More "online reputation" stuff...

I'm at Saki Tumi's in NYC, reading the New York Times. A Paul Sullivan article compares the "web" (who uses that god-awful term anymore, except maybe for AOL?) to an elephant, in that "it never forgets."

"The college student who received Mr. Weiner’s picture said that she had awakened to find her name all over the Internet. Reversing that kind of damage takes time."

TRUE... BUT... Gennette Cordova was voted by classmates as the person "most likely to end up in a tabloid" and she fulfilled her destiny. She'll do just fine.

Paul, right out of the gate I can think of a case where details of at least one human being with ties to the Capital Region were scrubbed from your "web" and where there's one there are likely more.

"Reputation.com advertises an annual membership fee of $99, but Mr. Fertik said that costs could easily reach $10,000 for a prominent person who wanted to make a scandal harder to discover through Internet searches. (He said Mr. Weiner was probably out of luck: “It would take a long time and more money than he has.”)"

I'm sure, Paul, you spent a lot of time thinking about, gathering info and structuring your article. But if our pal Rep. Anthony Weiner stays in office, this is all MOOT!

You see, already the media has moved on to Sarah Palin's e-mails. And somebody is reporting that in Weiner's district, his constituents say they'll re-elect him. (Keyword is "reporting" - all the newspaper polls I have seen show 75-95% of the respondents want Weiner OUT) I can report Paul, that "everybody thinks Paul Sullivan should write a book" and after awhile you'd think so too! As the passage of time seperates us from the weiner circus, his chances of surviving this gets better and better --- good news for all of those concerned about "online repuations".

In any event, it's nice to know that ove can BUY BACK his or her reputation.

"Michael J. Hershman, president of the Fairfax Group, a risk and reputation management firm, said burying negative information could cost $500 to $1,000, but persuading search engines to expunge incorrect information could cost several thousand dollars more. Getting that information removed from aggregating Web sites like Intellius or PeopleFinder can add another couple of thousand dollars."

Anthony Weiner, you may become "the guy who changed everything" !!!







Tags: Paul Sullivan, New York Times



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Notsojolly Roger says : "Go Facebook if you like and built your own prison cell, call the other inmates 'friends' and enjoy a sad but safe virtual life..."

A 2009 study conducted by Sophos Security discovered that 46 percent of randomly-selected Facebook users accepted a friend request from a fake account belonging to a rubber duck by the name of "Daisy Feletin."[1]

The best way to keep unflattering information about yourself out of Google is to keep it off the Net. That means tightening up privacy at all your online hangouts: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc. Be careful when you comment on other blogs and watch what you say in web forums, which are also indexed by Google unless the administrator has added a "do not index" tag to his forum. It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) Be careful what you post on your own Web site or blog.

Who's watching your facebook?

Fight Cyberslander...Preserve your integrity.

Netizen, Google Thyself!

Via Facebook's social engagement tools, spammers are able to execute what has been described as a "cocktail of attacks," perhaps directing users to fraudulent antivirus software capable of enabling a hacker to remotely control a computer; perhaps sending them to surveys from which they can earn a commission.

Facebook users can also find themselves directed to bogus online retailers hoping to pick up credit card details. Inadvertently befriending a fake account also unlocks access to personal tidbits that may seem innocuous but amount to a treasure trove for hackers seeking access to personal Web sites like bank accounts. They frequently hint at passwords and usernames, as well as the answers to common security questions.

According to security experts, these nefarious friends are overseen by a diffuse, elusive network of individuals located all over the world.

"Very often, these are executed by loose networks of folks who specialize in their particular niche and collaborate to attack, then make money off of the account," said Jules Polonetsky, director of the Future of Privacy Forum. "They know each other from spammer IRC [Internet relay chat] channels where they brag about exploits and alliances. It is not a particular giant spam company."

The unknown friends may also be covers for real people, such as law-enforcement agents on the lookout for incriminating information.

In a memo penned in 2008, the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services described the goldmine of personal information to be found on online social networks and instructed agents how to take advantage of people's "narcissistic tendencies" to sniff out fraud. [1] Do I Know You? Fake Friends Adding Fresh Danger To Facebook . Bianca Bosker

So how to remove the social networking albatross? Read on!

To begin the Facebook account deletion process: do not try to login to your Facebook account; you may want to clear your browser cache and delete your cookies so that you don't login inadvertently. Click the link below and follow the instructions OR bookmark this page for future reference.

Delete Your Facebook Account

WARNING!!! FB does NOT make it straightforward and easy to delete your account. Here, we look at how to deactivate as well as delete a Facebook account – and the difference between the two.

From Helium:

• A guide to deleting Facebook friends
• How to delete your profile on Facebook
• How to delete Facebook applications

A report published in the Albany Times Union newspaper about a fellow named Steve Valente and his facebook pictures caused a stir in the community. "I was in college then and I've grown up a lot since then," Valente, 23, told the newspaper. He said most of the pictures were from his freshman or sophomore years at the university. "I didn't feel it was appropriate to go back and edit my postings," Valente said.

One part of the Times Union article is definitely FALSE

Anything put online will follow a person forever, said Penny Perkins, a communications professor at The Sage Colleges, who teaches about social networking.

"This is your personal brand, your reputation," Perkins said. "I wouldn't post anything I wouldn't be happy to see on a billboard on 787."

Many people, she said, don't understand that Internet postings are always out there. She pointed to deleted items on such sites as www.archives.org, which tracks web postings since 1995.

That's BS! The Net CAN indeed be "wiped clean" -
One of my blogs was deleted last year: you can't find it ANYWHERE! You can also peruse the case of Mai Shiozaki, whose images are just now beginning to resurface on the web. Funny thing though: Shiozaki IS on Facebook!

Read the entire acticle about Steve Valente from Averill Park.

Here's another "avenue of deletion" recommended by another blogger
facebook.com/group.php?gid=16929680703


and I'll throw ya a little bone or two:

Check your bandwidth (+ other useful tools)!

Internet surfers, proceed with caution!







Tags: facebook privacyk, online privacy, secure social networking, internet eraser, remove personal information from Google, delete facebook account



Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and Dave Lucas are properly cited. Permission to reprint any comments below is granted only for those comments written by Dave Lucas and staff.

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