TweetDeck taken down after user exposes bug

Micro-blogging service Twitter on Saturday (Manila time) temporarily shut down its TweetDeck after an Australian user noticed a bug that allowed unauthorized access to several of the service's accounts.

 

In a tweet, TweetDeck apologized for the inconvenience caused by the temporary shutdown, saying it is looking into the issue.

 

"TweetDeck is currently down while we look into an issue. Apologies for the inconvenience," it said.

 

An article on tech site TechCrunch said Sydney-based user Geoff Evason claimed he discovered he could access hundreds of other accounts through Tweetdeck.

 

He said he normally uses the TweetDeck web client, but noticed it started freezing when he logged in.

 

Evason said that when he downloaded the native Mac client, it crashed too, "but not before it shows me some streams and lets me post."

 

"A bug has given me access to hundreds of Twitter and Facebook account(s) through TweetDeck. I didn’t do anything special to make this happen. I just logged in one day, the account was was slower than normal, and I could post from many more accounts," he said in an email to TechCrunch.

 

PC Magazine reported Twitter had issued a new update for TweetDeck on March 22, complete with list management, activity and interactions, and inline media previews.

 

But it said there were no other reports of TweetDeck users being affected by the bug, although Evason naturally concluded that he wasn't alone.

 

TechCrunch noted Tweetdeck is an app beloved by the “power user” set for posting and managing messages to Twitter.

 

While Tweetdeck was previously a standalone company, it was acquired by Twitter in May 2011 for some $40 million. — TJD, GMA News