Apple’s iPad is paving the way for some forward-thinking online dating applications.

Later this month dating site Skout.com will launch the first online dating application for the Apple iPad.

The dating application will be free and will be like the current app that Skout offers their smartphone users.

Skout users can search for people by age, gender and physical attributes, and Skout’s HotMap will return real-time listings for the locations of active Skout users who fit the search.

The idea is to help users find and meet other singles in their area.

Alex Willcock, CEO of VisualDNA, a maker of visual-based quiz software, says the iPad allows online dating sites to take their personal services to the next level by “providing users with a fun, engaging and enriching experience, while embracing the key elements of the iPad — simplicity and spontaneity.”

Steve Odom, CEO of online dating site Gelato, plans to redesign the Gelato website based on the iPad’s appearance. Odom says, a person’s profile picture plays a big part in online dating success and the iPad gives dating sites an opportunity to improve the presentation for their users.

David Evans, editor for onlinedatingpost.com, believes dating sites will start to display their sites like an electronic magazine, where people can flip through pages of personal profiles and enlarge photos while messaging with other users.

Evans notes that there has been discussions about adding facial-coding and eye-tracking software that would use an iPad webcam to refine profile matches based on a user’s response to profiles they view. If a person makes a grimace at an online dating profile, the profile would disappear from the screen. If a user reacted positively to a profile by smiling, similar profiles would be shown.

Love at first sight? There’s an app for that.

[ Source: Time Magazine ]

Experts from VeriSign’s iDefense team say fraudulent and hijacked Facebook accounts are being sold on the black market.

During and investigation in February, iDefense workers discovered that login information for 1.5 million Facebook accounts was for sale through numerous online black market sites.

One Facebook account thief, who goes by the user name of “kirllos”, offered to sell batches of 1,000 accounts for anywhere from $25 to $45, depending on the number of friends associated with the account.

According to Rick Howard, iDefense’s director of cyber intelligence, the findings show that the illegal market for stolen Facebook accounts is growing rapidly.

Facebook account thieves can steal user data through “phishing” scams that fool users into revealing their passwords or with malware that records computer keystrokes.

The stolen user accounts are then used to send spam email and spread malware and run identity theft rings.

Facebook users are prime targets because there is a high level of trust on the social network, due to the fact that people are required to use their real names and usually connect with people they know.

Due to this trust, Facebook users are more likely to trust a spam message or click on a malicious link posted on a friend’s wall or an e-mail message.

In addition, Facebook accounts allow cyber criminals to mine the user profiles of victims and their network for personal information like birth dates, addresses, phone numbers and other data that can be used for identity theft.

Although Facebook warns against it, many users willingly approve friend requests from people they do not know.

In one example, the Facebook account of Eileen Sheldon was hacked and used to send fraudulent messages to 20 of her friends claiming she was stranded in Britain without a passport and was requesting money.

Ms. Sheldon, who lives in California, had recently traveled to London. One of her friends believed the fraudulent message and wired $100 to the thieves.

Although Facebook has numerous tools for detecting fraud, some clever criminals can still get around the system and make social networking a minefield for unsuspecting users.

[ Source: New York Times ]

The United Kingdom is one of the top three surveillance nations in the world, third only to Russia and China.

UK citizen David Bond filmed a documentary of his attempt to disappear off the radar called “Erasing David”.

The film records David Bond’s attempt to disappear from society for 30 days, while professional investigators try to find his whereabouts.

David talks to numerous privacy and surveillance experts before attempting his “disappearing act”.

During David’s preparation and planning phase he is shocked by the amount of personal information he is able to uncover on himself, his wife and even his young daughter.

During his game of low-tech hide and go seek, David avoids using credit cards, cells phones and passports.

You can watch the Erasing David trailer below:

The Illinois Senate voted last Thursday on a bill to limit public records access to performance evaluations of public employees.

The proposed law restricts job performance evaluations of all public employees from disclosure.

Critics say the bill scales back the state’s improved Freedom of Information Act that took effect Jan. 1, 2010.

State worker’s unions that represent public employees support the bill. They argue that public access to performance evaluations could cause a hostile work environment because public employees would be able to access each other’s evaluations.

There are currently 7 proposed bills in the Illionois senate that seek to restrict public records access.

Following the arrest, impeachment and indictment of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the state passed a Freedom of Information Act reform that eased access to public records and forced state agencies to respond to FOIA requests in a timely manner.

Proposed laws to limit the new FOIA rules include a bill to allow public agencies to charge higher fees by eliminating the new limit of 15 cents a page. Another bill would remove the requirement that courts award attorney fees to citizens who win in court over illegally-withheld records. Other bills seek to allow public agencies to withhold records if they pertain to any issue “under investigation”.

The Illinois Press Association is critical of the proposed FOIA changes.

Illinois Press Association general counsel Don Craven said: “We had hoped that they’d let the ink dry on the new FOIA bill before they started changing it.”

[ Source: Northwest Herald ]

A recent online dating survey conducted by Online Schools reveals some interesting data regarding men and women who use online dating sites.

The online dating study shows:

1. The US has 40 million users of online dating sites; China has 140 million users of online dating sites and India has 15 million users of online dating services.

2. The most popular online dating sites are eHarmony with 20 million users and Match.com with 15 million users.

3. Online dating users are 52.4% male and 47.6% female.

4. The online dating industry is over a $1 billion dollar a year industry.

5. 1 out of 10 online dating users is a scammer.

6. In the US, male users of online dating site typically lie about age, height and income; while women typically lie about weight, physical build and age.

7. 1 out of 6 sex offenders use online dating sites to meet people.

For more results from the online dating survey, see the chart below

Via: Online Schools