Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Twitter restores TweetDeck after major hack disables app

By
tweetdeck hijacked pranksters users receive penis messages tweetdeck2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Earlier today, a major hack revealed a security flaw in Twitter’s popular TweetDeck app. Hackers reportedly discovered a “cross-site scripting” (XSS) vulnerability in the system, forcing the company to take all of its TweetDeck apps down for a short time. Twitter says that the error has since been fixed and access to the TweetDeck apps is back to normal.

As soon as the problem was discovered, Twitter issued an update that was supposed to patch the issue. Less than an hour later, when it became apparent that the fix had failed, the micro-blogging site quickly removed all the TweetDeck apps. The service was down for almost an hour before Twitter could confirm that the bug had been fixed. Access was quickly restored. 

Recommended Videos
Related

The TweetDeck app, which is available on Android, iOS, Chrome, and Mac is very popular with power Twitter users, who like to have more control over which tweets they see at any given time. TweetDeck lets users organize tweets as they please, a service used daily by those who follow thousands of accounts.

Twitter was forced to shut down the service on Wednesday because the vulnerability was massive and in danger of spreading like fire. The flaw let hackers enter computer code in tweets, which would then appear in TweetDeck and run nefarious actions or simply retweet other accounts to spread the bug. Before the service was shut down and the bug patched, TweetDeck users kept receiving random messages, presumably from hackers exploiting the bug.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Malarie Gokey
Malarie Gokey
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…
Epic Games sues Google, Apple for alleged app store monopolies
Fortnite iPhone

Epic Games filed suit against Google for alleged monopolistic and anticompetitive app store practices, just hours after Fortnite was taken down from the Google Play Store and the gaming studio filed a lawsuit against Apple on similar grounds. Google’s antitrust behavior, Epic Games argues, breaks Android’s original “open ecosystem” promises and eliminates consumer choice.

In its complaint filed Thursday, August 13, Epic Games says that such anticompetitive policies, which violate both the Sherman Act and California’s Cartwright Act, have enabled Google to build a monopoly and stifled “competition in the distribution of Android apps using myriad contractual and technical barriers.”

Read more
The best Twitter apps for iOS and Android
Hand holding a Twitter phone

In a little over a decade, Twitter evolved from a simple microblogging platform to a communications powerhouse that now -- for better or worse -- charts the course of history. Twitter is used by governments, corporations, and press outlets, as well as gossipers and jokesters, to push influence, share cat pictures, and everything in between.

But no matter what you use Twitter for, if you want to use it on the go, you're going to need an app. While Twitter's official app is good (and included below), it isn't the only option available, and some apps offer features the original doesn't. Here are a few of our favorite Twitter clients for iOS and Android.
Twitter

Read more
The Twitter app is crashing for Android users: Here’s how to fix it
Hand holding a Twitter phone

If you have the Twitter app downloaded on your phone, you may have noticed it hasn’t been working right. A recent update made the app crash before opening, but there’s a way to fix it. 

Version 8.28 of the Twitter app crashes as soon as it is opened on your phone, according to users’ reports and Techradar. Android users appear to be the ones most affected since Android devices allow automatic app updates. 

Read more