Revealed: Which social networks pose the biggest risk?

One of the nuggets of interesting data inside the newly-published Sophos Security Threat Report 2010 reveals which social network people believe poses the biggest security risk.

We polled over 500 firms, and 60% felt that Facebook was the biggest danger:



We shouldn't forget, of course, that Facebook is by far the largest social network - and you'll find more bad apples in the biggest orchard.

The truth is that the security team at Facebook works hard to counter threats on their site - it's just that policing 350 million users can't be an easy job for anyone. But there is no doubt that simple changes could make Facebook users safer. For instance, when Facebook rolled-out its new recommended privacy settings late last year, it was a backwards step, encouraging many users to share their information with everybody on the internet.

Although LinkedIn is considered to be by far the least threatening of the networks, it's worth remembering that it can still provide a sizeable pool of information for hackers.

Targeted attacks against companies are in the news at the moment, and the more information a criminal can get about your organization's structure, the easier for them to send a poisoned attachment to precisely the person whose computer they want to break into.

Sites like LinkedIn provide hackers with what is effectively a corporate directory, listing your staff's names and positions. This makes it child's play to reverse-engineer the email addresses of potential victims.

If you haven't already done so, download the Sophos Security Threat Report 2010now.

http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2010/02/01/revealed-social-networks-pose-biggest-risk/

The New MySpace Mail:Big-Time Email Competitor

We’ve been covering the new web email project MySpace has been working on in stealth mode for the past several month. Now it’s ready to begin a quiet rollout today, in beta, for users around the globe.


Here’s why this matters: Right off the bat, MySpace Mail with a new interface is a major player in the e-mail space based on sheer size alone. With nearly 130 million global users, it will enter the field as the 4th largest email provider in the world, and 2nd largest in the U.S. (see chart). And it’s being built on top of the MySpace Messaging service that plenty of people are already using a lot — it accounts for some 20% of MySpace’s site traffic, we’re told.

Here’s what else is nice: Because MySpace has had so-called vanity URLs since its inception (unlike Facebook, which just rolled out the feature), you can use those as your email address with the new MySpace Mail. So for a page that resides at myspace.com/techcrunch, the email would be techcrunch@myspace.com, for example. And, if you don’t like the vanity URL you currently have, MySpace is giving you the opportunity to change it to something else (assuming it’s available). This would also change your vanity URL for your profile.

More of MySpace Mail story :http://www.techcrunch.com/

Using Twitter and Facebook to Find a Job

Brian Ward lost his job on a Friday afternoon. Eleven days later he had a new one. With nearly 1 in 10 people out of work and the typical job search lasting 12 weeks, how did the Cleveland-based software architect pull it off? In a phrase: online social networking.


Welcome to the new rules of the job hunt. Gone are the days of simply posting your résumé on CareerBuilder, e-mailing former colleagues and trolling company websites for open slots. These days, if you're serious about being hired, you really put your computer and PDA to work. That means getting word out on social sites like Facebook and MySpace, sending instant job-search updates via messaging feeds like Twitter, and meeting new people who might be able to lend a hand through Web-networking outfits like LinkedIn and Ryze.

Why? Because for all our technology, the best way to land a job is still by having someone who already works at a company mention your name. Each year, the staffing consultancy CareerXroads surveys large firms about where they find new hires, and since at least 2005 the top spot has held steady: some 27% come from referrals. (Job boards, by comparison, have fed firms a consistent 12% of new hires; the rest come from recruiters, company websites, etc.)

The difference today is that a lot more of those recommendations start with connections made through online networks. A recent report by market researcher Nielsen found that people now spend more time using social networking sites than they do personal e-mail.

By Barbara Kiviat for Time.com
Read full story on: www.time.com/time/business

MySpace profile is being changed up by the upcoming of IM

With the passage of time previous MySpace’s desktop-only instant client, MySpaceIM, is transferring in-browser. It is under planning that it will be rolled out to other English-speaking countries (including the U.S.) in the coming few weeks though the company is beta-testing it with Canadian users at present.

From the Web-based Meebo, MySpaceIM is already accessible. At the bottom of the browser window in its own toolbar the new MySpace is attached and is very much akin to the Facebook Chat.

Also it can be popped out into its own browser window. Not only this you can also IM with MySpace users who aren't on your friends list, something that I don't quite understand the benefits of, or you can toggle the privacy settings to always be "invisible" or to only accept IMs from people you've already approved as friends.Whereas MySpace owned by News Corp is not ditching its downloadable desktop IM client. It is said that they both are interoperable.

Though it is suspected that Facebook users have simply turned off Facebook Chat still a younger, more entertainment-focused feel, MySpace may have better luck with in-browser IM. It is like a planned scheme to loose the membership-count battle to Facebook many months before. And finally MySpace is making its efforts to increase its edge in user engagement.