Facebook

Think your programming skills are world class? Facebook wants you to prove it at its second annual Hacker Cup challenge.

"Hacking is core to how we build at Facebook," the company said in a blog post announcing this year's competition. "Whether we're building a prototype for a major product like Timeline at a Hackathon, creating a smarter search algorithm, or tearing down walls at our new headquarters, we're always hacking to find better ways to solve problems."

A few companies pay money to bug hunters. But Facebook is giving out something more unique than just a check. Some security researchers are getting a customized "White Hat Bug Bounty Program" Visa debit card.

A new feature, called suggested events, began rolling out to users this afternoon. It provides users with a list of events they may want to attend, even if they were not explicitly invited.

Facebook has agreed to make several changes to its services to improve transparency and better protect the personal data of its millions of users outside of the US, following an audit of its international headquarters.

You know those deadbeat friends of yours on Facebook? They could end up killing your credit score and costing you a loan. At the very least, your no-account pals could bump up your interest rate.

A chilling story in the New York Observer’ BetaBeat blog this week details the efforts of several online banks that plan to analyze your social media profiles to determine how big a credit risk you are. It’s yet more evidence that, unlike Las Vegas, what happens on Facebook doesn’t stay on Facebook – and could come back to bite you in unexpected and unpleasant ways.

Facebook has declined to comment on a report that suggested the dominant social network had already tucked away sales of $2.5bn for the first nine months of 2011.

Gawker, citing a "well-placed" source, claimed to have its hands on juicy financial details about the privately-held company that is expected to go public next year.

A Facebook spokeswoman told The Register "No comment, as it relates to revenue." If the numbers are accurate, then they paint a good picture of just how much money CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is sitting on right about now.

In a survey this year of over 5,000 people by Meinungsraum, a German-based online market and option studies research provider, it was revealed that 90% who use the Internet daily are concerned about security and think their privacy is at risk online.

This is partnered with 66% of respondents who sometimes regret posting personal information online and 11% who have lost or been denied a job because of their social network postings.

Facebook users are being warned against new malware that has affected the social networking platform by spreading through the chat system.

According to UK based security software maker Sophos, the platform has been affected with malware that installs Dorkbot worms on target systems.

A flaw in Facebook’s system for reporting objectionable photos on the website was exploited to view confidential images from its members’ accounts. The exploit has already been used to snatch photos from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s private photo collection which has been posted to Web.

Apple has 1 Infinite Loop, Genentech has 1 DNA Way, and now Facebook has its own vanity headquarters address: 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, 94025. Seen here on a brand new business card of a Facebook employee, the address epitomizes the company’s internal motto “Move Fast and Break Things”. 1 Hacker Way should help Facebook project the image that it is an engineering company where coders can experiment and find autonomy rather than bureaucracy.