The chances are good that the first thing you do when you get behind the computer is sign on to your various social media accounts. You’re not alone. Facebook is expected to reach one billion users by the end of this year or at some point in 2012—one billion people sharing information. If you’re utilizing the remarkable innovation, known as social media, you must be aware of the security threats you face. Here are the top seven security errors users make when engaging on social media platforms:
1. Over-sharing company information
Although you maybe excited about a new discovery or development within your company, don’t announce too much through a channel as public as social media. A company can suffer greatly from having its intellectual property displayed for all their competitors to see.
2. Mixing business with pleasure
There are times when a business owner will merge the lines between “personal profile” and “business profile”. Your business contacts need to stay connections on your business profile. The information—text or images—that is appropriate to share with friends or family may not be appropriate to share with professional contacts. Consequently, you run the risk of tarnishing the reputation of your company.
3. Tweeting angry
There might be a dispute in the office and your anger leads you desiring to send a few vicious tweets or status updates. Stop. IT director, John Bruggeman, warns that you should relate tweeting and status updating to conversing at a party where everyone is listening. Be careful as to what you say and remember everyone will be able to see it—family, coworkers, employers, and future employers.
4. Verify your so-called “friends”
Social media users seem to be in a constant race to acquire as many friends as possible. Twitter users use hashtags, like #teamfollowback, to increase their number of followers; Facebook users friend… well, just about anyone; and the same can be said for LinkedIn. Do you know all the people who you have given access to your profile information? You might have a scam artist on that friend list that waits for the moment you post a little too much information. Make sure you know the people who have access to your profiles.
5. No password should be the same
This might sounds like a pretty obvious mistake; however, many people still make this error. If your bank account password is the same as your Facebook password, which is the same as your Twitter password, you are going to have a huge problem when that password is figured out—because now the hacker has access to all the accounts listed under your name. Don’t use the same password for all your accounts and change your passwords regularly.
6. Think before you click
The funny thing about scam ads and messages is they can be disguised to look pretty legitimate. If you click on anything, without knowing the source, you put your computer and your security in serious jeopardy. It’s not a bad idea to be overly skeptical when it comes to strange messages that appear on your Facebook—or website—or email.
7. Poor judgment can lead to serious consequences
The most important tip is to never post too much information about a spouse or child. When users post, tweet, or update personal information it allows others to target your loved ones for crimes, including identity theft or even kidnapping. Be cautious of what you post—especially when it comes to children.
Source: CSO: Data Protection
