The primary reason we put information into computers is to retrieve that same information at a later date. Sure, the computer might process or modify our input, and we may apply locks and roadblocks in an attempt (ho ho) to prevent others from accessing it, but if you think about it, the main reason we save things like pictures and documents and music on our computer is so we can access them later.
One problem with computer security is that most people don’t really understand it. For one thing, it’s hard to physically see. Imagine you’ve been stashing all your extra cash in a cardboard shoebox over the past few years. Off the top of my head, I can come up with a few ways to secure that box. I could bury it in my backyard. I could fasten it to the neck of an angry pitbull. I could toss the box in a lockable safe. I could deposit it in the bank. Each of these options offer some level of security that we can see, understand, and evaluate.
Before I continue, let me explain Facebook’s security to you. Facebook is like handing your box of cash to some stranger you’ve never met, whose security you don’t really understand, and saying, “Here, I trust you with this.” And while most people wouldn’t do that with a box of cash, they are willing to do it with risque pictures that will get them fired on a daily basis.
Since I’m already off and running free in analogy-land, allow me to share with you a true story. Back in high school, I worked for a local pizza chain and had a manager we’ll call Blake. Blake carried with him to work a briefcase every single day. The briefcase was always locked (we routinely checked), and when we asked what was in the briefcase, he wouldn’t tell us. One day, Blake got fired. Two minutes later, I (along with a few co-workers) pried open the briefcase with a butter knife. Inside the briefcase we found a bunch of paperwork, a pocket knife, and an issue of Playboy, which I’m guessing he didn’t want us to know about. I forgot who got the pocket knife; the paperwork went in the trash, and I got the briefcase (and the Playboy).
Whose fault is it that we found the Playboy? You could say it was the briefcase’s locks, which weren’t very sturdy. Or, you could say it was the fact that the briefcase got left behind, which gave us more access to the locks than usual. But if you really think about it, there’s one way that we never, ever would have known about the Playboy — and that is, if he had never brought it to work in the first place. To paraphrase Miyagi, the best way to avoid a punch is to “no be there”. How so very true.
Back to that idea of physical security for a moment. Let’s say we’ve moved our money into a safe with a padlock. It wouldn’t make much sense to store the key to the padlock on top of the safe, now would it? Of course not! In the real world, we would physically separate the lock and the key, perhaps even keeping the key on our person at all times. With computer security, sometimes we do the same thing. Lots of web servers access databases on a different server; that way, if the web server is compromised, the hacker still cannot directly access the back end data. There are electronic methods of protecting data too. You can encrypt it, or limit access to it by using passwords … on your own computer. When you’re using someone else’s system, you have to play by their rules.
Look, there’s a reason Facebook made $500 million dollars last year, is expected to make $800 million dollars this year, and doesn’t charge you a dime. Facebook makes their money by selling ads, ads which are directly marketed to you and me based on our Facebook identities. Facebook will continue to walk the line and discover, through trial and error, just how much of your information they can share with their customers (the people paying for ads) without driving away their user base (you and me). Like it or not, anything you put on Facebook, whether its your photographs, your private messages, your updates, your private chats, the answers to your quizzes, or anything else you post there, is fair game. Maybe the owners of Facebook will take care of your data for you, and maybe they won’t.
But if you absolutely don’t want it shared, stop sharing it.
Re. “But if you absolutely don’t want it shared, stop sharing it.”
Couldn’t agree with you more. If you don’t want SOMEone to know, don’t tell ANYone. It’s really that simple.
As for your briefcase analogy: Do.not.like! You broken open something that was not yours to begin with.
In my defense, we were 16 years old. You’re right, it wasn’t right, but it’s another example of brute-force attacks on security working. It is not right for all that malware on Facebook to try and steal our passwords and information, but it’s happening every day. The reason I told that story is to say that people should not depend on cheap security to protect their valuables, whether it’s cheap briefcase locks or Facebook’s security methods.
I am not sure where people got the idea that whatever you put out on the internet will be private. There are only a handful of sites that provide security and privacy. Other sites, it is up to the users what is out there and what isn’t. Yes, there are exceptions such as hacking ect, but that could happen to any site.
The people, on my friends list, that I see having the biggest reaction to FB privacy are the ones prone to knee jerk reactions. If they were to think about things, such as what you posted, we would all be better off.
As someone who grew up modeming, I learned almost 30 years ago not to give out private information. It seems odd to me that people are just learning that lesson now. Of course back then if I were to give out my real name or my phone number, the worst that would happen was someone would harass me. Nowadays, the stakes are higher — people are losing their jobs and ruining relationships. And even worse now, is Google. Even if you post something online that you later decide something is embarassing or harmful and remove it from the Internet, getting it removed from Google’s cache is another story altogether.
Netflix, Xbox Live. stuff you think is respected ends up here:-
http://www.spokeo.com
try it.. if you want to know address, phone numbers, income, how many cats they got and so on…
“But if you absolutely don’t want it shared, stop sharing it.”
I have to disagree as that completely destroys the point of making a facebook page.
The purpose of facebook from a users perspective is to share stuff with friends. So what you are saying is if you don’t want marketers to know about it, then don’t share it, which completely negates the point of facebook. Which makes facebook a future crash and burn.
All Facebook has to do is give complete control of who sees what to its users and all the privacy problems go away.
Sure, if people are dumb enough to post email addresses, SSN’s and other sensitive data they get what they deserve. But the rest of it IS facebooks fault. It is not Facebook’s nor some brain-dead marketer’s business what music I like and it creeps me out if I see an ad on my FB page about it and it should creep you out as well. Then again, I don’t ever click on ads, or use them to make a decision to buy anything(but they have caused me to NOT buy something).
If you want to share your favorite music with your friends, and you use the music category, facebook does NOT allow you to hide it from anyone. That is why Facebook is wrong.
Spokeo’s info on me is so wrong it is laughable. They are not even close.
@Steve: What you are describing is how Facebook “should” work — and with that, I agree. The problem is, as Facebook has shown, they can (and often do) change the way their security works at will. Facebook is a fun site that most of us spend way too much playing around on, but as I said in my original post, don’t forget how Facebook is making all those millions of dollars — by selling ads to companies who get to target directly to you, based on the information they get from Facebook about you (some of which we knowingly give to them, some of which we don’t). While it may feel like what information you share and what information you don’t share on Facebook is under your control, it really isn’t. Those little sliders that say “do share this” and “don’t share that” only work as well as they are programmed; each time someone figures out a way to circumvent those security controls, there’s a possibility that information you didn’t want shared will become public. I’m not saying don’t use Facebook; what I am saying is, if you post things on Facebook that could end your marriage, sever a friendship, or get you fired (or arrested), banking on Facebook to keep that information private is a pretty risky bet.
I’m completely ok with FB sharing my info. I don’t really expect to get something for free. If they provide a service (and they do) then I’m ok with them using what I’ve provided them to make some money..