ONLINE PRIVACY TIPS

It absolutely amazes me just how much information people are willing to give away freely about themselves.  For example, a friend recently bought a day pass at a local gym.  And on the form the gym asked for their email address, date of birth, and Social Security number — and the friend gave them the info without question, despite the gym never having a real need for any of that in the purchase of a 1 day gym pass with cash.

In light of all the recent privacy compromises regarding Facebook, I also can’t believe just how much information people list in their profiles without even considering the potential dangers and ramifications. I recently heard about someone posting on their profile that a bonus from work allowed them to buy a brand new high end flat screen TV, and how they were leaving soon for a 2 week vacation. But when they returned home from vacation, their house had been burglarized and the new flat screen was gone.  Hmmm….

A common rule of privacy should also be common sense: just because someone asks you for information doesn’t require you to give it.  You still hold every right to say no. It’s also wise to take a look at the information you freely pass out to people on a daily basis, and consider if it’s truly necessary or how it could come back to haunt you.  Facebook is a fun place to socialize, but it is not perfect.  Loading your profile with private information about yourself, then leaving it open for all of Facebook and the Internet to see is beyond unwise — it’s just plain stupid.  Think of it as leaving the front door to your house unlocked while you’re not home, and you’ll get the point.  Don’t make yourself a target.

So here now are 7 tips to be aware of when using social networking sites such as Facebook.

AVOID A WEAK PASSWORD
Avoid simple names or words you can find in a dictionary, even with numbers tacked on the end. Also, avoid using the same password for everything you access.  And using your name, birth date, telephone number, etc. is far too easy to figure out and should be considered an instant no-no. Instead, mix upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. A password should have at least eight characters. One good technique is to insert numbers or symbols in the middle of a word, such as this variant on the word “houses”: hO27usEs!

REMOVE FULL DATE OF BIRTH FROM YOUR PROFILE
This information is an ideal target for identity thieves, who could use it to obtain more information about you and potentially gain access to your bank or credit card account easier than you think. If you’ve already entered a birth date, go to your profile page and click on the Info tab, then on Edit Information. Under the Basic Information section, choose to show only the month and day (but not the year) or no birthday at all.

DON’T OVERLOOK PRIVACY CONTROLS
For almost everything in your Facebook profile, you can limit access to only your friends, friends of friends, or yourself. Restrict access to photos, birth date, religious views, and family information, among other things. You can give only certain people or groups access to items such as photos, or block particular people from seeing them. Consider leaving out contact info such as a phone number or address.  Imagine what a potential thief can do with your address and phone number, and a simple wall post that you’re at the airport headed to Europe for 2 weeks?  That should never be general information, but rather something you give out on a selective individual basis.

AVOID CHILDREN’S NAMES IN YOUR PROFILE
Don’t use a child’s name in photo tags or captions. If someone else does, delete it by clicking on Remove Tag. If your child isn’t on Facebook and someone includes his or her name in a caption, ask that person to remove the name.  The first name of your child posted along with their photo, combined with your address or locale may be harmless to a small select group.  But it’s reckless and irresponsible to list this information on an open and publicly searchable Facebook profile.

STOP ANNOUNCING YOU’LL BE AWAY FROM HOME
That’s like putting a “HEY BAD GUYS…NO ONE’S HOME” sign on your door. Tell everyone how incredible your vacation was AFTER you get home and not before you leave, and be vague about the date of any trip.

STOP ALLOWING SEARCH ENGINES TO FIND YOU
To help prevent strangers from accessing your page, go to the Search section of Facebook’s privacy controls and select Only Friends for Facebook search results. Be sure the box for public search results isn’t checked.

STOP ALLOWING CHILDREN TO USE FACEBOOK UNSUPERVISED
Facebook limits its members to ages 13 and over, but that doesn’t mean younger children aren’t finding ways to use it too. If you have a child on Facebook, the best way to keep tabs on their activities is to become one of their online friends. Use your e-mail address as the contact for their account so that you receive their notifications and monitor their activities. “What they think is nothing, can actually be pretty serious,” says Charles Pavelites, a supervisory special agent at the Internet Crime Complaint Center. For example, a child who posts the comment “Mom will be home soon, I need to do the dishes” every day at the same time is revealing too much about the parents’ regular comings and goings.  Child predators may often use this information to their advantage. Better to be safe than sorry.