Social Media Archive

Facebook used as channel for Malware

Posted May 3, 2013 By David

A cybercriminal is using Facebook as a medium to sell his malware and related services  forsaking the usual channel of the online underworld. 

Facebook-MalwareRSA researchers recently discovered on the popular social network what appeared to be an Indonesian-speaking malware developer selling a customised botnet control panel programmed to work with the Zeus banking Trojan. First released in 2007, Zeus is a highly effective malware used to steal online banking and e-commerce credentials from an infected computer.

Most developers and botnet owners will sell their malware and services on invitation only forums frequented by cybercriminals . In this case, the developer and his team are apparently looking for people who don’t have the technical chops to participate in the forums, but are looking for an easy way to get started in the lucrative business of cybercrime, RSA said.. Read the remainder of this entry »

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Facebook is letting people who are locked out of their user profiles to get access again with the help of their friends.

facebook UnlockA new ‘Trusted Contacts’ account recovery feature lets Facebook users set up lists of friends who can provide codes to unlock accounts.

“With trusted contacts, there’s no need to worry about remembering the answer to your security question or filling out long web forms to prove who you are,” Facebook said in a security blog post.

“You can recover your account with help from your friends.

People can manage lists of trusted contacts using Facebook security settingsMembers of the social network locked out of their accounts will need security codes from three friends to get back in, according to Facebook. Read the remainder of this entry »

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 Twitter is now allowing ads to target users based on the words used in their tweets.

twitterPreviously, Twitter relied on message content algorithms t0 pool the interests of users to send them potentially relevant ads in the form of tweets “promoted” at the top of feeds.

Twitter produce manager Nipoon Malhotra said the new feature would allow “advertisers to reach users based on the keywords in their recent tweets and the tweets with which users recently engaged.

Mr Malhotra gave the example of a concert venue being able to target local music lovers with tweets promoting upcoming shows by bands they have raved about in messages at Twitter. Read the remainder of this entry »

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Facebook is speaking with Apple about developing a version of its new mobile software for the iPhone, in a strategy to grow revenue from the increasing number of users who access the social network on smartphones.

facebook iphoneAfter debuting the software, called Home, for Google’s Android operating system earlier this month, the operator of the world’s biggest social-networking service is speaking to Apple and Microsoft about expanding to other platforms, said Adam Mosseri, director of product at Facebook. The talks are ongoing and nothing has been finalised, he said.

Now that the majority of users access Facebook via mobile devices, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is looking for ways to keep them engaged longer and coaxing more advertisers to pay to place promotions. While Google’s Android software powered about 70 per cent of smartphones worldwide last year, Apple’s iOS operating system commanded about 21 per cent, according to Gartner. Read the remainder of this entry »

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