Posts Tagged ‘facebook’
Have your Facebook friends started posting “privacy disclaimers” in their posts? If you’re seeing these in your Facebook timeline, it’s likely a reaction to recent news items about Facebook and supposed privacy changes. The question is: do these disclaimers actually mean anything?
The legal privacy “disclaimers” many Facebook users are copying to use in their own posts are not new. They are actually duplicates of items sent out years ago in response to similar privacy concerns. Unfortunately (just like the previous round of posts) these new disclaimers won’t provide any “legal protection” beyond those already in the Facebook terms and conditions. (Check out this link for Facebook’s response to this latest round of privacy concerns.)
Some sites have started referring to these added disclaimers as “legal talismans”, added in the belief that the quoted legal code will protect the owner from harm. While the text often sounds official (and generally references legal code), they don’t actually supersede your agreements — and they aren’t very good legal documents anyway. (They often include mistakes, referring to the “Berner Convention” when they likely mean the “Berne Convention” and the like.)
The truth is this: adding disclaimers to your posts does not negate or retroactively change any of the terms and conditions you agreed to when you signed up and began using Facebook. When you sign up for Facebook, you accepted the Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and Privacy terms.
A good method to check the legitimacy of a claim is to Bing, Google or use some other internet search tool to see what others are saying about it. (Snopes.com is also a great clearinghouse for such things.)
As always, it is a good idea to investigate the terms and conditions of an agreement, especially for an online social network that will have access to your posted information. In the case of Facebook, you can view their complete list of terms and policies here.
Agent Derek has been removing techno-stress from the lives of his Geek Squad clients since 2005. When not providing remote help as an Online Support Agent, he likes to take to the road on a vintage motorcycle for adventures through Ohio country highways.
Case in point: free voucher/giftcard scams. While browsing Facebook recently, an old friend of mine posted about a “Free $400 voucher” on his Wall. Time’s a factor, hurry now, as supplies are limited. (Sound familiar?)
This is a scam, folks. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This con has been around for a few years now, with only the amount, the company and a few minor details changing to lure the unsuspecting in. It plays on your credulity, and your desire to take advantage of a killer deal during the biggest shopping period of the year. (After all, who couldn’t use a few hundred dollars more during the holiday season?)
What do you have to lose? Well, you could give thieves enough personal information to steal your identity or end up with viruses installed on your computer.
Most of the time if it strikes you as illegitimate, it probably is. On occasion, you might just come across an incredible deal. Here are a few tips to help you verify the offer:
Make sure to check out this article over at Blogher to help you avoid being the victim of a scammers during your holiday season. As always, when you need help, head over to geeksquad.com for updated tech tips & tricks, and to receive help from one of our agents online.
Agent Ron G. has been battling the forces of unruly technology run amok since 2001, prior to Geek Squad’s acquisition of Best Buy. When not busy creating video & technical training content for Geek Squad Agents in the field, Agent Ron enjoys home brewing, international travel, and learning how to cook new cuisines.
Technical advances give us new ways to connected with loved ones, especially those far away from us. New to social media? Here’s a breakdown of a few social media networks to help you share what’s new with family and friends, get up to date on the latest celebrity news, and connect with others around ideas and current events.
Instagram has become the leading online tool for editing and sharing images. Its interface is easy to use and connections with other social networks make it the best tool to show the grandkids what you are up to these days.
It allows you to easily share photos from your smartphone (or other digital devices) on most of the popular social networks. It allows users to edit, dress-up and improve their pictures. Instagram also maintains its own social network to allow power-users to share their work with other interested photo designers.
Photos from Instagram don’t have to stay online. Users can now easily turn their filtered photos into actual photos on canvas using CanvasPop or into desk calendars with the Calendargram app.
Google+ is a social networking site with multiple features, and is ideal for those who want to share content-rich information. It allows you to easily share personal documents, photos and links to other content, and gives live text (and video) chat options for anyone who has a Google account.
Google+ has a wide variety of features, including Google Hangouts (an online group chat tool) and the “+1 button” (which allows users to personally endorse an article or an interesting item from the Web). Google+ also allows you to categorize your contacts into a variety of groups called ‘circles.’ These ‘circles’ give you an additional level of control over who sees what you post on the network.
Google Docs has recently been integrated into Hangouts, the video chat feature of Google+. Users can pull up their documents while using the video chat feature and share their screen to for easy face-to-face tele-conference and presentation capabilities.
Pinterest is a virtual pin board where users can “pin” (collect) and store online images in collections based on their interests. Pinterest collections are great ways to collect and share photos of birthday parties, sunsets, famous quotations and favorite family recipes.
If you’re constantly surfing the web, it can be difficult to remember exactly where you saw that cute kitty picture your daughter/granddaughter/niece will absolutely love. Pinterest is easily added to your internet browser to make it easier to images from the web.
Stumped for gift ideas for the upcoming holiday season? Check out Pinterest’s gift section — it has segmented categories with different price ranges, and clicking on the image will take you to the product information.
Twitter is an online, micro-blogging social network that allows users to share and read posts. Users can follow and get tweets from friends, celebrities, news outlets, companies and other organizations. The challenge and artistry of this platform is this: each post (called a “tweet”) can only be 140 characters or less. (That’s it.)
Twitter is a great way to quickly receive updates and breaking news and updates from your friends, family, favorite sports team or news outlet. You can create different lists to direct your tweets into different collections based on their author.
To help you create lists, Twitter has a “suggestions” feature that suggests ways to categorize your tweets. Note: watch what you tweet. One of your followers can easily share (“re-tweet”) your tweets with others.
Most people are familiar with Facebook, the largest and most widely-used social media network in the world.. You can interact with other Facebook users by “friending” them and “liking” or commenting on their posts, photos, and other content they share on their wall. Companies, sports teams, politicians, celebrities and social movements all use Facebook to spread the word about their activities.
To best use Facebook, remember to keep in mind what you want to share. Check your privacy settings and make sure your public information is the kind of thing you want public. If you need help, Geek Squad Agents are available 24/7 online at geeksquad.com to help you figure out the settings.
Did you know you can now use Facebook to connect you and your friends using text messages? If your Wi-Fi or Internet connectivity is off, you can still contact your friends and family via Facebook. You can turn on text messaging so your contacts can use Facebook Messages to send you texts. Once you have activated text messaging through your Facebook account, you can send a text to 32665 (FBOOK) and send a text to be posted on your friend’s Facebook wall.
LinkedIn is a social networking tool focused on professional networking and building business relationships. It can be used for professional networking needs, and has informational tabs that compile your industry’s top news for the day for quick reference.
LinkedIn can be used to connect professionally and as a supplement to the traditional resume and business card. LinkedIn allows you to expand and personalize your professional experiences, giving you a place to put all those things you leave off the hard copy of your resume. You even have the option of adding a video onto your LinkedIn profile to give you an extra boost in impressions.
Check out LinkedIn fequently to see what your contacts and colleagues are up to. It’s a great way to stay connected professionally, and congratulate themon their career accomplishments while keeping those professional doors open.
On many social media sites, people can request to follow or friend you. If you’re not comfortable with strangers having access to your social media information, be careful who you allow into your social network. In most cases, they will have access to everything you post to the network.
There are a lot of different ways to handle the privacy settings offered by social media sites. On Facebook and many other social media sites, marking your page as private will prevent members of the general public from seeing anything but the most general information about you.
Social media websites generally undergo changes a few times every year, and most of those facelifts affect privacy settings in some way. If you notice changes on social-networking site homepages, it’s a good idea to revisit your privacy settings, and perform a quick internet search to learn more. We keep up on this kind of thing so we will be able to help you with any questions you may have.
Here’s a few general guidelines that everyone should know about social networking websites:
If the social media universe is still too much for you, let Geek Squad help.
Agent Wiebusch carries badge number #3881 and has thwarted rogue technology issues since 2004, helping clients in store, in their home or business, and now online. When away from computers, he enjoys playing sports, playing videogames, and tinkering with motorcycles, classic cars, and anything else fast.
Laptops are often at the top of a student’s shopping list for college. While mostly used for homework, papers and research, they’re also great for teleconferencing on the cheap.
Most laptops include built-in webcams which are great for audio/videoconferencing. Combined with programs like Skype (http://www.skype.com), Google Talk (http://www.google.com/talk/) or FaceTime (http://www.apple.com/mac/facetime/), those Sunday night calls can be more meaningful, allowing everyone to see each other while they are talking.
Sometimes, regular phone calls are still the best option. Which is why a smartphone is a good choice. Many family plans allow free long distance so children and parents can reach out and talk as often as needed. Plus, many modern smartphones have front-facing cameras to enable you to use Skype, FaceTime or similar video chat apps while on the go – whether it be for a pre-exam pep talk, or at a pep rally before the big game.
With more parents (and grandparents) joining social networks, students can keep everyone up to date with Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) or Google+ (http://plus.google.com). College life can be hectic at times, so the ability to upload stories about college classes, photos of dorm life, or recorded videos make it easy for loved ones to keep up on their students’ busy lives.
Of course, while getting their children set up with the technology to keep in touch, parents will also want to make sure their own home tech is up to the task. Geek Squad Agents can help to ensure the home network is setup, safe and secure, and the home computer is free of malware and ready to go for reaching out to their loved ones. Even if it’s only so their kids can ask for more “laundry” money.
Agents are available 24 hours a day to help with your technology at 1-800 GEEK SQUAD (800-433-5778), online at http://support.geeksquad.com, or in a Geek Squad Precinct located at your local Best Buy.
Agent Derek has been removing techno-stress from the lives of his Geek Squad clients since 2005. When not providing remote help as an Online Support Agent, he likes to take to the road on a vintage motorcycle for adventures through Ohio country highways.“Warning !!!!!!!!!!! Don’t use the Christmas Tree App. Be advised it will crash your computer. Geek Squad says it’s one of the Worst Trojan Viruses there is and it is spreading quickly. Please repost to friends & let them know !!!”
Tell Me More: In actuality, Geek Squad has not officially investigated this particular application, nor have we identified it as the source of any infections in any cases we have supported. However, that doesn’t automatically mean that it’s ok to use.
Should I Be Worried? We haven’t completed our investigation of the “Christmas Tree” application and cannot guarantee that it’s completely safe. As a general rule, if it’s not 100% necessary for you to use an application and you can’t verify that the developer is trustworthy, you may want to do some research before installing it to your profile.
What Do I Need to Do? Here’s what you should know about Facebook applications before you install them:
• Any Facebook application that you install or use on your profile has access to your personal information and friends list, so make sure you’re only interacting with applications and people you trust with your personal info.
• Facebook developers are bound by a contract with Facebook, which requires them to respect the privacy settings you’ve chosen for your account information. Occasionally Facebook identifies developers who break these rules and use personal information for less-than-friendly purposes. The end result of this misuse of personal information is identity theft — yet another reason to be extra careful with the information you’re sharing via applications.
• Facebook applications cannot directly interact with your computer or infect your computer with viruses. However, if a rogue application gains unauthorized access to your personal information, hackers could potentially use that information to infect your computer through other means, or trick you into downloading an infection using a pop-up or “scareware” tactics. Be careful about what you click on inside applications, because the pages and information inside them are not provided by Facebook and could potentially be used by companies or individuals to steal personal information — or infect your computer.
Geek Squad Final Word: As always, if you experience any undesired computer symptoms, seek help from a computer professional as soon as possible. If you notice any signs of your Facebook account being compromised or sending out messages you didn’t intend to send, it could be a signal that your computer may be infected, and you should seek professional assistance.
For more information, visit Facebook’s Safety Center (http://www.facebook.com/safety), check out the Geek Squad home page at www.geeksquad.com, or contact your nearest Geek Squad Agent. Whether it’s online, via 1-800-GEEKSQUAD, or in any Best Buy store, we’re here to help 24/7/365!
Social networking websites are one of the fastest growing website genres on the internet. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. Connect, chat, and let people know what you are doing with just a click of the mouse or punch of the cell phone button. This is “the thing” to do nowadays, the way we keep in touch. With this easy of communication comes the possibility of exploitation. Today we are going to talk about the possible safety hazards of letting your guard down when socially networking via the internet.
There are a couple of set-in-stone ground rules that everyone needs to know about social networking websites. Let me share with you the same information I tell most of my clients:
• Social networking websites themselves are generally safe; The content people put on them, however, may not be. It is the human element you need to worry about.
• Always remember that any content you post on the internet will be there forever, for anyone to read, store, and republish
• Just because the screen says your friend John has sent you information doesn’t mean John is actually the person who did
• If it doesn’t “seem right” it probably is not right
• Things free or too good to be true, are. Just like in the “real world.”
Now that we are armed with those rules, let us run through a few possible scenarios. For instance, you hop onto a popular networking site to update your status and you see you have a message from your friend. We are talking about someone you know but does not frequently message you. You open the message and there is a link to what is described as a ‘cool video’ or some super-duper product that you should “check out.” The link doesn’t work, or for whatever reason it doesn’t seem to work. Or perhaps it is such as stupid thing you are wondering why your friend was even wasting your time. “No biggie” you may think. A week later, however, you find that you are getting popup ads left and right and your computer is slowing down.
What happened? Well your friend probably had a virus or spyware infection that spreads itself via sending messages to everyone who his is ‘friend,’ telling them to click on the link. When the link is clicked the spyware is installed. (Please remember that antivirus and antispyware programs are not always 100% effective) The spyware has been watching what you are typing, trying to steal credit card numbers, or otherwise is up to no good. Bam, you’ve been socially hacked.
Another scenario popping up lately involves micro-blogging websites. One of the most popular is Twitter. (Micro-blogging is posting status updates or information in only one to two sentences). There are several excellent micro-blogger humans out there reporting everything from celebrity updates, news hot off the press, and even your latest television show character developments.
However, there are also those micro-blogging accounts where it seems that some “person” is following the status updates of 5,000 people yet only 10 or 20 people are following them. This seems odd…who has the time to follow 5,000 people yet is not popular enough to warrant anybody ‘following’ what they are doing? Yet this random person just ‘followed’ or ‘added’ you to the list of people they listen in on? Weird! So what in the world is going on?
Well, it is completely feasible that this person is waiting for you, and the 5,000 other people, to post something that could be personally identifying. Maybe you don’t post revealing information all at once. Perhaps without realizing it you do it over the course of months. Like pieces of a puzzle to be assembled into a greater picture at a later time. Maybe you uploaded a photo revealing your address or house number in the background of your family picnic? Did you post something with your name on it, or tied to your name like the picture of the new car you bought? Did you just update your status about the burger joint on the corner of Main St and how you are eating there?
Believe it or not just with that simple information above a person can cause you a big headache. For example: With that house number, nearby the burger joint address, the make/model of your car or license plate number in a picture (and personal information tied to this plate number), or anything else you posted, someone could do something as simple as fill out a credit card application in your name. With the free credit card application they stole out of your mailbox. Or perhaps they could use this information to impersonate you in other ways. Ick, who the heck needs that sort of trouble!
That whole scenario seems like a lot of trouble for someone to go through, but it really is not that hard. There are freely available programs on the internet that can scour social networking websites for certain keywords multiple times per hour. When they hit upon this keyword, the program marks that post for future review by human eyes. That person who was following you now has all the information they need from your three months of blogging posts to paint an excellent picture of you. They could possibly step into your shoes if they wanted to.
So what can you do to protect yourself? Remember the set-in-stone rules I mentioned above. What appears to be, may not be true. Ask your friend you do not speak to often if they really sent you a funny video about a cat climbing the Christmas Tree before you open the message and follow the link.
Do not post anything on the internet you wouldn’t want someone to see no matter how innocuous it seems to be. Personally identifying information such as license plate numbers, house numbers or other addresses, specific names, how you went to Johnny’s High school and still live in the same town…things like that. Remember that this information is stored somewhere, likely in multiple places, for almost all eternity. Information can be used like pieces in a puzzle to paint a bigger picture of you.
Do not accept “friend requests” from people you do not know. Do not allow people to “follow” you if you do not know who they are. If you are unsure as to the authenticity of the person on the other end, ask them a piece or two of personal information that only the true person would know. Watch your children and make sure when they are on these social sites that they adhere to your rules and guidelines.
Trust your gut feeling. When a scenario seems odd it could mean someone is up to no good. In addition, remember when you cannot see the person on the other end of the internet connection you have no proof they are who they say they are.
I truly hope this information helps steer you towards trouble-free social waters. The internet is certainly an awesome way to connect and stay in touch at the speed of light. We need not be afraid of the web, but we do need to respect the power it can have over us if used incorrectly.
Now I think I will go post on Twitter that I have finished writing this blog…
When I hear stories like a 104 year old Twitter user (Ivy Bean), I wonder if it’s our own reservations that keep us older folks from diving into the latest and greatest tech. Children are less likely to allow the intimidation of new technology get in the way of using it.
The release of a Blu-ray 25th anniversary edition of the film last week is like welcoming an old friend back in shiny, new HD duds. As soon as the movie starts up again, I’m instantly transported to the first time I saw this classic as a kid in the theaters, and it is wonderful!
This year at E3 Microsoft announced some new additions to the XBOX360 video game console that will make it a more social experience for players. One of the fastest growing social platforms on the web right now is Facebook. Microsoft announced an add-on that uses Facebook Connect to allow XBOX360 players to take gameplay photos and upload them to their Facebook account automatically.
With innovations like this, it begs the question: are personal computers going to become obsolete?
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