How to beat 22 Web security threats
- — 06 May, 2009 13:37
4: PHACEBOOK PHISHING
Phishing has blossomed on social networks. Scammers trick users into following links that open official-looking Facebook login prompts. If you enter your username and password, the information is logged and your account is theirs.
The fix
As with other scams, avoid incautious clicking and you should be okay. And if you're ever asked for your password in the middle of a session, don't enter it. Manually navigate back to the home page instead, and then log in there if necessary.
5: USER-GROUP MARKETING
Facebook user groups are fun, but they can sometimes be cleverly disguised vehicles for marketing. When you click the Join link, you're effectively opting into a succession of pitches, adverts and marketing spiel.
Brad J Ward became suspicious when a Facebook group for his year at school seemed to be run by people unrelated to the institution. He then discovered that 400 other school groups for some reason had the same circle of administrators.
"Someone was setting themselves up to be the administrator for hundreds of groups, giving them the opportunity to send out mass messages or collect data," Ward says.
While they simply wanted to build up a large mailing list so they could pitch a college guidebook to them, it wasn't transparent that this was the case. "They could be misconstrued as an official university presence," Ward says.
The fix
Be selective in deciding which groups you join. If you aren't sure who runs a community, don't accept the request.
