facecrooks

Jazmine Jones, a 23-year-old law school student, had her Facebook profile hacked last October. The cybercriminals stole 300 images from her profile along with her personal information, which they used to set up Facebook accounts saying that she was an escort. This kind of fake-identity scam is becoming increasingly common on Facebook. The hackers messaged …

Facebook announced this week that it is partnering with PayPal and a couple of other ecommerce providers to give users the ability to autofill their credit card information in mobile billing apps. For now, the test will only work with JackThreads, a clothing store, and Mosaic, a photo book-buying app, though it will likely roll …

Facebook is constantly seeking ways to better analyze its users’ posts and find ways to target its advertising and content. Last week, it was revealed that the site is investigating deep learning (i.e., artificial intelligence) techniques that can create a “simulated neural network” to better understand the emotions behind users’ posts and better sort their …

After the scandal broke this summer revealing that the National Security Agency (NSA) was spying on some Facebook users, a backlash against the site began that has only intensified since (Facebook’s own changes to its data and privacy policies haven’t helped). Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, in a conversation with The Atlantic, said that he thinks …

The aftershock from Facebook’s proposed changes to its user data policies are still being felt, this time from a coalition of teen advocacy groups. Initially, a group of consumer advocates sent a letter to the FTC asking them to stop Facebook’s proposed language changes. The new language more openly states that users give Facebook permission …

The case of a former deputy sheriff and several of his co-workers in Hampton, Virginia, who claimed they were fired for liking the Facebook page of a candidate running against their boss in 2009 went all the way to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled on the case this week. The verdict: …

A school district in Glendale, California, is looking at the public posts of its middle school and high school students on social media, looking for violent threats, bullying, evidence of drugs and suicidal posts. The district is paying $45,500 to a third-party online security firm to observe its students social media feeds for one year. …

The controversy surrounding Facebook’s changing policies heated up again this week when the FTC announced on Wednesday that they would begin an inquiry into the site to determine whether or not the site’s new policies violate a 2011 agreement with the FTC. The policy language behind the controversy clarified that, when Facebook users sign up …

Apple unveiled details of its long-awaited new iPhone models this week, announcing the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C. While the impending September 20 release date for the phones has been a cause for celebration online, social media users should beware of fake offers for new iPhones cropping up on Facebook. In fact, as Trend …

When Facebook introduced hashtags a few months ago, it became apparent that the site was trying to copy Twitter’s ability to streamline global conversations around large events into one cohesive content feed. Facebook took another step toward that goal this week, introducing two new search functions for news organizations that allow them to gain insight …

After Facebook announced that it wanted to change its “Statement of Rights and Responsibilities” and “Data Use Policy” regarding user data, many privacy advocates went into an uproar. (Six consumer advocacy groups even sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission this week urging them to block Facebook’s  new language.) However, the way Facebook takes …

Last week, Facebook proposed a series of sweeping changes to its policies regarding user data, changing the language to clarify the amount of control Facebook has over the information on its pages that users make public. However, six major consumer privacy advocacy groups sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday urging them …

Emails have lately been arriving in Facebook users’ inboxes asking them to review a list of “pages they may like.” The messages feature pictures of the pages in the email body and a “personalized” subject line addressing the user by their first name. However, if users click the link, they are redirected to a real, …

Indian researcher Arul Kumar discovered a flaw on Facebook that would have allowed hackers to delete any posted photo they wanted on the site. Through the site’s White Hat program, Kumar has been paid $12,500 for his efforts. The bug worked by exploiting Facebook’s Support Dashboard, and functioned on any browser and with any version …

Everybody’s seen them: those annoying links on Facebook fan pages promising a free iPad, access to a lurid celebrity sex tape or “breaking news” about how Facebook is going to begin charging users. These spam links are often brushed off by intelligent web users, though a team of Italian researchers recently performed a calculation that …

Scam Message: Your Recent Profile Viewer’s Scam Type: Profile Viewer, Rogue Facebook Application Trending: August 2013 Why it’s a Scam: Clicking the scam link takes you to an external website shown below: First off, the sketchy domain name you are redirected to should be a huge red flag. If you choose to continue then you …

Yesterday, Facebook proposed changes to its Data Use Policy and its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. The changes were brought up as a part of a settlement in an advertising court case, and most of the changes involve Facebook’s handling of public user data. Facebook almost completely rewrote its advertising policy page, making it abundantly …

On Tuesday, Facebook revealed that it has received requests from government agencies in 74 countries around the world asking for information on 38,000 Facebook users in the first half of 2013 alone. In the data released, it was revealed that Facebook has provided governments with some, but not all, of the information they’ve requested. This …

Even with four months to go, 2013 has been far from quiet in the realm of online security news. And anyone who keeps up with Facecrooks knows that 2013 cyber security headlines have been varied: everything from government spying to Facebook privacy policies has been making waves. As a privacy software company, PRIVATE WiFi is …

According to Italian researchers, a piece of malicious software that looks like a Facebook video is making the rounds on the site. When users click on the “video,” the bug hijacks their account and even their web browser. According to the researchers, the video appears as a link in an email or Facebook message telling …