facebook

Facebook says six million of its users have had their personal data exposed. The issue stems from a security bug that allowed email addresses and phone numbers to be easily accessed by a user's Facebook 'friends'. The problem is associated with ... Facebook's friend recommendation algorithm, which is designed to help users find old friends, family, and contacts and establish new relationships with them. Facebook uses uploaded personal data, including email addresses and contact lists, to find new 'friends'. This system can also be used to invite friends who are not yet Facebook members to join ... (view more)

Some of the world's biggest technology companies say they're not happy about revelations involving the National Security Agency (NSA) and data collection. The firms are forming a united front in a quest to create greater transparency around this ... kind of surveillance. Last week whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the National Security Agency had been using a controversial surveillance program known as PRISM to spy on users of major Internet programs and services. This included users of products provided by Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, YouTube, Skype, America Online, and Apple. ... (view more)

The Zeus malicious software tool, which is designed to steal bank account information, is reportedly making a resurgence. This time Zeus is being spread through misleading Facebook pages. The Zeus malware, which has been circulating for roughly six ... years, poses as a legitimate file and tricks victims into installing it on their PCs. It then waits until a victim logs into an online banking site before using keylogging tools to capture log-in details. With enough information, the people behind Zeus can empty bank accounts. Malware Targets Bank Accounts, Social Security Numbers To make things ... (view more)

Facebook says it will review the way it vets hateful and offensive content. The social networking site will also force people who post offensive material to reveal their identity. The move follows an open letter by dozens of groups aiming to ... challenge sexism and abuse against women. These groups argued that Facebook was wrong to allow organizations to post images that make light of violence against women. According to the letter, Facebook has repeatedly failed to remove such content. The letter insists that this is particularly shocking because the site regularly removes harmless images of ... (view more)

Microsoft has issued a warning about a new type of malware that assumes the form of a Google Chrome extension and Firefox add-on. The Trojan horse is reportedly designed to target the Facebook accounts of its victims and, once a machine is ... compromised, performs a number of automated social media tasks, including "liking" certain pages and posting comments. The malware, which was first detected in Brazil, is named 'Trojan:JS/Febipos' and operates by checking to see if the current user is logged into Facebook. If this is the case, the bug attempts to download a configuration file that contains ... (view more)

Facebook has a new solution for people who are having trouble accessing their accounts: if you sign up for the site's 'Trusted Contacts' feature, you can log in with a little help from your friends. The system is designed for people who've forgotten ... their password and is an alternative to existing security measures that involve answering questions and awaiting a confirmation email. Using the feature you can designate between three and five people from your Facebook friends list as Trusted Contacts. If and when you are unable to access your account and trigger the feature, Facebook will send a ... (view more)

Facebook has posted a staggering revenue increase for the first quarter of 2013. Helping the firm rake in the cash: the successful implementation of mobile applications and advertisements. According to reports, Facebook's total revenue jumped to ... almost $1.5 billion for the quarter ending March 31, 2013. That's an increase of almost 40 per cent from the same period last year, when revenue was just over $1 billion. Advertising Drives Revenue Growth The company says that its advertising revenue accounted for $1.25 billion of that total sum. This means the firm's ad work represents 85 per cent of ... (view more)

Microsoft communications leader Frank Shaw has taken a swipe at Facebook over 'Home,' its new mobile application for the Android platform. According to Shaw, it's an old idea. Home was recently unveiled by Facebook. It turns an Android device's ... screen into one big Facebook News Feed, thereby limiting applications to the background. Overall, it's designed to make accessing news easier than before. According to Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg, it's part of Facebook's plan to put people ahead of apps. Idea Two Years Old, Microsoft Exec Says But Microsoft's Frank Shaw thinks the ... (view more)

Chances are you've never told your Facebook friends which brand of toilet cleaner you use. But if you buy a bottle at the grocery store, you might see an ad for it the next time you log in to Facebook. The social networking company has announced ... deals with four companies to supply data to make Facebook advertisements more relevant. This means that, for the first time ever, the ads you see on the site won't be based on your activity on the social networking site. The four companies collect data in a variety of ways. Two maintain a database of purchasing activities in retail stores. Another ... (view more)

Facebook says it is doing everything possible to deal with offensive pages related to December's Sandy Hook school shooting. Three politicians have complained that the pages are not only abusive, but might even be designed to defraud Facebook users. ... Connecticut politicians George Jepsen (state attorney general) Elizabeth Esty (a member of the House of Representatives), and Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy (both state senators) recently wrote a joint letter to Facebook about the issue. (Source: senate.gov ) Politicians: Pages Violate Facebook Policy The letter notes that Facebook now ... (view more)