. Below, I put together a short video showing some features and my thoughts on them and added in some comparison videos shot with the DCR-SX45 and my iPhone.

Where I Failed

I’m a big fan of researching an important purchase thoroughly before pulling the trigger. So how is it that I researched my purchase and still wound up returning it? I’m also impatient and want to get to playing with my new toy as soon as possible. This, combined with some oversight on my research and idealism in my budgeting puts me where I am today, cameraless and still shopping. My first mistake, and easily the most critical one was my lack of complete research because I was impatient. I’m pretty busy, so when I had a small window of time to go get my camera, I did it hastily and failed to realize that I was buying a Standard Definition video camera. How could a guy who reviews products on a technology blog make such a silly mistake? Don’t be impatient. Do your research and you’ll be fine.

My second mistake was a misguided budget. You can get some really good cameras for under $200, but looking back, I realized that to get the camera I really want and need, I will be in for $300 or more.

My final mistake was not trusting the signs I saw about the camera I was going to (and eventually did) buy. Even in my haste, I looked this camera up online. Not finding it on Sony’s website, I read a review on CNET (linked above) that even mentioned the soft video and lack of image quality. Despite the fact that Sony isn’t even marketing it on their site anymore and CNET pointed out the one trait I couldn’t live with, I let optimism convince me that I could get the ideal camera within my ideal budget. Be real with yourself and trust the expert opinions.

Conclusions

Although this camera may be unusable for my needs and is definitely not ideal for anyone wanting to produce crisp video, it is priced very well and apparently dropping as stores start to phase it out of their product offerings. The video quality actually seemed to improve when I zoomed in on items, making it a good candidate for anyone who will shoot a lot of video from a bit of a distance. You often do get what you pay for and this is a good camera for a budget price, but a bad choice for anyone picky about the quality of the video it records.

I’ve reviewed so many iPhone cases that go over the $20 mark (sometimes way over) that it’s nice to see one come in just under twenty bucks. I had to wonder if low cost meant a cheap product. Find out in this review of the Luvvitt Clearview iPhone 5 case.

To answer the first question right off the bat, let’s talk about the Clearview’s quality. It became apparent, right away, that the price for this case does not foreshadow an inferior product. This is no flimsy case. Instead, Luvvitt put together a classy case that uses a simple design paired with the iPhone 5′s inherent aesthetics to deliver a protective case that looks like a subtle fashion accessory for your phone. I created a video review, below, to show off the Clearview on my own iPhone.

I’ve seen (and owned) cases that are either completely clear, frosted, or completely opaque. They’re OK, and some even look good, but there’s just something about the shock resistant TPU edges in black, mixed with the perfectly clear scratch-resistant back that looks really good. It’s also not likely to crack like my last case if when I drop it. Getting the case on and off is a little more work because it’s designed to form a tight seal around the edges to keep dust from getting between your phone and the case. For $19.95, this case is a bargain.

Don’t have $19.95 to spend? No problem. Just enter the contest below and you might win the extra case Luvvitt kindly sent me to give to one lucky reader. Simply click an option and follow the instructions to enter. If your number of entries increases, you’re doing it right. Good luck!

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