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Dan

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Some years ago when Facebook launched they were not so bad. As time went on, they joined the older crew (Yahoo and Google - And MSN, now Bing or whatever they're going by on their 4th or 5th attempt of being search engine and / or profile system) in allowing website owners to use their already logged-in customers, to tap into that data and quickly register for an account with a forum, or holiday review website, or feedback website, or whatever.

Now recently they've been fined the biggest ever fine in the USA (a drop in the ocean) and issued gagging orders to news companies (and purposely made court cases last a lot longer than they need to by repeatedly appealing, costing tax payers millions, so that news can't report on those cases as they're still not finalised) to that the new isn't getting out.

I'm surprised we are still seeing demonstrations about brexit and the environment when we have these companies still running. And continuing to do what they promised they wouldn't.

When you used to connect to your facebook account via the forum, we got a bit of data that we needed. So email address, name (you could change it to a username, but not everybody did) and you'd need to set a password.

Some other boxes like male or female would automatically get filled in. And that's pretty much where it stopped from our side we didn't need to know much else.

Yet facebook was then compiling data via that service to collate posting patterns, shopping habits, time you spend online, and a thousands other things. Not cool on its own.

But then it sold that data to companies, that even governments use to target ads.

So the Cambridge Analytica scandal was our UK doing it. That's what caused the vote to sway to push for a brexit. But government voting worldwide was being used the same. Sometimes like with russia, they pay for massive amounts of fake news (A term not coined by myself, it's spam, always has been in my eyes) to be spread around social sites.

Plebs like us (not me anymore I don't use social media sites - and would urge you not to, and certainly take control of your kids accounts they don't know what they're giving away when they sign up to tiktok or visco and things) spread that news. And that then gives them more data to sell and target with newer advertisers.

Now I've just looked, before I close my facebook down, what I can buy as an advertisers.

I can target not only each and every one of you, because you have visited my forum. I can target your children with separate ads - so as to get them mention things that then you might share because it has come from a source you trust.

I can then monitor that ad. And customise it to target who else you spread that news with. So your circles. I can then setup a new ad just for those, and then slate your beliefs in those ads.

It goes round and round and round.

I work in advertising. So understand the tools and stats. I'm registered as a devloper with both Google and Facebook. And have back-end tools to "test" (see what my outcome for an ad or app would be) so can even see the data without getting an ad slot booked.

Until Facebook learn how to be grown up and trustworthy. It is going to continue to cause wars. Actual real wars.

The annexing of Crimea was heavily corrupt and a massive part of it came from Russia paying way more than the Crimea government could have ever done, to target ads on VK (their version of Facebook that is almost state-owned).

So we don't use connected accounts now. And I don't want ever to again.

Personally, I'd urge you to triple check your security and privacy every month. Facebook change a setting, and refresh the rest while they do that, so while you KNOW you set it to NOT PUBLIC one day, they change it for you, and say in their terms that they do that, so it's okay.

It's shocking.

If it's a company in Silicone Valley. It's a cut-throat-company that will hit a market crash just like the banks and wall street did. It wont be very long either. Once all the court cases are over in a decade. I don't know what they will do then.

So, anyway, that's our reason behind removing all those connected accounts. If you had one, and didn't change your name at the time, you can message me or Lou and we will change your name/username to a unique username or nickname for you or whatever.

If anybody would like help in erasing their data from these big companies. Let me know.

If you'd like to see some of your shopping habits, or ones of your kids, let me know. I can link you to some Google pages that would make you think fuuuuuuuuuck how do they know that?!?!?!

These devices that are recording you, are making mistakes all the time. I have some links to those too if you want to check to see what data Google, Alexa, and all the others have.

Personally, I turn them all off. I don't wany anything recording me, using my data for anything but the service I signed up for it to provide me, and I'd never suddenly change this forum to start selling tools and then spam you will tools. You signed up to a forum, with some sponsors sure, but that's a whole business change that is. And that's what these companies are doing.

Please feel free to use this thread to discuss this kinda thing. Because we need to open some eyes on this.

Our forum developers tools reference this here: Upcoming changes for GDPR compliance in XF1 and XF2 - https://xenforo.com/community/threads/upcoming-changes-for-gdpr-compliance-in-xf1-and-xf2.146888/
 
Noticed recently ,I had to give Forum (No script settings a tweak )to allow
Youtube , or got a java-script moan/blacked out box.. for all those lovely Vids(Media)
( No script -a techie add-on for Firefox )
_Farce Book -Privacy promises ,then settings tweaks on updates ...as
bad as android Play -updates .. sneaking in more access for features _
 
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Totally agree Dan. Never used Facebook and due to my previous career steered well clear of any significant SM use. Would also advise any youngsters who are considering careers in any security services to be very careful about what they post. Even heard stories of private companies asking for access to SM accounts as part of job vetting. We live in very dangerous times with a few very rich individuals able to manipulate media streams and thus influence public opinion.
 
Wow myspace. That's going back a bit!

Whatsapp is end-to-end encrypted. You can refresh your keys so the chat starts with fresh security every now and again. But that comes with it's own loopholes.

Apple never gave their backdoor entry to that american guys phone who got arrested and was on trial for killing or being involved in the planning of the bombing or something or other a few years back. So that's either a PR stunt, or they genuinely don't give governments access to your data.

The amount of people who can access your personal data increased massively some time ago. And evenn paramedics have the rights to put an access request in these days should they claim it's for your own safety or something.

It's just best to avoid putting things on sites that you wouldn't say in the street.

And keep your photos on your devices.

And turn off all your location tracking if you are up to something that you shouldn't be up to lol

A guy got done recently for murder, one of the things that went against him was his home hub monitoring his heating system. It registered him using the garden hose to wash away bloody by his pool.

Cameras connected to the internet in your homes can be accessed without them needing to inform you that they're accessing them. Should you be suspected of doing something at some time.

Google is polite, it will email you when they have had a request from a government agency to provide access to your data. Whatever data that is. But it's an email from Google, in your Gmail or whatever, so you're never going to open it. You'd assume it is just Gmail launching a new button somewhere.

I guess if you're all above board, you're fine. But if you're cheating on your partner or something, that data you will never get rid of these days. It's stored in multiple places for very long times.

Anyway, waffled a bit there. I don't like the not knowing whos accessing what. That gives me the creeps. :p
[automerge]1568743232[/automerge]
Hong Kong protesters and police using dodgy tech: Click - The Technology Powering Protest - https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0008flr/click-the-technology-powering-protest
 
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Never used Facebook and ..
They'll still have a profile on you - even though you might not have joined and agreed to any terms. Totally illegal, and was illegal under data privacy laws well before GDPR. FaecesBorg aren't going to change until hit with massive fines under GDPR - but that's going to be a slow process.
Remember that their entire business model collapses if they obey the law.
 
They'll still have a profile on you - even though you might not have joined and agreed to any terms. Totally illegal, and was illegal under data privacy laws well before GDPR. FaecesBorg aren't going to change until hit with massive fines under GDPR - but that's going to be a slow process.
Remember that their entire business model collapses if they obey the law.
Absolutely, And not just them, just think of the like of Amazon and eBay. All the smart home stuff!
 
They'll still have a profile on you - even though you might not have joined and agreed to any terms. Totally illegal, and was illegal under data privacy laws well before GDPR. FaecesBorg aren't going to change until hit with massive fines under GDPR - but that's going to be a slow process.
Remember that their entire business model collapses if they obey the law.
GDRP is only UK isn't it? If not EU-based.

Facebook got hit with the biggest ever fine issued to a corp in the USA. It was less than a % of their total revenue for that year alone. Like a parking ticket to them.

The UK isn't a big account for FB. They wont change their whole business model because of some MP's who can't get their head around their own country, let alone online laws. Borris got clocked using Facebook for work messages last week! Was issues a writ to hand them over to the queen. Told them F off, basically.

People will be tracked no matter what. And the worse ones doing it are the ones claiming they're putting laws in place to manage it. As usual :)

The point I was making in my OP was that I am doing everything in my power (what little power a little guy has these days!) to not allow anybody to have YOUR data. On our forum.

Threads you contribute, are ours. They're public. Beyond that, it's yours and you can take it, delete it, whatever. No sponsors get it, no volunteer staff now have it, I've locked us down. :)

You're as safe as you can be on here.
 
GDRP is an EU thing. Penalties can be up to 4% of global turnover. Yes that's global so no creative accounting to move income elsewhere, and turnover so they can't use creative accounting to make profits invisible.
The EU is a market FaecesBorg (and the rest) can't ignore - partly because of the income, but mostly if they ignore it, it leaves a gap for someone else to fill and break their de-facto monopolies.
There are already multiple complaints working their way through the system.
 
Yeah. I just can't see them being bothered by it one bit.

It's like when Alan Sugar got told off for selling Video Tape Recorders, so he got told to 'stick a warning on the advertising saying you can't record live TV on them' - and then everybody suddenly found a use for them.

The more social media sites are found breaching laws, having laws created for them, making whole industries comply with things they're not doing anyway, it's only them, the more traffic they get. The more ads they sell.

Kids aren't registering to facebook anymore. It's Visco and Tiktok (chinese brands). FB is losing market share in the UK as quick as they gained it.

Short of old photos - it's just full of news sites and ads now. And if you dare add people from groups to your friends list, you end up doubling the crap you see.

If you use it to find work, you're just getting the customer who wants the cheapest reply in the comments kinda work. Not actual work.

Nobody searches facebook for a 'carpenter in stoke' - They'd go for 'Stoke Groups' and then ask in one. So it's not helping web traffic to actual companies with actual websites. (I tried to stay neutral then did you see that - me not mention a single trade I know somebody in lol)

I dunno. These laws wont get backed up with manpower. Certainly not police. It's just something for the print-media to print. And then they pay somebody a fine. Then move onto the next scandal. It's mostly media actually causing it all.

Not a single consortium of actual web people say any social media is doing any good for anybody.

In face the guy who made the net said it's really bad. The guy who made Twitter come out and said it's really bad and urged people to delete their accounts.

It's damage limitation for the time being. Then I can see in about 10 years time, it being used for nowt. It'll crash as quick as it came. Same as myspace.

The moment an executive gets accused of something and they don't manage to cover it up quickly, it'll be gone.

Just all my personal opinion there - Not speaking on behalf of the forum here at all.
 

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