In today’s Quick Hits, we share a novel way to sign-in to Facebook, talk about Facebook monitoring tools, offer a warning on recent social media scams, and discuss efforts to educate at-risk Internet users.

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Webcam Lets You Log-in to Facebook with Your Face

A new webcam called YouCam 5 is using facial recognition technology in an unusual and interesting way. According to PCMag.com, YouCam 5 has a feature called “Face Log-in” that, as the name suggests, allows users to log-in to Web services such as Facebook with their face. The software will also log you out of your service if it detects that your face isn’t in front of the camera. Could YouCam represent a new way of protecting oneself from online impersonators and account hackers?

Wall Street Journal Reviews Facebook Monitoring Tool

In a lengthy piece at The Wall Street Journal, Walter Mossberg reviews the social media monitoring tool SocialGuard, which is designed to help parents protect their children on websites like Facebook. According to Mossberg, the service operates in the background sending e-mails when it finds objectionable content, meaning parents don’t have to “intrude” into their child’s Facebook experience. However, there are drawbacks, including the fact that the software can’t detect all elements of a Facebook profile.

Norway Scams and Amy Winehouse Scams Flourish on Facebook

Again demonstrating how popular news can be used by cybercriminals, scams related to the recent attacks in Oslo, Norway and the death of singer Amy Winehouse have flourished across the Internet. Patrik Runald, senior manager of security research at Websense, notes that “videos are an especially popular lure,” encouraging Web surfers to stick to their trusted news sources if they see a link offering a gruesome or macabre video online.

Consumer Advocates Argue for Internet Education for the Poor and Elderly

As Internet use is becoming more and more ubiquitous, some consumer advocates are pushing for education initiatives and strong consumer protection laws to help the poor and elderly surf the Web safely. At a policy forum event covered by USA Today, Nicol Turner-Lee, Vice President of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, said we “don’t want new adopters to face potential harms they’re not ready for.” Given the rise of social media, as well as the growth of data abuse by data miners and marketers, Turner-Lee’s concerns are merited.