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dogmaryxx
dogmaryxx Posts: 2,446 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
All now available on Pirate Bay http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10796584
«13

Comments

  • 23n1th
    23n1th Posts: 1,523 Forumite
    My facebook page has my old nickname cos no one knows me as my real name, I used a fake DOB and the email address is no long active. Not only that but I have managed to lock myself out of my account by trying to login from a different country because I can't remember the DOB and the email address doesn't exist. So my account is safe!
  • doom
    doom Posts: 2,828 Forumite
    Ron Bowles used a piece of code to scan Facebook profiles, collecting data not hidden by the user's privacy settings.
    From the link.





    It's not really private details if the users choose not to hide it ;)
    CARPE DIEM
    aut viam inveniam aut faciam
    Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour
  • Simon_B_2
    Simon_B_2 Posts: 519 Forumite
    So from me they would have got my name
  • amcluesent
    amcluesent Posts: 9,425 Forumite
    It's a dream for stalkers to be able to search everything so easily...

    I know something about opening windows and doors
    I know how to move quietly to creep across creaky wooden floors
    I know where to find precious things in all your cupboards and drawers
    ...
  • Phantom_Flan_Flinger
    Phantom_Flan_Flinger Posts: 2,794 Forumite
    edited 28 July 2010 at 11:19PM
    Bit of scaremongering there with the title.
    "In this case, information that people have agreed to make public was collected by a single researcher and already exists in Google, Bing, other search engines, as well as on Facebook.
    "No private data is available or has been compromised," the statement added.

    If it's taken details not covered with your privacy settings, it's got no more information than you'd get by looking at someone's profile.

    P.S. Currently around 4000 people (and climbing) trying to download it from the torrent.
    Dave. :wave:
  • Lil306
    Lil306 Posts: 1,692 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Not worried one bit, as mentioned above. All my privacy settings are 100% locked down.

    Only thing you will see about my profile is my name, and option to add me as friend unless you're a friend :)
    Owner of andrewhope.co.uk, hate cars and love them

    Working towards DFD

    HSBC Credit Card - £2700 / £7500
    AA Loans - (cleared £9700)
  • marleyboy
    marleyboy Posts: 16,698 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Other than my name, there is nothing I would post on facebook that I would prefer to keep private, even my DOB is wrong on there, the last thing anyone would want is to give away their full name and date of birth to millions of complete strangers, thats all a fraudster really needs to know,
    :A:dance:1+1+1=1:dance::A
    "Marleyboy you are a legend!"
    MarleyBoy "You are the Greatest"
    Marleyboy You Are A Legend!
    Marleyboy speaks sense
    marleyboy (total legend)
    Marleyboy - You are, indeed, a legend.
  • corbyboy
    corbyboy Posts: 1,169 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture
    As expected this story is a whole load of nonsense.

    You can't get anything private that you have chosen to hidden. For the vast majority of people on that list it's just first name, last name and URL.
  • googler
    googler Posts: 16,103 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Once you've downloaded and extracted the data here, it would seem to allow you to find someone or something about someone with a simple 'Find' command within one (?) file..... how easy is it to do that on Facebook itself?

    (I'm genuinely asking how easy it is - I don't use it myself. Someone please tell me)
  • googler
    googler Posts: 16,103 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Having downloaded and browsed this 'private data', it seems to contain no more than a list of names, and the number of times they occur in facebook;


    f.last-withcount (filename)

    129369 jsmith (content of file)
    79365 ssmith
    77713 skhan
    75561 msmith
    74575 skumar
    72467 csmith
    71791 asmith
    67786 jjohnson
    66693 dsmith
    66431 akhan
    59779 ksmith
    etc
    etc

    first.l-withcount

    100225 johns
    97676 johnm
    97310 michaelm
    93386 michaels
    88978 davids
    85481 michaelb
    84824 davidm
    82677 davidb
    81500 johnb
    77800 michaelc
    76966 chrisb
    76844 chrism
    74386 johnc
    etc

    firstnames-withcount

    977014 michael
    963693 john
    924816 david
    819879 chris
    640957 mike
    602088 james
    584438 mark
    515686 jason
    503658 robert
    484403 jessica
    476643 sarah
    etc

    lastnames-withcount

    913465 smith
    571819 johnson
    512312 jones
    503266 williams
    471390 brown
    386764 lee
    360010 khan
    355639 singh
    343220 kumar
    324972 miller
    311576 davis
    etc


    That's the first few files, nothing earth-shattering here..... unless anyone is turned on by the knowledge that there's 913465 folk named 'smith' on facebook........ and 571819 johnsons .....
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