security and social networking

[jodymeme]

Over the past year or so I've received several invitations from online friends to join various social networking systems that I'm not yet part of (as if the handful I'm already part of isn't a little too much already.) I found it curious, at first, that some of these invitations came from folks I had long been out of touch with, or sometimes

Comments

[sciencequeen]

What makes that more likely on FB or MySpace than anywhere else, really?

Good thing Firefox warns me when I'm about to get phished on MySpace!

Hey add me to crackbook! Stephanie Hendy (yes I'm using my real name because of school, I'm running for their student union)

[jodymeme]

You've been added!

[luxsmitten]

hi jody

[jodymeme]

Our computer is pretty secure and has all the standard firewall / anti-virus / spyware / registry cleaner / etc. software, so I'm not worried too much about that kind of thing. I just really don't see the point or the advantage from the perspective of a person using a social networking site to give up their passwords, or to become an unpaid advertiser by spamming all their contacts.

[luxsmitten]

"unpaid advertiser by spamming all their contacts."
fer sure, but whadya expect from capitalism?

[neobitch]

Give up my password / my e-mail contacts to a social networking site? Not on your fucking life, sir. ;)

[jodymeme]

Yeah, I hear ya.

[molasses]

lubyou.

[zoe_serious]

Actually the code that they use to send the information to google or hotmail or wherever does not store your password, it simply passes it along to the host. We are in the process of building this functionality into our online software (built only for non profits to allow them to run large fundraising events online and it's useful to have an address upload tool component for registrants who want sponsors) and nothing is stored, it's simply passed along via an encrypted handshake otherwise the companies that host your email (google, homtail etc) would not have given out the API to bulid the widget that allow imporatation of address book information

[jodymeme]

I'm not too worried about getting hacked, and I tend to put out more personal info than a lot of people on these sites (like my real name). Even if the technology is sound and secure, it just irks me that companies are asking people for passwords to email accounts and other social networking sites. These are the same companies that try to raise awareness about phishing scams, telling people not to share their passwords out on spoofed pages, etc., then they turn around and directly ask the very same people to share their passwords with them. For less experienced 2.0 users, I think this kind of thing could put them in more danger of being phished.

Nice to hear from you! I miss you and feel so out of touch!