via URL typos earn Google $497 million per year, study says | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com.
* Toyota is recalling 2.3 million vehicles in the United States because of the risk that the accelerator pedal could stick. The vehicles covered by the recall include the RAV4, Corolla, Matrix, Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Tundra and Sequoia. Consumers can check to see if their vehicle is covered by the recall at www.toyota.com/recall.
* Another 1.8 million Toyota vehicles in Europe, 270,000 in Canada and over 100,000 in U.S. dealer inventory are also at risk of developing a sticky accelerator and in line for repair, Toyota and industry sources say.
* Toyota dealers will begin receiving a part to fix the defective accelerators this week. The replacement part — a steel reinforcement bar — is designed to reduce friction in the accelerator and prevent sticking. U.S. consumers who have their vehicle repaired will be eligible to have a whole new accelerator installed when those parts are available.
* The repair job on the defective accelerators is expected to take less than an hour. The cost will be covered by Toyota. Dealers have said they expect to bill almost $100 per repair to the automaker. Many U.S. dealers said they were extending operating hours or would run repair shops overnight to fix defective vehicles once the fix arrives.
* In a separate safety action, Toyota is recalling nearly 5 million vehicles in the United States because of the risk that the accelerator pedal could become trapped by the floormat, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That recall covers late model versions of the Camry, Avalon, Prius, Tacoma, Tundra, Highlander, Corolla, Venza and Matrix. The Lexus ES350, IS250 and IS350 are also covered. Some vehicles are covered by both the floormat and accelerator recalls.
* Toyota has started to notify owners affected by the second recall that they can have their accelerator pedal shortened at a dealership. In addition, Toyota has said it will install a new brake override system on some recalled models. Owners who opt to do so can also have a new brake pedal installed sometime after April 2010.
* NHTSA says it has confirmed that five people — in two separate accidents — died in Toyota vehicles because the accelerator was trapped by a floormat. The U.S. regulatory agency said it has not confirmed any injuries or deaths because of the sticky accelerator issue.
* Safety Research and Strategies, a Massachusetts-based consultancy, says it has counted 2,262 incidents of apparent unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles since 1999. That total includes 815 crashes, 341 cases of injury and 19 deaths, according to the firm.
via FACTBOX – Key facts about Toyota safety recall | Business News | Reuters.
Phishers only need to land a minute percentage of victims to make scams worthwhile.
Stats culled from Trusteer’s anti-phishing browser plug-in, which is offered by banks to their clients as a transaction security add-on, revealed that 0.47 per cent of a bank’s customers fall victim to phishing attacks each year. The figure comes from the number of users who visited and attempted to enter data onto a known phishing site but escaped because they were using Trusteer’s Rapport browser security plug-in.
Half (45 per cent) of bank customers who are redirected towards a phishing site attempted to hand over their login credentials.
The overall response rate to phishing scams translates to between $2.4m-$9.4m in annual fraud losses (per one million online banking clients), according to Trusteer.
via One in 200 success rate keeps phishing economy ticking over • The Register.
via Book of Odds – Search Results.
via Black Friday shopping – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
via Random Facts.
- Resign from a commitment you’re not passionate about.
- Stop trying to be perfect.
- Implement a basic cleaning schedule.
- Sign up for automatic billpay.
- Automate a portion of your investing.
- Clean out your media collection and keep only the items you love.
- Plant perennials that will automatically bloom next spring.
- Clean out your purse or wallet.
- Put a paper shredder next to your mail spot.
- Winnow your wardrobe down to pieces that work together.
- Delete any social networking accounts you don’t actually use.
- Add your number to the do-not-call list.
- Create a car maintenance schedule and post it somewhere you’ll see it.
- Design a filing system that you can stick to.
- Start your day with a healthy meal.
- Turn your phone off when you need quiet time.
- Invest in a programmable thermostat.
- Set one good goal, and go achieve it.
- Record your good “shower” ideas and then implement them. (Don’t we all get our best inspirations in the shower?)
- Write to a friend with (gasp!) pen and paper.
- Set limits on your bad habits, and reward yourself when you stick with them.
- Stop trying to be a saint and indulge yourself every once in a while.
- Pay off your credit card debt.
- Avoid watching commercials and reading advertisements.
- Rediscover the pleasure of reading purely for enjoyment.
- Plan two weeks of delicious meals ahead of time and skip the nightly grocery run.
- Go to your doctor for a preventative checkup.
- Remember the joys of doing nothing.
- Singletask as much as possible.
- Learn to ask for help.
On Simplicity » 30 Ways to Make Your Life More Simple.