Facebook "Trusted Contacts" Lets You Pester Friends To Recover Account Access 114
alphadogg writes "Facebook Thursday said it's making available globally a feature called 'Trusted Contacts' that lets users select three to five friends who can help users recover account access such as if they forget their password. Facebook said the idea is that once these friends are identified as 'trusted contacts' through the user's security settings, Facebook will provide each of them with a special code. 'Enter the codes from [at least 3 of] your trusted contacts, and you'll be able to access your account,' Facebook says. 'After you set your trusted contacts, we'll notify them so that they can be ready to help you if you ever need it.'"
Re:Security (Score:4, Informative)
Not only a good idea, but it's a really elegant solution for social networks. Nice work, Facebook!
Either you're trolling, or you really have a weird definition of "elegant". This is highly exploitable through social engineering, and also is a very inelegant solution for those who currently don't have three trusted online "friends", or those who no longer trust one, and have to give them the digital equivalent of a face slap by removing the assigned trust.
I think this is slightly more elegant:
Write your password on a piece of cardboard. Fold it, and put it in an envelope. Mail it to a relative, saying it's your password for [service], and not to be opened unless you ask or you're dead.
You don't need to hunt down three friends. You don't have to give facebook information about who you trust. And you're covered even if you die.