Facebook Turning into PhoneBook? FB Plans To Share Users' Phone Numbers and Addresses to 3rd Parties (STRANGERS)

Facebook will be sharing FB users' phone numbers and addresses to third parties?! WTF???!!! Damn, this plan from Facebook!

In a letter to Congress Facebook announced its plan to give third parties access to user information such as phone numbers and home addresses!  The said letter was sent in February 23, 2011. You can read it here. This move from facebook is not new. Way back in January, this has started. However it was quickly suspended. But FB is pushing this plan again, giving our information to strangers.

"If the user wants to permit the application to obtain the information identified, he or she can authorize the application. If, by contrast, the user is not comfortable sharing the information the application is requesting, the user can decline to authorize the application."


Facebook says there is "a standard screen, presented o the user at the moment the user is deciding whether to authorize the application, which identifies precisely what information the application requires to operate."

Sample Screenshot 

from businessinsider.com

Noticeably, from the screenshot above, there are only two options for users to choose from, that is "ALLOW" or "LEAVE APPLICATION". There is not the option to "DON'T ALLOW" yet use the application. So yeah, it sorts of forces you.

I love the whole idea of using facebook for free. But for FB to sell my information to third parties- it S*CKS!  (I don't think we've had problems like this with Friendster..)Best solution now is to put a fake mobile phone number and incomplete address /or fake address on my fb account or just leave these parts empty.

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Google Evil? The Modern Evil?

What's this thing on Google Evil?  News are out on Google is Evil due to Plug-in Installation. Okay, this is something that concerns millions of internet users.

Asa Dotzler claimed that Google secretly installs Google Update Plug ins into firefox without the users' knowledge. This claim was made on Asa Dotzler's blog.

“What makes Google think it’s reasonable behavior for them to slip a Google Update plug-in into Firefox when I installed Google Earth or Google Chrome (not sure which one caused this) without asking me first?” Dotzler wrote. “This is not OK behavior.”

“When I installed iTunes, in order to manage my music collection and sync to my iPod, why did Apple think it was OK to add the iTunes Application Detector plug-in to my Firefox web browser without asking me?” Dotzler asked.

“In my book, that fits the definition of a trojan horse. Yes, that is precisely how a trojan horse operates,” explained Dotzler. “These additional pieces of software installed without my consent may not be malicious but the means by which they were installed was sneaky, underhanded, and wrong.”

 Whoah! This is something serious! This is a sensitive issue that must be looked into, with everyone of us internet users affected! So do you think Google is Evil? Do you think Google is spying on us and our privacy?

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Google Page Rank Update November 2010

When is the next Google Page Rank Update? The last reported PR update was way back in April 2010. Since then no Page Rank Update has been reported. Usually Google PR update takes place after every 3 to 4 months. However, this has not be followed for this year. There are talks of a possible Google page rank update this december 2010.  But some webmasters also think that the next PR update might be at the end of November 2010. I will keep you posted on this one.

To verify any PR update you can visit "XENYO. COM" or CHECKPAGERANK . NET and check if your site/blog has a new Page Rank.

Update: It seems like there is a google Pr update going on for November 16, 2010 December 1, 2010. One of my blogs with PR 2 went to PR 0.  Other sites are fine, no change yet. Check your page ranks though and confirm if there is any PR update.

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How to Fix Smart Bro Error Codes P30040, P30090 Connection Problem

Smart Broadband Internet is not really great when it comes to its services. But many still use Smart Bro because of the affordable fees and because it has a wider area coverage as compared to Globe Broadband and other internet providers. I've had my own share of bad internet connection and bad customer service with Smart.  It does *uck but I'm left with no choice as Globe does not cover my place for internet connection.

Some Facts about Smart Bro plan 999:

• It is intended for a single pc only .
• Everytime you transfer the connection to another pc, you will be redirected to the smart bro portal where you need to enter you Account Number, Reference Number, and the Captcha to be able to login or activate your internet connection.

Some problems associated with Smart Bro:

• Can't login to the portal
• Error Codes P30040, P30090 and other error codes 

Do it  yourself solutions for Error Codes or Internet Connectivity Problems:

• Clear your internet cache.
• Use a different browser
• Restart your pc.
• Disable and re-enable your LAN

The above solutions are a few things you can perform before calling Smart Bro's customer service (*1888). Of course when you call, they will let you do all those steps above again. You might even go far to using a specific IP address, Servers or Proxy.  If all else fails, the problem is not with your pc, but with Smart. The only way to solve the error codes especially P30040 is to let Smart activate your account without the need for you to go to the Smart Bro portal. It only requires a few tweaking on their part, I believe. Just be patient and call them again if your connection is not fixed. I'm basing all these from my experience. Sometimes it is beyond our control and this is the time where we badly need a good customer service from Smart.

Remember, at times it may take 24 hours for Smart to fix your connection. After this time and no progress is made, call Smart again. Just be persistent. In fairness, there are still few good customer reps out there that are willing to help you out.

If you are still experiencing Smart Bro P30040 error or similar errors, you can leave a comment here, or if you have an easy solution, don't hesitate to share it with us.

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Turn Windows 7 into a Wi-fi Router in 5 minutes

Can't afford to buy a wifi router? You dont need to buy one at all. As long as you have Windows 7 operating system running on your pc or laptop you can turn your device into a wi-fi router. And forget about the hassle set ups of opening the control panel, clicking this or that. Just install one program and you are ready to go wireless without a router.

I just installed this application on a Windows 7 Laptop and am now able to connect my PDA phone and tablet to the laptop without a router. Yes it is cool and it saves a lot of money. The program is called "Connectify".

Connectify is an easy to use software router for Windows 7 computers. After downloading and installing the lightweight application, Connectify utilizes your computers' built in Wi-Fi card to wirelessly share any available Internet connection: a cable modem, a cellular card, or even another Wi-Fi network. Other Wi-Fi enabled devices including laptops, smart phones, music players, and gaming systems can see and join your Connectify hotspot just like any other Wi-Fi access point and are kept safe and secure by password-protected WPA2 Encryption.

Connectify is only less than 3MB to download. You can get this amazing program here:  http://connectify.me/

Just run the easy setup wizard to get started. Then enjoy!

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The Fastest Easiest Way to Download Youtube Videos to MP4 Format

Many of you are not aware perhaps that you can directly download Youtube videos without installing any software. Best of all, you can download and play these youtube videos to your cellphones, iphone, or mp4 players without the need to convert them. You only need to download a firefox add-on which works flawlessly on your browser. No need for YouTube Downloader programs. No need to visit websites where you input the url of the video you want to download .. This one works fast and easy..

"Download YouTube Videos as MP4 and FLV" is a small extension which adds a download button on the YouTube video pages, so you can download videos as MP4 or FLV.


The extension is based on a Greasemonkey script. If you use Chrome, Opera, Safari or Internet Explorer, install the script.

You can download this add-on for free.. Just copy paste this link on your browser. 

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/11869/

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MocoSpace Social Network

 What is MocoSpace?It is social network for mobile phone users. Just like other social networking sites. At Mocospace you can engage into chatting, instant messaging, photo and video sharing as well as participate in discussions/ forums. This new social networking site is getting some good popularity, but I am yet to try it myself. I will visit the site and tell you what I think about it soon.

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Fix Limited Connectivity Problem

What to do when your internet connection has limited connectivity? First you need to figure out the problem. If it’s with the network there is nothing you can do about it. Otherwise, you can use the following tips:

1. If you are using a router or modem, turn it off. Wait for 15 seconds then turn it on again.
2. Unplug the cord from your router/modem to your pc. Wait for 15 seconds then plug it again.
3. Disable your Local Area Connection. Wait for a few seconds then enable it again.
4. Inspect your router or modem. They might need replacement.
5. If everything else fails, restart your pc.
6. Contact your technician or broadband service provider.

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Firefox Slow? Here are some solutions

Is your firefox browser very slow? Sometimes it really happens for known and unknown reasons. It gets even annoying especially when you are on a hurry to finish a task and firefox hangs up or just crashes.  So how do you speed up firefox without doing all the techie stuff? Sometimes the solutions are really simple.

Here are some of the solutions to speed up firefox:

1. Upgrade to the most recent version of firefox. Visit their site here!
2. Uninstall extensions you don't need anymore. 
3. Check for incompatibility issues with your extensions and add ons and even themes.
4. Clear up your internet history, cache, and cookies.

So that's it! I hope this helps.:)

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Google Buys ITA Software for $700 Million

Google is unstoppable and it just bought ITA Software. There were rumors about Google to buy ITA Software even before, but it looks like the deal has been completed. Google bought ITA Software for a whooping $700 million.

ITA is responsible for software for the organization of data for flight itineraries and prices, etc, including the ticket shopping sites for big airline companies. Now that it's owned by Google, there should be more improvement to be expected.

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How To Detect Fake Page Rank

What's the best way to determine if a website's page rank (PR) is valid? How to detect fake a Page Rank? For old time webmasters, this is not a secret at all. But for the new ones in the blogosphere, this information is significant.

For Webmasters Page Rank is important in search engine optimization or SEO. Although in the past months, there is not anymore that same weight given to Page Rank in terms of search engine placement. Nonetheless, Page Rank still has it's value.

For advertisers, a website's page rank is important. Many advertisers prefer advertising on high PR sites.

Google gives websites their deserved Page Rank based on many factors, but the exact formula or the exact rule on Page Rank-ing is never established. There is no concrete formula in determining a website's page rank. Only Google knows.

Page Rank changes every 3 to 4 months. The last Page Rank update occured last April 2010. However, in June 5, 2010, there were reports of possible Page Rank update.

How to detect a fake page rank? The best way is to install the Google Page Rank Tool Bar on your browser. It's available as a Mozilla Firefox Add on. This is the most accurate, most reliable indicator of a website's true PR.

Another way is to use free page rank checkers online. However, not all of these checkers are fully updated. Thus, you might get inaccurate results. So far, the best online page rank checker is CHECK PAGE RANK dot Net (http://checkpagerank.net). What's nice about this checker is that it tells you right away whether the page rank is valid or forged. Here's the result for my blog http://ticklethythoughts.blogspot.com

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Smart Bro Internet Connection Problem Fixed!

What a relief! The Smart Bro Team came by the house today and fixed our internet connection. We've been experiencing unstable internet connection for over a month now, which resulted to serious consequences in terms of my online money making and social networking. Finally, we now have a steady internet. It's only been an hour since the connection was fixed so we are still observing.

According the Smart Bro Team, the "base" from which we used to derive our connection is experiencing technical problems. They transferred the position of the antenna and faced it to another "station base". The only problem with our present connection as of this time is the speed. The internet speed has been downgraded to only 390kbps from the original 500kbps. They say it's because of the "station base". I just hope in the next few days the internet speed will increase.

To those who are using Smart Bro and you are experiencing slow to no internet connectivity you can call SMART BRO hotline, toll free at "*1888", without quotes. Do have your SRN- Service Reference Number on hand as you will be required to give it. It is easier now to talk to a Smart Bro Customer Representative because the service is localized. By that I mean, when you call, you will be entertained by "Bisaya-speaking" representative or "Tagalog-speaking" representative depending on your location as determined by the origin of your call. :)

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