Facebook Privacy Settings

Let's assume that Facebook wishes to take all of your private information and sell it to foreign hackers bent on stealing everything you own. Yet you still want to use Facebook.  You can set privacy settings on Facebook to make the eventual financial raping of your personal assets less likely.  More importantly, the foreign hackers will steal someone else's bank accounts and take out mortgages in someone else's name before yours.

First, click on "privacy settings" under the Account tab on your Facebook page. (click image to see link)

Facebook has at least two different versions of the privacy settings page.  And Facebook seems to reset privacy settings. (You think I'm lying? I have screenshots)

Therefore, you will need to revisit the privacy settings occasionally.

VERSION 1:

VERSION 2

Next, you need to set the privacy for individual items.  All items should be "Friends only" expect for a few which you should customize to "Only me".

Next you need to modify how applications and websites can use your information. I say "your information" with a bit of irony since basically once you put something on Facebook, it becomes Facebook's information, even though it should not be this way.  In fact, you really have no rights at all.  Once your information is on Facebook, you are PWNED! by Facebook, n00b.

The first part of the application section allows you turn on or off individual applications or all applications. Now I'd have to be pretty dense to think that turning off all appplications in Facebook is likely for anyone. I mean, why use Facebook if you can't send someone a fuzzy flower or engage in farming?  Nevertheless, the right thing to do is turn off as much as possible.

Then set the Game and application activity to "only me".  Why should even your friends know you are playing Scramble at work? What if a co-worker is friended or a friend of a co-worker?  You didn't think of that, didya?

Ok, this next one is very VERY important.  Do not allow your friends' applications to share your information with the application.  If you allow your friends' applications access to your info, you are sharing your info with computer web developers all over the world.  Frank in Tulsa and Hadji in Pakistan both appreciate seeing your personal information.

Uncheck EVERYTHING. Your friends could easily sign up for an application called "f0reign hakkerz steel from N00bz" or something.  Your friends are nice people, but we both know they lack common sense.


And the next one as well is VERY important.  If don't uncheck this box, you are basically saying, "Hey, Facebook, we don't give a flying rat's patootie where you send our information, just make sure it gets into the wrong hands. Thanks."

Finally, we confirm that the world can't crawl into our online skivvies and do a digital prostate exam.