http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/in-paper-magazine/sci-tech-world/peekaboo-350
by Hafsa Ahsan
Privacy has always been a major issue with regards to social networking websites. However, a number of people simply continue to put up personal and professional information on these websites which can be quite dangerous. So how do you make your social networking experience safer? Well, here are a few tips which you can apply, especially if you are on Facebook.
Friends only, please
Read your privacy settings in detail. It is always a good option to enable only those who are in your list of friends to view your information, especially your status updates and your photographs. These two give away probably the most crucial information about you and your whereabouts to others.
Personal information
Be very careful that you do not reveal your place of residence and the name and other details of educational institute or workplace in your status. Also be careful about the groups you join. Any groups with the titles on the like, ‘Residents of Clifton’ give away a lot about you.
Be regular with reviews
Many websites regularly make alterations to privacy settings. They set these settings to default option. Hence, it is very important that you visit the privacy settings page at least once every fortnight, and ensure that everything is exactly as you want. If any new options have been added, then make changes accordingly.
Alerts out
Don’t keep any privacy-related information to yourself. If you have discovered a new option that works against the users of that website, then put that up as your next status, and inform everyone else about it as well.
Another side of me
To review if your privacy settings are properly implemented, make another account on the same website, then try to add your own self. This will give you a very clear idea of the kind of information that is visible to others, and how you can make yourself more invisible.
Is it from Facebook?
There are many spam emails, which seem to have originated from Facebook. It would do well to remember that Facebook hardly sends any emails—they usually post announcements on the homepage. Therefore, ignore every email that seems to have been sent from Facebook, don’t click on any links in the body of the email and never enter your password. This is a phishing technique, which ensures that your password is hacked and your account is used to spam those who are on your list of friends.
A passable password
Try not to keep dictionary words as passwords. Make a sentence, and then take the first alphabet of every word to make your password. Put in a few numbers. This will ensure that your password is difficult to crack.
Is this really her/him?
If a post by your best friends on your profile seems suspicious, it probably is. Be wary of all posts, which ask you to visit any webpage, or load any videos, or claim that there are interesting photos of you on a website. These are nothing more than hacking attempts, and a visit to such websites usually ensures that similar posts end up on the profiles of those who are on your list of friends, without you ever knowing about them. Remove these posts, and inform your friend that her/his profile is wreaking havoc. This should ideally warn them to change their password, or make another account altogether.
by Hafsa Ahsan
Privacy has always been a major issue with regards to social networking websites. However, a number of people simply continue to put up personal and professional information on these websites which can be quite dangerous. So how do you make your social networking experience safer? Well, here are a few tips which you can apply, especially if you are on Facebook.
Friends only, please
Read your privacy settings in detail. It is always a good option to enable only those who are in your list of friends to view your information, especially your status updates and your photographs. These two give away probably the most crucial information about you and your whereabouts to others.
Personal information
Be very careful that you do not reveal your place of residence and the name and other details of educational institute or workplace in your status. Also be careful about the groups you join. Any groups with the titles on the like, ‘Residents of Clifton’ give away a lot about you.
Be regular with reviews
Many websites regularly make alterations to privacy settings. They set these settings to default option. Hence, it is very important that you visit the privacy settings page at least once every fortnight, and ensure that everything is exactly as you want. If any new options have been added, then make changes accordingly.
Alerts out
Don’t keep any privacy-related information to yourself. If you have discovered a new option that works against the users of that website, then put that up as your next status, and inform everyone else about it as well.
Another side of me
To review if your privacy settings are properly implemented, make another account on the same website, then try to add your own self. This will give you a very clear idea of the kind of information that is visible to others, and how you can make yourself more invisible.
Is it from Facebook?
There are many spam emails, which seem to have originated from Facebook. It would do well to remember that Facebook hardly sends any emails—they usually post announcements on the homepage. Therefore, ignore every email that seems to have been sent from Facebook, don’t click on any links in the body of the email and never enter your password. This is a phishing technique, which ensures that your password is hacked and your account is used to spam those who are on your list of friends.
A passable password
Try not to keep dictionary words as passwords. Make a sentence, and then take the first alphabet of every word to make your password. Put in a few numbers. This will ensure that your password is difficult to crack.
Is this really her/him?
If a post by your best friends on your profile seems suspicious, it probably is. Be wary of all posts, which ask you to visit any webpage, or load any videos, or claim that there are interesting photos of you on a website. These are nothing more than hacking attempts, and a visit to such websites usually ensures that similar posts end up on the profiles of those who are on your list of friends, without you ever knowing about them. Remove these posts, and inform your friend that her/his profile is wreaking havoc. This should ideally warn them to change their password, or make another account altogether.
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