Phishing Concerns with Twitterank

The twitter network is buzzing about the possibility that Twitterank is a phishing scheme. The creator of Twitterank, Ryo Chijiiwa, offers an explanation:

“…I sent a single tweet to my friends asking them to check out Twitterank, and the beast was unleashed. One hour I had 8 new users. The next hour I had 109. The next 400. Then 1500. Then 2400. All this happened while I was at work, and my primary concern was keeping the site up (my hosting service got overwhelmed, so I eventually switched to a friend’s dedicated server). Unfortunately, it wasn’t until much later that I fully grasped the extent of the rumors, and was able to begin addressing some of the concerns people had.”

link: Twitterank Creator Speaks

In twitter, it is easy enough to change password if security is a concern. Go to settings, at the top of the page, and then onto password. This Twitterank concern also serves to illustrate how easily some very experienced people can be lured into giving up a password. Undoubtedly this Twitterank incident has caught the attention of hackers and phishermen.

Catherine Forsythe