Scary Apple, Twitter account hacks: How to protect your accounts
Wonder what it's like to have malicious hackers get into every corner of your digital life -- not only your Twitter account, broadcasting embarrassing tweets in your name, but also seizing control of your Apple account and remote wiping your laptop, tablet and phone? Tech journalist Mat Honan outlined in chilling detail how his digital life was hijacked, from racist tweets being sent from his account to losing 18 months of photos he hadn't backed up.
What's especially scary is that the attack didn't require any virus or other devious software; it was all social engineering. Honan managed to make contact with one of the attackers; and in return for not pressing charges, found out how it was done:
1) Hackers scouted out his Twitter account -- they liked the short 3-letter handle -- which linked to Honan's personal Web site. There, they found his Gmail address.
2) Hacker guessed that the Gmail address was also linked to his Twitter account.
3) Hacker went to Google "lost my password" page, entered Honan's email address and saw a partially obscured alternate email address: m••••n@me.com. Read more...
Website predicts your next tweet … kinda
There's a website that claims to predict your future tweets based on past ones. Unfortunately, it doesn't always produce the most coherent results. What it does consistently do is spit out hilarious combinations of your favorite phrases and words. Read more...
Twitter now lets governments decide what content is suitable for their citizens
Twitter announced a major change to its censorship policy Thursday to allow the social media service to choose which tweets are seen in which countries. Though it has yet to use the ability, Twitter says it can now "reactively withhold content from users in a specific country — while keeping it available in the rest of the world." Read more...