Now Secure Your Facebook accounts With A Physical USB Key

Facebook has introduced a new login authentication mechanism to allow user accounts to be secured with a physical USB key. Securing accounts with a physical key is considered one of the best ways that users can take control of the security of their accounts.

However, not just any USB can be converted to a USB key required for Facebook login authentication. Currently, USB keys supporting the U2F standard are supported and users will have to get one of these to use the physical USB key security feature on Facebook.

The U2F standard has been developed by Google and Yubico, hosted by an industry association created specifically for overseeing the specifications of an open authentication system known as the Fido Alliance. U2F provides strong two-factor authentication using public key cryptography. You can find a number of U2F keys in India. The FIDO U2F Security Key from HyperFido has a tiny form factor and is available for just Rs 1,482 while the YubiKey Tricolour Pack from Yubico has three USB keys in the colours of the Indian tricolour flag, and is available for Rs 5,000.

The keys can only be used to authenticate Facebook logins on the Google Chrome and Opera browsers. Mozilla is working to add U2F support to its browser. The physical security option is, only available to desktop users. U2F keys with NFC tags can be used to authenticate Facebook logins from select Android devices that have NFC capabilities. The latest version of Chrome and Google Authenticator have to be installed on the device for U2F keys to work. In the security settings menu, under login approvals, users can add a number of physical USB keys to authenticate logins.

The additional safety feature is particularly useful for sensitive accounts such as activists, social workers and government officials. Sensitive accounts being compromised can lead to far-reaching consequences that can affect groups or communities of people instead of just one individual. Regular users can secure their accounts with two-factor authentication, where a code is sent via SMS to the mobile phone of the person. The USB security key can be used for people with spotty SMS coverage, or when using a mobile phone is not an option.

The physical security key prevents digital attempts to compromise accounts, such as social engineering or phishing scams. The USB key provides cryptographic proof that the intended user is accessing the account. The login process is simple, the button on the USB keys have to be pressed on login, and the physical verification is done. The same key can be used to authenticate access to GitHub, Salesforce, Gmail and DropBox. Logging into other services is secure, as the key itself does not keep track of where it has been used.

Buy the FIDO U2F Security Key from Amazon.in
Buy the YubiKey Tricolour Pack from Yubico from Amazon.in

Source: Facebook

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Hugo Barra Joins Facebook; Will 'Lead All VR Efforts'

Xiaomi's Global Vice President Hugo Barra, who is leaving the Chinese company to head back to the Silicon Valley, is joining Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg made this announcement via the social network on Wednesday.

Zuckerberg said in his Facebook post said that he is "excited that Hugo Barra is joining Facebook to lead all of our virtual reality efforts, including our Oculus team."

He adds, "Hugo shares my belief that virtual and augmented reality will be the next major computing platform. They'll enable us to experience completely new things and be more creative than ever before. Hugo is going to help build that future, and I'm looking forward to having him on our team."

Hugo Barra, who's globally been the face of Xiaomi ever since he joined the company after leaving Google around three and a half years ago, announced his exit from the company via Facebook earlier this week stating health and other personal reasons.

Before he was the face of Xiaomi, Hugo Barra was the Vice President of Product Development for Android at Google.



Source: Facebook

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Facebook Buys Social Media Buzz Tracker CrowdTangle

Facebook on Friday announced it's acquisition of startup CrowdTangle, which specializes in tracking trending content on social networks for media agencies and others.

"Publishers around the world turn to CrowdTangle to surface stories that matter, measure their social performance and identify influencers," a Facebook spokesperson said. He added, "We are excited to work with CrowdTangle to deliver these, and more insights to more publishers."

CrowdTangle confirmed the acquisition in a message at its website, but neither company disclosed financial terms of the deal. CrowdTangle said that its technology helps identify stories picking up traction and influential sources as well as their performance on social networks. The startup claimed that thousands of journalists use its tool daily, with its customers around the world including newspapers, television stations, digital media outlets, nonprofits, and sports teams.

The list of users at CrowdTangle included Google, BuzzFeed, Vox, the British BBC, RTL Group in Luxembourg, and also used by nonprofit groups such as Greenpeace and Unicef, according to its website.

The CrowdTangle platform is tailored to spot news that is catching fire at online venues like Facebook, its subsidiary Instagram, and even competitors such as Google-owned YouTube or Twitter. The US startup also provides tools for media to see how much attention its own stories attract and to identify who is sharing their content, according to its website.

The CrowdTangle team will continue to run the operation, and the plan was to go on supporting support integration with Twitter, YouTube, and other clients. Facebook expected CrowdTangle technology to enable it to provide more meaningful insights to publishers at the social network.

Source: CrowdTangle

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Facebook launches Flash, a Snapchat-clone designed for emerging markets

Facebook which has been obsessed with Snapchat after its failed attempts to acquire it. And now Facebook has launched a Snapchat clone made for emerging markets called Flash. Flash is only available in Brazil at the moment. Flash has a camera first home screen, a chat window, and Stories, all extremely similar to that on Snapchat. Facebook hopes Flash will compete with Snapchat because it has the advantage of working over low bandwidth internet connections in emerging markets.

Login is seamless if you have a Facebook account. The friends' list is populated with Facebook Friends, which makes it easy to add contacts. Unwanted Flashers can be blocked or removed. Flashes can be consolidated into stories. Flashes are ephemeral, like Snapchat, and disappear after consumption. There is no option to forward Flashes to friends as yet. There are a bunch of overlays, or Masks available, that can be selected from the menu below the camera trigger button.

The augmented reality filters do load much faster than Snapchat. However, Snapchat has a wider range of overlays available. The overlays work best in close range with the selfie shooter. The back camera implementation is extremely buggy. Either the app crashes when you switch, or the overlays do not appear at all, and on the rare occasion that it does, the overlay is tracked to the wrong features. For example, spectacles may appear over the mouth.

A Facebook made Snapchat clone called Slingshot was first available for iOS users in the United States. Slingshot was then launched on Android, and was available worldwide, including India.

Facebook had then even attempted to acquire another successful Snapchat clone, Snow, but failed there as well. In Canada and Brazil, Facebook replaced the home screen of the main Facebook app with a Snapchat style camera first home screen. Live augmented reality overlays may be coming to the main Facebook app itself, thanks to the MSQRD acquisition.

Facebook launched another Snapchat clone called Poke. Both Slingshot and Poke were discontinued, but there is Flash here now.

Flash does not have the "World Lenses", ambient augmented reality overlays for the surroundings instead of the face, a feature Snapchat added recently. The tables have turned with Snapchat copying Facebook in the latest Snapchat update. Snapchat has copied the Instagram Direct feature, allowing users to forward Snaps to friends.

Source: Recode

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Facebook Messenger Beta gets Data Saver Option.

You may agree Facebook Messenger has become a full-featured service, but all these capabilities can actually take a toll on your data consumption. Regular texting isn’t a big deal, but a data consumption increases once you start receiving images, video and more. That is exactly what Facebook thought about and it is now testing a data saver mode in its Messenger after a successful run on its main app.

Beta users of Facebook Messenger are seeing a new option in the settings, allowing them to enable Data Saver mode. There seem to be no compression methods or anything of the like. Instead, this mode will stop Facebook Messenger from automatically downloading photos and video; users will have to tap to download these. When connected to WiFi, the application will continue to work as always.

Those unsure about how efficient this feature is can see how much data has been saved, which is right below the option to turn on Data Saver and which can be reset as well.

Earlier this month, Facebook had rolled out an option to enable end-to-end encryption on Messenger conversations. This update provided similar user privacy as available on the company's WhatsApp messaging service and was introduced to provide additional privacy to Messenger users. However, unlike WhatsApp, Messenger users are required to manually choose end-to-end encryption for every new conversation.

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Facebook Launches Workplace; to take on Slack for Intra-Office Communication

Facebook launched a workplace version of its mobile app and website on Monday, marking the social networking company's entry into the competitive and crowded enterprise software arena.

The product, they are calling Workplace by Facebook, had been in its testing phase for more than a year and will now be available to all businesses. It is designed for workplace communication and collaboration, putting Facebook in direct competition with the ever-increasing startup Slack and Skype Teams.

So basically, Workplace is a subscription product, with businesses paying $1 to $3 per user. And those who don't know Slack's least expensive business plan charges about $7 per user.

Workplace is the latest move by Facebook to take on competitors in all areas of social networking and mobile communications. Over the past several months it also has rolled out products to challenge the fast-growing photo-sharing app Snapchat.

The company is trying its best to overcome the fact that Facebook is not really viewed as a work tool and is often called a distraction in offices. Workplace does not require people to sign in with their personal accounts and limits the News Feed to company announcements, memos, and communications.

Facebook is building a direct sales force for Workplace and also working with professional services firms to get businesses signed up. "We want to replace a lot of old technologies like internal emails, mailing lists, newsletters," said Julien Codorniou, Facebook's global head of Workplace. "These are things that people want to get rid of."

Although its biggest markets for Workplace include the United States and the United Kingdom, Facebook is aggressively targeting businesses in emerging markets, including Africa and Asia, where some employees primarily rely on mobile phones.

It also is going after businesses with non-traditional desk workers where employees spend the majority or all of their time outside of offices. Facebook has more than 1,000 businesses signed up, the company said, with India as its biggest market.

Source: Facebook Newsroom

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Microsoft Brings Google Drive and Facebook Support to Outlook on Web

Microsoft has ultimately added Google Drive support for Outlook on Web to allow users to receive and edit the files from the Web version of its email client. The company has also added the support for Facebook and made it easier to search for attachment in long conversations with its update to Outlook.

The Android and iOS version of Outlook already allowed users to receive as well as edit the files from Google Drive from inside the app. Now, users will be able to do the same with their Google Drive documents from the Web version of the Outlook email client as well.

In order to attach a file, all you need to do is open a new message and click on the attachment icon. Then, select Google Drive as the attachment method and enter the credentials of your account. After this, your Google Drive account will appear as a source when attaching files.

Also, you can now open the Google Doc, Slide or Sheet files within Outlook instead of opening another window. "Just like photos and Office file types, the Google files open in Outlook next to your message window so your work flow is not disrupted. And, as with Google Drive links, if you have edit permissions, you'll be able to edit using the full functionality available on Google Drive," Microsoft said in its official blog.

Similarly, after connecting your Facebook account with Outlook, you can browse and attach your Facebook photos from within Outlook.

Further, Microsoft has made it easier to search for attachments inside the app as at the top of every thread, you will now find an attachment icon. On clicking this icon, it will open a drop-down list of all the attachments in the conversation. You can then simply select the file you are looking for and open it instead of clicking through each reply or expanding the thread.

Source: Office Blogs

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Facebook updates Messenger with mobile web interaction, payments and more

Facebook has introduced the Messenger Platform 1.2, with updates that create a richer platform for businesses to interact with customers through chatbots. Advertisers will get the ability to divert users to Messenger through News Feed advertisements. The feature will be rolled out over the next month to all advertisers around the world. The same features available for current advertisements, including targeting at demographics and choosing delivery times, will be available.

Users can browse modified mobile versions of the site through messenger itself. Some portions of the web sites can be delivered within the conversation, depending on the context. Payments are integrated with messages, and users can use Messenger as a shopping platform now. The feature is available to only select partners as of now, and only in the United States. The payments feature is currently in the Beta testing phase.

A broader rollout of the feature is expected by the end of the year. The current payment mechanism is a little clunky in terms of UI and number of steps involved, which is expected to be streamlined in the future.

Users can now share chatbots, or messages from chatbots to their contacts. Contacts will receive an icon that allows them to start chatting with a shared bot. Messages such as news or a shopping option can also be shared to friends through a share button that is attached to a message. These features are aimed at making it easier to discover chatbots.

Developers of chatbots can now configure a landing screen, that gives some background information about the chatbot, so users have an idea of what to expect.

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You Can Now Live Stream Any Blizzard Game on Windows PC via Facebook Live

If you're playing any of Blizzard's games on Windows PCs, you can now stream your gameplay via Facebook Live - the social network's live streaming video feature. This means you can show off to the world heated matches of Overwatch or even intense raids in World of Warcraft aside from the likes of Diablo, Starcraft, and Hearthstone. Amusingly the news comes from Blizzard, via its YouTube channel.

"Blizzard Streaming is now available in the Americas, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, with global access coming soon," reads the description of the video on the company's YouTube video.

While this partnership was originally announced in June, it's finally live now. Although it's limited to Windows PCs at the moment, you can expect Mac support soon enough. Dubbed as Blizzard Streaming, it's accessible once you update the Blizzard client on Windows. A camera icon will be available. On clicking it for the first time you're prompted to allow the client to share to Facebook on your behalf. You can then choose who can see your live stream.

This marks yet another update to Facebook Live. Earlier in the week, it was made available to Indian users and soon after, verified accounts could make use of two-person broadcasting.

With Facebook Live partnering Blizzard, it will be interesting to see which other gaming companies it works with next. As for gamers themselves, Facebook Live is just another option in addition to the likes of Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Hitbox to name a few.

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Facebook Open Sources Its Object Recognition Machine Vision Software

Facebook has decided to make its set of vision software tools, used for object recognition in images, available to everyone by open sourcing the project. The set of tools, DeepMask, SharpMask, and MultiPathNet, were developed by the Facebook AI Research team and essentially work towards a process called segmentation to recognise objects by their shapes in images.

The research team has decided to share their research papers and demos along with the code for the tools with everyone in expectation "that they'll help rapidly advance the field of machine vision," it said in its blog on Thursday. The team further said that it will continue to publish its latest results and will update the open source tools we make available to the community.

All three of the research team's tools work in collaboration in order to distinguish objects and identify their type. In its blog, Facebook AI Research team said that the advancement in visual recognition technology helps visually challenged people in recognising the content of images that have no captions associated with them, without needing external help. The company rolled out this feature to its iPhone app in April.

Going ahead, the company says its goal is to "enable even more immersive experiences that allow users to 'see' a photo by swiping their finger across an image and having the system describe the content they're touching," it said in its blog.

Interestingly, the team is working towards applying these recognition techniques to videos as well.

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Facebook’s Account Kit is an easy authentication mechanism for third party apps

Facebook launched Account Kit at its F8 conference in April this year. Since it's release, Account Kit has been used by developers in over 26 countries to rapidly grow their apps using the easy phone number based sign up mechanism.

Account Kit is a sign up solution that is complementary to Facebook Login. The end user only needs to authenticate a phone number or an email address to sign up. Facebook allows for 100,000 authentication SMS messages per month per app for free. The process works even if users do not have a Facebook account. However, in case there are problems with the SMS authentication, there is an option to sign up through a Facebook account.

Account Kit is showing promising conversion rates of up to 90 per cent. This means that Account Kit is helping third party apps grow rapidly, with an easy to use authentication process. It also helps local applications with global growth.

Fynd is an Indian fashion shopping app that uses Account Kit. Fynd Co-founder Farooq Adam said "Account Kit is a great solution for any app developer looking to build mobile number-based authentication. Facebook's fast SMS delivery and seamless one-time password (OTP) ensures our customers get a flawless login experience. Account Kit's global reach allows us to serve customers worldwide; using it has significantly increased our number of sign-ups and improved successful sign-ups by over 25%."

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Chan Zuckerberg Initiative makes its first major investment

Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg's and his wife Priscilla Chan's philanthropy venture has made its first major investment, leading a funding round in a startup that trains and recruits software developers in Africa.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative LLC, created by Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, led a $24 million Series B funding in Andela, the startup said on Thursday. Alphabet Inc's GV, previously known as Google Ventures, was also part of the funding round.

Andela selects the top 1 percent of tech talent from Africa, trains them and places them in engineering organizations. The startup, which has nearly 200 engineers currently employed by its Nigeria and Kenya offices, will use the funds to expand to a third African country by the end of 2016.

"We live in a world where talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. Andela's mission is to close that gap," Zuckerberg said in a statement. When the philanthropy initiative was launched in late 2015, Zuckerberg said he would put in 99 percent of his Facebook shares.

The initiative is structured as a limited liability company. This means, unlike a traditional charitable or philanthropic foundation, the venture can make political donations, lobby lawmakers, invest in businesses and recoup any profits from those investments. Zuckerberg has also signed the Giving Pledge, which invites the world's wealthiest individuals and families to commit to giving more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes over their lifetime or in their will.

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Facebook Messenger Gets a Hidden Football Game to Celebrate Euro 2016

In tribute to the UEFA Euro 2016 championship, Facebook has introduced a new football (aka soccer) game hidden as an Easter egg inside its Messenger app. Called Keepy Up, users need to enter the football emoji to start the game.

To activate the game, you need to be running the latest version of Facebook Messenger for Android or iOS. Then, just send the football emoji in any conversation inside the Facebook Messenger app. Tap on the emoji after sending it, and Messenger opens the game up automatically. The challenge is to keep the football from touching the ground. The game keeps your best score intact for the next time you use the emoji and want to replay.

The interface is simple, with the ball bouncing about the white screen, more vigorously as the level advances. Users can easily exit the game, and back to their conversation whenever they feel like. There's no pausing the game though, you'll have to end it to continue chatting.

Facebook had done a similar trick in March with its Messenger Basketball game. It got activated in the same way, but needed the basketball emoji for starting it. Facebook also claimed that the game had received 300 million plays in just one week.

Facebook Messenger for Android recently also announced SMS support. The Android app now supports SMS messaging bringing voice chats, emojis, and location sharing to SMS messaging. The chat service recently also introduced as many as 1,500 new emojis into the app. Several emojis dedicated to women in different roles were also included. Notably, it even standardised emojis on all of its platforms.

The new game is being rolled out globally to all users. The update should have hit the App Store and Google Play in your region, but if it hasn't, it will soon.

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CollegeHumor’s co-founder heads to Facebook to help build a media empire

CollegeHumor founder Ricky Van Veen.

Ricky Van Veen of CollegeHumor fame is headed to Facebook as Head of Global Creative Strategy. Veen is co-founder of CollegeHumor, a site that pumps out funny, original content in the form of sketches, animations, music videos and so on.

Facebook is obviously pushing its video and Facebook Live platform and they've been spending on celebrities and media companies in a bid to get them to generate content. Veen, who's been spent more than 10 years of his life on generating content seems like the perfect fit for the job.

In a Facebook post, Veen said, "I'll be working with all types of creators and organizations to figure out how best to use the biggest network in the world to better connect people with engaging and meaningful content."

He also added that "In terms of Facebook's opportunity to leverage great content (specifically video) to the right audiences, things are just getting started"

CollegeHumor's YouTube channel alone has a massive following with almost 11 million subscribers to its name. If Veen can bring some of the brilliance, that earned CollegeHumor such a following, to Facebook video, we might actually be looking at a platform that will surpass YouTube.

As a report on recode points out, Veen has been quoted as saying that Zuckerberg is the most "consequential person in the world."

Speaking of Zuckerberg and Facebook, he reportedly said that a single entity (Zuckerberg) had absolute control over the flow of information. That with a single piece of code, Facebook could ruin companies, they could "send an alert to every spouse in the world at once if a partner has actively been in touch with an ex."

And now he's partnered with that entity to build a media empire.

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Facebook says it may open sales office in China

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during a news conference at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, California May 26, 2010.

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc said it may consider opening a sales office in China to provide more support to local advertisers who use the website to reach customers overseas.
While Vaughan Smith, Facebook's vice president of corporate development, told Reuters it was exploring ways to provide even more support locally, he did not comment on how soon it plans to be in China.
Facebook currently has a Hong Kong sales office with a staff of 30 to 40 people who deal with advertisers locally and in mainland China, where its services are blocked. The sales office would, for the first time, put Facebook employees inside mainland China.
Bloomberg on Monday reported that Facebook could open an office in China within a year, citing a person familiar with the matter. (r.reuters.com/vag39v)
The world's largest social networking company is in talks to lease space in the Fortune Financial Center in Beijing's central business district, Bloomberg said.
(Reporting by Mridhula Raghavan in Bangalore and Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco; Editing by Richard Chang and Eric Walsh)

[Account Killer] Elimina tu perfil de diversos Redes Sociales de forma Rápida y Sencilla

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