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Metamorphosis is an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit foundation based in Skopje, Macedonia. Its main goals are development of democracy and prosperity by promoting knowledge-based economy and information society.
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Home  News BBC: Identity 'at risk' on Facebook
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BBC: Identity 'at risk' on Facebook |
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8.05.2008. |
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Personal details of Facebook users could potentially be stolen, according to BBC.
The popular social networking site allows users to add a variety of applications to their profile. But a malicious program, masquerading as a harmless application, could potentially harvest personal data.
Facebook says users should exercise caution when adding applications. Any programs which violate their terms will be removed, the network said.
One of the reasons Facebook has become so popular so quickly is because of the wealth of applications users can add to their profile pages.
Little games, quizzes, IQ tests, there are thousands of them available. And once you have added an application, your friends are encouraged to add it too.
Anyone with a basic understanding of web programming can write an application.
Using a couple of laptops and a programmer, the BBC team created a special application for Facebookers to add. Such an application could look like a game, a test, or a joke of the day, but whatever it looks like, in the background, it is collecting personal details, and those of the users' friends, and e-mailing them out of Facebook, to the inbox of the application’s creator.
Source: BBC "Identity 'at risk' on Facebook" May 1, 2008
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