Your Daily IT News |
- Beware of Facebook Video Calls Scam
- New Angry Birds Windows Theme
- Facebook Extension Integrates Facebook Viewing and Updating on Google+
- The Blue Bokeh Windows 8 Desktop Style
- Twitter Fails Miserably To Protect User Accounts
- eBay Purchases Zong for $240 Million
- FTC Probes Google With No Clear Reason
- Google+ for Businesses Coming Soon
- Google Maps Goes Offline for Android
- A Business Owner Hates Groupon
| Beware of Facebook Video Calls Scam Posted: 09 Jul 2011 11:23 PM PDT This particular scam doesn’t use the actual Facebook video service as Paul has predicted they will do, but it certainly is trying to ride the media coattails and attention Facebook’s announcement generated this week. What is clever about this one is that if it were true that Facebook Video Chat was an application, you might be more easily convinced to approve the application to have more liberal permissions. This version asks for your personal information, the ability to post messages to your wall, read your posts(?) and to do all of this any time it likes… Strange, if it were a video calling app it would presumably only need to access my data when I am using it, right? Fortunately, aside from being a better social engineering trick than many Facebook scams, this one simply spams your friends and leads you to the ubiquitous surveys to fill out and generate referral fees for the criminals. If you see a wall post referencing “Enable video calls.”, don’t click it! Send your friend a message that they have been tricked. I am sure this won’t be the last scam targeting folks who wish to use Facebook’s new service. Never download executables or other content proclaiming to enable the service. |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2011 08:54 PM PDT
If you are a big fan of Angry Birds, how can you not have the Angry Birds theme for your Windows desktop. The theme is a collection of six desktop wallpapers featuring, you guessed it right, pigs and wallpapers but the more interesting part are the sounds effect that come with the theme. You exit Windows and the birds scream as it they have broken the entire castle in one short. Another sound effect is that of pigs grunting whenever you get a new email message. The Angry Birds theme is officially designed for Windows 7 but you can also use it a XP and Vista machines with a simple hack. |
| Facebook Extension Integrates Facebook Viewing and Updating on Google+ Posted: 09 Jul 2011 08:49 PM PDT Chrome/Firefox/Internet Explorer: If you’re loving Google+ but finding it to be virtual ghost town while your friends slowly trickle in, the Google+Facebook browser extension incorporates your Facebook feed to your Google+ stream. You can also post status updates and replies directly within Google+. Facebook is attempting to plug the flow of migrating users by ”blocking nearly every app or extension that migrates data to Google+. For now, the Google+Facebook browser extension is an easy way to meld the two social networks. The extension is easy to install even for people who have never added browser features before; once you click on the “Get Google+Facebook” link you will be asked for permission for the extension to install and then permission to connect to Facebook. Only time will tell if a similar extension will surface that allows Google+ streams inside Facebook. Google+Facebook is a free browser extension that is supported by Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. Google+Facebook | Crossrider Framework via AddictiveTips |
| The Blue Bokeh Windows 8 Desktop Style Posted: 09 Jul 2011 08:39 PM PDT We’ve seen Windows Phone 7 desktops before, which is stylistically similar to what Microsoft has us expecting in Windows 8, but when it’s done this well it’s worth repeating. Reader The Royal Rebel took Windows 7 and made it to look like Windows 8 with a few stylistic touches of his own. Want to get this look for your own desktop? Here’s what you’ll need:
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| Twitter Fails Miserably To Protect User Accounts Posted: 09 Jul 2011 08:10 PM PDT On the 4th of July 2011, Fox News tweeted that Barack Obama was dead. Only it wasn't Fox News that made the tweet, it was a hacker who had gained access to Fox's Twitter account. Well, Obama isn't dead, but Twitter's ability to protect it's users from hackers is firmly in the spotlight. In data released by prominent online security watchdogs, Twitter lags behind woefully in terms of user security. Many have cited that Twitter uses rather poor authentication measures and are warning that if the popular micro-blogging platform is to remain viable, it needs to make big improvements. The "death of Obama" fiasco is not the only security breach experienced by Twitter in the past week. Paypal had it's UK account hacked; the hacker then used the account to point thousands of links to an anti-paypal website. Episodes like these show just how poor security at twitter is, cited one security industry insider. Unlike Facebook and Google, Twitter doesn't use two-factor authentication, and many have said this is the biggest reason user accounts come under attack so often. A two-factor system would require a second code in addition to a password. This code is regularly rotated to prevent breaches. One thing is clear, as Twitter moves closer to becoming an ad-heavy platform, user security will need to be rock-solid. Twitter can ill-afford major security breaches when millions of ad revenue is at stake. Watch the video below to news analysis of Fox News/Twitter security breach.
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| eBay Purchases Zong for $240 Million Posted: 09 Jul 2011 08:10 PM PDT eBay announced that it has agreed to buy Zong for $240 million. Zong is a mobile payment provider that eBay can use to increase its PayPal service reach. Zong provides a mobile payment platform that allows digital goods and services to be charged directly to the carrier. Users can pay for their purchases by inputting their mobile phone number and the payment will be billed to the user's wireless service account. It provides convenience to people who want to make in-app purchases. The California-based company helped develop Facebook Credits system. It has partnered with various social gaming and virtual world companies, such as Zynga, Walt Disney's Playdom, IMVU, and IAC's Zwinky. The company boasts of having access to 3.2 billion mobile users covered by 250 carriers around the world. David Marcus, CEO of Zong, said that his company's customers love the convenience of paying through their mobile phone account. It is one thing that they carry with them always. Zong is looking forward to extend its services to the more than 9 million merchants using PayPal. Zong was founded in 2008 and backed by Matrix Partners, Advent Venture Partners and Newbury Ventures. The acquisition is expected to be finalized in the third quarter of this year. |
| FTC Probes Google With No Clear Reason Posted: 09 Jul 2011 08:10 PM PDT Last June 24, Google announced in a blog post that the Federal Trade Commission had launched a probe into the company. It added that the company respects the FTC's process and will work with the federal agency to answer any inquiries with regards to the company and its services. But even though Google will cooperate with the FTC, it still questions its motives. It is unclear to Google what FTC's concerns are and where the company stands. The blog post stated that Google right from the start it has focused on the user. Google's goal is to provide the information the user is looking for as quick as possible. Google doesn't force people to use its services. There are lots of choices to choose from but people still use the company's search engine, mobile apps and more. Google was founded in September 1998 and has already grown into a large company that owns over a million servers worldwide. It processes at least a billion search requests daily. Alexa ranks Google.com as the most popular web site. Its affiliate sites, such as YouTube, Blogger and Orkut, are ranked in the top 100. It is the company's mission to organize world's information and make it accessible to people. |
| Google+ for Businesses Coming Soon Posted: 09 Jul 2011 08:10 PM PDT Google recently launched its social networking site Google+. It is currently on field testing and according to engineering director David Besbris, it is going smoothly. The company wanted to double the number of participants in its testing and briefly opened it last July 6. Google's enterprise customers who are subscribed to Google Apps have to wait a little more before they can try out Google+. The Google Profiles service, which is a requirement for the social network. The Profiles service is not compatible with Google Apps. Its engineers are working on the issue as well as the several privacy concerns on the new social network. Google hopes to make Google+ available for enterprise users later this year. It will feature rich analytics and the capability to connect a Google+ identity to other services that businesses use, such as AdWords. Google ask businesses not to create consumer Profiles for Google+. Google will be testing Google+ for businesses by letting in some companies into the social network and find out how the users would interact with the commercial brand Profiles through its services such as Hangouts and Circles. Ford Motor Company must not have received Google's memo. The company has already embraced Google+. It encouraged users to visit a Hangout session it is hosting. Ford Europe also launched a best caption for an image contest and the winner will be determined by the most +1 votes. |
| Google Maps Goes Offline for Android Posted: 09 Jul 2011 08:09 PM PDT Google has waged a war on paper maps and it looks like it will win it. Google Labs just unveiled the Download map area feature in Google Maps for Android. Now you can use Google Maps even when you're offline. The Download map area feature requires Android 2.1 and above and the latest version of Google Maps. You can use the new feature to download a map with a 10 mile radius and navigate even without a data plan or signal. Previous versions of Google Maps need an active internet connection so that the user can download the map data. This would be helpful when a person is going overseas. It can help the user go around the place even without a roaming data plan, which can be expensive. To access Google Labs on the Android smartphone, press the menu button in Google Maps and choose More. Then select Labs. On an Android Tablet, you need to click on the menu button at the upper right corner of Maps. Map download will only take a minute or two to complete. The downloaded map stores only the base map tiles and the landmarks found in the vicinity. You still need an internet connection to see the satellite view and 3D buildings as well as search for Places or get directions. |
| A Business Owner Hates Groupon Posted: 09 Jul 2011 08:09 PM PDT Posie’s cafe, a business who ran a Groupon promotion was recently interviewed by a blogger named Rocky Agrawal. The interview revealed that the business owner, Jessie, was very unsatisfied with Groupon. Jessie had initially posted about her Groupon experience for her Cafe on her blog. She described it as "the single worst decision I have ever made as a business owner thus far." Here are some of the key takeaways from the interview:
On the other hand, the promotion actually worked out for the pizza shop across the street. So well that they ran a second deal on Groupon. What worked for one business didn’t for the other. You can watch the five part video interview series below:
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