Facebook security spends all night battling worms

Facebook is under an attack of the worms similar to the MyDoom worm, rendered into an image above, that became the fastest spreading email worm ever in 2004. In recent days, thousands of users have fallen prey to at least two strains of malicious code that once downloaded onto a users computer, steal that user's Facebook username and password in order to spread itself via false links posted to friends' messages boards. Facebook security chief Max Kelly writes on the company blog that after a night of work, his team "identified and blocked the ability to link to the malicious websites from anywhere on Facebook." Security firm Sophos, which of course makes a living scaring people, says the threat isn't over. "If workers are allowed to be given access to these sites," goes Sophos "analyst" Graham Cluley's pitch,"then it's vital that they do not put their personal and corporate data at risk, and are protected from web-based infections."

Facebook redesign exposed birth dates

Here's a good way for Facebook to keep its demographic young: IT security firm Sophos reports that early on during Facebook's beta test of a new user-profile design, the site revealed its members birth dates, even if members had set that information to private. That'll keep the Olds who turn 43 every year off the site. Facebook needs to be very careful when it comes to privacy — the site would like to figure out a way to target ads based on user's personal data, and wants to make sure users are comfortable inputting accurate information. And Facebook is being hypocritical: When Slide's Facebook Top Friends app revealed users' birth dates, Facebook temporarily kicked the app off the website. Of course, we won't hold our breath waiting for Facebook to suspend its entire website. But maybe it could back down from its holier-than-thou pose that the platform is a level playing field and Facebook is just another player? Yes, please.

Workers say 43 percent of employers block access to Facebook, according to a poll conducted by Internet filter provider Sophos. Most businesses fear productivity loss; Sophos, we suspect, smells a marketing opportunity. [CNET]