According to Facebook, there are 400 million users around the world joining in the online conversation. Which all seems well and good, a global meeting place for friends to chat, share links and videos, play games, and interact online. But are they well-protected from prying eyes, scammers, and unwanted marketers? Many people don’t think so. According to Joan Goodchild, the senior editor of CSO Online, Facebook users may be more susceptible to privacy violations than they think they are, because of security errors or marketing efforts being pursued by the company.
Facebook has been targeted by 15 consumer protection agencies who filed a complaint with the FTC, charging that the website manipulates the privacy settings of users to their personal information is available for commercial use. In addition, some Facebook users recently discovered that their private chat sessions had been made accessible by everyone listed on their friends list - which is a major breach of security that left many Facebook users worried about just how secure their information is. Goodchild asserts that they are right to be worried. In an interview on "The Early Show Saturday Morning," she outlined five dangers that Facebook users are probably not even aware of:
1. Your information may be shared with third parties without your consent.
2. Ads on Facebook pages may contain malware that affects your computer.
3. Scammers have been creating fake Facebook profiles to get access to information.
4. Real friends may make their contacts vulnerable without their knowledge.
5. After each redesign of the Facebook engine, privacy settings are reverted to a default mode that is less safe than the users have designated.
Goodchild said in the interview that people don’t really have privacy on Facebook, and there are many ways that third party advertisers and scammers can access information about people. Every time a user uses one of the applications, such as a game, quiz, or trivia poll, they give that application access to their profile, and the application can give out information that you have never consented to. Every time the Facebook site is redesigned - and that happens a few times a year - the site resets privacy settings back to a default where all information is made public. It is up to each user to regularly check their privacy settings to ensure that they reflect what the user wants to share and doesn’t want to share.
One new concept designed by Facebook is Open Graph, which is a way to share profile information with third parties such as advertisers, to give them information about the interests of Facebook users through their discussions and postings. Facebook labels Open Graph as a way to make Facebook "a more personal experience." But the real business model is to get users to share as much information as possible, so that they can make money by selling that information to advertisers.
Facebook is a young company, and it has quickly grown to be one of the most popular websites in the world. But it is not nearly as secure as people think it is, and the threat of crime is a real one. According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, $559 million was lost in 2009 through crimes related to the Internet. That figure had climbed by 110% from the previous year. Goodchild says that if people are not careful when using Facebook, they may be looking at having to deal with identity theft, or possibly even a physical attack such as assault or burglary, if they share personal information with someone that they think is a friend, but is actually a dangerous person.
As with many Internet activities, prudence is the name of the game when it comes to protecting your privacy and your life. Facebook is a great site for socializing and interacting with friends and family - but users should be wary and pay attention to what’s going on, stay informed about changes the site makes, and be sure that your friends are really your friends.
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