Facebook speeds to slow a bit during HTTPS transition

Security is a paramount issue surrounding Facebook, with the company regularly tweaking its security settings, sometimes to the chagrin of users. The social network began implementing changes to its infrastructure years ago with the goal in mind of eventually transitioning all users to HTTPS connection. The change is opt-out, and has the potential to cause a tad slow down in speeds.

Facebook began rolling out the transition to HTTPS for users in North America this past week, and will do so for users in the rest of the world soon. The transition was announced in 2011. Said the social network via its Developers blog, “We feel that HTTPS is an essential option to protect the security of Facebook accounts, and since Apps on Facebook are an important part of the site, support for HTTPS in your app is critical to ensure user security.”

HTTPS security has been utilized during the login process, helping keep usernames and passwords safe. Back in January of 2011, the company then began allowing users to opt in to HTTPS browsing, but did so with a warning. “Encrypted pages take longer to load, so you may notice Facebook is slower using HTTPs.”

Users can choose to opt-out of using encrypted browsing once it is implemented if they don’t feel it is necessary, or don’t want to deal with the slightly reduced browsing speeds. You can access the opt-out setting by going into “Account Settings,” then choosing “Settings” on the left-side menu. Click “Edit” next to Secure Browsing and uncheck the box.

[via Tech Crunch]


Facebook speeds to slow a bit during HTTPS transition is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Facebook says it isn’t plotting search team up with Yahoo

Over the weekend, a rather interesting report from The Daily Telegraph surfaced. It claimed that Yahoo CEO Marissa Miller and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg were in talks for a search alliance that would benefit both. At first, it seemed like the rumor made some sense – after all, Facebook has been talking about breaking into the search scene for a while now, and teaming up with Facebook could give the struggling Yahoo a nice boost. The problem is the rumor isn’t true.


At least that’s what Facebook says, telling All Things D in a statement today that it hasn’t been in talks with Yahoo about any kind of search deal. “People expect a better search experience on Facebook,” the company said. “We are working on improvements to better meet those expectations but are not in talks to enter into a new search partnership.” So Facebook is looking to bolster its search, but it doesn’t think it needs any outside help to do so.

While a team up would certainly make some sense, it makes more sense for Facebook to go it alone this time. Facebook is a huge company with a lot of influence when it comes to the Internet, so a partnership like the one outlined in The Daily Telegraph would probably end up benefiting Yahoo much more than it benefits Facebook.

In any case, one thing is for sure: Facebook is definitely looking to make a splash in the search arena. We’ll have to wait a while longer before its exact plans are revealed, but at least this statement tells us that the company is taking the issue seriously. Check out our story timeline below for more on Facebook!


Facebook says it isn’t plotting search team up with Yahoo is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Why Facebook Is Like TV

Let’s talk Facebook. More »

Facebook And Yahoo To Link Up?

Facebook logoHere is yet another rumor that is making its way around the Internet – that social networking giant Facebook as well as Internet search pioneer Yahoo are looking to link up in a possible partnership. According to the Sunday Telegraph, both of these companies could eventually merge their best traits when it comes to search, and the possibility of that could help win some market share from the almighty Google. So, do you think that there is enough meat in the rumor to confirm that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg did discuss about both of their respective companies working together on a search engine?

Select industry watchers think otherwise, as it is quite likely that Microsoft is not going to allow Yahoo to squirm its way out of its long-term search contract. On the other hand, Mayer and Sandberg were former colleagues at Google, and they would definitely be able to know as well as understand just the kind of leverage that search can deliver in order to super-charge a business. We do hope that more sniffing can be done to unearth additional information concerning the situation.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Facebook and Yahoo! form new partnership, resolve patent dispute, Yahoo adds two more patent infringement claims in lawsuit against Facebook,

Are Facebook and Yahoo Teaming Up on Search?

Are Facebook and Yahoo getting ready to go in on a search venture together? According to a report from The Sunday Telegraph sourced by anonymous insiders, yes. Rumor has it that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg have been chatting about working together to maybe get a search engine going. More »

Facebook launching sales tracking for retail partners

In an attempt to get more marketers to buy up advertising space, Facebook has announced that it will soon be giving retailers feedback on the sales they receive through ads on the social networking site. This new sales tracking tool is currently being tested, so it isn’t available to all retailers yet, but Facebook told Reuters that everything should be fully implemented by the end of the month. Just in time for the holiday sales rush, which we’re guessing isn’t a coincidence.


This obviously works in both directions, as it allows businesses to see if they’re making a return on the advertising money they spend at Facebook. If they are, then it encourages them to advertise with Facebook in the future and could even pull advertising money in from other businesses. That, obviously, would be a good thing for Facebook, so you can bet the company is hoping for results that show the ads are working.

Facebook users don’t need to worry, however, as the company’s advertising product manager David Baser told Reuters that the sales tracking service doesn’t give retailers any personal information. It will tell retailers if you clicked on an ad and then proceeded to purchase the item, but other than that, retailers won’t know anything that could be used to identify you. Baser also said that sales tracking has long been a requested feature from Facebook’s retail partners, so they’re finally about to get their wish.

Another benefit of this new sales tracking tool: it will help advertisers determine who to target with their ads. Since they’ll have sales tracking data, they’ll know which demographics responded well to their ads and which didn’t. Check out our timeline below for more information on Facebook!


Facebook launching sales tracking for retail partners is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Facebook Gifts Just Became the Easiest Way to Look Good in Front of Everyone

All your friends, flames, and enemies are on Facebook. And now, you can buy all of these people presents—gift cards for coffee, cake pops, champagne, and pencils. It’ll all ship straight to their door. Why would I want to buy things like this? More »

Facebook Gifts gains more partners, hundreds of gift options

Facebook has announced the addition of hundreds of new gifts users can buy and send to friends on Facebook. The new items are from a variety of retailers who have partnered with the social network, including babyGap and Brookstone. Now the next time a Facebook notification pops up letting you know it’s someone’s birthday, you can send them a gift ASAP from the comfort of your computer.

Retail partners include Fab, Dean & Deluca, L’Occitane, Lindt, ProFlowers, Random House Inc., NARS Cosmetics, Brookstone, and babyGap. In addition, there are also a variety of gift options for the multi-media lover on your friends list. Facebook users can purchase and send subscriptions to online services, including Pandora and Hulu Plus.

According to the Facebook Gifts page, users can simply select a gift, add a message, and send it off after paying for it. The receiving party will get a notification alerting them to the gift. After getting the alert, the friend can then enter their shipping information to receive it, as well as changing some user-selection options, such as flavor or size, depending on the item.

The method seems pretty straight forward and easy for both parties to use. The way the shipping information is setup allows Facebook users to avoid the hassle of trying to get a current shipping address, and helps the person on the receiving end maintain their privacy. For now, the Facebook.com/about/gifts page features a “Coming Soon” tag, as well as an introduction video.

[via Facebook]


Facebook Gifts gains more partners, hundreds of gift options is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Facebook Gifts Lets You Play Santa

The Yuletide season is creeping up on us slowly but surely, and so it can be quite a headache wondering just what gifts you need to prepare for different folks. Well, it seems that Facebook intends to jump aboard the gift giving bandwagon with the implementation of Facebook Gifts, where it will include hundreds of gifts from new retail partners and will be available to more folks who are on Facebook. After all, nothing spells out love better than action, and it does not matter if you want to wish someone a very happy birthday, to congratulate new parents, or to wish a friend happy holidays than showering them with gifts from babyGap, Fab, Brookstone, Dean & Deluca,L’Occitane, Lindt, ProFlowers, Random House, Inc. and NARS Cosmetics.

Couch potatoes will also appreciate gifts such as Hulu Plus, Pandora, and Rdio among others. The future will also allow you to send bottles of wine from Robert Mondavi Winery and Chandon, now how about that for truly spreading the holiday cheer around? Facebook Gifts intend to add more retail partners and roll out to more people in the weeks ahead. [Press Release]

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Fingerprints Update Your Facebook Profile, Facebook now testing share button on its mobile site,

Facebook users can now share via Android and iOS apps

Facebook users can now share via Android and iOS apps

Yesterday, Facebook revealed that it was in the process of bringing its website’s share feature to mobile apps for iOS and Android. Well, Zuckerberg’s crew just made good on its promise, and has released version 5.2 of its app for both platforms. That means that folks using either app can now pass on their witty musings and puppy pictures to all of their online friends with a simple tap in their news feeds. Want in on the action? There are downloads to be had at the source links below.

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Facebook users can now share via Android and iOS apps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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