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Facebook. Is it secure?

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by peconet tietokoneet 1 view

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To many this is a quick link to friends around the world, but are you at risk because of the lack of security that this site has NOT got built in.

Everyone goes on about spam emails, but we can block these out with some software or know-how. But it seems that on facebook your are putting your life in danger and not only that you are putting your kids in danger too (if you have any).
Some people on here are going to say "rubbish, you do not know what you are talking about". So to prove my point, here is a snippet from a newspaper

"Facebook Security. It has none".

The CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, doesn't care about our privacy.
A Facebook employee interviewed by The New York Times last week, when asked how his boss feels about privacy, responded: "He doesn't believe in it."
Zuckerberg believes privacy is no longer a social norm.
"People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people," he said. "That social norm is just something that has evolved over time."
But have we gone too far?

Not only is it incredibly egomaniacal to post photos into the ether of yourself skiing with friends (unless you are 12, in which case it becomes an ever murkier arena), it can also be dangerous.

I suppose that what I do as a columnist is to put my life on a page, but I still get a bit affronted when people I've never met profess to know me. I was recently the object of a stalker?s rather warped "admiration".

He would send me cards and flowers and letters too long to read. He knew my address, which puzzled me rather. He said we had known each other in a previous life, and that he was my "soulmate".

And then, on a Sunday morning, this man turned up at my house. I would have been less annoyed if I'd not been wearing pyjamas. He pushed his way into my kitchen; I called a friend, who rushed round. "Please leave!" she said, and then he got a bit nasty.
Finally, my stalker got into his car and left.

I know i will never join or go on this site.

If anyone thinks i have made this up. then please read more here.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/32easqd

49 replies

by peconet tietokoneet

On your doorstep?
Would you like your house/flat to be ransacked while you are in it or while you are doing the shopping?
But then, from reading your post, you do not care anyway.
All i can say to you is "make sure you lock your doors at night". :)

by ron k.

You can take your assertions about my character, wants, needs and desires, or whatever your rantings mean, and stick them all squarely where the sun don't shine.
After viewing your behavior over the years here at TR I've come to some various conclusions about you that I don't care to put in print because I DON'T CARE what you think. Your opinions on ANYthing aren't worth more to me than a laugh.
I hope you feel the same way about me.
I've been around long enough to know that you can find printed matter 'proving' any point under the Sun. If folks choose to believe your paranoid delusions, more power to them. I'm not going to live my life or teach others to live theirs by anything you have to say.
Clear enough for you?

by seanferd

Never much cared for the types who have been in upper management and financial backing from the start.

No, I don't like anything about the amount of control a user has over his own account, nor the complete lack of security involved. But since it is Web Crap-Point-Oh anyway, I really don't care about it from personal perspective, excepting the occasions where people ask me to get a FB account. It would be nice to keep up with people that I respect in another forum as well, but such is life.

Do Not Want.

by .martin.

leaving your front door unlocked and a note saying 'please don't steal from me' stuck on the door.

don't let this experience shake you too much. there are a lot of weird people out there...

by ron k.

You'd be able to see that I'm a male, associated with a few groups and that's about it. Friends can view more information but not much. Friends of friends can only comment on posts I make.
How is that like saying, "rob me?"
I know of one person who practices (my new favorite term) hypervigilance because she's had her identity stolen in the past. She's on Facebook, if you can find her. She's nobodies fool, either.

by peconet tietokoneet

I have my opinions on the subject and you have yours. All i am trying to get across is Security. Many a times we hear about security in the work place, so why do some people on the web just chuck security out the window?
We all go into banks or bank on-line and if banks have to have the up to date security about your account, name and address etc, then why not Facebook?
If you like Facebook then fine, everyone has their own opinion(s) on the subject.
All i want to say is that Facebook should be more secure that is all.
Have a good week. :)

by ron k.

A few business credit cards were cracked in the state of Michigan so my bank shut down my business card, and other, with no notification whatsoever. It's been three weeks and I still don't have full use of my business debit/credit card.
My point is, there are damn few places you can go online that are secure. I'll wager that we have TR members that could crack TR if they had a mind to.
Do a test PT, create a fake ID with a temporary email address at Facebook, login in and lock your accounts down tight. Sure, FB still has the real data but the data the 'normal' people can see is minimal. Hell, you're lucky to even find the names of a few folks.
Try it and don't like it, fine. Don't try it and expound on it's insecurity and who, exactly, do you think is going to take you seriously?

There are TR members over there that I'd trust to secure top-secret government installations. They're there and NOT whining about Facebook's insecurity. So sign up and see or stop spreading the FUD already.

by peconet tietokoneet

And give you new cards to use. It is the banks fault here not yours. The banks are getting bailed out with your tax money from the government so you should hold them responsible for your troubles. Three weeks is far too long when you have a business.
Hope it gets sorted in the near future for you.

by jfuller05

This is true of Facebook posts.
Example: 15 year old girl, "OMG, I'm home alone and sooo bored." Her profile is not private and her address is viewable.

Hmmmm...not something I would want to post. This is a friend of my wife on Facebook; my wife was telling me about it.

That's not something I would want to post. My wife also told me it's not just young people that post things like that. Do FB people not realize what they are posting? I'm wondering...

edit: typo

by peconet tietokoneet

Facebook should have some sort of security about data relating to your person (name, address, location, age). People should have an anonymous name(s) when signing in. Facebook should lock everything else out, until you get to know the person, but even then you still need to be careful. It surprises me when i look at some of the other websites and (some) people have put everything about themselves on there, it should not be allowed to happen. But then some people do need a bit of guidance sometimes.

by gsg

Your stalker is lucky that he picked you to stalk. Around here we have the right to carry (with a license) and can use deadly force to protect ourselves. We also have the "Castle" law. At it's most basic level, that means that if this guy had done that to me, I'd could use whatever means necessary to kill him, and I wouldn't be prosecuted.

When I do my training of our end users, I add a section on social media, and emphasize that there is no such thing as privacy on Facebook, Myspace, etc...

by peconet tietokoneet

And thought to your end users on the subject about Facebook etc. Some people have no idea about what is out there until it hits them face on.

by gsg

My brother and his wife had no idea that their then 15 year old was on facebook until I asked him about it. I originally got my FB account so that I could monitor what he puts out there. For the most part, he's been pretty good about it, but I found something this weekend that I'm going to have to call him on.

He's a good kid, but what he put out there is just too trusting, and doesn't need to be there.

I did a flow chart for my users about how what they put on FB is not private and how with just 3 or 4 posts something they put out there that they think only 20 people will see are viewable by about 400 people. There are some sick looks at the end of that flowchart.

by charliespencer

I don't feel as strongly as Ron seems to, but I don't have any expectation of privacy from any web site that offers its services for free. If they're making their money from advertising, it's implicit that they'll allow those advertisers access to the customers' data.

A lack of security regarding external threats is another matter, but users are still getting what they paid for: nothing.

A site's privacy positions are usually outlined in the TOS. If you don't agree with them, don't use the site; I don't. Neither of us can do anything about those who choose to use a site without considering the privacy implications, any more than we can stop drunk drivers or 'hurricane parties'.

by jfuller05

I've read, and heard, that it's a difficult task to get rid of your FB user account.

Ever tried to leave Facebook and found out they only allow you to "deactivate" your account? All your personal data, including photos, interests, friends etc will still be saved indefinitely! You don't have to be a conspiracist to find this quite fishy (or simply annoying)!

Maybe you see no reason to leave Facebook yet?
In any case, information about how to close an account should be easily available to all members. Join this group to keep the information handy the day you appreciate your privacy more than updating long lost "friends" of your life.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=16929680703

How come it can't be a simple click? :)

by peconet tietokoneet

But when you try and leave you can't.
Some things need to change in Facebook that is for sure. And i hear that they want to be bigger than Google!! I hope not. :)

by charliespencer

I 'closed' a Twitter account. Three months later, it was still there to be 'reactivated'. I closed it again, eighteen months ago. Since my posts are still there today, I suspect I could reactivate it if I tried, but I've been able to resist the urge.

by kentontator

even if people searching can't see your private information they still give it out to other companies and stuff.

taken from a group on FB
----------
It's true, Facebook sells parts of your profile that are not affiliated with your contact section and PICTURES (yeah, they sell your pictures) to corperations who in turn create customer specific ads and send them to specific individuals who fit their target audience. This is worse than the mini feed, in some ways, because now we are just information that Facebook sells, instead of unique users. At the end of this note, I have Facebooks list of examples of what they sell.

Fortunatly, there is a way to stop them from selling your information . First, you click on "My Privacy" and go to the settings for Everyone. At the bottom, there is a section named "Facebook Development Platform" (a cunning disguise). Simply uncheck the box, and your information is no longer sold to heartless corperations.

HOWEVER, if you have a "significant other" and/or friend(s), and their box(es) is/are still checked, the fine print in the Trade of Service Agreement we all sign when we join allows them to sell your USER ID to companies, instead of just your information. Have I said enough? Go uncheck that box now!

by peconet tietokoneet

If anyone else put up a site like "Facebook" i bet they would be shutdown by the police, or be made to put in some kind of security that protects the people that use this service (if i can call it a service).
I think people need to think twice before they sign up on Facebook.

by ansugisalas

I think you're right when you say "should", but wrong when you say "would".
There is no legislation banning people from throwing their identity to the wind.
Should be, but isn't, and writing that legislation is tough. Law isn't algorithms, the bugs are not foreseeable, and that's not even taking into account lobbyists and political twisting of law.
This has to be done by changing the culture of use, and reducing the culture of "watch me, watch me!". Don't watch, don't show, be a zero ringer.

by gsg

I really think there have been some undershorts that needed to be changed after that flowchart.

by theprofessordan

I've been a facebook user for a few years and I have had no issues. I treat Facebook like I treat email or the internet. I don't click on links that I don't know where they lead and I don't respond or open emails that seems suspicious. I have heard all of the horror stories about people getting their accounts hacked or getting robbed because they posted that they were out of town and they listed their address. People get their cars stolen when they leave it unlocked with the keys in the car but we don't stop driving cars.

by donmecca

Here is my two cents... Most people are not IT professionals however most people do either have an individual in their family or know someone who is. It is up to the individual to use common sense. Protect your computer system with virus protection and most important, a firewall. In my opinion, every home computer should have not only virus and spyware protection but also a firewall to keep hackers and whatever else out. We project our house with burgular alarms, cars with insurance, and computer systems with virus/spyware/firewalls. Just plain common sense...

by kenone

I'm pretty confused. So I'll just say this;
Is Facebook secure?
No, no it isn't. It's not any more secure than any other public website.
Are people crazy? Yes, yes they are.

by donmecca

I think what the users are saying here is, it is so easy to implement security for a website and there is a ton of free stuff out there too. If the creators of Facebook truly cared about the users, privacy would be their top priority. There have been already deaths like to social websites in the past couple of years (i.e. Facespace, Craig's pad). So privacy and security should be on the top of the websites list always.

by theprofessordan

I have heard the comments that Facebook doesn't care about security. They don't care because it isn't costing them customers. If FB was forced to change their security or lose money, they would. I recall a story years ago about McDonalds reporting loses for the first time in their history. What happened? McDonalds changed. Like I said, money talks.

by av .

I've never felt comfortable about putting my life on Facebook. Some of my friends and family do, so I just have a profile with a nickname and no picture. Anyone that matters knows who I am and I accept no friends I don't know.

I think Facebook is a government tool and leaves you open to stalkers if you post too much information. I refuse to put my life out there.

AV

by peconet tietokoneet

Look, listen and learn. Well that is what i was told at school, but on Facebook people chuck what they have learnt out of the window (meaning, they did not look, listen or learn).
I hope this acts as a wake up call for someone.

by av .

Thanks for that video, Seanferd. I know so many people don't realize that Big Brother is watching and even encouraging everyone to use Facebook. What a data mining treasure trove it is.

The government couldn't get away with Carnivore years ago. People were up in arms about their privacy; but they have a real hit with Facebook.

AV

by lars_honeytoast

because you aren't secure in your defense?

Often people that argue with anger, aggrivation, etc. do not feel confident in their answers.

by peconet tietokoneet

You remind me of an X-file film where a man physically connects himself to the internet and all his thoughts and his soul go into the big wide web for all to see and hear, when his girlfriend finds out she does the same.
Very good film, but you need to get out more Ron.

A poem just for you Ron.

Leave me here
I want to stay
I don't want this awkwardness
This pain
Just leave me here

Face to face, I told you
I had to
I don't love you

An overflow of regret crushes me
I must go on.
:)

by ron k.

You've read barely a few paragraphs of my online life and believe you have some true insight into my offline behavior as well.
Someone needs to explain to you the concept of a joke, too. Admittedly not my best joke but still... You've never heard the old saying about taking my gun when they pry my cold dead hands from around it? You must have.
You're bugging the crap out of me with your stalking behavior PT. You're not quite right in the head, if I'm allowed the same leniency to judge you as you feel you have to judge me. If not, too bad. I'm making that judgment anyway.
You remind me of a man who goes home from his boring 9 to 5 to a house having all of the windows covered with aluminum foil hoping that today won't be the day that the police knock on your door with a warrant to seize all of your computer equipment.
Some of us, me included, are basically shut-ins for reasons that are none of your damn business. I'm retired on a relatively fixed income. My computer is my window on the world.
I've seen your type before. Remember YOUR little breakdown, PT. Call it what you will but you had some sort of weird psychotic behavior when you 'left' TR. I'm no better but I for damn sure aren't any worse.
I'm going to continue to be whoever and whatever I choose to be. The day I take advice from the likes of you on how to live my life will be a cold day in hell.
Suck it, PT!

by tink!

of the ignorance of the general populace. Our society is losing all of its common sense!

I've been on Facebook for a little while now and I do see that people tend to put an awful lot of personal info on there. I think because they're posting from their own home or desk they get a false sense of security when posting online. They completely forget the true nature of "online". Posting online is like sending a postcard in the mail - it's open for everyone to see, no matter if you place a big "Private" stamp on it or not.

Though I would like to have a guarantee of privacy and security from Facebook and Twitter, I do not [b]expect[/b] it because I don't pay for the services. Nor do I want to actually. If FB ever went to a pay service I'd be off.

As it is now, I'm on FB as an alias only the people I know in Real life, in person, know who I really am.

I make my kids do the same thing. They're on social sites under aliases and the parental units have free access to their accounts at any time without warning.

by peconet tietokoneet

And about time too.
Thanks to the Canadians, Facebook is at last doing something right.

Read more here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8225338.stm

by peconet tietokoneet

You have some weird sayings. But then again coming from you i am not at all surprised. Especially from a bloke (you) who said you do not care. "The pot calling the kettle black" comes to mind here.
Have a good weekend Ron.
Ohh, be careful on Facebook, you do not want your hand stuck to your mouse. :)

by ron k.

Weird to you may be perfectly 'normal' to someone else and I'll defy you to define 'normal' for everybody/anybody besides yourself. For me, you may have a inkling of an idea but I'll bet you're wide of the mark. So?
Don't wish me a good weekend. I have other plans. :^0 (I thought it was funny.)
I'm willing to have an uneasy state of detente between you and I but I'm not going to put up with a bunch of ****, as I conceive it to be, from anyone, in person or online, whether you like it or not.
It's peace or detente, if you want it, because we could sit here and insult each other all day long. You probably dress funny and use weird fonts. See? All day, I'm telling you.
Edit: One of the few things that I remember my 96 year old mother saying was a question she'd ask, "How boring would the world be if everyone was the same?" It'd be pretty damn boring. Each and everyone of us is ****** up in our own unique way. Some people are wonderful, some simply intolerable or just barely tolerable at times and some should be locked away forever or, sadly, put to death, my opinion.
The 'civilized' population we walk amongst everyday is all too often less than civil. It seems to be the norm for some folks to kick others when they're down. We see that here. Some TR members are sleazeballs.
I'm not, and for the moment, I'm going to assume that you're not either.
If I have much more coffee this thing will go on forever.
Peace.

by peconet tietokoneet

You deserve it, your fingers must be hot with all that input. I know mine would be. :)
Have a good weekend (what is left of it) and a good week.
As for going on forever, do not bet on it.

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