'Mouse over' security flaw causes Twitter trouble

[Mousey]

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CNN) -- Thousands -- possibly hundreds of thousands -- of Twitter users have been hit by a security bug that causes potentially dangerous content to appear on computer screens without warning, according to a researcher at the security firm Sophos.

When users of the popular site "mouse over" a link on Twitter.com, the content appears even if the person did not click on it, says Graham Cluley, the researcher, who recommends users avoid Twitter.com until the issue is fixed.

"It's obviously the most natural thing in the world just to move the mouse across the screen," he said in an interview with CNN. "You don't have to click on a link."

The bad links may also be retweeted, or sent to that person's followers, which causes the security flaw to spread across the network.

The bug could be harmless, doing nothing other than taking users to websites that they did not intend to open, Cluley said. But it also could be exploited by hackers who could use the bug to install malicious software....

 

[jod5413]

What ever happened to the society that met face to face to play games, go bowling, rowing, sky diving, hiking, biking, play poker on the dining room table, cribbage, etc? Now we have a virtual society via myspace, facebook, twitter, etc. It seems like these social entities cause more stress than entertainment.

They allow the bad guys to operate more freely and almost risk free, like Mousey's post implies. In the days before these sites existed it was harder to "steal identities". They allow people to be something they aren't in their real lives. And, as a society, you are seeing more antisocial and cruel behavior, which I think is at least partially caused by this "Web Society".

Sigh.............My age is showing, I know.