• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
methodshop

methodshop

tech news, reviews & how to's

  • Trending
  • Latest
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Internet
    • Software
    • Security
    • Games
    • Advertising
  • Life
    • Entertainment
    • TV & Film
    • Music
    • Health & Science
    • Family
    • Social Media
    • Food
    • Style
  • Learn
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • News
      • Business
      • Crime
      • Politics
  • Fun
    • Featured
    • Humor
    • Holiday

Home : Uncategorized : A Flashy Facebook Page, at a Cost to Privacy

A Flashy Facebook Page, at a Cost to Privacy

June 12, 2008 by jayfrankwilson
FacebookTweetPinLinkedIn

Add-Ons to Online Social Profiles Expose Personal Data to Strangers

A Flashy Facebook Page, At A Cost To Privacy - Logo Facebook 1Facebook fanatics who have covered their profiles on the popular social networking site with silly games and quirky trivia quizzes may be unknowingly giving a host of strangers an intimate peek at their lives.

Those mini-programs, called widgets or applications, allow users to personalize their pages and connect with friends and acquaintances. But they could pose privacy risks. Some security researchers warn that developers of the software have assembled too much information — home town, schools attended, employment history — and can use the data in ways that could harm or annoy users.

“Everything requires you to give access to personal information or it forces you to ask your friends to do the same — it becomes a real nuisance,” said David Dixon, 40, an information technology consultant in Columbia who recently deleted most of the applications he had downloaded to his Facebook profile after reading on a blog that developers may have access to his information. “Why does a Sudoku puzzle have to know I have two kids? Why does a postcard need to know where I went to college?”

Even private profiles, in which personal details are available only to specific friends, reveal personal information, said Chris Soghoian, a cyber-security researcher at Indiana University. And they’re allowing access to their friends’ information — even if their friends are not using the application. That’s because MySpace and Facebook, the largest online social networks, let outside developers see a member’s information when they add a program.

“You want to be social with your friends, but now you’re giving 20 guys you’ve never met vast amounts of information from your profile,” he said. “That should be troubling to people.”

A year ago, Facebook started allowing outside developers to create small software programs for members to download. Since then, the company said, about 24,000 applications have been built by 400,000 developers. They’ve become enormously popular, with users playing poker, getting daily horoscopes and sending one another virtual cocktails, to name a few. More than 95 percent of Facebook users have installed at least one application, the company said.

Applications have grown so much that venture-capital firms have formed exclusively to fund their development, and there is a Stanford University course devoted to creating them.

A Flashy Facebook Page, At A Cost To Privacy - Splash Blast 2

[Read More: WashingtonPost]


FacebookTweetPinLinkedIn
Category: Uncategorized Tag: Facebook
Previous Post:Learn how David Copperfield flys
Next Post:Bravo To Spin Off ‘Top Chef Junior’

Sidebar

Popular Posts

  • Top 200 Nielsen DMA Rankings (2023) – Full ListTop 200 Nielsen DMA Rankings (2023) – Full List
  • 18 Weird Facts About Sea-Monkeys You Won't Believe Are True, Including Their Connection To The Ku Klux Klan18 Weird Facts About Sea-Monkeys You Won’t Believe Are True, Including Their…
  • 7 Pictures Of Naked People Captured By Google's Cameras7 Pictures Of Naked People Captured By Google’s Cameras
  • Is Your Hatch Restore Already Registered? Here's How To Fix It And Unregister A Hatch Restore.Is Your Hatch Restore Already Registered? Here’s How To Fix It And…
  • How To Change The Default LG TV Home Screen To Live TVHow To Change The Default LG TV Home Screen To Live TV
  • The 30 Best Caddyshack Quotes That'll Make You LaughThe 30 Best Caddyshack Quotes That’ll Make You Laugh
  • Fletch Quotes: 30 Of The Funniest Quotes From The Movie FletchFletch Quotes: 30 Of The Funniest Quotes From The Movie Fletch
  • Top 25 Better Off Dead Movie Quotes - How Many Better Off Dead Quotes Do You Remember?Top 25 Better Off Dead Movie Quotes – How Many Better Off Dead Quotes Do You…
  • Controversial Nimbus 2000 Vibrating Harry Potter Broomstick Has Parents In An UproarControversial Nimbus 2000 Vibrating Harry Potter Broomstick Has Parents In An Uproar
  • 50+ Famous Happy Birthday Quotes From Notable Personalities50+ Famous Happy Birthday Quotes From Notable Personalities

Categories

Angry Online Troll

6 Tips On How To Deal With Trolls For News Organizations

Online trolls suck. They are especially problematic for news organizations. Trolls will ruin your mood, scare your audience, and waste your time. Here are some tips for news organizations on how to deal with trolls.

ChatGPT Flaws

The 11 Biggest ChatGPT Flaws And Why You Should Never Completely Trust Online Chatbots

Chatbots can be fun and productive tools, but they are dumber than you might think. They can also be dangerous. Here are the biggest ChatGPT flaws and why online chatbots shouldn’t be trusted.

Recent Posts

  • The 11 Biggest ChatGPT Flaws And Why You Should Never Completely Trust Online Chatbots
  • Discover The Surprising Items Left Behind By Astronauts On The Lunar Surface – What Was Left On The Moon And Why
  • 6 Tips On How To Deal With Trolls For News Organizations
  • Microsoft Plans To Put ChatGPT AI Tools in Every Office 365 Product
  • These Amazon Binoculars Are WOW! Reviewers Claim That They Can Even See Jupiter’s Moons!

Jump to comments

About

MethodShop’s mission is to entertain, inform, and sometimes gross you out. MethodShop has affiliate relationships, so we may get a small share of the revenue from your purchases. Items are sold by the retailer, not by us. All prices are subject to change.

Latest

ChatGPT Flaws

The 11 Biggest ChatGPT Flaws And Why You Should Never Completely Trust Online Chatbots

Moon Trash: What Was Left On The Moon And Why

Discover The Surprising Items Left Behind By Astronauts On The Lunar Surface – What Was Left On The Moon And Why

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest
MethodShop Animated Zoom Icon
  • About
  • Submit
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Store

Copyright © 2023 MethodShop · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.