Facebook users hit by hardcore porn, violence and animal abuse images

Facebook users hit by hardcore porn, violence and animal abuse images:


by Graham Cluley on November 15, 2011


Explicit and violent images have flooded the newsfeeds of many Facebook users in the last 24 hours or so.


The content, which includes explicit hardcore porn images, photoshopped photos of celebrities such as Justin Bieber in sexual situations, pictures of extreme violence and even a photograph of an abused dog, have been distributed via the site - seemingly without the knowledge of users.

Some Facebook users vented their annoyance on Twitter, with some claiming they would deactivate their Facebook accounts as a result:

One commenter to Naked Security, rxladyblue, told us:

I just viewed a gay pornography pic that was on the news feed under her name. She could not see the pic but all of her friends could see it.

Another Facebook user, ralahinn1, said:

One of my friend's accounts was compromised and messages containing a video were sent. My daughter's boyfriend had something posted on his wall that he couldn't see on his computer, but my daughter could see on his wall from hers.

It isn't presently clear precisely how the offending content has been spread - whether users are falling for a clickjacking scheme, are being tagged in content without their knowledge, have poorly chosen privacy settings, have been tricked into installing malicious code, or have fallen victim to another vulnerability inside Facebook itself. What's clear, however, is that mischief-makers are upsetting many Facebook users and making the social networking site far from a family-friendly place.

Reporters at Gawker have speculated that hackers associated with Anonymous may be responsible for the attack, but that is unconfirmed.

So, it seems highly offensive spam content has successfully spread via Facebook for 24 hours or more. It's precisely this kind of problem which is likely to drive people away from the site. Facebook needs to get a handle on this problem quickly, and prevent it from happening on such a scale again.

Of course, this incident raises another important question. Many firms may be comfortable allowing users to access sites such as Facebook, but what happens when hardcore pornographic and offensive content is being spread. Should companies block access to sites hosting offensive content?

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IBM Simulates 4.5% of the Human Brain; Skynet Is Next

By Jason Kennedy, PCWorld Oct 26, 2011 5:27 PM

It’s pretty well known at this point that computers are quickly catching up with humanity as far as brain power is concerned. Storage-wise, we’ve been long surpassed by machines, and powerfully fast computers can run circles around the human brain in solving complex equations. On the other hand, humanity wins in the brain's sheer computational power and energy efficiency.

At least, for now.

IBM’s Blue Gene supercomputer has already surpassed the processing power of some of our weaker animal relatives; mice, rats and cats, and according to IBM’s research paper, the human brain isn’t that far ahead.

The brain contains on the order of 20 billion neurons that are connected by roughly 200 trillion synapses. IBM’s Blue Gene supercomputer has 147,456 parallel processors, each with about 1GB of working memory. This has enabled them to simulate about 4.5 percent of the human brain. That only leaves an estimated 732,544 processors left to add in to equal the processing power of 1 human brain--a task IBM says it will complete by 2019.

When was Judgement Day, again?

We’ve covered the apocalyptic aspect of Moore’s Law of computers before, but it’s worth revisiting here. Processing power on par with the human brain could spark real, thoughtful artificial intelligence and bring about the singularity of science fiction, a point where computers are smart enough to make themselves increasingly intelligent through iteration and design, outstripping humanity and becoming the most intelligent things around. Would this be beneficial to humanity or mean our end as the dominant species?

What do you think?

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Laptop Suspected Source in Blaze: Fire Officials Advise Caution With Laptop Chargers

Laptop Suspected Source in Blaze: Fire Officials Advise Caution With Laptop Chargers:
By Melanie Pinola, PCWorld Oct 31, 2011 1:39 PM
A North Carolina fire captain is warning laptop users not to leave their laptops charging on "soft surfaces," after a blaze some suspect was ignited by a laptop left charging on a bed.

Courtesy of WECT

No official ruling has been given for the cause of the house fire in Wilmington, NC, that started around 2 a.m on Sunday morning. However, Stephen Vorwerk, who was renting the house, told WECT news that the fire started because a laptop was left charging on the bed overnight.

I spoke with Wilmington Fire Department Captain Ian Tedder, who investigated the fire. Tedder said investigators were "unable to rule out the laptop and power supply as the cause of the fire" and that the two year old laptop is still under investigation.

According to WECT, Vorwerk did not have renter's insurance. The fire destroyed about $3,000 in computer equipment and has covered the entire second story in soot. To help others avoid the same fate, Vorwerk is urging people not to put anything plugged in and charging on a flammable surface.

Although Tedder could not say that the laptop was definitely responsible for the blaze, he agreed with Vorwerk that "absolutely" people should not leave any type of appliance on something that can burn--especially a laptop. Tedder noted that everyone knows how hot they can get, and when placed on a sofa or a bed they are unable to breathe.

Incidents of laptops sparking fires are rare, though, Tedder said.

Previous fires and numerous laptop battery recalls have raised awareness of the incredibly small but possible risk of batteries overheating, as well as steps you can take for laptop battery safety. Now it's time to add to those safety precautions keeping your laptop or smartphone on a hard, flat surface that won't easily heat up and burst into flames.

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