I was a bit alarmed when I read this news. A lot of people are into social networking sites and at times we do upload really private photos thinking that since we have chosen private settings, well it would remain private.
A security lapse made it possible for unwelcome strangers to peruse personal photos posted on Facebook Inc.'s popular online hangout, circumventing a recent upgrade to the Web site's privacy controls. The Associated Press verified the loophole Monday after receiving a tip from a Byron Ng, a Vancouver, Canada computer technician.
Ng began looking for security weaknesses last week after Facebook unveiled more ways for 67 million members to restrict access to their personal profiles.
But the added protections were not enough to prevent Ng from pulling up the most recent pictures posted by Facebook members and their friends, even if the privacy settings were set to restrict the audience to a select few.
After being alerted Monday afternoon, Facebook spokeswoman Brandee Barker said the Palo Alto-based company fixed the bug within an hour.
Before the fix, Ng's computer-coding trick enabled him to find private pictures of Paris Hilton at the Emmy awards and of her brother Barron Nicholas Hilton drinking a beer with friends and photos of many other people who had not granted access to Ng.
Using Ng's template, an AP reporter was able to look up random people on Facebook and see the most recent pictures posted on their personal profiles even if the photos were supposed to be invisible to strangers.
This should again be a reminder of the dangers of posting sensitive or potentially embarrassing or compromising photos and even personal information online even if the site promises to guard our privacy. And besides I think hackers are now getting better so best to guard a bit of our personal info to avoid really sticky situations..
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