Social network security requires consideration when designing or maintaining a social site. This is because social site users require privacy in their communication (Herndon & Melanie 2012). Facebook offers several security options for its users. The Social Authentication Security ensures that no other person logs into an account while the authentic user is using it. If this happens, the second user is required to identify the names of friends from their pictures. This ensures that the privacy of the account is not compromised. It also allows users to browse using ‘https’ instead of ‘http’ while surfing from a public wifi services. This code prevents theft of sensitive information. Facebook also has guardian angels security arrangement. This requires the user to select five friends to be assisted to log in to the account once the password is forgotten. The remote logout is another security feature which allows one to log out from his account that had been logged in through other computers and forgot to log out (Allfacebook 2013). Facebook also provides one time temporary passwords which are active for two minutes only thus protecting the user from security threats brought about by public computers which store login information. The site also have filters which scans all links posted and block the malicious ones through a security action known as Clickjacking Scam removal.
The facebook security features have covered almost of the areas of security concerns although they are yet to gain the required strength. For instance the remote logout security is still not enough since before someone realizes that a mistake has happened, the sensitive information might have been accessed already. A prompt dialog box reminding one to log out when closing the browser could therefore work better (Cross 2014). The guardian angel log-in should also be improved since mutual friends can be recognized easily by another party who may as well have access to your account. Instead, a secret word or a secret friend may be used to help one access the account.
References
Allfacebook (2013) 7 facebook security features you need to know about. Retrieved on 25th November 2013 from http://allfacebook.com/facebook-privacy-security_b63132
Cross, M. (2014). Social media security: Leveraging social networking while mitigating risk.
Herndon, D., & Nelson, Melanie. (2012). Facebook All-in-One For Dummies. Wiley.
