WASHINGTON (AFP) - - Facebook on Friday was blocking links to bogus websites set up to look like the home page of the popular social network in a "phishing" attack by hackers"Were aware of the attack and are already blocking links to these new phishing sites from being shared on Facebook," the Palo Alto, California, company said in a statement.
"Were also cleaning up phony messages and wall posts and resetting the passwords of affected users," it said.
Facebook did not say how many of the 200 million users of the social network had been affected in the latest hacker attack.
An unknown number of Facebook users received a message on Thursday from a friend's account urging them to visit websites such as "151.im."
The sites were realistic-looking replicas of the social network's log-in page but were actually controlled by the hackers. The bogus page would capture password information when a user logged in.
Facebook said it believed the latest attack was related to a similar scheme two weeks ago known as "fbstarter.com."
Online social networking services are prime targets for hackers because they provide trusted gateways into users' networks of friends, according to computer security specialists.
Hackers can use breached social networking accounts for "nefarious purposes" such as infecting computers with malware, malicious software, that steals valuable data or commandeers control of machines, according to Internet security firm MarkMonitor.
Facebook advises users to shun messages, posts or links asking for log-in information and to always make certain they are visiting the social networking website's legitimate address of facebook.com.

source: yahoo news.ph

WASHINGTON -- The White House on Friday opened doors at online hot spots MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.
Content from US President Barack Obama's website WhiteHouse.gov is being fed in real time to White House profile pages at MySpace, Facebook and Twitter and members of those communities can sign up as friends or followers.
"Technology has profoundly impacted how -- and where -- we all consume information and communicate with one another," the White House said in a blog posting at WhiteHouse.gov titled "WhiteHouse 2.0."
"WhiteHouse.gov is an important part of the Administration's effort to use the Internet to reach the public quickly and effectively -- but it isn't the only place."
The blog posting referred to an Obama speech from a week earlier in which the president said the government needs to be more creative and transparent, and that he would "reach beyond the halls of government."
"Beginning today, users can connect directly with the Obama administration on a daily basis to stay informed and educated about the priorities and activities of the United States government," MySpace said.
"The community also provides users the opportunity to voice their thoughts and concerns directly to the White House by leaving comments and participating in discussion forums," the social network said in a statement.
Crowned the first "Internet president," Obama also has photos, videos and information available online at Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo, and iTunes.

source:newsinfo.inquirer.net

WASHINGTON -- A 21-year-old Swede was indicted on Tuesday on charges of hacking into the computer systems of NASA and US networking giant Cisco, the US Justice Department said.
Philip Gabriel Pettersson, also known as "Stakkato," was indicted on charges of intrusion and misappropriating trade secrets, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Pettersson was accused in the five-count indictment of breaking into the computer system and network of San Jose, California-based Cisco in May 2004 and stealing operating system code.
He allegedly broke into computers belonging to the US space agency NASA's Ames Research Center and the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division in Moffett Field, California, in May and October of the same year.
The Justice Department did not provide Pettersson's current whereabouts but said it will "continue to work cooperatively with the Swedish authorities on the case."
It said the maximum penalty for each charge of intrusion and theft of trade secrets is 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.


source:tech.yahoo.com/news