Well I figured out awhile ago anyone can see your pictures if you tag any of your friends in them but today I learned something very disturbing. I would say its not very secure at all.
Things you (probably) didn’t know about FACEBOOK
Did you know...
- That FACEBOOK was launched on February 2004 by the Harvard drop out Mark Zuckerberg (who was 19 years old). By the end of the month more than half of the undergraduate population at Harvard was registered on the service. A big budget Hollywood movie about FACEBOOK is in the beginning. (The story will probably be told by a big-budget Hollywood production in 2009)
- That FACEBOOK has more than 120 million active users (active at least once a month) and more than 600 employees.
- With more than 10 billion private photos FACEBOOK is the no. 1 photo sharing application in the world. Agreeing to FACEBOOK Privacy Policy means that you waive all your rights, as they can use all your photos freely. (Nobody knows whether this claim would be actually legal in court).
- That FACEBOOK reserves every right to register and keep all kind of your private information and FACEBOOK activities – even after you eliminate your profile” (see Facebook Privacy). You are immortal.
- that FACEBOOK leaves a cookie in your browser which enables other Internet sites to identify your FACEBOOK identity. (In Firefox 3.0, Internet Explorer 8.0 & Google Chrome you can change the settings to ban this cookie).
- that FACEBOOK "does not guarantee that User Content you post on the Site will not be viewed by unauthorized persons” (see Term of Conditions)
- FACEBOOK is informed about your activities from over 50 big Internet sites that have partnered with Facebook.
- That the owner of FACEBOOK Mark Zuckerberg has rejected offers in the range of $975 million to hand over Facebook. If FACEBOOK is sold, all registered private information will be handed over to the new owners – even after you have deleted your profile! It means you have no control who will end up with your personal data.
- October 24, 2007, Facebook has agreed to sell a 1.6% stake of the company to Microsoft for $240 million. This means Microsoft, as an exclusive third-party will get access to every FACEBOOK information.
- That Mark Zuckerberg, founder and owner of ca. 30% of FACEBOOK is the world's youngest billionaire (worth 1,5 billion Dollars)
- Why? Because in cyberspace private information is hard value – and all kind of private data is recorded on FACEBOOK.
- Have your ever wondered why FACEBOOK advertisements often feed exactly your personal needs? Because an intelligent system analyzes cyberspace behavior on a personal level to maximize the value of your personal information.
- because FACEBOOK has its headquarter in the USA it can only be sued according to US legislation. If the FACEBOOK headquarter was located in the European Union the FACEBOOK Privacy Terms would definitely be illegal.
- that after heavy public debate Mark Zuckerberg (owner) admitted that FACEBOOK receives personal information from other Internet sites without users permission (even after the user has deactivated his FACEBOOK account!)
- that even though you change your name, email, address etc. your old data will still appear in the FACEBOOK Friend Finder.
- that typing your mobile phone number in your FACEBOOK profile increases the risk of mobile spaming.
- that in the past year 1,000 applications was officially shut down by FACEBOOK administration for privacy violations. Don't trust any FACEBOOK application.
- that normal state of the laws seem not to apply to networks in cyberspace. This means, that if somebody starts a FACEBOOK campaign claiming you to be e.g pedophile, murder etc. (and yes, such types of groups do exist) civil rights do not protect your reputation.
- that eg. the Danish Federal Bureau of Investigation had advised people in certain positions (eg. police officers) to delete personal information on FACEBOOK. Personal information can easily be misused.
- that, even though FACEBOOK claims to have high security standards, two MIT students were able to download over 70,000 Facebook profiles, using an automated script?
- that a big number of FACEBOOK profiles are professional fake. Think twice before accepting a friend request from a stranger.
- that in the near future your Facebook account may hold not only all of your photos, but your movies (streamed to your HDTV), home movies, and music files. This means that cyber privacy becomes an even more important issue in the future.
- that by using FACEBOOK you are an essential part of the global cyber economy. Personal information about you is being transferred between partners you probably never heard about.
