Threat Against Facebook May Damage Your Reputation
By Bridgette Mongeon
PLEASE NOTE:
I respect all of my Facebook friends and do not post porn, injured animals, or violent images.
This may have to be our post every morning. You may be posting porn or killed puppies, or God knows what, and you will never know that you did it.
Because of a hacking or a virus that is now showing up on many individuals Facebook news feed, your most respected friend, parent or daughter’s news feed might be showing pictures that you would never look at. The problem is, they do not see these pictures on their feed. They have no idea what is being spread or said about them. It is that their account is a part of a malicious hacking over much of Facebook.
On November 5th, 2011, “Anonymous” made a threat agasint Facebook. It is unclear if this is activity is actually the hand of Anonymous. However, there is definitely something happening to Facebook and it is damaging the reputations of individuals.
I woke up this morning and wondered a few things
1. What did Facebook have to say about this and what were they doing?
2. How can I protect my account?
3. What should I do if I see this on my Facebook feed?
Writer Emil Protalinski from ZDNet is keeping up with what is happening and he just posted this November 15th story “Facebook confirms images of porn and violence, is investigating “
That is it? They are investigating. This is not enough; I would certainly like to know more. I like Facebook, and use it for work, education and social purposes. As a writer and an artist I spend a lot of time in my office and studio, it is nice to stay connected through this social media. Through it, I have gained and developed friendships, and business contacts and I can see what is happening with my family and stay connected. I have walked through some difficult times with my Facebook friends, but, like others, if this continues I will have to leave. I’m anxious to see how it can be resolved.
WHAT CAN I DO?
I’m not sure what I can do exactly. I’m guessing here and please note that I am. If you are like me, when you have seen the images you have looked away, scrolled quickly but terrified to click on anything about this post, incase it should “drag you into the spam.”
HERE IS MY PLAN OF ACTION
Report Each Post
I have decided to report each post.
To do this, in the corner of the post, you will see a drop down triangle, click on it and then “report as spam”
I also am going to the person’s page and posting a message to them.
“My facebook friend, I just wanted you to know that your account was apparently hacked as I just received a horrible picture of a mutilated puppy on the newsfeed with your name attached to it. I am sure you didn’t send this. I marked it as spam. I do hope you can resolve this. ”
If they are a close friend I might add, “I would like to stay in touch, when you know it is resolved, please let me know, for now, I’ll block your feed. Good luck and, by the way, here is an article I wrote about this problem, should you need some help. ‘Threat against Facebook May Damage Your Reputation.’”
I hope if I am attacked someone will show me the same curtesy instead of mumbling under their breath and deleting me.
Unsubscribe
You can also unsubscribe from that person if you wish. This is apparently in the same drop down triangle but the moment I mark it as spam the triangle disappears.
How to protect your site?
Secure Server
I have my Facebook site set on a secure server. Look at your url when you are on facebook. Does the url begin with https or http? If it is just http, then you are not secure.
To set your account to secure setting go to Account Settings – Click Security on the left top corner – click Edit next to Secure Browsing, Check box, click Save.
Watch for Spam, don’t get fooled
Don’t click on anything that is a vote on this or you must watch this video. SPAM is everywhere, be careful.
What if I am already attacked?
Here is a link to what facebook says. https://www.facebook.com/help/hacked
And this step-by-step article “Help! My Facebook Account has been Hacked” by Andy O’Donnel might help
I know many of you also consider Facebook a kind of home or meeting place. We have to protect it the best we can, as well as our reputations.
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You are welcome to use this article on your facebook or blog, I encourage you to do so. I also encourage you to send it those friends who have been hacked.
OTHER ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC
Here are some other articles about this, should you want to protect yourself.
HOW TO: Avoid and Prevent Facebook Spam
March 28, 2011 by Christina Warren
Facebook users hit by hardcore porn, violence and animal abuse images
by Graham Cluley on November 15, 2011