Monday, May 17, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Is Facebook as safe as we think?
For years there have been concerns about the dangers of Facebook. Until recently, however, these dangers have been primarily focused on the targeting of children by online predators. The old saying "don't talk to strangers" is just as relevant on social networks, and these networks have imposed limits to prevent young children from joining.
Now, we must ask ourselves if we are aware of the potential dangers we face as "responsible" adults. CBS News posted a story this week entitled Five Hidden Dangers of Facebook. The article goes on to explain how Facebook users are endangering themselves by simply logging in. With 400 million users, Facebook has transformed from a trend to a social phenomenon with an online population larger than that of the United States' physical population.
No longer is your information secured between you and Facebook. Third-party sites are given your information so that advertisers can target you more effectively. Advertising is how Facebook generates its profits; thus, it is in Facebook's best interest to have access to more information about you. The more information Facebook can give to advertisers, the more money they make. Simply, Facebook, like any business, is looking out for itself before it protects its users.
One way you can limit what information you share is through the privacy settings. With every new Facebook layout (which seems to occur almost monthly now), privacy settings are restored to their default. The default was chosen by Facebook, and they hope you don't notice that your settings are not what you intended.
Another real danger of Facebook is the ability for criminals and scam artists to become fake "friends." That person who claims to be a old friend from camp may really be someone trying to take advantage of you. This danger, however, can be prevented if users ensure that they are fully aware of who they are friending. Once again, the old adage "don't talk to strangers" holds true, even for us adults.
As Facebook and other social networking sites become more popular, the possibility for security problems increases. Ultimately, it is up to us, the users, to scrutinize each site and their policies to ensure our safety.
Now, we must ask ourselves if we are aware of the potential dangers we face as "responsible" adults. CBS News posted a story this week entitled Five Hidden Dangers of Facebook. The article goes on to explain how Facebook users are endangering themselves by simply logging in. With 400 million users, Facebook has transformed from a trend to a social phenomenon with an online population larger than that of the United States' physical population.
No longer is your information secured between you and Facebook. Third-party sites are given your information so that advertisers can target you more effectively. Advertising is how Facebook generates its profits; thus, it is in Facebook's best interest to have access to more information about you. The more information Facebook can give to advertisers, the more money they make. Simply, Facebook, like any business, is looking out for itself before it protects its users.
One way you can limit what information you share is through the privacy settings. With every new Facebook layout (which seems to occur almost monthly now), privacy settings are restored to their default. The default was chosen by Facebook, and they hope you don't notice that your settings are not what you intended.
Another real danger of Facebook is the ability for criminals and scam artists to become fake "friends." That person who claims to be a old friend from camp may really be someone trying to take advantage of you. This danger, however, can be prevented if users ensure that they are fully aware of who they are friending. Once again, the old adage "don't talk to strangers" holds true, even for us adults.
As Facebook and other social networking sites become more popular, the possibility for security problems increases. Ultimately, it is up to us, the users, to scrutinize each site and their policies to ensure our safety.
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