Hello everyone,
In this post (way back in October of 2009) I listed ten “scary” things about Facebook. Now, over a year later I would like to list a few more. Facebook has evolved for sure and has improved it’s security in certain areas, but there are still major security/privacy issues that you should be aware of:
1) Facebook Places: Do you really want everyone on the Internet to know your present location (and profile)? Do you really want your friends on Facebook to tell everyone else on Facebook where you are at any given moment? Adjust Privacy Settings please!
2) Profile Postings: Do you really want everyone on the Internet to see all of the information, comments, photos, etc. that you share with friends? Are you sure you want to post things that can and will be seen forever even if you delete your Facebook account someday? Take control of who sees what by selecting who can see your information (Share).
3) Games and Apps: Do you really want your friends to know what games you are playing at all times? Do you really want games and apps to communicate with your friends to tell them what you are doing at the moment? There are settings that you can edit to avoid this (Privacy>Applications and Websites>Edit Your Settings).
4) Facebook Apps: Do you really want the developer of a Facebook app to be able to access your profile information? Do you trust this unknown “developer” with all of your profile information? Do you know that all Facebook apps are allowed to access your profile information? Disable app access please! (Privacy>Edit>Applications You Use>Turn Off Platform Apps & Turn Off Platform).
5) Your Friends: I hope that you always are on good terms with all of your friends because your Facebook friends have full access to your profile. Your friends can share your wall information without you even knowing about it. Your friends may be using apps that have access to their friend lists ( you!). Carefully take a look at your privacy settings! (Privacy>Info Accessible Through Your Friends).
Professor Randy says: I’m all for connecting socially through Facebook, but please lock Facebook down in order to make it safer. By taking control of Facebooks privacy and security flaws, you will be able to connect with your friends securely!
