Thread: Privacy matters

I agree with you Ray, I have an unlisted number and I still get calls from marketing companies offering this or that.
I stay away from sites like Facebook knowing how unsafe they are. Their latest new thing is to let people know your exact location while you are online with pinpoint accuracy Not really the sort of information you might like some people to know. I believe you can turn off that function but I wonder how many people know about it? or how to turn it off.
I know of a certain person who has blocked someone on Facebook but although he cannot access the others page directly, He can access it by other means which I wont mention here for obvious reasons, and its not difficult to do.

So if anyone thinks they are safe and secure on sites like Facebook; Think again.

It's for this reason that I refuse to use social networking sites. It helps being antisocial to start with.

I make it a habit to use a new email address every time I create an online account, be it at a forum or an online store. That way I can work out where my spam is coming from.

I regularly get reminders to update my facebook or myspace page, even though I've never had one. And then there's the invitations from someone to join them on one of these sites. Even if the request is from someone you know and you don't respond, the damage is done and your email address is distributed to all and sundry.

Another example is online purchases. I created an account at a well known drop shipper to buy some SD cards. (Turns out the cards were not in stock despite assurances they were). In creating the account, they wanted to know gender and date of birth. No reason at all to know that apart from a marketing scam.

You don't mean to tell me that people put real information on Facebook???? That'd be like saying 'here, datamine me for fun and profit'.

I thought it was all just random photos found on the web and the odd bit of photoshoppery, and some of the finest fiction writing you can come up with in two minutes!

John your right about open doors in Facebook if one person allows even just a single access to All its open slather. I am finding those in Business the worst of late as they are there to gain the most.

Geoff I often do the same with forums etc. I get Paypal "Your account details need updating" Don't have an account with them for starters.

MS Yes some people do when its family your keeping in touch with, I have come to use it as a way of staying in the loop with far flung relations.

I don't troll for others outside that area, I do read news/media items often seeing headlines of Nude photo's of insert Stars name found on where ever. I feel sorry for the poor sap who is paid to troll those sites by media barons must be a dull news day.

Originally Posted by wheelinround

...... I do read news/media items often seeing headlines of Nude photo's of insert Stars name found on where ever. I feel sorry for the poor sap who is paid .......

Paying people to find nude photos in Facebook accounts? For shame!

Fourteen year old boys do that sort of thing for free!! - never underestimate the Facebook hacking power of the hormonally motivated male teen demographic!

Originally Posted by Master Splinter

Paying people to find nude photos in Facebook accounts? For shame!

Fourteen year old boys do that sort of thing for free!! - never underestimate the Facebook hacking power of the hormonally motivated male teen demographic!

rrflmao yes imagine if they sold this information to Murdoch media empire we might get page 3 girls back.

'Our' mate, Gerry Harvey's company HN used to sell or otherwise diseminate customer's details that they demanded at the checkout when you bought stuff there.

I found this out as I bought some computer gear for a mates business but gave my contact details for their 'warranty record' - suddenly I started getting cr@p advertising for my mates company & he started getting similar cr@p advertising for me.

Hasn't happened for a while & HN have stopped demanding customer's details at the registers, so I'd guess they got their knuckles rapped quietly

Brslee, you comment tells the tale well. It doesn't take facebook and social networking for this to happen. Has anyone out there ever used a credit card or eftpos facility? Your data is out there already. Facebook etc., are not to blame. Might be worthwhile taking the paranoia glasses off and live life looking forward instead of looking over the shoulder. Fwiw my 80yo mother never used a credit card or eftpos or a cheque for many of the same reasons quoted on this post. The more things change the more they stay the same. Embrace technology and progress I say.

If you sign up for Facebook you're asked if invites to friends should go out to everyone in your email contact list.

Some folk say yes without thinking about it.

I have had these automatic invites from folk I've worked with years ago.

And all my students, current and past, have or have had my email in their contact list so they show up in a Facebook frame as People you may know. So Facebook has a prob with present and past tense.

Hi,
What about the info asked for on warranty cards? I do not know what my preferences in magazines and charities have to do with how I use my Dremal.
Regards

The big problem I have with Facebook et al is the ability for people to tag photos with you in it with your name. With improving facial recognition software, auto-tagging will only get better, so the only Facebook profile I would ever want to create would be the 'disallow retention of this person's data/image' profile. I'm recognisable in someone else's photo? "Sorry, that image cannot be loaded. Please edit it and try again."

Originally Posted by rsser

If you sign up for Facebook you're asked if invites to friends should go out to everyone in your email contact list.

Some folk say yes without thinking about it.

I have had these automatic invites from folk I've worked with years ago.

And all my students, current and past, have or have had my email in their contact list so they show up in a Facebook frame as People you may know. So Facebook has a prob with present and past tense.

This right Ern even afterwards annoying pop ups or e-mails asking to upload your e-mail list. If answering yes you are allowing such as Facebook to access private data on your computer, personal information which in fact is illegal without the knowledge of those whom the information is about even if it is their email address only. You have to remember some people have within their e-mail details such as address, phone number, business details etc.

Its not just as stated previously.

Facebook security and privacy for a novice is a joke.