Staying Safe at Social Media Web Sites

By Brittany Jedrzejewski, JustAskGemalto.com

According to recent data from comScore, the average social media user spends at least four hours a week in social media sites.  Sound like anyone you know?  If anything, that number might even sound low, given the popularity of social media sites today.  Social media offers people a chance to express themselves, meet new people and share their lives with friends…which also means many social media users are willingly exposing private information on public websites.

Do you know how to stay safe and protect your privacy on social networking sites?

Most social media users have at least one personal story or know of a friend who was humorously “burned” by a photograph or comment that circulated to people or places it wasn’t intended.  However, these situations don’t always end humorously.  The speed and visibility of social media makes for a fun experience and great entertainment, but it also creates an opportunity to embarrass yourself or others, jeopardize your employment or, worse still, compromise your safety or your identity.

In the spirit of this year's NCSA theme Our Shared Responsibility, it is ultimately up to you to manage your digital identity on social media sites.  As part of the educational effort for National Cyber Security Awareness Month, the team at www.JustAskGemalto.com, has put together a list of guidelines for managing your digital identity on social media sites.

1. Review and use privacy settings.  Decide how visible you want your contact and profile information, photos, videos and postings to be, and then take the time to learn how to set the right level of control.
2. Decide how searchable you want to be.  It's best to make it a conscious choice and set up your profile the way you want, rather than leave it to the default settings.
3. Configure your tweet settings.  You can restrict tweet delivery to those in your circle of friends or, by default, allow open access.
4. Keep all tagged photos private.  If you'd like to make tagged (named) photos visible to certain users you can choose to add them in the box under the "Some Friends" option.
5. Don't share information that can help people steal your identity or locate you.  Exercise good judgment when posting and sharing personal information.
6. Check into your ability to opt-out with advertisers and third parties.

If you’re a Facebook fan, or part of the Twitterverse, consider yourself LinkedIn, or in any way part of the social media phenomenon, take the time to read the full article Managing Your Digital Identity on Social Media Sites.  Part of Our Shared Responsibility is to learn how to stay safe and protect our personal privacy, while still having fun sharing with our friends and networking communities.

JustAskGemalto.com is a site dedicated to providing the latest news and tips to keep your personal information safe while enjoying the technology you use every day.