[gui-talk] Fwd: Article: Facebook gets another security overhall

[Steve Pattison]

 From:    the Desk of Mr. Malcolm nemoy.malcolm at gmail.com
 To:      Vip-l at lists.pacific.net.au

Facebook is about to begin a major overhaul of its privacy structure, the
company said in an announcement posted on the service Tuesday night.

The firm said it will be eliminating the familiar regional networks that
often govern which users can and can't see content posted on the site.
Instead, the new model will be simpler, allowing users to grant permission
to browse personal photos and entries based on three tiers -- friends,
friends of your friends, or everyone.

Facebook, which initially grew out of groups defined by college boundaries,
has long outgrown that model, the firm said.

"Some of these regional networks now have millions of members and we've
concluded that this is no longer the best way for you to control your
privacy," said Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg in
<blocked::http://www.paradisoft.com/rsspopper/redirect/redirect.php?URL=http
://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=190423927130> a post published Tuesday
evening. "Almost 50 percent of all Facebook users are members of regional
networks, so this is an important issue for us. If we can build a better
system, then more than 100 million people will have even more control of
their information."

Zuckerberg said the firm will also be adding more precise tools for
controlling privacy settings. Rather than depending exclusively on generic
settings, users will be able to set privacy restrictions on individuals
photos and posts.

The firm will remind users to check their privacy settings to make sure
there are no unintended consequences from the change. The biggest concern
would be the removal of restrictions on some content that might make it
available to users who until this point could not see it -- such as photos
of college friends suddenly becoming visible to work colleagues.

"We've worked hard to build controls that we think will be better for you,
but we also understand that everyone's needs are different. We'll suggest
settings for you based on your current level of privacy, but the best way
for you to find the right settings is to read through all your options and
customize them for yourself," Zuckerberg wrote.

Regards Steve
Email:  srp at internode.on.net
MSN Messenger:  internetuser383 at hotmail.com
Skype:  steve1963
Twitter:  steve9782