Facebook. New Dubious Distinctions

[KmH]

Consumer Reports: Facebook privacy problems are on the rise - Technolog on msnbc.com

It looks like a lot of people are poorly informed about the insidious errosion of privacy Facebook use presents.

 

[Derrel]

The privacy "controls" FB uses are very difficult to understand, due to what, I believe, is a deliberate desire on the part of FB to make data mining easier for FB. As the article pointed out, FB has shown itself to be reactive, not proactive, in addressing user privacy concerns as well as slow to correct serious breaches.

 

[CCericola]

If you want to keep something private, don't put it on the internet.

 

[12sndsgood]

Facebook has always been about how open it is. and 90% of the people on there seem to want to post there most personal and private stuff. Not surprising at all.

 

[Orrin]

 

[Josh66]

I guess it depends on what you use it for. If you want to be easy to find, you have to have at least some information on there open to the public.

If you don't care about all that - yeah, make everything private or friends only. We're constantly getting briefed at work about not posting stuff online, but people still do it anyway. LinkedIn is even worse than Facebook, as far as that goes.

People get on there and brag about what clearances they have, and what programs they've worked on - stuff almost nobody needs to know about (the people that need to know already do).


I think most people probably just do not understand how the mundane crap they constantly post to social networking sites can be used against them.

Like, some geo-tagged photos of the new entertainment center, then a post about taking the whole family out to dinner in an hour.
I know some people that practically post a real-time stream of their every activity...

 

[mishele]

Funny you say that, Josh. I read a story on what not to post on FB. The number one thing was about going on vacation!! People saying......Yay, I'm going away for a week!! Now come steal all my ****...lol

 

[Josh66]

I found PDFs of all the crap they gave us at work, but you have to log in to see them. It's mostly the same stuff they were talking about in the article Keith linked to, but more concerned with work than home.

Here's one that you don't have to log in for (geo-tagging):
http://www.iad.gov/ioss/media/documents/IOSS_HotTip2_Geotagging.pdf

It's mostly talking about espionage, but the same principle applies to the entertainment center. lol.

 

[otherprof88 29]

For anyone who would like to really remove all traces of themselves from facebook, twitter, etc. try Suicide Machine.
I've read excellent reviews of this site, and it really deletes all data. Facebook threatened them with legal action, pointing out that all the data belongs to Facebook, not the individuals, but Suicide Machine is located in the Netherlands and told them to sue away.

 

[Derrel]

A guy I knew from the Fuji forum days talked about a weekly photography gig he had been hired to shoot. ABout a month in, some A-hole(s) broke into his flat and robbed him blind. He lost most of his camera gear, and had only what he was using to shoot the nightclub stuff. His fledgling professional career was shot to hell, AND his furnishings and other valuables had all been stolen. I shipped him a d-slr camera, a Nikon TC unit, and four lenses, and shipped it all off to the U.K. with an open-end return date. About two years later, he shipped the stuff back to me with a nice letter of thanks. So yeah...those FB check-ins that place you at a specific location, in real-time...kind of bad information in the wrong hands...

 

[Josh66]

LOL. I just went on Facebook, and there, right at the top of the page was someone I know talking about leaving for a 250 mile trip in the morning... :er:

 

[rexbobcat]

I don't put anything on Facebook that I wouldn't mind a future employer seeing

 

[12sndsgood]

I think the fact it starts out close friends. then people just get into adding more and more people. that they dont even know. and just assuming there friends because. well because facebook shows them as friends. You know, they must be safe if there on your frineds list.

 

[IByte]

I have my wife and military buds and that is it. I barely post pictures of our kids gods only knows what kind of pictures people have of me. Fortunately I'm not your average web browser nor can anyone find me on the Google....one me, FB and Google zero.

 

[rexbobcat]

I have my wife and military buds and that is it. I barely post pictures of our kids gods only knows what kind of pictures people have of me. Fortunately I'm not your average web browser nor can anyone find me on the Google....one me, FB and Google zero.

If you've ever paid for Internet there is a paper trail on you. You are in the system. That's what's scary. I could probably trace your ISP back to your computer, enter your info into Google, then pay a service to find out how many times you've been married, how many kids you have, and what your wife's name is.

The Internet sees all.