It is only appropriate that my next banks rants is focused on security but more specifically the information you share on Facebook. Sure there are other places you may be sharing this information but Facebook seems more prevalent and more importantly, your posts are searchable.
The posts/examples I show below are from 2010. Now you may think you are only sharing this information with family, friends, and co-workers and there is no need to worry about them having the wrong information, then you might want to look at stats about violent crimes against you. Short story… over 50% are committed by your family and friends, I know it is an incredibly extreme example but don’t assume that just because are you are Facebook friends means they won’t hurt you. (Completely side note… when was the last time you checked the privacy settings on your Facebook account?)
Like I mention in the rant, personal forms to fill out and share, have been on Facebook for years and there isn’t a month that goes by that I don’t see someone sharing them. What am I referring to you ask? Here is what my “friend” posted on Facebook, assuming I was wondering about all of there facts about her AND her husband.
She has provided a lot of information here. Take the time to read this information and see if ANY of these could be used to answer online security questions. For example, I recently created a new account and of course after I provided a password, I had to add a security question.
I was given 5 questions to pick from. If you compare the questions to the responses I gave in that Facebook post, I am much further along to figuring out what the answer is. The hometown information was given so the hacker could get your elementary school from guesses and probably adding other information you may have shared on Facebook. For some reason, we love to share everything about our life, digitally, without understanding that people will take from you digitally.
One of the suggestions I gave is to use a third party tool to store all the passwords. Here are some of the companies 1Password and Dashlane but here is a list of best password managers.
Another option is to not answer the questions correctly. Clearly you want to remember the answer but use something you can remember. If you went to an all male school, then use the all female school. Make sure you protect your security and your assets and use tools that are available to you. The great thing about the digital age is that there is probably a digital solution to your problem. Just make sure you think before you post and that you see the bigger picture.
#PewPew
Update: Looks like 120 millions users’ data was exposed through a Facebook quiz app #GoodTimes
