gdgtgrl » Social Networking

Facebook Security Snare

kenya — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:05:47 +0000

Just before Facebook’s privacy blow up, the company announced that they were going to make the service more secure against hackers. I encountered something that was undoubtedly a result of these new measures. Below is what happened with my own account. I logged in to see the following:

This type of monitoring seems to be as a result of all the successfully phishing and malware attacks targeted at Facebook users.

This screen is confusing. Was my account accessed or was it just a login attempt? I know I haven’t been phished. And I’m pretty sure I don’t have any malware installed.

I take issue that Facebook made me go through all of that but wasn’t clear if my account was actually accessed. I also question the effectiveness of this measure as I still see malware links on Facebook.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Koobface Comes to Twitter: Are You Protecting Yourself?

kenya — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:00:01 +0000

With Twitter’s relatively new popularity come those who want to exploit it for financial or other type of gain. A few weeks ago Twitter users were being sent links to malware. Those who clicked the links were directed to a site where malware was downloaded. The malware then sent out links from the newly infected computer using the user’s Twitter account. It connects to other social networks that the user may be logged into as well. The malware primarily affects the Windows operating system and the anti-virus programs are not likely to detect it because of it’s dynamic nature. This is the same trojan that has proliferated on MySpace and Facebook.

Suspicious Links

Twitter responded by suspending infected accounts and resetting passwords. This, however, will not help you protect yourself from scammers. There are numerous ways that suspicious links are sent. One method involves Twitter accounts unknown to you sending you links. These are easy to ignore. The more effective manner is for malicious programs to send links to you from people you already know and trust which is why these malware programs are hard to avoid.

URL Obfuscation

Getting people to click on links has been successful because the malware takes advantage of the URL obfuscation created by URL shortening services. Given that, it may be effective to avoid clicking on links all together. However, avoiding links completely would likely make your Twitter experience less enriching. One does not have to resort to such drastic measures. Many URL forwarding services provide functionality to preview a link. Here are examples from TinyURL and bit.ly:

Service	Shortened URL	Preview
bit.ly	http://bit.ly/VZQuF	http://bit.ly/VZQuF+
TinyURL	http://tinyurl.com/mumt6s	http://preview.tinyurl.com/mumt6s

URLs Revealed

Instead of manually typing the URLs, you can use Twitter clients that allow you to see the actual URL. My favorite client that allows this is TweetDeck.

If you prefer the web client, you can use the Power Twitter Firefox extension. Not only does Power Twitter expand short URLs but it also displays photos and video inlne in your Twitter stream.

Another option if you are using the web interface is the Long URLs Please Firefox extension. It will expand URLs on any web page which is good for other sites where you may see shortened URLs as well.

Other options include looking at your Twitter stream using Friendfeed as it automatically expands short URLs. Many people are already reading tweets on Friendfeed due to various changes to the Twitter service so it may not be that much of a stretch to use Friendfeed to see links as well. (Of course, your Twitter friends have to be Friendfeed users as well.)

I applaud Twitter for trying to the curb the proliferation of Koobface but it’s really up to the users not to get infected: we need to be aware of what we are clicking. Tools like TweetDeck, Power Twitter, Long URLs Please and FriendFeed can help you make informed decisions about what you click before you click it.

Twitter Cracking Down on Intentional Trending?

kenya — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:00:28 +0000

At the end of April, Twitter introduced a real-time search feature integrated into the web interface. This also included a listing of trending topics. Since then there’s been an increase in memes that seem to be aimed at manipulating the trending topics. Some examples of these are: #turnons, #turnoffs, #inappropriatemovies and #notagoodlook. Twitterers participate in some of the memes (i.e. #squarespace and #moonfruit) because of the promise of a free iPod. More notable memes were #unfollowdiddy and #unfollowperez. On any day these memes occupied all the spots on the trending topics list. I remember several people complaining that Twitter was turning into MySpace because of the memes.

Within the last month or so, I’ve noticed that even though I still see some of these memes in my Twitter stream I don’t see them in trending topics. I’ve seen complaints about trending topics being removed. Complaints also include results related to the trending topic being removed from Twitter search as well as users themselves being completely removed from Twitter search. Many have suggested various reasons for this but it is my opinion that Twitter is cracking down on intentional trending.

This is speculation since Twitter has not answered questions about why various trending topics were removed. It is pretty clear that they are removing things from trending topics. At this point, however, I do not know how they are determining what to remove and what to keep. Hash tags like #sytycd and #pdf09 are allowed to trend. Are people reporting certain hash tags and memes to Twitter for removal? Does Twitter’s staff decide which trends to remove? Or is it done via an algorithm of some sort?

Whatever it is that they are doing, there should be some way to challenge their decision to remove a trending topic. So far I have seen that (un)conferences like #privacydc, #cfp09 and #openvideo have had no problems using their hash tags on Twitter. But what happens if they somehow become flagged as spam (or whatever the process is)? Coverage of entire events would be lost. Twitter needs to come clean about what they are doing and also provide a way for “legitimate” trends to challenge being blocked.

Facebook Friend Finder: What You May Not Know About Your Data

kenya — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:10:05 +0000

Until recently I was under the impression that Facebook’s Friend Finder would suggests friends based on common friends or on common schools or employers. That had been the bulk of the suggested friends I was getting.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that Facebook had started suggesting people that I know that had no common Facebook friends with me. They had no common schools either. What we did have in common was an employer but I have not included employment information in Facebook. Facebook no longer seems to say why someone is being suggested.

Last week Twitter friend @lightfoot wondered how Facebook was suggesting two friends that she had no idea was on Facebook but whom she emails often. I suggested that it was because Facebook kept email addresses from her address book when she allowed Facebook to search it the find friends on the network. At the time, I was not completely sure that this was the case. As of last night, however, I am sure. Facebook suggested a person as a friend that I have emailed only once. This person was someone I met in the Dominican Republic last year who gave me his email address to send him the picture he requested that I take of him (believe it or not this happens a lot). There is no way possible that I have any connection to him other than that one email and photo.

I took a look at the Friend Finder page to see what was included about how the service works.

It clearly states that it will not store your password but you have to click the “Learn More” link to find out what it does with the data it uploads from your address book. It says that the data is used to find and suggest friends and it mentions that the data is stored.

Facebook does, however, allow you to delete that data.

If you don’t want Facebook holding on to that data, you should delete it as soon as possible. Disclaimer: I have not yet read the terms of service to verify that “remove” really means “remove”.

It can be argued that if one gives Facebook access to one’s address book then he or she deserves whatever happens. The problem with this argument is that people allow access to their data without knowing what will actually be done with that data or how long it will be stored. That said it’s a good idea to read the small print before giving up your data.

Update 6/23: After deleting my stored contact information on Facebook, the service seems to be on overdrive recommending friends to me that are from my address book (three new ones today). Apparently, this information was not deleted. It’s best not to let Facebook have access at all.

Twitter as Travel Advisory System

kenya — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:47:01 +0000

I decided to take a trip to New York for the weekend as an early birthday celebration. I took the Bolt Bus from downtown DC. Like a baby I was awakened when the bus stopped moving only to see the remains of what looked like a horrific accident on the New Jersey Turnpike. There was a tarp over some form of wreckage. That entire area was wet and black and I could see various car parts. I also saw various other cars that had crashed into each other.

I tweeted this: (ignore the typo)

and this:

I went back to sleep. The next time I woke up, people were responding to me about the accident. One person was actually in the traffic and wanted to know what I saw. Another person wanted to know how far the turnpike was backed up. Yet another person was about an hour behind me on another Bolt Bus.

Had I looked at Twitter search, I would have seen that more people were tweeting about being stuck in the traffic caused by the accident. Many of the people had no idea what happened.

That made me think, what if before taking a road trip people checked Twitter to see if there are any problems. Eye witnesses might have news before traditional news outlets or before government alert services announce an incident. On a road like the New Jersey Turnpike where exits are sparse it might be good to hear from fellow travelers ahead of you. Not only that, but in the event of incidents Twitter can be used as an informal communication system among those affected. (This was seen in the case of the Mumbai attacks as well.)

Many will say that Twitter is not a trustworthy source of information. Certainly there is a lot of information on Twitter that can be ignored but it doesn’t take much to verify if a story is real. Despite what many in the media have said about people tweeting about eating cereal or bodily functions, most people I know on Twitter are not. Even those who post seemingly useless information, probably have kernels of usefulness occasionally.

As more people sign up for Twitter, I imagine that there will be a lot more information flying across the network. News agencies, businesses, government and individuals would be wise to use Twitter as a barometer for what’s going on.

Unfortunately, however, the accident was fatal. It involved a tractor trailer and nine cars. Five people died and many others were injured. This information was disseminated via Twitter as well.

MySpace Pet Peeves

kenya — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 01:08:26 +0000

I signed up for MySpace when I found that my nephew was on it – pretty much to keep an eye on him. Recently two of my younger cousins showed me their MySpace pages and that of another cousin. I knew MySpace was popular and has been reported as being all the rage for teenagers and twenty-somethings but I hadn’t thought, “Hey my cousins are on there.” That’s primarily because I have been out of touch with the young cousins. After inviting them to be my “friends” I looked for other young cousins and sure enough they are on here too. So MySpace has helped me get in touch with my long lost family members. I’ve also found some former classmates as well.

In spite of that, there are some things that I really hate about MySpace (more so what I am finding on there). Here’s a list:

1. Spammers and scammers. People are hacking people’s MySpace accounts to post stupid spam messages in my comments and in bulletins. Some of then have malicious code in their profiles (or profiles they hijacked). A popular one is a window comes up and blocks the profile saying that you need to download a special viewer to see the profile. I am certain that clicking on this link will download some malicious code onto your computer especially if you are using Internet Exploder (better known as Internet Explorer). Another thing I noticed is that some of the profile code from various websites can change links on your profile to point to malicious code. I have been to profiles and clicked on a link like “Send Message” and it went somewhere else. That’s scary. Be careful what code you put on your MySpace profile.

2. Everyone is trying to sell me something. Constantly spamming me is not going to make me want your CD. People really need to learn what networking is. For the uninitiated, networking is building relationships; the relationships may pay off in the long run but trying to get a pay off in the short run will most definitely prevent any relationship from being built. You get what you put into it. If you post a comment on someone’s MySpace page it should at least be relevant. Simply promoting your products is not proper etiquette. How would people like it if I only made posts about how I do web design and development? I know how; they would treat me the way people treat people always talking about some multi-level marketing scheme (*ahem* Amway). Also if you really want to sell your CD, sign up for MySpace Music. Then if someone is looking for your particular style of music they will find you.

3. Booty booty booty booty everywhere. I am really confused at how people are willing to show their butt cracks on the internet for an international audience. Don’t get it twisted, anything on the internet is available for anyone to see. So when you go in for a job interview as teacher, loan officer, lawyer, or what have you and they have a print out of your MySpace profile, what are you going to say? Just recently Miss Nevada lost her title because of pictures found on the internet. What if your parents or (depending on your age) your children found your profile? What about church members or your co-workers? What irks me the most about this is that I get friend requests from guys who have nothing but women showing their butts in their main profile pic.

4. MySpace shows your age. I’m over 30 and I readily admit it but does MySpace need to plaster my age all over the place? Most people that I know don’t think I am as old as I am and I am fine with that. While this makes sense for the teenagers especially with all the predators lurking in the shadows. But after a certain age, I don’t think it matters anymore. I would love for them to just show 30+.

5. People don’t read your profile. I read somewhere this guy was complaining that girls have half naked pictures but complain that guys are reading their profiles. Well, I am fully clothed in my pics but people aren’t paying attention to what my profiles says. I’m not on here trying to meet anyone but am trying to hook up with people I already know. Therefore, I am not looking to have the most “friends”. I value quality over quantity.

6. I can’t read your profile. If I can’t understand your profile or can’t read it I most likely won’t add you as a friend. I am amazed that with so much information and reference materials available that people can’t freaking write their profile in a way that is understandable. No 1 iz 2 l33t 2 uz da n4m8shun @ dictionary.com or thesaurus.com. Aight. In a text message I can see the usefulness but on a keyboard it actually takes extra effort to do this.

7. The freaking music. Oh my goodness. Don’t try to go to a MySpace page at work because you will cause a spectacle when crazy music starts coming from your computer. I never go to MySpace from work but I am annoyed at home when crazy music starts blaring from my computer. I imagine I would get kicked out of the library, Panera, or Barnes and Noble if I went to a MySpace profile while there. It’s fine to have music on your page (I had it about 10 years ago) but MySpace (or whoever is serving the music) should give an option not to play it immediately on load.

8. Gratituitious use of the N-word. People it’s 2006; must that word still be used? Must we promote self-hate?

9. MySpace is not all that. It is a fad. There’s nothing revolutionary about the technology that is being used. As a matter of fact, I get unknown server errors quite frequently on the site. What’s goes on on this site isn’t so different from what went on on AOL back in the 90s.

This list is not all inclusive and I will probably add more soon.

gdgtgrl » Social Networking

Facebook Security Snare

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Koobface Comes to Twitter: Are You Protecting Yourself?

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Twitter Cracking Down on Intentional Trending?

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Facebook Friend Finder: What You May Not Know About Your Data

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Twitter as Travel Advisory System

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MySpace Pet Peeves

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