Fears that teenagers using the social networking website MySpace are exposing themselves to sexual predators by disclosing too many personal details are probably overblown, researchers say.

Criminologist Sameer Hinduja of Florida Atlantic University and Justin Patchin, a political science researcher at the University of Wisconsin, randomly selected 9,282 profiles out of the 100 million purportedly available on MySpace.

Of the 2,423 profiles created by individuals aged under 18, 948 were set to "private," meaning that they could only be viewed by friends.

Of the remaining 1,475, one person in 12 revealed their full name, 57 per cent included a picture, 27.8 per cent listed their school, 81 per cent identified their city and 0.3 per cent provided their phone number.

Four per cent included an instant messaging name, and one per cent an email address.

Hinduja and Patchin, writing in the latest issue of the Journal of Adolescence, say that predators can glean important personal snippets from these "shop window" postings.

But, overall, the situation is not as alarming as critics of MySpace have suggested, they say.

"When considered in its proper context, these results indicate that the problem of personal information disclosure on MySpace may not be as widespread as many assume, and that the overwhelming majority of adolescents are responsibly using the website," they say.


Courtesy : Expressindia.com

The iPhone and Apple Inc.'s desktop computers may be vulnerable to hackers due to a flaw in their Web browser, according to a security firm, which said it found a way to hack into the iPhone.

Baltimore-based Independent Security Evaluators, which tests its clients' computer security by hacking it, said on Monday that three employees found a way to take control of iPhones through a Wi-Fi link or by tricking users into going to a Web site.

Charles Miller, principal security analyst at the firm, said a security weakness allows someone to take control of Apple's Safari Web browser and see other applications on the device at the same time, which could potentially make users of Macintosh desktop computers vulnerable to attacks.

"The same problem actually exists on Apple's desktops," said Miller. But he added that while his firm had identified the risk for both desktops and phones, it had only written the code necessary to hack into the iPhone.

The security consultant, which took about a week and a half to work out the move, said they were able to take control of an iPhone and make calls or send text messages, as well as access e-mails, voice-mail, address books and call and Web browsing history.

An Apple representative was not immediately available for comment. Miller said his firm gave details about the hack and a potential security patch to Apple, but did not publicly release the details.

Miller said Apple could have avoided the risk by eliminating links between the browser and other applications.

"It turns out that on the iPhone there are probably some basic things they could have done that would have made it better," said Miller.

The claim comes almost two months after Apple and AT&T Inc started selling Apple's first cell phone, which includes a music and video player as well as a Web browser.

As many as 700,000 iPhones were sold on the first weekend after the June 29 launch, according to analyst estimates.

Days after launch, a well-known hacker Jon Johansen, claimed to have overcome restrictions on the iPhone, allowing highly technical users to bypass AT&T's network to use the phone's Internet and music features.

While cell phones have not historically been as vulnerable to attack as desktop computers, some experts worry that as phones add more computer-like features they take on greater risks.

Miller said he had not looked into security on other mobile phones to see how they compare to the iPhone, but he noted that the more complex the system the greater the likelihood of problems.


Courtesy : Expressindia.com