Baby killed for interrupting mom's Facebook time

From: http://www.legitreviews.com/news/9319/

Posted by Joe Evans | Fri, Oct 29, 2010 - 03:31 PM

Yeah, you read it right. A 22-year-old mother essentially murdered her 3-month-old baby because its crying interrupted her Facebook FarmVille game. In what seems to be a disturbing trend, behavior as a result of addiction to entertainment on electronic devices is leading to serious encounters with the law. Just recently a woman fled with her boyfriend's PS3 because of his addiction, at which point he proceeded to run her off the road to get it back.

A 22-year-old woman charged with shaking her baby to death pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of second-degree murder and faces 25 to 50 years in prison. Alexandra Tobias was arrested on charges of aggravated child abuse and murder after her 3-month-old son, Dylan Lee Edmondson, died in January. Prosecutors said Tobias admitted to becoming angry because the baby would not stop crying while she was playing Farmville on Facebook.

Firesheep Firefox Add-On Hijacks Twitter, Facebook Over Wi-Fi

From: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371465,00.asp

By: Larry Seltzer

• 10.26.2010

If you didn't already know that plain HTTP sessions are utterly insecure, here's proof: A new Firefox addin named Firesheepcaptures sessions on open Wi-Fi networks and goes one step more sinister. It finds users logged into Facebook, Twitter,Google, Amazon, Dropbox, Evernote, Wordpress, Flickr, bit.ly and more, and lets you take over their sessions and become them.

This isn't revolutionary in any way. Session hijacking in HTTP is oldnews, but it may never have been this easy before. For Windows users it's a bit harder, as they have to install WinPcap, a packet capture library, but it's still not much of a barrier. An OSX version is also available.

What can you do? Don't use open, unencrypted Wi-Fi networks or, if you do, use a VPN on them. At the very least, use HTTPS sessions on open networks. Hat tip to TechCrunch for suggesting Force-TLS, another Firefox extension that forces Firefox to use HTTPS (TLS) connections from certain sites.

Many of these sites offer TLS (HTTPS) connections, but don't default to them. Support can be flaky: Facebook on TLS has no chat available. What's up with that? Some services, like Gmail, have moved to all-TLS all the time.

I don't think there's any particular reason why Firesheep should be limited to Wi-Fi networks. Regular wired Ethernet connections aren't encrypted by default either. I'll research this and report back.

Your Facebook post could come back to haunt you

From: http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=159329&catid=188

October 22, 2010


Ben McKee


DENVER - Remember that time you said you were mad at a co-worker and posted a nasty comment about them in your status update?



Hey, most of us have done silly stuff on Facebook, and many have said things that, perhaps, were not 100 percent truthful. But in the court of law, and in the public spectrum, those Facebook and Twitter posts could be taken as evidence of your character. They could even get you fired.


According to Gloria Allred, a high profile attorney, there are many social media nightmares and scares out there that are real, and not simply 'what if' scenarios. In some cases, something as seemingly harmless as a 'Tweet' has led to the breakdown of a relationship.


One such social networking scare was about a homemaker who had a fight with her husband and took it out on him online.


"She had a fight with her husband, her three young children, her dog was sick, and she posted online, 'I wish I were dead,'" Allred said. "She ended up being put in a psych[iatric] ward, and had to prove to her children she wasn't a danger to herself. And now, she's considering a divorce! That is a social networking horror story!"


No kidding, it is a horror story. But it is also a real one, just like that terrible day you had at work earlier this week. Employees should be cautious when posting their thoughts and feelings about work, particularly in the service industry. Employers looking for customer service can find out all they need to know about current employees' thoughts at work in a status update.


"Another [horror story] involves a waitress who posted on her Facebook page derogatory comments about the restaurant's customers. The employer confronted her with [that] Facebook page, and she ended up being fired for that," Allred said.


According to a survey conducted bywww.lawyers.com, 40 percent of those surveyed thought they could be fired for their comments made online. Meanwhile, 53-percent of those surveyed thought they should not be able to be fired for what they say online. Truth is, if you don't have a contract, the employer can, generally speaking, fire you for what you say online.


Another thing to keep in mind is how a 'Tweet' or a status update might affect your public image when you are in the spotlight, whether that's as a juror or before the podium as a defendant.


"If you're ever in a court of law, and you are a witness, let's say you testify that you've never done drugs or never had any alcohol whatsoever. Then the other attorney finds that on your Facebook page from when you were in college, maybe there is a photo of you drinking and doing drugs. They can use that in the court of law and challenge your credibility, and you may end up losing the case as a result!" said Allred.


Finally, it is important to know millions of sets of eyes can be viewing what you are saying online, even if you think what you say is private. Facebook allows users to 'Like' businesses, viewpoints and statements, which also opens up an opportunity for you to make an opinion public. Be careful about language or candor in those posts, because it could one day be seen again. Worse, it could go viral.


That's what happened to a former Duke University student recently, who posted her "sexcapades" online with sexually explicit images. While she thought she was just posting it to a few friends, it went viral and became a social networking horror story.


Truly, just like those old yearbook photos you were tagged in last week, those status updates, pictures and thoughts can come back to haunt you.

(KUSA-TV © 2010 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)

Does Apple Want to Buy Facebook?

From: http://www.cultofmac.com/does-apple-want-to-buy-facebook/64496

By John Brownlee, Oct. 19, 2010

Over the weekend, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg met for some dinner, and smart money would rest on the bet that they were trying to work out some sort of deal where  Facebook and Ping come together at last.

But could Apple’s interest be far more bold than merely ironing out some differences? Peter Kafka over at All Things D certainly thinks so: he speculates that Apple may want to buy Facebook outright with its $51 billion in cash reserves.

Here’s Kafka’s reasoning. Asked by Jobs what Apple intends to do with all of its cash, Jobs responded: “We firmly believe that one or more unique strategic opportunities will present itself to us, and we’ll be in a position to take advantage of it.” As Kafka sees it, Facebook’s a good bet for such an acquisition.

It’s potentially a strong investment: the grand vision of Facebook is a centralized Internet with the connections voluntarily self-mapped between users and advertisers. As such, Facebook’s competing directly against Google, which favors an algorithm-based approach to the same end. Buying Facebook would make Apple a credible threat to Google as the de facto author of the future Internet’s Manifest Destiny… and pay off big in advertising money down the line.

Interesting food for thought, at any rate, but my guess is that Zuckerberg is in this for the long haul. Either Facebook topples Google as the most important internet company out there, or it becomes the next MySpace. In his own way, Zuckerberg is just as much as a visionary as Jobs: I doubt simply cashing out for the money is really in Zuckerberg’s cards.

Crooks use Facebook to look for prey

From: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20101020-298815/Crooks-use-Facebook-to-look-for-preys-police-warn

By Abigail Kwok
10/20/2010



MANILA, Philippines—While police search Facebook to hunt down crooks, criminals too have found the socialnetworking site an easy venue to scour for preys.
Cyber-attacks range from identity theft to kidnapping, and even rape.
With the Philippines ranking 8th in world in Facebook use, the Philippine National Police issued safety reminders to Facebook users.

• Hide yourself from Facebook search result

Police said setting one’s account so that it is not publicly visible will help protect Facebook user from cyber harassment and security threats.

“If you do not want others to find you, change your username into your middle name if you are married. You may also go to privacy settings and click the view setting from ‘everyone’ to ‘friends’ or select ‘customize’ to make your settings even more private,” the PNP said.

The PNP added that users should only add people that they know and refrain from adding strangers.

• Limit your Personal Information

This will protect users from crimes such as stalking, kidnapping, and harassment. Police have advised users that personal information should only be made available to friends and those you know.
Facebook users should not provide the year and place they were born “because you have just given the identity thieves a key in stealing your financial life, police said. A study showed that the date and place of birth could be used to predict most and sometimes all of the numbers and passwords you are using.”

Users are also advised not to post their mobile phone numbers, landline numbers and home address.
Photo albums should be set to private and users are asked to avoid posting pornographic photos and videos.

• Avoid chatting to people you don’t know

This may cause sexual or cyber harassment. The PNP said, “Chat or talk only to those whom you really know. Change the topic if you sense something unusual or better yet, try not to chat with the person anymore.”

When joining groups, users are advised to be wary of “spam” accounts as this may expose one’s personal data to the public. .

When using applications like Farmville, users should also be wary and not divulge any personal information such as bank accounts.
• Never forget to “Sign Out”

“Otherwise, your account will be lost and you will not be able to open it because the password has been changed already. And it will be used for some purposes beyond your control,” the PNP said.

“Facebook is a tool used for good and bad reasons. Like a gun, it is used for good and bad purposes,” the PNP stressed.
Users who are being harassed via Facebook are advised to immediately report the incident to police.

Facebook Apps Lack Privacy Protection (PBS News Hour - October 18, 2010)

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Aussie criminals make a fortune out of facebook

From: http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/20521-aussie-criminals-make-a-fortune-out-of-facebook

Monday, 18 October 2010

Written by Nick Farrell

Give him a poke cobber

Aussie crims are making a killing by stealing Australians' identities from Facebook and and using the data to commit fraud. The chief executive of the Crime Commission, John Lawler, said that kiddies were building online profiles that include such things as interests, pets, relationships, travel plans and life stories.
According to AP, this helps Aussie organised crims get dodgy credit cards. Speaking to a conference international organised crime conference in Melbourne Lawler said that the problems caused by the failure to require companies that run online sites to report criminal activity to police.

Coppers are fuming that a lot of online information is still not reaching them. He said that victims of online fraud typically don't report it to authorities, rather to whichever organisation is the face of the transaction for them, such as eBay.

Lawler moaned that there was no process or requirement in place for organisations to on-report cyber fraud to authorities

10 Signs You Have Social Media Sickness

From: 

http://thestir.cafemom.com/entertainment/111020/10_signs_you_have_social

Posted by Jill Smokler 

on October 18

How did we ever survive before the world of social media? Do you even remember when you didn't differentiate between "real friends" and "Facebook friends"? What on earth did we do at 4 a.m. when nobody else in our time zone was awake? How did we survive never-ending soccer games before our smartphones? I can barely recall. I barely want to. Sometimes, though, the hobby can become more of an addiction.

Here are 10 signs that your social media fun may have become a full-fledged obsession. Not that there's anything wrong with that ...

1. Your babies have Twitter and Facebook accounts that you post to regularly. You've successfully managed to convince yourself that it's not the least bit annoying.

2. You are more involved with high school classmates than you were in high school. Who cares if they aren't aware of your relationship?

3. You snuggle your iPhone more closely than your husband. It's the last thing you look at before you close your eyes and the first thing you wake up to. If only it could unscrew the pickle jar.

4. You can't remember the last time you read a book. Who has the attention span for more than 140 characters these days?

5. While out to dinner with friends, you wait until they visit the restroom to photograph and post your meal. What? The world cares what you're eating!!

6. If your status update doesn't immediately garner responses, you delete it. Nobody wants to look unpopular.

7. Your camera is never more than an arm's reach away. What if your children did something post-worthy and you didn't document it? You'd never forgive yourself.

8. You can recall, in great detail, the flower arrangements, bridesmaid dresses, and color scheme of a wedding that not only did you not attend, but you have no idea who the happy couple was. But their Facebook photos rocked!

9. You have a Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Flickr, AIM, etc. account, but when the phone rings, you ignore it. If they want you so badly, they'll ping you.

10. You walk up to people, point to their shoes, and simply say "like" while flashing a thumbs up. It's atotally effective way of communicating.

Facebook opens up your data to Microsoft

From: http://www.examiner.com/canada-internet-in-canada/facebook-opens-up-it-s-data-to-microsoft



October 18th, 2010

Two Internet giants have consolidated their power in the search engine wars. Microsoft Inc. has gotten even deeper into bed with Facebook.  This is not the first deal these two titans have joined forces through. Microsoft invested $240-million in Facebook in 2007, giving it a 1.6 per cent stake. The two have forged various other business collaborations over the years.

Microsoft, the world’s largest software company has stepped up its efforts within its online services division – which lost $2.3-billion last fiscal year – to challenge the dominance of Google, the world’s largest search engine. Its shares closed up 2 per cent at $25.34 on the N.Y.S.E. In an attempt to energize Bing search engine to catch up with Google.Inc . Google still remains the undisputed leader in search with 66.1 per cent of the U.S. market in September, according to research firm comScore. Yahoo is second with 16.7 per cent and Bing third with 11.2 per cent.

Starting September 20th, Bing will take data posted on Facebook – such as users’ “likes” or preferences wall postings, group postings, etc. – and use that information to provide more relevant search results. This new touchy feely partnership has the potential of pushing web searches in a new direction. This highlights the growing competition between Google and Facebook’s five hundred million member service. This deal allows Bing to differentiate itself, with access to information that Google doesn’t currently have. As part of their agreement, Bing will be able to access users’ Facebook profiles and their “likes” on the social networking service, and deliver search results tailored to individual preferences.

“Google owned the old Web, the content-centric Web. Facebook has early leadership in the new Web, the social web,” said Ray Valdes, an analyst at industry research firm Gartner. “This is the real long-term conflict. Microsoft in that sense, is a secondary player in this new battle.”

“Right now Microsoft is such a close partner to us that for the foreseeable future I think we just will be working with Microsoft,” said Taylor, in an interview following the announcement, which took place at Microsoft’s Silicon Valley offices.

Microsoft believes that Facebook data provides important “signals” to help refine search results, Microsoft Online Services Division President Qi Lu told reporters.  

I bet they do it is called all our real time personal data.  This opens up a whole new data mine that Bing can devour.  This allows for new avenues of using our personal data against us. Just think about all the stuff you post on your wall, and post all over Facebook. Do you want Microsoft to know all that information?  Do you want anyone to know all that data?  They can now ultra-target you in their search results. On the surface that seems reasonable and possibly more helpful.  The real threat comes from the possibility of abuse and the inappropriate access to our daily lives. In Facebook if you use their “Places” service they will know exactly where you are on top of all that. 

The risk to our privacy has just gone through the roof with this deal.  This gives all the more reason to be aware of what information you put online. Once it is online it is online forever.  Keep that perspective when you update your Facebook status next time.