91.113 Exploring the Internet

Phoebe kept walking, past the abuse, past the can, past the white picket fence, into her house. Then she walked into a closet and hanged herself. Her 12-year-old sister found her.You would think this would give the bullies who hounded Phoebe some pause. Instead, they went on Facebook and mocked her in death.They told State Police detectives they did nothing wrong, had nothing to do with Phoebe killing herself.

“Things like this aren’t supposed to happen in South Hadley,’’ said Darby O’Brien, a high school parent, wondering why the bullies who tormented Phoebe are still in school. “And so instead of confronting the evil among us, the reality that there are bullies roaming the corridors at South Hadley High, people are blaming the victim, looking for excuses why a 15-year-old girl would do this. People are in denial.’’

New Facebook Trusted/HTTPS Settings Allow You To Browse Securelyby Meghan Stabler on Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 2:40pmRecently there have been a number of simple hacks that allow your Facebook to be compromised. Today, Facebook announced a new feature that will help solve many of your security issues. You can now easily prevent that with this awesome (and long overdue) new feature from Facebook that allows you to browse the website securely. Spread the word! Why?  Because it’s optional and you have to enable it yourself ! To enable it simply go to the Account Security section of the Account Settings page and enable it. Note that I have tested this feature and should you use Facebook over a Corporate Network (VPN) and other similar secure access systems, not all images and photos will display due to the security layer in place.  Essentially it works by adding secure encryption to your browser, similar to when you’re checking out on an e-commerce website. This should become a DEFAULT setting for anyone who uses Facebook. Until it becomes the default setting make sure to protect yourself and change it today, it only takes a second… “Starting today we’ll provide you with the ability to experience Facebook entirely over HTTPS. You should consider enabling this option if you frequently use Facebook from public Internet access points found at coffee shops, airports, libraries, or schools,” the post says. “The option will exist as part of our advanced security features, which you can find in the Account Security section of the Account Settings page.” Using HTTPS may mean that some pages will take a little bit longer to load, and some third-party applications aren’t currently supported, the company said. The option is rolling out over the next few weeks. “We hope to offer HTTPS as a default whenever you are using Facebook sometime in the future,” the post says. “Every user’s Facebook page is unique and it’s been complex pulling together all the different parts,” said Facebook Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan when asked what the time frame is to making HTTPS the default setting. “It’s an interesting technical challenge for the company.” Click here for more information on HTTPS After you modify that account setting you will notice that whenever you browse Facebook your browser bar will show “https://www.Facebook.com/“  and you should notice the LOCK graphic denoting that you are now browsing on a secure encrypted protection.  It will look something like this:  typically appearing in your browsers bottom right corner,this will vary by browser.  If you don’t see a lock, then you’re not protected.