Why You Should Use Ad Block Extensions, Even if You Don't Block Ads [Firefox Tip]

Whether you block internet ads or not, ad-blocking extensions are pretty handy. Not only can you use them to block offensive material, rickrolls, and other unpleasant things, but reader Dave-Farquhar lets us know that they can also block malicious software. More »

ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS SAIC SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES SES

Home Automation! What You Need to Know to Not Be Dumb [Homemod]

Every tech freak, rich man and lazy boy wants to be able to control their house like a Bond nemesis controls his volcano. But...where do you start? Right. Here. More »

RF MICRO DEVICES RED HAT RADISYS RACKABLE SYSTEMS

Love Tires [Design]

Designer Hamed Kohan thinks that you can spread the love by biking, using these tires to create tracks of hearts across the streets. More »

RACKABLE SYSTEMS QUEST SOFTWARE QUANTUM QLOGIC

Twitter aware of onMouseOver hack for months, claims 17-year-old who exposed it

Filed under: Internet, Social Software, web 2.0

A 17-year-old schoolboy from Australia has taken the blame for the onMouseOver JavaScript Twitter exploit that caused havoc for a few hours on Wednesday.

Disclaiming innocence, Pearce Delphin -- who has the coolest name in the world -- says that he only discovered the vulnerability. "I did it merely to see if it could be done ... that JavaScript really could be executed within a tweet," he told AFP via email. The self-replicating worm came later, with the Guardian reporting that it was originally crafted by Masato Kinugawa and refined by Magnus Holm. Within hours, many mutations appeared -- shortly after, the Twitter offices in San Francisco groggily awoke, and the exploit was swiftly fixed.

Most importantly, however, Pearce says that Twitter knew about the problem for 'months.' It's not clear whether Pearce is talking authoritatively -- he might simply be stealing someone else's thunder -- but I'm sure Twitter will be quick to respond if he's wrong.

Update: Twitter actually fixed the bug last month, but seemingly made another change recently that brought it back.

Twitter aware of onMouseOver hack for months, claims 17-year-old who exposed it originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

HON HAI PRECISION IND HYNIX SEMICONDUCTOR INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES

Daily Crunch: The Operating Theater Edition

SteelSeries Shift Keyboard Lets You Switch Between Differet Keysets Kindle for Android Update Adds Voice Search, Wikipedia Dictionary The CitrusSaw: You Know, For Citrus CrunchDeals: Many Drives, Many Discounts Beautiful ?Naked Radio? Repurposes Parts, Looks Amazing

SRA INTERNATIONAL SPSS SPANSION SONUS NETWORKS

Change Your iPhone's App Icons Without Jailbreaking [IPhone]

Jailbreakers have been theming their iPhones for a long time, but if you like to refrain from jailbreaking, you can still change that app's ugly icon using previously mentioned iPhone Explorer. More »

EASTMAN KODAK CO EARTHLINK DST SYSTEMS DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES

Daily Crunch: The Operating Theater Edition

SteelSeries Shift Keyboard Lets You Switch Between Differet Keysets Kindle for Android Update Adds Voice Search, Wikipedia Dictionary The CitrusSaw: You Know, For Citrus CrunchDeals: Many Drives, Many Discounts Beautiful ?Naked Radio? Repurposes Parts, Looks Amazing

RF MICRO DEVICES RED HAT RADISYS RACKABLE SYSTEMS