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Twitter users may be victims of direct message malware

A friend of mine recently sent me a direct message on Twitter, it said "lol u didnt se them taping u" and had a link to Facebook. I hadn't remembered being taped in the past few days and I'd never seen my friend use this type of Twitter-shorthand, along with typos. To me, it was obviously spam.

I'm not the only one to be getting these spammy direct messages on Twitter that lead to bogus Facebook links. Apparently a lot of people have been complaining of these messages, according to Sophos analyst Graham Cluley who … Read more

YouTube debuts video translator for 300 languages

YouTube is looking to help video makers grow their global audience. Google's video hosting platform announced today that videos can now be translated into more than 300 different languages -- from Turkish to Tagalog to Tswana.

"Growing a global audience on YouTube means having your videos reach many people, speaking many languages," YouTube product managers Jeff Chin and Brad Ellis wrote in a blog post today.

YouTube has two types of translating services. One is the automatic caption translation service that uses Google Translate and has more than 60 languages. The other service translates more uncommon languages … Read more

iPhone 5 spoof video features a 795 percent taller screen

It's the logical next step in iPhone development: a much, much, much longer screen. It's 18 percent thinner and 795 percent taller than the previous iPhone. A parody video has popped up on YouTube to tout the phone's ability to reduce "scrolling fatigue" and offer full-body FaceTime.

The video, called "A Taller Change Than Expected" comes from YouTube comedy troupe Satire, makers of the "We're NASA and We Know It" video. NASA Mohawk Guy, complete with stars in his hair, makes a cameo appearance rocking his extra-long iPhone 5 as a guitar.… Read more

YouTube to keep serving videos on older version of its app

YouTube fans who don't upgrade their iOS device to the latest version can relax: the company plans to continue supporting the old iPhone app indefinitely, CNET has confirmed.

A representative said the TV-cabinet YouTube app that has been a part of iOS from the beginning will continue to function on the older devices, even as it disappears as a pre-installed app in iOS 6. Users can continue browsing the selection of videos inside the old app, which are free of advertising.

It may not seem like much of a surprise that YouTube will continue supporting the old app, and … Read more

Google set to beat out Facebook as display ad chief

Google is to be king in the display ad market. According to a new report by research firm eMarketer, the Web giant is expected to surpass previous winners, Facebook and Yahoo, and will soon reign over all digital advertising markets -- including search, mobile, and display.

Though Google has dominated search and mobile in the past, it has never ruled over all three markets.

According to The New York Times, eMarketer has predicted that Google is expected to earn $2.31 billion in U.S. display ad revenue, which is up 38.5 percent over last year -- while Facebook … Read more

As iOS 6 debuts minus YouTube, video apps fight for attention

When Apple users start upgrading to iOS 6 this morning, it'll be missing an app that's been baked into the operating system since the release of the first iPhone: YouTube. For the first time, consumers will have to search for a video app on their own -- and that has developers eager to get their attention.

Most consumers will doubtless start by simply downloading the YouTube iPhone app that Google released last week. But for now, that one's iPhone-only -- an iPad version is months off. In the meantime, makers of other so-called video discovery apps are … Read more

Pakistan bans YouTube amid furor over anti-Islam video

The prime minister of Pakistan has banned YouTube in the country over the video site's refusal to block a clip that mocks the prophet Muhammad.

Reuters reports that Raja Pervez Ashraf ordered the country's Ministry of Information to block YouTube so the video, which he called "blasphemous," could not be viewed.

The majority of Pakistani Internet traffic is routed through the Pakistan Internet Exchange, which is run by the state-owned Pakistan Telecommunication Company. The exchange's ability to filter content has so far been limited, spurring the country earlier this year to publish a request for … Read more

App Store snub? Apple leaves YouTube off list of top video apps

Apple is leaving YouTube off more than its new operating system.

A new featured section of the App Store called "TV Time" launched yesterday to showcase top video apps across a range of categories: networks and services, shows, and sharing tools, among others.

But while there are dozens of video apps on display there, the most popular one is nowhere to be found. YouTube's standalone app, which it released Tuesday, is missing.

The news comes on the heels of Apple saying it would no longer include YouTube as a preinstalled app on iOS devices, a position YouTube … Read more

White House pressures Google over anti-Islam video

The White House has acknowledged pressuring Google over an amateur anti-Islam video that is legally protected under U.S. law.

Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the National Security Council, told The Washington Post that the White House "reached out to YouTube to call the video to their attention and ask them to review whether it violates their terms of use."

A White House spokesman didn't immediately respond to questions from CNET asking for details, but any phone call to YouTube would be more politically symbolic than anything else. YouTube executives were not only well aware of the video … Read more

Google finds itself embroiled in Libya, Egypt blasphemy charges

Google has found itself embroiled in a high-profile dispute pitting the traditional western value of free speech against Islam's strict proscription against blasphemy.

The company confirmed today that it "temporarily" blocked YouTube users in Libya and Egypt from accessing a YouTube video trailer from an amateur movie sharply critical of the Prophet Muhammad. And Afghanistan retaliated by unilaterally blocking all of YouTube for its citizens.

Those restrictions came less than a day after the U.S. ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans were killed in an attack by Muslim protesters. Protesters also entered … Read more