Here are three problems all twitter users are likely to face on Twitter:

Phishing: Twittersphere is abuzz with tweets about phishing, which prompted me to make this post. There is a phishing attack spreading across Twitter at this moment. It began with what is being called “DM Deception”. User A receives a direct message from User B asking them to check out some URL. You know what happens next. I didn’t face this yet, but I have seen compromised accounts among my followers tweeting messages like, “Check out this cute pic of yours, LOL…” with another URL.

If you suspect that you may have become a victim to a phishing attack, change your password immediately. If it is beyond salvation, bite the bullet and report the user as malicious. Twitter has so far been quick at suspending suspicious users.

Shortening URLs: I am not complaining but I expected this to be more rampant than what it is now. More URL shorteners like TinyURL, Tr.im, Snurl are crowding because of the growth of Twitter. A long URL is shortened to take fewer characters so that it can be shared through tweets. The trouble is that you have no idea about what you are clicking at. It could very well be some link spreading malware. What makes this worse is that these shortened URLs are too similar to be distinguished or remembered; you could click on the same bad link twice on your bad day.

A solution is to enable the preview feature. Tinyurl, e.g., provides a cool preview feature which when enabled shows what the URL redirects to (the original URL that was shortened) and then asks you whether you want to proceed to that site. I wish that all URL shorteners implement the feature.

Twitter Apps: Hundreds of apps are being developed around Twitter. Take a look at this list of Twitter Clients being used and you will know. All these expect your Twitter username and password to login. You might come across a new app that asks you to enter your Twitter username and password to be able to use it, and what if it steals your username and password? This might seem far-fetched but I don’t see why it can’t be done.

I tend to give any new app a day or so before using it, and I keep my ears open to listen to the grapevine until then. When my work depends on trying such apps I try it with a secondary account first.

As of now, I believe that the elite Twitter users are more prone to these attacks and have more to lose. That said, having started using Twitter only a couple of months ago, I find it immensely useful and would like to be prepared to face all possible annoyances. So what other problems do you think we might face?

Post from: EveryJoe

3 Problems We Will Face on Twitter

First, a question (or two) — What is the worst situation that you have experienced while dealing with an IT department? What is the worst situation that you have experienced while working in an IT department? Now as you can see, I want your stories from both sides. I believe in what my father used to say, “I don’t pick favorites between you and your brother. I dislike both of you equally.” So please, leave a comment below and I promise, I’ll read it.

Now, on to the story. Just a couple of weeks ago I had a wonderful coworker ask me:

How do I fix my monitor?

I started to rattle off a canned answer before I realized that they had not told me any information about what the issue was. When I pressed them for more information, they had no idea of how to respond. As we went back and forth with questions like, “Is the monitor on? Is it dim? Does it have lines across it?” I came to realize that this issue stems from a much larger problem — We in IT don’t have all the answers. I know it’s hard to believe but it’s true. This is especially true when we don’t have all the information.

The reason I’m telling you this is that most of the time when a problem arises relating to a computer, people grab the closest tech-savvy person and ask them to fix it. This does not work. People are trained in different aspects of IT. If you were an accountant, you probably wouldn’t want me running to you each time I was short on cash. Why? Because you’re not a loan shark. Sure you deal in money but that doesn’t make you qualified nor interested in what it is I have to say. The same rings true in IT. A desktop support guy (or gal) is probably trained in desktop computer issues. This doesn’t include servers, networks, car engines or your blender. So please, be kind to your IT guy and give them the information that they need so they can either solve your issue or point you in the right direction.

By the way, in case you were wondering — This user had unplugged the VGA cable from their computer while cleaning. They didn’t think it did anything so they coiled it up, nice and neat, and taped it to the back of the monitor.

Post from: EveryJoe

A new way of thinking