Note:  This is part 4 of the series on The Dangers of Facebook

Part 4 Dangerous Fan Pages

Time for me to scare away your fan pages.  No, hopefully not but there are a few things to consider and certain fan pages to stay away from.

Apartment or Housing Association Fan Pages

Are these necessary?  Do you want people to know where you live?  Becoming a fan of your apartment complex is a pretty clear sign that you live there.

Common Security Questions

Let’s take a look at some common security questions to see how they relate to fan pages.  These are questions used to protect accounts and reset passwords for all types of things like email, rewards accounts, banks, credit cards, health and car insurance, etc

1. What is your favorite sport?
2. What is your favorite team?
3. What is your favorite tv program?
4. What is the color of your father’s eyes?
5. In what city were you born?
6. What is your favorite color?
7. What is your work address?
8. What is the name of the high school you graduated from?
9. To what city did you go on your honeymoon?
10. Where did you vacation last year?

Ok…that’s enough of those.  Those were just a sample of 10 common questions that are commonly asked.  Let’s say your favorite team is the New York Giants and you have become a fan of them.  You might have given away the answers to questions 1 and 2.  Maybe not.  but maybe.

You’ve become a fan of “The Office” on your Facebook account…do you also list that as your favorite tv program?  Is your father’s pic on your Facebook account..showing his eyes?  Is your high school listed on there and were you also born in that city?  Are you a fan of the place you vacationed last year or went on your honeymoon?

Yes, I know this may be reaching some but just wanted everyone to be aware of this information.  Think about these things when you setup your security questions…whatever it is, don’t use it in your Facebook account.  Don’t refer to it at all.   The more information you make available the easier it is for someone to guess your password or security question answers.

Becoming a Fan reveals yourself to other Fans

You’ve just become a fan of your favorite bar in town.  Now you are getting friend requests from people who have seen you at that bar and are also fans of that bar, which is how they found you.  That’s great if you want to become Facebook friends with everyone from the bar…but obviously very dangerous because you don’t know any of those people.  Fan pages are great for businesses but very revealing to individuals on a lot of levels.

Don’t accept friend requests from people just because you are both fans of things.  You don’t know them…don’t become their friend.  Don’t become fans of things that could be considered controversial if you are looking for or will ever be looking for a job.  Recruiters may use this information to remove you from consideration or it can be used against you by a current or future co-worker.  Also, becoming a fan of political views reveals a lot about your personal beliefs.  This may or may not be something you really want to reveal.

Becoming a Fan of a Venue

I’ve started seeing more and more of these occurring.  Big concert venues are using Facebook to promote their concerts which is a great marketing strategy.  The problem is when you post on that page or confirm that you will attend that event.  If you post on that walls page, you just introduced yourself to thousands of people who you don’t know.  If you confirm that you will attend a concert on Dec 1^st…you just confirmed that you will be out of the house that night.

There’s no reason to confirm on a Facebook page that you will be attending an event.  Why are you doing it?  Do not post something on that venue page’s wall either.  It’s one thing to post on a message board of your favorite band.  You create a user name and that’s it.  It’s not directly linked to the actual you…doing it on Facebook links to the real you.  See the difference?   That fan page is not a message board and don’t use it as one.  If you want to find out about events at a venue..sign up for their email list.  Why do you need to do it on Facebook?

Summary

There are plenty of things to think about before you sign up as a fan of something.  Think about what security answers you have out there and whether this fan page reveals that information.  Think about what type of people may also be fans.  What are the chances that a criminal is also a fan of the bar, the concert, or the restaurant that you just became a fan of?

You just introduced yourself to them and they may be waiting to see who divulges more information through wall postings and event confirmations.  And what about the guy who approaches you at the bar on Saturday night and says he remembers seeing you on the fan page…Sunday afternoon you get a friend request from him on Facebook.  Who is he?  What do you know about him?  If you become his friend..did you just reveal your address and when you would be out of the house and attending a function at that bar?

Get Ready for Part 5:  Your Naive Friends

Note:  This is Part 3 of the series on the Dangers of Facebook

Part 3:  Your Mom

Maybe the biggest threat to your security is your Mom.  Hey, we all love mom but don’t let her on Facebook.   Just don’t.  Here’s the problem…she doesn’t sign up on Facebook as your mom…she signs up as an individual using a name from her past.  She’s not just your Mom now…

The Maiden Name

You mom just sent you a friend request as Mary Jones Smith…her maiden name of Jones is now visible to everyone.   And I mean everyone!  It’s in her freaking name…right there in search results.  Who cares?  It’s just a maiden name, I mean no one ever asks for……OH SH**!  NOOOO!  DAMN DAMN!

Exactly…every financial institution I have ever dealt with uses that as one of the identifiers.  “We need to verify your account sir…what is your bday and your mom’s maiden name?”  Both of those might be right there on your Facebook account visible to all friends of friends or friends that you don’t really know.  See part 1.

And another question that pops up:  ‘what is your spouse’s mother’s maiden name’?  Is their mom on Facebook too?

Just Don’t Accept Mom as a Friend

It’s gonna break her heart…but deny her as a friend and you’re ok, right?  Wrong.  She’s become friends with the rest of your family and friends so they will see that maiden name one way or the other.  And every day more and more people are joining and women probably use their maiden name 90% of the time at least.  That way they can reconnect with people who knew them by the former.  Great for them…potentially a huge headache for you and your identity.

What you can do

Not much.  Get her not to join or bury her in the backyard.  Only kidding Mom.  But at least tell her not to join under her full name.  Make sure her settings block friends of friends, etc.  Good luck accomplishing all of that.  Financial institutions are going to have to remove that as a security question on very account.  It’s too easy to find now.  I almost hesitated including this because of it.   The sacred ‘maiden name’…visible to any thief.

Get out from under the covers and read Part 4 Dangerous Fan Pages -

Note:  This is part 2 of the series on Protecting Yourself on Facebook

Part 2:  What information should you avoid putting into your Facebook Account?

Welcome to part 2 of my series on “Protecting Yourself from Facebook”.  In this section we will examine what information doesn’t belong in your Facebook account.  There are certain items that are very useful to hackers and identity thieves..and well criminals in general.

Remove Your Birthday

Do it.  I know…you won’t get all those bday wishes but that is a key piece of information about you that shouldn’t be public.  How many times are you asked your bday to identify you or an account that you have?  You are giving that information away…and easily through your Facebook account.  Consider putting a fake bday on there if you want..move it up or back by 5 days if you just have to have a bday on there.

Remove the Specific City you Live in

Don’t tell the world that you live in a suburb of Houston like Katy…just say Houston.  Or remove it entirely. Giving away your specific city allows thieves to search records and narrow down the possibilities of which Joe Smith you are.  I see 200 Joe Smiths…but only one in Katy, TX.  That presents an opportunity to any thief or criminal.  They know your name, your city; they will have your exact address very soon.  And with your pic…well you get the picture.

Do NOT mention your Pet by Name

This is very common and on the surface it shouldn’t matter if you mention your dog’s name.  The problem is that one of the most common password protection questions is “what is the name of your favorite pet?”  Did you put in your current dog’s name?  You did?  Then I may have just gained access to your account.  So remove your pet’s name or make damn sure you have never used it as your favorite pet.

Protect Your Kids

Are you using your kid’s names somewhere on your page?  Is this information available?  What about their ages or what they look like?  There are some sicko’s out there so don’t let them even get a glimpse of your kids or their information.  Remove it.  You want your friends to see a new picture of your kids…send them an email or message it to them.  Don’t put it up for their entire network of friends to see.   I mean your friends have never dated or befriended anyone they shouldn’t have, right?

Your Employer

Is your place of employment visible to everyone?  Does it really need to be?  What does your employment say about you?  The hours you work?  The part of the city you work?  Don’t your real friends already know where you work?

Your Phone Number and Email

Tell me it’s not on there.  Just tell me you didn’t put it on there.  Is that email a login for any account..maybe your bank account?  Credit card account?  That combined with all of that other info will give a hacker your password or at least let them reset it.   Make sure only friends can see that email address and/or use one you do not use for any business accounts.  And I don’t really need to explain the phone number part do I?  Again, your friends already have this information or they are not friends.  If it’s a friend you are reconnecting with then you can just message that information to them.

Summary

You might have to get creative with some of this to get around Facebook requirements.  The choice is yours as to how far you want to go to restrict your information.  At the end of the day, keep asking yourself “Don’t my friends already know this, who is this information really for”?

Part 3:  Your Mom

Read Part 1 ’Your Friends’ List

Note:  This is part one of a multi part series on how to protect yourself on Facebook

After a long hiatus, I’ve decided to jump back into the blogosphere with something that I’ve been mulling over the past few weeks.  The dangerous side of Facebook.  Scared yet?  Facebook offers the chance to stay connected and reconnect with old and new friends.  In theory, it’s great…we all use and love it.  But you know who else loves it?  Criminals.  Identity Thieves.  Petty Thieves and worse.

So why is Facebook dangerous?  Quite simply there is a lot of personal information on it which is viewable to an audience who normally wouldn’t have access.  Most criminals can’t do the background work on a crime..it’s a big obstacle to overcome and protects us all.  Facebook knocks down that protective wall and exposes us.  Let’s examine ways to protect yourself other than deleting or wiping your profile clean.

Not my friends!  You can’t take my friends away from me!  Hold on there…are these 500 people really your friends?  When is the last time you talked to any of them?  When is the last time you saw some of them?  Do you know if they have a criminal history?

Step 1 is to scrub that friend list of anyone who you don’t really know.  I think a lot of us have accepted friend requests from someone who knows someone that we know…maybe we met this person once but we don’t know them.  Keep your friends list limited to just that friends.  People you know and trust.

Guidelines to scrubbing the friend list:

1) Have you ever met this person?

2) Have you met them more than once?

3) Do you really consider them a friend?  Would you refer to them as a ‘friend’ in normal conversation or would you say that you simply ‘know who they are’?

4) Do they have a criminal history?

5) Do they have a history of abusing drugs?

What about High School Friends?

Be careful who you accept as a friend from High School.  Just because you had English class with someone 15 years ago does not mean that you know them.  99% chance they are not the same person you remember.  They may be perfectly normal and a model citizen.  Or they could be strung out on drugs or have a history of violence in the past 5 years due to something occurring in their personal life.  You don’t know because you don’t really know them as a friend.

What about exes?  What about friends of ex’s?  I think Chris Rock said it best “if you haven’t contemplated killing someone then you haven’t loved a *$%#”.  Is that person really over you?  Is that persons friend ok with the way you treated your ex or the way they perceive you treated your ex?  See what I am getting at?  Maybe the ex is completely over you but one of their friends never forgave you for cheating on their friend…that would be problematic.

Friends who post a lot

This is a hard one.  We all have them.  The friends who spend their day on Facebook posting about every little thing they do.  These people typically have hundreds of friends and use multiple Facebook applications and they tell you what and where they eat lunch and how mad they are when it rains or it’s too hot.  These friends should scare the crap out of you.

If you and that friend do something…it’s getting posted on their wall.  They go to your bday party…it’s on the wall.  They go to your child’s bday party..it’s on the wall.  They go feed your dog because you are out of town…it’s on their wall.  Their friends may be able to view info about your as well.  Make sure all your privacy settings restrict access to only your friends and not friends of friends.    A friend with an unscrubbed friend list is dangerous to you.  Maybe they like the way you look in your pic?  Maybe they like the way your car or house looks in your pic?

Your Teenaged Kids

This kind of runs together with the person who posts a lot.  Teenaged kids are the worst…Think about what their friend list may look like.  How many of their friends are petty thieves?  Your kid’s friends should not be able to view anything about you..keep them far far away from your profile.  Teenaged kids are very unstable in their relationships and easily influenced.  Not a good combo.  There are infinite possibilities that could occur and most of them are not pleasant.

In Summary

Avoid these types of friends on your Facebook Account:

1)       Remove friends that you don’t really know

2)      Remove friends that are simply acquaintances you’ve met through others

3)      Restrict access to your information including pics to ‘friends only’ and NOT ‘friends of friends’

4)      Remove High School friends who you have not seen, talked to, or plan to talk to ever again

5)      Consider removing friends who over post or ask them to not post information about your life..where you have been, where you live, etc

6)      Remove your teenaged kids

Part 2:  What information should you avoid putting into your Facebook Account?

“The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” Fitzgerald said as he detailed the breathtakingly brash display of pay-to-play political machinations detailed in the 76-page affidavit against Blagojevich.

“We were in the middle of a corruption crime spree, and we wanted to stop it,” said Fitzgerald, who dubbed the accusations against the two-term governor “a truly new low.”

That’s how US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald described the charges against Illinois Governor Blagojevich.  Yes what he is doing is illegal and wrong but is it really shocking and a “truly new low”?  I don’t think it is at all.  Let’s look at some of the things Blagojevich was caught saying:

First on the empty senate seat:

“I’ve got this thing and it’s f- – -ing golden and uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for f- – -in’ nothing. I’m not gonna do it,”

“I’m going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain,” he allegedly said on tape.

“You hear what I’m saying. And if I don’t get what I want and I’m not satisfied with it, then I’ll just take the Senate seat myself.”

Everyone in politics or half a brain knows that this is a true statement.  Having the power to name that senate seat is just that power.   He would be stupid to just give it away and not use that as leverage.  He’s not going to be governor forever.

Second, on him wanting to make money:

“I want to make money”

Looking for a hefty salaried job for himself at a foundation or group linked to labor unions – even musing that Obama supporter and billionaire Warren Buffett could be coerced into kicking in millions to create an outfit where Blagojevich could work.

Any of that shocking to you?  That happens all the time in politics.  You don’t get into politics for the salary..you get in to make connections to make money when you get out or while in office.

Third, on his wife:

 Seeking to get his wife Patti named to a corporate board where she could earn a stipend up to $150,000

Yeah that follows the same rule as above.  How many corporate boards have ex governors, senators, etc on them?  And yes their spouses are on these as well…easier to hide.

Fourth, campaign funds:

Pushing to exchange funding for local programs in exchange for campaign cash

This is laughable to me…this happens at every level of government and ALL the time.  Again, I’m not saying it’s right but let’s be adults here.   So in my opinion none of this is shockng or “truly new low”.  It’s politics as usual.  My real question is how did he get caught and why?  Who did he piss off?  My guess is that someone was going after Obama and had to settle for him.   I’m all for sending this jerkoff to jail but let’s not play favorites here…don’t stop here, get the rest of them.

The headlines are saying the dow is falling because of consumer spending and the fact that we are in a recession.  Yeah right.  Sure, like that info wasn’t already known.  

Gee guys, you think the real reason could be ummm…The terrorist attack in India!  Let’s see a financial center in a country gets attacked….what did you think was going to happen?  Plus, how many US companies have offshore centers there? 

Now, you can see why the dow is truly down today.

How long do we need to shun that country?  Does anyone really think our current policy is a good one? 

Russia would like to search for oil off the coast of Cuba.   (notice it reads Russia and not Soviet Union) That makes sense.  Not having normal relations with a tiny country 90 miles from your border doesn’t.  It’s not like Cuba is this big badass that we need to be afraid of.  Are we afraid their cigars will turn everyone into a socialist?  To me, it’s one of those policies that has just continued on with no one raising their hand and saying, “this isn’t working!  Let’s try something new!” 

Fidel has resigned.  The Soviet Union is gone.  Turn the page America.   Don’t you think if Americans were visiting Cuba and talking to Cubans on a daily basis that maybe, just maybe Cubans would move towards being a democracy?  It’s like we have this new video game system and instead of showing it to our neighbor, we keep it locked away from them and refuse to play their own archaic system.   How will they know what they are missing without seeing it firsthand?

There are few companies as controversial as Monsanto (Donald Rumsfeld anyone?).  Some accuse the company of nothing short of murder and others claim their innocence with just as much passion.   I ran across this story about the GM seeds and their effect in India. 

Shankara, like millions of other Indian farmers, had been promised previously unheard of harvests and income if he switched from farming with traditional seeds to planting GM seeds instead.

Beguiled by the promise of future riches, he borrowed money in order to buy the GM seeds. But when the harvests failed, he was left with spiralling debts – and no income.

So Shankara became one of an estimated 125,000 farmers to take their own life as a result of the ruthless drive to use India as a testing ground for genetically modified crops.

There are arguments to be made on both sides but I think the one thing that can’t be argued is that the poor and desperate have and will be used as guinea pigs because there is no one to protect them and thus no real downside from a monetary standpoint.  (When drugs expire in a pharmacy and deemed not safe for Americans, they are removed from the shelves and sent back to be sold to the 3rd world countries).   Monsanto and companies like it are completely protected regardless of whether they are wrong or right.  And with total protection comes recklessness as there are no consequences…

Before the Government goes bailing everyone out, they should consider the guys they don’t have to bailout and the impact it will have on their businesses. 

Note:  forgive this simplistic scenario but you’ll get the overall point.  Let’s say you own a bank and you chose not to give out risky mortgages.  And let’s say you also chose not to buy up other banks risky mortgages.  You also choose not to invest your profits into mortgage bonds because you don’t know which are risky and which aren’t. 

If you were a bank and you chose not to do those three things then you would be called an “idiot” by nearly everyone in the industry between say 2003 – 2007.  Most of the other banks you were competing against were making millions of dollars on loans you refused to make.  But, let’s say you managed to keep your bank open and were still turning a profit, not at the levels of other banks but still a profit.

Now, it’s 2008 and you look pretty smart.  You are still turning a profit while your competitors are hurting and even going out of business which means their customers are coming to your bank.  Great you are set!  Wait, your competitors have hired lobbyist to fly to Washington to try and get the government to help them out.  The government is broke so they say no but your lobbyists are smart.  They start scaring everyone into thinking that if their clients fail then the whole system will fail and everyone (meaning voters) will suffer and blame those in congress.   They also get newspaper columnists to write articles scaring the public into believing this scenario.  Pointing out that “Joe Blah Blah” is at risk of losing his job and his money.

So Congress jumps on board.  Now, the government is pouring money into your competitors even though they made bad business decisions.   Your competitors survive and the bailout makes potential customers and investors more likely to actually throw their money into your competitors instead of your bank.  Guess what?  The Variables just changed and you were penalized for not being an “idiot”. 

You go out of business and your competitors gobble up your bank only to make the same mistake again in 5 years.  The executive boards and managers of those banks avoid any real damage and go on to repeat their mistake once again.  After all, they made millions and when they started to face losses…government bailed them out.  What’s the downside? 

Or take that scenario and say you are an automaker or a builder or an airline.

I saw very little of this coverage in the mainstream news so I thought I would give it some time here since I wrote several posts on the conflict a few months ago.

Russia responds to the NY Times article:

Moscow’s U.N. envoy praised The New York Times on Thursday for challenging Georgia on assertions that Russia started their brief war in August, saying U.S. media had finally got the story right.

Georgian Claims on Russian War Called into Question:

Newly available accounts by independent military observers of the beginning of the war between Georgia and Russia this summer call into question the longstanding Georgian assertion that it was acting defensively against separatist and Russian aggression.

And here’s an Opinion Piece:

The August war in the Caucasus was started by the Georgians under a false pretext on the night of Aug. 7. Civilians and Russian peacekeepers were attacked.