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Topic: Social Enterprise

Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless for a spell

Summary: Twitter's Web site is being run over by hackers exploiting a mouseover flaw. Avoid the site and use third party software until fixed.

Larry Dignan

By for Between the Lines |

Twitter's Web site is being run over by hackers exploiting a mouseover flaw.

Sophos has detailed the flaw and recommends that you use third party software to Tweet. Indeed, I found out the hard way that Twitter's site is a mess right now.

Sophos noted:

Hopefully Twitter will shut down this loophole as soon as possible - disallowing users to post the onMouseOver JavaScript code, and protecting users whose browsing may be at risk.

We'll see. In the meantime, don't bother with Twitter.com. No user interaction is required. Simply put,  you'll get something like this:

Update: Twitter has patched the flaw.

Topics: Social Enterprise, Hardware, Security

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Talkback

38 comments
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  • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

    Twitter was already useless. This just adds to the mess.
    sismoc
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

      @sismoc: tell that to the Iranian dissidents. When the earthquake struck the northeastern U.S. I had facts in seconds on Twitter and it didn't hit the news for another 20 minutes. Basically, tweets can travel so fast that someone 20 miles from the epicenter could hear about the quake on Twitter before even feeling it. Imagine how it would have been different in the Philippines if the tweets had been going out: "Tsunami! get to high ground!"
      Geedavey
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

        @Geedavey
        PUHLEAZE!

        So you have a looser sitting around his computer or smartphone "Tweeting" some BS.

        Then you have another looser receiving this Tweet....

        And this is cool or good how?
        itguy08
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

        @Geedavey Philippines? Tsunami? A non-issue? Maybe you mean the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, where over 200K people were killed, 130K in Indonesia alone?
        chinese.bookie
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

        @Geedavey

        I never heard of a tsunami in the Philippines. Must have been a Twitter phenomenon.
        brichter
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

        @Geedavey Well up to date assuming all you do is sit and watch Twitter. Most of us have lives.
        Mildude
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

        @Geedavey so the ones who survive will be the ones sitting around their computers or electronic gadgets looking at twitter? What's the point? That would be the end of any useful civilization anyway. I'd sooner get washed away by the tsunami.
        garyleroy@...
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

      @sismoc If you don't have a use for Twitter, I suggest you don't use it. It's a great way for me to keep in touch with my friends without a lot of overhead.
      skmpu@...
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

        @skmpu@... ever thought of going and visiting them? No, not on your cell phone. Get up on those two things growing out the bottom of your torso and meet your friends somewhere, what a novel idea. See if you can manage to walk over there without having the phone stuck to your ear (or do you have one of those cattle tag models). Look around while you're walking, you might be surprised at what's around you besides radio waves.
        garyleroy@...
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

    And this is bad?
    Loverock Davidson
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

    One down....Now if we could kill off Facebook we would truly live in a perfect world... Both 'services' are an equally worthless waste of time.
    pmartin37774
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

      @pmartin37774 Perhaps to you but it is MY time to waste on those services should I chose to do so... so really who the hell are YOU to tell ME how to use MY time? Oh yeah, you are the anti twitter/ anti facebook troll here on ZDNet... go back to your bridge bub.
      athynz
      Reply Vote

      • Well...

        @athynz
        Twitter is useless, so...while its your right to use a stupid service its his right to point out its stupid.
        Cayble
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

    sismoc and pmartin37774 have it right. Twitter/Facebook both a useless waste of time! The world will not miss them when they are gone.
    kagnewrick@...
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

    What everyone failed to point out is that most of the victims of a tsunami in that region would not even have a device capable of accessing Twitter, much less understand what Twitter is.
    faarside_z
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

      @faarside_z And, would we really WANT them to survive, if they're looking at Twitter when a tsunami is approching? Or any time, for that matter.
      garyleroy@...
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

      @faarside_z

      So true dude.....Maybe half the population don't have access to the internet.
      Also, twitter is such crap.... I could create a fake profile, call myself someone "official", and then post "facts" and trick a bunch of losers.....That gives me an idea... *evil smile*
      TennisonD
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

    Don't kill Facebook, it keeps me busy in my tech. business removing resulting spyware and malware. 90% of infections come from Facebook and\or Facebook links.
    ckreddog
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

      @ckreddog
      90%??? WoW. That is alot. I found this link on my FB friend's page. OMG you got me.
      The error is your statement is that you have limited FREE PORN to a maximum of 10% when the industry average is well over 20%.
      dbisse@...
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Mouse over renders Twitter.com useless

        @dbisse@... yes- I get that result too- MUCH more "free porn" malware than facebook malware...
        I have a twitter account so I can post my links somewhere without dealing with facebook... I've noticed a lot of people want to "follow" you somewhere, and Twitter works better with my attention span.
        About the tsunami, earthquakes, etc. I also think that most people affected by those disasters probably didn't even have access to Twitter- and if they did, they wouldn't bother tweeting about the storm- they would have better things to do, such as getting to higher ground!
        www.dfwsupergeek.com
        unclefixer@...
        Reply Vote
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