Most everyone on TER is concerned about being discreet, identity privacy, and so forth. It's a given.

And....

Technology is cool! It's helped everyone in the hobby... think review sites, hobby phones, email, etc.

Here's a problem:

The only thing worse than having LESS THAN AVERAGE tech savy to hobby around here, is having a LITTLE ABOVE AVERAGE tech savy.

How could that be? Well Harry once said "A man's got to know his limitations.." This goes for ladies too.

When you have a little extra savy, you tend play around with the newer stuff. You may push the boundaries and go into uncharted grounds. Hey! why not? Maybe you can find a way to breath some fresh air into things, right? Like even the hobby!

Maybe.

But only a little extra savy means you don't have the experience to assess the risks of unused technologies.

Please read on, it is worth it. There is an important point that hits close too to home...

Most everyone has heard all the headlinea and media banter about Privacy Risks in Facebook. The risks are not apparant by using Facebook. They are not detailed in the media, in a manner that is useful to the public.

No one I talk to has any idea about the specifics of these celebrated risks, and I am close with a high number of seriously-qualified IT security specialists. They haven't seen the risks in play either.

Well, I just did. Two days ago.

A provider, with that little extra tech user savy and who tries to incorpoate the latest technology in her business, made some videos to promote herself. She posted links to the videos using a free posting website.

That site has linking capability with Facebook, which the provider, perhaps unknowingly, enabled on her page. She also had the page set to show those who viewed it.

Stay with me, please.

I have a personal Facebook page.

Now, I am very concerned with privacy and I have professional level IT skills. I have tons of personal info on that Facebook page. I have it set with the tightest security I could determine. (Facebook security is a fucking everchanging torturous maze at best!) I share NOTHING with anyone who is not one of my few Facebook "friends". I play no games. I use no apps. I actually BLOCK every other thing I can find. I never allow Facebook to remain open on my PC, and only use it solo during a computer session.

Here is the connection with the provider's video.

Two days ago, I see this provider post somewhere. She has a link to her new video. So, I click to watch it.

A new page pops up as expected, her video starts playing automatically. It's home made by her holding her own vidcam. Video ends. I scroll down to see what is below the video.

What do I find?

A current picture of *yours truly* staring right back at me. Along with my name. Right ON HER PAGE.

All of that was pulled FROM FACEBOOK, WITHOUT MY LOGON CREDENTIALS by that partnered video posting site, and delivered and STORED TO HER PAGE. (trust me here on the technical aspect)

Below that, on her page, was the same on another the hobbyist who was there before me.

Just think about that for a moment.

What do I have to say about all this?

Just



" HELLO TOM ********!  
Nice to know you? What are of ******** are you in?

What did you think of ******** video? She has good reviews, and a lot of them. Even though she isn't 21, she's  said to be very mature and very GFE.

Maybe we should hit the strip clubs and have a drink and a cigar sometime, since we have something special in common. We could compare notes, share tips...

What's your TER Handle?  Mine is..."

HalfHour

Facebook is not a place for a hobbyist to be.

I changed my Facebook data, then the next day I deleted the data, then  the next day I requiested the account be removed.

That is the best one can hope for, as far as I know, in undoing facebook risk to a hobbyist if they already have a page.

There is no benefit of naming the provider mentioned in the OP. I believe she's just "too big for her britches" when it come to technology. Hell, it will be 4 more years until her prefontal cortex is fully developed and she has her complete adult capacity to assess risk and consequences.

The place I found her post and the links had the integrity and understanding to remove it right away.

I was the second to view her page. I has able to remove my real info and picture by manipulating Facebook before deleting it.

So was "TOM"

play safe, stay safe, amke no tracks, cover the ones you do,


HalfHour

"You feelin' lucky today, punk" ?!

"Facebook is not a place for hobbyists to be".

You catch on quick.

Using the app (any app) allows the app access to all your personal info. Your friends using apps also puts you at risk.

Google facebook security ad you'll find some good stuff. And it isn't just facebook. Try Google Buzz, or the new one on Yahoo mail...

Hell, what about all that web history and cookies waiting when you troll porn sites. Just because you're using the incognito/private web browser mode, that doesn't keep them from reading your cookies from your last amazon shopping trip!.

You are correct that if you do not understand the technology you put yourself at risk... I have always advocated that the best security starts with the things non-technical in nature. Technology cannot make up for poor security practices, and often makes it worse.

IMO, you should notify the provider about her egregiously stupid practices, and name her here as well.

First Off

I don't give a rats-ass about LE, and can't for the fuckin' life of me understand that direction. Just as many hobbyists, here is my concern

I CAN'T AFFORD MY FAMILY, FRIENDS, JOB, CIVIC MEMBERSHIPS, ETC. TO EVEN SUSPECT THAT I MAY BE IN THE COMPANY OF AN ESCORT.

Does that put the Privacy, discretion and  danger in perspective?

As far as the tech stuff goes. No insult meant, but if you are not an IT expert then stop wasting your brain with crap like the bug vs. feature , blah, blah, blah..  You are wrong.  But that is not even the point.

Please read the rest carefully.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED WHILE USING FACEBOOK.

I'll make a story to illustrate and clarify the original post.

For this illustration, let's say your name is:

     Bob Smart

You live in:

     Denver

You have a very straight-laced cirle of job, family & friends. If someone does a Google search on your name "Bob Smart" for fun (which lots of people you know do) they come up with nothing. Bob, you’re a nobody.

Bob, you have a Facebook page, 'cuz all your family & friends & workmates do too. You have it locked down so tight that when someone does a search in Facebook for your name, it doesn't give a result where they can see any of your info or photo. People in Facebook who aren’t your “friend” or “friend-of-a-friend” can’t be sure it’s you. ALSO, if someone did a plain Google search for you (AS MENTIONED ABOVE), it DOES NOT produce a hit that you are even onFacebook.

Are you with me?

Now FORGET ABOUT FACEBOOK, Bob.

There is website out there - we'll call it "PICTURE SURPRISE"  - that lets anyone make a gallery of photos and videos, and create links to it. That way they can make a WEBPAGE and include photos and videos by just attaching a link to PICTURE SURPRISE.

Also in Denver, there is this eager, tech-loving, 20 year old provider called "MissyLove." Whew. She’s a hot one!

MissyLove decides to create a sexy escort videos to attract business. She uses her little flipcam to record revealing footage and uploads  ‘em on the web at "PICTURE SUPRISE", probably 'cuz its easy to use, and no one else is doing it! Oh yea, it happens to link to facebook and twitter too! It's hella cool!!

MissyLove makes an escort page that has her info, rates, service. Anyone who Googles her provider name, will find that page, and there is no mistake as to what she does for a living.

Being spunky and techie, she connects her videos from "PICTURE SURPRISE", and has features like who is visiting her page, etc. DONE!

Now, MissyLove goes to a web forum and posts:
 "Hey fellows, check out my videos on my webpage!
  Come see me! Kisses! MissyLove"
and included a link to her page.

This all sounds so innocuous, right?

Now remember, Bob, you are a 59 year old established man. But you have a dark secret. You see "High-dollar Call Girls."  Shameless! Unthinkable! If anyone found out???
You’d be FUCKED!

So you are extra safe, and extra careful, extra discrete. One night you go to that forum MissyLove was on. You see her post. You read it and click the link to her video and her page pops up. Nice!

Except, right under her R-rated fuck me video is a section with who has visited her site to admire her. And to your SHOCK!, you see the most recent visitor is

BOB SMART from Denver!
and it has your facebook photo!

WHAT THE FUCK! Anyone who is looking at her webpage now or later will see that!

Right under your photo and name is another guy, TOM ************** . He got there before you, but IF he is still looking, YOU TWO HAVE JUST BEEN INTRODUCED!!
Now you are shaken, Bob. You know her webpage caches that data, so within 48 hours it will be indexed on search engines, and when your mother-in-law, or boss does a Google search for your name "BOB SMART", they will find MissyLoves webpage with your photo and real name as a visitor.

Do you need that kind of grief, Bob? Do you think you can explain that away?

NO!!! How did that EVEN happen when you never logged into MissyLoves website??????

Well Bob, despite all your precautions, a series of seemingly unrelated events caused your Facebook PHOTO, your FULL REAL NAME, etc. to be displayed on a provider’s webspage for the whole fucking world to see. Good thing you know what you are doing, and you acted fast to erase the evidence. You HOPE anyway.

Story over.

I HONESTLY hope that paints you the correct picture of what happened to ol' HalfHour and give one real example of what the furor over Facebook security problems is all about.

As I sit here, I still CANNOT fuckin' believe it.

HalfHour

A friend was just told at the end of an interview that the company was going to check reference, as well as Facebook. They said it right up front.


HalfHour

one more reason I can just say no to social networking...  LE loves social networking; and so do divorce/custody lawyers

Not sure I follow what happened. Are you saying on her facebook page it shows your name as having "liked" this? The big question is does anything show up on YOUR facebook wall showing you liked that page? If not, then I don't see what the big deal is.

the video app pulled the OPs facebook info and displayed it without his consent. he didn't have to "like" it for it to show up.

the big deal is that you do not control where your information winds up when you use this tech. the app can over ride your preferences.

when LE monitors the facebook pages of escorts and their known associates, the OPs data will appear as having visited.

do you still think that is not a big deal?

This sounds like a bug not feature . Unless you "like" something, it should not show up anywhere you visited that site. But there are lots of facebook viruses so it does not surprise me this could happen.

Regarding LE, since when is it against the law to watch a porno video online?

I do have a Facebook page but I also have a dedicated hobby computer that is only used for the hobby and porn nothing else. It has it's own internet connection septate from the rest of my computers and is not networked in anyway because of things like Facebook. Thanks for the heads up.

But Facebook public pages show up in a Google search. I have got providers real name and addresses that way a few times. People Google people they know from time to time so it could out you to your wife, kids, boss, friends, neighbors, and distant family, as well as LE. And if LE catches you in the act later they can use it as evidence showing a pattern of behavior to help prove you are guilty on the time they caught you. It can also be used against you in divorce court. Facebook is both buggy and has unwanted lack of privacy  features ridden and has no place on the same computer or device you use to hobby with ever, unless being publicly outed is not a big deal to you. Facebook and other social networking sites are dangerous to your privacy. I do have a Facebook page, but I also have a separate hobby PC that will never be used for anything else expect porn and is not networked with anything else. It is heavily password protected and Its cookies and web history is deleted daily. It even has its own internet connection.

Facebook, and social network sites are evidently capable of latching on to the visitors information profile including pictures.  It can save it, store it, and in this case display it.  Don't view escort/porn stuff that's on the social network sites.  Do it the old fashioned way, and then clean your computer after each use.  I belong to a musician's classified website.  When I log in, I get a complete log of who visited my profile.  When I visit someone elses profile, I can also see who visited them recently too, and view their profile.  Sounds like a similar scenerio, but with different consequences.

Don't forget potential employers will review social net pages of potential employees to see if there is more than exposed at the interview.

I wouldn't worry about LE.  The fact that you had a prior relationship with the provider may even work in your favor should you ever get caught in the act.  

Your spouse or her divorce attorney, on the other hand, are an entirely different story.  Be terrified about what can come out about you in divorce proceedings.  If you are married, be extremely wary of electronic communications of any kind.  Learn about the technology and take whatever precautions you feel appropriate.  I wouldn't even have a facebook account if I were married.

i think that scoed and agoldbe2 have most of the issues covered. one issue that is a little different is that while LE may not be able to bust you, facebook provides a treasure trove of information about provider associates. even if they can't make a bust on the facebook content, they can collect intel that will help them with a sweep or task force.

in my area some well reviewed ladies have broadcast much information about themselves and have been embarrassed legally as a result. some learn and change others do not.  some are even so bold as to use their business email as the email for their facebook page. one of the screening procedures i've adopted is to look for that kind of carelessness. if i get a hit that a provider business email is linked to her facebook.... i'll pass.

the other thing you might consider is that different folks handle risks differently. perhaps it is no big deal to you. other folks are much more careful and see it more negatively.

you don't have to understand as long as you are willing to accept the added risks. others of us are not so casual.

Just to make one thing clear; while I wouldn't be worried about info posted on facebook page being used in a future prosecution against me (as a customer), I would be concerned about my identity being revealed in conjunction with a bust of the provider or agency.  So, I agree on not wanting my association with a provider being made available to LE in any case.  But it's public embarrassment rather than prosecution I would most worry about.  The larger point is that you don't want ANY third party having access to that information, be they LE or not.

And I understood your story the first time. I have a hobby and porn PC and it does nothing else ever. And I do not use any other PC for hobby purposes. OK I do sometimes serf TER but not providers webpages and check my hobbie email on my Droid but I don't use the social networking sites on it ether. My hobby PC even has its own internet connection thus a completely different IP address. Has never been to my Facebook or twitter page. I delete all cookies and history on it every time I use it. There is little chance that my hobby PC can be linked to my Facebook account. Besides my wife already knows and partakes with me. I think a hobby PC is almost as important as a hobby phone and email address.

Remember the "Internet" before 1995? AOL? Compuserve? GEnie?

In those days whatever service you used knew everything you did. Now Facebook is attempting to become that across the entire Web. And they are far more evil than AOL ever was.

Someone needs to write a browser plug-in to block all Facebook connections, cookies and other data when you're not actually on Facebook.

good luck. i hope you got is locked up in time.

thanks for taking time to paint a more vivid picture for those of us who didn't get it.

But I so fucking dig the Harry Callahan references!

'Dirty Harry' flix are some of my fav Clint Eastwood movies!

Know what I'm gonna watch during this long weekend of mine....

I've used a dummy facebook account to connect to providers.  They understand my need to conceal my identity and use an alias. It's ok for them to share their personal stuff with me, but I'm not ok to share mine with them.  They need that connection for communication, so if you want to use facebook ... open another account just for the ladies.  It works - no pictures of you, no friends of yours, just the ladies.