Security concerns over Facebook have been raised yet again after a security consultant collected the names and profile URLs for 171 million Facebook accounts from publicly available information. The consultant, Ron Bowes, then uploaded the data as a torrent file allowing anyone with a computer connection to download the data.
Simon Davies a representative of the U.K.-based privacy watchdog Privacy International accused Facebook of negligence over the data mining technique, according to the BBC. Facebook, however, told the British news service that Bowes actions haven't exposed anything new since all the information Bowes collected was already public.
Check out the original story and source here.
I'm reaching my whits end with Facebook. Its a necessary evil when you're in the blogging business yet the powers that be at FB continue to invade our privacy and collect information on us without so much as a warning. I would not have such an issue with them collecting information if they put a sort of "blast" on the site the same way they did when they wanted people to create those redonculous custom domain names i.e. Facebook.com/husltoday.
They should focus more on keeping everyone easily informed without having to find out from secondary sources after the fact. The info put out should be straight forward and specific about the information that is at risk of being collected and shared. I especially find their backdoor tactic of sharing information indirectly obtained on you from your less than tech savvy friends who do not have private profiles downright preposterous. This means even if your information has been made private, if your friend has not made their info private the info spies can go in and get intel on you anyway.Wouldnt that defeat the purpose of making your info private? Seems like someone wants to give people a false sense of security about the info they choose to share online. If you ask me, your info is never really private on Facebook.
Find out the 5 online rules when you read the rest.
Regardless of how tehnically savvy you are, here are 5 online rules every Young Professional should live by:
1. Dont put anything on Facebook or any other social network you wouldnt want anyone to see. I know many of you may want to share this info with your friends but dont put your actual address, phone number, or post your exact location when you're going out. Do not post anything that could harm you if the wrong (or right) person sees it.
2. Make ALL info private and carefully monitor your privacy settings on a weekly basis. I know I said there is a false sense of privacy on Facebook, so its a terrible catch 22. If you're going to keep your account you should indulge in the false sense of security and make your info private. Sounds ironic, but thats really all I have. Sad Story.
3. Forget uploading, do not TAKE incriminating or compromising photos. I encourage all of you to reach a pact with your friends not to take or upload compromising photos. All such photos should be deleted and otherwise destroyed just in case some blackmail demons rear their ugly head. People lose memory cards. Cameras are stolen. Computers are stolen.
4. Be careful what you share and who you share it with. No one likes to see status updates laced with profanity. If you feel the need to share something when you are upset or disappointed, make it so subliminal only you know what it really means. That way you satisfy your desire to post without compromising your online identity. You could do things the old fashioned way and write your thoughts down on paper and then shred the paper.
5. Do a GOOGLE search on yourself WEEKLY. It sounds pompous and self involved, but trust me it has nothing to do with stroking your ego. I Google searched my name the other day and found so many websites that had collected intel on me without my knowledge. I was scared and creeped out! They had addresses of places I've lived that I had forgotten about. Stay on top of the info posted on you. If you see something that is inaccurate, email the editors and politely ask them to correct it or remove it.
Dont ever think that Facebook owes you anything. They are a business and like all buisnesses they are driven by the desire to make profits. Unfortunately, keeping your data private and safe has fallen below money on the totem pole of important things. Facebook authorities can do whatever they want as long as they aren't doing anything illegal.
If all else fails, you may choose to delete your Facebook account. Check out 10 logical reasons to do so here.
Did I miss any rules? Have you had any bad experiences with your privacy and social networks? What rules do you follow about conducting yourself online?
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