O'Reilly Book Deal - Get Security and Other Ebooks Cheap Today

O'Reilly has a coupon available for today only that makes any one ebook in their store $10. If you're like me and like to have an electronic edition handy, this is a great deal for books that are updated and searchable. Their security books can be found here. You'll want to use coupon code "FAVFA".

Check Facebook Privacy Settings with ReclaimPrivacyRights.org's Scanner Bookmarklet

ReclaimPrivacyRights.org provides a simple bookmarklet that works simply by loading it when you visit your Privacy settings page on Facebook. Simple, neat, and it appears to be a neat way to get a basic checkup. Better, the source code is available for review.

Facebook Friend Suggestions - Not a Virus!

Facebook status updates are quickly being populated with warnings that the suggest a friend notes that are appearing in users inboxes are virus driven. They're not - in fact, Facebook has released a notice that AllFacebook.com posted stating

"This is neither a bug nor a virus, and the “Virus Alert” status update is incorrect. Friend suggestions are now mutual and will appear for both users involved. That is, if I suggest that one person become friends with another, both the person I suggested and the person to whom I sent the suggestion will receive the notification."

The fact that the Facebook populace quickly communicates about a potential issue is good - the fact that false information is spreading quickly is not as good - but I'd rather my users avoid a fake virus than not avoid a real one.

Experiments in Security: Magstripe Reading Using Rust Particles

Tetherdcow via BoingBoing has a great science experiment to try with magstripes on credit cards and other ID cards: using rust particles to read the magstripe. This looks like a great hands on and visible way to talk about how data is encoded when teaching students.

Opting out of Facebook's Instant Personalization

The EFF as a quick look at how to opt out of Facebook's new Instant Personalization capabilities. Of note, you must block ALL of the Instant Personalization websites if you use them, rather than just setting one master setting. They provide both written steps and a video, as well as a suggestion on how to make your voice heard about this new "feature".

Security Humor: McAfee's...Quicktart?

A search for McAfee's QuickStart HealthCheck service today resulted in the following listing:


Yes, that says Quicktart. I'll avoid McAfee QA jokes, but the actual page title does currently list their Quicktart service!

No news on whether other fast pastries will be in their continued product offerings...