Privacy and Security on Facebook

Source: BestComputerScienceSchools.net

According to an early 2013 report from ComScore.com, Facebook still maintains the lead for American user engagement for a single web site — averaging a minute short of 6.75 hours per user in the month of Mar 2013. While this number is a decline from the same period in 2012 (with an average of nearly 7.25 hours per user), it’s obvious that American Facebook users spend a considerable amount of time on the site — more than any other social media site — revealing facts both mundane and interesting about their lives — facts that might be of interest to other people and companies, including those with ill intent.

In fact, according to a study by Alessandro Acquisti discussed in a TED Talk, American employers often judge job candidates who post to social media more harshly than equally skilled candidates who did not post — regardless of whether posts were negative or positive or not even relevant to the potential employer. How potential employers find your Facebook information about you is beyond  the scope of this article, but we do cover some relevant security and privacy statistics and offer some tips to guard yourself.

The Facebook Facts
Please note: All statistics below refer to U.S. Facebook users unless specifically indicated.

• 1.26 — Number in billions of monthly active worldwide Facebook users  (as of  Oct 2013).
• 83 — Number in millions of fake profiles (worldwide; as of late Jun 2013).
• 7.5 — Approximate percentage of fake profiles (worldwide).
• 128 — Number in millions of daily active Facebook users (mid Aug 2013)
• 6 3/4 hours — Approximate average amount of time Facebook users spent on the site in Mar 2013.
• 101 — Approximate number in millions of Facebook users on mobile devices (app and mobile web browsers).
• 128 — Approximate total number in millions of Facebook users on both desktop computers and mobile devices.
• 78 — Approximate percentage of Facebook users who access the site on a mobile device.
• 76 — Percentage of smartphone market that Facebook reaches with their app (primarily) or via mobile web browsers.
• 23 — Percentage of time spent on mobile apps that is attributed to Facebook use.
• 303 — Approximate number of “friends” a Facebook user (12+ years old; worldwide) has in their network. This number varies significantly by age group. Research estimates have suggested numbers of 500+ for Facebook users in the 12-24 age range, but much less (low hundreds) for those in older age ranges.
• 245 — The average number of friends that U.S. users have in their Facebook network, according to a Pew Research study in early 2012.
• 600 — The approximate number of people that the average person knows overall (Facebook or otherwise), according to a New York Times report in early 2013. Note that other studies suggest a figure of 290.
• 25 — Percentage of Facebook users (worldwide) who do not look at or ignore their Facebook privacy settings (according to a 2012 Velocity Digital report).
• 71 — The number of countries whose individual governments made requests for user data to Facebook in the first six months of 2013.
• 25.6 — The approximate total number in thousands (actual: 25,607) of requests for data made to Facebook by various world governments in that six-month period.
• 11 — The number in thousands of data requests (minimum) that were made just by the U.S. government.  (U.S. data is reported as a range: 11,000-12,000.)
• 43 — The approximate percentage (actual: 42.96) of all data requests made just by the U.S. government.
• 38 — The approximate total number in thousands (actual: 37,954) of Facebook user accounts covered in those requests by all governments.
• 20 — The number in thousands of Facebook account data requests (minimum) made just by the U.S. government.  (U.S. data is reported as a range: 20,000-21,000.)
• 53 — The approximate percentage (actual: 52.70) of total account data requests made just by the U.S. government.
• 2.5 — Number in billions of photos uploaded to Facebook in a single month in 2010
• 30 — Percentage of photos in a study by Alessandro Aquisti in 2010 (taken of students on a college campus) that were identifiable by off-the-shelf facial recognition software. (Using data mining techniques, the researchers were also able to determine part of identified students’ Social Security numbers.)
• 10 — Percentage of anonymous online dating profiles identified via facial recognition software in another study by Aquisti.
• 43 — Percentage of employers (in a study of 2,100 hiring managers) who did not hire a job candidate after researching the latter’s social media profile.
• 600 — Number in thousands of Facebook logins (worldwide) that are compromised daily (late Oct 2011).
• 25 — Percentage of consumers whose online data has been breached who later become a victim of identity fraud.
• 2.78 — Percentage of homes in the U.S. (1 in 36) that will likely be burgled in 2013, according to an FBI 2012 crime report — with or without the help of social media tracking.
• 1,657 — Average loss in dollars per break-in.
• 25 — Percentage of teens who claim to have been stalked on Facebook.
• 55 — Percentage of teens who have given out personal info to strangers on Facebook.
• 24 — Percentage of teens who have had compromising information made public without their permission.
• 2.5 — Number of billions of new daily Facebook posts (worldwide).
• 67 — Percentage of teen users who know how to hide their online activity from parents.
• 10 — Percentage of children worldwide who experience cyberbullying.
• 52 — Percentage of teens not telling parents about being cyberbullied.
• 34 — Percentage of parents who check their children’s social network sites.

Top Five World Governments Requesting Facebook User Data
The following five countries made the most requests to Facebook in the first six months of 2013. (Note: United States data is reported in ranges. In the table below, only the minimum value of U.S. ranges is reported.)

Country	Minimum Requests	Minimum Accts Requested
United States	11000	20000
India	3245	4144
United Kingdom	1975	2337
Germany	1886	2068
Italy	1705	2306

6 Threats to Your Privacy and Security
Using Facebook incorrectly can expose you to a number of threats. Here’s an incomplete list:

1. Bullying — You think that your kids are safe at home from bullies? Unfortunately not, and some reports suggest that cyberbullied kids are 2-9 times more likely to commit suicide.
2. Stalking — Let’s face it; there are lots of creeps out there and one of them may be  stalking you or your children — which is made easier by the fact that more than half of teens give up personal info to strangers on Facebook.
3. Burglary — While the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics suggests home burglaries have declined since the 1970s, while make their efforts easier? Some burglars do monitor social media to determine which homes will be unoccupied for a long enough period for them to get what they want. Sometimes they do this by hacking accounts; other times they simple make friend requests to people who don’t know them. From there, it could be a simple matter of monitoring posts for location data and extended and absence.
4. Identity theft — Are you revealing too much info in your Facebook profile? Potential victimizers can combine your Facebook profile info with your other social media profiles to get the data they need. Note that identity theft can happen to your children, too, and this might not be noticed until they’re 18 or older.
5. Career compromise  – Given two equally qualified candidates, new research shows that if a potential employer checks social media profiles, they tend to have a bias against those who post anything to social media – regardless of the topic or tone; even worse if you say something compromising or have photos of questionable behavior. This may not be surprising given that while most U.S. universities and charities are on Facebook, the percentage of Fortune 500 companies with a Facebook page is considerably less (60% as of Jan 2012).
6. Reputation damage — It might only take one tagged picture of you cutting loose, doing something one time that you wouldn’t normally do. If an acquaintance not in your Facebook network posts the picture, you might not even know about it — a potential problem if they’ve identified you in text.

Privacy and Security Features
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg — who in late 2013 spent an extra $30M buying four extra nearby homes to maintain his real-life privacy — has in the past openly indicated that “privacy is over” and that if he were starting Facebook anew that user information would be public by default. That was nearly three years ago and the company doesn’t seem to have swayed much from that goal. He has also made comments suggesting that Facebook users don’t care about privacy.  Despite this attitude, there are legitimate reasons to maintain your privacy on Facebook and there are ways to do so.
This is not a comprehensive list, but possibly two of the most under-utilized features are “private profile” and friend lists. New Facebook accounts used to be private by default but have since switched to public by default. You need to manually change that setting. As for friend lists, they’re the digital equivalent of social circles. Friends can fall into multiple lists or just one.
15 Things You Should Do To Maintain Privacy on Facebook
According to various reports, teens and adults are being turned down for work due to certain things they’ve posted on their social profiles. To see how potentially embarrassing indiscriminate posting can be, visit weknowwhatyouredoing.com.
Younger children are at risk, too, given the growing number of underage Facebook users. According to figures by the Crimes Against Children Research Center, children in the 10-13 age range are at most risk from online predators — that age group makes for 22% of targets.
Here are some tips for maintaining your privacy and keeping your profile socially acceptable, as well as for protecting your children if they use Facebook.

1. Review your Facebook profile information to make sure that if you do have email addresses, employment history and phone numbers listed, that the information is only accessible by friends. Keep in mind that Facebook had a bug in June 2013 that caused the leak of email addresses and/or phone numbers of 6M users — not a large percentage of all users, but enough to potentially cause problems for those compromised. (If you have specific need to prevent someone from finding you, use an alias in your profile — and don’t post any photos of people associated with you. Better still, use a social media service that’s truly private.)
2. Create friend lists. Name them according to social circles such as family, friends, friends of friends, colleagues, college-chums, teammates, etc. Put everyone in your network on one or more lists. Every time you add someone, assign them to one or more lists. Hide your friend lists to protect your friends, so that strangers cannot see to whom you are connected.
3. When you post, use friend lists to control who sees your information. Set a default setting (e.g., Friends or Friends of Friends). If you want, you can change the viewability setting for a specific post either before (best practice) or after posting.
4. Pay careful attention not only to what you are revealing about yourself in something you are about to post, but also look at the icon indicating who can see the post once it’s published. If you see a “globe” icon, that means your post will be public. Make a habit of checking this before posting.
5. Review your recent posts and consider removing personal details in case you’ve over-shared.
6. Make sure that your location is not being broadcast. This is especially important if you’re using Facebook on a mobile device. Turn off the location feature.
7. If you use Facebook for work purposes, split your posts between your personal profile only available to friends and a “Personality/ Business” Page accessible publicly.
8. Review your friends’ posts if they tag you. Review your comments on friends posts that might be controversial, in case they change their post’s status to Public. Cover your bases by using Google Alerts [http://www.google.com/alerts] to get email updates for your Facebook profile name, and then take action if necessary.
9. Even if you keep your Facebook profile private, if you are using Facebook on a mobile device, be absolutely sure that you are using legitimate wi-fi networks and not “honey pots”. If you get on such a network by accident, change your password immediately. If your Facebook profile includes your email address, change your email password.
10. Change your password regularly — once a month or more often — and don’t repeat any previous password for at least a few months — preferably never.
11. Use different passwords for different websites and services. Try not to reuse your Facebook password anywhere else — especially for email addresses listed in your Facebook profile.
12. Pay attention to any privacy setting changes that Facebook announces. You never know when they will affect you or your children.
13. Make sure your profile name is unique. If there are other people with the same name as you, don’t take chances that your profiles might be confused by someone.
14. Check your overall privacy settings on the Facebook Privacy Settings and Tools web page [https://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=privacy].
15. Check the settings on your photo albums. Each album and photo can have custom settings.

Check the Facebook Privacy page [https://www.facebook.com/help/445588775451827] for more details on privacy settings.
6 Additional Tips For Protecting Your Children
If you think your child will not join Facebook until they’re older, consider that an Oct 2013 study by Commonsense Media shows that 38% of children under 2 have used a mobile device (smartphone or tablet). By the age of 8, that number jumps to 72%. Kids are comfortable with mobile devices, so the chances of them joining a social media site such as Facebook as a mobile user increases. When you then consider that, as mentioned above, 10-13 year-olds make up 22% of the targets of online predators, and that there are millions of underage users, it’s better to guide your children into proper use of Facebook and other social media than to hope they’ll “be good” and not use such services.
In addition to the general tips above, here are some additional tips for protecting your Facebook-using children.

1. If your children are not on Facebook, agree to show them how at an agreed-upon age. Let them know early on what you will expect from them in terms of usage behavior. Better you introduce them and know they’re more likely to trust you as a “friend” if you teach them early and trust them.
2. Implement usage schedules and rules for your children. E.g., can only post to Facebook between 7pm-9pm, from home, when a parent is home to monitor, if necessary.
3. Discuss privacy and security with your kids and make sure that they understand what dangers lurk online. With underage Facebook profiles increasing in number, have this discussion as soon as possible.
4. Require at least your under-age children to friend you (possibly using a joint family profile that one or more adults can use to monitor posts.) If you are not on Facebook and your children are, that’s a very good idea to join. Just don’t embarrass your kids with awkward comments on all of their posts.
5. Review recent posts by your children and teach them to understand what is acceptable and what is not. Ask them to edit out any personal info as necessary. E.g., they may not realize they’re revealing too much when they post about an upcoming family vacation and how long you’ll be away.
6. Ask your children to regularly submit a list of Facebook groups they’d like to join so you can review the groups.

Also make sure that your children are not doing any of the things in the following list.

10 Things You Shouldn’t Do on Facebook
It can be easy to forget how your security and privacy gets compromised on social media. Of course, if you’re doing “bad” things and posting about them, don’t expect to have your privacy maintained. Even if you’re just under suspicion of having done something illegal, Facebook and other social media sites give access to profiles to crime fighting and government agents in certain circumstances — which you cannot prevent. However, to keep other people from knowing your social business, here are tips for what not to do on Facebook

1. Don’t use Klout.com and similar services if you want to maintain a private profile. It’s not clear in the Klout.com UI who can or cannot see your “Klout moments”, but given that your private FB posts do appear in Klout (because you had to have given permission in the first place), it’s probably not a good idea.
2. Don’t use FB apps or mobile apps that “want to post for you” if you’re concerned.
3. Don’t publicly post that you are away for an extended period of time or imply such — especially if your address is easy to find online or in the white pages.  Some U.S. insurance companies are changing policy rules to exclude claims if they can prove you revealed too much on social media and were burgled as a result.
4. Don’t give away too much info about your current whereabouts. Turn off “location,” don’t mention you’re away and for how long. This includes multi-day conferences, even if you’re near by.
5. Don’t publish your full home address contact details anywhere online, including your Facebook profile. If you have a home business, use a P.O. Box or use a service that gives you the equivalent of a physical suite number and signs for packages for you.
6. Don’t post photos of your children, or at the least do not identify and tag them — especially under-age children.
7. Don’t post or tag photos of your friends doing “questionable” things. Ask them to check with you as well before posting. Similarly, don’t post pictures of your bad habits. Make sure your friends are not doing so either. You would think all this would be commonsense, but friends of friends might be posting photos of you.
8. Don’t post “insider information”, especially for publicly-traded companies. You might have family, friends or acquaintances that become sources of such information for you. Carefully consider what you’re revealing before posting about any company or the legal repercussions might be worse than losing a job.
9. Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know – especially if they have very few friends in their profile. At least with LinkedIn, you know how they’re connected to you.
10. Don’t use short, simple passwords. Use longer passwords, some uppercase letters mixed with lowercase letters, numbers and punctuation. Use multiple unrelated words if it makes it easier for you to remember. It’s particularly important to protect your account if re-use this password for other online services — especially common ones such as email addresses, banking, etc.

 

Protecting Your Internet Identity: Are You Naked Online?

Order today!

By Ted Claypoole and Theresa Payton

It's finally here!  Isn't it time you protect you and your family's Internet identity?

Who is looking at you online?

The government, your neighbors, employers, friends - the short answer is EVERYONE.  This book is a handy guide that digs deep past the media headlines to tell you how your data is collected and used.  The author's provide practical tips on how to regain control of your internet persona while also fending off identity thieves and other cybersnoops.  

And, for those with kids in their lives, Chapter 9 is dedicated to digital natives - the generation born into our digital age that cannot imagine life without instant access to info!

Chapter 6 gives pointers on internet impersonation:

The Face of Online Impersonation

Internet image impersonation is easy to do. Anyone can open a free email account with Yahoo!, Hotmail, Google, or any other email provider and use your name. Setting up a social media account on social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace is equally simple. With a little information about your life, your impersonator could even fool those people closest to you. 

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to remove these accounts from the Internet. Most Online companies assume that an account is opened in good faith, and you will probably have to prove the damage was done by an imposter (and prove that the imposter is not simply another person who happens to have the same name), before a site such as Yahoo! or Facebook would consider closing an active account.

We have a 6 question quiz for victims of internet defamation; here is question #1:  

Do You Have The Facts to Support a U.S. Lawsuit to Protect Your Online Image?

1)    If someone has written unflattering about you online, were those comments

a)    False;

b)    Intentionally malicious or made with a reckless disregard for the harm they might cause;

c)     Harmful;

d)    Not stated in a formally privileged way, such as filed legal pleadings;

e)     All of the above?

 Ted and Theresa's new book, Protecting Your Internet Identity:  Are You Naked Online?

Order today on Amazon! 

Follow Theresa Payton on Twitter.

BurgessCT.com - A New Website Created to Help Others and Feed the Hungry

Christopher Burgess is one of the top experts in his field of security, both online and off.  From helping people with security issues, to feeding the hungry, to bring an awareness to the horrible situation of human trafficking, Christopher is a true humanitarian.  This is why when he recently launched his new website, I knew I had to add it this Blog of helpful books, websites and resources.....

Here is a little bit about Christopher:

BurgessCT  is the personal website of Christopher Burgess, where he shares his thoughts on many of the chronic issues which face our society today in the 21st century.  

• Hunger: Christopher primarily focuses on bringing to the forefront the needs of those who are food insecure in the United States

• Human Trafficking:  The United States has a serious issue with respect to the trafficking of persons within our borders.  Christopher will share his thoughts on the situation in each of the states which make up the United States with particular emphasis on the sexual exploitation of minors.

• Safety & Security:  As the title implies, will be full of advice and guidance on keeping you and your family safe online and off.  In addition, Christopher will speak the prevelant issues being experienced by our young and elderly in the online world, which end up in exploitation, bullying, or threat to life/property. 

There is much more!  Click here. 

You can also follow him on Twitter.

National Cyber Security Month Awareness Month is October

We open National Cyber Safety Awareness Month (NCSAM) with a few educational and informational websites with some top resources you need to keep safe in cyberspace.  Resources that have been consistent in keeping up with the changing times online and people, books and websites that can help you help your teens and children stay safe.

1.  Connect Safely - ConnectSafely is for parents, teens, educators, advocates - everyone engaged in and interested in the impact of the social Web. The user-driven, all-media, multi-platform, fixed and mobile social Web is a big part of young people's lives, and this is the central space – linked to from social networks across the Web - for learning about safe, civil use of Web 2.0 together. Our forum is also designed to give teens and parents a voice in the public discussion about youth online safety begun back in the '90s. ConnectSafely also has all kinds of social-media safety tips for teens and parents, the latest youth-tech news, and many other resources.
2.  YourSphere and YourSphere for Parents - Yoursphere.com offers a vibrant, online, interactive, experience for kids and teens. Member’s safety and privacy come first through the application of common sense safeguards. The site devotes a hyper-focus towards supporting the positive interests, talents and aspirations of its members.
3.  Cyber Safe Family - CyberSafeFamily.com was formed to educate parents on internet safety because we believe education is the key in keeping kids safe online.  Many parents are intimidated by today’s technology and overwhelmed with these questions.
4. PG Key - PG Key was created by a design and development team that includes industry experts with years of experience in creating powerful yet easy to use software applications. In addition to the experienced technical members, the team also includes representatives from law enforcement (an FBI agent that specializes in cyber crimes), education (a Ph.D. that currently serves as a district superintendent), the medical community (an M.D. and current member of the American Board of Pediatrics) and many others … including ordinary, non-technical, but concerned parents.
5. Wired Moms - Wired Moms is a coalition of moms and mom groups with a central focus of connecting with their families through technology and to getting the most out of the new innovations that make their lives easier and more fun and keeping our kids and ourselves safe online.
6.  Fortalice Solutions, LLC - In bits and bytes, the digital world holds pieces of our lives. And the team at Fortalice are your watchmen, because protection of your information is worth fighting for.Fortalice is a computer security firm.  A team of experienced cybercrime fighters helping governments, businesses and consumers protect their cyberturf. We design, develop and deploy customized IT solutions that help fend off the bad guys. But cybersecurity isnʼt always about technology. Itʼs about arming people with the knowledge to defend themselves.Over the last twenty years, our team of experts has taught the United States Government, some of the countryʼs largest banks and thousands of consumers how to safeguard their information.
7.  ReputationDefender - ReputationDefender was created in 2006 to defend your good name on the Internet. Today, ReputationDefender has grown to be the world's first comprehensive online reputation management and privacy company. We're the most experienced and most technologically innovative company of our kind. With customers in over 35 countries, ReputationDefender is proud to serve a global customer base throughout the world's largest community - the Internet.
8.  Veritate et Virtute - Christopher Burgess - Author - Speaker - Humanitarian - Senior Security Advisor - - - My focus is on Safety, Security, Intelligence, Intellectual Property and Humanitarian issues. I put particular emphasis on the protection of both the young and the elderly of our society. I co-authored w/Richard Powers: "Secrets Stolen, Fortunes Lost: Preventing Intellectual Property Theft and Economic Espionage in the 21st Century" My published works, books & articles, audio pod-casts and video presentations can be found at www.secretsstolen.com.
9. Look Both Ways - Linda Criddle - LOOKBOTHWAYS Inc.’s mission is to make the Internet safer for all consumers. In addition to providing free web resources to consumers, LOOKBOTHWAYS Inc. specializes in understanding the Human Factor in Online Safety. The company develops internet safety technologies; provides product design, safety reviews, and other consulting services to leading technology companies; and advises regulatory bodies, and various law enforcement agencies.
10.  Google Bomb Book - The Untold Story of the $11.3M Verdict That Changed The Way We Use The Internet - In today's technology-dependent world, the Internet has become a legal lethal weapon against the privacy and reputations of its users. Based on Sue Scheff's landmark Internet defamation case that gave face to online harassment, cyberbulling, privacy invasion, and Google™ bombs (the practice of manipulating the ranking of web pages), and stirred Internet regulation and free-speech debates, Google™ Bomb arms readers with information, legal advice, and reputation defense (and clean up) mechanisms from one of the country's top cyber abuse attorneys, John W. Dozier, Jr.
11. iKeepSafe - The Internet Keep Safe Coalition is a broad partnership of governors and/or first spouses, attorneys general, public health and educational professionals, law enforcement, and industry leaders working together for the health and safety of youth online.  iKeepSafe® uses these unique partnerships to disseminate safety resources to families worldwide.
12. Net Cetera OnGuard Online - Net Cetera covers what you need to know, where to go for more information, and issues to raise with kids about living their lives online.  OnGuardOnline.gov encourages you to use this guide with your kids, in your school, at your PTA meeting, or anywhere else parents might gather. Feel free to order as many free copies as you'd like, put your own sticker on it, reprint sections in a newsletter or on a website, download a button or link to it, or even reprint it with your own logo. These materials are in the public domain.  To order free copies of Net Cetera, visit bulkorder.ftc.gov. To find out more about reprinting the guide, contact OnGuardOnline@ftc.gov.

This list is in no particular order.  All have valuable information.

Do you have more, please add them to comments!  Include websites too!  Paying it forward to keep everyone safe in this new digital world!

Read more and add comments here.