Facebook Scare Tactics Knocked by Security Pro

January 1, 2011

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/facebookscaretacticsknockedbysecuritypro

P. Mello Jr. P. Mello Jr. – Fri Dec 31, 10:17 am ET

Have you received a warning from Facebook that your account protection is " very

low? " Don't panic. Your security settings may be stronger than Facebook would

lead you to believe -- and that's ticked off one security expert. " The

suggestion that users' accounts currently have a protection status of 'very low'

is entirely misleading and stinks of scare tactics, " declared Graham Cluley, a

senior technology consultant with security software maker Sophos.

Facebook has been contacting its members for several weeks now with its " very

low " security protection warnings. In the alerts, the company includes a link.

Click the link and you're taken to a page that requests additional personal

information about you. Sound familiar? This is exactly the tactic used by

Internet highwaymen to steal sensitive information from unwitting web users and

plant malicious software on their computers.

" With fake antivirus (also known as scareware) attacks becoming an ever-growing

problem (they attempt to trick you into believing your computer has a security

problem when it doesn't), some security-conscious Facebook users might worry

that this is a similarly-styled assault, designed to scare you into taking

perhaps unwise actions, " Cluley wrote at Sophos's Naked Security blog.

In order to increase your account's security protection, Facebook asks for an

alternative e-mail address, a mobile phone number, and an updated security

question. You might be able to deduce what Facebook is up to by those requests.

Its security protection warning isn't about security protection at all, but

enabling its members to regain access to their accounts should they be

compromised.

" There's nothing necessarily wrong with Facebook giving its millions of users a

way of verifying their identity should they lose access to their account, but

clearly it should have been presented better and more thought should have gone

into how this system was implemented, " Cluley wrote.

He suggests that a better approach to what Facebook is trying to accomplish

would be a message such as, " We can help you recover your account if it gets

hacked; want to know more? "

" I'm not going to tell you not to give Facebook the information they're

requesting in this 'account protection' push, but I would suggest that you think

carefully before doing so, " he cautions.

January 2, 2011

I was hit with one of these not long ago when I was changing my password after getting the new computer. That didn't sit right with me so I only changed the password. They already have my email as well so I'm sure if there is a legitimate problem that I miss but they catch they can contact me.

But I've been reading some things about Facebook and Google that really worry me. Facebook and others are working on technology to allow you to put up everything you are doing in real time, including having your cell phone constantly post your real-time location. Google, as one of its top execs said, is operating under the premise that people "don't want Google to give them information, but to tell them what to do next." Scary stuff given how much information they have on us.

Beyond that, employers are letting the machines decide who gets jobs, promotions or even fired based on formulas made up by some whizkid they'll never meet. Forget intuition or personal observation, the machine has spoken. Its rather like the Efficiency Movement that got started around WWII. Supposedly these efficiency experts would come in and make the business as efficient as possible. It took some decades, but it turns out that movement probably did more harm than good. So likely will this, but by them the system will be so screwed up by the machines and unthinking humans that it would be bloody hard to recover from.

It simply amazes me how technology is so much like a religion to so many people, how so many seem to think that if we could only get a little more wired that all our problems would go away. Really I think they have it backwards: we don't need to modify our brains with implanted machines to reduce memory capacity or the need for deep knowledge in favor of skimming data and making lightning fast decisions, but we need to step back, collect information and think about it. Not skim. Not jump to conclusions, but get honest, untainted data and think about the best possible choices.

Amusingly, they are looking even more to letting machines to all the research for presentation and other papers based on quick parameters set by the "author" and more programs to do automated stock trading, forgetting how the programs already conducting trades (up to 30% of current volume) nearly tanked the market and the economy twice since 2008, that we know of.

In a message dated 1/1/2011 12:56:18 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes:

Facebook has been contacting its members for several weeks now with its "very low" security protection warnings. In the alerts, the company includes a link. Click the link and you're taken to a page that requests additional personal information about you. Sound familiar? This is exactly the tactic used by Internet highwaymen to steal sensitive information from unwitting web users and plant malicious software on their computers.

January 2, 2011

;

I agree with your conclusion! (BUT I think the average person doesn't realize

there is a vast difference btwn a labor saving device that does a manual task,

(example a mower rather than a scythe!) and a device that avoids us needing to

think! Whatever happened to the ideals of 'do your own thing, individualism

etc??)

As y9ou worte in part:

It simply amazes me how technology is so much like a religion to so many

people, how so many seem to think that if we could only get a little more wired

that all our problems would go away. Really I think they have it backwards: we

don't need to modify our brains with implanted machines to reduce memory

capacity or the need for deep knowledge in favor of skimming data and making

lightning fast decisions, but we need to step back, collect information and

think about it. Not skim. Not jump to conclusions, but get honest, untainted

data and think about the best possible choices.

Subject: Re: Facebook Scare Tactics Knocked by Security Pro

To: FAMSecretSociety

Received: Saturday, January 1, 2011, 9:57 PM

Â

I was hit with one of these not long ago when I was changing my password

after getting the new computer. That didn't sit right with me so I only changed

the password. They already have my email as well so I'm sure if there is a

legitimate problem that I miss but they catch they can contact me.

Â

But I've been reading some things about Facebook and Google that really

worry me. Facebook and others are working on technology to allow you to put up

everything you are doing in real time, including having your cell phone

constantly post your real-time location. Google, as one of its top execs said,

is operating under the premise that people " don't want Google to give them

information, but to tell them what to do next. " Scary stuff given how much

information they have on us.

Â

Beyond that, employers are letting the machines decide who gets jobs,

promotions or even fired based on formulas made up by some whizkid they'll never

meet. Forget intuition or personal observation, the machine has spoken. Its

rather like the Efficiency Movement that got started around WWII. Supposedly

these efficiency experts would come in and make the business as efficient as

possible. It took some decades, but it turns out that movement probably did more

harm than good. So likely will this, but by them the system will be so screwed

up by the machines and unthinking humans that it would be bloody hard to recover

from.

Â

It simply amazes me how technology is so much like a religion to so many

people, how so many seem to think that if we could only get a little more wired

that all our problems would go away. Really I think they have it backwards: we

don't need to modify our brains with implanted machines to reduce memory

capacity or the need for deep knowledge in favor of skimming data and making

lightning fast decisions, but we need to step back, collect information and

think about it. Not skim. Not jump to conclusions, but get honest, untainted

data and think about the best possible choices.

Â

Amusingly, they are looking even more to letting machines to all the

research for presentation and other papers based on quick parameters set by the

" author " and more programs to do automated stock trading, forgetting how the

programs already conducting trades (up to 30% of current volume) nearly tanked

the market and the economy twice since 2008, that we know of.

Â

In a message dated 1/1/2011 12:56:18 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

no_reply writes:

Facebook has been contacting its members for several weeks now

with its " very low " security protection warnings. In the alerts, the company

includes a link. Click the link and you're taken to a page that requests

additional personal information about you. Sound familiar? This is exactly the

tactic used by Internet highwaymen to steal sensitive information from

unwitting web users and plant malicious software on their

computers.

January 4, 2011

Thanks RL.

When I was in high school in the late 1980's, one of my roomates, along with many others, often said they loved the weekends because it meant they didn't have to think anymore. This attitude was even more common in college. It seems to have progressed much more since then.

I've been reading studies that internet use is changing the way the brain works. Simply put it is changing the brain to seek immediate rewards and punishes deep thought. It has been described as being like those tests where a mouse learns to push buttons for food. It most often pushes the button that gives the reward the fastest. One of the side effects of this in humans is the inability to concentrate for very long, or even remain still for long. As a result, it is probably contributing to people reading less in favor of brief online articles and videos.

A couple of months ago I read about a university library that was supposed to be one of the best in the US. It was a largely private collection. The collection of books was first rate including many rare books. A few years ago it was remodelled. The entire lower floor was redone as a "media center" with a coffee shops, open spaces with tables for socializing, computer stations and rooms for watching movies. The books were crammed into the upper floors and corners. Now most of the people coming to the library use it as a social center and to watch movies. It was also rumored that the book collection might be sold in part or whole.

Now, the local college library was also redone in this way. All of the books are gone from the lower floor which is now a vast open space, barren with some tables and a video viewing room and a handful of computer stations. The books are all upstairs now. There are some books on downstairs. These are books the library is trying to sell, often for cents or a couple of dollars depending on if it is a hardback or paperback. The times I've been there very few people were in the stacks but more were in the social area.

I agree with your conclusion! (BUT I think the average person doesn't realize there is a vast difference btwn a labor saving device that does a manual task, (example a mower rather than a scythe!) and a device that avoids us needing to think! Whatever happened to the ideals of 'do your own thing, individualism etc??)

January 4, 2011

:The donors who established the libraries you describe would be horrified if they knew what had come to pass with the rare book collections.Maybe the 'art' of serious conversation/ informal debate is going to be lost to the next generation. (and talking will more the style of small talk and 'tweets'. Personally I don't tweet, the concept causes me to 'cringe' inwardly, in a figurative sense.)That is distressing for centers of higher learning to pander to the 'new media' and have less emphasis on books in their libraries. I haven't been to our local college or university libraries for a while, so don't know what they've done.Our City's 2 municipal libraries have gone with electronic media centers, internet access, but they still have lots of books too, many reference, non fiction, fiction, also large print non fiction and

fiction, Even at the new branch library, which opened this last summer, there is more space for books than 'electronic media.' This past fall, I visited a nearby town library, it is quite progressive, they still have more space for books than electronic media, thank goodness. Actually that town is quite progressive in many ways.When i travel, I enjoy visiting a town's library! (a somewhat unusual enjoyment, but am interested in their method of classification: Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress; how things are arranged etc etc ,and of course if I want to rest my feet, there is something to occupy me!)rl'My cat Rusty is a servant of the Living God....'adapted from a poem by SmartSubject: Re: Facebook Scare Tactics Knocked by Security ProTo: FAMSecretSociety Received: Monday, January 3, 2011, 9:55 PM

Thanks RL.

When I was in high school in the late 1980's, one of my roomates, along with many others, often said they loved the weekends because it meant they didn't have to think anymore. This attitude was even more common in college. It seems to have progressed much more since then.

I've been reading studies that internet use is changing the way the brain works. Simply put it is changing the brain to seek immediate rewards and punishes deep thought. It has been described as being like those tests where a mouse learns to push buttons for food. It most often pushes the button that gives the reward the fastest. One of the side effects of this in humans is the inability to concentrate for very long, or even remain still for long. As a result, it is probably contributing to people reading less in favor of brief online articles and videos.

A couple of months ago I read about a university library that was supposed to be one of the best in the US. It was a largely private collection. The collection of books was first rate including many rare books. A few years ago it was remodelled. The entire lower floor was redone as a "media center" with a coffee shops, open spaces with tables for socializing, computer stations and rooms for watching movies. The books were crammed into the upper floors and corners. Now most of the people coming to the library use it as a social center and to watch movies. It was also rumored that the book collection might be sold in part or whole.

Now, the local college library was also redone in this way. All of the books are gone from the lower floor which is now a vast open space, barren with some tables and a video viewing room and a handful of computer stations. The books are all upstairs now. There are some books on downstairs. These are books the library is trying to sell, often for cents or a couple of dollars depending on if it is a hardback or paperback. The times I've been there very few people were in the stacks but more were in the social area.

.

January 5, 2011

I think its more pandering to the students that to the new media. Most students aren't interested in books but instead like the video and computers. I remembering being in the college library and students were lined up for the computer to do internet research, even for history projects, while probably thousands of books and magazines and other materials sat idle. My preference was for the books then whenever I could use them. These days I do use the computer more for the simple reason that it is easier access for me than going across town to either the public library (one way) or several times as far to the college library.

If memory serves, the article on that library I mentioned before, which was located in New Mexico or Arizona at one of the major universities there, was valued at around $15 million. Not only was this college pushed off to the corner, the librarians lived in fear of some college kid spilling coffee or ice cream on the books when they were actually used.

Now, as I've said, studies show the internet is changing the brain making it harder for people used to the internet to read a book or other text. This is one reason that the practice of giving kids computers in earlier and earlier grades, especially in place of books, is a bad idea. Not only is it training their minds to be digital only and maybe even forget how to handwrite (not a wild idea since I know some near middle school age kids who can barely handwrite because either it isn't taught or they use computers almost exclusively). I really wonder what is going to happen if the power goes out? Maybe it will be like that NCIS episode where the power went out and everyone but Gibbs was panicking because they didn't have the computers to do much of the work for them.

That is distressing for centers of higher learning to pander to the 'new media' and have less emphasis on books in their libraries. I haven't been to our local college or university libraries for a while, so don't know what they've done.

January 5, 2011

;

I remember that NCIS episode!!!

I wonder how illiteracy with printed material impacts ability to use a computer??

(That jusrt occured to me, have read that Alberta has quite a serious rate of illiteracy, inspite of our supposed prosperity)

rl

'My cat Rusty is a servant of the Living God....'

adapted from a poem by Smart

Subject: Re: Facebook Scare Tactics Knocked by Security ProTo: FAMSecretSociety Received: Tuesday, January 4, 2011, 10:40 PM

I think its more pandering to the students that to the new media. Most students aren't interested in books but instead like the video and computers. I remembering being in the college library and students were lined up for the computer to do internet research, even for history projects, while probably thousands of books and magazines and other materials sat idle. My preference was for the books then whenever I could use them. These days I do use the computer more for the simple reason that it is easier access for me than going across town to either the public library (one way) or several times as far to the college library.

If memory serves, the article on that library I mentioned before, which was located in New Mexico or Arizona at one of the major universities there, was valued at around $15 million. Not only was this college pushed off to the corner, the librarians lived in fear of some college kid spilling coffee or ice cream on the books when they were actually used.

Now, as I've said, studies show the internet is changing the brain making it harder for people used to the internet to read a book or other text. This is one reason that the practice of giving kids computers in earlier and earlier grades, especially in place of books, is a bad idea. Not only is it training their minds to be digital only and maybe even forget how to handwrite (not a wild idea since I know some near middle school age kids who can barely handwrite because either it isn't taught or they use computers almost exclusively). I really wonder what is going to happen if the power goes out? Maybe it will be like that NCIS episode where the power went out and everyone but Gibbs was panicking because they didn't have the computers to do much of the work for them.

..

January 6, 2011

Just by chance I caught the tail end of a program tonight that mentioned this. I don't know what all was said, but the comment I heard just before the spot ended was that children today are becoming not only dependent on the machines like computers but addicted to them. The speaker went on to say that giving even young children laptop computers for school work was a terrible idea.

Needless to say I agree with all that.

As for illiteracy, it is also much higher in the US that most people think. What is usually measured is "functional literacy." That means you can puzzle out common words and understand basic sentences, maybe read a menu in a restaurant and simple orders from your boss. Essentially this is a fourth grade reading level. I don't have my source for the current rate of illiteracy in the US. However, I found this page. I found this list of the different levels of literacy. High schools roughly teach the first two or maybe three levels. Colleges seem to do a better job of teaching all 5, according to the article. Here is the list and link:

Literacy Proficiency Levels as Defined in Digest of Education Statistics, 1992

Level 1: Able to follow brief written directions and select phrases to describe pictures.Example: Locate time or place of a meeting on a form

Level 2: Able to understand combined ideas and make references based on short uncomplicated passages about specific or sequentially related information.Example: Enter background information on an employment form

Level 3: Able to search for specific information, interrelate ideas, and make generalizations about literature, science and social studies materials.Example: Integrate information from long, dense texts or documents

Level 4: Able to find, understand, summarize, and explain relatively complicated literary and informational material.Example: Research and write a college-level term paper with footnote references.

Level 5: Able to understand the links between ideas even when those links are not explicitly stated and to make appropriate generalizations even when the texts lack clear instructions or explanations.Example: Read and comprehend the themes in a classical play or novel such as Hamlet or War and Peace.Read more: How Educated Are We - Functional Literacy And Educational Attainment - Level, Adult, Levels, National, Able, and Statistics http://social.jrank.org/pages/939/How-Educated-Are-We-Functional-Literacy-Educational-Attainment.html#ixzz1AE5PSZmn

Now, a lot of the level 5 I developed on my own, perhaps because of reading so much and watching science and nature shows as a child (not exclusively mind you). I also bought a home study kit years ago that taught all these processes of higher reading, something I've looked for but can't find around the house. This wasn't speed reading but making better use of what you read in terms of interpretation, processing, analyzing, etc. I really think that course or one just like it should be required in college prep types schools at least for the better students.

However, if kids are being given computers for all the reasons mentioned, this ability to deeply think about material won't be developed. Indeed many today think that deep thinking won't be necessary in the future, which is terribly bad thinking.

;

I remember that NCIS episode!!!

I wonder how illiteracy with printed material impacts ability to use a computer??

(That jusrt occured to me, have read that Alberta has quite a serious rate of illiteracy, inspite of our supposed prosperity)

rl

January 7, 2011

:Thanks for the info on literacy!

I fear that you are correct and that illiteracy is much greater than most people realize;

and MAY be a possible cause of some errors, either in the workplace or otherwise;

If a manager sends a written memo to his/her subordinates, and words the memo at a higher level of literacy than the recipients are capable of understanding, then problems may arise; example if he/she assumes they will infer or read between the lines.

rl

'My cat Rusty is a servant of the Living God....'

adapted from a poem by Smart

Subject: Re: Facebook Scare Tactics Knocked by Security ProTo: FAMSecretSociety Received: Wednesday, January 5, 2011, 9:37 PM