Social Media Workshop: Facebook
*Edited 17/09/2014 to reflect numerous recent changes to Settings/ security tab as well as minor changes throughout.

Momiji Centre
Tuesdays, 9:30am to 11:30am
Instructor, Margaret Chown

Creating, Setting up and Using a Facebook Account

Getting Started

As with any social media, you will need an email account – any will do.

Next, take a few moments to decide what you want to do with your account (keep in touch with family and friends, alumni, promote your business or share hobbies and interests), as well as what you want to share and keep private about yourself, your family and friends and the public.

Signing up

Enter http://www.facebook.com/ on your browser’s search bar and find the sign up window on Facebook’s home page:

Fill in this information using your real names, gender and birthdate, and click on “Sign Up”.  Your First and Last name will be your ID or username on Facebook, but you have a one-time option to choose a new username once your account is confirmed.   

Note:  Facebook requires your birthday and gender for security reasons or to verify your identity if your account is hacked or deactivated.  You cannot open an account without sharing this information.

Security Check

Complete the required security check below, which is to prevent spammers and bots (software that mimics real accounts to spam, 'phish' for private information or spread malware) from opening fake accounts:

Enter the two words you see — in this case “view” and “doorways” — and click on the “Sign Up” button at the bottom of the page.  Your account is now opened.  Continue the interview to set up and confirm your account.

Adding Friends

Connecting with friends is an important part of social media.  On this tab, Facebook has randomly selected some members as suggested friends.  It’s unlikely that you will know them.  If you don’t, click ‘skip’ to move to the next step:

Finding Friends

Next Facebook suggests that you allow temporary access to the website to scan for a list of potential friends from your email your address book:

Entering your email password allows Facebook one-time access to your email contact file.  Once you’ve entered your password a window with your email contact list will open and you can chose to invite or ‘friend’ those you’d like to keep in touch with on Facebook.

You may change your email password immediately after this step as a safeguard.  If you have concerns or questions, Click on ‘Learn More’.  If decide you’d prefer not to give Facebook temporary access to your email account, click on “Skip this step”.  You can always add or find friends later.   

Profile Information

This gives you the option to enter your high school, place of work and other identifying information:

The advantage to filling in this information, and clicking ‘save and continue’, is to connect with old classmates or co-workers or to promote your small business and so on.  The disadvantage is that the information you provide here could potentially be made public or made available for Facebook ad targeting.  Click ‘skip’ if you don’t want to share where you went to school or where you work at this time.  You can add to or change your profile any time after your account has been confirmed.

Also optional in this step of the interview is a window to write a brief biography for yourself.  You can also use this space to put an inspirational quote or motto.  But again, be mindful of giving out details about yourself that you may not want made public.

Profile Picture

Select an image to serve as your icon (to represent yourself on your profile and to Facebook friends).

Browse for a photo on your hard drive, but remember it doesn’t have to be a photo of you.  You can choose any image that expresses your taste or personality (as long as it meets Facebook decency standards).  Facebook (in most cases) will adjust image size to create your icon.  Click “Save & Continue”.

Confirming Your Account

After you’re uploaded your icon, your new, relatively austere, Facebook news feed page, or ‘home’ page will appear. The home page is a real time feed of your friends’ status posts, including any photos they put up and anything they write on your wall.

Along the top of the you’ll be reminded that the system has sent an email to confirm your email address, entered in step one:

Completing Sign-up

In your email inbox you should receive a message that looks like this:

Click on the link to confirm that the email address you entered is valid. Now you’re ready to go on Facebook and start sending friend requests and filling in personal information and settings.

Facebook Homepage or ‘Wall’ (example)

Facebook Newsfeed (example)

HOME PAGE (BLUE) TASK BAR TOUR

Tools (Downward Arrowhead)

Regardless of the page you have open on Facebook, including visiting a friend's timeline, while signed in, your blue taskbar remains in place at the top of the Facebook window. 

Click on the 'arrow' (rightmost icon on the taskbar) to view drop down menu of options.  "Settings" options are 3/4ths down the list. You can also access "Settings" by clicking on the combination 'lock/options' icon and selecting "more options".

In the sidebar on the right, you'll see options from 'General' to 'Videos'.
It is important to make sure that the default settings in each of these tabs are reset to reflect your privacy and security preferences.  You will also want to visit some tabs periodically to change your password, email address, contact or personal information or because facebook has made updates or changes.  Change or view your settings by clicking on ‘edit’.  Click on greyed out ‘?’ for Help if needed.  If everything looks fine, click ‘cancel’ or ‘close’ accordingly to close down the setting.  After you alter a setting click ‘save’.

General tab:

Use this to (among other options) change your password frequently.  You can also change your name or username, if, for example, your name has changed due to marriage, or if your account has been hacked, but note that you may only change your name a ‘few’ times and your username just once.  This is a good alternative to deleting or deactivating your account.   Networks shows you professional, educational or regional s networks communities you have chosen to identify with before the 'Networks' feature was disabled and became non-functional. Facebook is in many ways a work in progress.   

Security tab:
Facebook has recently overhauled the features in this tab to reflect growing use of smartphones and to address hacking and account de-activation better. The former feature "turn on secure browsing" has been removed and replaced with some the following new security options.

• Turn ‘logon notification’ ‘on’ to warn you if your account is being hacked. Although, you may receive emails when you yourself log in from a new, public, or friend's computer or from a new tablet or smartphone.
• The 'Security' tab also allows you to link your Facebook account to your smartphone for added protection. Like giving Facebook a backup email account and the personal information (birth date) asked for in the setup interview, your phone number could be used to re-instate a hacked or deactivated account. This is optional.
• Should you decide to link your smartphone to your Facebook account, you may also wish to protect your device by using code (provided by a Facebook app or one of your choosing). Another layer of protection for your smartphone is having a password for your device, which is distinct from the password you use to access your account via your computer. 
• 'Trusted contacts' are people Facebook can call to verify your identity should your account become hacked or de-activated. A common reason for account de-activation is an account that sits unused due to a forgotten password. 
• Facebook also lists  how, where and when you last logged in, for your information in the event that you are hacked. 
• "Deactivate your account". Click with care. Due to the risk of identity theft, re-instating a deactivated  account (including retrieving your content) involves some red tape.  

Privacy tab:

• Who Can See my Stuff?  Select ‘everyone’ if you want your timeline to be viewable to the public (anyone across the globe).  Select ‘friends’ if you want your timeline visible to your Facebook friends and possibly their friends.  ‘Only me’ means no one but you can see what you post.  This seems somewhat antisocial, but you may wish to use this option when first on Facebook to remain hidden or to live with your post before revealing it to friends.  Who Can See My Stuff simply remembers your privacy preference so that you don’t have to enter it each time.  Any post you create can be made viewable to the public or friends by going to the post itself and clicking on the symbol beneath your ID.  You can likewise highlight, edit, hide or remove posts at any time by hovering over the edit symbol (pencil).  You can also alter the way individuals can see or do on your timeline, by selecting that friend’s ID, hovering over the ‘friend’ button and selecting among the available options. (It appears this feature has replaced being able to group friends by relationship (family, work, etc.) at the time you accept a friend request.) The  Activity log lets you check out everything you’ve been up to on facebook, including who has tagged you in their photographs. You can also access your activity log from your Timeline, and on the drop-down menu in Tools (downward arrow icon).
• Who Can Contact Me? You can decide to allow any Facebook user, the 'public', or just 'friends of friends' to send you friend request. You can also filter what comes into your newsfeed (Home): 'Basic Filter' (friends, and friends of friends) or 'Strict Filtering' (just friends).
• Who Can Look Me Up?  Allows you to decide whether your contact information or timeline content and Facebook activity is available to Facebook members in general (including non-friends) or searchable from search engines such as Google or Safari.  Think of it as similar to having a listed or unlisted phone number.  If your primary use of Facebook is personal, you may select ‘friends’ or ‘friends of friends’ and turn searchability ‘off’ .  If you use Facebook for business, you may want to select ‘everyone’ and turn searchability ‘on’. The latter options come with some risks.  Make sure you are informed about them.

 

Timeline and Tagging tab:
This allows you to decide who may post, share a photo or link to your timeline – only friends or only yourself; and specifically what others can see on your timeline.  It offers you the option to ‘view’ your timeline as one of your friends would see it.  You can set limits on who can see posts on your wall and who can see photos you have been tagged in.  Tagging is a built in app that lets you tack a clickable name on a person in a photograph.  Tags send a notification to alert the person to your photo.  You can alter your settings to alert you before your watchers see posts and tags, so that you can review the content first if you wish. Ability to see if Facebook makes tagging suggestions on photos of you or that look like you is unavailable now, but roughed in for future, which could mean face recognition software is being developed. If this does become available, be certain to consider the implications for your privacy and review all privacy setting accordingly. 

Block tab:

You can create a list of the individuals you wish to block, using their proper names and/or email addresses.  They will not be able to friend you or interact with you on Facebook.  Although blocking doesn’t cover games or apps you may have in common.  They will not be notified that you have blocked them, but may guess if they try to friend you.

You can also create a ‘restricted’ list for existing friends you do not want to block or unfriend.  (You can unfriend any friend by clicking on the person’s ID, hovering over the ‘friend’ button and choosing ‘unfriend’).  People on your restricted list will only see content that you have made public.  You may, for example considering putting parents, teachers, nosy neighbours, ex-spouses or employers on this list.  The restricted person will not be notified, but they may guess that they’ve been restricted, when they can no longer see news from your timeline.  This tab also allows you to block nuisance apps or events and pages.  Events are invitations to attend friends’ functions.

Notifications tab:  This lets you choose what you want to be notified about and how.  I recommend setting your tags notifications to ‘anyone’.  If someone other than your friends is tagging you, you’ll want to know.  You can also run through your list of apps and groups and adjust notification to your needs and comfort level (turn off notification for annoying apps, for example).

Mobile tab:  If you have a smartphone or a phone you can use with a Facebook friendly app, this is where you can activate your phone or device.  Depending on your smartphone app, activation will allow you to upload photos and send status updates, links and messages from your phone. With some smartphones, this tab is redundant. If need to download the mobile app visit:

https://www.facebook.com/mobile
 

Apps tab:  This is where you can see and edit the apps you have willingly or unwittingly signed up to.  In general, although Facebook has come down on app developers, be mindful of participating in enticing quizzes and games.  If prior to entering an app, a screen comes up asking you to give the app access to your Facebook information and contacts, warning bells should go off.  After the fact, you can limit access to or remove apps that haven’t worked out.  Check this tab often.

AdsTab:  Most people aren’t fond of ads.  I recommend selecting ‘no one’ for both of the options on this tab.  You certainly don’t want Facebook to hypothetically share your info and content with advertisers (If you really love a product or company you can write to them the old fashioned way), and you may not want to share/clog up your friends’ newsfeeds with the commercial sites you have 'liked'.

Payments tab: Allows you to track any credits or payments you have with Facebook.  For example, this includes the cost of advertising your page. It appears that purchasing credits to give Facebook gifts, etc.is no longer a feature and the former 'Gifts' tab has been removed. But then an icon of a birthday cake just isn't as good as real cake. Facebook's free 'hugs' are also gone as well as 'pokes' (a note to nudge a friend who hasn't responded or commented for a while, which may still be available, but buried in your activity log, rather than in your newsfeed).

Support Dashboard tab:  This is where you can view ongoing queries or complaints to facebook.  This includes the status of any posts or members you may have reported. Keep this feature turned on, in the event that Facebook needs to contact your regarding an issue with your account.

PRIVACY SHORTCUTS ICON (lock and horizontal bars (options)

This icon takes you to a drop down menu with some frequently used privacy settings found via the downward arrow icon, including your activity log, blocked list and more and now includes Privacy Check Up feature. 

HOME

This takes you to your newsfeed.  From here you can also use the sidebar on the left to access various useful or fun features.

On your newsfeed you receive status updates, photos and links from your friends and friends of friends, depending on your settings.  You’ll also receive posts by other Facebook members and friends of friends, which your friends have shared with you using the ‘share function’.  (Found in the bar beneath any post.)  The newsfeed is a ‘live’ ever changing page.  You can read, like, comment on or just scroll on by your friends’ posts.  You cannot remove offending posts, but if you hover your cursor over the top left corner of the post, a drop-down list will appear, allowing you to follow/ unfollow, hide or report it.  If the drop-down list does not appear, the offending post will soon disappear from your newsfeed as new news comes in.  If you are still concerned you can go the timeline of the friend who posted it and let them know.

To the left you’ll see more friend activity, mostly likes and friends of friends activity.  Below that is your chat contacts.  If you click on the gear icon at the bottom right, you can set your chat to ‘off’ or ‘on’, or decide which friends you want to allow to view your chat status.  Chatting on facebook is much like other instant messaging services you may have used before, but conversations can occur among 2 or more friends.

FIND FRIENDS

Click on this for a list of potential friends.  Facebook lists them supposedly by relevance and not alphabetically.  You may want to narrow your search by entering your school, workplace, location and so on.  You can also mine friends of your friends for more contacts.  The find friends tab in the sidebar to the left of your newsfeed also lets you open up your ‘invite friends’ page, which will ask you to enter your email address and password to call up your email contacts as when you first signed up on Facebook.  This is optional.

SEARCH BAR

Enter a term, name or location as with any search bar to find a friend, group, club or Facebook page.   

INBOX ICONS

A number in a red field will appear indicating how many new notifications, messages or friend requests you have.

Notifications icon (globe):  Notifications include friends (or friends of friends) who have ‘liked’ or commented on your ‘wall’, status, photo or comments on another friend’s posts.  In the case of posts subsequent to your post on a friend’s timeline, you can hover your cursor over the ‘x’ at the top right corner of the notification to ‘unfollow’ the conversation.  Some topics receive a lot of responses and can overload your inbox.  When you click on the notification, facebook will take you to the new comment or like.  In the culture of facebook, it’s not necessary to thank people for ‘likes’.  You may like or respond to any comment on any topic, including those made by friends of your friends by typing in the space labeled ‘write a comment’.  If you’re commenting on another commenter’s remark, it’s polite to name the commenter you would like to address (if not the friend who originated the topic).  If you wish you may allow facebook to auto-complete typing the poster’s name after the first few letters to create a hyperlink to their timeline, which will send a notification to that commenter of your response.

Message icon (speech balloons):  Click on this to find view or reply to messages sent to you from your friends or anyone on facebook, depending on your settings.  (see Changing your info and settings above).  You can converse with one or more people, delete messages or report messages by opening the message and clicking on ‘Actions’ and selecting what you’d like to do from the drop-down menu.  Facebook messages are similar to email.  Unlike your ‘wall’ (a window on your timeline that friends can post on), messages are relatively private.  No one but you and the sender(s) may view them.  People in the conversation who have ‘seen’ your reply are listed at the bottom right of the message box.

Every Facebook member has a Facebook email account whether they are aware of this or not.  Your username@facebook.com is your default email address in ‘about’ under ‘contacts’ unless you go to account settings, ‘general’ and change it to show your preferred email address.  Unfortunately, anyone who knows your username, which is always public, has the potential to append @facebook.com to attempt to send you a message.  To avoid this, make sure you have security software installed and use a browser with secure surfing.  Also recommended:  change your account settings for maximum security and privacy and change your password frequently (see ‘account settings’).  Facebook can come after those who misuse or abuse Facebook usernames, but only assuming it’s reported.

Friend Requests icon (two silhouettes):  Click here to see who wants to invite you to be their friend.  These requests usually come from people you know or know of in real life.  Accepting a friend request is entirely up to you.  Even if you know the person in real life, you may wish ignore or reject the request.  You may even feel it’s wise to block the person (see above “privacy” under “block tab”).  Bear in mind that when you ignore or reject a request, the friend requester won’t be notified, but they may notice that you have not accepted.  Recently Facebook designates unaccepted friend requestors as 'followers', if that person does not 'unfollow' your Timeline. People you do not want as Followers may be blocked. 
If you accept the request then you will become ‘friends’ with that person. This will be announced automatically on your timeline and your new friend will appear among your friends list.

Now that you’ve set your privacy and security preferences, you can have some fun setting up your timeline.

TIMELINE

From your ‘home’ page click on either your icon (profile picture) or username to go to your timeline.  This is the facebook page that your friends will see.

The four main areas of your timeline are ready to be set up and personalized:

• Cover:  Your profile picture will already be there.  The space across the top is for a cover image, a picture that represents you or appeals to you, that you can download from your hard drive.  Just hover your cursor and click on the edit pencil and follow the prompts to add, change or remove anything on your timeline.  Tabs to access your “about” information, thumbnails of your friends, your photos, Likes, and any Facebook apps you wish to are below your cover picture and clickable access to these options are located down the left side of your ‘wall’ or ‘publisher’area .
• Timeline publisher:  This is the space (formerly known as your ‘wall’) where you can post your ‘status’ (such as comment or a link), a photo, place or life event.  As with posting personal information any social network site, be mindful of the risks.
• Stories: This area is like a scrap book, documenting your life and activities on and off Facebook in words, photographs, maps, video, and other media.  The Stories area traces your life from the day you were born right up to the present. If you hover on an item, you can choose to ‘highlight’ it, giving that item a larger pane.  Your friends can also post comments here, as well as links and photos for you to like or comment on.
• Timeline navigator: The Timeline navigator, in the right column, lets you select a year or month in the Timeline.  To add your baby picture, left click on ‘Born’, scroll down to the bottom of your Timeline, click the + add a photo button.  From there you can choose a baby picture from one of your albums or upload a new photo from your hard drive.  You can also include details such as where you were born and so on.

Using Facebook

(From how stuff works)

Facebook Status Posts and Shares:  In addition to updating your ‘status’ to let people know what you're up to or what’s on your mind, you can share photos, videos, links articles and so on for your friends to enjoy.  Friends will see your posts on their home page newsfeed.  They can ‘like’, comment on or share what you’ve posted on their own wall or a friend’s wall.  In Facebook culture, it isn’t necessary to thank your friends for ‘likes’.  From your home page you can ‘like’ or comment on your friend’s status updates and postings.  You can also ‘share’, by clicking on this option, at the bottom of your or your friend’s update to send that status to your timeline or a friend’s timeline (aka ‘wall’).

You can also join groups and clubs or follow a celebrity or professional Facebook page, by simply clicking on ‘like’, ‘join’ or ‘subscribe’ accordingly.  Anyone can set up a group, club or Facebook page.  Once you have become familiar with using Facebook, go to the website’s main Help section for instructions.  Generally a groups, clubs and Facebook pages for celebrities, organizations or businesses must be administered by the owner or a representative designated by the owner.  You can like a Facebook page, which looks similar to a member timeline, of your favourite author, band, cause or pursuit.  Clickable tiles to Interest based pages will show up on your timeline by category.  Updates from active pages will appear in your newsfeed.  If you find they’re filling up your inbox, you can always remove your ‘like’ to unfollow the page.  Clubs are usually based on shared interests (such as fan or hobby) and groups are usually organizations, such as youth groups.  Clubs and groups can have open or closed memberships.

Many websites allow you to share content on Facebook directly from their sites. Especially on news sites, you might notice the Facebook icon (along with other icons, usually including Twitter), either along the top, side or bottom of the page. From here, all you have to do to share this content on Facebook is click the Facebook icon and follow the prompts. A link to this page will appear on your wall, just as if you'd shared the content from within Facebook itself.

Like, Comment, Join or Follow

At the bottom status updates from your friends in your newsfeed, you have the option to ‘like’ or comment on what they’ve posted or

Upload a photo or video: If a photo or video already lives on your computer, click the "photo" button above the "What's on your mind?" bar and then follow the prompts to find the photo or video on your drive and upload it to Facebook. As always, consider adding a short comment with the picture or video. You can upload an entire album of photos from your computer, too: Just click the "photos" link on the sidebar on the left of your profile, then click "upload photos" and follow the prompts.

With webcam: Facebook leads you through taking photos or videos with your built-in or connected webcam. Simply click the "photo" button and follow the prompts. That said, using a webcam with Facebook requires a couple additional tools, namely a webcam and the software Flash Player. If this makes no sense to you, consider posting pictures or videos some other way.

From a mobile device: A smartphone connected to Facebook is a powerful combination. Once you've linked your Facebook account with a mobile number (you can do this in "account settings") or by installing the Facebook app on your phone, you can take photos and video (if you phone allows, such as iphone, android, google and windows phones), and post it directly from your mobile device to your Facebook profile. To do this, you'll have to follow your phone's specific guidelines, but it's usually fairly easy to get the hang of it.

As you can see, there's a lot to see and share with your friends on Facebook. If you're ready to dig deeper into using Facebook and learn more about the site, check out the links on the next page.

Facebook Scams

Facebook apps come in dozens of varieties with hundreds of examples in each category. There are quizzes, games, tools and other apps that let you rank everything from your favorite albums to the celebrities you'd like to meet. Each of these apps requires you to install a few lines of code to your Facebook profile. From your point of view, all you have to do is click a button on a page, indicate that you accept the user agreement and install the app.

But not all apps are innocent. You should pay attention to what kind of information the app says it must be able to access to work properly. Facebook's privacy policy is built on two principles: Users should have total control over their personal information and they should be able to access the information other users wish to share [source: Facebook]. When you fill out a Facebook profile, you can include information ranging from your date of birth to your address to personal contact information. Facebook also tracks information about how you use the site. If that information remains private, you feel safe. But what if Facebook shared that information with someone you didn't know?

That was a problem with some early Facebook applications. In order to function, most applications need to access some of your information. Early apps would often access far more information than they required. That meant the developers of those apps could access a great deal of personal information about users. Facebook tried to put a stop to this and demanded that developers only request access to information that was necessary for the app to work the way it should.

Facebook points out in its privacy policy that users can choose which information remains private. But it also points out that although it provides privacy protection, no system is perfect. It's possible for developers to find ways around safeguards and access information. It's a good idea to do a little research about an app before you choose to incorporate it into your profile.

Facebook Scam Warning Signs

There are several indicators that can usually clue you in to a scam. Two major red flags that something underhanded is going on are a request for a password or credit card information. Scammers collect passwords or credit card numbers and use that information to take advantage of the victims. These requests might seem perfectly innocent in the context of the app but they should set off alarm bells in your mind. Again, do a little legwork and research the app before you take the plunge.

If an app tries to take you to a new page, pay attention to that page's domain name. Some scammers are clever enough to create a mockup of a real Facebook page with a request for your password. If the domain name seems fishy, you shouldn't insert your password. Pop-up messages that advise you to download or install an additional application after you've already started the process are another potential sign of malware. Installing these programs may infect your computer with a virus.

Sometimes one of your friends will fall victim to a scam and you'll receive messages that appear to be from him or her. These messages usually ask you to visit a link included in the note. You should send a message to your friend to confirm that it's a legitimate link. It's possible your friend's profile has been compromised and the message was sent to you automatically. If the wording of the message seems odd or unlike your friend's normal style, that's another indicator that something questionable is going on.

There's a special name for the way scammers manipulate victims like this: social engineering. While it's true that malicious hackers known as crackers sometimes pierce a system's security by using various software tricks and hacks, it's also common for people to willingly give up information. The scammer just has to make the victim want to share. There are a couple of common ways scammers trick people into sharing:

• They appeal to the victim's vanity with a message that suggests the victim can be seen in a compromising or funny way at a certain Web site. The link to the Web site actually leads the victim to downloading malware.
• They make promises of get-rich-quick schemes.
• They tempt the victim into sharing a credit card number, then commit credit-card fraud.

Security Threats to Watch for on Facebook

By Tony Larks, Vice President, Global Consumer Marketing, Trend Micro

Social networking is as much a part of our everyday online lives now as using email or Internet shopping. Unfortunately, where the users go, the cybercriminals are usually not too far behind.

Because we trust platforms like Facebook and the friends we know online perhaps a little more than we should, cybercrooks have had great success stealing our personal information, infecting our computers and smartphones, deluging us with spam and tricking us into sending them money.

In September, 2011, Facebook announced that 350 million of its 800 million worldwide users at that time accessed the service via their mobile device, and this figure is only going to increase.

If you’re regularly using Facebook on a mobile device, the following advice may be useful:

• Stay alert on your mobile. It is known that people are often likely to fall for scams or click on dodgy links via their mobiles as they don’t pay as much attention to web content as when accessing it from their desktops
• Don’t access Facebook on public Wi-Fi – Why? Because hackers may be eavesdropping on your connection. Always access Facebook through the carrier network unless you are on a secured Wi-Fi network at home
• Turn on log-In notifications – This will let you know if someone else is trying to get into your account

Facebook recently launched several features to improve mobile device log-in security and the reporting of incidents.

So what about the main risks on Facebook in general?

• Malicious links – Clicking on a malicious link is the most common downfall. Links that appear to come from a “friend” on your wall, or links in inbox or chat messages are the most common culprits. They can lead to a phishing site, infect you with malware designed to take over your computer and steal your personal info, or take you to spam or other fraudulent sites. Look at the web site address of the link by dragging your cursor over it—does it begin with https—a secure URL or does the address seem suspicious?
• Spam – You may come across Groups or Pages created by spammers claiming to offer a prize or some other enticement, if you invite all your friends first. Be alert!
• Fake messages – There are fake emails or status updates and messages appearing to come from the Facebook team, or other vendor, which try to get you to update your account, divulge passwords, open an infected attachment, or click on a malicious link. Don’t do it!

How to stay safe

• Privacy Settings – The most important point to start with is making sure you visit your privacy settings and ensure all your profile information is not being displayed publically. Cybercrooks can use info like birthdays, pets’ names, and where you went to school to commit ID fraud. It’s best to err on the side of caution
• Never click on suspicious links – If something looks strange, or an offer looks too good to be true, it usually is. Ditto friend requests from people you don’t know. Use Trend Micro’s link checker
• Security from the Cloud – Invest in a security product that scans and blocks any known malicious content in the cloud. Trend Micro is offering Facebook users a 6-month complimentary copy of Trend Micro™ Titanium™ Security Essentials for Windows or Trend Micro™ Smart Surfing for Mac
• Keep informed – Take time to check out the Facebook security page to stay aware of the latest threats, and like the Fearless Web page for handy tips on how to secure your digital life
• Use caution when downloading – Don’t download any applications you aren’t certain about
• Use caution when accessing your account – Don’t access your Facebook page from a public computer and always use a strong password to do so

Useful links:

https://www.facebook.com/security

http://www.facebook.com/security/app_4949752878

FACEBOOK’S PRIVACY STATEMENT:  https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/your-info

ADS!

Facebook and any outside apps you use on the site may track your content and use it to target advertising from businesses (and facebook members who have purchased ad space) to your newsfeed page (‘Home’) and Timeline.  For more information about ads see:  https://www.facebook.com/help/215543298568604/#!/help/499864970040521/

TERMS OF USE POLICY

Most people don’t read terms of use agreements, but it is in your best interests to do so.  Besides the boring legal stuff, there are rules for using Facebook.  You can report abuse at any time.

Community Standards:  http://www.facebook.com/communitystandards

Legal Stuff (rights and responsibilities):  http://www.facebook.com/legal/terms

Disabled Accounts:  http://www.facebook.com/help/185747581553788/

Facebook can remove (i.e. censor) content or disable your account if you are reported for any of the abuses in the above links.  You will be notified if this is the case.   

DEACTIVATING, DELETING OR MEMORIALIZING ACCOUNTS

http://www.facebook.com/help/185747581553788/#!/help/359046244166395/

Deactivating your account leaves content (virtually) unsearchable but still available to you in case you want to retrieve it.  It also allows you to reactivate your account in future.

Deleting your account is more permanent.  Some content from the account may remain on friends’ pages, but attributions to the account owner will be removed.   Some of your content may still be searchable by a search engine, such as Google.

When a loved one dies, you may wish to ask facebook to delete or memorialize their account.  Deleting the person’s account  will disable and remove it relatively permanently (as describe above).  Memorializing an account allows existing friends only to see the deceased person’s timeline and post comments.  The account is also no longer searchable via the facebook ‘search’ feature.  To delete or memorialize your loved one’s account, you must contact facebook.  You will require:  a copy of the deceased person’s birth certificate (to prove that you have the right to act on their behalf), proof of power of attorney and proof of the person’s death (such as a copy or link to an obituary or a copy of a death certificate).  The following link in Help gives further information and links to the appropriate form.  http://www.facebook.com/help/359046244166395/#!/help/265593773453448