Three recent news stories have made me want to completely re-evaluate my online strategies and persona. Some of the things I can do; with others I have no control. But let me tell you that the situation is bad and getting worse, and you'd better heed the advice in this column.
The first story was about the explicit photos and tweets and shenanigans done by Representative Anthony Weiner. This story occupied a good two weeks of the news cycle. Personal and lewd pictures, stupid comments, and all sort of things were revealed because he was simply not circumspect about his online chatting.
Second we have the newest Facebook facial-recognition technology. Say you're at a party, and someone takes a picture with you in the background (doing god knows what), then someone posts that picture on his or her Facebook page; Facebook's new software will see you and tag you. So now, like it or not, every time you show up anywhere and anytime, Facebook can ID you. Facebook says it is minimizing the use of this software, but the fact that it exists is pretty onerous.
vThird on the list was the revelation that almost every password you can imagine is not secure on today's computers. The processing power of a Core i7 by itself is enough to crack almost any password whatsoever. Within minutes. Now it's ridiculous how easy it is to crack into someone's account. I'm sure various agencies do it all the time just to see what people are up to.
To make matters worse I stumbled upon an obvious flaw on the Apple iPad. I was using someone's iPad and wanted to install something and was presented with a password block. It wanted to know his iTunes password. I tried a few passwords to no avail and then the message came up saying I obviously had forgotten the password and did I want to reset it? I said yes, and the next thing I knew the message icon lit up saying I had some mail. Since there didn't seem to be a block to look at it I opened the message and was allowed to reset the password, which gave me the access that was blocked earlier. This was not my machine! And this is called security? Ridiculous.
The fact is all these systems are compromised. The younger crowd pooh-poohs privacy, but let's see what they think 10 years from now when they can't get a job because of some photo on Flickr.
Party Photos Are Like Tattoos
I always tell people that posting photos or comments or just about anything is like getting a tattoo. Once it's on, it's pretty hard to get rid of it. You're stuck. As a writer I have old crap thrown back at me forever and have to live with it. But I'm always aware of the tattoo factor and luckily have editors once in a while. And unlike Weiner, I'm not dumb enough to post really stupid pictures of myself unless I want them to be seen by everyone for some reason.
Of course most stuff goes nowhere, at least at the moment. But once it gets on a server it can be dredged up 20 years from now, costing you a job or your social status.
At least one survey is out that says 33 percent of all teens have posted or sent a nude or semi-nude pic of themselves to someone or other. This is an outrageously high number and should be a concern to everyone, especially the teens. And 59 percent of all young adults say they have posted or sent sexually suggestive messages. My advice? Try whispering in the ear instead.
So people need to take action. First, rethink your online strategies. Is being on Facebook all day that necessary? With teens they seem to be in touch 24/7. Why? What are they going to miss out on if they take a break. Parents need to discourage the use of this product.
Next, rethink your password strategy. Always realize that the password can't only be cracked, but easily cracked. And the nonsense about making sure to use a number and symbol and enough letters is all bull.
Be somewhat circumspect about posting photos of yourself acting like a goofball at a drunkfest. People see these photos and even if it was a once-in-a-lifetime party and you never normally do this, you will be seen as that person forever. "Oh, do you still have that beer cap?"
Now, if your profession is standup comedy, then perhaps none of this is important. But for most people all this is bad and going to get worse. Only you can protect your own privacy. So treat yourself with respect, and think twice before doing something stupid online. It will come back to bite you.
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