FACEBOOK

[jimb]

I know that this is the best treasure hunting site in the world. And that this is where we all come to talk about treasure, but are any of you on facebook? I am. Want to be a FB friend?

 

[Frankn]

look in Feb.'11 issue of Popular Mechanics. It states that Facebook lets 3rd party companies easedrop on your site. If you are going to be open in what you say the 3rd party will know what you said and know who you are. Think about it! People complain about privacy and then blab on themselves!
Frank

 

[NatorMVP]

FB is as secure as you want to make it. There are lots of settings that allow only certain people to view your information. Also be wary of some of the apps that aren't from trusted vendors, as they may be collecting your data and using the game or whatever as a cover

 

[Frankn]

According to PM you can't block the 3rd party out. They can grab what info they want. Read the article in Feb Popular Mechanics. It also mentioned the cookie gathering apps. you mentioned. They can even turn on your camera and speaker in your phone.

​

 

[fmrUSMC_0844]

Im not a big fan of the facebook.

 

[DoubleUgly]

I use facebook to keep in touch with all of my friends. However, I do not list my real name (same as this site), nor do I list my phone number, address, or real email. Even with my settings dumbed down as much as I can get 'em, and no apps installed, I still don't trust 'em.

It may piss off some of my friends that it's not my real name, but I'd rather them be mad than my identity get stolen again.

 

[savant365]

It may piss off some of my friends that it's not my real name, but I'd rather them be mad than my identity get stolen again.

The shape my credit is in after my last marriage...I wish someone would steal my identity.

 

[DigginThePast]

I do not list my real name (same as this site), .

Thank goodness for that DoubleUgly.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

Oddly enough, this article was posted three hours ago on Fox News.com

A tweak to Facebook's permissions and privacy settings means third-party developers can now access your home address and phone number, warned security firm Sophos.

Facebook announced Friday night a minor change of settings that expands the data people share with external websites and applications. Facebookers now expressly grant third-party apps like Farmville and sites the right to see your address and phone number via the standard permissions dialogue -- although the social network maintained that the new changes would not provide access to the data of a user’s friends.

A top analyst with Sophos questioned the social network’s move in a blog post, noting that the update posed a major privacy issue by making it easier for rogue applications to gain access to information.

“You have to ask yourself,” Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluey said in the post, “is Facebook putting the safety of its 500+ million users as a top priority with this move?”

Facebook counters that the move is intend to maximize convenience for its hundreds of millions of users, who increasingly want notifications of activity on the social network while on the go.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011...date-exposes-user-contact-info/#ixzz1BLQrjO8k

"We want to make it easy for people to take the information they've entered into Facebook with them across the web. This new permission gives people the ability to control and share their mobile phone number and address with the websites and apps they want to use," a Facebook spokesman told FoxNews.com.

Cluey nevertheless fears that the potential for harm outweighs the potential for good.

"Now, shady app developers will find it easier than ever before to gather even more personal information from users," he wrote. Cluey recommends that all users remove their home address and phone number from their Facebook profiles immediately.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011...date-exposes-user-contact-info/#ixzz1BLQVJ7KK

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

5 Ways to Stay Safe on Facebook
By Alec Liu
Published October 24, 2010 | FoxNews.com


Facebook? They oughta call it brace-yourself-and-hope-for-the-best book.
Security issues seem to crop up daily on social-networking heavyweight Facebook. From questionable "friends" and applications that leak information to the presence of outright crooks, social-networking sites seem like a dangerous swamp. Don’t let them suck the fun from your social-networking experience. With the right precautions, you can still have a good time, and stay safe.
Here are five ways to keep yourself secure while still getting the most out of your Facebook experience.

1. Understanding your privacy settings.
"One of the most important things you can do is familiarize yourself with Facebook's privacy settings,” Technologizer founder Harry McCracken told FoxNews.com. “And revisit them periodically. As Facebook adds new features, it makes decisions about settings which you may or may not like.”
If all else fails, McCracken notes that the safest setting for any feature is “only friends.”
Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes suggests that users acclimate themselves with the site's official Safety Center as well as becoming a fan of FBSafety to get the latest news and information on staying safe online.
Here are some key settings (aside from the basics) you should be most worried about:
1. Search settings. Search falls into two categories: Facebook’s internal search listing as well as a public search listing (which displays your public profile). Both can be turned off, or adjusted to limit who can find you in a search.
2. Photo settings. Make sure you know exactly who can see your photos. If you use your account for business or are friends with business associates, it may make sense to completely turn off photos -- you'd hate to get tagged in an unbecoming pose by somebody else.
3. Keep your friends from sharing your info. Be aware that friends can sometimes share your information from their profiles with websites and applications. You can edit those privacy settings under “Applications and Websites.”
2. Don’t friend people you don’t know.
Don't know all the people you're linked to on Facebook? Then why are you linked to them?
It should be obvious, but know the people you're friends with -- and sexy Russian spy or not, it doesn’t matter how attractive their picture appears. Criminals often use fake profiles to send spam, or worse, steal personal information.
Besides, a recent memo uncovered by a privacy watchdog showed that federal agents were encouraged to befriend people on social networks like Facebook so they could spy on them. That person you don't know? Who knows what they're up to?
Be extra cautious of what you click on from "friends" you don't recognize, experts advise. "Messages that are brief and cryptic or come from folks you don't expect to hear from might be worms that include links to dangerous sites," McCracken said.
3. Limit the use of applications.
Think twice about taking the next celebrity quiz that pops up in your news feed.
The Wall Street Journal revealed that many of Facebook’s most popular applications -- including the massive hits Farmville and Mafia Wars -- were transmitting personal user information to outside servers. Some of these companies were accused of collecting information through several apps and then selling it to ad firms.
Facebook immediately disabled several such applications. “We prohibit applications from transferring user data to ad networks or data brokers, and when we receive a report that such an improper transfer has occurred, we investigate and take action as appropriate,” Noyes told FoxNews.com.
“It is important to note that there is no evidence that any personal information was misused or even collected as a result of this issue,” Noyes added. “In fact, all of the companies questioned about this issue said publicly that they did not use the user IDs or did not use them to obtain personal info.”
Still, many of Facebook’s applications are developed by smaller, independent companies, and there is little way of knowing how they’re really using your information. Whenever you OK a new application, you are essentially handing over your private data.
4. Protect your location.
Location-based services like Foursquare and Gowalla are all the rage; even Facebook has its own version, called Facebook Places. While such services can be fun, there are numerous underlying risks.
Because of people's willingness to share and the wealth of applicable information, Michael Fraser, a “reformed burglar” working for the BBC, described Facebook as “Internet shopping for burglars.”
Frank Groeneveld, Barry Borsboom, and Boy van Amstel created the site PleaseRobMe.com to spread awareness of a very serious issue. Their site used Twitter’s search function to display the addresses of people who weren’t home – all based on easily accessible public information.
Once they proved their point, the site was shut down. But the issue remains – people need to be wary of their locational privacy. So how can you use these services while still protecting yourself and others?
1. Never check-in at home. You don't want people easily knowing when you’re not home, so leave this location off your list. Besides, you don't want most strangers to know where you live in the first place.
2. Never check-in at a friend’s or family member’s home. Updating your status with “Hanging out at Mike's” might seem like casual fun, but you’re essentially compromising their privacy as if you’d checked in at home.
3. Don’t link to Twitter. Unlike Facebook, which requires you to be a friend with someone for them to see your updates, Twitter feeds are usually public (although you can set your feed to private as well).
5. Don’t overshare.
What's the best way to preserve your privacy? The experts agree: Be conservative with what you share. Things like your home address, your family members, and your birthday are all easy pickings for identity thieves. It's harder to retract information than to simply not share at all.
Even the act of deleting a photo isn’t straightforward. An investigation by news site Ars Technica revealed that photos “deleted” online remained on Facebook servers 16 months later.
Your best bet? Don’t upload it in the first place. And with 45% of employers screening sites like Facebook, that’s probably not a bad idea.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/10/23/ways-stay-safe-facebook/#ixzz1BLRKNahi