Facebook. Social Networks Safety

Social networks such as Facebook now attract millions of users, owing to simple communication and simplicity find new friends. But is all personal information users closed? Heated debates on the subject starts when Facebook made the data available to users of search engines (such as Google and Yahoo!).

Growth of database users Facebook began with a Harvard University in 2004 and so far the number of accounts is 42 million. In theory, users data hidden from the outsiders. Options security systems can hide personal information or the whole account of the people with whom they are in one school or work in one team. This gives more protection to which private data than in many other social networks. But after the Facebook announced the opening of user data for search engines, you can confidently say that the project which was initially used to communicate students completely changed its original purpose and has become a huge online directory.

A study conducted a month ago (august 2007) in the British firm Sophos, specializing in IT security, revealed that many users are very imprudent to access its security and privacy of their personal data. Sophos has created a false account to Facebook and invited to friends 200 users, 41% of which are pleased to have agreed and gave us full access to their data. Some data were so detailed that you can easily determine the identity of the person and guess his passwords. Sophos said that despite the fact that Facebook users gave very flexible system for the protection of personal data, users are doing everything possible to not to use it.

Next cite several examples of how the vulnerability of personal information in social networks account played a joke on its felines owner. Former Inspector General of Police had to reopen the case woman whose purse was stolen in a London nightclub - thieves using her name, found her account on a social networking and took advantage of information is there to pay her credit card.

In July, Oxford University student Alex Hill said that the University was accused of promiscuity and violating all the rules of the academic institution. The reason for the charges became photos stored on his Facebook account. Student Society now advises all pupils to tighten access to their profiles on Facebook, but again many continue to grant access to its accounts to all those who have put themselves in the column University of Oxford.

Last month political resonance was caused by the fact that the 17-year-old daughter Republicans Rudy Giuliani joined the group in Facebook, which supports Democrat Barack Obama. All ended that she had to delete its account.