Social Networking

Social networking sites are popular on the Internet. Online social networks have sprung up for business, hobbies, schools and religious groups. Used properly, they are a unique communications tool to keep in touch with friends and colleagues.  But like any online tools, social networking sites can be gamed and abused by scammers and other unscrupulous people. It's important to protect yourself by following a few important steps.

• Be careful what you put online. When you put a photo, or video or written account online, it stays for a very long time and a lot of people can see it. Many employers routinely check social networking sites as part of the hiring process. Criminals use the sites to trawl for personal information they can use. Don't put anything up that you might regret. This includes compromising photos and videos, and especially any sensitive personal data.
• Protect your privacy. Most social networking services offer extensive privacy options. You can use these settings to prevent anyone you don't know from viewing your information. Think about the information you have online, and whom you want seeing it; set your privacy levels accordingly. GetNetWise has some useful tips on how to set your privacy settings.
• Be careful about meeting your social networking "friends" in person. It's not easy to tell who a person is from a photograph and a few lines of text. If you're going to meet in person think about doing so in a public place, during the day.  
• Be VERY involved with your kids' social networking. Children are big users of social networking services and face the greatest risks—child predation, exploitation and "cyber-bullying" present serious risks. If you decide to let them use social networking tools, limit use, insist on seeing their profile and interactions regularly, and make sure you personally know all of their "friends." Be aware that some kids host "dummy" pages for their parents' benefit, keeping their "real" pages secret. Consider insisting that your child only use social networking tools in common areas like the living room. US-CERT provides some useful tips for protecting kids. Also check out our tips for protecting kids online.