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October 28 2011
Those who toil away on free-to-play Facebook games may have built up a false sense of security as they blindly click on all the permission buttons in order to get to the good stuff. But an ad that claims to offer Facebookers access to a free Mario Kart game is a trap, like one of those upside down question blocks in the real version of the game.
Sophos Naked Security reports a scam masquerading as access to the non-existent game is popping up as status updates and messages, tricking users into filling out a seemingly endless stream of online surveys and possibly asking users to install dubious software, as well as an offer to attempt to win a non-existent "iPhone 5."
If you run across this offer as a message or post, you'll probably want to delete it to stop it from spreading.
Mario Kart on Facebook? Fast-spreading scam hits many users' accounts [Sophos Naked Security via Kotaku]
October 17 2011
Accusing Facebook of violating federal wiretap laws by tracking her web use when she wasn't logged in to the site, a Mississippi woman is taking the social networking giant to court. Her suit, which seeks class action status, is going after Facebook for trespassing, invasion of privacy, unjust enrichment and breach of contract.
The Register reports her complaint says Facebook tracked, collected and stored portions of browsing history without her consent while she was not logged on to the site. The complaint says Facebook violates a portion of its own privacy policy that says logged-out users who visit sites with Facebook-connected plugins send limited info to Facebook.
The company has said that tracking cookies singled out by privacy advocates are meant to prevent spam and phishing operations and that Facebook doesn't log all of the data it reaps with the tracking devices. Facebook did not comment to the Register about the woman's suit.
Facebook accused of violating US wiretap law [The Register via Slashdot]
July 08 2011
If you're betting Google's would-be Facebook killer, Google+, will end up MySpace-ing Facebook, you may as well go all-in and transfer all your photos over to the new site, which is currently in an invitation-based testing phase.
Lockergnome advises moving photos from Facebook to Picasa (Google Photos) using the Move2Picasa or Fotolink apps.
If you've managed to try out Google+, what do you think of the service so far?
How to Move Your Photos from Facebook to Google+ [Lockergnome]
January 17 2011
Facebook is now letting third-party apps have phone numbers and addresses of users, but only if they opt in to share the info.
Facebook's Developer Blog announced the news:
Because this is sensitive information, we have created the new user_address and user_mobile_phone permissions. These permissions must be explicitly granted to your application by the user via our standard permissions dialogs.
Facebook never allowed apps to get their hands on the information before. Apps will be able to submit requests in the form of the pictured dialog box sample that let users decide whether or not to overshare.
Do you think Facebook has taken enough steps to stop people from unknowingly sharing their info? How do you guard your privacy on the site?
Developer Blog [Facebook via ReadWriteWeb]
January 15 2010
Maybe Soup is currently being updated? I'll try again automatically in a few seconds...
Blogging at SF Gate, personal finance expert and author Erica Sandberg writes about how things you do online -- including your choice of friends in social networking sites and even comments you leave on blogs -- can influence creditors.
Sandberg writes:
Have you ever felt that an aspect of your internet life messed with your credit?
Can your comments affect your credit? Yup. [SF Gate]
(Thanks, Chris!)