These days, it's easy to download an archive of all the data Facebook has on you. Facebook offered dire warnings about how doing so would disable my apps, and keep me from logging in using my Facebook credentials. I went all-out, choosing the option to totally disable the sharing platform. So I tightened up my settings to keep Facebook from sharing my data. Sloppy security on the part of my friends can potentially make some of my information public. Instead, I use a password manager to create strong, unique passwords for every site.īut being careful myself isn't enough. One exposure and all your accounts are wide open. Doing so makes your Facebook password a single point of failure. I never use Facebook (or my email account) to log into websites. Those quizzes that offer to scan your Facebook data and give you a result? Those are poison! I don't touch them. Even then, the questions better not be the kind of thing that might answer your security questions. I've been known to try some silly quizzes, but only the ones that ask you questions to figure out, say, which Game of Thrones character will kill you. I had to silence one family member because of a Farmville account that kept pinging me to come play. I never play Facebook games you'd be surprised, or appalled, at how much data games can gather. And I maintain a security suite that warns if a dangerous link gets past my radar. For example, while it's true that I studied Existentialism in college, I'm not actually a Pastafarian I have not been 'touched by his noodly appendage.' I never wildly click links that seem shady. I don't post a lot in my visible profile, and not all of what I display is true. I keep my profile private except to friends.

I've known for years that with Facebook, I'm not the customer, I'm the product. Perusing the resulting archive, I ran into some surprises, both positive and otherwise. But now that Facebook has made it so easy to download everything the social network has about me, I went ahead with that process. I don't see any need to delete my Facebook account. I closely follow security topics and products such as antivirus utilities, and I also use Facebook, but carefully.

Many security experts either always steered clear of the social network or are currently advocating deleting it. As someone who's in both groups, I'm an oddity. However, there's not much overlap between these groups. I know a lot of people in the security industry, and I know a lot of people who enjoy Facebook.

How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.

How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac.

How to Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 Files.

How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill.

How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad.

How to Block Robotexts and Spam Messages.

Facebook page manager for pc windows 10