Mafia Wares and Farmvillians

For those of you who are addicted to popular Facebook apps Mafia Wars and Farmville, here's a wake-up call: the creator of the games is a sleazebag who doesn't give a rats @$$ about you, your security, or your personal information.

'From the beginning, the profitability and viability of popular Facebook social networking games Mafia Wars and Farmville were predicated on the backs of scams, boasts Zynga CEO Mark Pincus in this video. "I did every horrible thing in the book just to get revenues," he crows in the clip to a gathered bunch of fellow scumbag app developers.' from http://consumerist.com/2009/11/mafia-wars-ceo-brags-about-scamming-users-from-day-one.html

Remember that these are applications, with access to your Facebook profiles (and your friends list, etc.), running in your web browser on your computer, and that they are produced by people with the intent of making money.  In this case, any way they can, even if it means compromising the security of your profile and/or your computer.  Just because something is popular (think crack cocaine!), doesn't mean that it's safe or sensible to expose yourself to it.

Computer Insecurity

I've decided to start putting some computer security ramblings up here, to make it more available for friends who might be interested. Those who know me know that I have a slightly paranoid streak when it comes to computers and security. Having worked with computers since I was a kid, and knowing them from the inside out, so to speak, I have my reasons. My analogy for the new millenium: using a computer connected to the Internet nowadays is a lot like going for a walk to the store...late at night, in a really bad neighborhood. Considering the information that passes through most people's computers (credit card numbers, passwords, bank accounts, SSNs, intimate correspondence, etc.), we all need to be a little more security conscious. Because that's not an easy thing for the average person to do, I've set out to make it a little bit easier. Hold on tight, because it's gonna get scary. Er...scarier.