Facebookers... BEWARE!!!

[btq96r]

I'm just starting to learn the basics of Android OS security after having a Nexus 7 for a year, but I'm slowly getting spun-up on it since I will have to ditch my current BlackBerry for an Android mobile phone at some point.  This is the kind of article people should read if they are worried about apps and the permissions they need.

http://www.julianevansblog.com/2014/06/how-to-use-android-privacy-guard-on-cyanogenmod-11.html

 

iOS users are probably out of luck.  I don't own or use iAnythingâ„¢.

[joustin]

Android has a small flaw that people tend to not know about and tend to over-react about. The app permissions are grouped somewhat illogically. An example, if the FB app has permission to change the network state, that is because the app is probably capable os detecting what type of connection you are on, i.e. WiFi or LTE/3g etc. The permission to do that is grouped with the change network permission. So the app will show that it can do all kinds of weird things when in reality it isn't setup to access anything. It would be like saying that a program on windows has access to change all of your network settings even though the app only runs an ipconfig and returns the info in a GUI. It may have the permission but it doesn't so anything with it.

[Mike.357]

and the upside to FB is what?

 

really?  You cannot pick up the phone and call people you care so much about?

[Mike.357]

I have friends all over the US, and in several other countries. No other way for me to keep track of them as well as I do.

 

 

if they are friends there would be no trouble keeping up with them.

 

I posit they are acquaintances at best.

 

Just saying.

[Steelharp]

For ME, FB has been an excellent marketing tool. I have made contact with many musicians I would not have otherwise, and I have picked up quite a bit of work through it. It has become a daily essential.

[Mike.357]

Mikey I will guess if there was no FB you would still be as successful as you are today.  people seek out talent.  They don't need FB to do that.

People made their way long before social media made someone rich.  The people you found with FB would have been found without it.  

I think you sell yourself short.   George Jones did not need FB.

[Steelharp]

It was a different time. True, ol' George didn't. Radio was THE venue. Now, radio has been replaced by the internet, and the "radio" on it. Much of the music business has shifted to the internet. The old business models are dying swiftly; in similar fashion to the horse and buggy. Just like the automobile gave us travel in a way that hadn't existed before, the internet has given us connectivity unlike we ever had. The projects I've done for clients in NY, AR, CA, Europe, etc, would have never happened without FB.

[RobertNashville]

Facebook is a wonderful tool but a terribly dangerous master...much like any technology...much like fire for that matter.  Used wisely it's great; used unwisely and you'll pay for it eventually.

 

I'm using my iPhone less and less (except to make calls...imagine that!).  What I find ridiculous is that until the mid to late '80s virtually no one had a cell phone (we don't even call them that any more) and the "smartphone" has only been with us since the very late '90s yet many people let their smartphone all but control their lives. I'm not suggesting that we all sell our cars and buy a horse or that we trade our phones for the telegraph but there are a lot of people who need to put some perspective on things! LOL

[tnhawk]

FB can be a useful tool.  Used improperly, a tool can do serious damage. 

[Steelharp]

FB can be a useful tool.  Used improperly, a tool can do serious damage.

We all know this too well.

[mikegideon]

if they are friends there would be no trouble keeping up with them.

 

I posit they are acquaintances at best.

 

Just saying.

 

To each his own. I'm not as grumpy as you. More folks hang around :)

[Mike.357]

It was a different time. True, ol' George didn't. Radio was THE venue. Now, radio has been replaced by the internet, and the "radio" on it. Much of the music business has shifted to the internet. The old business models are dying swiftly; in similar fashion to the horse and buggy. Just like the automobile gave us travel in a way that hadn't existed before, the internet has given us connectivity unlike we ever had. The projects I've done for clients in NY, AR, CA, Europe, etc, would have never happened without FB.

 

that is a perspective I had not thought about.  Nice post!

[Mike.357]

To each his own. I'm not as grumpy as you. More folks hang around :)

 

I like grumpy but prefer crotchety.   :pleased:    

[tnguy]

and the upside to FB is what?
 
really?  You cannot pick up the phone and call people you care so much about?

I usually say it's a great way to keep in touch with people you don't want to be in contact with :)

[mikegideon]

It was a different time. True, ol' George didn't. Radio was THE venue. Now, radio has been replaced by the internet, and the "radio" on it. Much of the music business has shifted to the internet. The old business models are dying swiftly; in similar fashion to the horse and buggy. Just like the automobile gave us travel in a way that hadn't existed before, the internet has given us connectivity unlike we ever had. The projects I've done for clients in NY, AR, CA, Europe, etc, would have never happened without FB.

 

Radio has been replaced by the internet? I agree that the music business has changed, and not for the better. That was caused by the internet. I'll agree that there are more music sources out there, and they all get their little piece. Still, radio still has big audiences. It ain't dead yet.

[BigK]

Seems weird to me to realize that FB is only 10 yrs old. Seems like it's been around forever. I personally hate it, although I keep an account active, since it's the only way I have to contact certain people (including family). They didn't turn a profit until 2009 and it wasn't much to brag about. It wasn't until the past 2 years when they really started mining their users' data and focusing on the mobile market that they started making obscene profits. It doesn't take a crystal ball to predict that the more invasive they get the more money they'll make. With over a billion users and just over 550M using their mobile device to do so, imagine how much money they'll make when they start adding GPS data to their already staggering amount of info they have about their users. You "Like" McDonald's on FB and suddenly when passing one, you get a message that one of your FB friends wants to meet you at the McD's you're coming up on...imagine what McDonald's would pay in advertising for that service.

[Steelharp]

Radio has been replaced by the internet? I agree that the music business has changed, and not for the better. That was caused by the internet. I'll agree that there are more music sources out there, and they all get their little piece. Still, radio still has big audiences. It ain't dead yet.

No, radio isn't dead at all. Over the air radio is fading, though, as more people have access to their stations over the internet. How many of us have TV antennas on our homes? Over the air is another dinosaur headed for extinction.

[Mike.357]

radio is not dead.  Commercial radio is headed to life support though

 

I listen to Pandora at work and at home.  My truck is satellite equipped for Sirius.  Aside from the few hours at work when my phone is not hooked up is the only time I listen to FM. 

Is there still AM radio?

 

Truckin Bozo do you have a copy Good Buddy?

Edited August 10, 2014 by Mike.357

[tnguy]

No, radio isn't dead at all. Over the air radio is fading, though, as more people have access to their stations over the internet. How many of us have TV antennas on our homes? Over the air is another dinosaur headed for extinction.

OTA is making a bit of a comeback because of cable cutters. But it's true it will eventually give way to internet downloads once the media companies get their heads out of their arses.

[DaveTN]

My phone knows when I’m driving and asks if I want My texts read to me, so I’m sure it is tracking me. If Homeland Security wanted to listen to my conversations or look through my camera; I have no doubt they could do that.

I love technology; but as with anything you need to be careful.

[Hershmeister]

[quote name="DaveTN" post="1177949" timestamp="1407688983"]My phone knows when I’m driving and asks if I want My texts read to me, so I’m sure it is tracking me. If Homeland Security wanted to listen to my conversations or look through my camera; I have no doubt they could do that. I love technology; but as with anything you need to be careful.[/quote] What app are you using for this?

[Hershmeister]

PS: here's another guy who loves technology: http://youtu.be/ERCzN91JicA

[No_0ne]

So glad I have an old "stupid" flip phone.

 

Or even better, no cell phone at all ...

[DaveTN]

What app are you using for this?

Google Now

[Guest Broomhead]

Not saying I agree with their policy but if you read the permission policies on a lot of app's it says about the same thing more or less.  I do believe FB would be more likely to exercise those permissions than other apps.   

 

Even the standard FB app has the same permissions. Xfinity has the exact same permissions for it. I'm going to look through all the permissions on all of my apps. You can go to the app manager and look at the info for each downloaded app.