Click Here To Visit Our Sponsor

Dedicated Web Hosting

 



 
 
 
 

Home
German Site
Russian Site
Archives
Friends
Chat
Feedback
Previous Issue


Commentary

ASISEEIT


Site Search


MetaCrawler


Tech-Encyclopedia


Webodedia


Dictionary


Britannica



Any City or US Zip




ICQ Site
Web


U. S. Zip Codes
Enter City and State
Example: Chicago IL


Web Calculator




Facebook Suzie

January 2, 2012


I don't write much these days.  The network computing concept seems to be developing nicely.  iPhones and iPads are doing well.  Android phones and tablets are doing well.  Cellular 4G technologies are developing well.  And the operating systems / applications playing field seems pretty fairly divided between Microsoft, Apple, Google, RIM, and the various smaller players.  So there isn't that much to write about.  Except...

Facebook!

Facebook seems to be rapidly developing into the kind of monster Microsoft was in the 1990s.  And using the same methods.  They lie, they cheat, they make crooked deals...  They sell your privacy.  Etc.  And now the already wealthy owners are preparing to become mega-wealthy through an initial public offering.

Well, it seems like it's time to pick up the pen!  So, this past weekend, I decided to do a little experiment.  The experiment was to become a 16-year-old girl, create a Facebook account, and view as many profiles as possible.

To my surprise, it was far easier than I imagined.  First I created an imaginary email address - suzieque@ncns.com.  Then I went to Facebook and created an account.  I entered my first name - Suzie, my last name - Que, my email address suzieque@ncns.com, my password, my sex - female, and my birthdate - 06/01/95.  And I pasted a wig on an old photo of me and uploaded it as my primary photo.  (Of course I could have used your daughter's photo from Facebook instead!)

Facebook did not question any of it.  And before I had even opened their "email confirmation" I was already able to browse through thousands (millions?) of accounts and download photos, read posts, view their friend lists, etc.

So anyone can pose as a 16-year-old girl and create an account without any verification of any kind?  Ridiculous!

Note that when I visited various profiles, it still showed at the top of the page that I had not yet even verified that the email address I gave was valid.

It seems to me that it is, or should be illegal for Facebook to allow minors to join without any parental permission.  And I note that even Hotmail requires parental approval for a minor to create a hotmail email address.

Is everyone out there lost in La-La Land while their kids are giving up their privacy on Facebook?    

Well, just call me Facebook Suzie!  After all, I'm certainly not going to post my real information on Facebook.

More News


Copyright © 1996-2012 NC News. All rights reserved.