Current Events in April 2014

You don't necessarily think of Amazon as a hardware manufacturer, even though it has made and sold millions of Kindles, Kindle Fires and other e-readers and tablets.

Not to mention the Amazon Fire TV, the company's new set-top box. And soon, if industry gossip and leaked reports are accurate, there'll be an Amazon smartphone.

The Wall Street Journal says today that the phone is expected to be publicly introduced in June and to begin shipping in late September, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

It may be a little hard to see how the world needs yet another smartphone but the Journal says Amazon is trying to get out ahead of the pack with some spiffy new features -- including a 3-D effect that's achieved with four front-facing cameras.

The cameras track the movement of your retina and adjusts the image accordingly, making it seem to hover in front of your, sort of like a hologram.

Magic wand

Amazon is also said to be developing a wand-like device that would let you scan the barcode on grocery products that you want to order. They would then show up on your doorstep in a day or two. 

The idea is that, as the peanut butter jar starts becoming transparent, you swipe the wand across the bar code. That's it -- nothing else required.

Fire TV installation

As for Fire TV, we ordered one and hooked it up last week. As Amazon promises, our account was pre-loaded. We didn't have to type in our Amazon user ID or password and, somewhat puzzlingly, it also knew our Netflix ID. 

However, there was nothing quick about the installation. The box kept downloading updates and rebooting itself in a seemingly endless loop for about 15 minutes, which put us on edge as we were dying to get to the latest episode of "Extreme Cheapskates."

You would think that if Amazon takes the trouble to detect and load individual IDs and passwords when someone orders a Fire that it would also take a few seconds to flash the latest software updates, but apparently not.

Because of other consumerism emergencies, we didn't have much time to experiment with the voice commands but the few we tried worked perfectly. We found episodes of "True Detective" with no difficulty.

Reverse phone book

Some reviews have faulted the voice recognition for working only with Amazon titles, which may be true. But a fairer comparison would be to stack it up against the horrible Verizon FiOS DVR controls, which are about as elegant as a reverse phone directory.

True to their roots, which extend back to the telegraph days, the phone and cable companies use the oldest methodologies they can find, forcing customers to click through endless directory trees to find the program they're looking for -- a stupid system only the Dilberts could love.  

The old-school providers are also shameless in hawking their movie and on-demand rentals while customers search feverishly for the same titles that are usually available for no charge or a nominal charge on Amazon, Netflix and other new-generation networks.

Most consumers would probably be quite happy to do all of their viewing with a system as simple as those provided by Roku, Amazon, Google Chromecast and Apple TV. One of these days a major "content provider," to use the current moronic description, will tell the cable giants to get lost and cast their lot with the upstarts.

Or they can mimic daily newspapers, which sat calmly back and watched the Internet eat their business model. 

Consumers planning to visit Europe this summer are no doubt busy making their plans. One of the priorities in trip-planning should be booking airfare, which most likely will be the most expensive part of the trip.

CheapAir.com, an airfare booking site, has completed an analysis of Transatlantic fares and found several ways consumers can save money.

Jeff Klee, CEO of CheapAir.com, says the company looked at over 190 million fares, covering 75 origin cities and 29 destination cities across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

“Summer travel to Europe stood out as one of the few types of tickets that, the sooner you buy it the better,” Klee told ConsumerAffairs. “That differs from domestic flights, where the worst thing you can do is buy too late but the second worst thing you can do is buy too early.”

Time is money

That means if you haven't already booked a flight you shouldn't wait much longer. Klee says the company's analysis found the cheapest fares were to be found when you booked 319 days in advance.

When you visit Europe will also make a difference in the price you pay for airfare. Airlines only set aside a small number of low fares per flight. Picking a time when fewer people are traveling means you have a better chance of snagging a low fare.

“Late summer tends to be the least expensive and the early summer is close behind,” Klee said. “Right in the middle of summer is the peak of the travel season and will have the highest fares.”

Pick the right travel days

Just as on domestic flights, travel days are important. Some are more expensive than others.

In the U.S., for example, traveling on a Saturday will usually save you money. Not so if you're traveling to Europe. Weekends tend to be more expensive days.

“A lot of times, when you're planning a trip, if you want to go for a week or two, the natural thinking is to start the trip on a Saturday,” Klee said. “But if you can go Wednesday to Wednesday you can often save a good amount of money.”

That's because Tuesdays and Wednesdays generally offer the lowest Transatlantic fares.

“If you can be flexible in your travel, check a bunch of different dates,” Klee said. “It's very common that there is one day in a given week that's much cheaper than the rest, because there's a certain low fare that's sold out on most days but happens to be available on one day. You'd be surprised how much a fare could fluctuate from one day to the next.”

Cheap destinations

Finally, where you land will be important to your budget. In years past, London was the most affordable destination. Klee says that's no longer the case.

“Right now the least expensive city is Dublin,” he said. “I think Aer Lingus has a lot to do with that. They have some pretty low fares that other airlines have matched.”

The second cheapest destination is Moscow. In fact, Klee says you can fly to Moscow with stops in London or Paris and it would be cheaper than flying directly to those cities.

Jumping off place

If Dublin isn't on your itinerary, you might consider flying to Ireland, then picking up a discount fare to your destination on the Continent.

“Sometimes that does work,” Klee said. “There are a number of low-fare carriers in Europe that have incredibly low fares. They're kind of like Spirit Air in the U.S.”

Popular travel destinations aren't necessarily going to have higher air fares because that popularity means there will be more flights to choose from. But you might find an unexpected bargain to a popular country – likely Italy, for instance.

“Milan is a city where fares have really fallen this year. Milan tends to be a lot less expensive than Rome or Venice.”

If you’re going to visit multiple countries, pick where to begin and end based on the cheapest international fares. You can usually fly into one city and out of another without paying a penalty for doing so.

He who hesitates pays full fare

And if you happen to come across a killer deal, Klee advises to not hesitate for a second.

“Never assume you have time to talk it over with your family or friends,” he said. “Be ready to pull the trigger if you find something good.”

A class action lawsuit claims that ExxonMobil's Baton Rouge refinery put out 5 million gallons of "atypical" gasoline that has damaged as many as 250,000 vehicles, mostly in southern Louisiana.

Lead plaintiff James Smith says he bought the allegedly defective gas in March and soon had troubled starting his car. He said the bad gas damaged his engine and has hurt the resale value of his car.

The lawsuit claims that Exxon has admitted selling 120,000 barrels of contaminated or improperly mixed fuel and has even apologized to consumers but has not offered any compensation for damages. The company has also not released specific locations where the defective gas was sold, making it difficult for consumers to know if their cars were affected, the suit alleges, according to Courthouse News Service.

ExxonMobil says its representatives "are fully committed to working with our customers and motorists to honor all valid claims swiftly and effectively," the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported. Company spokeswoman Stephanie Cargile said Exxon has "already begun reimbursing claimants."

ExxonMobil suggests motorists with concerns or questions regarding fuel they may have purchased in the Baton Rouge area call its customer service number -- 855.300.2659.

Exxon closed its Baton Rouge terminals on in late March after reports of problems with the gas and reopened them on April 3, the newspaper said.

False advertising

Smith also claims Exxon made false promises about the quality of its "Top Tier Detergent Gasoline."

"The fuel sold by Exxon not only failed to meet the standards promised by its advertising, but the fuel actively harmed vital engine parts and rendered the engine inoperable, or in a diminished functional capacity. This diminished functional capacity includes the reduced engine performance Exxon warned could happen if customers used 'lower quality gasoline,'" according to the complaint.

The weather may not have been spring-like, but shoppers attitudes sure were.

The government reports retail sales jumped 1.1% in March, following a revised increase of 0.7% the month before. That was the sharpest increase since September 2012, and up 3.8% from the same month last year.

That's a good sign for the economy as consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of economic growth.

Car sales power ahead

A 3.1% increase in auto sales helped push overall retail sales higher. But even when that sector is stripped out, sales were up 0.7%. Other areas of strength included nonstore retailers (+1.7%), restaurants and bars (+1.1%) and clothing and clothing accessories stores (+1.0%)

Sales declines were posted in gasoline stations (-1.3%), electronics and appliance stores (-1.6%) and miscellaneous retailers (-1.3%).

Is this a trend?

Stern Agee Chief Economist Lindsey M. Piegza says the March number is welcome, but that the "rebound" is not likely to continue. According to Piegza, consumers were busy spending elsewhere from December to February, most notably on healthcare services and utilities, cutting back on goods consumption for service purchases.

This, she says is "hardly a trend of across-the-board growth in consumption indicative of a strong consumer, with goods purchases on the rise, service spending is then likely to proportionately suffer on the flip side."

The full March report is available on the Census Bureau website

Volkswagen Group of America is recalling 150,201 model year 2012-2013 Passat vehicles manufactured January 2011, through November 2012.

The low beam headlight bulb in the affected vehicles may become loose and lose electrical contact.

A loss of low beam headlights may reduce the driver's visibility and increase the risk of a crash.

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the bulb holder, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in May 2014.

Owners may contact Volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen’s recall number associated with this campaign is 94G8/7V.

Ford Motor Company is recalling 43,135 model year 2013-2014 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured August 15, 2012, through September 10, 2013; 2013-2014 Ford Escape vehicles manufactured June 5, 2012, through August 12, 2013; and 2013-2014 Ford C-Max vehicles manufactured from July 23, 2012, through May 28, 2013.

The driver and passenger seatback assemblies may have been produced with sub-standard weld joints used to attach the seat back recliner mechanism to the seat frame.

The back of the subject seats may become loose or lean while driving and potentially increase the risk of injury in certain crashes.

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seatback, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin around May 19, 2014.

Owners may contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14C03.

In the next week 2.6 million owners of General Motors (GM)vehicles will start receiving their official recall notices in the mail for a faulty ignition switch.

At the same time 1.3 million Toyota owners in the U.S. will soon be getting recall notices for safety issues, ranging from air bags to windshield wipers.

What happens next is up to the consumers.

What's supposed to happen is this: the owners take their cars to dealers, where the repairs to address the recall issues will be performed at no charge.

But unless the owners follow through, the whole point of the recall – removing safety threats from the nation's highways – is lost. It's like continuing to operate a Windows XP computer after XP support has ended -- it endangers everyone.

No action

Unfortunately, some recall notices are never acted upon. Automotive website Edmunds.com recently reported that a 2009 GM recall prompted by auto engine fires did not completely quell the flames.

Three years after the recall notices had been sent out, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received nearly as many reports of engine fires as it had before the recall.

Checking the ConsumerAffairs complaint database, we see that this issue still seems to be out there.

“My daughter's Chevy Silverado pickup truck caught on fire in the front yard, destroying the truck, her brand-new Toyota Camry, and melted siding on the house next to them,” Susan, of Tucson, Ariz., wrote in a January 2014 ConsumerAffairs post.

Could have been unaware

If Susan's daughter's vehicle was, indeed, an unrepaired recall vehicle, the incident might not have been her fault. She might not have even seen the recall notice.

Recall notices are sent to the owners of record. Sometimes that information is correct, sometimes it isn't.

Another complicating factor is when the owner of record is no longer the owner. The used car market in the U.S. is huge, and if a consumer sells their vehicle without responding to the recall notice, the buyer is usually unaware.

Sometimes, consumers simply ignore the notice, mistaking it for an advertisement. In February, the feds required automakers to use a prominent label on recall notices, in hopes consumers will pay more attention to them.

Online buyer beware

Carfax, an automotive data provider, reports that in 2013 there were 3.5 million used cars for sale online with an open, or unrepaired, recall.

"Open recalls are still a major public safety issue," said Larry Gamache, a Carfax spokesman. "In fact, our research indicates that more than one in ten used cars for sale online has an open recall. It's another reminder that consumers, especially those shopping online, need to know as much as possible about a used car before they buy. This includes if an open recall or other potentially dangerous issue exists.”

According to the Carfax report, Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Ohio had the most recalled cars for sale online last year, accounting for one-third of the total.

New online tool

What's a used car buyer to do? NHTSA is requiring automotive manufacturers to provide a free online tool that will allow consumers to search recall information by Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

Consumers will be able to use the tool to instantly see whether the car they own, or are considering buying, has an open recall. NHTSA says some automakers have already complied. The rest have until August 14, 2014.

To access databases of companies that have already complied, click here.

In the case of the latest GM recall, it may be critically important for drivers to check this database. Since the issue goes back several years, chances are affected vehicles have changed hands a number of times.

Promoters of electronic cigarettes have been claiming that inhaling the vapor from e-cigs is less harmful than smoking traditional cigarettes made from tobacco.

It sounds good but is it true? Maybe not.

A new study published in the academic journal Clinical Cancer Research finds that the vapor from e-cigarettes damages human cells in much the same way as the smoke from traditional cigarettes.

Scientists at Boston University grew a batch of human bronchial cells in the presence of e-cig vapor and another batch in the presence of tobacco smoke. The result: the two batches of cells showed similar patterns of gene expression, which can cause the mutations that lead to cancer.

Lead researcher Avrum Spira, M.D., said that while e-cigs may be safer than tobacco, "our preliminary studies suggest that they may not be benign." He said more research is needed.

"New route to ... addiction"

It's hardly the study to find potential problems with e-cigs. In March, a University of California San Francisco study found that e-cigs may be a new route to conventional smoking and nicotine addiction.

UCSF researchers found that adolescents who used the devices were more likely to smoke cigarettes and less likely to quit smoking. The study of nearly 40,000 youth around the country also found that e-cigarette use among middle and high school students doubled between 2011 and 2012, from 3.1 percent to 6.5 percent.

"Despite claims that e-cigarettes are helping people quit smoking, we found that e-cigarettes were associated with more, not less, cigarette smoking among adolescents,” said lead author Lauren Dutra, a postdoctoral fellow at the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education.

“E-cigarettes are likely to be gateway devices for nicotine addiction among youth, opening up a whole new market for tobacco,” she said.

Poison control

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report finding a huge increase in the number of calls to poison centers involving e-cigarette liquids containing nicotine.

A CDC study published in the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report says calls shot up from 1 per month in September 2010 to 215 per month this past February. And, the report says, the number of calls per month involving conventional cigarettes did not show a similar increase during the same time period.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) called the increase in poisoning cases "alarming" and said the report "should serve as a wake-up call to the American people that it is time for the FTC and the FDA to regulate these products to help prevent more tragedies."

"I am particularly concerned that many e-cigarettes are packaged in bright colors and flavored to smell like candy or fruit, which puts children at higher risk of poisoning," Boxer said.

Though the Heartbleed software bug remains a serious threat to online security, some tech-security experts are saying it might not be as bad as originally feared though, as always, other experts disagree.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council this week told banks and other financial institutions to make sure they and their customers are protected against the Heartbleed security hole, specifically by “incorporat[ing] patches on systems and services, applications, and appliances using OpenSSL, and upgrad[ing] systems as soon as possible to address the vulnerability.”

However, most banks responded by saying they and their accounts were never at risk in the first place, since they don't use Open SSL anyway.

American Banker reported that Bank Technology News tested the websites of various banks with a “Heartbleed bug checker” and determined that, of the tested sites, only Citigroup's was deemed “Possibly Unsafe,” due to potential use of OpenSSL encryption.

The bug has been found in routers and other Internet hardware made by Cisco and Juniper Systems, leaving open the possibility that hackers could steal any information passed along those systems; it's possible such compromised hardware will have to be replaced rather than merely patched.

Possible good news

On the other hand, there's possible good news from CloudFlare, the content-distribution network which first discovered the Heartbleed bug.

When news of Heartbleed first came out, security experts worried about a worst-case scenario wherein the bug might give hackers the private SSL keys of various websites. If that happened, those websites would remain vulnerable for months or even years after the initial Heartbleed security holes were patched.

However (as of Friday afternoon), it appears that private SSL keys are safe.

CloudFlare put up a new “Heartbleed Challenge” website (unconnected to its regular servers), deliberately designed to be vulnerable to Heartbleed. The challenge asks visitors “Can you steal the keys from this server” and as of Friday afternoon the answer remains “no.”

Each month thousands of consumers buy a home for the first time. In February, 28% of existing home sales were to first-time home buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Before taking that step from renter to homeowner, there's a lot to consider. The first is whether it actually makes sense to stop renting and start owning.

Depending on a wide set of variables, it might be more cost effective to rent than to own. But in recent years, the variables – in many housing markets at least – have swung toward ownership.

Interest rates remain near historic lows, making monthly mortgage payments more affordable. Because tougher mortgage restrictions have shut many people out of the housing market, there has been more demand for rentals, making renting expensive by comparison.

Rent vs. mortgage

But that's not a given, so some analysis of rent vs. mortgage is required.

"Your first focus, no doubt, will be on those new mortgage payments, and reworking your monthly budget to carve out the needed funds," said Eleanor Blayney, Consumer Advocate for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board).

It's likely that those mortgage payments – which include taxes and insurance -- will be more than what you are currently paying for rent, but these days that isn't always the case. Even if the monthly payment is lower, you have to consider other costs too.

Since the housing crash it has been fashionable to say that “your house is not an investment,” but Blayney sees it differently.

A real asset

“A home is a real asset that requires attention from you, its new owner," she said.

And that means more than attention to maintenance chores – although that's a big part of it. It also means spending the money required to keep your home up to standards.

Blayney says you should prepare for this as soon as you move in. She suggests setting up a "repair" account and funding it monthly. Once you get settled, get the names of some reputable contractors who do good work at reasonable costs.

Insurance

Insurance is another consideration. You may have had renters insurance before, which covered your personal belongings and didn't cost very much.

Homeowners insurance is more comprehensive and comes with more options, exclusions and deductibles. Policies differ with respect to the types of damage they cover, such as whether they include what's inside your home and the monetary benefit you would receive if your home is destroyed.

Things you don't need to concern yourself with are mortgage insurance and bimonthly payment plans. Blayney says some mortgage servicers will offer these as options but they seldom make sense.

She says mortgage insurance only makes sense it you cannot qualify for traditional life insurance because of health issues.

And why lock yourself into a bimonthly payment plan – which will pay down the debt faster – when you can make additional principal payments anytime your budget allows?

Financing

Financing your first home may be the trickiest issue of all. As stated earlier, mortgage restrictions have been tightened since the housing crisis.

Lenders look for good credit scores, stable employment and a sizable downpayment – usually 20%. That last requirement can be a tall order for young, first-time buyers.

That's why the FHA loan program may be the way to go. When FHA insures the loan lenders are more lenient. Credit scores don't have to be quite as high and, more importantly, buyers can put as little as 3.5% down.

On a $150,000 home that's a difference of having to come up with $30,000 (20%) or $5,250 (3.5%). You can learn about the FHA's loan requirements here.

As of mid-Friday the number of states whose attorneys general have joined the multi-state investigation into the massive Experian data breach is four: less than a week after Illinois and Connecticut started the investigation, Iowa and North Carolina signed on.

This number is likely to grow but in the meantime, pretty much all Americans (not just residents of those four states) need to give their finances a level of scrutiny which, in their grandparents' day, probably would've indicated an unhealthy level of obsessiveness.

For example: if you have a credit, debit or prepaid card, you already know to carefully scrutinize every line item on your bill at the end of each month, to detect any fraudulent charges. (Pay special attention to minor charges; many successful credit-card scammers manage to operate undetected for a long time by posting small, random-sounding amounts — $7.22, $2.97, $3.34 — which credit card holders are most likely to mistake for legitimate purchases.)

Check it daily

But in light of the Experian data breach, you should check your card balance and account activity every day, whether you've used it recently or not.

The nasty irony is that before last October, when news of the Experian breach first broke, anytime you'd read an article on the theme “Hackers entered a database with your info on it; here's how to protect yourself from identity theft,” it almost always advised you to protect yourself by contacting one of the three major credit-monitoring agencies, including Experian. So there's an undetermined number of Americans out there who, in trying to protect themselves from identity theft, wound up victims of it instead.

And there's not much you can do to protect yourself; once a company or organization puts your information into its database, you have little to no control over they do with it afterwards.

If your identity is stolen (an entirely different matter from credit card fraud), chances are you'll discover it at an extremely inconvenient time – say, when you trying filing your tax return and the IRS tells you somebody already filed your taxes (or collected your refund) for you.

Or you apply for a loan — mortgage, car, credit card — and discover that someone already took out one or more loans in your name, and hasn't repaid a single one.

Good news, bad news

The good news is that you are not expected to repay these fraudulent debts in your name. (Although you might not want to think too hard about the implications of that statement: “I never applied for any loans, I had no part in them, said loans were entirely the screwup of financial entities vastly richer and more powerful than I am—and the 'good news' is, I'm not on the hook to pay for their mistakes?”)

The bad news is that, while you need not spend money, you will have to spend a lot of time straightening out the whole mess, what with collecting paperwork, making phone calls, filing police reports and so forth. Meanwhile, the company or companies whose carelessness inflicted these problems on you is not obligated to compensate you for your time and aggravation.

“Protect yourself from identity theft” is basically another way of saying “Protect yourself from the negligence of others, for you have little recourse otherwise.”

The taxi wars have come to Texas, and -- in the spirit of the Alamo -- cabbies in Houston and San Antonio are trying to mount a last stand. They've filed suit in federal court seeking an injunction against the unlicensed upstarts.

Uber and Lyft are ride-sharing apps that skirt the licensing requirements that nearly all cities impose on cabs, limos, liveries, jitneys and other commercial people-haulers.

Uber connects would-be riders with drivers who charge a fee. Lyft connects people with drivers who take "donations." Uber and Lyft get their money upfront, taking a percentage of each transaction while claiming that they are just the middleman and have no responsibility for ensuring the safety, cleanliness, courtesy, etc., of the free-lance drivers.

This sleight-of-hand has not gone over any better in Texas than anywhere else so far. Local news reports say Houston police have been ticketing the Uber and Lyft drivers when they can find them. That's not easy to do, of course, since they drive their own, unmarked cars, although some Lyft drivers put a pink mustache on their car when the spirit moves them.

Skirting the law

Hoping to drive the invaders from their turf, the cabbies are fighting back, filing for an injunction in U.S. District Court. Lead plaintiff Dawit Sahle operates Adulis Cab Co. in Houston.

Sahle's suit claims the app providers are trying to skirt licensing requirements for cab drivers by holding themselves out as "ridesharing" services, Courthouse News Service reported.

"The defendants seem to think that by self-designating their operations as
'Ridesharing' they are somehow precluded from regulation, and further, that they may convince unsuspecting consumers that they are something they are not," the complaint states. "In reality, the defendants are offering on-demand transportation services for compensation and subject to all the same regulations as the plaintiffs."

Sahle says the companies mislead consumers about the legality of their services.

"When asked directly about their approval status, Uber is dishonest towards consumers about their illegal transportation service, instead giving misleading responses like 'We're Here!'" the complaint states.

Uber and Lyft also benefit unfairly from not paying permitting fees required of licensed cab and limo drivers, Sahle says.

"By operating illegally with non-permitted vehicles, the defendants are skirting applicable regulations and paying zero dollars in permit fees to San Antonio and Houston," the complaint states.

Consumers traveling on the nation’s largest airlines in February had a better chance of reaching their destinations on time than they did in January.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Air Travel Consumer Report, carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 70.7%. That's better than the 67.7% rate in January, but worse than the 79.6% on-time rate posted a year earlier.

Even better, you didn't have to hang around waiting for your flight to take off. Airlines reported no tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights and no delays of more than four hours on international flights during the month.

More information

The consumer report, which is available on the DOT website, also includes information on cancellations, chronically delayed flights, and the causes of flight delays.

Data on mishandled baggage reports filed by consumers and airline service complaints including incidents involving the loss, death, or injury of pets traveling by air are also in the report.   

Toyota is recalling 472,388 model year 2006-2010 Yaris vehicles manufactured August 22, 2005, through May 12, 2010, and 2008-2010 Scion xD vehicles manufactured April 4, 2007, through May 12, 2010.

In the affected vehicles, the springs used for the seat rails on the driver's seat and the seat rails of the front passenger seat of three-door models may break, preventing the seat from locking in position. In the event of a vehicle crash, the seat could move increasing the risk of injury to the occupant.

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat rail, and replace it with a new one, if necessary, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule.

Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

General Motors is recalling 2,191,014 model year 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2006-2011 Chevrolet HHR, 2007-2010 Pontiac G5, 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice, 2003-2007 Saturn Ion, and 2007-2010 Saturn Sky vehicles.

In the affected vehicles, the key can be removed when the ignition is not in the "Off" position. If that occurs, the vehicle could roll away:

• for an automatic transmission, if the transmission is not in the "Park" position; or
• for a manual transmission, if the parking brake is not engaged and the transmission is not in the "Reverse" position.

This potential for roll-away increases the risk for a crash and occupant or pedestrian injuries.

Until a vehicle has been remedied, owners and operators are advised that when exiting, to be sure that the vehicle is in "Park," or in the case of a manual transmission, that the vehicle is in the "Reverse" position and the parking brake is engaged

GM will notify owners, and for vehicles that were built with the defective ignition cylinder and have not previously had the ignition cylinder replaced with the redesigned part, dealers will replace the ignition cylinder and cut and -- if necessary -- re-learn two ignition/door keys for each vehicle.

For vehicles that were built with the redesigned ignition cylinder or had the ignition cylinder replaced with the redesigned part, dealers will cut and -- if necessary -- re-learn two ignition/door keys for each vehicle.

The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule.

Chevrolet owners may contact GM at 1-800-222-1020, Pontiac owners at 1-800-762-2737, and Saturn owners at 1-800-553-6000.

GM's number for this recall is 14113 for the ignition lock cylinder and key replacement, and 14133 for only key replacements.  

Fernandez Chile Company Inc of Alamosa, Colo., is recalling 4-oz Chile Molido Puro UPC code 77601-10011 and 6-oz Chile Rojo UPC code 77601-10053.

The products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

The recalled products were distributed to King Soopers, Safeway, City Market and various independent grocers in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona and California.

• The 4-oz Chile Molido Puro UPC code 77601-10011 comes in a clear plastic bag marked with an expiration of 01 2017 on the back.
• The 6-oz Chile Rojo UPC code 77601-10053 comes in a clear plastic bag marked with an expiration 02 2017 on the back.

Consumers who have purchased these products should return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact Blair Fernandez at Fernandez Chile Company at 719-589-6043 Monday - Thursday 8:00am - 5:00pm MDT

Swanson Health Products of Fargo, N.D., is recalling Swanson Premium Brand Full Spectrum Cilantro (Coriander), item number SW1112.

The product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this recall.

The product was sold between November 21, 2013, and January 31, 2014, at the Swanson Health Products retail store in Fargo, shipped directly to online or mail-order consumers, or held for pick up by the consumer at Swanson Health Products headquarters.

The lot numbers of Swanson Premium Brand Full Spectrum Cilantro (Coriander) included in this recall are 203921 and 204888, with a manufacturing date of 11/2013.

The lot number and manufacturing date can be found on the label near the UPC code.

Consumers in possession of the recalled product may return it to Swanson Health Products headquarters in Fargo, North Dakota.

Consumers or media with questions may call (800) 451-9304 (Monday–Friday, 8:00 am–5:00 pm CDT).  

Nary a week goes by anymore without this website (and every other news source out there) publishing yet another article on the theme “Hackers access database; steal umpty-million peoples' confidential information.”

Only the names change: watch out if you carry this brand of credit, debit or prepaid card, or shopped at that  store, or use this  email provider or registered with that state's DMV....

But for all these stories, at least, there are some people who can say “I needn't worry, since I don't carry this credit card, shop at that store or drive in the state over there.”

Worse are the security failures affecting – well, pretty much everybody. For example: are you one of the 200 million Americans whose personal information was on the database Experian made accessible to Vietnamese identity thieves? There's no way yet of knowing for certain, but some quick number-crunching suggests five out of six American adults potentially had their data compromised.

And if you're wondering “Am I at risk due to the recent 'heartbleed' flaw in the 'Heartbeat' software which, in theory, was supposed to make websites secure enough to handle my super-sensitive confidential information?', the answer appears to be “Not sure but probably, if you've engaged in any sort of 'secure' online activity (possibly except via Google; some experts say that 'heartbleed' isn't leaking data out of any Google servers, although others differ. Even so, it's not remotely synonymous with saying “Google is guaranteed secure, now and forever”; it only means “Google's safe for now — so far as anyone knows”).”

What to do

Meanwhile — assuming you're just an everyday computer user, rather than some brilliant IT-security computer genius — what should you do to protect yourself and your data from heartbleed, which has been dubbed “the most dangerous security flaw on the web”?

For starters, take a break from any potentially affected online activities—don't do anything requiring a sign-in through “secure” SSL/TSL encryption, until the security hole is patched.

What else? Hackers might have your passwords — should you change them now? Experts disagree; for every tech writer urging you in good faith to change your passwords right away (alongside advice on how to create a “strong” password), there's others who say “No, wait, don't change anything until after the flaw has been patched; otherwise identity thieves will just be able to get your new passwords, too.”

Face it: if you participate in modern mainstream American life, you're at risk of being hacked because it's just not possible to keep your info out of every hackable database out there. If you have email, you're at risk of it being hacked. Pay taxes, and you're listed in city, state and federal government taxpayer databases in addition to Social Security.

If you're a legally licensed driver or registered car owner, there's databases for each one. Your bank accounts, insurance policies, current or former student or mortgage loans … hackable, hackable, hackable. If you've so much as bought over-the-counter cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine, you had to register with the federal government (and you'd better hope their stuffy-nose database isn't on one of the federal computers still using the old Microsoft XP operating system, no longer protected against new malware or hacker threats).

Avoid unnecessary risk

That said, while you can't keep yourself out of every database, you can avoid many unnecessary ones. For example: a couple of days ago I wrote an article offering tips on how to dig your way out of credit card debt and build up an emergency savings fund, and recommended buying things with cash rather than credit, primarily to save money on interest charges, finance fees and the like, but also because credit cards make it too easy to spend more than you'd intended.

What I didn't mention is that I personally kept right on spending cash, even after paying off my debts and piling up a security cushion, partly for temptation-avoidance reasons but mainly because I don't trust my personal financial security to the combined IT competence of every single business I patronize. That policy's paid off for me numerous times already: I've shopped at many stores mentioned in various “stolen customer credit card info” articles; I just never had to care because I always paid in cash.

Some transactions do require credit cards, though; if you need to rent a car or a hotel room, they'll likely want your credit card number first. You can't stay out of all databases.

Offline banking

On a related note, I've never signed up for online banking, partly because spending cash entails periodic bank visits to deposit rolled coins anyway (Coinstar-type machines take a percentage of your coins' total value; depositing coins in a savings account lets you keep the full 100%). But also (as I explain to the tellers every time I visit and they urge me to sign up for online banking), though I'm pretty sure my home computer is free of keylogging software and other malware infections, I'm not willing to bet my life's savings on it.

That said: I do manage my infinitesimal stock portfolio online, since I've no equally good offline options available. I also engage in online shopping —with accounts set up exclusively for that, and completely unconnected to my bank savings or any other assets.

But I'll admit: keeping out of optional databases puts you at risk of being called a Luddite, or even annoying people around you. I learned this one day in 2010, while visiting my local Target to buy some nicotine patches (don't smoke, kids; it's a stupid stinking waste of money). I paid cash, of course, but when the cashier asked to see my driver's license for proof-of-age, she tried taking the license out of my hands in order to scan it.

“No need for that,” I said, gripping the license more firmly. “My birth date's right here.”

She told me if she couldn't scan my license, she'd have to get her supervisor to punch in some special code or other, which would take time. I told her that's fine, and I understood the law required her to verify my age, but in light of all the other personal information on the license, I did not see any need for my name, age, address, legal driving restrictions, organ-donor status or whatever the hell else is on my ID to be scanned into Target's corporate database.

So she left to get her supervisor, the people waiting in line behind me made annoyed little sounds and, although I cannot swear to this, I'm pretty sure one of them mumbled the word “paranoid.”

If so, I surely do hope that guy wasn't counted among the many whose finances were compromised after the Target data breach last Christmas — and if you think I'm being insincere in my good wishes, you may very well be right.

UPDATE (3:20 p.m. ET): Well, this article turned obsolete pretty quickly! The latest available information says that yeah, Google has been affected and you will need to change your password. The good news is: some sites (including Google) have already instituted the necessary security patches, which means you can update your passwords for them. Here's a partial listing of known affected and unaffected websites to date; now if you'll excuse me, I need to go change a few passwords myself.