Real Protection for a Cyber world
written by Corey L. Stokes
With the growing popularity of social media, we get a more in depth look into the lives of our friends; and in some cases their friends, and friends friends…you get the point! With this much freedom for us all to post, blog and report every detail of our lives, there is an element of missing security that we must make take note of.
I’m sure many have heard the stories of privacy violation that many of the social media sites have committed. From providing personal information to third parties to allowing all parties within a network (by default) view everything on your page. Information that you post or blog is made public knowledge and thus fair game for all to view, use and exploit as they see fit. As a Face book representative was quoted, information posted on Face book becomes the property of Face book, i.e.: your name, birthday, work place, places you frequent, and even the photos you upload. All of this information is considered by many social media sites as “public information” thus is treated as such. Even adjusting your privacy settings does not change what Corporate Face book can access.
I bring this to your attention not to discourage use of social media. It would be a step in the wrong direction to do so. I use many social technologies for various functions throughout my day. I bring this up merely to point out a need for an increased awareness of what is being posted on the Internet, even the apps being used. Many apps have been flagged for having embedded malicious codes giving access to your information as well as your friend’s information. A foot stomper on this point is the story of a woman who, while in the government witness protection program, was located by the person she was being protected from using the posts between her and her boyfriend.
Here are a few tips on how to keep your profile secure while still enjoying the freedoms and joys of social technologies.
Tip 1 – If you do not want your personal information to be publicly known do not post it!!! You would think this is self explanatory, right? Think again! How many times have you heard common sense “ain’t so common”? Ok, let me set the scenario. Let’s say you are going on a job interview. A friend of the family has decided to help you get ahead at work so they referred you to their boss. Now the boss wants to meet you for an interview. Just last night you posted a picture from the “event” you attended the night before. Since you were at the “event” you know the whole story behind the photo, and it’s all in fun. But to everyone else, this particular photo seems to show an unruly side of you. You assume only your friends will see the photo, right? (Now, back to the interview) Unbeknownst to you the person interviewing you is on your family friends FB page, which is on your dad’s FB page, which is on your FB page. Do you see where I’m going with this? Now if he was on his profile prior to your interview he saw your photo. Should this night of fun cost you the job? Several instances like this have hit the news lately. Be careful what you post, if it can come back to hurt you later, share it anywhere, but in a public forum.
Tip 2 – Visit your privacy and security setting on whatever social network site often! If you know about new features prior to their release, you can read up on them and make a decision on whether or not you’d like to use or participate in any of these features. Notice I said “if”; over the past few months, many of the social media sites change their sites periodically. I’m sure in some public announcement somewhere within the companies email listing is a notice that this change will take effect. But to the average user, one day you log on to your site and it looks one way, the next day, “OMG WTH, where did they move the post button!” What is not said is that in addition to the new look, came a host of other features. Some of these features were actually designed for you, the end user, some were also designed for partner companies so they can market products to you. Checking your privacy and security setting on your profile frequently allows you to keep abreast of features and applications for which you have not set controls. When in doubt, opt out!
Tip 3 – Keep identifiable information from minimal to nonexistent! – I love receiving happy birthday messages from friends, and anniversary notices from people on my wife’s friend list. I’m sure you enjoy that as well. However, with identity theft on the rise, and with a minimal amount of internet research and dumpster diving on each of your profile pages, it is very simple to assume your identity.
Tip 4 – Never, EVER, Tag your children in photos! – While listening to one of my many podcasts, a point was made regarding this. Predators that are searching for easy targets are also using these social media sites. Unless you have your photos locked down and as secure as Fort Knox you really have no idea who is looking at your profile. By tagging your kids in photos you have just given predators your child’s identity. Not to mention, by posting your location, you’ve also told them where to pick your child up. I know you want to share little Susie’s first karate lesson, or little Junior’s winning kick in his first soccer competition, but avoid tagging them in the photo. This includes the information you put in the photo caption. Use ambiguous captions, and title (i.e.: First game, Little Man’s first kick!!). Just to drive home the point I’ll say it again, never tag your children in photos!
Tip 5 – Ensure your virus protection is up-to-date and being used!
It really bugs me when I get calls from clients who are worried about getting a virus or people hacking in to their system… but they do not have any type of firewall or antivirus protections installed on their computer. How concerned are you about protecting yourself in a cyber environment if you’ve failed to utilize some of the most basic of steps? Virus protection and a firewall is your front line of defense to protect yourself while online. The equivalent to locking your door, a good antivirus protection will keep many unwanted programs off of your computer. If you spend money on anything, ensure it is on your virus protection. Guaranteed, if you leave the door open, someone will walk in.
Now, are these methods 100% secure? Probably not! If someone has targeted you and wants your information, there is little to nothing you can do to prevent it. This list is also not all inclusive. There is a plethora of ways to keep you safe while operating on the Internet. These are just some simple steps you can take that will not make you an easy target.
Corey Stokes 