With the likes of Facebook, Google, MySpace, Twitter, Bebo, Habbo,
and the wide proliferation of social networking means people are making more
information about themselves accessible to strangers than ever before
and sometimes getting into all sorts of strife because of it.
-From
Telegraph.co.uk As attitudes to privacy are starting to change, and as identity theft
increases, here is a short list of some ways you can protect your privacy
online:
1) Personalized search engine optimization - strange as it may seem,
people are willing to pay for experts to alter how far up Google's
listings their name appears when they type it in. The method allows
you to keep the bad news private and highlight whatever - true of
false - information you desire. As one firm put it: "If you've ever
Googled yourself and been less than happy with the results, you've
discovered a need for personal SEO."
2) Change your name - stranger yet, Google's chief executive, Eric
Schmidt, has said young people might have to change their names when
starting adult life to escape the shadow of their dodgy past. Many
adults already use aliases for sites like Facebook so only those who
know that know where to find them.
3) Change your security/privacy settings - a lot of Facebook users, to
name just one social networking site, simply don't bother taking
enough interest in this but it offers you some genuine control over
who sees what. Do you really want a prospective boss checking what
you used to do at the weekends?
4) Set strong passwords - this is something online registration has
been encouraging for years now but too many people just put in their
birthdate, pet's name, or the name of the site. To add to the
problem, there are thousands of hacking guides specifically designed
to get into Facebook which are available via Google. The best advice
remains: use a long, interspersed combination of lower-case letters,
capital letters and numbers.
5) Untag yourself - social networking sites allow other people to
"tag" photos of you but you have the opportunity to remove it, which
is sometimes wise. So pay attention when you are prompted to do such
things.
6) Don't include dates of birth/address/mother's maiden name - such
things are almost invariably used as security questions for banks and
credit card databases. Therefore giving them up compromises your
security and makes it easier to forge your identity, "clone" your
cards and steal your money.
7) Don't respond to dodgy emails - an obvious one and a bit of an old
trick now but people still fall for it. If you get an unsolicited
email from an African business (a stereotype but often true) wanting
to give you an incredible amount of money for a simple task, delete
it. It's a scam. And you could be opening the door for electronic
intruders.
8) Log out - if you're in a library or some other communal space,
people can get onto the machine you've just vacated and dive into your
profiles if you have not logged out properly. Clearly this is most
important for financial matters.
9) Wi-fi - if you've got wi-fi at home, give it a good password (see
above). Otherwise it allows intruders in with few barriers to
overcome.
10) Don't use Facebook - if you're absolutely terrified that someone
might learn your darkest secrets or that a German fancy dress evening
might backfire later in life. The only certain way to avoid
embarrassment is to avoid social networking sites altogether.
11) Don't type in your passwords by hand! Keyloggers surreptitiously
installed on your computer can monitor every keystroke and send them
off to the thieves. Imagine if it's you bank account they get into!
Use a fully secure Password Manager, this one is excellent:
http://www.12path.com/StartBusinessMentor/FreeRoboForm/ Best Regards,
AllanJames - the StartBusinessMentor
Professional Affiliate Marketer and Coach
Start free part-time, earn as you learn.
So, what is affiliate marketing?
http://www.12path.com/AffiliateMarketingExplain/ed/ (Video)
--------------------
Allan R James
Founder, Quantum Worldwide Enterprises
Christchurch, New Zealand
Phone: +64 3960 7555
Skype: contact_allan
Come get to know me, my family and interests a bit ...
http://www.StartBusinessMentor.info Or at my online business training center ...
http://www.StartBusinessMentor.comMy Facebook page ...
http://www.facebook.com/AllanJames.theStartBusinessMentor Follow me on Twitter ....
http://twitter.com/AllanRJames/
