
In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about a gang of social media-savvy burglars, a new clickjacking attack on Facebook, and how a newspaper editor was suspended for his Facebook comments.
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New Hampshire Burglary Ring Used Facebook to Plan Crimes
A burglary ring in New Hampshire stole more than $100,000 worth of property in a rash of home break-ins. The ring used Facebook to scout their victims. Whenever a target would post that they were away from their home on their Facebook profile, the criminals would rob the house. Similar instances of home break-ins have been tied to Facebook, Twitter, and location-based social sites like Foursquare, but this burglary ring is one of the biggest and most organized efforts to use social media for identifying targets.
Facebook Hit by “Cheerleaders Gone Wild” Clickjacking Attack
Clickjacking, a cybercrime involving tricking Web users into clicking unsafe web pages, is a growing problem on Facebook. Recently, the site was hit by a clickjacking attack in which users were encouraged to “like” a page promising “cheerleaders gone wild.” Once users clicked on the page, “the account also invisibly indicated that it ‘likes’ two other Facebook pages, ‘Funniest Videos on the Web’ and ‘Free ringtones every day.’”
Australian Newspaper Editor Suspended Over Insensitive Facebook Comments
According to the Daily Nation, “an Australian newspaper editor was suspended Friday for reportedly saying the killing of a policeman would lift circulation, writing on his Facebook site he would ‘make the most’ of the tragedy.” The insensitive remarks quickly caught the attention of newspaper executives, leading to the 23-year-old editor’s suspension.
Trade Group Criticizes Internet Privacy Legislation
NetChoice, a trade group representing the e-commerce industry, claims that several proposed Internet privacy laws, including privacy legislation from Rep. Bobby Rush and Reps. Rick Boucher and Cliff Stearns, would “cripple the online advertising and publishing industries.” Since the issue of Internet privacy was brought before Congress, industry trade groups and privacy rights organizations have traded blows over the merits of new privacy legislation.
Internet Users Spend More Time on Yahoo and Facebook, Less on Google
New data from comScore suggests that Internet users spend more time on Facebook and Yahoo than they do on Google. In a way, this is not surprising news. Facebook users spend a considerable amount of time on the website, surfing friends’ profiles and leaving comments, while Yahoo boasts a variety of news content, as well as games and other features. Google, on the other hand, is mainly a search engine. One caveat to the comScore research is that it tracked all Google sites, including Google-owned YouTube.
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