You, and Now Your Kids are the Product - Not the Consumer

You are not the consumer, You, and now your kids, are the product being sold.

The next target market for Facebook is reported to be pre-teens from ages 8 to 13 years old.  Currently, this age group is not allowed on Facebook without parental consent.  There are always easy enough ways to get around parental consent since there is no real identity qualification to get on to Facebook or most any social network.  The reliance is on the honesty of those using the service to provide proper name and birthday information.

If you thought you had security concerns using Facebook before, you surely have more security concerns now.  The question will be if Facebook will allow parental control of privacy settings to help parents protect their families from unnecessary exposure and security risks. Playing games, entering contests, pressing the LIKE button to be included in a contest are all ways in which you open your personal information up to advertisers and other data miners.  Will your child have the discernment to know what is safe and what isn't?  Do you even have the ability to discern what is safe and what isn't? 

Facebook alone may not be the company you need to be concerned about.  You may have to begin evaluating companies like Zynga, and family tree, and birthday applications you use on Facebook to know if you are giving up too much information.  And multiply that by using Facebook and playing all of those games on an Android phone or tablet.   How do Android, Windows, Apple, Blackberry and any other operating system extract all of your contact information for you and how do they use it or gain access to it?

You may want to consider what barriers you can put in place to give you some control on your end.  

How To set some basic barriers for protection:

* Setup a specific email to use only with Facebook or other social network

*  Decide which company's applications you will use and how you will evaluate adding applications to your Facebook account

*  Photos should be stored on another network and not on Facebook.  You can post links to the photo you want to share rather than expose all of your photos to unknown users.

*  Limit your friends list to people you actually know or at least know what your connection to them is.

What suggestions do you have to protect yourself and your family? Please feel free to post comments and let us know.

Also - if you want to write a guest post for this blog to describe how to implement a specific protection, please submit your post request to :  frbbs@aol.com.  You may link to your own blog or website in your post.  This blog is about pointing people in the right direction to be safe when possible on the internet.

Be safe out there.  It's getting crazy.

Related post:  In Social Networking, You are the Product and Not the Consumer

Mobile Phone: QR Code Reader from Norton

You have probably seen those new black boxes that look like a square black and white maze on magazine ads, soda cans and any number of other product packaging.  These funny little boxes are called QR Codes and they allow someone with a smartphone to scan the code with code reader application that uses the camera phone to automatically pull up web sites on their mobile phone.  So for example, as you drink your soda, you notice one of these boxes on the can.  You can take your phone and use a code reader application to use the camera phone to scan the box and allow your phone will automatically pull up the website using your web browser on your phone (such as Safari on iPhones, or MS Bing, or other web browser.)

These codes are wonderful to use since they take you directly to the site without having to read and type those long URL website addresses.  Even nonprofit organizations, churches and schools are using them. While the are a great invention for ease of use, unfortunately they are also ways for some unscrupulous people and companies to take you to websites you do not want to go to and to also gain access to information on your phone.  There are always those who use technology in sneaky ways to take what is not theirs to have.

Norton Internet Security is a group of products produced by Symantec, Inc. for many years and they are one of the best known companies in the field of personal security for your computers. So of course, when it comes to protecting you from sneaky code readers --- Thankfully, There's an app for that!


Norton now has a QR Reader application for your smartphone that is FREE and will protect you from QR codes that may take you to unwanted sites that Norton considers dangerous.  This new application will block unwanted sites from being accessed on your mobile phone. 

How To:
On your smartphone:  Go to your App Store and search for " Norton Snap QR Code Reader "

The application is FREE and should have the Norton logo and company name 'Symantec' listed in the application information.

Install the FREE application on your phone through the application store as you do all other applications for this device.
Use: When you see a QR Code, go to the installed application on your phone and follow the directions to scan the code.  If the code is acceptable, the browser will automatically open and you will go directly to the site.  If the code is suspicious, you will receive a warning indicating the severity of the concern with additional options for you to consider.


You are the driver on your mobile internet highway.  Drive Safe out there!


There are other companies with similar applications that may work just as well.  I use Norton Internet Security on all of my devices and they have served me well for many years.  I do not receive any promotional benefit for mentioning this product.  Please feel free to leave comments and information of other similar products you have used and found helpful on this subject.

Tax Refund Scams via the Internet

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a warning this week to taxpayers to beware of tax return refund scams.  In particular, senior citizens are being targeted and convinced or persuaded to file a tax return claiming a refund based on the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

The American Opportunity Tax Credit is a credit that some taxpayers may qualify for based on education achievements during the 2011 tax year.

Related scams come in a variety of disguises this time of year.  People who may have very little or no income are not required to file a tax return.   Thieves try to convince these taxpayers to file a tax return to get a refund based on nonexistent stimulus payments or the American Opportunity Tax Credit or some other credit.  Make no mistake - this is not legal. 

You can see a list of the most common tax refund scams on the IRS website under Tax Scams.

Here are some reminders to help you protect yourself from being scammed:

1.  The IRS does not initiate communication with you the taxpayer through email.  If you receive an email that claims to be from the IRS, you can forward that email to the IRS email address:  phishing@irs.gov as they
state on the IRS website www.irs.gov .

2.  Verify that you qualify for a tax refund or rebate by asking your own qualified preparer - not someone who has contacted you via phone or email or in person.

3.   Do not give your social security number to anyone who solicited you to call their 1-800 or other toll free number for any reason.  This may not only be someone trying to create tax fraud, but possibly identity theft that can affect your other accounts.   Send your own email to phishing@irs.gov to report any websites, 1-800 numbers or others who ask for your social security number.

4.  Do not give out your social security number or any financial account information to someone on the phone who claims to be a family member --- even if they sound like them on the phone!!  Let your family member come by the house to get the information they need.  Voices can be imitated even if they have a speech impediment of some kind.

5.  Contact the IRS for assistance at the IRS website: www.irs.gov by phone, internet, or local office.
Low income taxpayers and seniors are likely to qualify for free tax filing assistance.

 This list could go on and on.  But please take care of yourself and only work with someone who is qualified to assist you in filing a proper tax return.  You don't need to fear people contacting you - just always verify the contact with your local IRS office or even by calling the local Senior Center or local police station.

Password Safe to Manage Passwords

How many passwords can you possibly keep up with?  If you are being wise and not using the same password for your email that you use for social networking or banking, then you have a least a few.  Then think about your spouse and kids, or parents.  A single household could have dozens of passwords.


There are several options for tracking passwords, but one of my favorites is a

free version of an application for your home computer that allows you to store up to 25 passwords for various online activities. You could think of it as a safety deposit box on your computer.  Actually, the application allows you to save up to 25 passwords in 1 Safe File.  You can add additional Safe Files. 

I use a different Safe File for my home and another one for social networking sites, retail sites, and anything that is not a financial account or related to my house.  In your household, you might have one Safe File for you and your spouse and a separate one for your kids or other individuals in your home. 


Cautions: 
1.   Since this is on your computer's hard drive, you will want to make sure you have a back up plan for your computer or at least have the files for this software saved to a thumb drive or other backup source.
2.   The file information can be printed out.  If you print it out, then you will need to find a safe place for the print outs.

 

How To: The software is called Password Agent and you can download the free version at:  Password Agent by Moon Software

Check it out and let me know what you think.

In Social Networking You are the Product not the Customer

Part of understanding security on the internet is understanding who you are to the websites you are using.  When you log into your bank's website, you are the customer and your security and privacy is of the utmost importance to you and to the bank.  When you log into a social network like Facebook, Zynga, or others, you are the product and not the customer.  Your privacy is important, but only enough to keep you coming back and being exposed to more advertising, gaming, and referral information from friends.  You are only a potential customer to Facebook's paying customers ---- the advertisers who pay Facebook to place their advertisements on the right side of the screen or within games and other applications you use within the social networking site.  You are the product to Facebook.

Facebook filed legal papers this week to make way for their IPO or Initial Public Offering of stock for the company.  The expected IPO is expected to be sometime late spring 2012.  When Facebook files for such action, they have to provide financial information about the company that is disclosed to the public so that the public can invest with some knowledge of the company's value. 

Facebook reported in their financial statements that they have revenue from advertising of $3.2 Billion dollars.  If Facebook is free to you and me to use, then how do they pay their electric bill, other expenses and employees?  Their revenue, at least some $3.2 Billion dollars of it, comes from selling ads to companies that appear on the right side of your screen while you are logged in.  Some ads, if not most ads, may appear within the games and other applications that you use to send a game piece, a poke, or a valentine to a friend.   When you play Farmville, you allow the application the use of your personal information and usually your friends list giving marketers information about you and your friends to sell you something.  Even if they are not selling you something while you are on Facebook, they are finding ways to reach you by your activity on Facebook.

Even with restrictions you set in your privacy settings on these sites, you might still consider your privacy with your friends to be similar to sitting on a bench in the middle of a retail mall.  You are talking to the person sitting next to you, and while they may not hear your conversation, those who are watching can probably tell if you are playing a game, sharing pictures, or shopping at your favorite places that you have 'Liked' as you visit their site or share links you have viewed on the internet.

All of that said, this does not mean that you should not be on Facebook or that you should not use the games and other applications.  But it does mean that you should be aware of what information is being given to them and limit the amount of information that you make public or make available.  When you first enter an application or game, you are given a screen that says what information is required to be able to use that application.  If it lists information in your profile that you don't want them to have, then you should not use that application.

You are the driver on the internet highway.  Drive safe out there.

Internet Safety Tips and Tools

Welcome to MyInternetArmor!

This blog is a place to offer basic safety and security tips for internet interactions through email, mobile technology, social networking and home computers.

I hope that you will collaborate with me to share tips, tricks and concerns for topics related to technology both old and new, to keep your friends and family a little safer.

Comments on this blog are moderated.  If you comment on a topic - and I hope you do, you may not see your comment right away until I have a chance to review it.  This is part of the internet safety to insure that comments being posted are relevant and not made by computers or people with intentions to harm.  If you see information on this blog in either posts or comments that is not up to date or not accurate, please participate in the conversation and update us. 

I look forward to seeing you on the internet highway.

Be safe out there.