My first experience with facebook started this year itself and to be frank, i liked using it so much that i even exceeded my 40hr package (now i've got MyT). I'm able to keep in touch with my friends who are abroad. No doubt that Social Networking website(SNW from now onwards) like facebook are highlighted for:
- eliminating communication barrier - Normally life is so fast nowadays that we hardly get time to chat (well for the majority of people, not for me), thats why virtual communication give them new means to communicate.
- Social awareness - We do have application in facebook who spread awareness on HIV and so on. Personally, i find this a good initiative
- Expose your talent - I came across a profile in the mauritian network where a guy (i guess he fancy photography) stored some really nice pictures.
But the fact is that, all those good points are outweighed by the flaws that exists while using SNW, especially facebook. Facebook rose from nowhere to become the favorite of everyone, and credits for that to Mr. Mark Zuckerberg. I am not an expert whatsoever, im just telling you what i watched on the BBC's documentary 'Click' and 'Facehooked'.
Many people tend to put so many details about them that it has become very easy to steal one information. I mentioned about the 'miner' application (in my last post) which was developed by BBC's tech guy to exploit facebook's flaw of its users privacy. Some users just include their birth date, home address, school attended and more information that is sufficient to allow a fraudsters to open a bank account on your name.
BBC Quote -
"The experts we've spoken to all agree that Facebook can't see what the code does because applications are not stored in Facebook - they run elsewhere on the web. This makes it difficult for the company to check what is going on, whether anything has changed, how long applications store data for and what they do with it.
In fact, the only way we can see of completely protecting yourself from applications skimming information about you and your friends is to erase all the applications on your profile and opt to not use any applications in the future.
So has Facebook done enough to protect its users from identity theft? " - Maybe NO
Check this out which is part of the privacy policy of Facebook - "Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (e.g., photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience."
This might not seem appealing to some person, since they want some privacy.
My main for writing this post was not to tell everyone to stop using facebook, but warn you to exercise caution while using it. Dont just give details about yourself because there are guys out there who devote their whole life earning money at stealing your identity. So be cautious!!!!
Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/7375772.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7151690.stm
Many people tend to put so many details about them that it has become very easy to steal one information. I mentioned about the 'miner' application (in my last post) which was developed by BBC's tech guy to exploit facebook's flaw of its users privacy. Some users just include their birth date, home address, school attended and more information that is sufficient to allow a fraudsters to open a bank account on your name.
BBC Quote -
"The experts we've spoken to all agree that Facebook can't see what the code does because applications are not stored in Facebook - they run elsewhere on the web. This makes it difficult for the company to check what is going on, whether anything has changed, how long applications store data for and what they do with it.
In fact, the only way we can see of completely protecting yourself from applications skimming information about you and your friends is to erase all the applications on your profile and opt to not use any applications in the future.
So has Facebook done enough to protect its users from identity theft? " - Maybe NO
Check this out which is part of the privacy policy of Facebook - "Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (e.g., photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience."
This might not seem appealing to some person, since they want some privacy.
My main for writing this post was not to tell everyone to stop using facebook, but warn you to exercise caution while using it. Dont just give details about yourself because there are guys out there who devote their whole life earning money at stealing your identity. So be cautious!!!!
Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/7375772.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7151690.stm
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