Off-Topic :
Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
This week, two researchers at University College London put out a formal study exposing what they call a loophole in Facebook's user privacy protection system. But really, there's no bug here, no unmasked flaw. The published stratagem for stalking with impunity is just putting together two pieces of a simple puzzle: you can deactivate Facebook as many times as you want, for as long as you want. And the entire time you're deactivated, you can't be blocked or unfriended. Nobody can touch you. While deactivated, you are a ghost.
Deactivate the account the moment real-world events suggest a digital breakup is imminent. Days or weeks later, when your target's attention is turned elsewhere, run surveillance. Stick to odd hours with Facebook Chat disabled to ensure the maximum stealth quotient. But really, unless a particular person is looking for you right that second, your reactivated presence will be just a blip among a list of hundreds of other friends. The chances of you getting caught and unfriended during this brief window are slim.
ZDNet says Facebook has "fixed" this problem, but we don't know how. I haven't noticed anything different, and was able to pull it off fine last night. Let us know if you notice anything!