Social networking websites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter,
and Windows Live Spaces are services people can use to connect with others to
share information like photos, videos, and personal messages.
As the popularity of these social sites grows, so do the
risks of using them. Hackers, spammers, virus writers, identity thieves, and
other criminals follow the traffic.
Read these tips to help protect yourself when you use social
networks.
1. Use caution when
you click links that you receive in messages from your friends on your social
website. Treat links in messages on these sites as you would links in email
messages. (For more information, see Approach links in email with caution and
Click Fraud: Cyber criminals want you to 'like' it.)
2. Know what you've
posted about yourself. A common way that hackers break into financial or other
accounts is by clicking the "Forgot your password?" link on the
account log in page. To break into your account, they search for the answers to
your security questions, such as your birthday, home town, high school class,
or mother's middle name. If the site allows, make up your own password
questions, and don't draw them from material anyone could find with a quick
search. For more information, see:
*What was the
name of your first pet?
* What is screen
scraping?
*Take charge of
your online reputation
3. Don't trust that a
message is really from who it says it's from. Hackers can break into accounts
and send messages that look like they're from your friends, but aren't. If you
suspect that a message is fraudulent, use an alternate method to contact your
friend to find out. This includes invitations to join new social networks. For
more information, see Scammers exploit Facebook friendships.
4. To avoid giving
away email addresses of your friends, do not allow social networking services
to scan your email address book. When you join a new social network, you might
receive an offer to enter your email address and password to find out if your
contacts are on the network. The site might use this information to send email
messages to everyone in your contact list or even everyone you've ever sent an
email message to with that email address. Social networking sites should
explain that they're going to do this, but some do not.
5. Type the address
of your social networking site directly into your browser or use your personal
bookmarks. If you click a link to your site through email or another website,
you might be entering your account name and password into a fake site where
your personal information could be stolen. For more tips about how to avoid
phishing scams, see Email and web scams: How to help protect yourself.
6. Be selective about
who you accept as a friend on a social network. Identity thieves might create
fake profiles in order to get information from you.
7. Choose your social
network carefully. Evaluate the site that you plan to use and make sure you
understand the privacy policy. Find out if the site monitors content that
people post. You will be providing personal information to this website, so use
the same criteria that you would to select a site where you enter your credit
card.
8. Assume that
everything you put on a social networking site is permanent. Even if you can
delete your account, anyone on the Internet can easily print photos or text or
save images and videos to a computer.
9. Be careful about
installing extras on your site. Many social networking sites allow you to
download third-party applications that let you do more with your personal page.
Criminals sometimes use these applications to steal your personal information.
To download and use third-party applications safely, take the same safety
precautions that you take with any other program or file you download from the
web.
10. Think twice before
you use social networking sites at work. For more information, see Be careful
with social networking sites, especially at work.
