Tag Archives: facebook

Facebook Finally Offers Users Encryption

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If you regularily use Facebook in the lab or on unsecured wireless hot spots (like Starbucks or Barnes and Noble), you should read Tim Brookes article from from MakeUse.com.  The articles explains how to use Facebook’s new setting so your entire Facebook session will be encrypted and less vulnerable to hijacking.

Facebook Finally Offers Users The Encryption They Deserve by Tim Brookes

If you’re an avid Facebook user then there’s one new feature you’ll probably want to enable straight away – the option to login, browse and do all your social networking worry-free, using a secure HTTPS connection to the server.

Facebook previously used HTTPS to handle logins, but from then on the site reverted to a non-secure version. Using the new setting found in the Account Security area under Account Settings (look for Secure Browsing) the whole session will be encrypted and less vulnerable to hijacking.

Users considered to be most at risk are those who regularly login from public access computers and unsecured wireless hot spots. If you do regularly use Facebook from any public places then we’d recommend changing to the HTTPS option as soon as you can.

As a consequence of the secure connection, pages may take longer to load than usual. There are also a large number of applications that are not yet compatible with the HTTPS.

In a blog post, Facebook’s Alex Rice said: “Some Facebook features, including many third-party applications, are not currently supported in HTTPS.

“We’ll be working hard to resolve these remaining issues. We are rolling this out slowly over the next few weeks, but you will be able to turn this feature on in your Account Settings soon. We hope to offer HTTPS as a default whenever you are using Facebook sometime in the future.”

15 Minutes A Day: Helpful FaceBook Hacks to Make Your Life Easier

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While reading 6 Facebook Hack Codes And Tips To Show Off Your Geeky Skills By Ryan Dube from makeuseof.com I ran across a couple of interesting and useful hacks.  The second hack mentioned, “Aye, Make Yer Profile a Pirate’s Page…” would be great for Talk Like a Pirate Day. It is not particularly useful, but we can just call this one fun.  What is useful is that Facebook allows users to select the Language their page is displayed in.

The second profile hack is also one of the easiest to implement. Facebook offers users the ability to transform their Facebook pages into any language that they like. If you scroll down to the lower left corner of your profile page, you’ll see your current language setting. Click on this, and you’ll have a list of all languages available to you. Notice the English Pirate option?

The 4th Tip “Download Complete Photo Collections from Your Friends Profles” was one that I have been looking for.  I can’t count how many times my I have run across an album from a conference, event, etc. and wished that I could download the entire album for myself.  According to the author, you can download the Firefox plug-in FacePAD and download entire albums.

After you install the FacePad plug-in, make sure you select Tools->Add-Ons, and configure the options for FacePad so it has your correct Facebook language. Then, all you have to do is go to your friend’s photo albums, right-click on the title and select “Download Album With FacePAD.”  That’s right, you’re not downloading a single picture – but an entire album.

Another tips I found useful in the article was “Scheduling Facebook Status Updates with Sendible.  If you use your Facebook status to let people know where you are but can’t be at a computer, can’t use your cell phone or don’t have internet access, this could solve your problems.

The last tip I would like to share is how to “Hide Your Online Status from Certain People.”  Unfortunately with the merging of business and personal there are times when Facebook can be a real time drain.  If you are trying to schedule your day there are times when you don’t need unwanted interruptions.  Everyone also has the friend/friends that just don’t seem to have anything to do.  I had set my Facebook status to offline but this seems as though it would be far more useful, allowing you to talk to who you want to when you want to.

…open up your chat icon in the lower right corner of your Facebook display, click on Friend Lists, and create a new list called “BlockList.” Make sure after you create it that it’s configured under “Display these lists in Chat.”  Now, all you have to do is either click “edit” and add the friends you want to block, or if they’re already online, just click their name and drag them under this new list. Once you’ve got everyone there who you want to block from see your online status, hover your mouse over the green dot to the right and click on “Go Offline.” Now, you appear offline to only those certain friends.

To full article from by Ryan Dube from makeuseof.com, visit: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-facebook-hack-codes-and-tips-to-show-off-your-geeky-skills/


Stanford Hosts Course on Designing Apps in Facebook

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9/18/2007

By Paul McCloskey
Social Web hotspot Facebook is the focus of a new course at Stanford this semester designed to teach both techies and non-science majors how to build “engaging Web applications.” In fact, the name of the course is called–in Learning Annex-style–“Create Engaging Web Applications Using Metrics and Learning on Facebook.”

Yet the site will not focus directly on building applications. Instead, it will teach how to design “persuasive and engaging user experiences” in Facebook, according to its instructors.

The course will be taught by B.J. Fogg and Dave McClure. Fogg is involved in the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford. In addition to teaching the Stanford course, McClure is currently organizing a conference called “Graphing Social Patterns: the Business and Technology of Facebook.”

According to a fact sheet on the course on the Facebook website, the instructors are looking for “a mix of students with technical background and non-technical backgrounds. However, if you already have a background in Facebook application development, we want you in this class.”