Regarding Internet Privacy

Just as most people are completely ignorant on how to use a computer and end up with their Windows machines becoming a malware cesspool, many people are similarly ignorant on internet privacy. Of course, not only are the users to blame, but the website administrators can't escape the hook either.

Recently my website was hacked, multiple times. Apparently there was a XSS vulnerability in one of the extensions I used in my website (built using Joomla). Of course this is my fault, as I hadn't updated that extension for more than 3 years! The first time was relatively harmless, with only 1 file disappearing. The 2nd time was much more malicious. Tens of infected files were uploaded somehow and the whole website was deleted (!) using those scripts. With this kind of security breach, the hackers probably would've obtained the passwords to the database and such. If the website had stored user information, we would have a huge security breach. My website is not a singular example. Many commercial websites have been hacked before. Many more are still vulnerable. With the website admins and programmers using bad coding practice and not maintaining code, everybody's privacy and security are at risk.

The biggest problems, however, imo is the users. Many people put hundreds of photos on Facebook and tag each other. What they don't know is that the photos are usually nearly public; it is very easy to gain access to them. Similarly, a friend of a friend of the person can view many aspects of his profile. With people having 500+ friends, all the information is practically public. In case anyone is wondering, this is obviously very disadvantage to everyone. If I'm the employer, I would check the applicant's Facebook profile before deciding to hire them. Much more honest information exists on Facebook than on the facade called resume. These information can only harm you, since your resume is supposed to represent you in the best possible way.

Then there is the egregious and ugly examples of cyberbullying. For example, Jesse Slaughter. She was plainly an idiot to post a video in the public, and to do it repeatedly. Not only that, she posted her phone number, address, name, age, etc in a public forum. With those information at hand, people from shadier sites such as 4chan can easily harrass her with things like fake deliveries, blackmail, etc.

Really, what people need to do is simply stop exposing information on the net. Your Facebook friends will know who you are without many photos and without those personal info. You don't need to status update every minute telling everybody what you are doing. Providing your personal email to non-important (and possibly compromised) websites is a stupid idea, and so is using the same password when creating an account in that website. Imagine the internet like a public place, and don't think you will remain anonymous if you simply shout out all your personal info.