Facebook Privacy:Hiding from Google
By John Sileo
www.Sileo.com
The New York Times recentlypublished an article that discusses the severe changes Facebook hasmade to privacy settings.
What Can Google See? (Keep Your DataOff the Search Engines)
When you visit Facebook's Search Settings page, a warning message popsup. Apparently, Facebook wants to clear the air about what info isbeing indexed by Google. The message reads:
There have been misleading rumors recently about Facebook indexing allyour information on Google. This is not true. Facebook created publicsearch listings in 2007 to enable people to search for your name andsee a link to your Facebook profile. They will still only see a basicset of information.
While that may be true to a point, the second setting listed on thisSearch Settings page refers to exactly what you're allowing Google toindex. If the box next to "Allow" is checked, you're giving searchengines the ability to access and index any information you've markedas visible by "Everyone." As you can see from the settings discussedabove, if you had not made some changes to certain fields, you would besharing quite a bit with the search engines#133;probably more informationthan you were comfortable with. To keep your data private and out ofthe search engines, do the following:
1.Fromyour Profile page, hover your mouse over the Settings menu at the topright and click "Privacy Settings" from the list that appears.
2.Click "Search" from the list ofchoices on the next page.
3.Click "Close" on the pop-upmessage that appears.
4.On this page, uncheck the boxlabeled "Allow" next to the second setting "Public Search Results."That keeps all your publicly shared information (items set to viewableby "Everyone") out of the search engines. If you want to see what theend result looks like, click the "see preview" link in blue underneaththis setting.
Be proactive about what you share on Facebook and protect your onlineprivacy!
About the author: John Sileobecame America's leading Identity Theft Speaker amp;Expert after he lost his business and more than $300,000 toidentity theft and data breach. His clients include the Department ofDefense, Pfizer and the FDIC. To further bulletproof yourself and yourbusiness, visit John's blog at Sileo.com. To book John at your next event,visit www.ThinkLikeaSpy.com.Permissiongranted foruse onDrLaura.com
