Week 2 - Privacy and Social Media

Be cautious when you post things online or when your friends post things pertaining to you, you never know who may be watching. Do you know how protected you are? Google yourself for 10 minutes and see how much information you can find on yourself. You are probably not as protected as you think. When you go out with your friends you drink, have fun, maybe do some illegal activities, and take pictures. Where do those pictures end up? Most likely on FaceBook or some other social networking site. Think about the people who will see these pictures, such as those you have "friended."Do you want all of them to see these? There may be more people seeing the things you and your friends post than you would like there to be. 

Here are 3 important tips on how to stay more protected when online:

1) Check privacy settings. Never settle for the default settings provided by the site. They are usually low protection and make you very vulnerable. Go into the privacy settings and customize them so that you are protecting yourself as much as you want to. Also, some sites update their settings quite regularly so make sure you update your customization regularly.

2) Only "friend" people you actually know. When someone requests to be your "friend" on FaceBook, make sure you know them. If you do not know them, who knows what they are doing with your information? Also, remember your tweets are available for everyone to see so be careful with what you ar tweeting or turn the privacy settings on.

3) Don't be stupid. If you know you should not be posting something on the internet, do not do it. It is that simple. Think about the people who may see these pictures or posts then think about the consequences. Is it worth it? Most likely it is not.

Be safe when using the internet. It is becoming easier and easier for people to find out information on you with just a few clicks, and could easily use it against you. More employers are turning to the internet to research potential employees. Are you posting things that could affect your chances at getting a job?

Be Safe and be smart,

Momma