A hacker created the Facebook torrent that is accessible to any person who wants files from Facebook data. 171 million Facebook users had their info stolen by a web sprawling code made by Ron Bowes. This torrent file is about 2.8 GB and is available to anyone online. Facebook made their comment on the issue saying all the information is what could be found with a search engine and doesn’t matter all that much. feel like this is just an additional example of how easy it is to hack Facebook with all of of the privacy issues they’ve been having recently.
Info taken from 171 million Facebook users
The Facebook torrent contains names, profile URLs and unique user IDs for 171 million Facebook members. Daily Tech reports that Bowes, who heads a company called Skull Security, posted the Facebook torrent on Pirate Bay. As of the morning of July 28, the Facebook torrent had about 13,000 active downloads on Pirate Bay. In this torrent, individuals can see any info Facebook users posted to their profile or forgot to take off. Facebook users who have locked their privacy settings to friends only aren’t listed within the Facebook torrent.
Facebook and privacy
Facebook privacy setting were changed just lately for commercial use which is why people are more concerned with this Facebook torrent. In a statement to BBC News, Facebook said personal information individuals have “agreed to make public” was collected by a researcher, and that no one’s privacy has been compromised. Tech Crunch suggests that users choose soon to change their privacy settings to “friends only.” Letting “Everyone” see your Facebook information contains a hacker who can grab your personal data, package it and sell it to the highest bidder.
Facebook torrent will remain forever
Facebook said the personal information mined and distributed within the Facebook torrent could be found by anyone on Google, Bing or Facebooksearch. Future reminds us that the Facebook torrent will last forever since it is just a quick shot of one time on Facebook. The information can never go away, even when users delete their accounts or change their privacy settings.
Facebook torrent and what it targets
In addition to the personal data for one fifth of all Facebook users, the Facebook torrent contains the programs Bowes used to mine the data. Tech Crunch explains that Bowes wants more than just searchable users and intends to get the rest. By default, it isn’t likely Facebook will change to friends only, which is what people want and threatening to quit for-
Go to Account and Privacy Settings and Applications, Games, and Websites (link near the bottom, in a box) and Public Search and (Uncheck box).
Additional reading
Daily Tech
dailytech.com/Info+on+100M+Facebook+Users+Harvested+and+Posted+in+Torrent++Legally/article19198.htm
Tech Crunch
techcrunch.com/2010/07/28/hacker-proves-facebooks-public-data-is-public/
Future of the Internet
futureoftheinternet.org/facebooks-ocean-of-names-becomes-a-torrent
