Don’t Take the Facebook Lollipop
A new Facebook app has been circulating the web just in time for Halloween, and it’s offering a spooky reminder of how susceptible our Internet security is these days.
The app is among the most sophisticated to appear on Facebook. A blue lollipop with a razor inside it greets users. “Connect to Facebook” reads the button beneath it. Next comes the usual permission request that asks users to grant access to their private information, in other words, to put Internet security aside. A few seconds later, a video begins to play. The scene opens to a dark, musty looking corridor with creepy music playing in the background. A dirty, sweaty man sits behind an ancient computer. He logs into Facebook, but what shows up on the screen is not his account. It’s yours.
For the next minute or so, he clicks through your photos and reads your actual wall posts as he appears to be tormented by some kind of rage, anger, or jealousy. Before long, he types in your location, pulls up an online map, and heads to his car. He’s coming for you.
The scariest part of the video is that the crazed man out to get you doesn’t hack into a network service in order to breach your Internet security. Nor is he even part of your immediate network. He has access to your information because it’s all public. Even when you think you’re protecting your Internet security by adjusting your privacy settings, “Take This Lollipop” is an example of how we frequently opt out of maintaining high Internet security to allow apps Facebook access. Every time we allow an app access to our information, we are essentially signing a waiver to allow our Internet security to be breached.
To generate the video, users need to access it from an external website that connects to Facebook. This shows that Internet security problems extend past internal Facebook apps, especially since we now regularly link Facebook to external websites. We also access it through a variety of network services. In fact, threats to Internet security don’t even need advanced network services anymore. Even a creepy stalker in a basement that shows no evidence of a sophisticated network service can access your private information.
As Wi-Fi and 4G become standard in so many devices, accessing Facebook has become a right, not a privilege. We now expect to find Facebook embedded into smartphones and tablets. The increased reliance on Facebook for even the most basic communication brings with it a heightened threat to our Internet security.
The name of the app is in itself a message against the dangers of careless Internet security practices. Allowing Facebook apps to access your account may not be a primary threat to your network services the way virus are, but it is still a major threat to your personal and Internet security.
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Filed under: phishing, scams, tips, Uncategorized, virus