Paul's Tech Talk

Photo credits: Nate & Tilly Ritter

Social media networks can be a lot of fun – not to mention useful – but you really need to make sure you take steps to stay safe. Knowing how to avoid social media scams is an important skill to have in the Information Age. The good news is that it’s not that difficult to avoid them if you use common sense and are careful when you’re online. We’ve put together a list of several specific tips you can use to make sure you don’t run into any problems.

How to Avoid Social Network Scams

Here’s a look at some specific ways that you can avoid scams no matter what social media network you visit frequently.

• Privacy Settings – The first thing you’re going to want to do is spend some time learning about the privacy settings for whatever site you’re on. For some – like Facebook – this can take quite a bit of time before you understand, but it’s essential if you want to protect yourself from scams.

• Know Your Friends – While you may want to get as many “friends” as you can, this isn’t really that smart. Try to only allow people you really know in real life to be part of your social circles online.

• Ignore Unknown Links – If you see a link from a source you don’t recognize, ignore it or delete it if possible. Following links from strangers online is usually not a good idea on social media sites.

• Avoid Public Computers – Like public bathrooms, you should avoid using public computers as often as possible. You never know if one is infected with a keystroke logger that will allow others access to your social media accounts.

• Be Cautious – This is common sense, but it can be easy to get caught up in the moment online. Learn to take your time and not get involved – by clicking links – until you know exactly what’s going on and that you’re dealing with someone who can be trusted completely.

• Software and Firewalls – You should also make sure your anti-virus programs are up to date with their definition file. Additionally, you might think about installing a firewall so that you can add another layer of protection between you and the bad guys online. Luckily, you can usually find free software that will help protect you. Just make sure you set it up correctly.

By following the advice above, you’re going to be able to avoid the scams while still being able to keep up with the fam. You don’t need to avoid social networks completely, but you should be very selective about which sites you visit and how you interact with people you might not know personally.

Written by: Maegred Mithi is working in copper industry. Her job is to buy ethanol and remove the rust from the raw copper. She is also studying on line reputation management, because she has special interest in online world algorithms that affects the search engine results.

Photo credits: U.S. Army RDECOM

If you’re not worried about your privacy online when interacting on social media sites, you should be. These days, it’s easier than ever before for bad guys to get ahold of your personal information. Even large corporations are having problems. For example, in December 2013, Target was targeted by hackers and lost just under 100 million credit card numbers and other identifiable information about their customers.

Seven Privacy Tips for Social Media

To help you stay safe online and protect your personal information, here’s seven specific privacy tips for when you’re on social media websites.

1. Know the Settings – The first thing you want to do is make sure you study a website’s privacy policy – including how to change the settings. Unfortunately, most websites make this very difficult to do. The more information you share with Facebook and others, the more money they can make off of you.

2. Watch for Changes – Privacy policy changes may or may not be announced, so you want to make sure you keep your eyes open for changes that occur. Hopefully in the future legislation will be passed to make it more difficult for companies to make wide changing changes without a lot of notification and options for users.

3. Sign-Out – While this can be a pain, make sure you log out of your social media accounts when you’re not using them. This is one of the best ways to make sure Facebook or Google isn’t tracking your every move online.

4. No Phone App – Try NOT to install the Facebook or Twitter app. Or, if you do install it to use occasionally, make sure you log-out whenever you’re not actively using it. While using the Facebook app may seem convenient, you’re giving them quite a bit of information that they’re going to sell to the highest bidder.

5. Use a Device Password – Make sure you set up your smartphone so that it requires you to enter a password to unlock it and use it. Unfortunately, not a lot of people take the time to do this, which is a big obstacle to privacy.

6. Use Encryption – Whenever possible, make sure you’re using encryption. Most operating systems have software that will encrypt and protect your sensitive data.

7. Unfriend Strangers – While getting your friend count to some crazy number might sound like fun, you should try to NOT friend anyone who you don’t know in real life.

Following the advice and tips above will help make sure you maintain your privacy when you’re using social media websites. Do you have your own method of staying safe on social media websites? Feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you do to maintain your online privacy.

Written by: Shorna stiksal likes smartresumewizard because it’s so easy to use. She helps her company with reputation management and has been paid very well for her assistance.