Firefox add-on can hijack Facebook, Twitter logins

Secured logins have been one of the most crucial issues pertaining to web security today. Eric Butler, a freelance web application developer showed how vulnerable current day websites are, reports Techtree. At the ToorCon security conference, Butler showed a Firefox add-on dubbed Firesheep that lets anyone scan a Wi-Fi network and steal login details of Facebook, Twitter and several other services. This is one heck of a dangerous extension that points out the security loophole in any website. Butler created Firesheep extension for Firefox with an altruistic aim to point out the negligence of popular web services that follow weaker security measures…

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Social networking your way to a new job

The job-search process has undergone a revolution since the advent of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites, reports the New York Times. Job hunters today must learn to navigate the sometimes slippery social mores of online discourse—for instance, learning to promote themselves without coming off as self-involved. At the same time, they must be constantly vigilant about managing their online reputation; the slightest slip might discourage potential employers. “It’s almost like social media has replaced the white pages,” said Nancy Halverson, senior vice president for learning and talent development at the recruiting firm MRINetwork. “Recruiters don’t even know how to find you if you don’t have a presence online. It’s nonnegotiable—you have to have a profile on a social networking site.” For many people looking for work, however, the technological requirements of the modern job hunt present a profound hurdle. Increasingly, these people are turning up for help at the career offices and continuing education departments of their local universities and community colleges. “Teaching people how to use these new tools is really becoming one of the main things that we do in career counseling offices,” said Nancy Richmond, assistant director of career counseling and exploration at MIT. “We’re showing them that using social media is a great way to show employers that they’re on the forefront of cutting-edge trends. It can be extremely helpful for their careers.”

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Oceanographer touts deep sea web surfing

Students can see what Ballard sees through the new Nautilus Live web site.
Students can see what Ballard sees through the new Nautilus Live web site.

Bob Ballard, the explorer best known for the discovery of the Titanic and other wrecks, has not only made deep-sea exploration more accessible for K-12 and college students, but he’ll feed them updates through two of their favorite web sites: Facebook and Twitter.

Ballard visited the Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration in Connecticut June 23 to introduce his new Nautilus Live Theater, along with a new web site where people can watch his expeditions live.

“The idea is to have millions of people follow these expeditions,” said Peter Glankoff, the aquarium’s senior vice president of marketing and public affairs.…Read More

Don’t take chances with information

TwitterTexting

Twitter, which started as a way for friends and family to share quick 140-character messages, has gone mainstream.  So much so, I’ve even heard suggestions that school districts consider using it as a means to notify parents and students of emergency situations on campus.

It’s an interesting idea.  After all, Twitter is free and can reach hundreds, even thousands of followers in seconds. It can reach people by their smart phones, laptops, or desktop computers.…Read More

Colleges click the ‘like’ button on social media classes

Drury University students can earn three credits if they complete the new Social Media Certification Program.
Drury University students can earn three credits if they complete the new Social Media Certification Program.

From public relations in social media to the potential marketing power of “mommy bloggers,” colleges and universities are offering graduate-level certificates focusing on the business side of Twitter, Facebook, and a host of other sites that draw Americans from every demographic.

Social media courses have sprung up on college campuses as social media web sites—once seen as a virtual playground for bored college students—have become central to marketing campaigns, branding items, and communication with customers, group members, and alumni, for example.

Drury University in Springfield, Miss., announced this month that it would join a handful of schools nationwide offering social media certificates geared for graduate students and business professionals hoping to learn the latest in Facebook and Twitter-based marketing and how search engine optimization can bring more web users to a company’s web site.…Read More

Are today’s students addicted to social media?

One-third of teens surveyed said they send more than 100 texts every day.
One-third of teens surveyed said they send more than 100 texts every day.

University of Maryland students who went 24 hours without TV, cell phones, MP3 players, and laptops during a recent study reported symptoms you might expect from someone struggling with substance abuse, including an “unbearable” need for electronic communication, persistent anxiety, and a frantic “craving for some technology.” The study’s findings have prompted some observers to ask: Are today’s students addicted to technology—and if so, what implications might this have for education?

The university’s International Center for Media & the Public Agenda (ICMPA) on April 21 released the findings of its study, “24 Hours: Unplugged,” which had 200 undergraduates go without access to any form of media for one day, even requiring study participants to leave their dormitory if a roommate was watching TV.

The students blogged about their technology detox afterward and compiled more than 100,000 words on the study’s web site, roughly the length of a 400-page novel. Responses varied from aggravation to frustration to isolation, which was especially keen for students without access to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, or the ability to send dozens of text messages throughout the day.…Read More

Social media: Colleges’ newest battlefield for students, alumni donations

Seventy percent of higher-ed officials say colleges should engage students using social media.
Seventy percent of higher-ed officials say colleges should engage students using social media.

Colleges’ unending campaign to attract more students and alumni donations has higher-education officials looking to two technologies that consume a growing chunk of people’s free time: social media and video games.

University admissions officers are fielding prospective students’ application questions on Facebook and keeping alumni up to date with multiple daily tweets that could grow campus coffers if graduates feel more connected to their alma maters.

Some colleges lure potential students with walking, talking digital characters, or avatars, that guide visitors through an application process that sometimes frustrates prospective students and results in hundreds of unfinished online applications.…Read More

Site asks social networkers to rethink revelations

Frequent updates on web sites like Twitter could make users vulnerable.
Frequent updates on web sites like Twitter could make users vulnerable.

As more people reveal their whereabouts on social networks, a new site has sprung up to remind students and others that letting everyone know where you are — and, by extension, where you’re not — could leave you vulnerable to those with less-than-friendly intentions. The site’s name says it all: Please Rob Me.

Launched last week, Please Rob Me is exceptionally straightforward. Pretty much all it does is show posts that appear on Twitter from a location-sharing service, Foursquare, that has become popular on college campuses. Please Rob Me puts these posts into a long, chronological list it refers to as ”Recent Empty Homes.”

Please Rob Me assembles its list by taking information that Twitter makes freely available so that many web sites can show tweets. But the point of Please Rob Me could be made with data that flows on dozens of other sites as well.…Read More

Teens’ social media use on the rise, but fewer are blogging

The use of mobile devices has led to shorter forms of communication among youth.
The use of mobile devices has led to shorter forms of communication among youth.

The use of social-networking web sites among young Americans continues to climb, with nearly three-fourths of American teens now using these sites. But fewer teens and young adults are blogging now than four years ago, and the number of those who use Twitter is still very low.

These are among the findings of a new study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, called “Social Media & Mobile Internet Use Among Teens and Young Adults.” Released Feb. 3, the study reveals new trends with implications for schools.

The study found that young people are losing interest in long-form blogging, as their communication habits have become increasingly brief and mobile. Technology experts say it doesn’t mean blogging is going away. Instead, they say, it has gone the way of the telephone and eMail—still useful, just not trendy.…Read More