Here is a interesting case study dated on 20 Febuary 2009.
Facebook has removed 5,500 sex offenders from its social networking website since May last year. It follows news from Myspace that it had removed 90,000 sex offenders from its website in the last two years. The two websites were asked by a US attorney general to implement a range of safeguards, including better ways to verify users' ages and limiting older users' ability to search the profiles of those under 18, the Associated Press reported. Facebook said it had found the offenders through a mixture of user reports, working with law enforcement agencies and using the national sex offenders' register. Facebook's chief privacy officer said the company has proposed a system in the US that will check available outlets in real time to block sex offenders at the beginning of the registration process. At the moment, the policy is to remove offenders when they are identified.
Information taken from: http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/02/20/234945/Facebook-removes-5500-sex-offenders.htm
Can you imagine, out of 600 million active users, only 5500 sex offender's profile has been removed? Till this day, we still do not know how many sex offenders are there under a fake profile and how many since the case study's date have been caught. There are many sex offenders still out there and Facebook is still trying hard to get rid of them .This is the reason why we have to be careful when people whom we do not know adds us as friends on Facebook. The information that they post on their profile may not be genuine, thus we must always be on our guard against people like this.
Thank you!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Inspirational Uses Of Facebook
1) There are many groups, pages and networks that you can join to connect with people that have similar interests. As well as joining them, you can create them yourself.
2) One of the best uses of Facebook is the interaction with friends. Once you have added a person as a friend (and they have accepted your request), you will have the opportunity to view their profile, comment on their photos and chat with them, invite them to groups, challenge them in games, add posts to their wall, send them virtual gifts and more.
3) Applications can be added to your profile to allow you to play games, take quizzes, etc. You can also invite friends to these and challenge them.
4) Facebook is a very good social networking device. It allows you to create and maintain a profile, which can be used to tell your friends more about you, like political views, religion, activities, hobbies, interests, favourite music, favourite movies, favourite TV shows, favourite quotations, favourite books.
Thank you!
information taken and edited from : http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_Facebook_good
2) One of the best uses of Facebook is the interaction with friends. Once you have added a person as a friend (and they have accepted your request), you will have the opportunity to view their profile, comment on their photos and chat with them, invite them to groups, challenge them in games, add posts to their wall, send them virtual gifts and more.
3) Applications can be added to your profile to allow you to play games, take quizzes, etc. You can also invite friends to these and challenge them.
4) Facebook is a very good social networking device. It allows you to create and maintain a profile, which can be used to tell your friends more about you, like political views, religion, activities, hobbies, interests, favourite music, favourite movies, favourite TV shows, favourite quotations, favourite books.
Thank you!
information taken and edited from : http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_Facebook_good
Dangers Of Facebook
1) Identity Theft
This is the obvious one. You may think you are being clever, releasing only partial information about yourself, but smart fraudsters can easily piece bits of information together. Often they will contact individuals claiming to be an old school friend so that they can gather more personal information about them. The key point is that nobody really knows who they are talking to on social networking sites, so think carefully before you post information about yourself.
2) Stalkers
Social networking sites have proved to be a top-class hunting ground for stalkers and paedophiles looking to groom children, because they allow them to remain anonymous. There have been high-profile cases in which serial sex offenders have taken on a false identity and established online friendships with children before meeting up with them.
3) Your real friends can unknowingly make you vulenrable.
Your security is only as good as your friend's security. If someone in your network of friends has a weak password and his or her profile is hacked, he or she can now send you malware, for example. There is a common scam called a 419 scam, in which someone hacks your profile and send messages to your friends asking for money - claiming to be you - saying, "Hey, I was in London, I was mugged, please wire me money." People fall for it. People think their good friend needs help - and end up wiring money to Nigeria.
4) Display Banner Advertisements.
Facebook has not been able to screen all of its ads. It hasn't done a great job of vetting which ads are safe and which are not. As a result, you may get an ad in your profile whey you are browsing around one day that has malicious code in it. In fact, last month there was an ad with malware that asked people to download antivirus software that was actually a virus.
Thank you!
Information taken from: http://www.suite101.com/content/dangers-of-facebook-and-other-social-networking-sites-a311770 & http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/08/earlyshow/saturday/main6469373.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody
This is the obvious one. You may think you are being clever, releasing only partial information about yourself, but smart fraudsters can easily piece bits of information together. Often they will contact individuals claiming to be an old school friend so that they can gather more personal information about them. The key point is that nobody really knows who they are talking to on social networking sites, so think carefully before you post information about yourself.
2) Stalkers
Social networking sites have proved to be a top-class hunting ground for stalkers and paedophiles looking to groom children, because they allow them to remain anonymous. There have been high-profile cases in which serial sex offenders have taken on a false identity and established online friendships with children before meeting up with them.
3) Your real friends can unknowingly make you vulenrable.
Your security is only as good as your friend's security. If someone in your network of friends has a weak password and his or her profile is hacked, he or she can now send you malware, for example. There is a common scam called a 419 scam, in which someone hacks your profile and send messages to your friends asking for money - claiming to be you - saying, "Hey, I was in London, I was mugged, please wire me money." People fall for it. People think their good friend needs help - and end up wiring money to Nigeria.
4) Display Banner Advertisements.
Facebook has not been able to screen all of its ads. It hasn't done a great job of vetting which ads are safe and which are not. As a result, you may get an ad in your profile whey you are browsing around one day that has malicious code in it. In fact, last month there was an ad with malware that asked people to download antivirus software that was actually a virus.
Thank you!
Information taken from: http://www.suite101.com/content/dangers-of-facebook-and-other-social-networking-sites-a311770 & http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/08/earlyshow/saturday/main6469373.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody
Cyber Wellness Tips
1) Consider restricting access to your profile.
If the site allows it, it’s a good idea to limit access to your profile. Don’t allow strangers to learn everything they can about you.
2) Keep your private information private.
Never post your full name, Social Security number, address, phone number, full birth date, financial information, or schedule. These will make you vulnerable to identity thieves, scams, burglars, or worse.
3) Choose a screen name that is different from your real name. Avoid using any personal information that would help someone identify or locate you offline.
4) Don’t post information that makes you vulnerable to a physical attack.
Revealing where you plan to meet your friends, your class schedule, or your street address is almost an open invitation for someone to find you
Thank you!
Information taken from: http://www.utexas.edu/its/secure/articles/social_networking.php
If the site allows it, it’s a good idea to limit access to your profile. Don’t allow strangers to learn everything they can about you.
2) Keep your private information private.
Never post your full name, Social Security number, address, phone number, full birth date, financial information, or schedule. These will make you vulnerable to identity thieves, scams, burglars, or worse.
3) Choose a screen name that is different from your real name. Avoid using any personal information that would help someone identify or locate you offline.
4) Don’t post information that makes you vulnerable to a physical attack.
Revealing where you plan to meet your friends, your class schedule, or your street address is almost an open invitation for someone to find you
Thank you!
Information taken from: http://www.utexas.edu/its/secure/articles/social_networking.php
Interesting Facts On Facebook
1) As of January 2011, Facebook has 600 million active users.
2) Americans spend 13,9 billion mintues on Facebook.
3) If Facebook were a country, it would be the 5th largest country in the world, after China, India, the U.S. and Indonesia.
4)The avaerage Facebook users spend more than 55 minutes a day on the site. They use the 'Like' button 9 times a month and write 25 comments each month.
Thank you!
Information taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook.com & http://facts.randomhistory.com/interesting-facebook-facts.html
2) Americans spend 13,9 billion mintues on Facebook.
3) If Facebook were a country, it would be the 5th largest country in the world, after China, India, the U.S. and Indonesia.
4)The avaerage Facebook users spend more than 55 minutes a day on the site. They use the 'Like' button 9 times a month and write 25 comments each month.
Thank you!
Information taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook.com & http://facts.randomhistory.com/interesting-facebook-facts.html
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