It's the end of the line for Yahoo Messenger. As of July, it will be no more, marking the end of an era. The announcement comes just six months after AIM (the old AOL messaging program) was shut down. The first major messaging programs from the early days of the internet will soon be a thing of the past. Users will have six months to download their chat histories from Yahoo Messenger. If they haven't gotten what they need by then, they'll lose their chance forever. It probably won't … Read more
Some Private Posts On Facebook May Have Been Exposed
Facebook is in hot water again. Recently, the company admitted that while testing a new feature on the site, they inadvertently made public the posts of more than fourteen million users. The incident occurred between May 18th and May 22nd and occurred when Facebook was testing a new "Featured Posts" enhancement. The goal was that users could selectively make posts visible to everyone. Unfortunately, the error created a situation where any posts users in the test group made were … Read more
Facebook Is Adding New Features, Including Dating
At this year's F8 Developer's conference, Facebook announced a raft of changes and updates it will be rolling out later this year. Some are fun, others practical, but they're all interesting. Here are the highlights: Get Ready for "FaceDate" This announcement is interesting. Not so much because the idea of using Facebook to meet someone is new, but because of what the announcement did to the stock prices of existing companies. The new feature will look and feel a bit like Tinder, with … Read more
Facebook Post Removals May Soon Get An Appeals Process
There are some big changes coming to Facebook, which may have some serious unintended consequences. In a recent interview, Mark Zuckerberg indicated that he's considering allowing users to independently appeal to the content moderation team if their posts get taken down for violating various community policies. On the surface of it, this seems like it would be a good thing. Zuckerberg said that the move is designed to give people in the Facebook communities what they want, rather than … Read more
Vertical Video Support On YouTube For iOS Finally Here
The owners of Android devices have been able to properly view vertical videos for more than two years, but for Apple users, it was a different story. Instead of getting the traditional full-screen experience when viewing vertical videos, Apple users were saddled with annoying vertical bars that would appear on either side of the video itself. It's a small thing, but undeniably annoying. Now, at long last, the problem has been solved and now Apple users can enjoy the same vertical, … Read more
Virus Spread Through Facebook Messenger Mines For Cryptocurrency
Facebook scams are fairly common occurrences, owing to the sheer size of the platform's user base. It's no surprise that there's a new one making the rounds that you should be aware of. This latest threat was discovered by researchers at Trend Micro, and makes use of Facebook Messenger. If you get a message containing an embedded video file saved as a zip (the file name usually appears as "video_xxxx.zip"), don't click on it, even if it's from someone you know. This file is a modified … Read more
New Facebook Messenger App For Kids Raises Privacy Questions
On the surface, the new Facebook For Kids messenger app looks like a solid win that should put the minds of parents all over the world at ease. The company conducted extensive interviews and assembled a Blue-Ribbon panel of experts to help them craft the new tool, aimed at children ages 6-12. The app itself is user-friendly and filled with bright, cheerful primary colors that appeal to kids, but there are problems, or, at the very least, valid concerns. For one thing, Facebook has made no … Read more
A Million Imgur Users Affected By Breach
Do you use the image hosting service, Imgur? If you do, there's a slight chance that you'll be prompted to change your password the next time you log on. That's because the company's servers were breached in 2014, and the hackers made off with 1.7 million usernames and passwords, which represents just a tiny fraction of the company's 150 million users. Although the breach happened a few years ago, the company only found out about it on Thanksgiving Day of this year. Their response was … Read more
Facebook Has A Major Problem With Fake Accounts
Facebook has been in hot water with evidence mounting that hordes of fake accounts were used to spread misinformation about the recent presidential election. In addition to sparking congressional hearings, it also prompted Facebook and the other major social media companies to do a deep dive into their own active accounts and get a better sense of just how large and pervasive the problem was. According to Facebook's most recent quarterly earnings report, the problem turned out to be a fair … Read more
Watch Out For New Facebook “Trusted Friend” Scam
If you can't trust your friends, who can you trust? No one, apparently. There's a new scam on Facebook that's making waves, and it's one you should be mindful of. You may get an "urgent message" from someone you know, asking for your help in recovering their Facebook account. This is a tried and true phishing scam, relying on some basic psychology. After all, if you get an earnest sounding message from someone you know explaining that you're listed as one of their "Trusted Friends" and … Read more
