Social Networking is Working the Net

Facebook, MySPACE, Friendster and other social networking sites run you the risk of identity theft, blackmailing and even stalking...

Participation in social networking sites has increased dramatically recently. Services such as Facebook, Twitter or Friendster have millions of members with online profiles sharing personal and sensitive information freely and publicly with vast networks of friends – and an unknown number of strangers. Risks range from identity theft, online or physical stalking to embarrassment and blackmailing.


Bottom line: Social networking users should have full knowledge of and control over any and all user data collected by the network or by any third party using its platform.

Privacy tool: Visit your profile privacy settings page and adjust the visibility of profile sections.

Photo & Video Sharing is Safe...NOT!

Did you know that most social networking sites DO NOT delete pictures immediately?

Digital cameras and camera phone applications that can upload photos or video content directly to the web, make publishing of personal content increasingly easy. Privacy advocates are concerned because much of a user’s personal life and social environment are revealed in these multimedia collections. Integrating photo sharing within social networking communities has also provided the opportunity for tagging, annotating and linking images to the identities of the people in them. The persistence of multimedia can be problematic. Researchers found that nearly half of the social networking sites don't immediately delete pictures when a user requests they be removed. Even after you think you have deleted a photo you can still find it in Google's caching system which is remarkably efficient at archiving copies of web content, long after it's removed from the web.

Bottom line: Users should be informed of the tools available to allow them to control their privacy and manage their privacy decisions over time.

Privacy Tool: Set a default privacy setting for your photos and adjust the visibility to public or private.

Something Smells Phishy

LouieTVR defines "PHISHING" as:
A way for online criminals to steal the shit out of you, your life, your bank, your wallet, your kids future, your pention/retirement plan, etc...

Cybercriminals use “phishing,” or e-mail scams, to bait people with legitimate looking requests from what appear to be reliable sources. Banks and other financial institutions, news outlets and stores are the most usual organizations to be used in this deceit. Bad guys use sneaky social engineering with the aim to collect personal information - social security numbers, passwords and pin numbers - that can be used to access bank and credit card accounts, resulting in stolen funds and identity theft.

Bottom line: Besides the risks of spam, phishing doesn't necessarily harm your computer, but it can do a lot of damage if it results in identity theft.

Privacy Tool: Do not give sensitive information to anyone—on the phone, in person or through email—unless you are sure that they are who they claim to be and that they should have access to the information. Phishing cases should be handled seriously and reported to local police. You can also file a report with the Anti-Phishing Working Group
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