If you’re like me and depend on the internet to provide you with an existence that’s more fun and interesting than the boring, meaningless despair that is: reality (*Shudder*), then all of these reports of companies we trust with our personal information having their security breached is somewhat unsettling.
Now comes news from the Symantec Corporation that the social networking giant, Facebook, has opened up its over 500 million users to even further online exposure through its third-party applications.
According to Symantec:
We estimate that as of April 2011, close to 100,000 applications were enabling this leakage.
and:
… Over the years, hundreds of thousands of applications may have inadvertently leaked millions of access tokens to third parties
So what can we do? If the big, fancy corporations aren’t looking out for our interests then how can we keep our identities safe online?
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Well I may have a few suggestions that may help:
- Be proactive with your password security.
Unless it’s those irritating sites that force you change your password after a set time, we always wait until something happens before we start changing passwords. Added to that is the fact that we don’t give passwords enough thought. Seriously, your high school nickname just isn’t good enough. Anyone can guess firecrotch911or loserdork17.
Change your password at least once a day and use the most random sequence of numbers and letters you can come up with like: vPii4Lk576w (Note the use of Two (2) uppercase letters within this password. It’s a simple example. I didn’t want to make it too confusing for you this early). This password should be memorized and, if written down, the paper it was written on should be shredded and eaten.
- Develop a high-level, data encrypted, algorithmic security key.
I have no idea exactly what that is or how to make one (Or if they even exist) but if they do, then NASA, the CIA and banks will have them. And I want one too. Anything to keep my paladin from getting stripped of his gear and deleted… again. I mean, none of them have ever been hacked, right?
- Truth be told, no amount of security is going to be worth a damn if the hackers can read our minds. That being the case you should get used to the idea of tin foil hats.
I know! I know. It isn’t the trendiest of looks but you have to ask yourself, “Can it really be wrong if so many so-called “crazy” people say the same thing?” Are you going to leave anything to chance?
Food for thought.
- For many of us these rules may seem a bit extreme and inconvenient and, if you who think they just can’t do what it takes to stay ahead of hackers, I offer one simple alternative:
Caves…
At the end of the day, we may simply have to face the fact that the hackers have won and it’s time to pack it in. If you’ve grown tired of the never-ending struggle to keep your personal information safe, then your only option may be to just chuck all of your gadgets, cancel all of you credit cards, close your bank accounts, sell your car and home and head for the hills.
On those rare occasions when you venture into the outside world to obtain supplies only deal in the paper money you would have received from selling your worldly possessions. Eventually, though, that will run out or, as technology’s hold on the world economy tightens its grip, no longer be accepted as legal tender. By that time, however, you should have already have learned to properly live off the land and farm your own crops. You may be able to arrange some sort of barter-system to exchange your produce for various goods and services.
This may actually prove itself the wisest choice as your reclusive lifestyle will buy you more time on this Earth after the machines come to life, take over and begin to wipe out mankind.
Would love to here from you...