Giantpaper.org

Tag: social media

  • “Facebook makes the case for activity tracking to iOS 14 users in new pop-ups”

    “Facebook makes the case for activity tracking to iOS 14 users in new pop-ups”

    Facebook previously bought a full-page newspaper ad with similar messaging, making the case that the change would be particularly negative for local businesses as they struggle during the pandemic. “Beyond hurting apps and websites, many in the small business community say this change will be devastating for them too, at a time when they face enormous challenges,” it read. “Small businesses deserve to be heard. We’re standing up to Apple for our small business customers and our communities.”

    Ars Technica

    But Facebook… 😮

    I own a small business and I hate when huge corporations feign outrage at small businesses being harmed. I do just fine without facebook ads entirely so please don’t speak for me Facebook.

    –TMulligan

    Btw, looking at some of the comments. Deleting the app and your account, or avoiding Facebook in the first place won’t stop them from tracking you. :C

    None in my household have Facebook, but packet inspection on the traffic shows a scary amount of Facebook-related communication. It’s like a mushroom with the mycelium spread through every millimeter of the internet-forest.

    –Ancan

    Facebook buys information from other brokers and merges it into a shadow profile. You could avoid the internet completely and Facebook may have a profile on you (though it would be worthless from their point of view)

    –SeanJW

    Gee, Facebook goes through so much to creepily extract so much info about you. And they’re freaking out when Apple is planning to give people the choice whether or not they want to be tracked? I don’t think “standing up for small businesses” is their motive. 🤔

  • When Stan Pines and Soos Report Voter Fraud

    When Stan Pines and Soos Report Voter Fraud

    When Soos reports voter fraud…

    When Stan reports voter fraud…

    Am I the only one who read these tweets in Stan’s voice?

  • Account security, baby!

    Account security, baby!

    1. Use a strong password (16+ characters, combination of letters, numbers, uppercase and lowercase and special characters).
    2. Get a password manager like Lastpass, Dashlane, 1Password or Keepass, so you don’t have to memorize 100 passwords.
    3. Use 2 factor authentication. Most places offer SMS 2FA (where they sent a number code to your mobile number), but using Google Authenticator/Authy is more secure, because phone numbers are hijacked more easily.

    These won’t keep your account from being hacked*, but it can make it harder for bad guys to break in.

    *Your account can still be broken into if there’s a security exploit, or the software/online service does something stupid like store passwords in plain text. But even if the online service stores people’s passwords correctly, it’s still a good idea to change your password. Better safe than sorry. (Choosing a new password is easier if you have a password manager.)

    (Also I’d like to note that people throw the word “hacking” around too lightly. If someone’s account was broken into because they have a weaksauce password, it wasn’t really hacking. Their account just had a weak password. 😐)

  • Great googly Twitter, WHYYYYYYYY? ;o;

    Okokok. This is a little late, but I only found out about it a few days ago. Luckily, despite their recent(ish) Facebook-level of noisyness:

    • They actually let you go by an alias. (Facebook tends to get in your face if you try to sign up with a name they think is fake. “But what if my name is Tweedledee?”)
    • Modern browsers have a setting called Do Not Track. When you check it, it tells sites to not track you (instead of actually trying to block tracking cookies or anything). It’s up to the sites to honor that request. Supposedly Twitter honors that request. Supposedly.

    In addition to Adblock (which lets you block tracking cookies), in Opera, you can go to Settings > Preferences > Content. You can either set up a profile for Twitter under Manage Site Preferences to have it block cookies (if you will never use it, but visit it occasionally), and have it not send referral info. ORRR under Block Sites, you can just block it entirely if you don’t ever plan on visiting it. Ever.

    Disclaimer: I actually have a Twitter account. But I almost never use it, since the 140 character limit is kinda useless to me. ><;; Heck, I would prefer not to have any character limit, which is why I’m wondering if there will be an option to have longer posts in App.net.