COMPUTER BYTES

Can I delete a "friend" on Facebook? How can I remove my e-mail address from Facebook?

Social networking is an amazing phenomenon. Facebook is the biggest example, with millions of users. Unfortunately, there are pests there, just as there are in real life. But they're easier to avoid in Facebook. Just block them!

E-mail is a little tougher. You can certainly block your e-mail address in Facebook. But people who have it, have it. You might need to change the address to get rid of them.

Let's start with the infamous Facebook "friend." Just like real life, there are some people best avoided. Fortunately, it's easier to drop a friend on Facebook.

Open up your Facebook profile. In the upper right-hand corner, click Account>>Privacy Settings. Go to the Block List heading. Enter your "friend's" name and click the Block button. That person will now be cut off from your profile.

You can take it a step further. At the bottom of every user profile is a Report/Block link. Click this to report your former friend to Facebook. Facebook administrators will review the situation. In extreme situations, the user can be banned. Employ this at your discretion.

In some cases, it isn't the friend that's the problem. Applications can be irritating, too. These are little programs people like to run in Facebook. Farmville is a good example. These applications send you updates every time your friends use them. This can get old pretty quick. You can, however, hide these updates.

Go to your news feed area. This should be your default loading page. You can also click Home at the top of your profile. Hover your mouse over the unwanted application update. A Hide link will appear in the upper right corner. Click Hide>>Hide this Application.

The same thing can be done with verbose friends. Click Hide>>Hide Friend. This will keep your news feed area manageable. Unfortunately, blocking people doesn't help when they have your e-mail address. There are a few ways to keep them from getting it.

Facebook relies on its users having e-mail addresses. You can't get rid of your e-mail address completely. However, you can hide it from everyone. In the upper right-hand of your profile, click Account>>Privacy Settings. Go to Contact Information. At the bottom of the page, you will see your e-mail address. The box next to your e-mail contains your privacy setting. You can choose who will see your e-mail address in your profile. I recommend setting this to Only Friends.

However, you can get even more private. In the privacy settings, select Customize. This will bring up the Custom Privacy box. Here you can select the individual people who can see your e-mail. You can also specify certain people who can't see your e-mail. If nothing else, you can set it to Only Me.

Some people aren't comfortable with Facebook having their e-mail address at all. In that case, give Facebook a different e-mail address. Create a new e-mail with any free service, like G-mail. In Facebook, go to Account>>Account Settings. Click on the E-mail heading. Enter your new e-mail address and click Add. You can now remove your original e-mail address. Just note that your new e-mail address will be used to sign-in. And the people who used your old address will still have it. You'd have to drop that old address entirely to cure that.

More info from Kim on Facebook HERE.

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