Old 07-28-2009, 11:13   #46
SkiBumCFO
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sorry this is my first post and hope I dont screw it up. followed this thread and completely agree with the quiet professionals. I am long retired from the SF & Spook world both active and reserve but I was actually thinking the other day that if i was needed i would be worthless because i have a facebook page and because i run a public company just about my whole life is public. By the way a Russian Private Equity Firm invested in Facebook and those russian companies always seem to have some old connection to the former three letter organization that still seems to run the country. cant say i am very comfortable with them owning a piece of facebook.
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Old 07-28-2009, 15:46   #47
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sorry this is my first post and hope I dont screw it up...
Too late. Please read/re-read your registration email and follow the instructions with regards to posting an intro in the "Intro" thread.

With regards to other intel agents; Americans would be surprised, or maybe not at all, over who uses the "stay in touch with friends' sites to build data on people...

Crip
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Old 09-15-2009, 17:34   #48
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I am in the process of deleting and doing damage control. lucky for me, when my name is searched, there are several other people with my name who pop up instead of me. My question would be, does it help my case that I haven't mentioned anything about my 18x on those social networking sites?

The only place I have mentioned it was a message board for football fans where I was asking people who had been 18 series about the job and how it is. At the time I didn't think about the implications what so ever (not smart, I know) and had a pic of me with a coach on there (without my name listed). On the same site, a couple of current 18 series guys (and SEALs) have their pictures on there. My guess is that they are just being dumb?
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Old 10-01-2009, 22:53   #49
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Great to know, thank you

Outstanding post! Thank you for being so informative. I never had a myspace account but I have deleted my facebook. I did not have any pictures on my FB nor any personnal information. It was just a great way to stay connected with guys down range. One question though, how secure is data on this site? Thank you again for the post.
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Old 10-03-2009, 06:20   #50
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Triman19 and everyone else with questions about cyber-security:

How do I put this? Work with this assumption: If you type it, they can read it. True, there are various levels of security, but nothing is so super-ninja-secret-cyber-safe that it cannot be hacked.

Wireless connections? I personally can download open-source programs to hack those and at my education level, I think electricity is magic.

256K encryption? Do you seriously think "no such agency" hasn't figured that one out?

What you ultimately have is "acceptable risk" or "reasonably secure." I understand that there are levels of security at this site, enough so that I logged on and became a member. But it isn't secure and not a government system (red side) and therefore, we do not discuss operational, sensitive or classified topics here.

What is my security posture? I make purchases online, do my banking, and send emails to friends and family with a little bit of faith that my transactions are secure. I also check my bank account balance to make sure no one has pilfered my info. I don't do Facebook or Twitter or any of the other craziness out there. I shred paper and receipts with personally identifying information (but I don't burn it). I'm a big fan of "Moscow Rules."

When I get really paranoid, I pay in cash.

HTH.

Books
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Old 10-08-2009, 15:34   #51
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Erasing yourself from the internet is impossible, especially for me. I have a unique last name, and just searching my last name will link up a lot of personal information. Such as, my family and friends posting pictures of me, family reunion notices, blogs my grandfather wrote, even seven year old high school athletic stats. I had to do a bit of searching to find all of that but, some of it was readily assessable on the first google page.

A motivated person could learn much more about me that I would want them to know. This has always troubled me. Worst part is I see no viable solution, other than to legally adopt a new name.
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Old 10-15-2009, 11:27   #52
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Another Search Location

Found this, should help you find if there is a pic linked to your name or whatever search paramaters you enter

http://www.facesaerch.com
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Old 10-31-2009, 11:36   #53
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I am Deleting my Myspace account as we speak. I have my facebook settings maxed out. And i have done a complete google search and myface search and nothing has come up. Could this be because I did not spell my last name correctly when i joined the sites on purpose? And is this a good thing?

Ryan
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Old 12-10-2009, 15:16   #54
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I can't speak from the SF aspects, however I can say this, if you put it out there, it can be found. I used to be a P.I. combined with my background as an S.E. this was one of the first things I searched. As far as others searching and keeping things secure, I shall attempt to paraphrase something an unnamed hacker once said when asked how to keep a computer totally secure: "Unplug it, bury it in the ground, and MAYBE I wouldn't be able to get into it." In my limited time at the State Dept. I felt good to find that they followed that to the letter.
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Old 12-28-2009, 01:13   #55
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Very valid points all around in this thread. Are there any special security precautions users of PS.com should take to ensure our anonymity while on this site?

Last edited by Ryanr; 12-28-2009 at 13:17. Reason: Edited for clarity.
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Old 12-28-2009, 08:51   #56
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Very valid points all around in this thread.

Just to toss my two cents onto the pile, I don't really believe that maintaining a diary of your favorite breakfast foods on sites like Facebook or Twitter or MySpace would really add much to the mountain of information that is undoubtedly already available on you.

Names and pictures can all be easily obtained from any sort of educational institution you've attended, since the 'security' of student information is almost always a joke, or any of a number of different avenues. Even major financial institutions are victim to massive security leaks, and they certainly have much more information than a site like Facebook does. Your information is definitely vulnerable somewhere.

The real risk that Team Sergeant brings up is publicly discussing your involvement in any way with SF, whether it's current service, enlistment under 18x, etc. I very much agree with his assessment, and the other points already listed in this thread. This site in particular is probably a gold mine of interesting information -- as I guarantee that a significant percentage of users signed up under email addresses that would personally identify them, even if their user names do not. Why comb through 300,000,000 Facebook users when you could just dissect the 15,000 on PS.com? Obtaining those 15,000 email addresses would be child's play for anyone experienced with that sort of thing. Just off the top of my head, the obvious points of vulnerability are:
  • Softlayer, PS.com's host. It's a large company.
  • PS.com is using a slightly outdated version of PHP.
  • I bet PS's version of Apache isn't quite up to date.
  • PS is using a publicly available forum framework. Vulnerabilities?
  • Any admin can probably mine email addresses, from which you could get much more information, are all moderators using secure computers? (Probably not; there are enough that one of them definitely has some minor issue.)
  • Hilliker Technologies is the designer / "host" (they're not really the host) / administrator of this site, can you say definitely that there are no vulnerabilities there?

Just a quick side note that I found tangentially related, the administrative contact for this site is one J.P.H. -- and his personal phone number, resume (which includes details of service, current employer, current work location and description), email address, town of residence, and probably much more are all available right now on the internet. Now, he's past his SF career and put his information online voluntarily, but it's an interesting example of how a site like PS can lead to much more 'real' data.

Anyhow. You get my point. Facebook should probably be avoided, but so should the rest of the internet. Thanks for the interesting post, it's given me plenty to consider.

Best regards.

Ryan
Ryan,

You're dead wrong on a few things and I'm not going to point them all out to you. You might want to shut up before you insert your foot further down your throat.

This entire website to include the "dedicated server" it's hosted on, is owned and operated by SF soldiers.

While the computers of all the Special Forces Administrators may not be "protected" inorder to gain access to them you would be literally taking your life into your hands.

I am hiding in plain sight, and if it's anyone desire to come for me they might want to read up on my past experiences and don't come light.

Team Sergeant
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Old 12-28-2009, 12:08   #57
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Many here have...

TS, You know many here will also have your 6. Dave
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Old 12-28-2009, 12:38   #58
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Ryan,

You're dead wrong on a few things and I'm not going to point them all out to you. You might want to shut up before you insert your foot further down your throat.

This entire website to include the "dedicated server" it's hosted on, is owned and operated by SF soldiers.

While the computers of all the Special Forces Administrators may not be "protected" inorder to gain access to them you would be literally taking your life into your hands.

I am hiding in plain sight, and if it's anyone desire to come for me they might want to read up on my past experiences and don't come light.

Team Sergeant
Duly noted. Thank you Team Sergeant.

Last edited by Ryanr; 12-28-2009 at 12:54.
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Old 12-30-2009, 22:44   #59
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Speaking of FB, MS, Twitter and Security...

Dont have a link for it, as it was sent to me by my S2.

Something to think about nonetheless......

Commentary: Social sites risk security clearance
By GREG RINCKEY
November 02, 2009

If you hold a security clearance or if you ever want to apply for one, be mindful of your postings and contacts online, particularly on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. These sites pose risks to gaining and keeping a security clearance.

Question 14 of the National Agency Questionnaire (SF-86) asks for names of your relatives and associates. The term “associate” is defined as any foreign national that you or your spouse “are bound by affection, obligation, or close and continuing contact.”

Continuing contact with a foreign national used to include a clear exchange between both parties — visits outside the country, mail, phone calls or e-mails. Social networking sites bring a gray area into the definition of an associate and continuing contact. Your list of friends on Facebook may include foreign nationals, or you could have foreign followers on your Twitter page. Is giving
a foreign national access to your social networking page as a “friend” considered close and continuing contact even if you never directly message them? Is having access to your updated information enough for a person to be considered an associate? Unfortunately, this uncharted territory can ensnare a potential or current clearance holder.

Foreign intelligence agencies use social networking sites. They have been known to befriend Facebook users who automatically accept their “friend” requests.

I had a client who lost her security clearance after using an online chat room. She was seeking advice on how to beat a computer game while attending a gaming convention. The “gaming” experts she chatted with online were foreign intelligence agents working out of China.

You may want to eliminate any foreign nationals from your social networking sites to eliminate any potential security concerns. A clearance holder also needs to be responsible for what he or she posts online. These sites are considered “open source intelligence,” and mining information from them is simple. Anyone can do a Web search and bring up postings from Twitter and
Facebook. Technology companies are developing more sophisticated ways to monitor social networking sites, offering the ability to scan millions of online social conversations at once. Intelligence agencies around the world are taking advantage of this technology to gain valuable information.

Social networking sites are creating new territory for many workplaces. Just this month a Staten Island, N.Y., judge had to be transferred to a new location because of his Facebook use. The judge reportedly used the site to update his whereabouts and post pictures of his courtroom. The Pentagon also is weighing if troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan should continue to have social networking access.

When dealing with a security clearance, keep in mind the HAM principles: honesty, accuracy and mitigation. Honesty and accuracy are the most important factors when filling out an SF-86 questionnaire. It is always better to report a contact that could jeopardize your clearance, than to appear evasive or dishonest.

During an interview following your SF-86 submission, you’ll be asked more questions about your background. Discuss any concerns with an attorney before the interview. An attorney’s advice can give you a better chance at reversing an adverse determination. If a disqualifying condition is found, you want to show that the issue is not as severe as it appears. If you receive a letter of intent to deny or revoke a clearance, you could have as little as 45 days to respond. The appeal must be a thorough brief that emphasizes mitigating factors and cites relevant legal precedents.

Greg Rinckey, a former military and federal attorney, is managing partner of Tully Rinckey PLLC, a law firm with offices in Albany, N.Y., and Washington.
E-mail your legal questions to askthelawyer@federaltimes.com.
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Last edited by Surgicalcric; 12-30-2009 at 22:50.
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Old 01-11-2010, 07:14   #60
Ret10Echo
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Facebook blocks deletion service

Social network giant Facebook has blocked a website from accessing people's profiles in order to delete their online presence.

The site, Web 2.0 Suicide Machine, offers to remove users from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Myspace.

It does not delete their accounts but changes the passwords and removes "friend" connections.

Seppukoo.com, which offers a similar service, was issued with a "cease and desist" letter by Facebook in 2009.

Netherlands-based moddr, behind Web 2.0 Suicide Machine, says it believes that "everyone should have the right to disconnect".

However Facebook says that by collecting login credentials, the site violates its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (SRR).

"Facebook provides the ability for people who no longer want to use the site to either deactivate their account or delete it completely," the company said. "We're currently investigating and considering whether to take further action."

Web 2.0 Suicide Machine claims that it only stores the name, profile picture and "last words" of its clients, who can choose to watch their friend/follower connections disappear in real time as their profiles unlink from others.

"Seamless connectivity and rich social experience offered by web 2.0 companies are the very antithesis of human freedom," says a statement on its website.

The machine operates on an adjusted Linux server which runs open source software Apache 2.

Seppukoo.com, which offers to remove people from Facebook, received a letter from the social network site's lawyers in December 2009.

Once they have deleted their friends Seppukoo clients can choose an image instead of their profile picture to remain as a "memorial" .

The site is run by a group called Les Liens Invisibles, and describes itself as an artistic project. The name Seppukoo is taken from a Japanese ritual form of suicide known as Seppuku.

In November 2009 the group orchestrated the "virtual suicide" of a group of fictitious Facebook profiles set up in the names of deceased well-known figures including Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and Virginia Woolf.
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