Q: Is Facebook safe to use?

A: The answer to that question is a definite maybe. For those not in the know, Facebook is a Web site that describes itself as a “social utility”. In essence, Facebook makes it very easy to form online networks with people who share your interests, or who live in your area. Facebook has become one of the latest Internet fads and people are flocking to it in droves. Naturally, there are concerns about whether or not it’s safe to use…

Will Facebook infect my computer or make it blow up?

Probably not. The worst behavior I’ve seen from Facebook so far is that some of their java scripts lock up my browser and force me to restart it. There have been cases where people have been infected through third party applications offered within Facebook, and through files that have been shared amongst friends there. If you don’t install applications willy nilly and you don’t accept files, you should be okay.

The best advice I can give is to make sure that you’re surfing with a Web browser other than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, which can charitably described as one massive security vulnerability. If there is anything bad lurking in the wings at Facebook, it’s most likely going to use the ActiveX security holes in Microsoft’s browser to infect your operating system. I suggest using Firefox or Opera as your browsers instead. Mac users don’t have to worry about any of this and should feel free to thumb their noses at Windows users at this point.

Will I meet freaky and dangerous people on Facebook?

Yes. Yes you will. The Net is full of people who are waiting to rip you off, steal your identity, run up your credit cards, and strike up inappropriate relationships with your children. I’m really not kidding about this.

I have an acquaintance that runs a photography studio in Edmonton. I’m aware that she owns a medium format digital camera system that is worth over $50,000.00, thanks to the fact that we participate in the same photography forums. I can see from her status in Facebook that she has just finished hiking a mountain in Europe and that she has retired to the hot tub with a few cocktails. Were I a dishonest person, this would be a heck of a good time to let myself into her home studio in Edmonton (address also listed in Facebook) and upgrade my camera system, so to speak.

I’ll be utterly amazed if all of her stuff is still there when she gets home. Posting this kind of information online is blatantly stupid.

Identity theft is a big concern for Facebook users. Identity thieves have definitely noticed how popular the service is and you can find them lurking waiting for people to slip up and post personal information about themselves. Once you give up enough information these scumbags can start assuming your identity and literally become you. This is a type of crime that is growing explosively thanks to people who compulsively blurt out their personal information wherever they go online.

If you do decide to sign up with Facebook, be extremely careful about what you put into your profile. Do NOT use your real birth date. I’d recommend lying about the city where you live. I’d even recommend lying about where you work. And for crying out loud, NEVER list your home address. Why? Because Facebook makes your profiles searchable by major search engines such as Google. I can use Google to search Facebook to find people who live near me. If I know your date of birth, where you work, and information about your family, you’ve just made it very easy for me to assume your identity. Even if you haven’t posted your home address, it’s pretty easy for me to look you up in an online directory and then go root through your garbage at two in the morning looking for your credit card numbers and banking info (hopefully you’re shredding these – if not, you’re now officially up a certain creek without a paddle).

As to kids using Facebook, there have already been documented cases of online bullying using the service. The staff at Facebook tries to stomp on it whenever possible, but the sheer numbers of people using the service makes this impossible to keep on top of. And because of the anonymity the Net affords people it’s hard to tell if the young boy chatting up your daughter in a Facebook group really is a young boy and not a greasy male in his late fifties. I’m not letting my daughter anywhere near this site (or whatever replaces it) when she reaches her teen years, and whenever she whines about it she gets to read another chapter of Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.

Are pedophiles using Facebook? I wouldn’t be surprised. They’ve proved amazingly adept at adopting each new technology that comes along, and there’s definitely a ton of them out there. If you don’t believe me, go into a chat room for young teens and pretend to be a twelve-year-old girl. You’ll be horrified at how quickly some slimy older freak will virtually slide up next to you and start trying to talk you into stripping for him on the Web cam. I’ve actually done this and I’ve been latched onto by an older male every single time.

So should you use Facebook?

I’d recommend against it. Not because it’s going to destroy your home computer, but because of the ease with which Facebook could facilitate identity theft. The service is set up in such a way that it offers a smorgasbord of information to identity thieves. You’re constantly prodded to give up more and more info about yourself without realizing it. This is incredibly dangerous. If you think I’m exaggerating, I’d encourage you to take the Identity Theft and Online Fraud course I offer through Neutral Hills Adult Learning. I guarantee that I can scare you silly inside of two hours.

I only use Facebook because my customers expect me to know something about it. Given my druthers, I’d give Facebook a wide berth, as I’m not keen on letting someone else run up my credit cards (that’s MY job).  I certainly wouldn’t let my daughter use it, at least not without me sitting three feet away making the evil dad face.

So there’s my 2 cents.

Sean McCormick
A+, Network+, Linux+, CTT+, I-Net+
MCSA, MCSE, LPIC1