100 million users public Facebook information collected and published

100 million users public Facebook information collected and published

A security consultant used a piece of code to scan Facebook profiles and collect data not hidden by user privacy settings,  The list, which has been shared as a downloadable file, has spread rapidly across the internet. 

The security consultant that collected the information, Ron Bowles, said he collected the information to highlight Facebook privacy issues.  Facebook says the the information was already public.  The list contains the URL's of every searchable user's profile, their name, and unique ID.

On the Pirate Bay, a popular file sharing website, over 1,000 people have already downloaded the file.

Bowles did not include personal information such as birth dates, e-mail address, phone numbers, and postal addresses, but someone else easily could.

This highlights the importance of making any and all sensitive information private.  Take this as a warning everyone who shares all of (or too much) personal information on Facebook - those privacy settings are there for you to customize so you are only sharing what you feel comfortable sharing, with whom you feel comfortable sharing it.   Never leave the default settings, as you could be sharing your personal information with the world. The privacy settings are understandably confusing, but you owe it to yourself to protect your personal information.

Protect your private information: Customize your Facebook privacy settings.

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