Facebook Teams Up with McAFee to Offer Free Security Software

Facebook just announced that it has signed-up a year-long deal with McAfee to offer free download of its security software. That’s putting McAfee’s software available for download to 350 million people, although not all of them might be PC users.

The deal would allow Facebook members to download and use the security software for a free six-month subscription after which those who opt to continue using it can renew the subscription at a discounted cost. Again, thanks to Facebook’s deal.

And the reason why Facebook is doing this? To help its members protect themselves against security threats that could otherwise hamper them from using their computers which might include accessing Facebook.



It’s a nobel effort from Facebook. Although we could not discount the fact that it’s also a marketing ploy for McAfee and Facebook. Either way, there’s no harm in getting the free security software even if you can use it only for six months.

And in case you’re computer is already compromised even before you got the McAfee software, Facebook will detect it once you try accessing its site. It will then ask you to go through several processes which include running the McAfee virus scan procedure. Again, another one-of-a-kind service from the world’s no.1 social networking site.

To get the free McAfee security software, simply head over to the Protect Your PC tab on the McAfee Page on Facebook.

Source:http://www.dailybits.com/facebook-teams-up-with-mcafee-to-offer-free-security-software/

Facebook making privacy controls easier

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, sent an open letter to the social network's users announcing some good news both for the company and for users. He announced Facebook now has over 350 million users. To put that into perspective, the Facebook population is larger than those of all of the countries in the except China and India.

The other, and arguably more intriguing, bit of information from Zuckerberg was the announcement of updates to Facebook privacy settings:

"The plan we've come up with is to remove regional networks completely and create a simpler model for privacy control where you can set content to be available to only your friends, friends of your friends, or everyone.

We're adding something that many of you have asked for — the ability to control who sees each individual piece of content you create or upload." (emphasis added)

Make good privacy choices
This is an important change because it will provide individuals a way to have better control and hopefully filter their postings for appropriateness. Perhaps this is Facebook's way of letting users help themselves and making good choices online. I especially liked how Zuckerberg leads users down the path of choosing privacy settings:

"...the best way for you to find the right settings is to read through all your options and customize them for yourself. I encourage you to do this and consider who you're sharing with online." (emphasis added)

If you're a Facebook user, will this change be helpful to you? Do you think people will take the time to update their privacy settings? The comments are yours.

Images:http://www.flickr.com/photos/36521958135@N01/3016389517

Story: http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2009/12/facebook-making-privacy-controls-easier.html