Facebook employees reveal the worst things about working for the social network

Facebook employees, including engineers and software developers, have criticised Mark Zuckerberg's allegedly "holier than thou" attitude and lack of professionalism at the company.

Earlier this year Facebook was voted the world's best employer but it seems that not all employees agree with this accolade.

One former employee said he was expected to separate his boss's dirty laundry, while another claimed there was "no privacy whatsoever" at the company. An apparent lack of professionalism at Facebook was criticised by an engineer, which was said to lead to "uncomfortable situations".

Another criticized the long working hours which he claimed sometimes involved being oncall for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. According to Business Insider, the disgruntled employees posted their opinions on question-and answer- website Quora. Read more >>

Feds tell Web firms to turn over user account passwords

The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies divulge users' stored passwords, according to two industry sources familiar with these orders, which represent an escalation in surveillance techniques that has not previously been disclosed.

If the government is able to determine a person's password, which is typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could be used to log in to an account to peruse confidential correspondence or even impersonate the user. Obtaining it also would aid in deciphering encrypted devices in situations where passwords are reused.

"I've certainly seen them ask for passwords," said one Internet industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We push back."

A second person who has worked at a large Silicon Valley company confirmed that it received legal requests from the federal government for stored passwords. Companies "really heavily scrutinize" these requests, the person said. "There's a lot of 'over my dead body.'"

Some of the government orders demand not only a user's password but also the encryption algorithm and the so-called salt, according to a person familiar with the requests. A salt is a random string of letters or numbers used to make it more difficult to reverse the encryption process and determine the original password. Other orders demand the secret question codes often associated with user accounts. Read more >>

JPMorgan Securities Investigated In Japan SESC Probe

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. faces a new regulatory headache, as Japan's securities watchdog is probing the company for possibly leaking insider information, a person familiar with the matter said.

J.P. Morgan was a lead underwriter for Nippon Sheet Glass Co. in 2010 when the glass maker issued new shares, and the company's stock dropped sharply in the days leading up the announcement. Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission Tuesday announced it was seeking to fine an asset management company called Asuka Asset Management Ltd. for short-selling shares based on illegally obtained information in advance of the offering from an underwriter.

While Asuka gained Y60.5 million, or about $760,000, from the insider trading, the watchdog only recommended a fine of Y130,000, or about $1,600, because of the small amount of fees earned from its clients on the trades. Read more >>

Increasing No. of homeowners pay big bucks for "panic rooms"

Mark David

Is This the Safest House in the World?

Nowadays, increasing numbers of homeowners are spending big bucks to have panic rooms, safe cores and other sorts of high-tech security systems installed in their home to ensure their family and possessions are kept safe from intrepid intruders and other calamitous events.

Hurwitz James Company

One residence, located high in the hills above Los Angeles, goes several steps further than a simple but effective panic room. The lavish and luxurious appointments of the sky-high mansion discreetly hide and disguise a security system so tight that it just may be the safest house in the world.

Modern-Day Fortress

The modern-day fortress was designed and built in 2002 by Al V. Corbi, a renowned authority on residential and yacht security. Corbi's stock in trade is designing integrated systems with detection, deterrence, defensive and offensive options. The heavily fortified and super secure residence occupies an easily defended promontory with 360-degree views. The well-defended dwelling stands five stories tall, measures almost 8,000 square feet and includes 32 rooms that all sit atop a virtually impenetrable batcave-like garage that will hold six, preferably armored, cars.

Hurwitz James Company

Safe and Luxurious

When not aiding the defense and security of its occupants, the fortress-like home functions like any other well-appointed mansion with deluxe creature comforts such as an elevator for whisking folks from the garage level to the living levels, a gourmet kitchen with granite counter tops and commercial grade appliances, two offices, a wine cellar and a home theater.

Buy Some Peace of Mind

The home's real luxury is, of course, the ensured safety of its inhabitants. Should an intruder manage to breach the extensive exterior security measures that include comprehensive surveillance abilities, there are two hidden panic rooms and two architecturally invisible "safe cores."

The safe cores consist of entire sections of the residence that can be isolated from the rest of the home and where the homeowner can retreat in complete safety -- not to mention luxury -- from an outside threat that might include an intruder, a natural disaster or even a nuclear, biological or chemical attack.

Hurwitz James Company

The homeowner declined to discuss some of the specifics of the heavy-duty security set up out of obvious concern that it could compromise the overall system. This means they're not going to tell this writer or anyone else but the next owner that the property is equipped with semi-automatic weaponry that can be remotely controlled from the panic room(s). It may not be, but then again, maybe it is.

Room for Refugees

In addition to the handicap-accessible guest suite, the seriously safe house has five bedrooms and eight bathrooms including a master suite with panoramic views, a fireplace, a luxurious bathroom and a custom-fitted dressing room that would satisfy any clothes horse with a penchant for high-powered security systems.

Whirly-Gig Accessible

The sprawling and tiled terrace on the roof takes full advantage of the 360-degree views that include Mount Baldy, the Palos Verdes Peninsula and the Pacific Ocean. There is also a built-in barbecue center and a spa situated under the heliport designed for emergency evacuations in the event of a home intrusion or for fire emergencies.

The Price of Safety

While it can be tough to put a price of the safety and security of one's family, in this case the tab is $7.25 million.

Biometric fingerprint scan required to buy school lunches

Image by Flick via Flickr

A new lunch system is being piloted at Elyria High school in Ohio that uses student fingerprints via a biometric scan instead of cards or personal identification numbers. Only the freshman class is using the fingerprint program now, but next week the entire student body and staff will have a scan of their index fingers on file.

“When it’s really up and running it will make things go a lot smoother and faster,” said Bill Jett, general manager of Sodexo, the district’s food service provider.

According to The Chronicle Telegram's Lisa Roberson, Sodexo will pick up the $91,000 tab to implement the program districtwide with the hope of recouping expenses over the next five years. Sodexo, a French multinational corporation and one of the largest food services and facilities management companies in the world, may soon have biometric data of every student and staff member in the entire state of Ohio if they can land the contracts. With 355,000 employees, representing 130 nationalities, present on 30,600 sites in 80 countries, Sodexo also provides services to the military and correctional facilities -- that means they work closely with federal and state officials.

“I’m just really glad I don’t have to remember a number every day or have a card or something,” said a 14-year-old student. “All you have to do is put your finger down and go.”

Teenagers are so accustomed to social web networks and invasive technology, docile submission into an Orwellian world seems natural, even after the release of ominous films like the Matrix, whose dire warning of future enslavement made such an impact, some of the film's dialogue (blue pill, red pill) became as much a part of American lexicon as "Catch 22".

When public schools begin collecting biometric data on our children via corporations with defense industry contracts, you know fascist tyranny is not far behind. Run your name through this for a glimpse into the future, where virtually every aspect of your life is recoded and documented for all to see.

Computer repair shops steal passwords, hack bank accounts

In economic depressions like the one we're experiencing, long-term unemployment and low trade and investment levels breed fear, desperation, and violence. Murder and suicide rates increase, as well as theft, robberies, and burglaries. Cities and states are bankrupt. Low-priority crimes like breaking and entering may not even get prosecuted in Detroit because of budget restraints.

An "Every Man For Himself" motto will increasingly become a tacitly agreed on rationale and serve as justification to screw your fellow man. As we near complete collapse, all third party contact will eventually become a potential security risk.

Sky News reports:

Computer repair shops are illegally accessing personal data on customers' hard drives - and even trying to hack their bank accounts, a Sky News investigation has found. In one case, passwords, log-in details and holiday photographs were all copied onto a portable memory stick by a technician.

...customers were charged for non-existent work and simple faults were misdiagnosed. Sky engineers...created a simple, easily diagnosable fault, by loosening the connection of the internal memory chip. This prevented Windows being able to load. To get things working again, the chip would simply need to be pushed back into position. The investigation targeted six different computer repair shops. All but one misdiagnosed or overcharged for the fault.

All but one.