Tag Archives: Facebook privacy

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Digital Self Defense for Technical Communicators, Part Two

Category:Cyberstalking,Facebook,Higher Education,Information Security,Infosec Communicator,Internet Safety,Privacy,Risk,Social Networking,STC,STC Rochester Tags : 

Digital Self Defense for Technical Communicators was first published in the Society for Technical Communication‘s Intercom magazine in November 2010. 

Best Practices for Safer Social Networking

Organized crime is increasingly targeting users of social networking sites. Many computer criminals uses these sites to distribute viruses and malware, to find private information people have posted publicly, and to find targets for phishing/social engineering schemes.

Recognize and avoid phishing attempts. Phishing is a common technique in identity theft. We’ve all received phishing emails or instant messages that appear to link to a legitimate site. These emails and websites are designed to capture personal information, such as bank account passwords, social security numbers, and credit card numbers. They usually try to impart a sense of urgency, so that users will respond quickly. A 2009 study by The Intrepidus Group, a security consultancy, found that 23% of users worldwide will fall for a phishing attempt.

Detecting phishing attempts is not as straightforward as it used to be. Phishing emails once were easy to recognize because of poor spelling and grammar—something that most technical communicators would spot at a glance. Now phishing emails are often indistinguishable from official correspondence.

Use privacy settings. Many social networking sites such as Facebook allow the user to configure privacy settings to limit access to the information they post on the sites. However, default privacy settings are typically set to a level of access that is more open than you might prefer. Privacy controls may change, so it’s important to check your privacy settings periodically to ensure that the settings still protect information in the way that you intended.

Don’t post personal information online. It should be common sense, but the easiest way to keep your information private is to not post it online. Don’t post your full birth date, address, phone numbers, etc. Don’t hesitate to ask friends to remove embarrassing or sensitive information about you from their posts, either.

Be wary of others. Research by Sophos in 2007 found that 87 of 200 Facebook users receiving a friend request were willing to befriend a plastic green frog named Freddi Staur (an anagram of ID Fraudster). Freddi Staur gained access to their Facebook profiles and found that 41% of those approached revealed some type of personal information. Depending on the type of information you post on Facebook, it may not be the best idea to accept friend requests from strangers.

Search for your name. Use an Internet search engine to find out what personal information is easily accessible. Set up a Google Alert to see what new information about you appears online.

Keeping your information out of the wrong hands can be fairly easy if you think about what information you’re sharing before you post it.


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Top Ten Ways to Shockproof Your Use of Social Media

Category:Cyberstalking,Facebook,Information Security,Infosec Communicator,Internet Safety,Presentations,Social Networking,STC,Uncategorized Tags : 

How do you stay safe online? Here are ten ways to shockproof your use of social media:

Tip #1: Use strong passwords

Tip #2: Keep your computer patched and updated

Tip #3: Use appropriate security software

Tip #4: Learn to recognize phishing and other scams

Tip #5: Use social networks safely

Tip #6: Remember who else is using social networking sites

Tip #7: Be wary of others

Tip #8: Search for your name

Tip #9: Guard your personal information

Tip #10: Use privacy settings

Top Ten Ways to Shockproof Your Use of Social Media Presentation


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Digital Self Defense Workshop 101 (RRLC)

Category:Cyberstalking,Facebook,Higher Education,Information Security,Infosec Communicator,Internet Safety,Presentations,Privacy,Social Networking,Uncategorized Tags : 

I had the pleasure of presenting the following presentation to the Rochester Regional Library Council on Oct. 25th. It contains general Internet and computer safety tips and is slightly modified from a session we provide to faculty and staff at RIT.

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Are location services on mobile devices a good thing?

Category:Cyberstalking,Facebook,Infosec Communicator,Internet Safety,Social Networking Tags : 

I’ve always had mixed feelings about the location services (such as Google Latitude) offered by various mobile devices and by social networking sites. For example, is it a good thing to let people know where you are when you’re tweeting?

When we talk to the incoming first year class at RIT each fall, we talk about the potential danger of cyberstalking, illustrating it humorously through the Facebook Stalker YouTube video. We don’t try to over dramatize the danger, but we do want students to be aware of the possibility. (We also discourage placing phone numbers and addresses in Facebook and other social networking profiles.)

We saw some evidence of cyberstalking with our daughter in high school. She would post info about where she would be and one person showed up there consistently.

Are we overreacting to the potential danger? On a risk map, I would rate cyberstalking as a low-probability high-impact risk. Is cyberstalking something you worry about? Do any of you use these “location services” on your mobile devices or Tweet with your location? Why or why not?

Ben


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On the Eve of the Latest Facebook Privacy Fix

Category:Facebook,Information Security,Infosec Communicator,Internet Safety,Privacy,Risk,Social Networking Tags : 

Facebook is releasing its latest privacy fix on Wednesday, May 26. I don’t have high expectations for the new controls as Facebook has not shown any ability to make the controls user friendly, or really understand what their users want for privacy.

A much bigger issue is that we seem to have abrogated OUR responsibility to protect our private information.

Fundamentally, information security is about managing risk. ANY involvement in social networking increases the risk of something negative happening–whether it’s loss of privacy, cyberstalking, identity theft, embarrassment, etc. It’s up to us to manage the risk. We should not expect the same amount of privacy protection from a free service that we would get from a credit card company, hospital, etc.

Although Facebook, Google, LinkedIn are all provided “free” to us, that freedom comes with a price–reduced privacy and some tracking of our web habits.

It’s up to us what we choose to share on social networking sites. We agree to EULAs (end user license agreements) that we click through to get to the “good stuff.” We blithely provide requested personal details and install apps that ask for even more and that tell us up front that they may share our information. Do you have to publish your date of birth? Hometown? 20 favorite things? (I’m just waiting for the next Facebook posting asking us, “What’s your mother’s maiden name?” and urging us to send the posting to all of our friends!)

Yes, Facebook, Google, and the other social networking applications have a responsibility to protect our information. However, WE have the responsibility to share ONLY the information we choose.


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