Facebook Privacy: No Such Thing
Posted by Michelle Moquin on August 14th, 2014
Good morning!
Social Butterfly: I can’t believe that I never saw that Robin Williams flick. Thanks for the reminder. I’ll look forward to renting it. I found your other comment interesting as well. All I can say is that perhaps he was a different man many years ago when I met him. I really don’t know. I’m just grateful that I had the opportunity to spend some fun moments with him. :)
Craig, Grey, Rivera, Anonymous: Thank you.
Robert I: Thanks for the info. I have disagreed with so much of how FB drives their business. I kept avoiding it socially for the most part; just checking in every now and then. I am mostly on FB for my business and give as little info as I can in my profile. I am still figuring out if all of it is worth it, and currently my answer is “no.”
And now with this new “messenger app” that keeps popping up on my cell phone, that I can’t seem to get rid of it. Thankfully I learned just how bad it is, and didn’t download it.
For those of you who haven’t downloaded the app yet, I strongly suggest you don’t.
Here’s the write from Think Progress:
Android Users Flip Out Over New Facebook Messenger Privacy Rules
Users have been denouncing the Facebook’s forced migration to the Messenger app for private conversations since the company announced the move in May. But the seemingly creepy terms to which consumers must agree — such as letting the app make unauthorized calls — has sparked outrage over privacy concerns. And Facebook isn’t taking the blame.
For over a week, Facebook has been pushing users to download the new standalone Messenger app because it is getting rid of the feature in its regular application. Some users were notified that their in-app message function was disabled, and had to download the new app if they wanted to use the private chat service.
But Messenger’s user agreement terms for Android-run devices were seen by many as increasingly invasive and yet another way Facebook was making privacy rights irrelevant. Some of the questionable terms include permitting the app to make calls without the user’s knowledge, take pictures, and record audio and video at any time. The app also reserves the right to scroll through users’ contacts and call logs, as well as glean personal information stored on the mobile devices including data stored in other apps.
However, the social network says its not responsible for the mobile app’s liberal access terms; those came straight from Google. According to a Facebook post on the matter, the company isn’t allowed to write its own privacy terms for Android users.
“Almost all apps need certain permissions to run on Android, and we use these permissions to run features in the app. Keep in mind that Android controls the way the permissions are named, and the way they’re named doesn’t necessarily reflect the way the Messenger app and other apps use them,” Facebook wrote.
Facebook claims it has more freedom to shape policies for Apple’s mobile platform. So far, the app has reached over 4 million Android downloadsand hit number one in the iTunes store, while racking up thousands of bad reviews.
One Android user wrote, “Deleting this sh*t Can’t believe fb made me download this infringement on my personal privacy. No way am I keeping this on my tablet after its told me to agree to letting it take audio and video at whatever time? WHAT.”
Backlash against the app’s terms is just the latest privacy controversy Facebook has had to manage. The social network admitted in June that itperformed psychological experiments on users by manipulating their timelines. News of the experiments, which tried to alter users’ moodsbased on what they read, incited public furor over the company’s continuous push of privacy boundaries.
Moreover, Facebook and other tech companies have been under pressure to tighten their privacy policies domestically and abroad in the wake of former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s document leaks in 2013. Facebook is currently dueling with European lawmakers, and awaiting a European Union court to rule whether the company broke privacy laws when it gave the NSA access to German citizens’ profiles.
*F*F*B*
Credo: Signed. I am so sick of these thugs with guns killing innocent black boys, and getting away with murder. Someone tweeted, “What the hell is going on in Ferguson?” I want to know what the hell is going on in our country? I just read on the Huff Po of another young black man who was beat up, shot and killed. I am sickened by the racism in this country.
Kimball!!: So sweet to see you here!! Thank you for coming over and commenting. I just saw Lisa R. last night. Next time she’s visiting, we should all plan to get together. xo
Readers: I think this is a good place to end. Your turn. Blog me.
PS: Tomorrow, we’re back to being “Addicted to Koch“…unless something else comes up that I feel like posting instead.
Peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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August 14th, 2014 at 9:21 am
Lill on Guam#39(13Aug14) you on Guam are very concerned about how United Airlines is treating you. They have a monopoly on travel off the island to the mainlands so they don’t care about their safety reputation.
They fly their planes regardless of how safe they appear to be. When you hear the republican mantra telling you we don’t need government regulation just look to UAL and Guam.
You will see what happens when the 1% controls your access to a commodity. Profit is their only concern. Once they have a monopoly in an area of product or service they work to affect the laws so that they can limit their liability that product or service defect.
They do that by buying off the politicians to get them to limit their legal product or service liability. The republican party takes the money and then passes legislation limiting their those companies liability or the ability of the victim to get good legal assistance.
The republican party limits the victim’s ability to get good or any legal assistance by telling their idiot constituents that lawyers are gouging them so they are legislating what a lawyer can charge his client,
What that does is make it unprofitable for a lawyer take a case that could involve years of litigation on a percentage basis without getting paid anything from the client during that period. If the percent a lawyer can charge won’t make up for the risk of pursuing such a case in the event of loss, the lawyer won’t take your case.
Tort liability usually involves years of litigation against the big insurance companies. They want to limit the number of victims who can afford to sue them. Lawyers need the flexibility to be able to tell their potential clients what percentage they need from the winnings to compensate for the risk of taking a case without charging a fee until they win.
Since if they lose they get nothing, and if the victim can’t get a lawyer he/she gets nothing, it is only fair to allow the lawyer to set a reasonable percentage fee which is usually 40 to 60% depending on how long the lawyer knows from the type of case the average in years he will be waging the legal battle without compensation.
It is still a win/win for the victim because 100% of nothing is nothing and that would be the victim’s position if he had to pay the lawyer for his work for 2 to 3 years fighting those insurance companies. So the next time you feel your legislator is fighting for you because he is passing legislation to limit the percent a lawyer can charge you know that you are being conned.
Your legislator is in the pocket of the insurance lobby and he is limiting the percentage a lawyer can charge you for a Tort case to make it financially prohibitive for the lawyer to take you on for free until the case is settled or won outright.
Hence, you will have a law not aimed at limiting the percentage a lawyer can charge you, but really a law limiting the quality of legal assistance you can get, if any, to pursue your legal grievance. That is a win/win for the insurance companies.
Therefore companies like UAL can afford to take chances with the lives of its customers because the benefits in terms of profits outweigh the potential loses in terms of Tort damages the victims or their families can pursue.
To corporations human lives are unimportant only profit is important. Look at the definition of a corporation. The Charter of every corporation is to Maximize its profits for its stockholders.
The highest Court in the land SCOTUS gave such a group “human status” so as to allow them to poison, maim, and kill real humans in the name of maxing profits for its stockholders. The members of that court that voted in favor of giving corporations that ability were saying that money is more important than life. They took the money from the corporation lobby to expose human lives to greed. We know them as S.T.A.R.K..
History will record them as the most corrupt members of SCOTUS in the history of that court. Remember these names S.calia, T.homas, A.lioto, R.oberts, K.ennedy. Their names will be infamous.
August 14th, 2014 at 12:47 pm
Please forgive me Lill on Guam for mistakenly using your title when I posted Article #1 today. I meant to address it to you and made the mistake of putting it in the Name block.
So people that entry was made by me to Lill of Guam in response to her entry yesterday or earlier today.
August 14th, 2014 at 2:05 pm
Don #14 August 13: (The sickest story I have read on MM Blog in 7 years)
Don, As good a name as any, I am glad that your Sick, Sadistic, Serial Killer Cousin committed suicide. I am glad that he is not breathing the same air as I am anymore. May he rot in Hell.
I am not impressed by his wealth at all. I am however wondering if he was a blood relative of yours and passed on the Psychopathic gene to you and you will take over the family business of mass torture and murder because you feel entitled because of the fact that you and your Cousin have great wealth.
I know he left you more than $138 million. That was one million for each of his 138 personal guards and employees who had blood on their hands and took off the moment they were paid. You, on the other hand received $450 million, but who is counting?
It is true that your relative began his sick career at a young age and at first he killed over 200 innocent people per year then slowed down and never reached his goal of 4,000. I feel so sorry for him.
Are you proud that he left a meticulous detailed account of his life including bribes, assaults, petty burglaries, rapes, murders and political meetings with the elites of politics?
In his private accounting to he bragged about paying off cops from the locals to the FBI to many in the secret cops of this country. Did that give you a hard-on or any ideas of your how you might spend your future?
What gave you the morbid wish to view the Torture Chambers and 2,000 graves with place for a thousand more? You write this with pride in his meticulous murdering abilities while this monster lived.
You say that you called key members of the family together and showed them the bodies and said that you would have to call the authorities or those people would die. They said that it could tie up his estate for decades. They said it would be better to just get rid of the bodies on his estate and forget about the rest. Your entire family seems to have an obsession with money over the lives and deaths of hundreds, even thousands of innocent victims of this maniac serial killer. It is also illegal for you not to call the Authorities and tell them what you know — even if it affects the distribution of his wealth to your relatives.
There is a right and wrong that should be known to every human and your family seems to be missing that. Money can cloud ones conscience, but this is sickness on a grand scale. Your point is that “some people should be allowed to kill themselves.”
Your cousin should have died of SIDS as a baby and not had to wait 62 years practicing his Sadistic power trip on even one poor individual. My condolences go out to the many victims in this story.
May you drop dead at an early age of the most painful disease imaginable. . . Surely you have been touched by the evil this man brought to this planet.
HOWIE
August 14th, 2014 at 4:19 pm
Michelle: Never been on any “social network” site other than this blog. Always been hesitant to put my private info out there, not being sure of their motive. Zuckerman didn’t become a billionaire just because he provided a forum. Can you believe that guy sold out to the NSA? Maybe he didn’t know, “Right”. Very good advice to not download that app. It is bad enough that the NSA records every phone conversation, but that’s to protect us from ourselves. National Security at it’s finest.
August 14th, 2014 at 7:01 pm
The Last Great Stand » UPDATED: IF YOU HAVE FACEBOOK MESSENGER ON YOUR PHONE, You Are Being Recorded Even When Not On The Phone!
thelastgreatstand.com
August 14th, 2014 at 7:03 pm
Two ways to avoid using Facebook Messenger aol.it/1mOhSXF #apple
August 14th, 2014 at 7:03 pm
Two ways to avoid using Facebook Messenger | TUAW: Apple news, reviews and how Facebook’s new Messenger app might not be the evil privacy destroyer some are claiming it is, but the app is still being forced on users whether they
http://www.tuaw.com
August 15th, 2014 at 12:08 am
C’mon Howie be honest. When has a few thousand or million people been worth a billion dollars? I originally wanted to save those people.
I still planned to save them my own way. But since you outed me by telling how much I received, I have no choice but to let them die and get the hell out of here.
So smarty pants, it was you who condemned those 2,000 or so poor souls to die. I hope they don’t suffer.
August 15th, 2014 at 6:56 am
Don#8, you are one sick motherfucker.
August 15th, 2014 at 7:07 am
New Student Scams Exploit Need for Cash
Student life is a challenging experience for most people — and as first semesters get under way, student scams could make it a whole lot tougher.
Although we’ve written about college scams before in 5 College Scam Tricks That Will Hurt Your Wallet, Your Education or Your Reputation, crooks are constantly looking for new con tricks.
For example…
The Card Cracking Scam
Although this could affect anyone, students are said to be the main targets for this scam in which they receive a message on a social media site inviting them to allow their bank account to be used to process a check.
The victim is promised half the proceeds but, of course, they must provide their account details to the scammer for the check to be deposited.
Many students are usually hard up, so they’re easily lured into the offer of what seems like money-for-nothing.
The crooks create a plausible excuse for also needing the victim’s debit card personal identification number (PIN).
Then they deposit a counterfeit check into the victim’s account and swiftly withdraw most of it using a forged debit card.
In some cases, victims actually met with the scammers at an ATM and handed over their cards to the crooks.
Once the bank discovers the check is a fake, the student is responsible for any money that’s been withdrawn.
In yet other instances, students have been tempted into selling their card numbers and PINs in nightclubs.
The crooks deposit a counterfeit check and withdraw the entire amount, telling the students they can report their cards as stolen after a short time so they won’t then be responsible for the loss from their account.
Of course, this conspiracy is illegal and the student could end up in court as a result.
Action: Keep your card details to yourself!
Bogus Help Desk Message
Meanwhile, back on campus, there’s another alert.
Several colleges report that students are receiving malicious emails that appear to come from either the college IT Department’s Help Desk or the college library.
The Help Desk message, seen most recently at the University of Florida, tells users they have to change their college webmail information. It supplies a link that enables hackers to collect sign-on details, which may be used for ID theft.
Similarly, the library scam, which resurfaced recently at University of Nebraska, asks recipients to validate their sign-on information, which again is used for ID theft.
Action: It’s unlikely that college departments would send out messages like this, though they may email you with a reminder to change your password.
Don’t use any links in emails like this. Log on to your account independently to check for change requirements or give the relevant department a quick phone call.
If you think you’ve already been caught out, contact the college IT department.
No Talent
Students are also being targeted by bogus “talent scouts” claiming to work for a legitimate men’s magazine.
The scammers say that the magazine is planning to produce a special college issue and invites female students to submit photos of themselves.
Over a series of subsequent messages, the scammer gives the impression the victim has been selected to be featured in the mag, and requests further, more revealing photos.
The crook also suggests that the more pictures the young woman submits, the more likely they are to be published.
The crook may even ask for some real risque photos to help editors select the final “candidates.”
In fact, the photos are subsequently used for extortion — victims are told they’ll appear on Facebook and elsewhere on the Internet.
Action: This is a college variation of a well-known scam. Simply don’t provide to anyone photos that you wouldn’t want the general public to see.
And, of course, also check independently with the supposed intended publisher that the request is genuine.
Advance Fees
Returning to the theme of money-making, the University of North Carolina and Wingate University report a student variation of the well-known advance fee scam, in which the victim receives a check and then has to wire part of the payment to a third party.
In this latest incident, students were offered part-time work supposedly paying $300 a week.
It’s not clear exactly what the job is supposed to be but students who show an interest receive a check for around $2,000 and then have to wire all but $300 to another recipient.
As usual — and as in the case we started this issue with — the check turns out to be bogus and the student is left with a debt to clear.
Action: Don’t even bother banking checks that come with a request to wire the balance. It’s 100% a student scam. And never wire money to someone you don’t know.
Alert of the Week: If you get an email supposedly from the U.S. Postal Service about a missed package delivery — beware!
Don’t click on the attachment that claims to be a label that you take to your local Post Office to collect the item. It’s a virus.
If you’re not in when the mailman or woman tries to deliver a package that can’t be left in your mailbox or on the step, they’ll leave a printed note. USPS doesn’t email messages like this.
August 15th, 2014 at 7:10 am
I try to be very careful with my online activities. I look at it as being a bulletin board in a public square where anyone in the world can see it.
Nice, wonderful people to the biggest creeper. By thinking along these terms I don’t post my children or anything personal on them. It’s a good check for me.
August 15th, 2014 at 7:11 am
You’re absolutely right…there is no privacy with facebook or any other social media website. In reality there is no privacy when you enter the world of the internet. Your footprints are left everywhere you travel.
I’m the father of 3 wonderful boys and I describe it to them as it is…a life advertising time suck. I think the disconnect with these sites comes when parents don’t teach their kids the long term affects of posting stuff that could be used against them…colleges, jobs etc.
August 15th, 2014 at 7:12 am
Smarty pants, my ass! You had no intention of saving anyone. They died with your sick relative. How dare you put the blame on me. For that I will really out you wherever you go to hide.
Your story will be in ALL the international news media as the most prolific serial killer in modern history.
You do carry the serial killer sociopath genes I spoke of, you sick fuck. I wouldn’t doubt if you were by your Cousin’s side for some of the grotesque murders.
You will have to look behind you for the rest of your life to see if the Authorities are after you no matter where you hide out. You will never be able to enjoy your blood money.
What do you think thia blog is, a confessional for mass-murderers?
HOWIE
August 15th, 2014 at 7:14 am
This is one reason I write under the alias. My Fb account, Twitter account, and even my blog are all registered to “Kevin,” who, incidentally, even has his own e-mail at GMX. Of course, there are a few chinks in this armor: all of my friends on Fb are actually friends and know my true identity; my LinkedIn account is under my own name (for obvious professional reasons) so any updates posted by Kevin to LinkedIn are clearly identified with me.
The fact that I post under an alias should also give one pause. How many others out there are using aliases? (My DW for one!) So, it is important to ensure that you really know with whom you are connecting via these social networking sites as well.
Obviously, due to my alias, it is extremely rare for me to receive a friend request, so I give much thought to whomever I do add and generally personally invite those people.
I ensure that they know who I am by including a personal note with the request explaining my identity and sharing something that only a friend or acquaintance could know.
Please note, I don’t recommend that everyone have an alias–that would be terribly confusing–but I definitely agree that one needs to be very conscious of what they post. I should also note here that use of an alias does not afford one absolute anonymity.
Beyond the fact that eventually somebody, somewhere will know your true identity, there is the business of meta-data through which any type of nefarious activity may always be traced back to an originating source.
August 15th, 2014 at 7:15 am
Everything’s on my facebook. But that’s because I’m an open book. I have like 2 things I consider secret, and other than that, I don’t care who knows what. Also, I’m not the name-calling type anyhow, so I don’t have that problem.
By the same token, whatever I’m doing it’s okay for whoever to see- with the exception of intimate stuff with significant other.
A friend told me of a case where a guy was on probation for DUI, and not supposed to drink. He told his probation officer that he was going to a family event. But he was tagged at a football game with a beer in his hand.
We’re not in Kansas anymore.
August 15th, 2014 at 7:16 am
I’m always talking with my personal children, my students — and even my mom — about being careful in our digital world. I talk with my students often about not using location information in their blog posts.
This can include school name or places you frequently visit (especially if specific to an area). On Facebook photos can reveal location information as well. There is a lot to think about. I’m always reminded of this when I meet up with old friends and they start discussing all they know about what I’ve been up to from reading my Facebook page. It’s easy to forget so thanks for the reminder.
August 15th, 2014 at 7:18 am
Be careful about breaking up with someone in person. Social media may be “rude” but getting your face punched in by an abusive, angry boyfriend that you thought “deserved to be told in person” is worse.
At the very least, when you go to personally break up with someone, make sure someone ELSE knows where you are, how long you expect to be gone, or is NEARBY in case you need a quick escape or help.
Been there, done that, NOT doing it again.
August 15th, 2014 at 7:23 am
Michelle, I recently came across your blog and I have been reading your commentary for about a year now. I want to express my admiration of your writing skill and ability to make readers read from the beginning to the end.
I also now appreciate that you don’t censor. At first I thought it was insensitive to others to allow some of the inane, rude stuff to appear. But now I see the sanity in your “madness.”
This is what people are thinking or saying all day long. Why not provide a place where the rest of us can discover what they are thinking and doing.
Thank you for making this blog a source for something for everyone.
August 15th, 2014 at 7:24 am
There is no such thing as privacy on Facebook. Everyone should be responsible with what they are posting on Facebook. As much as possible, people should refrain from posting personal information such as contact info and address, or posting offensive remarks and photos.
I have heard that some companies check a person’s Facebook profile and there were instances when some weren’t hired because these persons were not acting professionally online.
August 15th, 2014 at 7:30 am
Hafa adai, Michelle:
I know how you like to tout the successes of women so I thought this would be a good spot to highlight a great gal on Guam.
================
VIDEO: Rear Adm. Babette Bolivar Takes Command; Guam Welcomes First Woman to Island’s Top Military Post
http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47839:guam-welcomes-first-woman-to-guams-top-military-post&catid=45:guam-news&Itemid=156
Guam – Rear Adm. Babette “Bette” Bolivar has taken over command of Joint Region Marianas, the first woman to occupy the top military post on Guam.
She took over from Rear Adm. Tilghman Payne at a Change of Command Ceremony this morning at Guam High in Agana Heights.
Boilvar arrives on island from Silverdale, Washington, where she served as the Commander of Navy Region Northwest. Payne will be retiring after more than 30 years service in the Navy.
Among the regional leaders in attendance at the Change of Command Ceremony were Guam Governor Eddie Calvo and former Palau Vice President Elias Chin.
For Pictures: http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47839:guam-welcomes-first-woman-to-guams-top-military-post&catid=45:guam-news&Itemid=156
August 15th, 2014 at 7:39 am
Obama has ordered the Amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu “Iron Nickel” (LHA 5), the U.S. Navy’s only remaining LHA class ship to play a more active role in making a statement that the US is not ceding any of its authority in the Pacific to the Chinese.
It will be making it rounds after a brief stop in Guam, the last homeland before it heads full steam into the Pacific and a possible standoff with the Chinese navy.
August 15th, 2014 at 8:02 am
Michelle, did you see the cops in Ferguson? They were dressed like they were in a war with camouflaged fatigues, tanks, and huge automatic weapons all pointed at the black citizenry of Ferguson.
Why? Because they were protesting the cold blooded murder of an 18 year by a rouge cop.
It was like the 60′s all over again. I maybe white but this is just wrong. I hear so many of my friends and relatives twisting their rhetoric to justify this racist behavior.
I just don’t understand my race sometimes. Why is it so hard to admit that we have some hardcore racists among us?
August 15th, 2014 at 9:31 am
Michelle: March,2012 I received a letter from the IRS stating that due to some inconsistencies in filing for my tax return that it would be a little late. Trouble was that I did not file for a return, immediately I contacted them and reported fraud.
You cannot believe the mess this resulted in: All Banks, Immigration, FTC, Treasury Dept., DMV, voters registration, Credit Rating, anything to do with and that’s all I can think of right now. Identity Theft is NO JOKE. People guard your social security number with your life, and never place it on the web or give it over the phone.
Mine was apparently stolen from a doctors questionnaire form. This was one of the the biggest hassles of my life getting this all straighten out and after two years and hundreds of phone calls and letters I am still having repercussions. Guard your Identity, especially your SS#. I was told that S. Florida has a very high incidence of identity theft. What a nightmare this was, and I didn’t even lose anything tangible.
August 15th, 2014 at 9:35 am
#23 is written and posted by Al.
Howie used my computer earlier today and didn’t change the name back to Al. I, Al had the identity theft.