Entries Tagged 'Internet Safety' ↓

Couples Air Their Dirty Laundry on Facebook

Who needs a marriage counselor when you have Facebook? At least that’s the thinking for many couples who use the site as a way to share their private arguments in public. An article from the New York Times discusses why some couple use Facebook to air their grievances with their spouse, mostly to air “their side of the story” as if Facebook were a court of public opinion, but it also cautions that sharing arguments online is a good way to lose the support of friends and family, which can then weaken the relationship further.

Facebook Has “No Objection” to Panic Button

According to the BBC, Facebook has told British government officials that the company has no objection to installing a “panic button” to help users report sexual predators. The “panic button” discussion intensified recently with the murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall, who met her killer on Facebook. Facebook will enter more serious discussions about the safety feature on April 12th.

Outgoing FTC Commissioner Criticizes Facebook and Google

In a blistering indictment of Internet companies such as Google and Facebook, Pamela Jones Harbour, the outgoing commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, said “Even the most respected and popular online companies, the ones who claim to respect privacy, continue to launch products where the guiding privacy policy seems to be, ‘Throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks.’”

Harbour went on to say, “I realize that companies continue to take a testing-the-water approach to privacy because no regulatory agency has sent a clear message that this behavior is unacceptable. I would like to see the commission take the position of intolerance toward companies that push the privacy envelop, then backtrack and modify their offerings after facing consumer and regulator backlash.”

While her comments do not reflect the official position of the FTC, they are a strong reminder that government regulators haven’t completely rolled over on the issue of consumer privacy, which is definitely a good thing for consumers.

How Much Information Do You Share Online?

In a follow-up post to an article in yesterday’s New York Times about privacy online, Katherine Schulten asks students to consider their social networking profiles and whether or not they’re giving too much personal information away. Sharing too much information online can open up the possibility of identity theft and other cyber crimes that can cause significant reputation damage.

Massive Spam Run Hits Facebook

From PCWorld: “Facebook’s 400 million users have been targeted by a spam run that could infect their computers with malicious software designed to steals passwords and other data, according to security researchers at McAfee.” If you get an e-mail from Facebook saying that they have reset your password and you must download a file to retrieve it, do not open the file. Facebook will never automatically reset your password for you, they will require you to go through a process to change it. That is how you know that this is a spam attack.

Why You HAVE to Talk to Your Kids About Online Privacy

In an article for St. Louis Today, Dr. Bob Wilmott discusses why parents should talk to their kids about the Internet. From the article: “Are children mature enough to make good decisions about their online privacy? Most experts think that kids are smart enough by their early teens to know what, and who, to avoid. Younger kids, though, need more parental supervision — for instance, parents should make sure their children’s accounts are set to provide as little personal information as possible, and that their activity can be seen only by confirmed friends.”

With MyChild from ReputationDefender, we can help you monitor your child’s activity online by providing customized monthly reports tracking their name on the web. To learn more about MyChild, call one of our experienced Online Reputation Management Consultants today at 1-888-720-3332.

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Apple iPhone Will Let Users Unlock Doors?

With your Apple iPhone you can listen to music, watch movies, play games, and, soon enough, even unlock your doors. In a newly published patent application, Apple revealed plans for what some are already calling the iKey, which would use a pin code to unlock electronic locks in a user’s car, home, or office.

PleaseRobMe.com helped show the social media world the folly of using location-based social networking websites when you were away from your home, but Gowalla and Foursquare may be the least of your worries if someone can steal your iPhone and have keys to your home. For its part, Apple has included security features that could trigger an alarm for unauthorized use of the iKey.

UK Government Pushes Facebook for ‘Panic Button’

Following the murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall by a man whom she met on Facebook, the UK government is pushing Facebook and other social networking websites to include a “panic button” that would help users get immediate law enforcement assistance if they believe they are being victimized. Facebook first discussed the possibility of adding a panic button, similar to the kind found on the social networking website Bebo, back in December.

Conan O’Brien Invited to the Wedding of his New Best Friend on Twitter

After turning 19-year-old Sarah Killen into an Internet celebrity overnight by selecting her as the first person that he would follow on Twitter, Conan O’Brien has received an invitation to join Killen and her fiance John Slowik, Jr. at their wedding. Considering the positive response that Conan has gotten for his interaction with Killen thus far, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him don a tux and make a speech for the young couple. In fact, he could probably turn it into a web-only video special. Who needs The Tonight Show, right?

Twitter Takes on Phishing Scams

As Twitter has grown, so too has the website’s phishing problem. In particular, the recent spate of “Is this you?” direct message phishing attacks have prompted Twitter to rexamine how it’s protecting users from scammers. After analyzing the problem, Twitter has come up with a few fixes that they hope will make it harder for phishing attacks to spread. For one thing, Twitter will be rerouting all direct messages through its anti-phishing service before allowing them to be sent. Also, Twitter will be replacing bit.ly and other short URLs with their own, twit.tl, to signify that the link is secure.

Classmates.com Faces Privacy Lawsuit

In an attempt to play catch up with Facebook, Classmates.com opened up its public content to sharing on other social networking websites. Ironically, this move did help Classmates.com did catch up with Facebook in one way; now, both websites are facing class-action privacy lawsuits. According to Wired, the lawsuit alleges that Classmates.com switched their privacy policy so egregiously that they have violated Washington state and federal laws. Here is a PDF of the suit – http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2010/03/classmates.pdf.

Job Hunters Struggle to Get Past the Automatic Job Application

This article from the Miami Herald discusses the frustration that job seekers have in applying for jobs through websites and in-store kiosks instead of through pen and paper applications. When applying for a job online, there are a number of preset filters that make it impossible for many job seekers to even get their application seen. This makes the job hunting process seem futile and causes some people to give up on themselves. One of the things that could help individuals who are unemployed cut through the clutter and connect directly with an employer is proactive personal branding online.

Sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter offer valuable networking possibilities for users that understand how they work. Additionally, setting up a blog can help you get your name out there and distinguish yourself as a respected voice in your industry.

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A couple of weeks ago, Mashable reported that Twitter had reached an impressive new milestone: Twitter users were sending more than 50 million tweets a day. Unfortunately for Twitter, however, this number masked a more important issue. As Twitter continues to grow and become a more permanent part of our social lives on the web, what steps has the company taken to address the ongoing problem of spammers, scammers, and other cybercriminals?

In a twist of social media karma, just a couple weeks after Twitter hit its 50 million tweets a day milestone, this very problem manifested itself in the form of a widespread Twitter phishing scheme. While the attack seems to have dwindled now that Twitter has frozen the majority of the compromised accounts, the fact that it was able to grow as quickly as it did in such a short period of time is disconcerting to say the least.

In Twitter’s defense, however, most phishing scams only become a problem if users fall for them. Furthermore, given the sophistication of modern phishing attacks, it’s not hard to see why users are getting tricked. To this end, we here at ReputationDefender thought it would be the perfect time to help users understand some of the ways to recognize and avoid phishing scams.

• Ask yourself, “Who is sending me this message?”

The thing that made Twitter’s recent phishing attack so effective is the fact that the spam messages appeared to come from a user’s friend. The built-in sense of trust within the Twitter community (and social media communities in general) has made it very easy for scammers to trick people into clicking on shared links. That is why it is important to ask yourself, “Who is sending me this message?”


If you’re receiving a very generic direct message on Twitter from someone that you never get direct messages from, that should raise some flags. Furthermore, if the person that you’re receiving the direct message from is only someone that you don’t know very well, or know only through Twitter, ask why they might be sending you a message now. If you take a moment to consider the source of the message, you may able to avoid the phishing attack entirely.

• Ask yourself, “What does this message mean?”

As I have already alluded to, the content of a phishing message on Twitter is often generic. In the most recent attacks, scammers used a variation of the phrase “somebody wrote something about you in this blog” or “this you???”. While it is certainly tempting to follow up on these links (why wouldn’t you want to know what somebody may have said about you online), if you take a moment to consider the message, you might figure out why it’s a bad idea to keep clicking.

If a friend were really sending you a message to let you know they found something about you online, would they tell you in such a generic way? Surely, they would give you some clue as to where it is you appear and in what context. If not, then they’re pretty poor friends. If you’re not sure that the link your friend is sending is authentic, before you click on it, try and contact them through some other means to verify the content.

• Ask yourself, “Is this the right website?”

The most important thing you can do to avoid becoming the victim of a phishing scam on Twitter, or anywhere else for that matter, is to learn to recognize phony websites. In the case of the recent Twitter phishing attacks, users were tricked into giving up their log-in credentials because the site they were taken to looked just like Twitter. If they had taken a moment to look at the domain name of the site in their browser address bar, however, they would have seen that it wasn’t actually Twitter.

Whenever you’re using the web, it is important to take stock of where you actually are. Scammers are very adept at making websites seem authentic, but there are always signs that separate the phony sites from the real thing. Knowing what to look for can save you the embarrassment of getting caught on a phisher’s hook.

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West Virginia House of Delegates Passes Cyberbullying Legislation

The West Virginia House of Delegates has passed a bill making it a criminal offense to “use a fake name to post online language meant to cause emotional or physical injury.” The legislation still has to pass in the senate, but it passed in the House with a 92-3 vote. West Virginia isn’t the first state to consider making cyberbullying a crime and as it becomes more of an issue, I would not be surprised to see another effort at creating a federal law, similar to the one attempted by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez.

Social Media Helps Spin Phony Bridal Expo in Boston

In Boston, brides and wedding vendors are feeling embarrassed after learning that a bridal show they were planning to attend was nothing but a sham. In addition, the con artists who set up the phony event have defrauded dozens of vendors of thousands of dollars. The criminals used Facebook, Twitter, and other social media websites to enhance the legitimacy of the show, proving that just because you read about it online, doesn’t mean that it’s true.

What Does It Take for Facebook to Give Up Your Info?

A man is claiming to have uncovered internal documents from Facebook and Comcast that detail each company’s policies on turning over user information to the law enforcement community. Obviouly, there is nothing illegal about either Facebook or Comcast’s policies (companies are legally bound to provide information if ordered to do so by a court), but the information is interesting to read regardless.

Google Enhances Privacy Features on Google Chrome Beta

Perhaps in an effort to shore up lingering feelings of distrust over the privacy fiasco of Google Buzz, Google has added enhanced security features to their Windows version of Google Chrome. The improved privacy features allow for “better browser cookie managment,” which is something that is definitely useful for users who wish to inhibit data mining of their surfing habits.

How Prepared is the United States for a Cyberattack?

According to the New York Times, “the Obama administration on Tuesday plans to declassify portions of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, created during the Bush administration as a secret effort to harness the nation’s defensive and offensive strategies for protecting commercial and government networks.” The effort is intended to show that the US government is prepared for a large-scale cyberattack (something that many computer security experts say is a distinct possibility in the future).

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In today’s Reputation Management, Internet Privacy, and Social Media Quick Hits, we learn why it is important to think before you post a joke on Facebook, and why privacy seems to be a much more important issue in Europe than in the United States.

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Australian Government Seeks Answers for Internet Safety Concerns

20 Australian high school students have been suspended for establishing a Facebook page mocking one of their teachers. This latest incident comes on the heels of two other Facebook-related incidents in Australia, which has prompted the Prime Minister to consider appointing an Internet ombudsmen to act as a liaison between Internet companies and the government to resolve issues of cyberbullying, hacking, and other cyber crimes.

Bug Temporarily Reroutes Facebook Messages

For a brief period of time yesterday evening, some Facebook users had their messages accidentally rerouted to different people. The bug, which Facebook says was fixed by engineers quickly, only affected a small percentage of users. Nevertheless, how embarrassing would it be to find out a personal message was rerouted to a total stranger.

Twitter Phishing Attacks Claim UK Bank as Victim

Over night, a number of high-profile Twitter accounts were compromised by a phishing attack causing pornographic direct messages to be sent to the infected user’s followers. One of the Twitter accounts compromised was the UK bank First Direct. The attack underscores the importance of maintaining tight security, using strong passwords, not clicking on any suspicious links, and being prepared with a communications strategy should an attack occur.

European Union Voices Objections Over Google Street View

The European Union is again criticizing Google over its popular but controversial Street View program. According to CNET, the EU has sent Google a letter insisting that the company “warn towns and cities before it snaps photos” and “cut the time it keeps the original photos online from a year to six months.” For its part, Google says it does everything within its power to preserve the anonymity of individuals who might be caught on camera and that, furthermore, the pictures Google takes for Street View are all on public property.

Google’s Italian Court Case Was Lose-Lose

The European Union’s latest objection over Street View is just the latest problem for Google in Europe. In a PCWorld article, Jared Newman examines the recent Italian court decision that found three Google executives in violation of privacy laws for not working faster to remove a web video of three teens bullying a mentally disabled child. In his editorial, Newman argues that, even if the Google execs were found not guilty, the outcome was always going to be lose-lose for Google.

University Professor Suspended Over Joke on Facebook

A university professor has been suspended indefinitely after making a joke on her Facebook page about hiring a hitman to shoot her students. The Facebook postings, which were intended to be humorous, were seen by administrators as a legitimate threat to student safety. In light of a recent shooting at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, the administrators may have been right to be suspicious. If they hadn’t acted, and the professor was serious, they surely would have faced criticism for not taking the threat seriously.

On the Internet, it can be difficult to tell if someone is joking, particularly when the issue at hand involves the threat of violence. As demonstrated in this case, as well as in the case of a man who was banned from a UK airport for life after making a joke on Twitter, it is important for social media users to be extremely considerate of what they post online.

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