This is part of a three-part article for The Macon Statement titled “Facebook: Good, Bad or Ugly?“.
Harry Underwood
October 11, 2010
Facebook: the “UGLY”
Over the Internet, particularly on such prominent uses of this network as the World Wide Web, browser security has long been an issue for those who use Microsoft Windows-based computers, as the platform has, for much of its history, been the primary target of malware infections and unscrupulous “black-hat” cracking (in other words, using a computer network to gain unauthorized entry into other computers for malicious, bad-faith purposes).
For Windows users who spend a large chunk of their waking hours on social network services such as Facebook, the threats of having a user account compromised or one’s own computer being compromised are very real and can manifest themselves when one is not aware or safeguarding of their own security or privacy.
For instance, the wide diversity of accessible media and apps hosted on the user or group pages of the website can hide malware
The implications of having one’s own Facebook user account compromised by another person can wreak havoc on one’s own sense of personal security and can, in extreme circumstances, force the user to create a new user account. However, tools for recovery of control over one’s own Facebook account exist on the site.
“Honestly, it has only ever happened once and it happened when I couldn’t gain access to my own account,” said Cameron Walker, a student at Macon State. “All I had to do was change my password and everything since then has been fine.”
