Thursday, May 13, 2010

Facebook can be Dangerous

I wanted to post this in addition to the other post for today because so many that I know are on facebook now ( I avoid it like the plague) and it can be so dangerous and open you up to indentity theft, etc. The following is from Consumer Reports Magazine on how to keep safe.

Using a Weak Password


Avoid simple names or words you can find in a dictionary, even with numbers tacked on the end. Instead, mix upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. A password should have at least eight characters. One good technique is to insert numbers or symbols in the middle of a word, such as this variant on the word "houses": hO27usEs!

Leaving Your Full Birth Date in Your Profile


It's an ideal target for identity thieves, who could use it to obtain more information about you and potentially gain access to your bank or credit card account. If you've already entered a birth date, go to your profile page and click on the Info tab, then on Edit Information. Under the Basic Information section, choose to show only the month and day or no birthday at all.

Overlooking Useful Privacy Controls

For almost everything in your Facebook profile, you can limit access to only your friends, friends of friends, or yourself. Restrict access to photos, birth date, religious views, and family information, among other things. You can give only certain people or groups access to items such as photos, or block particular people from seeing them. Consider leaving out contact info, such as phone number and address, since you probably don't want anyone to have access to that information anyway.



Posting Your Child's Name in a Caption


Don't use a child's name in photo tags or captions. If someone else does, delete it by clicking on Remove Tag. If your child isn't on Facebook and someone includes his or her name in a caption, ask that person to remove the name.

Mentioning That You'll Be Away From Home

That's like putting a "no one's home" sign on your door. Wait until you get home to tell everyone how awesome your vacation was and be vague about the date of any trip.

Letting Search Engines Find You

To help prevent strangers from accessing your page, go to the Search section of Facebook's privacy controls and select Only Friends for Facebook search results. Be sure the box for public search results isn't checked.

Permitting Youngsters to Use Facebook Unsupervised

Facebook limits its members to ages 13 and over, but children younger than that do use it. If you have a young child or teenager on Facebook, the best way to provide oversight is to become one of their online friends. Use your e-mail address as the contact for their account so that you receive their notifications and monitor their activities. "What they think is nothing can actually be pretty serious," says Charles Pavelites, a supervisory special agent at the Internet Crime Complaint Center. For example, a child who posts the comment "Mom will be home soon, I need to do the dishes" every day at the same time is revealing too much about the parents' regular comings and goings.


As a matter of fact, search for yourself online. If you appear on too much, you are in danger. There are sites that will list your name, birthday, address and phone number. Don't think you are not on them! Check to be sure and if you are remove yourself from that list pronto.
There are too many nutcases out there to leave this to chance.

18 comments:

  1. Vital information...thanks for the "heads up " ! This is , indeed the "information age " and few consider the perils therein . Once again , you have come to our rescue !

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  2. This is the "information age " , but few consider the personal peril therein ! Once again , you have come to our rescue...Thank you !

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  3. Good info, Annie! I think facebook can be useful but it does pay to be very cautious with it -- also blogs and any other social media have to be monitored carefully with the same caution.

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  4. Hi Annie;

    I couldn't agree with you more regarding Facebook. Even though I have an account and log on to see what's new with my family, I still don't trust the site. I basically keep mine private just for my family and friends (that I know). I've searched myself on line and marvel at how many male and female have the same name. LOL! The only thing I find for me is my blog. Nothing private thank goodness.

    Have a lovely day my friend. Hugs

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  5. Hi Annie!
    I am on facebook, but I am very careful with my info.

    Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

    ~hugs~

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  6. Hi Annie! I also avoid FB like the plague...not a fan of it at all! This is such good info that you've shared.

    Loved your 'if I were' meme....really neat answers!

    Have a lovely week Annie. Hugs!

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  7. Hi Annie, thanks for the prayers and the information on FB.
    It really helps to know I have friends praying for me and my family.
    I plan to check my FB stats today. Have a nice week. Hugs

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  8. Hi Annie,
    I have only been in FB now for about 3 weeks and knew going in that FB is monitored by other wedsites. People have lost jogbs because of FB and blogs too by the way. I still am enjoying it never the less. I don't have anything on there that I don't have or use in my blog. Hope you have a wonderful evening the little that is left I guess lol
    Hugs, Dru

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  9. Sad but true. I'm on it. I like to see what's going on with friends and family but I think that basically it is just another time sucker-like I need another one.

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  10. Hi Annie :)

    I'm NOT a fan of facebook. My husband has to have a site because of work, but I don't have one and neither does Annie. Alex is 20, so he does, but it's set to private and he uses a fake name.

    Why on earth do I need to keep up with people from my youth. I have enough trouble keeping up with my blog LOL

    (((hugs)))
    rue

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  11. Sunny Greetings on this rainy day , Annie !
    Can't feel too bad about the rain...just found out the green car I've been driving is actually black ! Who knew ? It's been a good year for pollen .
    Hope to see more of your waterfront views...what's happening there ?
    Have a warm and wonderful day !

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  12. Hope this rainy day finds you snugly tucked inside with a good book and a large cup of tea !

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  13. Hi Annie! Yes, you have to be careful on FB as well as blogs for posting too much information! I've never passworded my blog but I'vd really never had any problems with people harrassing me, etc... which I know a lot of people have. Even though I never put much info about the celebrity who died last summer (you know who I mean) some crazy website owner who, like Elvis, thinks he's really still alive linked to my site where I wrote about that day. Dru found the site and told me about it so I edited the post so there was no mention. Hope you enjoy the week ahead! (((Hugz)))

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  14. Ciao Annie, interesting post. I am not on FB and don't like it at all. I still prefer other ways to keep in contact with friends and family. Have a happy day! :)

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  15. Hi Annie!
    I recently completely deactivated my account after reading the "new" privacy settings of FB. I would suggest that everyone carefully read those to make an informed decision. They are extremely long and detailed. FB says that a user can control all their information but that isn't exactly true. I was looking to find how to keep stuff from my personal page from posting onto the NewsFeed and I never could find that. In one area I found where FB considered everything that is posted on the NewsFeed to "belong to everyone". I also found that if someone asks to be your friend they will be able to see your personal stuff until you say no. So anyone could ask to be your friend and maybe you don't look at your page for a couple of days. They will be able to see possibly pictures of your children until you say no. That was enough for me and I deactivated. Deactivation only means that my site is "down" but it is ready for me to activate at any time. So now, I am going to see if I can get them to delete my information. I am sure they will say no, that all that information belongs to them. But I can only try.
    Don't mean to sound so negative! Just out to inform! **Have a Happy Day** :)

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  16. Hi Annie! Just stopping in to wish you a lovely weekend. Sending big hugs!

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  17. Hi Annie! Just wanted you to know that I posted my May giveway. I hope you drop & in join in the fun. This one is a bit different, but it's one that I think everyone will enjoy. Sending you big hugs, & hoping you have a lovely weekend!

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  18. great post! I am somewhat new to facebook and I think it has a lot of great qualities but you have to be careful. These are all great rules to live by when on the site. Nice blog by the way!!

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