Beware of fake Facebook 'dislike' button

With new technologies and advances in the social realm it's bound to happen where there are programs aimed to 'attack' or otherwise fool the user into accepting something that may otherwise look harmless. While on the surface this may be true but in recent article written by CNN's John Sutter we find out that there may be more happening behind the scenes of 3rd party applications. So be sure you know what, why, how and who you are sending your personal information to. 

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(CNN) -- Lots of people think the Internet is a bit too chipper -- so much so that they'veclamored for a "dislike" button on Facebook, which, to date, only officially allows people to "like" content on its site.

Now, some social-media spoilers are trying to turn the public's desire for that dislike buttoninto a scam, according to a security researcher.

Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at the British security firm Sophos, wrote in a blog post on Monday that fake dislike buttons are going viral on Facebook.

Watch out for posts that look like this, he says: "I just got the Dislike button, so now I can dislike all of your dumb posts lol!!"

That statement on Facebook is typically followed with a link, Cluley writes, that takes people to a fake Facebook application.

Instead of installing a dislike button, Cluley says, the application uses a person's social network to continue spreading the fake program.

"If you do give the app permission to run, it silently updates your Facebook status to promote the link that tricked you in the first place, thus spreading the message virally to your Facebook friends and online contacts," he writes.

Forget Brainstorming

What you think you know about fostering creativity is wrong. A look at what really works.

Brainstorming in a group became popular in 1953 with the publication of a business book,Applied Imagination. But it’s been proven not to work since 1958, when Yale researchers found that the technique actually reduced a team’s creative output: the same number of people generate more and better ideas separately than together. In fact, according to University of Oklahoma professor Michael Mumford, half of the commonly used techniques intended to spur creativity don’t work, or even have a negative impact. As for most commercially available creativity training, Mumford doesn’t mince words: it’s “garbage.” Whether for adults or kids, the worst of these programs focus solely on imagination exercises, expression of feelings, or imagery. They pander to an easy, unchallenging notion that all you have to do is let your natural creativity out of its shell. However, there are some techniques that do boost the creative process:

Don’t tell someone to ‘be creative.’

Such an instruction may just cause people to freeze up. However, according to the University of Georgia’s Mark Runco, there is a suggestion that works: “Do something only you would come up with—that none of your friends or family would think of.” When Runco gives this advice in experiments, he sees the number of creative responses double.

Stargazing in Pittsburgh

via googleblog; Humans have always been fascinated by the night sky. And Googlers are no exception. Over the years, Google engineers have used their 20 percent time to create Google Sky, Moon, Mars and most recently Google Sky Map for Android. This handy app, built by engineers in our Pittsburgh office, turns your Android-powered phone into a live map of the night sky. You just point your phone to the sky and it gives you information about the stars and planets that you’re looking at. Since we introduced the app a year ago, Sky Map has been downloaded more than 5 million times.

With Zuckerberg Gone Android, Will Facebook Get Better Mobile Apps?

Android users, rejoice! Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg will now be forced to feel your pain.

The Android app for Facebook could be charitably described as less functional than the iPhone app. We’re sure there are good reasons for this, the greatest of which is likely market share. With iOS-running phones composing more than half of all smartphones, according to recent research, it’s in Facebook’s best interest to focus on this segment first.

Still, for the ever-growing number of Android device users who also would like a little Facebook mobile action, the pared-down feature set of Facebook for Android makes us feel neglected — the redheaded stepchildren of Facebook mobile users. But now that “Zuck” is one of us, all that’s about to change… right?

Historically, Facebook has made fairly few gestures toward the Android platform. It launched its official Android app last fall and rolled out an SDK for Android devs just a couple months ago.

Old Spice Sales Double With YouTube Campaign

Who says social media doesn't work... 

via mashable! You know those YouTube videos with that manly Old Spice guyand his hilarious responses to Twitter fans? Of course you do. So does everybody, it seems, because Old Spice body wash sales have increased 107% in the past month in part thanks to that social media marketing campaign.

read the whole article on mashable!

Posted via email from Brian's posterous

Google Alarm Tells You If Google Is Watching You

mashable.com reports:

Another rad browser plugin called Google Alarm hit the Internets this week, which alerts you every time your personal info is sent to Google's servers. How? Via notifications, a running tally of dangerous sites and, naturally, a super annoying, vuvuzela-like alarm.

Read the whole story: mashable.com

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Global Temperature Anomalies, May 2010

This color-coded map shows global surface temperature anomalies for May 2010 compared to average temperatures for the same time of year from 1951 to 1980. Above-normal temperatures appear in shades of red, and below-normal temperatures appear in shades of blue. Gray areas indicate areas of insufficient data.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=44416

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