ALERT: TikTok Content Trojan (V. Distressing)

Some time in recent weeks a tragic event unfolded in one place that happens in many private locations around the world. A young person took their own life in violent and tragic way. Aside from the incredible grief and devastating hole that this leaves behind in so many peoples lives, there was a nasty side story … the event was live streamed.

This content has now been downloaded by some people who are sharing it across other social media platforms. To make it even more outrageous, the motivated person is embedding this horrific content in a video that has bookended cute kittens and puppies. The event havs also been widely reported on in the press (ABC News is a free news service)

The social media companies like TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Google, Twitter and others are all racing to remove all instances of this, however this will take time. Until then, it is our strong recommendation that you disable social media on your children’s devices, or at the very least reduce it and have the time supervised for the next week or so.

You should also have a conversation about distressing content and how to react to it:

• Talk to a trusted adult (teacher, parent, counsellor)
• Report the content (in the platform, report the link to law enforcement)

And please always remember – if you or someone is distressed, then please call any of these services (Australia):

• Lifeline on 13 11 14
• Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
• MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978
• Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
• Headspace on 1800 650 890
• ReachOut at au.reachout.com
• Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN) on 1800 008 774

Manage Facebook Privacy settings

Facebook changed it’s privacy settings recently, and some things are really bad. read on for more information about what has changed and how you need to set up both your childrens site, and yours to avoid any tricky situations with accidental sharing of your personal information.

Manage geolocation on iOS devices

We have previously written about the dangers of geolocation services, and the importance of turning off geolocation services on your devices.

Normally, this is great feature, and very useful, however this feature is is becoming more of an issue as more apps seek to find out where you live, and places you frequent.

Warnings about holidays and “check-ins”

Risks of geo-tagging

Did you know that your smart phone could unknowingly be putting you in danger? A number of applications and social networking sites “Geotag” your location when you post or take pictures. Your privacy settings might also allow others to tag you at these locations!

This is a useful feature in certain circumstances. However, it does allow others to watch your every move. For example, Facebook allows you to do a simple “check in”.

Facial recognition on Facebook – Turn it off!

If we have a gripe with Facebook, it is the fact that whenever a new feature is released, it seems that the executive decision makers assume we all want the feature turned on by default…. and not tell us either by a private message, or post at log in… after all, they have the skills to do this. Why do we need to find out about these features though the media?

Facial recognition is one of these features. so here are some tips to better manage your ue of this feature.

Privacy 2: How do I protect my privacy?

As promised, here is the second article in the series on privacy.

We previously talked about why companies chose to know so much about us. We also talked very briefly about how to go about protecting your privacy online. This week, we will dig a bit deeper into what actual things you need to do to protect your privacy. here are some simple things that every web site tells you to do…

Privacy 1: Why do companies want to know so much about me?

Why do they do it?

Companies and organisations exist to do something. It is generally to sell goods (or services) for money, hopefully a profit. Marketing is a term used to identify and promote these products in such a way that will entice people to buy them. Companies regularly profile existing users of their products to see who buys them, and why. With the simple goal to then target other people who are similar in the hope that they might like to buy the products as well.

This is termed targeted marketing.

Targeted marketing is based on a profile that these companies have identified as people who like the product now – in the hope that others of the same mind will also buy the product. This article illustrates that this si not a new thing and how this has migrated into an online world.

Facebook Viruses, SPAM, and Phishing

According to a recent CNet article:

in 2009, 90% of email traffic is SPAM.

With Spammers and marketeers devising clever ways to target Facebook users and their friends, this will increase significantly. When you consider that in 2009 Facebook had around 150 million users, at the time of writing this has increased 450% to over 650 million – in around 2 years!

If you are like me, you get updates in your mail from friends who post. Sometimes these posts are automated, and the results of sneaky spammers.