Latest "Online Privacy" Posts

Will Facebook Make Privacy Policy Understandable?

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Partial Reprint from CNET.com

Facebook announced this week that it’s seeking user comment on a proposed redesign of its privacy policy that’s meant to make the policy easier to understand while bringing the world of legalese-smothered documents into the widget-filled realm of the 21st century.

In a post to Facebook’s site governance section, the company’s privacy team offers a look at its “first attempt” to re-organize, rewrite, and add interactivity to the current policy, which is essentially your standard mass of small black text.

Among other potentially interesting re-imaginings, the proposed redesign features an interactive tool intended to demonstrate how profile data is put to use in serving advertisements (click “Personalized ads” and scroll down to “Try this tool”). The tool puts Facebook members into the shoes of someone creating and targeting an ad. It’s not clear if users would deem it an educational aid or a nuisance in practice, but that seems to be part of why the potential redesign is being put to public scrutiny in this way.

Posted in Cyber Data Security, Identity Theft Prevention, Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Facebook Safety: New HTTPS Facebook Settings

Facebook has announced that they will be rolling out a new security feature that will add full HTTPS support to the site. The new secure site uses the same underlying technology that banks use to keep your communications out of the reach of potential hackers. While many people don’t have this feature yet and mine just showed up today, eventually all users should have the capability.

To enable HTTPS, log into your Facebook account and at the top right go into Account -> Account Settings.

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Once there, scroll all the way to the bottom and click “change” next to Account Security.

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The following screen should pop up. Check the box under Secure Browsing. You can also check “send me an email” (or a text message to your cell phone, which I don’t advise giving to Facebook) so that if someone tries to log into your account from a new computer, Facebook will immediately alert you. This is a good way to find out fast if your account has been hacked.

Posted in Cyber Data Security, Identity Theft Prevention, Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Motivational Keynote Speech

After a financial conference speech I gave this afternoon on controlling social media data exposure, an executive asked me how long I’d been giving motivational keynote speeches.

My jaw dropped at the reference… “Motivational keynote speeches?”, I asked. “I’ve never really thought of myself as a motivational speaker. I’m more of a content speaker who focuses your organization on playing information offense… using and protecting information to your profitable advantage.” Yeah, I know, sounds like an elevator speech. It was.

The executive then explained his remarks in a very thoughtful way. He said that his organization had stopped hiring traditional “fluffy motivational speakers” when the economy went south, and now only hires content-rich speakers who motivate the audience to take action in a very specific area of need. If he and the rest of the audience came out of the speech ready to take action and clear on what steps to take next, then they referred the speech as motivational. “Every speaker we hire had better be motivational,” he said, “but that’s a given. We bring in a keynoter for their content, and they’d better bring their inspirational A-game as part of the package.”

Posted in Cyber Data Security, Digital Reputation & Trust, Fraud Detection & Prevention, Identity Theft Prevention, Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Facebook’s Zuckerberg Gets Hacked

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While Facebook privacy issues are becoming a concern for most users, you would think that the CEO of Facebook should at least be protected. Apparently that is not the case. Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page was hacked last week. The founder of the social networking giant found himself to be a victim of what many users often face, and I hope it prompts him to incorporate more robust security into the fabric of Facebook. In fact, my experience is that people’s willingness to pay attention to privacy and data security goes up exponentially when they have experienced a breach first hand.

Here is what The Guardian had to say about Zuckerberg’s breach:

“Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page has been hacked by an unknown person who posted a status update suggesting that the site should let people invest in it rather than going to the banks. The page belonging to the 26-year-old Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder who was named Time‘s Man of the Year in 2010, was hacked some time on Tuesday.” (The Guardian)

Posted in Identity Theft Prevention, Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Egypt Going for Total Information Control

The Egyptian government has reportedly cut all access to the internet, extending their earlier restrictions on Twitter, Facebook, BlackBerry service and other forms of mass communication. The ban is likely to be in response to the use of social networking sites to organize pro-democracy, anit-Mubarak demonstrations in Egypt and other countries.

Internet access issues in Egypt have coincided with mounting demonstrations in the country, many of which were organized via social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Thousands poured into the streets of Cairo starting Tuesday to protest failing economic policies, government corruption, and to call for an end of the nearly 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak. -PC Magazine

Pro-gun lobbyists worry about enforced gun registration because it could possibly give the government a way to confiscate all firearms. That’s child’s play compared to their ability to shut down access to the critical tools we use every day: the internet, email, Facebook, Google, text, cell phones – the information arsenal that we all tend to take for granted. Egypt understand the importance.

Posted in Fraud Detection & Prevention, Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker .
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How to Hide Yourself on Facebook (Hide on Facebook)

How to hide on Facebook

While delivering an internet privacy keynote presentation for a large organization that was very interested in best practices for business, I was asked a very interesting question:

Can I use Facebook to log in to other sites and to keep track of friends without allowing the social network to share my information the other direction?

In reality, it’s difficult to just up and quit Facebook completely, but it’s not that difficult to hide on Facebook. Many users want to mine the social network like the proverbial fly on the wall. They want to watch what is going on in other people’s lives without them seeing or commenting on what is going on in yours. You might use your Facebook login credentials to centralize access to other sites (e.g., log in to Twitter with your Facebook credentials). Or you may want to keep it open so that your username isn’t made available to someone else. So how do you drop off of the Facebook radar without completely closing your account? The steps below are the closest approximation we’ve come up with to going underground.

Posted in Online Privacy, Social Media Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Identity Theft of Social Security Numbers Using Facebook

This recent video from Yahoo shows how easy it is for identity thieves to steal Social Security numbers just by using the information you share online. If you share your birthdate, name, and hometown in your Facebook profile, you are already at risk.

Click Here to learn more about protecting yourself online and on Facebook.

John Sileo is an information survival expert whose clients include the Department of Defense, Pfizer, Homeland Security, FDIC, FTC, Federal Reserve Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield and hundreds of corporations and organizations of all sizes. He is the author of Privacy Means Profit and earns his keep delivering highly motivational identity theft speeches.

Posted in Burning Questions (Video), Identity Theft Prevention, Online Privacy, Video Tips by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Facebook Boiling the Privacy Frog (You)

Facebook is preparing to give away your phone number and address to app developers and advertisers.

The frog is officially beginning to boil. Just check out all of the articles swirling around on the internet about Facebook’s latest attempt to release more of your information without your consent. This time they want to give out your phone number and address. They were pretty clear that the reason they want this information is to pass it on to developers of apps such as Farmville and advertisers that want to bolster their profile on you. They released the post late Friday afternoon – so late in fact that many news outlets didn’t pick it up until Monday. Many are accusing Facebook of trying to bury the news.

Here is what was posted:

Posted in Cyber Data Security, Identity Theft Prevention, Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Social Networking Expert, John Sileo Interviewed on Tech Night Owl

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Gene Steinberg, best-selling technology author and columnist interviews Information survival expert John Sileo. John reveals the best tips and tricks to protect yourself against identity theft, and how to improve security on your favorite social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Click Here to listen to the full interview.

John Sileo is the award-winning author of two identity theft prevention books, Stolen Lives and Privacy Means Profit (Wiley, August 2010) and America’s top Identity Theft Speaker. His clients include the Department of Defense, FTC, FDIC and Pfizer; his recent media appearances include 60 Minutes. Contact him on 800.258.8076.

Posted in Identity Theft Prevention, Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker .
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