Posted on 05/11/2011 4:46:38 AM PDT by decimon
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – US computer security firm Symantec has said that Facebook accidentally left a door open for advertisers to access profiles, pictures, chat and other private data at the social network.
Facebook told AFP that there was no evidence anyone stepped through that door and swiped any information from the accounts of its more than 500 million members.
Symantec discovered that certain Facebook applications leaked tokens that act essentially as "spare keys" for accessing profiles, reading messages, posting to walls or other actions.
Facebook applications are Web software programs that are integrated onto the leading online social network's platform. Symantec said that 20 million Facebook applications, such as games, are installed every day.
"We appreciate Symantec raising this issue and we worked with them to address it immediately," Facebook said in response to an AFP inquiry.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
By the Book ping.
The only way to win the game is.... not to play.
That's right. But I wonder if we'll soon be treated as though we have something to hide if we're not displayed in online social media. Maybe no one will hire you.
There is nothing wrong with social media.
Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends.
That said, one has to be cautious about how much information they share.
Anyone here still loving Facebook?
It's already happening.
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Make Yours NOW and End the FReepathon!
It's already happening.
I'd not be surprised.
“It’s already happening.”
Are you serious?
Sorry, but there's A LOT wrong with social media, Facebook in particular. Zuck has long shown outright contempt for privacy issues; whatever privacy you have there is because he was dragged kicking and screaming into it.
A lot of Facebook apps have access to a lot of your data, and there's not much accounting for what they do with it.
Enjoy that rock your living under...
Privacy in the 21st century has become totally impossible. The only people who have privacy live in the deepest jungles of the Amazon as undiscovered headhunting tribes. Even in the crevices of the deepest third world sh*thole you need to be wired in to be functional in a modern society and world. Those who pine for privacy aren’t even aware that they have none. Modern technology has given the state and your neighbor capabilities that the Gestapo and KGB could only dream of and it will only get worse as each decade progresses.
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