Facebook: Posts from 3rd party apps not appearing on your page? Here is one possible reason why.

Like everyone else, I have a “connected” life. One of the most common things I do on a daily basis is post from my phone apps to Facebook. What I have noticed in the past couple of days is that anything I would post from 3rd party apps (Like Foursquare, Wordbooker, Cardio Trainer, etc.) stopped appearing on my News Feed page in Facebook. If I checked my profile I would see the posts, but they would be listed as “Only Me” in the post setting.

I was baffled at 1st, as I know I hadn’t made any changes to my settings, and none of the 3rd party apps on my phone had recently been updated. So I started poking around and found the answer. It seems Facebook made a change in Account Settings –> Apps , that at least I (and a few others who have also asked about this issue) didn’t know. Surprise Facebook made changes to account settings (They wouldn’t never do that, I say with sarcasm).

To fix the setting to allow your 3rd party apps to show again in your News Feed, check / adjust the following setting

1) From the top right of Facebook select “down” arrow –> followed by Account Settings

2) Once you reach Account Settings –> select Apps (on left) –> then select edit on the app you want to fix (on right)

3) Once you get to the App Settings area –> scroll to the very bottom of the page (this is why you could miss it, as on some apps there is a lot of scrolling). At the bottom you will see a section called “App activity privacy” (On left). The change you will need is on the right –> this is where you can select who will get to see your post from that 3rd party app.

In my case the setting for all my apps was set to Custom –> Only me. Unfortunately this setting is per 3rd party app, so you will have to go through them 1 by 1. This however solves the mystery of the 3rd party apps not showing.

**Note (Reminder) – These are security settings, if you are looking at them, this would also be a good time to delete apps that shouldn’t be on your profile (either because you don’t use them anymore or don’t know what they are). In addition, you may not want all 3rd party apps to post to Facebook. Review each app carefully before changing its setting to make sure what it does.

Web: How to Import an evite to Facebook Events

A question I’ve gotten a lot recently involves the ability to send out an (LINK) Evite (http://new NULL.evite NULL.com/#home) and then have that Evite show up in (LINK) Facebook (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/) under the Events category in your profile. (This is for you Suraya)

After a little looking around I have come across the answer. To accomplish this you will need a an evite account (duh!), Gmail (https://accounts NULL.google NULL.com/ServiceLogin?service=mail&passive=true&rm=false&continue=https%3A%2F%2Fmail NULL.google NULL.com%2Fmail%2F&bsv=llya694le36z&ss=1&scc=1&ltmpl=default&ltmplcache=2&from=login) account, Facebook (duh! again) and the Facebook app called .ics to event (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/settings/?tab=applications#!/apps/application NULL.php?id=164414672850&sk=info).

Steps to Complete the Import

1 – Complete your Evite. When you get the confirmation that says “Thank you, your invitation was sent!”, click on “View this invitation”.

***You will see a button for “Post to Facebook”, but that button only posts on your wall.

2 – Once your looking at your Evite, click on the “Add to Calendar”

3 – You will now see a pop up that lists 4 different calendars you can save to. Select Google Calendar.

4 – If you are already signed into Gmail or Google Calendar, it will go directly to your calendar. If you aren’t, you will be prompted to sign in. Once signed in you will see the Appointment. At this point click Save (from the top Left)

5 – Now go to the top right and click on the nut, then select Calendar settings

6 – In the Calendar setting, pick Calendars

7 – You will now pick the Calendar that has the appointment (In case you have multiple calendars created)

8 – Now scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see a Green Button that says ICAL. Click on the bottom Green ICAL button.

9 – You will now see the link for your calendar. (*Link shown has been edited, what you will see will be longer). You need to highlight and copy link.

10 – Now go to (LINK) iCalendar to Event (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/apps/application NULL.php?id=164414672850&sk=info) App on Facebook.

11 – Lastly under Name of Subscription, enter the title you want shown on your events page. Then paste the address you copied on Google calendar. REALLY BIG NOTE: You will need to remove the letter S from the http part of the address you posted. (Below is shown how it should look) Now click subscribe.

12 – If you see this green bar appear, you have successfully added your Evite to your Facebook Events.

Facebook: Check your FB setting for the People, Pages, Places Directory

The Facebook People, Pages, Places directory feature (LINK) https://www.facebook.com/directory/people/ (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/directory/people/) has been out now a couple of weeks, however I still find people that don’t know about it. If you were concerned about (hoping for) privacy, well this feature just pretty much ends any and all hope. With the PPP directory Facebook has every user, page, place easily accessible to everyone.

All you need to know is a name (or you can just throw in a fake name if you want to meet strangers). The screen shot below is the current 1st page of the directory (as of 10/10/11)

Every user on Facebook is in this directory, and unfortunately (AGAIN!) Facebook does NOT give a way to completely opt out of being listed. However, there is something you can do to limit your visibility in the Facebook PPP directory.

There is now a setting (which seems to be set to Everyone by default) by going to your privacy settings (Top right of page) –> How You Connect (Bottom of page) as shown in the example below

Once you are in the “How You Connect” window, you will see as the very 1st choice “Who can look up your timeline by name or contact info?”

Any Facebook user who is still trying to hold out for just that little bit of privacy while still being able to use Facebook will want to change the setting to Friends only, or Friends of Friends if you are ok with privacy middle ground.

Making this change should limit your exposure from the PPP directory. As always its suggested that you look over all the settings under privacy (even make notes if you have a hard time remembering) on a regular basis, you never know when a setting could be changed or added “for your benefit” that you would rather not have.

Alert: “If I Die” fake Facebook App scam (Via Email) – Virus Alert

Another alert, this time in the form of a new email that has started circulating around the internet, as found/reported by anti-virus software maker Bitdefender (http://www NULL.malwarecity NULL.com/blog/fake-app-sends-you-and-your-pc-on-memento-mori-trip-1140 NULL.html). The email which will appear to come from someone you know talks about “A new Facebook Application”. The claim that you can download a file that will let you record a message on Facebook, so that “If you die” your loved ones can get a final goodbye from you. The email carries an attachment that ends in .exe (That alone should be your 1st WARNING SIGN).

Death obviously isn’t an easy subject and I can only assume the bad guys are hoping to pull at the emotions of the end user. So what happens if you download/open this attachment. The .exe file will install 3 encrypted executables, and when I say encrypted, I mean they will be extremely difficult to remove once they have made it on to your machine.

Once installed the files will

- Install and use a keylogger to record all user name / passwords and other “important” number sequences (like SS#, credit cards #’s, address information) from any visited website or email account and send that information to the bad guys

- Install software so that your installed webcam (and virtually all laptops these days have a built in webcam) will automatically take snapshot pictures and send those to the bad guys. (Which could put you in an even more compromising position depending on what these pictures show)

- Install software that could let someone (the bad guys) take over and remotely control your pc. (Haunted PC anyone)

As a side note concerning the bogus email, there is a legit Facebook app called “If I Die” (LINK) http://ifidie.net/ (http://ifidie NULL.net/) , which allows you to record a message for your Facebook. Those who are aware of the legit app may confuse this email for the legit app. This email has nothing to do with the legit app.

So what should you do

NEVER NEVER NEVER open any attachment unless you can confirm with the sender that they actually sent it and what it actually does.
Make sure to have your system updates (Windows, Office, Adobe Flash / Acrobat, Java, etc) up to date. Many of these malware software scams try and use bugs, holes, or issues with older versions of software to get into your system. (Like locking your front door but leaving a window wide open)
Always make sure that your Antivirus software is up to date. When I say up to date, I mean both the software itself and the “signature files”. If your software program is more than 3 years old, you really need to be getting a newer version. You should not be running Norton Antivirus 2003 in 2011 and expect the program to protect you. You should also go into whatever AV program you are running look for the signature file date and make sure that its no more than a couple of days old. Signatures are what AV companies update to include all the new viruses/malware that’s created.
LASTLY, DON’T BE STUPID AND DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE ON THE INTERNET OR IN AN EMAIL. When in doubt always make sure and ask someone before clicking where you don’t know. Remember the computer you save may be your own.

Alert: 2 New Facebook Scams (July 2011)

One of the most common tricks the bad guys use to trick people into infecting their computers involve using current events. Since the beginning of the internet “Social Engineering” has always been the easiest way to get around any pc security.

We have 2 new tricks making the rounds on Facebook.

1st Scam –

Just a few days ago Facebook announced a new feature (that will be coming soon) allowing Facebook users the ability to do Video chat (http://articles NULL.cnn NULL.com/2011-07-06/tech/facebook NULL.announcement_1_mark-zuckerberg-facebook-spokeswoman-facebook-users?_s=PM:TECH) with others on your Facebook list. Security firm SOPHOS is now reporting that the bad guys have started using that announcement to trick Facebook users into infecting their machines (LINK) http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/07/08/facebook-scammers-spread-app-pretending-to-be-video-calling/ (http://nakedsecurity NULL.sophos NULL.com/2011/07/08/facebook-scammers-spread-app-pretending-to-be-video-calling/)

The FAKE app will show on someone who has already been tricked into clicking the link. The idea being that if you see if the link on the page of someone you know, “then it must be safe”. If you happen to click on the link from someone “someone you know”, then the link appears on your page and the cycle continues.

If you see a wall post referencing "Enable video calls.", don’t click it! Send your friend a message that they have been tricked.

Keep in mind 2 things, (1) The Facebook Video chat will not be released as an add-on app on Facebook, It will be built directly into the site. (2) It isn’t out for general public use yet.

2nd Scam –

With the Not Guilty verdict in the Casey Anthony verdict causing so many emotions within the general public, the bad guys have figured that emotion will override common sense.

As SOPHOS is reporting (LINK) http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/07/10/leaked-video-of-casey-anthony-confessing-facebook-scam-spreads-quickly/ (http://nakedsecurity NULL.sophos NULL.com/2011/07/10/leaked-video-of-casey-anthony-confessing-facebook-scam-spreads-quickly/) , there is now a FAKE story showing up in posts claiming to be a confession video.

For those who wonder why would anyone bother to do this there is a simple answer, MONEY…….

Because you’ll ultimately be taken to a page which pretends to be YouTube, but is really designed to trick you into taking a survey that earns commission for the scammers.

The page you will be taken to is FAKE and of course before you can see a video THAT DOESN’T EXIST, you need to fill out a survey. In addition, if you click on the link, it will then appear on your wall and in your likes, with the hope that your FB friends will click see them and click on the links from you.

———————————————————————-

As always, here are a few reminders

1 – Do your “homework” before clicking on links, even if they appear on the Facebook page of someone you know. Please understand, JUST BECAUSE ITS LISTED ON THE INTERNET, DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT’S TRUE

2 – Make sure you are updating your pc software. That includes Windows/Office Updates, Mac Updates (Yes Mac is starting to get the attention of the bad guys), in addition to Adobe Software Updates (Acrobat, Flash), Oracle Software Updates (JAVA), Your Antivirus maker software (you should be running something, a number of free choices, so there is no excuse), and your Anti-malware software (Superantispyware, Malwarebytes, etc.)…..

Facebook: How to Remove Tag (Untag) yourself from pictures in Facebook

Since I just posted about a new way to try and trick people into compromising their Facebook accounts using Tagged Pictures, I figured you may also want to know how to Remove Tag Pictures (Untag yourself) in Facebook.

Use the following steps to Remove Tag Pictures -

From your Facebook home page, locate the blue bar at the top of the screen. It says Facebook, Home, Profile, Friends, and Inbox. Click on “Profile”. Now you will be sent to your profile page.

On your profile page, look underneath your profile picture that is located at the top left. Under it, you will see “Photos”. Click on Photos

Now in the middle section of the page toward the bottom you will find the “Photos and Videos of you” section.

Look at the pictures below this section. Any pictures tagged will appear in this area. Click on the picture you would like to remove.

Now look under the picture for the section that says “In this photo”. Next to that you will find “Remove tag”.

Click remove tag. The photo will not show up on your profile anymore

Alert: Another version of the “See who is looking at your profile” scam on Facebook

In todays edition of Facebook scams to watch out for, is a new version of the “See who is looking at your profile” scam. In the past, you would find messages like the following on your friends profiles….

If you clicked on the link, you risked compromising your Facebook account. Seems the average user has hear of this enough that those who try and use this scam have now changed tactics…..

This one just came to my attention a short time ago. Where someone on my list was tagged in pictures

As you can see the 3 pictures appear to be completely random. If you place your cursor over any of the pictures you see the “LOL!! Me cant believe that you can see who is viewing your profile!…………”

If you were to click on any of the pictures, they will open in the Facebook picture viewer and at the bottom of the picture you will again see the message.

So lets go over this again. If you see a message in Facebook that talks about “See who checks your profile” or anything even remotely like that.

DO NOT CLICK IT!!!!!

It is a scam, at minimum it will add messages to your profile that you don’t authorize, and at worst, it can compromise your Facebook account, allow for malicious use of your account and could even install other non-Facebook related malware/viruses on your pc.

Facebook does not allow in its terms of service for anyone to be able to give you the “see who checks your profile” information. If anyone person or company says they can help you see that, THEY ARE LYING / IT’S A SCAM.

Facebook: Another scam alert – Fake Charlie Sheen Video scam

(From the register)

(http://www NULL.theregister NULL.co NULL.uk/2011/03/07/charlie_sheen_facebook_scam/)

Charlie Sheen fake filth flick powers Facebook survey scam • The Register (http://www NULL.theregister NULL.co NULL.uk/2011/03/07/charlie_sheen_facebook_scam/)

www.theregister.co.uk (http://www NULL.theregister NULL.co NULL.uk)

Scammers have exploited actor Charlie Sheen’s increasingly bizarre antics as a lure for the latest in a long line of survey scams on Facebook.

**********************************************************************************************************

Tech Geek and More Note

As always scammers are looking to use human curiosity against you. The want for the “latest train wreak” is now and has always been one of the best ways for a bad guy to be trick you into falling for his/her trap.

Remember -

Keep your AV updated
Make sure you have a Spyware program or 2 installed on your pc. I recommend having both superantispyware and malwarebytes installed on your pc. You can find both at www.ninite.com (http://www NULL.ninite NULL.com) (Listed about mid-page, and both are free, even though both may ask you if you want to upgrade to pay versions. The free versions are more than enough)
Always make sure they you update not only your Windows Install and Office install by going to Windows update in Control Panel (Vista and Win 7) or by Going to (LINK) http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us which is the Microsoft Updates page (Win XP and earlier) (http://update NULL.microsoft NULL.com/windowsupdate/v6/default NULL.aspx?ln=en-us)
DO NOT CLICK ON ANY link that you were not expecting, even if it appears to come from someone you know. (This is the Red Riding Hood theory. )

How to: Getting the old picture view back on Facebook (workaround)

On Thursday 2/10/2011, Facebook announced on their (LINK) blog page (http://blog NULL.facebook NULL.com/blog NULL.php?post=432670242130) in post called (LINK) More Beautiful Photos (http://blog NULL.facebook NULL.com/blog NULL.php?post=432670242130), that they are rolling out the new picture viewer to all Facebook users.

UPDATE on Thursday, February 10, 2011: We are rolling out the new Photo Viewer to everyone over the course of the next few weeks. Now, you can browse more photos faster without having to lose your place in Facebook. Visit the Help Center (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/help/?page=831) to learn more about using the Photo Viewer. Check out our Engineering blog (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/notes/facebook-engineering/developing-facebooks-new-photo-viewer/499447633919) for more technical details about how we designed and engineered the new feature.

The new viewer is supposed to give users the following

Higher Resolution

We’re increasing the size of the photos stored from 720 pixels to 2048 pixels on the largest edge, for an 8 times increase overall

A Better Photo Viewer

The new viewer makes it simpler and faster to navigate photos

Easier Tagging and Uploading

With our new uploader, you will be able to tag multiple photos in the same album all at once, as well as tag photos of the same person with a lot less effort

Some Comments made about this new picture viewer (these were posted on the same Facebook announcement by various Facebook users)

THIS BIG BLACK SCREEN IS MAKING MY PICTURES SMALLER NOT LARGER
I have a back button on my browser. I think I can handle browsing photos. I’d rather hit back 40 times than use this stupid new photo viewer, what a nightmare
No, I do not like this new way. I can’t see the photos. C can’t see what I have put on and sure can’t see what other friends have on their site. i guess older people or those of us wit eye problems don’t matter. Why would anyone ever do this so lots can’t see I don’t know!!!!!!
The new photo viewer is awful. It’s skips pictures when you are clicking on the arrow buttons and when you click on the actual picture. I hate pop ups, and I feel like the new photo viewer is one big pop up. The photos are actually smaller than they used to be. It’s really hard to tag ppl b/c it stays on the tagging function until you click “done tagging” even if you’ve moved on to the next picture. It’s harder to edit the picture info… i.e. caption, rotate, etc. Why mess with a good thing? The old way was SOOO much better. Please change!

So what does the Facebook Picture Viewer look like now / What issues are there

When accessing pictures in the new Facebook viewer they will look like this now.

However as well intentioned as this Facebook change was (as the reasons listed above – given by Facebook sound good), the implementation leaves A LOT to be desired. Here are some of the things that I have directly noticed.

Pic viewer only shows black screen, no pic sometimes
Pictures show smaller now than they did
Browser has locked up more than once while trying to use the new pic viewer (Both IE8 and Firefox)

Workaround to the old version back (It’s simple)

Unfortunately this new Picture viewer is not an optional selection. Facebook in its wisdom has chosen to make this a standard for all users in the coming weeks. If you find that you don’t like the new viewer, here is a simple workaround that will get you the old viewer back (unfortunately the viewer will revert back to the new viewer each time you access a new photo album, so you will need to do this each time you access a picture folder in Facebook)

Once you click on a picture and it comes up in the new viewer

You can do 1 of 2 things (which ever is easier for you)

1 – On top of the browser you will see the page refresh button –> click it and refresh your browser window (the IE8 refresh shown in picture, but all browsers have a similar button)

2 – Once you have the picture open in the new viewer –> on your keyboard click the F5 key (this does the same refresh function as the browser button)

Once your page refreshes, you will see the picture you were on and all other pictures in that album in the old viewer version (Just like below)

Alert: Another Facebook Rogue app to look out for

The rogue Facebook apps continue. This time the warning is about an app labeled as haha or hahatoyourself. It will appear on a page of someone you know, and may even include a direct message to you saying

Heyy (insert your name here), what are you doing in this video? LOL Embarrassing!

The scam may also list as

Look at you HaHa!

and look like a video post.

In both cases, DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK, the links will attempt to install a rogue app on to your account. If you have clicked on the links already, you will want to do the following

- Remove the posts from your account

- Check the allowed 3rd party applications

You really need to check and see what 3rd party applications have access to your Facebook account. There are many apps in Facebook that people find useful, at the same time, many other Facebook apps are just there to steal your data, or use your account in ways that you don’t want.

To check your Privacy settings for 3rd party apps, click on account (on the top right of Facebook) and then click on Privacy settings.

Now (in the lower left corner) select Apps and websites, where it says “Edit your settings”

This will take you to the Apps and Websites page where you should remove any app that you either do NOT recognize or that you no longer use

- *Run a full scan on your pc with Malwarebytes or SuperAntiSpyware to check your pc.

If you need to download either you can download them from www.ninite.com (http://www NULL.ninite NULL.com)

- *Run a full scan on your pc with your Antivirus Software.

If you don’t currently have an active Antivirus program, you can download a FREE Antivirus program from www.ninite.com (http://www NULL.ninite NULL.com). (Tech Geek and More recommends Microsoft Security Essentials) If you have an old Antivirus program that is expired, you should remove it prior to installing the new Antivirus software.

(*Make sure you update the program prior to running it)

Tech Geek and More

Technology Explained for All

Tag Archives: Facebook

Facebook: Posts from 3rd party apps not appearing on your page? Here is one possible reason why.

Web: How to Import an evite to Facebook Events

Facebook: Check your FB setting for the People, Pages, Places Directory

Alert: “If I Die” fake Facebook App scam (Via Email) – Virus Alert

Alert: 2 New Facebook Scams (July 2011)

Facebook: How to Remove Tag (Untag) yourself from pictures in Facebook

Since I just posted about a new way to try and trick people into compromising their Facebook accounts using Tagged Pictures, I figured you may also want to know how to Remove Tag Pictures (Untag yourself) in Facebook.

Alert: Another version of the “See who is looking at your profile” scam on Facebook

Facebook: Another scam alert – Fake Charlie Sheen Video scam

(From the register)

(http://www NULL.theregister NULL.co NULL.uk/2011/03/07/charlie_sheen_facebook_scam/)

How to: Getting the old picture view back on Facebook (workaround)

Higher Resolution

A Better Photo Viewer

Easier Tagging and Uploading

Alert: Another Facebook Rogue app to look out for

Since I just posted about a new way to try and trick people into compromising their Facebook accounts using Tagged Pictures, I figured you may also want to know how to Remove Tag Pictures (Untag yourself) in Facebook.

(From the register) (http://www NULL.theregister NULL.co NULL.uk/2011/03/07/charlie_sheen_facebook_scam/)

Higher Resolution

A Better Photo Viewer

Easier Tagging and Uploading

(From the register)

(http://www NULL.theregister NULL.co NULL.uk/2011/03/07/charlie_sheen_facebook_scam/)