Un-friend Facebook

I don't have a Facebook page. A number of my acquaintances have urged me to set one up, but I've demurred, so far.

It must have been something about an old cop's instinct, but I didn't feel quite as good about Facebook as I did about Twitter. I've been tweeting, on and off (mostly off, recently) as @04283 for a couple of years now.

Then, the Facebook stories began to come in. First, the stories of online sex predators looking for victims on Facebook. Then, stories of cops pursuing online sex predators through their Facebook pages.

The trickle turned into a virtual flood, and the media is now full of reports of schools monitoring student behavior through Facebook, local police seeming to have unlimited access to personal data stored on miscreants' Facebook pages, and in the background, the 900 pound gorilla, the Federal government.

The cops seem to make arrests every day with information intercepts off of Facebook. For one thing, Facebook makes it very simple to know who is associating with who. Who needs a snitch network when you can use Facebook?

It's reasonable to assume that if all these lesser government people have access to the inner workings of Facebook, why wouldn't the Feds have it too?

Facebook offers anyone with basic computer knowledge the path to comunicate with lots of others, quickly and painlessly. When it first started out, Facebook was simple: you had your friends, and you had your "wall". Soon though, many new apps for Facebook popped up, then shopping was tied into it, and soon, cell-phone apps. Now Facebook is the Universal engine of social communication.

With Universal Communication must come Universal trust, but with outsiders boring into your communications system, trust is the one commodity that Facebook can't offer you.

In the military, LOTS of attention is paid to communications. In uniform, we are taught OpSec (Operations Security) and CommSec, (Communications Security). Both are easy concepts to teach: You keep your lip zipped about what the military is doing, and you ASSUME that all but crypto-secure military communication systems are unsuitable for ANYTHING military to be dicussed on.

EEFI is a companion concept to both OpSec and CommSec. An Essential Element of Friendly Information is something which, by itself, is of no military value, but paired up with other such bits of information, might allow the enemy to get the idea of what your military intentions might be.

For example, the base paper might be writing on MWR equipment rentals (Morale, Welfare and Recreation). Let's say the article read, "MWR reports that 50% of base personnel use MWR services on a yearly basis, and of those who do, 25% rent equipment from MWR. Last year, MWR processed 5,000 rental requests." OK, from that information, you can get real close to deducing the size of the troop complement of that base, post or station. As an enemy, you have to adjust for repeat renters, but if you were accurate in compiling that factor, you would know how big the complement was. That knowledge is restricted information, but EEFIs just let THAT cat out of the bag.

So, with my basic police-trained suspicious mind coupling to my basic security-conscious military mind, I have come to a conclusion about Facebook:

If you value your privacy, "Un-Friend" the entire system. Quit using Facebook.

That is all.

Comments

[buy viagra]

Gorillas are vegetarian, why are they so physically powerful?
Gorillas look powerful. I would like to know what is their main source of protein comes from? Since gorillas are vegeterian for the most part, does that mean they have to eat lots of fruits and vegetable to get high amount of protein for their muscules. Bears are very strong animal, but their protein comes from fish and possibly other sources of meat. How can a gorilla be so strong being raised on bananas?

[Kyle]

If you decide to delete your Facebook account, go through and manually remove EVERYTHING. It is the only solution. Ask me how I know. :)

[Gerry Nygaard]

The missus' computer just yesterday started with uncontrollable pop up ads and slowed to a crawl. Our nevvies are IT techs for a MAJOR university, and via some sort of demon majik prodded around in their Auntie's computer for three hours, killing and maiming a couple dozen different evil entities. Chief among them was FaceBook, may it rot in Hell, for it held the door open for the Evil. Moral of my story: UN FaceBook yourself, then look not back lest you be turned to salt. And not in the good way.

The Missus is having facebook withdrawal, but in time will heal. I told her if she really needs that much contact with her FB Friends, call 'em up on the damn phone, or learn to write letters on paper. No one can hack a letter written on paper with a few keystrokes. There are good things to be said about a real letter written with a fountain pen on real paper, then sent through the mail.

Gerry N.

[Jason]

One of the worst parts is even when you delete your facebook account, its not really gone. you can simply log back in at any time and its if you never left. Kinda scary when you think about what you may have posted there before realizing how much of a seive facebook really is.

[Kyle]

I only use Facebook for interaction with well-established friends and family members. Nothing else. My wife and I are very careful about instituting security due to the concerns you cite. We also check once or twice a week - and definitely every time there is a system refresh or "upgrade" - to ensure that we have our security and sharing settings clamped down severely. We also employ rule #1 of Fight Club.

So, contextually, I agree with you completely r.e. how to use Facebook.