Hacker Tweaks Twitter Celebs

Beijing rejects notion it was involved in phishing campaign

(NEWSER) - China has rejected the notion that it was involved in a phishing campaign that hacked into the Gmail accounts of US government officials and Chinese activists, the BBC and the Telegraph report today. Google yesterday claimed the campaign originated in Jinan , although it did not directly blame the Chinese government. Even so, a foreign ministry spokesperson says that "blaming these misdeeds on China is unacceptable," adding that "the claims of so-called Chinese state support for hacking are completely fictitious and have ulterior motives." More»

Simple precautions can keep info out of scammers' hands

(NEWSER) - Phishing scams are becoming a lot more sophisticated. Unwary Internet users can easily end up with their bank account and credit card details in the hands of crooks. CNET lists the best ways to avoid becoming a victim:

• Change passwords regularly. Experts recommend that passwords be changed every three months or so, and warn against using the same password for multiple sites.
• Click with caution. Any apparently legitimate email asking you to click a link to another site—especially if it mentions updating security information—could be from a rogue site. It's safer just to type in the URL yourself.

Also: Is Megan Fox dating co-star?

(NEWSER) - Never fear: Britney Spears is alive. A post from her Twitter account claiming she had died is false, the AP reports, a result of the hacking of her Twitpic account. Ellen DeGeneres’ account with Twitpic—a program not owned by Twitter—was also hacked. Elsewhere:

• Rumors continue to fly that Transformers co-stars Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf are dating. “They definitely seemed into each other” at a recent dinner, a source tells the New York Daily News.

Singer tweets, then deletes, response to controversy

(NEWSER) - Chris Brown—who really needs to learn to step away from the Twitter—lashed out at his critics in a rant on the social networking site that was predictably and quickly deleted. Brown, apparently upset with all the controversy over his Grammys appearance , tweeted a series of messages yesterday that culminated in this classiness: "HATE ALL U WANT BECUZ I GOT A GRAMMY Now! That's the ultimate FUCK OFF!" More»

She tried to kill herself twice recently, she tells newspaper

(NEWSER) - It's been a rough couple of weeks for Sinead O'Connor, culminating in a desperate series of tweets yesterday. "does any1 know a psychiatrist in dublin or wicklow who could urgently see me today please? im really un-well... and in danger," she tweeted. She tells the Sun she had attempted suicide last Thursday in LA by taking an overdose of pills, then tried again two days ago after being treated for a broken ankle in an Irish hospital. More»