AllThingsD » Brookstone

Worries About Phishing Attacks Rise as Epsilon Data Breach Mess Goes On

Arik Hesseldahl — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:01:16 +0000

The collateral damage from the data breach of the email marketing firm Epsilon continues to spread.

I’ve just heard from someone who says they’ve received an email from Crucial.com, the Web retailer of computer memory owned by the chipmaker Micron, that data on its users was compromised. I’ve also heard form customers of Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Brookstone, 1-800-Flowers and the recruiting firm Robert Half International saying they’ve received similar emails.

However, now we’re getting into phase two of this mess. Whoever the original attackers are, they may be starting to carry out phishing attacks against the people whose information was taken from Epsilon. There’s been at least one report out of North Carolina of emails going to customers of a Chase Bank that aren’t really from that bank. Given that phishing attacks are a daily occurrence, however, it’s hard to specifically pin down this one as being related to the Epsilon breach. But the fact that it’s being mentioned at all indicates how much anxiety about phishing attacks has escalated in the days since the breach was disclosed.

It being the height of tax season, Intuit, maker of Turbotax, the most popular tax preparation software on the market, published a security alert to its customers today. Though it’s not an Epsilon customer, it said that–given that so many banks are among those affected–it thought it should offer some tips on how to detect a phishing attack and what to do and not do. Its advice bears repeating: When in doubt, don’t click on links in an email sent by a bank, retailer or other institution.

Meanwhile, shares in Epsilon’s parent company, Allied Data Systems, don’t seem to be feeling any further ill effects from all the negative attention. Its shares finished the day up 38 cents to close at $84.12, and the stock is up about 16 percent since the start of the year. The company was in damage control mode today, saying that it was working with federal authorities and outside computer forensics experts to investigate how the breach happened and who did it and to ensure that additional security measures are put in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

And even though Epsilon represented about 22 percent of Allied Data’s revenues last year, the company said that it expects the incident to have “minimal if any impact” on its overall financial performance for the foreseeable future, and that the breach affects only about two percent of Epsilon’s total client base. That may not sound like a large number, but when you consider that Epsilon has about 2,500 clients, and that two percent of that is 50 companies, most of them large, household name companies, it’s hard to minimize the number of people potentially affected. Allied Data’s biggest concern now, it says, is to regain the trust of its clients–that is, the companies on whose behalf it sends marketing email messages.

Exploring iStuff at CES With Mobilized (Video)

Ina Fried — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 01:14:59 +0000

With a little time left at the end of the Consumer Electronics Show, I finally had a break from private meetings, press conferences and onstage interviews. I used the time on Saturday morning to briefly tour a section of the massive show floor.

Given that I only had about an hour for my grand tour, I decided, in true Vegas style, to explore the first thing that came to me when I entered the show floor. Fortunately, since I cover mobile stuff, that turned out to be the iLounge-sponsored Apple area. It took me back to my early days of covering MacWorld Expo, back when it was an event Apple attended.

Some of the vendors were names I recognized, like Speck and Griffin and Mophie–companies that I had covered since their early days, companies that I had watched transformed from start-ups to serious players amid the explosion in the market for companion products to the iPod and, later, the iPhone.

There were also plenty of companies that I had never heard of, eager to find global distribution for ideas ranging from an iPod speaker resembling a gramophone to stickers that make the back of an iPad appear to be etched with a portrait of Barack Obama, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, among other famous faces.

There were also T-shirts, headphones, keyboard attachments and even a booth with a representative of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

My only purchase of the day came after I had left the show entirely, though. With some urging from BoomTown’s Kara Swisher, I splurged on Pinball Magic, an accessory that transforms an iPod Touch or iPhone into a pinball machine, which was on clearance for $25 at the Brookstone store in the Las Vegas airport.

Here’s a video look at some of what I found.

[ See post to watch video ]

A CES Long Shot: Meet the Beamz, Guitar Hero's Odd Cousin

Peter Kafka — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 12:00:52 +0000

Las Vegas is full of vaporware this week. Also, some mainstream gadgetry that’s almost certain to end up in real peoples’ hands.

But one of the little pleasures of the Consumer Electronics Show is checking out the quirky, weird stuff produced by small-time companies working off of a gut feeling. It’s possible that one of them might break through, but the odds are against them. Which makes you want to root for them that much more.

See, for instance, the Beamz: It’s a $199.95 cross between Guitar Hero and the theremin, the weird electronic instrument you play by waving your hands in the air. (It’s the thing that makes the “woo-ee-oo-woo-oo” sound in the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.”)

The gadget/game is produced by Beamz Interactive, a Scottsdale, Ariz., company that’s been at this for a couple of years and a couple of iterations. The first one sold a few thousand copies, but product management VP Al Ingallinera thinks the company has figured it out with this version, which it’s selling online via Amazon and in retail stores like Brookstone.

I’m not sure. But I did like monkeying about with the thing, and Ingallinera was kind enough to demo it for me while I shot some shakeycam footage.

[ See post to watch video ]

Meanwhile, if you’re at all interested in learning more about the theremin, you’re in luck. There’s a great 1994 documentary about the instrument. And YouTube is full of eccentric theremin clips. Like this one:

And this one, too!

A Home Base for iPod Hits

Katherine Boehret — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:01:00 +0000

(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)

Next time you get comfortable on the couch, remember that you’re relaxing in the consumer electronics battleground: the living room. Major tech companies are pouring resources into products they hope you’ll use to remotely receive your computer’s content — namely videos, music and photos — in a more comfortable place.

But while some of these complex solutions are still struggling to catch on, digital music marched steadily into the land of recliners long ago. IPods naturally plug into home stereos, multiplying music collections and bringing playlists to parties. And an industry of devices sprouted up specifically for playing iPods and other music players to a crowd.

This week, I tested a new version of one of these dock systems that specializes in wirelessly distributing music via small, cube-shaped speakers that can be spread throughout your house: the $300 Evolve speaker system from Griffin Technology Inc. (http://evolvespeakers.com). This setup offers a straightforward and stylish solution, delivering what I consider good quality sound.

Griffin Technology’s $299.99 Evolve is an affordable wireless speaker system.

Griffin’s attempt at claiming valuable real estate in the living room pits it against Sonos Inc., a high-end competitor that is already well-established in the wireless-music arena. Sonos sends digital tunes from your computers to up to 32 rooms using an attractive remote with a full-color screen. But this system starts at $1,000, not including speakers, and its computer-related set-up might intimidate potential buyers.

Closer competitors to Griffin’s Evolve can be found in Brookstone and Hammacher Schlemmer catalogs, where similar wireless speaker systems for the iPod are sold for $150 (on sale) and $400, respectively. Brookstone’s set-up includes small, spherical wireless speakers and Hammacher’s uses bulkier, rectangular-shaped wireless speakers with visible antenna.

I tested the Evolve system using my iPod touch and a first generation iPod nano bought in 2005. Both devices worked with the system, and the Evolve speakers connected wirelessly to the base station from up to 150 feet away on the digital 900MHz spectrum, which doesn’t interfere with Wi-Fi and works through walls and floors. Two speakers come with the system, each carrying a charge of 10 hours according to Griffin, though I got 11 in my tests.

Evolve has some downsides. While it’s great to know that its speakers work 150 feet away from the base station and iPod, they can only be controlled by the base station or by a remote control in view of the base station. So, if you and the speakers are in a room without the base station, you can’t see any information about the song that’s playing, nor can you adjust the volume. Each speaker does have its own power button.

And when I switched from my iPod touch to the iPod nano, the Evolve remote stopped working, and I couldn’t get the remote to work with my iPod touch again. Griffin acknowledged a bug that occurs with speaker systems when an iPod isn’t up to date with the latest firmware, which it wasn’t, and assured me that updating the device, unplugging and re-plugging the Evolve would fix the issue. These fixes didn’t help, nor did repairing the remote, and there wasn’t time for Griffin to send a new remote. I continued to use Evolve without the remote, but hope that other units won’t operate like mine.

Griffin’s Evolve base station seems to hover just inches off the ground and is made of a brushed aluminum. Left to right, it measures about 16 inches, and an iPod dock and three buttons mark the center of the base station. Two squat antenna stand behind this dock, and square wells on the left and right give the speakers a place to rest while charging. These wire-free charging wells are designed with overcharge/undercharge protection, so each speaker’s battery isn’t harmed by resting on the base station for a long period of time.

When the remote was working with my iPod touch, I navigated through songs from across the room, pausing and adjusting volume. I easily carried the speakers into my kitchen using handles built into the back of these cubes, and my roommate enjoyed listening to Amy Winehouse in stereo while she made dinner. But during the actual dinner, when we wanted to turn the volume down, we had to walk back to the living room where the base station was located while calling down the hall to one another to find out if the sound was low enough.

Hidden indicator lights in each speaker tell whether they’re charged or not; orange signifies a charge is needed, while green means you’re in the clear. A switch on the base station changes the speaker sound from mono (useful when listening to audio books) to stereo. Each speaker contains built-in technology that assigns it to automatically know if it’s right or left. To conserve battery, a speaker that’s turned on but isn’t playing music will turn off after 60 minutes.

I kept my speakers on for 11 hours straight before they pooped out, moving them to different floors and as far from the base station as possible — the signal stayed strong. In just two hours, the pair was recharged. I kept the volume pretty low for at least half the time my speakers were on, and Griffin says lower volumes conserve battery, and vice versa. I listened to all sorts of music, including hip-hop, jazz, country, rock and classical. I’m no audiophile, but to my ear, the Evolve handled each genre with aplomb.

All iPods (even the iPhone) work with Griffin’s Evolve, and this gadget will also work when connected to other MP3 players, stereos, TVs, and CD players, which could come in handy. In early March, Griffin will sell add-on speakers for $99 each with separate charging plates for $30 apiece; $200 bundles will include two speakers and two charging plates. There’s no limit to the number of speakers that you can add to a system.

Though Griffin’s Evolve lacks some of the luxuries that high-end systems have, it solves a problem with minimal effort on the user’s part, and looks good while doing it. If you don’t mind returning to the base station to make adjustments, and if your remote doesn’t stop working, you’ll enjoy this sleek and functional device.

Email mossbergsolution@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications:

Griffin Technology Inc.’s Evolve wireless sound system uses a remote that can control certain functions of the iPod, even when it is out of sight of the base station. This column erroneously implies that the remote must be in view of the system to work.