Sunday 15-09-06 Removing Malicious Apps from Facebook

So yesterday morning I woke up and was looking at Facebook. I saw that my neighbour had posted articles and links about Ariana Grande, and as I was expecting to see him later, I reminded myself to tease him about it. We're both in our 40s and have no business looking at Ariana.
Anyway, when I buttonholed him about it, he denied all involvement and was completely mystified. Someone suggested he should change his password, on the suspicion that his account had been hacked. But I thought that maybe he had given permission to a malicious app which was accessing his account and posting on his timeline at will.
We went through the apps he had given permission to, and removed the ability to post to his timeline from all that we could. I thought that might have done it, but strangely less than an hour later, another improbable post appeared on his timeline. When I looked at it more closely, it seemed that it was posted by "Coso", which was an app I had seen that he had granted permissions to. I got him round and removed the permissions and deleted the app's activity on his timeline. I hope that that will do it, but we will monitor his account and see if any other unexpected activity occurs.
Changing his password wouldn't have helped, I don't think, as he had given the app permission to post to his account. And when I clicked on the link to Coso, even Facebook identified the link as potentially malicious, so I guess that they are hoping that people will slowly remove Coso's permissions over time.
So the message is, be careful which apps you give permissions to, and if you see errant posts on your timeline, check if a specific app is posting them. And then nuke that f***er. These apps are taking us for a ride and need to be reined in. Happy hunting...!

How Important is Facebook?

In the UK at the moment, there is a news item about a missing 17-year old, Jayden Parkinson. I don't want to talk about the case, or what's alleged; it must be dreadful for all involved.
What struck me as odd, though, about the reporting, is this: I was in the canteen, eating my customary bacon and cheese turnover, when the BBC reported what Jayden's mother had posted on Facebook. I thought that was odd, but looking on Google tonight I have found the same information in the Guardian and The Mirror.

When did Facebook posts become newsworthy? I don't understand; I think this is an invasion of privacy and an unnecessary intrusion into someone's personal tragedy. It doesn't 'add colour' to the story, which I suppose might be an argument. But do you really need to see what someone posts on Facebook to imagine what they are going through - if you have to imagine that sort of thing? Surely updates on social media sites are personal and not news? If this was just the BBC, I would shrug this off, but the fact that other news sources are reporting from Facebook as well strikes me as bizarre.

Having said that, maybe I'm just an old fuddy-duddy who isn't moving with the times.