One of the most common issues I encounter when speaking with people about staying safe online is understanding Facebook's privacy settings. They can be confusing and they are constantly changing.  As a result some people simply accept Facebook's default settings and assume that if it's good enough for Facebook that it's good enough for them. The problem with this is that you may actually be sharing more information than you realize.

One of the reasons for this is that Facebook relies on advertisers to make money. Facebook in turn provides certain information about its users, which allows them to market specifically to each user based on that user's likes, interests, etc. For more information on what is shared with advertisers and outside parties, check out this link http://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=privacy#!/policy.ph.

If you actually read the privacy policy you will probably be surprised what information you share when using applications in Facebook, such as Farmville. A certain amount of your information is also shared through your friends when they use third-party applications. A brief overview of this is available at http://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.php/.

The good news is that the privacy settings are completely customizable. You can choose to allow everyone to view your photos or just a select few of your choosing. You can choose to limit what information is shared about you through your friends. You can even choose whether your name shows up in the public search on Facebook.

The bottom line is this: You control what you put on Facebook and what is shared with others. Become familiar with Facebook's privacy and account settings and see what you are currently sharing. If you see that you're sharing more than you want, change the settings until you are comfortable with them. If you still feel that you're sharing too much information, you can always deactivate your account.  Try uProtect.it from Reputation.com, which offers an additional privacy layer on top of Facebook.  You can also try Bitdefender Safego to help protect you from exposing too much private data.

 

Have you ever thought about what your online presence says about you?  If you Googled yourself, what would you find?  Would it be something that you want everyone to see?  Is it something that you want your parents, teachers, potential employers, current employers, college admissions officers, police or a stranger knowing about you?  Millions of people use social media sites such as Facebook, blogs, photo/video sharing sites and other internet sites everyday to post information without realizing that it could be reaching thousands, if not millions, of people. 

Before we post anything online, we need to ask ourselves the following questions:
1.    Who could potentially be looking at what I post?
2.    How could they interpret or percieve what I post?
3.    Are there things I should keep personal?
4.    How will what I am about to post affect me from one year from now?  Five?  Ten?
5.    How will what I post affect others? 
6.    Would I want ___________ (Family, boss, police , stranger, etc.) to see what I posted?