Archive for June, 2010

Leave Facebook, Find Privacy Alternatives, Protect Facebook Friends

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

It’s not about me but about you and those that you care about.

I won’t be staying for much longer on Facebook. I do not want friend’s to assume that I support Facebook’s complete lack of ethics for user data privacy.

Facebook data is easy to obtain and could be used to harm individuals and their friends especially in countries under harsh regimes. The value of Facebook has been in seeing friend’s pictorial depictions of their lives. Facebook wall feeds though have been so busy that they are impossible to follow. Facebook gives little and takes away much. Facebook want to own your data including the choices which you have made.

Facebook’s control settings have been frequently buggy, crash or impossible to change (especially privacy options). No one should give Facebook their email password. Once your email account is compromised it could be used for Nigerian fraud scams, banking fraud or spam phishing. Was your password sent using HTTPS? If it was not then a criminal could have it. Even if you sent it by HTTPS then an unethical technician could have sold or abused it. I would not trust Facebook to be ethical nor sufficiently careful given their poor track record.

Facebook has deliberately and suddenly made private user data public.

The Facebook system has been easy to hack. Facebook have, by design, revealed information about user’s geo-location without their awareness. If your bank or email company were this negligent then you would be forced to leave.

I will support safer alternatives though. You can find me in future on my own private network at DaveOshana.com

I resisted joining Facebook for many years. Just before I joined I started to write a blog article about raising concerns about the misuse of privacy and Facebook. In the past year Facebook has blundered deliberately and unconsciously with private user date. I will be posting links before I leave.

Soon after joining Facebook I felt I should leave but others had wanted to do the same had said they would stay because I had joined and was posting. I have enjoyed seeing what is happening with others through their pictures – but you don’t need Facebook to publish on the internet.

I cannot recommend Facebook to anyone.

I don’t need Facebook for my most important life mission: sharing Enlightened Consciousness.

Most people who are interested in my spiritual teaching work have joined DaveOshana.com before finding me on Facebook. Facebook users may have learned about my work via Facebook friends. My opinion is that my presence on Facebook does not bring more attention to my work but gives a false sense of endorsing Facebook. As a person interested in supporting and protecting others I must vote with my feet by leaving Facebook but not without making those reasons clear first.

I encourage you to find social networks that you and your friends can keep private.

It should be possible to set up private networks between friend’s computers using trackerless torrent technology and to have Internet Messaging that does not have to use a 3rd party servers like hotmail, yahoo, skype, etc.

Basically, any company that holds most of your data, could act unethically – and when they are caught red-handed doing it many times over several years then it is time to move on.

My next project will to unhook from Gmail (GoogleMail). I hope there is a similar email product out there.

Blessings,
Dave Oshana
In future find me on
http://daveoshana.com/

Something to Hide?

If someone has something to hide – and people certainly do for a variety of reasons – like client confidentiality then they cannot expect Facebook to respect the need for privacy.

However people tend to naively trust web providers. As I wrote it’s particular dangerous to have your network exposed when a political regime changes – as I know full well happened in Argentina when people burned their address books. The world has not changed. This is one stark example.

It’s also insecure when Facebook users give their email password to Facebook especially if they use internet banking. These are flaws with Facebook’s way of operating that could have been remedied.

Disturbing reading about Facebook privacy violations (just a few examples):

If you understand the risks and consequences and still choose to stay with Facebook then check out this Facebook privacy settings plugin for Firefox:

  • http://www.reclaimprivacy.org/

    • Nothing can protect your Facebook data except leaving Facebook! Find safer alternatives. Protect your friends.

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    Posted in Enlightened Consciousness, Spirituality | 3 Comments »