Finding a fake on Facebook

There are all kinds of posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social media that seem too good to be true. 

Sadly some of them are just that … too good to be true. But how can you tell which are true before you reshare that content on your social networks? 

Tools to detect an Internet fake:

Google: In a Google Search window put the title of the internet post or image or video or the key subject of the piece. If the only results that come back are for that one piece of content, chances are it is fake or at the very least not credible, because if it were credible it would be found in a lot of (credible) places on the web.

Google link checking: Google makes it easy to see who else is linking to something on the web. To do this, type the word “link” into a Google Search window, follow it with a colon and the URL of the page you want to check. Doing this kind of search will show you if any credible sites are linking to the suspect page. To read more: See who links to your site, and how. 

Snopes is a well-known site that either validates or debunks urban legends, Internet rumors, e-mail forwards and other stories of unknown or questionable origin. Search for some keywords from a questionable site to see if Snopes has investigated.

Hoax-Slayer is an Australia-based debunker of all manner of hoaxes that includes sections on Facebook hoaxes and internet scams.

Common sense: Finally, and this may seem obvious, checking a few basic things will likely reveal hints about the legitimacy of a piece of web content.

• Is it hosted on a reliable website? For example, a major news outlet, a university website or a ".gov" domain.
• Does it quote known, reliable sources?
• Check for misspellings – a lot of them probably means an non-credible site.
• Is the site overwhelmed with advertisements? That might be a sign that the site is all about attracting the unwary just to show them ads.
• Is the website selling something? Be especially skeptical of information about something on a website that is trying to sell you that something or an item related to it.
• If a website asks you to login using your social media credentials, make sure you check the domain first and verify that it is legitimate.

A final word: When you want to believe something is true, that’s the time when you have to recognize that you’re susceptible to being tricked. It’s also the time to put on the skeptic’s hat and really check something out.

And just for fun, here are a few of the more memorable hoaxes perpetrated on Facebook in the past year:

• You can charge your iPhone by placing it in and running a microwave.
• A large number of members of Congress have criminal records.
• There has been a confirmed case of an Ebola victim rising from the dead in Africa
• Liking the image of a sick child equates to one prayer for that child while sharing equates to 100 prayers.
• Publishing a "Privacy Notice" on Facebook will stop anyone from using your images or posts on FB for anything else.

Do you know of other ways to check for scams? Please share in the Comments area.

9 Ways to Maintain (Some) Privacy on Social Media, the Web

Online privacy can be hard to maintain

Privacy and social media might seem to make odd bedfellows and recent moves by some of the biggest online companies might make you think any privacy on social networks and the Internet is impossible.

This month alone: Facebook has removed another privacy setting and Google is alerting users to a change in its terms and conditions that allows your image and name to appear in Google ads. This, in October, the month Homeland Security has declared National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Not to mention the ongoing concerns about mass surveillance of online activities carried out by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and its international partners. All the while, corporations are eagerly tracking data regarding your browsing habits and purchasing preferences.

So what, dear Web Wanderer, can you do to protect some shreds of your privacy on social media and elsewhere on the Internet?

9 Ways to maintain (Some) Privacy

1. Sign in and out of your online accounts: Yes, it’s convenient to have a computer remember passwords and other login details, but you’re playing with fire. At the most basic level it means anyone can sit at your computer and "be you" on your networks. At a more sophisticated level anyone who does hack into your computer now has access to your accounts. So, logout when you’re done and log back in each time …

2. Be a "Friends Only" kind of Facebook user: Understanding your FB settings may take 30 minutes one day, but it will be the best half hour you spend on yourself on the social network. Remember that anything other than the "Friends Only" setting means people you don’t know can see and share a lot about you. You also should be aware by now, but some apparently are not, that Facebook’s default is to set all of your privacy settings to "public."

3. Use a password on your devices: If you’re not using a password to get into your smartphone or laptop etc. that’s the equivalent of leaving your apartment or car unlocked. Think about the treasure trove of personal information now stored on those devices. Maybe, just maybe, someone finding your device won’t take advantage, but maybe not.

4. Turn on 2-step Authentication in Gmail: This means that in order for your Gmail account to be accessed from a new device, a person needs a code that's texted to your cellphone. So, even if someone gets your password somehow, they won't be able to use it to sign into your account from a strange computer.

5. Encrypt everything: Whole-disk encryption of computers isn't a bad idea. If your laptop is lost or stolen, it's nearly impossible for anyone else to get into your data without your password. The latest versions of Apple's iOS automatically encrypt the entire smartphone or tablet if a passcode is enabled. On Android devices, encryption is an easy option in the Settings menu.

6. Clear your browser history and cookies regularly: Consider changing your browser settings so that the cache is automatically cleared every session. Go to the Privacy setting in your Browser’s Options and tell it to "never remember your history." This will reduce the amount you’re tracked online, although a recent New York Times story – Selling Secrets of Phone Users to Advertisers – shows that the growing field of anonymous data tracking may eventually make this a moot point.

7. Review the apps that have access to your social media accounts: Regularly review which applications have access to your social media accounts. Revoke access for applications you no longer use. In future: make sure applications you download use social media carefully. If they ask for your contacts and to post to your account don’t agree to this lightly.

8. Get an app that you can use to remotely wipe your device if it is stolen or lost: Some of these apps can show where the thief took your phone and can erase all the data. All of them allow you to do this from a separate device.

9. Put a Google Alert on your name: Go to Google Alerts enter your name, and variations of your name, with quotation marks around each. Select how frequently you want alerts (daily is probably fine for most of us) and where you want them sent. It’s the easiest way to stay on top of what's being said about you online. Just be aware: it may only catch 85 to 90 percent of mentions and some alerts may take more than a day or two to get you. But it is free.

Other ideas:

Five ways to stop the NSA from spying on you (from the Washington Post) offers ways to thwart the agency's snooping.

Strategies People Use to be Less Visible Online is a story from the social media news aggregator Mashable. It finds that "64 Percent of American adults protect their online identities by clearing cookies and browser history" and has a useful chart listing all of the other tactics its survey respondents said they practiced.

In the future:

Imagine a small box sitting next to your computer that encrypts everything you do online. That’s the principle behind a device call the Don’t Snoop Me Bro Tunnel that I first read about recently on the Bit Rebels site. The DSMB will be (when it is available early next year) an out of the box plug-and-play technology that connects to your computer and claims to completely camouflage your online presence. The Bit Rebels story linked to here has a full description and demo video.

So, there you have a few ideas that might help you hang onto or gain back some shreds of privacy. Of course, the ultimate road to privacy is to stay off the web altogether and to erase all past history on the web … yeah, right! Like that is going to happen.

What do you think? Can you maintain some privacy and still engage on social media and the Internet?

UPDATE: Since writing this post another big change has hit if you are concerned about online and social privacy. The app Snapchat prided itself on having its messages disappear after a few seconds. But as of Oct. 14 a new app called SnapHack allows people to keep and retransmit messages from Snapchat. Read more at Business Insider - http://j.mp/SnapHack 

Possibly related posts:
10 Tips for Social Media Beginners
A New Online You

It’s April 1 and that can only mean …

A quick roundup of early April 1 fun found on the web


Conan O’Brien Buys Mashable, Ousts Pete Cashmore as CEOL: Yes, you read that right. It begins: "Hello, fellow Mashables. It’s Conan O’Brien, and I’ve got big news. Two hours ago, I purchased Mashable.com. I’ve taken it over." Mashable’s home page now also features a "Powered by Conan O’Brien" banner. 


Google Maps go 8-Bit: On the Google Maps page the top right clickable tab is Quest and it takes you to a beautiful 8-bit-style map that looks like it was made for the old Nintendo Entertainment System in your basement. Even the Street View images have been solarized and made into crazy color 8-bit views. 


Google announces driverless car for NASCAR: You may already be familiar with Google’s self-driving car project. So what would logically come next? A self-driving NASCAR race vehicle of course! Google announces the launch of Google Racing, a "partnership with NASCAR to help self-driving vehicles compete in the world of stock car racing." 


Google Street Roo - exploring the outback one bounce at a time: Google Australia finds a way to conquer one of the final frontiers on that continent - The Outback. The site announces that: "Over the next four weeks, more than a thousand Big Red kangaroos will be equipped with a 360-degree head camera that will automatically capture images when the marsupial is on the move during daylight hours." 


 And finally a game that asks the question… 


April Fools’ Day prank or real app? As more and more off-the-wall apps appear, it might be difficult to figure out what’s real and what’s not. So folks at The Next Web decided it’d be fun to play a game. The blog post offers descriptions of things that may or may not be real apps and at the end gives the correct answers. It’s more fun if you don’t skip to the end! 


Image from Mashable.com

Best April 1 fun on the web

April 1 always brings lots of fun to the web and the day is young and already there are some clear winners. So whether you’re on the web for social media, marketing or just fun, check out …

Lose that mouse and keyboard, but still work in your email: Google introduces a new program to do away with the mouse and the keyboard when you’re in your email. Just a few simple (and not so simple) body movements do the trick. See the video Gmail in Motion.

New invisible, but clickable online advertising is here: All that unused white space on the web is going to waste says marketing guru Seth Godin. Read about it at his blog post Introducing white space links.

Linkedin’s messing with your Contacts: Well, not really. It turns out, according to the professional networking site, you know some pretty interesting, if unusual, people. Once logged in, click on Contacts – Add Connections and choose “People You May Know.” You’ll be surprised to know who you “know.” Check it out at Linkedin

The next big thing in email marketing - Infomercials: As “promoted” by Christopher Penn (@cspenn) and Blue Sky Factory (@blueskyfactory) email is going to make a comeback as the “catch-all” of your internet marketing programs. Check out the video Infomercials in your inbox.

Geeky toys for geeky kids: ThinkGeek suggests that Playmobil has come up with something every future Steve Jobs-worshipping tyke needs: A Playmobil Apple Store (video).

Other great ThinkGeek offerings: Angry Birds Pork Rinds (“A low carb, high protein, high fat snack that tastes like winning”), Star Wars Lightsaber Popsicles (Make awesome lightsaber popsicles, with movie accurate hilts) and The Original Shirt Plate (From the makers of Bowl Pants and Sock Spoon... it “Keep your snacks close by while lounging, working, sleeping or gaming”).

I hope this brings a little smile to your April 1 festivities. And you can return to all your serious web activities (social media, marketing etc) tomorrow.