Burglars Might Read Your Facebook and Twitter
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Here's a little tip for those of you who are planning on taking a vacation in the next few months: writing about it on Facebook or Twitter could attract burglars who are looking for empty homes to break into.
Yahoo! News reports results from a survey conducted by insurance company Legal & General show which show an alarming number of people post details of their upcoming trips or new purchases on their Twitter and Facebook. Not only that, but apparently burglars are using these people's updates to find out who's going to be out of town and when.
According to L&G's research, 38 percent of users of social networking sites have posted updates about their holiday plans, while 33 percent have told people they are going away for the weekend. The study also showed that nearly a quarter of people discussed their vacations or trips on with friends via their walls. In other words, no control over who could see what they were posting.
The report went on to quote former burglar Michael Fraser, who appeared on the BBC's Beat the Burglar series. Fraise says, "There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that burglars are using social networks to develop relationships with people to identify likely targets."
Source : Tom's Hardware US
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Alan: Would you specifically recommend Chrome for Vista and Windows 7 users then? Dino: If security is your highest priority, I would recommend Chrome for any user on any operating system that it supports. Chrome has leap-frogged the other Web browsers in terms of security due to its innovative multi-process sandbox model. Chrome is even more secure on Windows Vista and Windows 7. Alan: What browser should we be using on the Mac or Linux? Dino: If security is your highest priority, I’d recommend using lynx. Alan: It’s that bad, huh? What do you use personally on your Mac? Dino: It depends on which Mac. I run Safari, FireFox, and Chrome within a Vista x64 VM on VMware Fusion. I like Safari's UI and polish so I use that for casual Web browsing because I'd be less concerned if an attacker gained access to my Twitter and Facebook account than my other private personal data. I use FireFox for that more sensitive Web browsing such as financial sites, etc. On my secure development machine, I surf the Web using Chrome within a Vista x64 VM on VMware Fusion. Good data separation takes a little work, but it's not too much to recommend that most users do their online banking from a different machine than the one that their children use to play games on the Web. For that, I'd recommend that users keep an old machine around with a clean install of the operating system that is only turned on when needed and that they patch it before surfing the Web with it. Alan: That’s a great tip. One last question: in 1998, the members of L0pht testified in front of the US Congress that a committed team of hackers could take down the entire Internet in 30 minutes. Security has certainly improved and the Internet has certainly gotten bigger, but the attackers have gotten more sophisticated too. Do you think that statement still holds today? Dino: Yes, and I probably shouldn’t say much more about it than that. Unfortunately, the Internet is more fragile than we would like to think and a lot of its core protocols require a redesign with security in mind. I apologize for the sometimes short and vague answers, but this business often requires a high degree of secrecy in order to protect clients and users. Alan: I completely understand. Thank you for your time. It was pleasure.
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ok i'll be sure to frequently post "cleaning my Glock and feeding my alligator" to deter them!
There's a reason I throw my electronics boxes away at work. Nothing like advertising "Hey I just bought a 42" OLED!" to my neighbors who know when I'm home and when I'm not.
I've always joked that telling my neighbor about my vacation plans is a bad idea... lol
Over here in the Netherlands, the government is even launching television spots about this all, telling people to be more careful.
There's a reason I throw my electronics boxes away at work. Nothing like advertising "Hey I just bought a 42" OLED!" to my neighbors who know when I'm home and when I'm not.
Boy, you bought a 42 in. OLED screen!! If that was true,I'd rob your house as well
I booby trap my home whenever I leave for certain period of time.
You guess how long that is.
If we just shutdown these stupid sites, we wouldn't have to have stories about how stupid the people who use them are. We all know most tweeters and facebookers are stupid, can we stop calling it "news"?
I mean, I could post "going on vacation, leaving my door unlocked and $500 on my dresser", but someone would have to know where I lived first. This means that:
a) one of my close real-life friends plans to rob me, in which case I need to re-evaluate my friends,
b) I posted my address online, which was insanely stupid and I deserve to get robbed, again, relating to how stupid most of these people are.
If we just shutdown these stupid sites, we wouldn't have to have stories about how stupid the people who use them are. We all know most tweeters and facebookers are stupid, can we stop calling it "news"?I mean, I could post "going on vacation, leaving my door unlocked and $500 on my dresser", but someone would have to know where I lived first. This means that: a) one of my close real-life friends plans to rob me, in which case I need to re-evaluate my friends, b) I posted my address online, which was insanely stupid and I deserve to get robbed, again, relating to how stupid most of these people are.
There are some really good uses for Facebook and Twitter, most of the parties I've gone to recently have been organized on Facebook because it makes it really smooth and easy.
a) I agree with you, people should not associated with such immoral characters.
b) Our identities and locations aren't as sacred as some people think, almost anyone in the U.S. can be found by address using just their first and last name. Try a reverse lookup using www.anywho.com, even most unlisted phone #'s can be found there.
Well it's what you get for not making your profile private or having robbers as friends.
Is it just me or is it that as technology becomes more advance, people are become dumb-er?
Well it's what you get for not making your profile private or having robbers as friends.
I know really, why would you let other people (other than friends) see your wall, all people can see of my FB is name and picture.
people should just post less info
I still don't understand the hype for these sites. I guess people want fame or recognition oir something. I think they (Facebook and such) are fad and will wither away soon.
"In other words, no control over who could see what they were posting."
That's why they have "you must add this user as a friend to see personal information"
If anything, finding out who robbed you should be easy. Your friends.
"In other news.....Earth is round."
i just purchased 5 pitbulls,three at front door 3 at back door!lol
This has crossed my mind so never post when you are going out of town...
ok i'll be sure to frequently post "cleaning my Glock and feeding my alligator" to deter them!
lol, im going to use this one..
i just purchased 5 pitbulls,three at front door 3 at back door!lol
perfect... ill come in the basement window
I agree too: if you get robbed because of Facebook, it's not the fault of Facebook. If you get robbed because you didn't lock the door, is it the fault of your home's manufacturer or the door lock's manufacturer? Just blame yourself and your friend who robbed you.