Thursday News: Change your Google Password NOW, Apple settlement notice to Amazon customers, RIP Graham Joyce, and Judge Judy gives away free ebook

JanetPublishing NewsAmazon / Apple / Ebooks / Fantasy / free books / Google / Graham Joyce / lawsuit / obituary / price-fixing / security4 Comments

PASSWORDS FOR 5 MILLION GOOGLE ACCOUNTS LEAKED – Although passwords have since been removed, and Google claims that most of the information is no longer current and valid, almost 5 million email addresses and passwords have been posted on a Russian Bitcoin forum site.

Concerned users can use this tool (h/t Lifehacker) to check if their information was leaked. Using it, an editor at Fast Company confirmed his email address was part of the cache, but the password listed was from several years ago. (Some readers said they were uneasy about handing over their email addresses. They can also run a search replacing up to three characters with asterisks–eg. john***123@gmail.com instead of johndoe123@gmail.com–to return the number of matching results.) In addition, users can turn on two-factor authentication to add a security layer when accessing accounts from new devices. –Fast Company

Amazon Customers Notified of Apple Settlement – Oh, it was just so clever of Apple to parcel out news of the settlement to Amazon customers while so much attention was on the announcement of its new products. The refunds to be issued under this settlement will not be limited to the purchase of digital books, but keep in mind that Judge Denise Cote still must approve the settlement terms, and Apple still has an appeal pending.

Those consumers who now wish to “opt out” of the settlement (that is, not to receive payments and to retain their legal right to sue) must do so by October 31. More importantly, however, that is also the date by which requests to receive a check rather than an account credit must be submitted, otherwise settlement funds will be issued as direct credits. –Publishers Weekly

We’ve Lost One Of The Great Fantasy Writers: R.I.P. Graham Joyce – A really lovely tribute to fantasy writer Graham Joyce, whose most recent book, The Ghost in the Electric Blue Suit, was published in the US a little more than a month ago. Joyce had written about his cancer in an incredibly poignant blog post last month, as well, noting that he was hoping for an experimental medication. He was only 59. 

It’s really hard to describe Joyce’s books, or categorize them under one single label. His work is generally described as “dark fantasy,” but he used genre trappings to tell different kinds of stories. At the same time, his books often seemed to feature a kind of magic that’s lived in and a bit worn down, not showy or dazzling. His best stuff often deals with families, and the uncomfortable intimacy that comes with blood relatives. And the moments when private strangeness suddenly becomes public. –i09

What Would Judy Say: Be the Hero of Your Own Story – As a shameless fan of television court shows, I have to share with you that the inimitable Judge Judy is giving away her most recent book: What Would Judy Say: Be the Hero of Your Own Story. The download contains epub, mobi, and pdf versions of the book. She describes the project as follows:

In this book I want to have an honest conversation with women about what it really takes to get what you deserve out of life: how to define your worth and stick to it; how to find the courage to take risks–and how to build your backup plan; yow to ignore the chattering classes (and the fearmongers) and create your own destiny. –What Would Judy Say

Janet

isn't sure if she's an average Romance reader, or even an average reader, but a reader she is, enjoying everything from literary fiction to philosophy to history to poetry. Historical Romance was her first love within the genre, but she's fickle and easily seduced by the promise of a good read. She approaches every book with the same hope: that she will be filled from the inside out with something awesome that she didnʼt know, didnʼt think about, or didnʼt feel until that moment. And she's always looking for the next mind-blowing read, so feel free to share any suggestions!

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