Social Media is incredibly popular and many of us are used to just posting or tweeting anything we like. That’s what social media is for.
BUT, there are unscrupulous people who take advantage of that openness. Scammers.
You should take general precautions – i.e. have appropriate anti-virus and anti-malware on your computer and keep it up to date.
Then it’s a question of taking care that anything you put on social media cannot be used to harm yourself or anyone else. Following these points below can help:-
- Check the privacy and security setting son your social media and set them appropriately.
- Set strong passwords (at least 8 characters long and including capitals, numbers and symbols)
- Be careful with links and files. If you’re not sure about the source, then don’t download or click on the link. Hackers will sometimes post links in comments to try and trick you into clicking them.
- Be aware that your posts may affect others and they may take offence where you wouldn’t or not want their private information online. So be considerate.
- Be wary of add-ons. Many games and add-ons are created by third party companies and may not be as safe as you assume. Be wary of any extra permissions that an APP requires.
- Be careful who you follow or friend. You may want to have hundreds of friends, but does it really help anything?
- Periodically, try a Google search on your name – to see what personal information is available
- Never log in from public hotspots. Most social networking sites don’t have a secure login (https), so your user name and password could be copied at any time. Only log in from trusted wireless networks.
Remember: If you wouldn’t say it or do it in public, don’t post it online.
Think twice before posting pictures you wouldn’t want your parents, partner or employer to see.
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