Consumerist
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dell
Dell Downgraded From "Evil" To "Bumbling"
"They've been downgraded from evil to bumbling." - Me in FORTUNE about Dell's online thrusts that attempt to repair their image and listen to their customers more. What do you think? Do you feel any better about them than you did two years ago, or are do their customers still writhe in the eternal flames of "Dell Hell?" Would you add Dell to your Facebook?
Michael Dell 'Friends' his customers [FORTUNE]
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Another article about Facebook applications and their scary privacy implications. Why does a Sudoku puzzle need to know that you have two kids? [Washington Post]
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privacy
The BBC Writes Application That Steals Personal Info From Facebook
Feel wary about giving applications access to your Facebook page? Worried one of those quizzes or games might be maliciously harvesting your data? You were right to worry. The BBC had the same idea, so they decided to write a program to do just that. And it worked. Not only did it steal the data of Facebook users who installed the application, it also victimized all of their "friends." More » -
astroturfing
Ticketmaster's Facebook Page Is Full Of Fake Friends
With over 150,000 fans, Ticketmaster's Facebook page is one of the most popular. Too bad most of its friends' profiles are fake.
More »
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beacon
Woman Sues Blockbuster For Telling All Her Facebook Friends What She Was Renting
Facebook's Beacon has finally resulted in a lawsuit. A Texas woman has sued Blockbuster for participating in Beacon, claiming that "Blockbuster violated the federal Videotape Privacy Protection Act by sharing information about her movie rentals and sales with Facebook without first obtaining her written consent," says MediaPost. More » -
privacy
Are You Sure You Want To Add That Facebook App?
Gregory writes in to point out that Facebook does a lousy job of monitoring the development of its third-party Platform applications—and in fact many of them are written so badly that they can be easily hacked. The examples he cites, which are listed in the winter issue of the hacker magazine 2600, are all fairly mild stunts like spoofing user IDs, changing the moods of another user, and re-routing gifts, "but this information could be used to mount large scale social engineering attacks if automated and coupled with other information." To illustrate how easy it is to change another user's settings, he pointed us to a YouTube example of how to change another users "mood" via the Mood app. More » -
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taking it seriously
Facebook Takes Letting The Whole World See Your Private Photos Seriously
WHO: Facebook
WHAT: A security lapse made it possible for unwelcome strangers to peruse personal photos posted on Facebook, circumventing a recent upgrade to the Web site's privacy controls, says the Associated Press
WHERE: Security lapse exposes Facebook photos [CNN]
THE QUOTE:"We take privacy very seriously and continue to make enhancements to the site," said a Facebook spokesperson. More » -
worst company in america
Round 2: Facebook vs The American Arbitration Association
This is round 2 in our Worst Company In America contest, Facebook vs The American Arbitration Association. Their major crimes: The American Arbitration Association is the main supplier of kangaroo courts to companies who want to deprive consumers of most of their rights in the event of a legal dispute. Most contracts you sign with companies these days contain a mandatory arbitration clause. Facebook is a social networking site for yupsters that for a while was spying on all your purchases and selling the data to big big advertisers so they could sell you more ads. Which is the greater threat to our way of life? Choose!
PREVIOUSLY: Comcast vs Menu Foods
This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america/ -
policy revision
Facebook Says They Will Delete Your Account If You Email And Ask Nicely
Facebook is changing their tune to avoid another "Beacon" fiasco:
On Monday, Facebook modified its help pages to tell people that if they wanted to remove their accounts entirely, they could e-mail the company to have it done. But on Tuesday, representatives of Facebook stopped short of saying the company would introduce a one-step delete account option.
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privacy
Joining Facebook Is Like Joining The Mafia. Just Try To Leave.
The New York Times says that joining Facebook is easy, but leaving is hard. In fact, it might just be impossible. Even if you delete your information, Facebook keeps a copy.
"It's like the Hotel California," said Nipon Das, 34, a director at a biotechnology consulting firm in Manhattan, who tried unsuccessfully to delete his account this fall. "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."
More »
New York, 5:23 PM
Mon Dec 1
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