Facebook was reported to confirm it's intentions to sell your data to marketers in this report by TGDaily.com

http://www.tgdaily.com/business-and-law-features/54400-facebook-to-release-phone-numbers-addresses-to-third-party-developer

This allows Facebook to sell your personal info (All that you gave them) to any third party for the right amount of money!

Now, a lot of people may say, "so what?"

Here's the basic business model for facebook, get anyone to give you thier info and sell it to the marketers (spammers, or UCE Unsolicited Content  Email)

No Problem Right?

I say Imagine this, TEXT SPAMMING!

Soon your "private" cell phone number will be getting tons of "spam texts" from marketers you never asked for.

LOL, you thought your email spam was hard to control? Just wait until your cell phone battery dies mid day because it doesn't stop getting thousands of TEXT SPAM for hours non stop.

This will be the next (STD) Socially Transmitted Disease.

Be careful with your information.

Jeff The Computer Man

www.Jeffthecomputerman.com

Adding a firewall sounds like the safe method to protect your computer. In reality it sometimes becomes more of a headache that a solution.

If you have a wireless router between your DSL, Cable or other Internet service provider then this will be your first line of defense. Firewalls are for computers directly connected to the internet. This is actually kinda rare, if you have a need to be your own web service provider then this is a must have item.

Most of us don't actually need a firewall because the router (Linksys, D-Link, Motorola, ect...) actually provide a hardware based firewall that stands between you and the idiots trying to get in.

A hardware based firewall is much better at protecting you than any software. The router acts as a bouncer, if you are not on the list you don't get in. This is the easiest method to protect yourself because the default settings on most routers is no access from the internet side.

Hackers use programs to troll the vast space of the internet looking for a response of any kind. These programs work like an automatic number dialer for the phone system. They just start calling numbers until someone picks up and responds.

If your computer were directly connected to the internet, it would actually answer the call and when your computer responds(HELLO?), the hacker program begins to ask a LOT of questions.

• What operating system are you?
• What service pack do you have installed?
• What version of Internet Explorer do you use?
• What ports are open, like FTP (File Transfer Protocol), IM (instant messenger on many different ports), EMail (Port 23 and 110), Web Server (port 80)

There are over 65,000 ports availble for the computer to use for all kinds of  communication. Some of these ports have a dedicated function, EMail, IM, FTP, Web Server, and so on.

These are the hacker targets. They set their programs to look at these ports for known vulnerabilities, which are almost limitless.

So, don't have your computer directly connected to the internet. If you are not sure, have an expert check this major security hole. A wireless router should be about $50 and installation is pretty easy if you follow the install wizards. ALWAYS CHANGE ALL THE PASSWORDS on a router! If it is wireless, it has an option to put a password on the wireless connection, DO THIS!