Scam or truth?

Unless I would see the same information on the actual Apple website, I would say it is a scam.

I can't check it because I refuse to use Facebook because of their business practices.

Scam.

Stedman

Hi baboa,

I've been getting a bit squeamish about facebook myself. I just heard the owner made some wild corporate move that everyone's talking about and they introduced a new format called Timeline. We've been warned that this format may not jive with our idea of privacy.

Could you tell me what it is about their business practices that you don't like?

Thanks,

ehennigan

I can't comment on their business practises, but I can offer this about the risks of using the site:

It has been estimated that one in six links posted on Facebook pages are connected to malicious software.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12967254

to which Facebook has responded:

"Facebook and Internet security company Web of Trust (WOT) will provide Facebook users with a feature that protects them against dubious Web links, the companies said this week.

When a Facebook user clicks on a link that leads to a page with a poor reputation rating given by the WOT community, the user will receive a warning message. Typically, the sites with a poor reputation are known for phishing, untrustworthy content, fraudulent services or other scams."

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?olo=email&NewsID=3279603

ehennigan wrote:

Could you tell me what it is about their business practices that you don't like?

For one, everyone on Facebook just go "opted-in" to publish their location. Personally, I feel it is best to wait until the IPO gets very high and then dump your Facebook account. If you weren't a member of Facebook before, it is important to join now so that when you leave, that will help to waste just a little bit more of the advertisers' money.

I don't like that they sell your information and that it's taken them some time to offer options to make some of your information private. They only react with measures if the public outcry/media coverage is overwhelming and negative. If that is what they do, it would be fine if they were to prominently display that on the front page: "We make money by selling your information. And, by establishing an account and agreeing to our ToU's, you are agreeing to that practice".

I don't trust them. But, even if I did, I would not use it: it can be detrimental to your (financial) health because hackers will steal information sooner or later - so I prefer to maintain a low or as close to non-existent profile online as I can - the internet/online/cloud is not failproof. My health insurance company "lost" all the information on their servers from thousands of their members (myself included); one of my favorite shopping sites online was hacked and information stolen (mine included), and the list goes on.