Facebook is the world's largest SNS based on a real-name registration system. While it is convenient for interacting with acquaintances and contacting classmates, there are also risks such as leaks of self and family photos and behavioral trends being used by criminals. In addition, there are many points to be aware of when using Facebook, such as the existence of malware that targets Facebook. In this article, we will explain the dangers of Facebook and the precautions to be taken when using it safely.
- Features of Facebook
In 2006, Facebook, an SNS operated by Facebook Inc. in the United States, released a service for general users. After that, the Japanese version started in 2008, and the number of users increased even in Japan. The number of global active users (MAU) has reached 2.6 billion as of April 2020, and it is used all over the world. The biggest feature of Facebook is that it adopts a real-name registration system. While many other SNS such as Twitter and Instagram allow anonymity, Facebook basically requires real name registration, and personal information such as hometown and place of work is also required to be registered. can be selected).
According to the "Survey on Information and Communication Media Usage Time and Information Behavior" published by the Information and Communications Policy Research Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Facebook is used next to LINE among users in their 30s to 60s in Japan. I know there is. And since there is a high tendency for people who are acquainted in real life to connect with each other, it is characterized by more posts such as status reports than other SNS. Since user groups are classified by attributes such as companies and schools, it is easy to find acquaintances and friends, and there is also a function that notifies friends who have been connected and common acquaintances, making it easier to connect with more people. This design concept seems to be related to the fact that it was originally created to support networking on university campuses.
- Dangers of Facebook
While Facebook is highly convenient, there are also risks associated with its characteristics. Typical examples are as follows.
Leaked photos of yourself or your family
You can easily upload photos on Facebook, but you shouldn't carelessly upload photos of yourself or your family. This is because the photos can be leaked and used for various purposes. On Facebook, you can set the public range for each post, but if you set the setting to "Public (all people including non-Facebook users)", you cannot control the public range yourself, so it can be seen by an unspecified number of users. There is a possibility that
Criminals take advantage of one's movements and behavioral tendencies
From photos uploaded to Facebook and check-in, home address, user's location, place of work, etc. may be guessed and identified. The location information in the Exif *1 information attached to the photo is automatically deleted when it is uploaded to Facebook. Put it away. Also, if you use check-in on a regular basis, your behavioral trends will be grasped, and the risk of encountering damage such as burglary will increase.
Information at the time of shooting embedded in photo data taken with a digital camera or smartphone camera. In addition to the shooting date and time and shooting location, the camera model and setting information at the time of shooting are saved.
Account abuse
If your Facebook ID and password are stolen and your account is hijacked by a third party, it may be used for crimes. There is a field where you can enter your email address in the registration information, but if you register the same as your ID, it can be easily guessed, increasing the risk of being hijacked. In the unlikely event that your account is hijacked, you can not only send spam messages to your friend's account, but also suffer malicious damage such as committing fraud by pretending to be you.
Two-factor authentication is authentication that uses other means such as SMS in addition to your password. By enabling two-factor authentication provided by Facebook, unauthorized login can be prevented even if the ID and password are stolen. As a first step to improve the security level, such as preventing account hijacking, it should be dealt with immediately. Settings can be made by selecting two-factor authentication from the "Security and login" menu.
Necessary information is known on other sites
The information you post on Facebook can also be abused to break through "secret information" on other sites. It is a method such as guessing the answer to the secret question from the contents such as hometown, hobby, post registered on Facebook. If the secret questions are broken, unauthorized login to other sites such as online banking may result in financial damage. Such methods are called social engineering.
Existence of malware targeting Facebook
Malware targeting Facebook is also increasing as the number of users increases. Of particular note is the type that spreads via Facebook Messenger. Around the summer of 2020, there were many reports of accounts being hijacked by clicking on the video URL titled "You in this video" as shown in the image below.
- How to protect yourself from the dangers of Facebook
Below, we will introduce various pitfalls and dangers of Facebook, and the points to be aware of when using it.
Enable two-factor authentication
Don't feel free to upload a photo of yourself
It is also important to note that if you upload a photo of yourself casually, the photo may be misused. It can also be used for creating fake accounts and for collages. Women in particular need to be careful, and there is no end to cases of people being abused to create fake accounts on dating apps and dating sites.
Pay attention to disclosure range
For private postings, the scope of disclosure should be set appropriately. You can set detailed status for each friend, such as close friends, so it would be a good idea to review the settings once before posting extremely private content.
Don't send your location information blindly
Facebook Messenger for smartphones has the ability to send location information in real time. If you turn it on, your home location and your current location will be revealed to anyone you're friends with. It's important to keep it off normally, and if you turn it on when you need it, be sure to turn it off afterwards.
Don't make your profile more detailed than necessary
By keeping profile descriptions to a minimum, it is possible to reduce the risk of information such as answers to secret questions being known to third parties. In particular, if your date of birth and address are known, you may be vulnerable to identity verification by banks and other organizations, and you may be spoofed. I would like to review the registration information again and consider whether there will be any adverse effects if each registration information is revealed to a third party.
Don't blindly click URLs in messages and posts
As with emails, it is also important not to blindly click on URLs sent in messages or in posts. As mentioned earlier, some malware spreads infection by sending messages indiscriminately, so you should avoid clicking URLs unconditionally, even if they are messages sent by close friends.
Beware of spam apps
There are probably more than a few users who use their Facebook accounts to log in to various apps and web services. However, when registering, I would like to confirm once that the application and web service are safe.
In addition, there are things that were safe at the time of registration but become dangerous over time. There is also the possibility that spammed apps may cause damage such as spam posts from user accounts or theft of personal information. I would like to review it regularly and delete anything that I do not use continuously.
- Pay attention to the etiquette of writing on friends' posts and publishing photos
Please be respectful of privacy when leaving comments on posts. For example, when commenting on a friend's post, don't include non-public personal information about that friend. Even if the commenter doesn't think it's personal information, the person who posted it may consider it personal information. In particular, when it comes to content such as affiliation, address, and circles you participate in, it is easy to have different opinions, so you need to be careful.
You should also get permission from your friends before posting or tagging photos of them. I would like to recognize that we have entered an era where we should consider whether our actions on SNS will infringe on the privacy of others, and act accordingly.
- Improving social media literacy is important
In order to protect yourself from the dangers of using Facebook, it is all about understanding how Facebook works and how to set it up. And not only Facebook, but also raising literacy about SNS in general and protecting manners should help to effectively utilize SNS as a communication tool in the future. SNS literacy is explained in detail in "SNS is dangerous! Security concepts to keep in mind when using SNS", so please refer to this as well.
Starting with Facebook, SNS is now closely related not only to improving the quality of life but also to business. While we are forced to live online, the use of SNS greatly contributes to maintaining human relationships. Recently, there has also been an increase in relationships that do not involve contact in real places, such as sending Facebook requests to connect after online events. By continuously posting to Facebook, there is also the aspect of becoming your own life log, and Facebook has various usefulness. I would like you to keep up with information such as attack methods that change every moment according to the times, and pursue safe usage methods.
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