on the fence about…facebook

Posted on December 8, 2011 by hugmamma

Image via Wikipedia

While I am on Facebook, primarily to keep abreast of my daughter’s dance happenings and also to share my blog posts with family and friends, I tend to keep the site at arm’s length. I’ve never been completely convinced of its security assurances. And now that its creator, Mark Zuckerberg, has had his privacy invaded I’m even more skeptical of their claims.

I’m sure the hundreds of millions who are on Facebook will turn a deaf ear and a blind eye, because they’re certain their privacy will never be breached. It’s like the accident that always happens to somebody else, or the crime that occurs somewhere else…and never to us…or in our community.

I believe that “forewarned is forearmed,” so I’ve reprinted the Wall Street Journal’s article…

Facebook Flaw Exposes Its CEO
by John Letzing

     A security vulnerability in Facebook Inc.’s social-networking site exposed by some users sent the company scrambling for a fix after Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg’s private photos were published online.
     In a Nov. 27 post on the Web forum Bodybuilding.com, an anonymous writer listed step-by-step instructions on how to access photos uploaded by other Facebook members, even if the images had been marked as private.
     The process involved a Facebook feature that lets users identify pornographic or inappropriate images on the site. The forum post showed that by flagging another user’s profile, one Facebook member was able to gain access to the other’s private images. A blogger on Tuesday reported on the security flaw, and used it to publish a photo from Mr. Zuckerberg’s private collection. Others then used the flaw to publish further photos from Mr. Zuckerberg’s private collection, including images of the Facebook CEO preparing food in a kitchen and distributing candy to Halloween trick-or-treaters.
     It wasn’t immediately clear how long the Facebook security flaw was available on the Web, or how many of the site’s more than 800 million users were affected. But the company attributed the problem to a recent revision of its software.
     In a statement, a Facebook spokesman said the flaw “was the result of one of our recent code pushes and was live for a limited period of time. Upon discovering the bug, we immediately disabled the system, and will only return functionality once we can confirm the bug has been fixed.”
     The anonymous poster responded in an email to a request for comment by saying he discovered the flaw accidentally. “This is simply terrible programming on Facebook’s part,” said the poster, who gave his name only as John P., lists his hometown as Syracuse, N.Y., and says he is “an IT professional.”
     Facebook has faced a series of questions about its security and privacy features since it was founded in 2004. The site has rapidly gained popularity, and Facebook is expected to stage an initial public offering of shares next year that could value the company at over $100 billion.
     Last month, Facebook announced it had reached a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, after the regulator found the company had misled users about the use of their personal information.

Facebook…friend or foe? And are we just as guilty as Zuckerberg…if we entrust him with all we hold sacred?…

as he smirks all the way to the bank…to deposit his billions…

………hugmamma. 😉

Image via Wikipedia

spam…not the canned kind

Posted on October 2, 2011 by hugmamma

Image via Wikipedia

Just a warning that linking posts to Facebook are being spammed. Perused my “Wall” and saw that several of my posts, quite a few in fact, did not appear as they normally do. In place of the norm, was a cryptic message saying I’d shared a link, and the URL was wp.me. I recognized that from an attempt to spam my Facebook page a long time ago. Of course I deleted all those fictitious messages, and shared a note with my Facebook readers explaining the situation.

I wanted to warn you of what’s afoot. When I’ve clicked on the Facebook icon and then clicked on the “share link” button, no security words appeared as had normally. I thought my connection to Facebook was secure so I was allowed to bypass that intermediate step. Obviously a scammer had intercepted that step and was posting his or her link to my “Wall” instead.

My husband surmises that recent WordPress modifications may have disrupted my blog’s link to Facebook, which meant I needed to reconnect manually. Duh! Would I have thought of doing that? Not likely. A heads up from WordPress might have been helpful. Looks like we bloggers need to have each other’s backs.

As my recent posts with advice from consumer advocate David Horowitz indicate, scammers are out to get us any way they can. They’re like worms crawling out from the woodwork, attempting to feed off us.

Gotta squish those buggers underfoot every chance we get. They’re bad for the environment and must be extinguished!!!

…norton virus…my cavalry…to the rescue…CHARGE!!!…see you after the bloodbath…

………hugmamma.

scam alert!!!…(3 part-read first)

Posted on October 1, 2011 by hugmamma

Image by jepoirrier via Flickr

Leading consumer advocate David Horowitz is offering extensive advice about Internet scamming. I’d like to share it in its entirety over the next few posts. If I tried to cram all the information into one, it would read like a lot of blah, blah, blah. And we all know how easy it is to zone out, or scroll down the page without really digesting what we’re reading. I’m as guilty of this as the next person.

And so…I give you Mr. Horowitz. Applause…applause…applause.

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr

MANY OF US spend a great deal of time reconnecting with old friends, exchanging photos and videos, and doing business on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.
Cyber-crooks have also turned their attention to the big social sites because they’re rife with potential victims–Facebook alone has more than 750 million members–and the threats are new enough that many people haven’t given much thought to how to defend themselves.
Protecting yourself against social networking scams entails being aware of what they look like and properly securing your personal information when you are connected to the Web. Here are some of the most common social networking scams.

OMG, did you see this picture of you?
     You receive an email or an instant message claiming a picture of you has just been posted–check it out here! Immediately, you click on the link, which takes you to your Twitter or Facebook log-in page. There, you enter your account info.
     Unfortunately, both the email and the landing page are fake. That link you clicked took you to a page that only looked like your intended social site. It’s called phishing, and you’ve just been had. A cyber-criminal now has your password, along with control of your account. From there, those up to no good can access information that may help them hack into other accounts of yours.
     To prevent this, make sure your Internet security includes anti-phishing defenses.

Image via Wikipedia

Take this quiz–all your friends have taken it!
On many social networking sites, you see questions that are supposedly funny or clever, such as what type of character you may be from your favorite movie. You may be prompted to do something fun, such as find out your I.Q. or vote for your favorite song. You enter your information and cell phone number, as instructed. You have just unwillingly subscribed to some dubious monthly service that will charge your cell phone $9.95 a month.

…intermission…bathroom break…time to raid the refrig…pet the dog…splash water in your face…

…PROCEED TO THE NEXT POST………pretty, please?…

Image by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com via Flickr

………hugmamma. 🙂

ready…set…scam!…(3 part-read second)

Posted on October 1, 2011 by hugmamma

David Horowitz making a strong point at CPAC 2011

Image by markn3tel via Flickr

Read on for more of consumer advocate David Horowitz‘s timely advice…

Tweet for cash!
“Make money on Twitter!” and “Tweet for profit!” claim that anyone can work from home and make large sums simply by tweeting. If you fall for it you are asked for your credit-card number in order to pay a $1.95 shipping fee to get a “Twitter Cash Starter Kit.” Later, you find out that the starter kit is only a seven-day free trial, and the company then charges a monthly fee, typically around $50. It is then up to you to stop the charges, and it may be too late.

Hidden URLs
Beware of blindly clicking on shortened URLs. You see them everywhere on Twitter, but you never know where they will take you since they hide the full location. Clicking on such a link could direct you to your intended site, or to one that installs all sorts of malware on your computer. Make sure you have real-time protection against spyware and viruses.

…now that you’re good and scared…proceed with caution to the last in this series…for horowitz’ final piece of advice…

Image via Wikipedia

………hugmamma. 🙂

save yourself…from scammers…(3 part-read last)

Posted on October 1, 2011 by hugmamma

Image by swirlingthoughts via Flickr

And how does consumer advocate David Horowitz propose we stymie the efforts of cyber-crooks? Read on…

Protect yourself
     If you’re on Windows, run a security package. Use a modern browser, such as the current versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome, all of which have built-in measures for protecting you against the fraudulent sites used by social network scammers. And make sure you’ve got the current version of your operating system, since it’ll have the latest patches for security leaks.
     Be particularly cautious about any message that suggests you click off the site to perform an action such as watching a video or seeing a photo. If an acquaintance sends you a cryptic note that looks fishy, don’t hit “Reply,” but send a separate note to the person who sent it, asking if it is real.
     Be aware that a hacker could break into one of your friends’ social network accounts and use it to spam you with scam messages that might lead you to give away information. If the same hackers tamper with your account they can launch attacks on your family and friends. Protect your personal information by choosing cryptic passwords with random characters, numbers and punctuation marks. Change them periodically.

Image by Anna L Conti via Flickr

i think scammers should get real jobs…don’t you?…

………hugmamma. 😉

baby steps…whew!

Posted on March 10, 2011 by hugmamma

Image by kryptyk via Flickr

Seems I’m getting back on track being allowed to leave comments with blogging buddies, Scriptor Obscura, The Daily Dabbler, Sage Chronicles or The (mis)Adventures of Sage, jeanne’s blog, and Random Thoughts from Mid-life. Although my comments are still not being accepted by my host, WordPress.com. Strange, but probably understandable in view of their recent DDoS, Distributed Denial of Service attack. Hubby thinks they’re still trying to get out from under the barrage.

Image via Wikipedia

It’s an unfortunate world we live in, when enemies use every means at their disposal to try and bring us down. It always comes back to the “have nots” wanting what the “haves” have. Where does the fault lie, solely with the “have nots,” or also with the “haves?” In a capitalistic world, even the third world countries are moving in that direction, equality doesn’t seem a given, no matter what we like to think. I guess the equality we speak of in a democratic, capitalistic society is that we can all line up shoulder to shoulder at the starting line. What happens thereafter is “every man for himself.” Forget about those who fall by the wayside, or those who are handicapped and can’t even get “out of the gate.” These unfortunate are either stampeded or helped by “good samaritans,” who fall back to help their fellow man. Not a savory picture of humankind, but a very real one nonetheless.

Overly simplistic viewpoint, for sure. And I’m just as certain that there’s no easy answer. But perhaps there’s enough finger-pointing to go around.

an early morning rambling…hugmamma.