Facebook stuff--whoa!

[Cloud]

Skynet . . . er, Facebook is really taking over. Not sure about how I feel about this:

. . . your friends' Facebook profile photos will start showing up all over the web. . . . These new Facebook features will show up regardless of whether or not you have entered a user name and password on a particular website.

Facebook says these recommendations and social connections are the basis for the future of the Internet. Boring old hyperlinks are becoming something of the past, the company says.

Some Internet users might worry about the fact that their Facebook profile photos, as well as their likes and dislikes, are going to show up all over the web. . . . But, if nothing else, that means you should probably double-check your privacy settings.

yeah, I'd say so.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/04/21/f...ex.html?hpt=T2

[classicman]

wow - it just keeps getting better doesn't it?

FWIW - maybe this should go here

[Madman]

I like playing Zagnorf, Zyban, Zelda (??whatever??) poker. Been farting around with it for the past 2-3 months. Got a bankroll of darn near 190k.
People bet weird on it. Had the damdest thing happen this morning with it too. I had a full house (Ace's over 10's) and I bet 5k in chips. One guy raised me 5k and I matched it. At first I was wondering WTF he drew? then the hands showed. The dumbass had a pair of 6's. WTF was that about? Trying to bluff someone who had a full house! What an idiot. Must've been a liberal.

[Gravdigr]

Dear, DEAR Madman: Concerning the link associated with 'your next career move': Thank you. (You are in my will.)

[Madman]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

Dear, DEAR Madman: Concerning the link associated with 'your next career move': Thank you. (You are in my will.)

No problem. Stumbled across that when I did a search looking for info about Massage Therapy. It was like... WoW!

[TheMercenary]

Interesting letter to Facebook.

Good to see someone is taking interest.

Senators' letter to Facebook

April 27, 2010


Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,


We are writing to express our concern regarding recent changes to the Facebook privacy policy and the use of personal data on third party websites. While Facebook provides a valuable service to users by keeping them connected with friends and family and reconnecting them with long-lost friends and colleagues, the expansion of Facebook – both in the number of users and applications – raises new concerns for users who want to maintain control over their information. The following three changes have raised concerns:


1. Publicly available data. Facebook’s expansion of publicly available data to include a user’s current city, hometown, education, work, likes, interests, and friends has raised concerns for users who would like to have an opt-in option to share this profile information. Through the expanded use of “connections,” Facebook now obligates users to make publicly available certain parts of their profile that were previously private. If the user does not want to connect to a page with other users from their current town or university, the user will have that information deleted altogether from their profile. We appreciate that Facebook allows users to type this information into the “Bio” section of their profiles, and privatize it, but we believe that users should have more control over these very personal and very common data points. These personal details should remain private unless a user decides that he/she would like to make a connection and share this information with a community.


2. Third party data storage. Previously, Facebook allowed third-party advertisers to store profile data for 24 hours. We are concerned that recent changes allow that data to be stored indefinitely. We believe that Facebook should reverse this policy, or at a minimum require users to opt in to allowing third parties to store data for more than 24 hours.


3. Instant personalization. We appreciate that Facebook is attempting to integrate the functionality of several popular websites, and that Facebook has carefully selected its initial partners for its new “instant personalization” feature. We are concerned, however, that this feature will now allow certain third party partners to have access not only to a user’s publicly available profile information, but also to the user’s friend list and the publicly available information about those friends. As a result of the other changes noted above, this class of information now includes significant and personal data points that should be kept private unless the user chooses to share them. Although we are pleased that Facebook allows users to opt-out of sharing private data, many users are unaware of this option and, moreover, find it complicated and confusing to navigate. Facebook should offer users the ability to opt-in to sharing such information, instead of opting out, and should make the process for doing so more clear and coherent.


We hope that Facebook will stand by its goal of creating open and transparent communities by working to ensure that its policies protect the sensitive personal biographical data of its users and provide them with full control over their personal information. We look forward to the FTC examining this issue, but in the meantime we believe Facebook can take swift and productive steps to alleviate the concerns of its users. Providing opt-in mechanisms for information sharing instead of expecting users to go through long and complicated opt-out processes is a critical step towards maintaining clarity and transparency.


Sincerely,


U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)

U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO)

U.S. Senator Mark Begich (D-AK)

U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN)

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz0mJXrvOqR

[XAgent]

Yeah, what's up with FB as of late? They realized how large their user base is growing and they're becoming greedy.

They think, "Oh, the users won't mind if we tweak this or that!"

People are getting pissed.. sooner or later they're gonna move on. I love the idea of making friends and staying connected, but if FB isn't careful, they'll keep scaring everyone off.

[glatt]

If Google did a good Facebook, I'd be gone in a second.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by glatt

If Google did a good Facebook, I'd be gone in a second.

I am pretty sure they have already done it.

It is called Orkut.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Interesting letter to Facebook.

Good to see someone is taking interest.

Senators' letter to Facebook

It's none of the government's fucking business, hypocrit.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

It's none of the government's fucking business, hypocrit.

As long as they expose you to the world I am good with it.

[Pie]

what? you don't "buzz"??

[glatt]

I have a buzz account, but haven't figured out how it's better than e-mail.

[Pie]

It isn't. And till Teh Goog gets its policies worked out, it has worse privacy problems than fb.

[classicman]

Stolen Facebook Accounts for Sale

During several weeks in February, iDefense tracked an effort to sell log-in data for 1.5 million Facebook accounts on several online criminal marketplaces, including one called Carder.su.

That hacker, who used the screen name “kirllos” and appears to deal only in Facebook accounts, offered to sell bundles of 1,000 accounts with 10 or fewer friends for $25 and with more than 10 friends for $45, says Rick Howard, iDefense’s director of cyber intelligence.

The case points to a significant expansion in the illicit market for social networking accounts from Eastern Europe to the United States, he said.

Criminals steal log-in data for Facebook accounts, typically with “phishing” techniques that tricks users into disclosing their passwords or with malware that logs keystrokes. They then use the accounts to send spam, distribute malicious programs and run identity and other fraud.

Facebook says it believes that the hacker’s claims to control large numbers of Facebook accounts are bogus. The company attempted to purchase accounts as part of its investigation into the incident, said a spokesman, Barry Schnitt. However, “the hacker was unable to produce anything for our buyer,” he said.

Facebook’s investigators also discovered that “kirllos” has a reputation “for wild claims,” he said.