Open Source Utilities For Facebook Privacy 154
dward90 writes "Two online projects will scan and edit Facebook privacy settings for maximum protection: ReclaimPrivacy (reclaimprivacy.org) and SaveFace (untangle.com). The article says: 'Several new applications have launched this week that are designed to easily reset a Facebook member's privacy settings, following new changes from the company that make a sizable chunk of profile content public by default when it was once kept under lock and key.'"
Is It Just Me ... (Score:5, Interesting)
It's really not that difficult. (Score:4, Interesting)
It only takes about 20 minutes to educate a neophyte, if they're willing to learn, how to lock down privacy on Facebook.... He said with a pained expression. One thing which never ceases to boggle my mind is the number of parents (and people in general) who really don't understand and don't CARE what information is out there, or what it can mean. ID theft, home intrusion, stalking, all that pretty much is "someone else's problem", producing enough SEP power to cloak an average sized nation.
While products like this are certainly useful, the bigger issue is education. If you're aware of the changes to FB and the like, setting security takes all of a minute. If you're unaware and someone tells you, and if you're not particularly inclined toward looking over security settings, it might take someone 10-20 minutes to go over them with you. If you just plain don't care, no amount of open or closed source software is going to make any difference whatsoever.
Re:Copy (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Is It Just Me ... (Score:1, Interesting)
In your rush to get first post, you failed to read the article and have now asked a question that you wouldn't need to ask. Had you spent 30 seconds scanning any one of the links instead of typing your post, you would have saved yourself from looking like an idiot.
Better luck next time.
Re:It's really not that difficult. (Score:3, Interesting)
It only takes about 20 minutes to educate a neophyte, if they're willing to learn, how to lock down privacy on Facebook....
Until Facebook changes it again. Two years ago, I had everything locked down to friends only. Since that time, they've forced profile picture, current city, home town, likes/interests, work history, education history (and approximate age by proxy), to be public. There are still options to prevent non-friends from seeing some of those things via Facebook, but the Facebook Connections API allows anyone on the internet access to all those things for every user (further confusing the issue, because people are "sure" they locked things down, and I have to argue with them to show them that they really don't). I'm curious whether a court will determine that providing fake privacy controls constitutes a "reasonable expectation of privacy", and smack Facebook hard in the near future.
Re:Open Source Warning (Score:4, Interesting)
I was in an amusing job interview the other day:
Interviewer: "So, I'll need to see your Facebook page"
Me: "I don't have one."
Interviewer: "I know it's probably not something that you want all employers to see , but we're not 'narcs', we just want to know if you're a 'culture' fit."
Me: "No, really. I don't have one. I never understood the draw."
Interviewer: "You know, this is really not the sort of attitude we look for in a potential hire."
Me: "...If you Google my name, you get one hit, and it's not Facebook."
Interviewer: "I'm not going to show anyone."
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.