Article Blog #6

Source:http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/28/dcot.socialmedia.privacy/index.html

Support: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/does_that_facebook_app_have_a_privacy_policy_probably_not.php

The article at hand addresses the fact that we must be careful about how we use the social network giant “Facebook”. It talks about how we must guard ourselves, and stray away from potential danger on the networking site. According to Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDtheftsecurity.com, “It’s all about providing the bad guy with intelligence”. The piece of writing also depicts how hackers can use information posted on a person’s profile that can help lead to figuring out their passwords. Twitter was also discussed in the article at being a possible problem of danger because of its constant status updates of some users. CNN reports that Facebook has over 350,000 applications that are used by approximately 70 percent of its members. Some of these applications include “quizzes” some of which can include personal information depending on how far into that some people may get. Facebook defends it case by stating, "We enforce this policy through spot checks and have disabled apps that we've found to be in violation. No app can access the most sensitive information like contact info." (cnn.com)

I think that Facebook is a great way to stay in touch with family and friends, but I do agree that if you are not careful then you could become a victim to hackers. I personally do not think that it is a good idea at all to put your information that you would not want everyone to know anywhere on Facebook. It is very easy these days for hackers to get into your account and destroy it without your knowledge. The social networking site has been under a lot of heat recently, “Facebook is busy defending itself against accusations that they're using user data for advertising purposes, but it seems that the real danger on Facebook may be the access to this same user data from unknown companies outside of the social network” (readwriteweb.com). However, you can’t completely blame Facebook because it really is up to the individual to decide how much information they are going to provide to their “friends list”. All and all, Facebook is a great place to network yourself and keep it touch, but no one can tell you where to draw the line on what you post on your profile or how you answer “quiz” questions. Your profile is yours so maintain it and help avoid the potential for harm.