As a mother, I will do anything to protect my two-year-old daughter; which is why I was royally freaked out last year when two things happened:
Number one: A friend came over to my house and used her mobile phone to “check in” on Foursquare, thereby revealing my address to all of her followers. Not so great.
Number two: I received a Facebook friend request from someone I thought I didn’t know. After corresponding with the person, I realized they were someone I was close with at one time and have distanced myself from. This person was using a fake account to view photos of my daughter. Also, not great.
These incidents got me thinking: In a world where transparency is king and cybercrimes are growing, what can people do to protect their privacy online? Here are eight great ways to protect yourself and your image:
1. Search for yourself
Type your name into search engines such as Bing, Google and Pipl. You’ll be surprised what information is available. While you’re at it, search for your family members. You can even set up alerts to notify yourself each time your name is mentioned within a site.
Sites such as ZabaSearch, MyLife and Intelius may list partial information about you, but for an extra charge, they may list everything from your address to your cell phone number. While “transparency” seems to be the buzz word these days, keep in mind that these sites may also be used for identity theft. If you find this information to be inaccurate or personal, contact the sites and ask them to remove your listing.
2. Adjust your privacy settings
Facebook privacy settings are a big deal. Make sure you’ve customized them to ensure your private information is not visible to the outside world. For example, you may want to only allow friends, or friends of friends, to search for you on the site. You may also want to only allow friends to see your list of friends and photos.
Don’t be fooled, mostly everyone uses Facebook to search out others they may know. This can include law enforcement, loss prevention, criminals, gangs, employers, recruiters, old-flames…and the list goes on. While it may be an ethical violation of privacy, it is certainly not a legal one. Remember: if you don’t change your privacy settings, the world will see your profile, which includes wall posts, photos and anything else you’ve posted.
*Also, Facebook announced new security features on January 28, 2011 in honor of Data Privacy Day. These are definitely worth a peek!
3. Personalize your password
Strong and unique passwords are vitally important, especially if you pay bills online. Shy away from using your birth date, Social Security number, last name, or child’s name when creating your password. Instead, make your password strong and unique by combining letters, symbols and numbers.
Equally important is a strong security question. Let’s say someone who knows you wanted to hack into your bank account. If the answer to your security question were common knowledge (mother’s maiden name, anniversary date, child’s name) they would have no problem accessing your money. It is your responsibility to make sure that your passwords are as difficult as possible to guess.
4. Be mindful about where you “check in”
Location-based networks such as Foursquare and Gowalla might be useful for finding people to chat with at bookstores or racking up visit points at your local coffee shop (maybe even earning yourself a free latte), but they can also serve as serious privacy busters.
Never check in at home, at someone else’s home, at your child’s school, or (gasp!) your lover’s house. By registering yourself in these personal sites, you are giving a potential villain entry to your (and your loved ones’) location.
Ask yourself, are you always checking into the same location on a specific date and time? When you create a habitual pattern of visits, this not only helps people who want to meet you find you, but it also provides predators the ability to predict where you will be and get there in advance.
Last, be sure your privacy settings are tightened up so only your approved friends list see your whereabouts.
5. Screen your updates
Lets say you are going on vacation to the Bahamas and you are so excited that you share your trip plans with your followers on Twitter and Facebook. Great idea, right? Wrong.
Check out this video about a couple who, after they posted that they were going to a party, one of their followers broke in to their home: http://youtu.be/N7Z6DCDnfRw
Rule of thumb: never post anything that may lead harm to yourself or someone else. Also, remember that if you post your vacation (or party) plans, it can be easy for a predator to check sites such as ZabaSearch, MyLife and Intelius for your address and other personal information, then make a surprise visit.
6. Don’t be the fish that gets caught in a net
Beware of false emails that ask for your private information. They may be emails that appear to be from your bank, a friend or any other organization that looks official. There are many types of phishing scams. My favorite are emails that come from a benevolent individual that is being held captive in a third world country and claims they have millions in the bank, but need your help to be freed and are willing to provide a reward.
You would be surprised by how many victims fall prey to these scams. More information can be obtained from Microsoft Online Safety.
The best way to protect yourself is to keep private information private. In this situation, it’s okay to keep secrets.
7. To Wi-Fi or Not To Wi-Fi?
That is the question! Not familiar with the term Sidejacking? Developer Eric Butler has exposed the weaknesses of the web with his new Firefox extension, Firesheep, which will let online predators essentially eavesdrop on any open Wi-Fi network and capture users’ cookies. ??This threat has been around for years and you’re at risk from sidejacking when you use the Internet via unsecured public Wi-Fi or WLAN (wireless networking) hotspot.
Here’s how it works: an attacker on the same Wi-Fi network could use Firesheep to “sniff” and use login sessions of surrounding users that have logged into their webmail; Facebook, Twitter or other social networking accounts; or Amazon account in a public place. From there, the potential damage is endless.
To read more about Firesheep, visit TechCrunch.
8. Invest in anti-virus technology
The Internet has facilitated an easy way to access information right from your home computer. Viruses and other malware created by hackers try to access your information and even damage your computer. One great way to protect yourself is by purchasing anti-virus technology. Just visit sites such as McAfee, BitDefender or Symantec, and download a privacy program for your computer.
Computers that share the same network, such as businesses or a home network, will spread a virus quickly and easily if they are not protected. Anti-virus software prevents the spread of viruses to others in which you communicate with through email, the Internet or file sharing. Anti-virus programs also offer firewalls to protect your identity and your passwords.
Check out this list of the top 10 anti-virus programs.
