I posted a link on facebook this week – it was an article from antivirus vendor Sophos on facebook privacy…
Here is the link – Sophos Facebook Privacy Article
The reason for the link was the question I see most often from business owners, friends and facebook followers – they are concerned about facebook privacy – “Am I secure on facebook?”
Well the answer to that is a resounding “No – not unless you are very careful!”
The problem is that you grant access to apps – and they aren’t always open about what they grab – and even if they are – you grant access to apps and they have access to your friend info… did those friends grant access to that app? Probably not. Did you grant access to your info when a friend let an app know about you? Almost certainly not.
Facebook app security and privacy *is a big deal* and you cannot just ignore it!
Then, this week – along comes “Facebook Home” – a new way of using facebook… yay!!
As usual, I didn’t jump right on it… done are my days of being 1st on all this stuff… it never brought me anything but trouble and an empty wallet (technology costs $$$$) – even with a “free” technology like facebook home – I know there is a cost – and that is a cost of hassles in the user-experience, or dealing with bugs and/or privacy issues… well that’s interesting – we’re back to facebook privacy issues…. hmmm… how “odd”….
So I’m reading this article on facebook home privacy issues on “engadget” – and it doesn’t so much dawn on – that it hits me in the head like a sledgehammer… facebook is one big privacy headache…
Here is that engadget article by the way… .
oh yes… what was that facebook truth that came to me like a freight train??
It was this…
As a web and social marketing guy – I really hold back on anything new from facebook … I’m sorry, but I’m not personally that in love with facebook…. I like how I can keep in touch with my family and various businesses – I like how facebook seems to be better as a place to learn about specials and fast-moving inventory on stores I frequent – and I like how I have got *back* in touch with many old school friends. These are all facebook plus points… but if I’m so in love with facebook, why did I hold of on facebook home? Well I don’t TRUST FACEBOOK.
Why don’t I trust facebook?
Well – it took me a long time to categorize my facebook friends, to setup various privacy options and such – and I know that 99% of people I know leave their privacy settings on default… or – they give facebook privacy a cursory glance once in a while and then forget about it…
Facebook privacy doesn’t “just happen”.
You really have to work at remaining relatively private and secure on facebook – and I know that as of last week, I got a piece of spam email that came from someone (faked of course) who could *ONLY* have got my email address from facebook (we’re acquaintances, and they have never emailed me before) – so I am pretty sure they are playing with an app that is leaking their data to a source that is not reputable… someone I certainly never game permission to send me emails about some “get rich quick” scheme, or male enhancement pills, or whatever that junk was.
So what should facebook do?
I contend that… Facebook as a company owes it to the user-base to be easier to use – for the users to not have to work so hard to be “private and relatively secure”.
That they aren’t – means unscrupulous app writers are drawn to the facebook platform as a fairly easy mark – social engineering is so easy when a “friend” recommends a link… when that link involves an “apps” – I almost never grant access to that app… I just don’t need hundreds or thousands of apps accessing my data.
That they aren’t – means folk like you, and the folk who have already left facebook in the thousands (possibly millions), manf of who prefer not to use the service due to their own concerns are totaly validated in their opinion.
That they aren’t – means that articles like the ones I have just posted have a solid value.
So what should you do?
1st – go and read both those articles – the ones up here ^^^^^
2nd – review your facebook apps settings – get ruthless – you don’t need those apps that entered you into the contest to win a free burger 2 years ago – kill them off!!
3rd – set a calendar reminder – revisit facebook privacy settings at least a few times a year
finally – do NOT grant access to apps from companies you don’t already do business with -games, contests, whatever… trust me… if you don’t know that company and their values – do NOT trust them with your facebook information… they do NOT need to know who your friends are… they *JUST DON’T!!!*