The Most Dangerous Facebook Action You Can Take

Avoid Facebook Applications Like The Plague

In a previous post we pointed out how Facebook has penetrated the lives of at least a third of the Trinidad and Tobago population. (Facebook invades Trinidad and Tobago) High usage does not mean that most users understand the dangers of subscribing to applications on Facebook. 

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Trinbagoians are the proverbial “babes” in the electronic woods.  Dangers lurk in seemingly innocent applications and games.  They appear so safe and “cute” that we may even invite our friends to participate thereby exponentially increasing its credibility and penetration. 

Hackers and spammers know this and rely on human nature to complete the loop of deception.  

Have you noticed that almost every application on Facebook requires you give permission to access your personal data before participating?  Your information includes one single piece of information that would allow access to much more than information on your Facebook account; your password.

It’s a fact of human nature; we are lazy.  We are all looking for the easiest, quickest and pain resistant way to do everything.  Some of us however, heed the advice of experts and take some very deliberate action to avoid future losses. 

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Most people use one password to access all their web assets.  It’s easier to remember and they never have to go through the trouble of retrieving it.  Prior to the emergence of social networks hackers and scammers had to spend thousands of hours developing programs that identified your password; now they get it just for the asking. 

Many of theses applications are legitimate but to be safe, you should establish a policy to refrain from using them.  The benefits far outweigh the risks. 

Here is an example of one such application, the original version may have been innocent enough but hackers are constantly improving their strategy and it has become easier to duplicate and modify software. 

Have you seen the application that says? 

 Your friend (Mary) just answered a question about you!

The question is usually one that the friend could not possibly answer about you, especially a “Facebook Friend” whose knowledge about you is limited.  Don’t go down that rabbit hole. 

If you do, you must first give access to your personal information where the developers can now access your: 

·         Name,

·         Profile picture,

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·         Networks,

·         User ID,

·         Friends  

·         Information you shared with anyone

You are also granting them permission to: 

·         Send you email ...

·         Post to your wall ... and ...

·         Access your data you or your friends post at any time

Add the fact that there is no way for you to unsubscribe and you will understand the extent of the problem. Visit the face book page “People Who Hate 21 Questions on Facebook” 1400 plus people cannot be wrong.

 

The point is that because a third of the Trinidad and Tobago population is actively using Facebook does not mean it is safe.  The best decision you could make is to resist invitations to access these games.  Your first and immediate benefit is that you save yourself tons of time.  More importantly, you will safeguard your information. 

Leave that to the people who think it takes to long to read an article like this.  They deserve it. 

If you are a parent, advise your child(ren), they can become the conduit for hackers to access your personal information.  Limit or better yet, eliminate the use of the Facebook applications.  Visis your Facebook privacy settings usually found in the dropdown box under your account and adjust your Facebook privacy settings immediately.

Be safe online, offline and stay blessed. 

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