Us old guys who HATE Facebook aren't always Dinosaurs.

[jimbo45]

Hi everone
To all thumb twiddlers everywhere on Iphones etc.

Read this
BBC News - Worm steals 45,000 Facebook passwords, researchers say

Cheers
jimbo

 

[C32C3]

I am not old and I do not hate Facebook but I do not use it or any other of the social networks. My friends use it, posting family pictures and information about family members as a convenient way of communicating with them online. I have sent these friends weblinks to news articles such as the one you have posted here but they continue on.

It is their choice. They are informed. They have weighed the evidence and made an informed decision. So, if/when something happens they can't say they did not know.

 

[Night Hawk]

I have both a FaceBook and Twitter account but was never actually impressed from the start! Lately as seen with a friend's account hackers have gotten in and posted spam as if the account holder posted it! If fact even some celebrity accounts have run into the security issue!

A highly specialized worm for stealing that volume of passwords would need the skills of a professional programmer to accomplish and explain why so many accounts in the US have also been victimized!

 

[smarteyeball]

It is their choice. They are informed. They have weighed the evidence and made an informed decision. So, if/when something happens they can't say they did not know.

It's all you can do really.

 

[Night Hawk]

Couldn't agree with that more! I see people often putting too much personal information out there and then wonder why they are vulnerable! It simply goes to show that the best protection is "COMMON SENSE APPLIED"!

 

[thefabe]

I just watched a program on TV and believe it or not the IRS has over 1500 employees who's only job is to scan social network sites for people bragging about their income and or possessions.

They then cross reference the information against their reported income.

I have always thought people put to much personal information on those sites.

But as with most things when used with discretion or moderation it could be a satisfying thing.

I think
Fabe

 

[Qdos]

Lol, Facebook just rolls from one catastrophe to another and the kids, who are the majority of users, just don't care, a lot of them are only accessing the site from mobile phones anyway, meaning they have less to lose... if you ask them about security they wouldn't have a clue what you meant!

 

[Night Hawk]

Kids on FaceBook? That's for sure! Often if they are not on a phone they may be on a parent's desktop or laptop and wouldn't have any ideas of web security! They simply rush to get on to chat with school buddies or other.

As far as catastrophies with FaceBook I keep hearing about them from one source or another. As far as I am concerned along with what I recommend to people often enough is watch just how much you post as far as personal information since it is too easily exploited. My confidence in FB and Twitter as well is 0% to none from the start.

 

[pincushion]

Facebook is hardly the most vulnerable place for data to be stolen but perhaps more interesting and relevant information can be got from the site about many of those using it. Bank details have been gotten from many other sources and we all are vulnerable to some extent if we use the Internet for banking or buying.

One thing relevant about Facebook and all the other social networking sites is that the users are all partaking in a giant experiment, the outcome of which is uncertain. Nothing has ever happened on this scale before - the availability of information about complete strangers. Will it make people more open in general or perhaps more protective of details about their lives in the future? It is known, as has been commented, that many kids are using these sites even if they are prohibited from doing so. Do they fully understand the risks of giving out so much information? Much the same can be said about blogging, and again children are doing this, but perhaps there are benefits as well as possible problems.

Blogging may help teens dealing with social distress

My mind is open on the issue and whilst I do have a Facebook account you will not find anything of value there.

:shock:

 

[Night Hawk]

One thing for certain it's a giant experiment! And the web in general does bring people from around the globe together. The opening up of the internet was what saw much more of this however!

No email, no instant messaging, no... what would we do? :shock:

As far as the younger crowd being on the web to start with you have to weight the Pros against the Cons. At the same time blogging and FaceBook may be a great tool for social distress you also have to remember that they can also be vulnerable to suggestion as well.

Likewise when anyone puts any information out on the web in any form there's always that element of uncertainly.

 

[FranzB]

You guys forgot the r after the a in facebook!
As far as the IRS goes in checking......... i can tell you right here that i made 3.78 million euros last year. A little less than the year before (you know, the crisis and all that) but things seem to be picking up this year already. I've got three beautiful girlfriends who make me very happy (pictures will be posted soon). And as you can see i've got 576 friends.

 

[kronckew]

... i can tell you right here that i made 3.78 million euros last year.

counterfeiting euro coins is a lose-lose proposition. especially in today's economy. the metal costs more than the face value of the coin!

you'd be better off making renminbi

 

[Corrine]

Facebook has temporarily shut down about 45,000 accounts to protect users from a worm that steals login information and spreads malicious links, the Telegraph reports. Called Ramnit, the worm has been proliferating since April 2010 but only recently adapted to Facebook accounts. Most of the victims are in Britain and France, according to an Israeli computer security firm.

Facebook Closes 45K Accounts to Stop 'Worm' - Ramnit worm steals login info, spreads nasty links

The problem isn't Facebook or other social media. Ramnit is known to attack Windows executable files, Microsoft Office files and HTML documents, going after login credentials and other personal data. Aside from the standard security precautions (updates, antivirus, firewall, etc.), because the purpose of Ramnit is to steal credentials in order to access data, the reminder to "think before you click" needs to be accompanied by the reminder to have a strong, unique, secure password -- and be sure to use a different password everywhere.

A couple days ago, I shared information about Ramnit with a long-time friend. She said she thought she had a unique, secure password. I sent her to How Secure Is My Password? and, much to her dismay, she discovered her password could be cracked in 10 days.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to use a password software such as KeePass Password Safe so I used her maiden name to illustrate how to strengthen a password and then change it for other sites. Then I sent her off to Password Strength Checker to strengthen her password.

As to personal information on Facebook and other social media venues, I still see people posting a question on forums and asking that people reply to them at their e-mail address.

 

[Night Hawk]

I see that too often enough where people simply divulge a bit too much like their personal email accounts leaving themselves vulnerable to far more then just junk mail! As far as I-Worm type viruses like that one which can often be a self replicating bug they wouldn't simply be directed at FaceBook or Twitter alone for example but large corporations as well as small businesses, schools, and anywhere else where people have commerce online in order to collect data.

With social networks putting too much on the web as far as personal data can leave one exposed to possible identity theft as well as accounts being hacked? You'll notice I emphasized the part about common sense earlier since all these factors do weigh into the Pros and Cons overall.

As far as passwords frequent changes of passwords at just one place can add a little more security.

 

[FranzB]

I wrote a rather long reply but when i wanted to post it i got the message to renew the page and log in.
I checked and i was logged in. ?????????? What's going on? Refreshing deleted my write-up.
No time now but i'll rewrite it later.

 

[seavixen32]

I'm a sad old geezer who hasn't got any friends so I've no need for Facebook!!

On a more serious note, it's common knowledge that most passwords can be cracked very quickly, so with the proliferation of tablets and touch-screen computers, I'm rather surprised finger print recognition hasn't been given some thought.

I'm just amazed at how naive people are though. Apparently, the most popular password is 'password'.

 

[Infinite]

I use BitDefender Facebook Virus Searcher Addon, and don't click "This is you, you look so funny in this video" links.

 

[FranzB]

I'm a sad old geezer who hasn't got any friends so I've no need for Facebook!!

On a more serious note, it's common knowledge that most passwords can be cracked very quickly, so with the proliferation of tablets and touch-screen computers, I'm rather surprised finger print recognition hasn't been given some thought.

I'm just amazed at how naive people are though. Apparently, the most popular password is 'password'.

I feel sorry for you. I've got 576 friends......... all on facebook (sorry, i forgot the r
after the a).
But seriously. Do you really think that fingerprints will solve anything at all? After all, the print has to be stored on your computer and thus it can be stolen. It is as simple as that.

 

[pincushion]

Roboform free will allow up to 10 sites to store passwords and doesn't cost much for unlimited either. This program and a few others should ensure that different secure passwords of more than 12 random characters are used for each site - probably best to use as many as site allows. It is only necessary then for one secure password to be remembered and the other passwords could all be stored in a Truecrypt container for back-up too.

 

[seavixen32]

Anything can be stolen that's for sure.

The US Immigration Department now insist on fingerprint scans for people entering the country so I would have thought there was some merit in using them - perhaps in conjunction with passwords.

I'm sure there are software engineers out there who could write a program whereby you have to use a password and have to change it on a regular basis to be able to access your user account.