A Cautionary Tale

I had the misfortune to have my email hacked last week. All of my contacts--work, family, friends--received emails from me assuring them that I had the secret to instant wealth.

Those who knew me well figured out right away that it wasn't from me. They knew I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to achieve instant wealth.

As a result of the hack my account was "cleared" and I was required to jump through many hoops in an effort to reestablish my identity, reset my password, and reclaim my account. Unfortunately, the many hoops led to many dead ends. I finally gave up and opened a new account with a different email provider.

All well and good, except that it has required me to rebuild my contact list from the ground up. That's not impossible, but it is certainly a pain.

So here's a simple recommendation: print out or save a copy of your contact list on a regular basis. Seems so simple. I will do it now. Wish I had done it before. (I bet all of you have always done that, and I'm the only poor sod who didn't.)

It goes to show that technology, too, is shifting sand. And it's good to be reminded that the things that provide the solid rock on which we stand--the people we love and the natural world--don't need to be plugged in, and don't depend on "servers" or "providers." They are by their nature servers and providers.

It makes all these idealized images of snowy retreats very attractive. I figure not one of them has internet access. Nice.