The BBC reports that personal details of 100m Facebook users have been collected and published on the net by a security consultant. Ron Bowes used a piece of code to scan Facebook profiles, collecting data not hidden by the user’s privacy settings.

The list, which has been shared as a downloadable file, contains the URL of every searchable Facebook user’s profile, their name and unique ID. Mr Bowes said he published the data to highlight privacy issues, but Facebook said it was already public information. The file has spread rapidly across the net.

On the Pirate Bay, the world’s biggest file-sharing website, the list was being distributed and downloaded by more than 1,000 users. One user, going by the name of lusifer69, described the list as “awesome and a little terrifying”.

In a statement to BBC News, Facebook said that the information in the list was already freely available online.

“People who use Facebook own their information and have the right to share only what they want, with whom they want, and when they want,” the statement read. “In this case, information that people have agreed to make public was collected by a single researcher and already exists in Google, Bing, other search engines, as well as on Facebook. No private data is available or has been compromised,” the statement added.

But Simon Davies from the watchdog Privacy International told BBC News that Facebook had been given ample warning that something like this would happen. “Facebook should have anticipated this attack and put measures in place to prevent it,” he said. “It is inconceivable that a firm with hundreds of engineers couldn’t have imagined a trawl of this magnitude and there’s an argument to be heard that Facebook have acted with negligence, he added. Mr Davies said that the trawl of data fed into “the confusion of the privacy settings. People did not understand the privacy settings and this is the result,” he said.

Access the original article online at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10796584

According to its creator Andrey Ternovskiy, Chatroulette will now be able to trace people who broadcast inappropriate content when using the service.

A message from Ternovskiy earlier this week stated:

“With the help of a few good developers we’ve started collecting information, such as IP addresses, logs and screen captures of offenders who actually break US/UN laws by broadcasting inappropriate content in a specific situations. We’ve captured and saved thousands of IP addresses of alleged offenders, along with logs and screenshots which prove wrong behavior.“

Apparently, thousands of IP addresses have been blocked in effort to make Chatroulette a much cleaner service.

Unfortunately it appears that Ternovskiy’s efforts to rid the service of perverts is all in effort to encourage and attract investors. Many have taken a keen interest in the site but have commented on how it needs to clean up its act before its reputation becomes seriously damaged.

Personally, I’m not convinced – I can’t see the site ever being used purely just for innocent fun, although it’s a nice idea. There’s always going to be people out there who will abuse the service and use it for X-rated purposes. Even the prospect of a million pound investment wouldn’t be enough for Ternovskiy to source an effective enough measure to keep the whole site safe and clean.

The Telegraph reports that a law student left fearing reprisals after he was falsely named as a paedophile on Facebook has won a £10,000 libel damages payout at the High Court.

Chef, Jeremiah Barber, 24, posted child porn on the Facebook page of student, Raymond Bryce, along with the comment: “Ray, you like kids and you are gay so I bet you love this picture, Ha ha.” Barber, who had fallen out with Mr Bryce over an £80 debt, removed the post, made on 23 November 2008, within 24 hours.

But he later pleaded guilty to making and distributing an indecent image of a child at Stafford Crown Court and was ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work and handed a £1,200 costs bill.

Now top judge Mr Justice Tugendhat, sitting at London’s High Court, has awarded Mr Bryce £10,000 in libel damages for the stress he endured, including anxiety that hundreds of people in his local area may have seen the post.

Mr Bryce, 24, who lives with his parents in Stone, Staffs, suffers from high functioning Asperger’s Syndrome, but has secured a place on a full time degree course studying law at Stafford University.

In the witness box, Mr Bryce said: “Jeremy Barber put a defamatory blog (sic) on Facebook and made me appear to be a paedophile with homosexual tendencies, neither of which is true. He did so with intention and malice. When I viewed the pictures I was shocked because they were repulsive and disgusting and in no way reflected my attitude to life. I asked for an apology which I have not to this date received. The whole thing has been distressing, not only for myself but for my family,” he added.

Mr Bryce said there had been 11 links to the post, 2 comments from viewers, and more than 800 people would have been able to view the material.

Access the original article online at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/7912731/Law-student-wins-10000-after-being-branded-a-paedophile-on-Facebook.html

Back in April, Facebook made some major strides by introducing the Facebook Safety Center. Since that time, the page has been wildly popular, and has become a heavy destination of the site.

According to the Facebook Blog, the site has today introduced aSafety Page, to compliment the Safety Center. The page will “highlight new initiatives to keep people on Facebook safe, valuable educational materials from Internet safety experts including the members of our Safety Advisory Board, and relevant news coverage”

The site already has some interesting information on it, as well as good discussions. There are some great videos, and tabs across the top give you detailed areas of exploration:

http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/07/26/facebooks-new-safety-page-takes-more-strides-toward-user-education/

‘Most people’s purchases influenced by social networks’

The Telegraph reports that the majority of consumers now consult ‘friends’ or ‘followers’ on social networks, such as Facebook, before choosing to purchase a new item, according to research firm Gartner.

The report, which polled nearly 4,000 consumers across 10 major global markets during Q4 2009, discovered that people play different roles when it comes to recommending products online to friends within their social network. People broadly fell into three categories: ‘Connectors’, ‘Mavens’ or ‘Salesmen’.

‘Connectors’, Gartner said are those who “perform a bridging function between disparate groups of people” and enjoy introducing people to each other”.

‘Mavens’ are “knowledge exchangers or information brokers”. They are experts in particular area and people go to them for advice. But they are not people who wish to convince people to buy certain items; they are more interested in acquiring new knowledge.

And finally there are ‘Salesmen’, who have “extensive social connections” and possess the personality trait that impels people around them to act on information in highly directed ways”.

“Our survey results showed that one-fifth of the consumer population is composed of ‘Salesmen,’ ‘Connectors’ and ‘Mavens.’ These are three roles that are key influencers in the purchasing activities of 74 per cent of the population,” said Nick Ingelbrecht, research director at Gartner.

“Salesmen’ and Connectors are the most effective social network influencers and the most important groups for targeted marketing based on social network analysis.”

Gartner, on the basis of the report, is now advising companies, with products to sell, to actively engage with these different people on social networks, as “social networks have become a critical but underutilised, aspect of the marketing process”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/7910697/Most-peoples-purchases-influenced-by-social-networks.html

BlackBerrys pose ’security risk’ say UAE authorities

The BBC reports that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has said that it could move to restrict or monitor BlackBerry mobile phones, as they pose a “national security risk”.

The region’s telecoms regulator said “BlackBerry operates beyond the jurisdiction of national legislation” as it stores its data offshore. It said it was concerned that misuse may have “serious social, judicial and national security repercussions”.

Critics branded the moves as “repressive”.

The media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders told BBC News that while the UAE was playing a “technological leadership role in the Arab world” this was backed by “repressive laws” and a “general trend of intensified surveillance”.

“Last April, the daily Emarat al Yaoum reported on an interior ministry plan to check the identity of anyone using the internet in public places,” said the organisation’s Lucie Morillon. Many mobile phones are already monitored, she said.

The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has taken issue with the encrypted networks used by Research in Motion (RIM) – the makers of the Blackberry handset. These make it difficult for governments to monitor communications.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10761210

Sex, death and government oppression: how Channel 4 is re-inventing the educational video game

The Guardian reports on how three years ago the channel radically re-thought its approach to programming for teenage audiences – the results could be about to shock those who don’t realise where interactive educational content is going…

Three years ago Janey Walker, then head of education commissioning at Channel 4, came to an important realisation. At the time, the channel was broadcasting its education content as part of the morning schedule and most of it was going out during term time. Challenging and confrontational programmes like Crip on a Trip and Gay to Z were being aimed straight at teenagers – but the teenagers were at school missing it all.

Meanwhile, this fickle target audience was beginning to watch less broadcast television anyway. Alternative entertainment options like mobile phones, games and social networking were drawing young audiences away from terrestrial TV. Sticking out a few edgy documentaries during school time just wasn’t cutting it anymore.

So Walker decided to switch her budget to the online space, where she could reach teenagers whenever they were available. She also employed two multiplatform commissioners: Matt Locke, to handle digital TV projects, and Alice Taylor, previously Vice President of Digital Content for BBC Worldwide. Taylor is a keen gamer with an excellent blog on games theory, and her remit was to transfer a substantial part of the channel’s annual £6m budget to interactive and online projects.

“We don’t do standard curriculum, we don’t do key stages, it’s a lot more zeitgeist-y than that,” she explains. “We generally look at what gets you from 14 to19 in one piece. So big themes that started in 2009 are things like privacy and security while online – and offline as well, actually. Financial management is going to be big next year. We look at careers, citizenship, I want to explore belief and death. It’s fun, broad themes.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2010/jul/26/educational-games-channel-4-privates

The Guardian reports on a fake analyst that gained access to dozens of US security and intelligence officials using Facebook.

In just a month, Sage made connections with hundreds of people from the US military, intelligence agencies, information security companies and government contractors. The 25-year-old navy cyberthreat analyst was invited to speak at security conferences and offered jobs at companies including Google and Lockheed Martin.

Her Twitter profile proclaimed: “Sorry to say, I’m not a Green Beret! Just a cute girl stopping by to say hey! My life is about info sec [information security] all the way!”

But there was a slight hitch: Robin Sage did not exist. The pretty cybergeek, supposedly educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a prep school in New Hampshire, was in reality an avatar created by a security researcher to find out how social networking sites could be used to covertly gather intelligence.

Thomas Ryan, co-founder of Provide Security, said that despite claiming to have worked professionally for 10 years, Sage attracted dozens of connections across sites including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, including a senior intelligence official in the US marine corps, the chief of staff for a US congressman and several senior executives at defence contractors, as well as an official from the National Reconnaissance Office, which builds, launches and runs US spy satellites.

Many of her new online friends shared personal and professional information and photos, which Ryan claims could have compromised corporate and possibly even national security.

Ryan, who will present his study at the BlackHat security conference in Las Vegas next week, told Computerworld: “I had access to email and bank accounts. I saw patterns in the kind of friends they had. The LinkedIn profiles would show patterns of new business relationships.”

The security analyst told the magazine that the vast majority (82%) of Sage’s online friends were men, suggesting her looks lay behind her popularity. His conclusion after completing the study: “The big takeaway is not to befriend anybody unless you really know who they are.”

Access the original article online at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/24/social-networking-spy-robin-sage

Some internet porn sites in China now accessible

The Independent reported on leaks from Twitter that internet porn that once was blocked by Chinese government censors was now openly available.

“Are they no longer cracking down on pornographic websites? A lot of porn sites and forums are accessible,” technology blogger William Long wrote on his feed.

Messages like that startled Chinese Web surfers, long accustomed to the authorities’ Internet blockades. The country had been in the midst of highly publicized anti-pornography sweeps, and there had been no announcement of any change in government policy.

Yet eight weeks later, the porn sites are still accessible. Still unanswered are questions about whether it’s an official change in policy, a technical glitch or some sort of test by the usually disapproving Chinese Internet police.

“This has never been done with the (Chinese) Internet before,” said Beijing-based Internet analyst Zhao Jing, who goes by the English name Michael Anti.

Whatever the reason, the change has thrown into sharper relief what many people see as the main mission of China’s aggressive Internet censors: blocking sites and content that might challenge the political authority of the communist government. Websites about human rights and dissidents are also routinely banned.

“Maybe they are thinking that if Internet users have some porn to look at, then they won’t pay so much attention to political matters,” Anti said.

The government has not said why the porn sites were unblocked. Repeated calls to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology went unanswered, and the Ministry of Public Security and State Council Information Office – all involved in Web monitoring – did not respond to faxed requests for comment.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/some-internet-porn-sites-in-china-now-accessible-2033867.html

India unveils world’s cheapest laptop

The Guardian reports that India has developed the world’s cheapest laptop – a touchscreen device which resembles Apple’s wildly popular iPad but will cost just £23.

The prototype was unveiled today by Kapil Sibal, the country’s human resource development minister, who said 110 million Indian schoolchildren would be the first recipients.

Then, from next year, the device – designed to bridge the digital divide and boost India’s economy – will become available to students in higher education.

Sibal said: “The solutions for tomorrow will emerge from India. We have reached a stage that today, the motherboard, its chip, the processing, connectivity, all of them cumulatively cost around $35 [£23], including memory, display, everything.”

Past low-cost technologies produced by the country include the £1,450 Tata Nano car and a mobile phone costing less than £11. The iPad retails at about £429 in the UK – 18 times the cost of the Indian laptop.

The tablet computer, developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi and the Indian Institute of Science in Bengalooru, will eventually be made available to the public. It will run on an open source Linux operating system with Open Office software and can be powered by solar panel or batteries as well as mains electricity. It will have no hard drive but users will have access to a USB port, 2GB of memory and a video-conferencing facility, internet browsing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/23/india-unveils-cheapest-laptop

Be careful what you tweet

The BBC discusses how online tools and services such as Twitter and Facebook create a social space that encourages informality, rapid responses and the sort of conversation that typically takes place between friends in contexts that are either private or public-private, like the street, pub or cafe.

Unfortunately, online interaction has other characteristics which are very different from those of a casual conversation in a cafe.

Not least the fact that many services make comments visible to large numbers of people and search engines ensure that a permanent record is kept of every inane observation, spiteful aside or potentially libellous comment on a respected public figure.

This is something that TV nutritionist Gillian McKeith has just discovered the hard way, and her experience offers a salutary lesson for anyone who wants to use social media tools to enhance their reputation rather than expose themselves to public ridicule.

It all started last week when Twitter user @rachelemoody made a remark about Bad Science, Dr Ben Goldacre’s much admired book on the poor state of media coverage of medicine and science. The book includes a chapter that criticises Gillian McKeith’s work…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10740954

The Guardian has posted an interesting article online about the geo-location app FourSquare.

Journalist Leo Hickman reveals how easy it is to uncover the intimate details of a complete stranger’s life…

Louise is a complete stranger. Until 10 minutes ago when I discovered she was located within a mile of me, I didn’t even know of her existence. But equipped only with a smartphone and an increasingly popular social networking application called Foursquare, I have located her to within just a few square metres, accessed her Twitter account and conducted multiple cross-referenced Google searches using the personal details I have already managed to accrue about her from her online presence. In the short time it has taken me to walk to this pub in central London, I probably know more about her than if I’d spent an hour talking to her face-to-face. She doesn’t know it yet, but Louise is about to meet her new digital stalker.

Foursquare is the latest social networking tool to generate online buzz. The story has become very familiar in recent years: a bright young thing develops an internet app that connects people and allows them instantly to communicate with each other; within months, a million or more people around the planet are using it; investors queue up expressing an interest and speculation begins about how much Google, Yahoo!, Apple or Microsoft is willing to throw down to snap it up. (To date, the speculative figure in the media has reached $100m.)

Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Bebo have all come before it, but Foursquare promises something new. After a decade of false dawns for the industry, it leads the way in a wave of new “geolocative” social networking tools. Unofficially, at least, 2010 has been labelled by many within the technology world as the “year of location”.

In addition to offering the communal connectivity of Twitter and Facebook, Foursquare also uses your smartphone’s global positioning system (GPS) to broadcast your precise location to your “friends” and, should you so wish, to the wider world. Users are encouraged to “check in” on their phone whenever they arrive at a point of interest – a shop, a cafe, a museum, a nightclub, an office – so that fellow users know where they are.

A great way supposedly to see if any of your friends are around and about. Glance down at your phone and – as I did with Louise – see the names of all the other users around you within a mile or so and, crucially, exactly where they are and which fellow users they are with. (I was drawn to Louise because she was in a cluster of Foursquare users – albeit still rare, even somewhere such as London – and she was the user allowing a stranger such as myself access to the most personal information – photograph, full name, Twitter feed etc.)

Visit somewhere a lot and you can even vie with other users to become its virtual “mayor”. If you feel so inclined, you can also leave a tip or review in the digital ether – “hey, order the bacon burger, it’s great!” – so others following can benefit from your experience.

Access the rest of the article online at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/23/foursquare

Marketing Week reports that social networking site Bebo is to re-introduce product-placement themed original content on its site, as part of a major revival push.

The website’s new owners are keen to revive the teenager-oriented social media website and compete against services such as Facebook, which hit the 500 million members mark yesterday.

Speaking to Marketing Week, Adam Levin, the new head of Bebo, says he wants to revive the social media site in the US and “re-engage with the core 14-24 year old demographic who rely on the site by creating content purely for them.”

Levin says Bebo is creating a new video homepage where old episodes of product-placement based series, such as Kate Modern, will be screened. This will be complemented by a new series of productions, which will allow product placement in similar ways.

“We definitely want to see more original productions come back to Bebo and create an array of premium content which will allow brands to take part and engage with these core demographics. The opportunities here have worked brilliantly in the past, and we want to experiment with this once more and gauge as much interest as possible.”

Levin says the site has been on “life support of late”, but is now “living and breathing” again, with a worldwide user base of 117 million members.

The social media site is now experimenting with new advertising units, designed to “engage with users better in richer ways”. These are currently being beta tested on 25% of traffic on the site, and are due to be launched fully “imminently”. It is moving offices in the UK and will begin a “major” agency and client roadshow in the next few months.

“We need to bring new life into the site with rich new advertising options, like homepage takeovers, and better access for users. We will be marketing to try and bring people back to Bebo, but what’s been great is since we took over, initiatives such as “Free Love Day” have seen users requesting to reactivate memberships.”

The site is also focusing on mobile and is working on a more optimised version of the site to work on smartphones, and allow better interaction, as well as videos and games – and opportunities for brands to advertise on handsets.

The move comes as Facebook celebrates hitting the 500 million member mark, claiming it is helping “to make the world more open and connect”. Levin acknowledges Facebook’s progress and deems it “untouchable”.

He says Bebo “is for a different generation without all the family” and referring to the recent Dr Pepper scandal to hit Facebook adds “We are learning lessons from Facebook’s mistakes all the time and troubles like this make us all the more determined to ensure we have the most stringent privacy settings possible to avoid errors like this.”

Access the original article online at: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/disciplines/digital/bebo-to-offer-brands-chance-to-reach-teens/3016173.article