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technology Protecting Personal Information on Social Networking Sites By David T. Gallant ‘Bur wich al cha in mi les noe forget hat there are folks or: Face brook who mayor be my “ends.” but eather ray “tenemies,” and ws 1 take advantage ofl the oe io | provid. Thee rage seurity awareness rs oe jer ad ae years ged my audience to protect jr personal informa shar ie wih cone fl th “know, Non lo and eb soci networking ses abound, dnd eveeyone, including some perso infommation vm che Tneret wi pele they krow fr belive they know) You have no control over what someone else does with your private information once you willingly give it to them. Protect yourself and your information ‘with yore private information once with a few easy steps. so willingly give i to cher Almost ryome ose cil et book, ro vpaare my ste of funily nei, Paeebook ith goninthelives she history of she Us: Thave been focus ew we can protect ost ewan ial informational bow ook boasts mare dan 5 villi vegneneausers ‘round che world: ove" ‘HOOD local snes have Facebook accounts, Tam ar avid Facebok user Thave rot seen or oroteeing the private raysel and ike approsinatly $O% even thovght abo use information of others we ae ofthe orher users, ng.on te my my aceaune ta promote my basins, wwn.asbolntlors scueoL ausiness ANUARY 2011 18 iden Hooks Hackers, burglar, and identity thiewes love Facebook Ibecause unsispect ng users willingly provide them with luabe information they can sse agains them. For sample, during the aeeaunt creation process, you are cguited to puosid> a valic email adds, 2 well, yonefull binhdas, which you can ehcose to siplay on our profle page. Ifyou are married or ina ratio ‘with anothes Facebook ses you can ink your account to that persux’s Facebook acrount, You canals link 0 the proies of your mothe’ fas sings, ends, coworkers, and groups—indeed eo anyone ese who has 8 Facebole account Whatever you do on Facebook remains on your computer. So, 9 woul-e ent thief or hacker now as your ata genta of white you live, jour dat beth, fanvly members’ names, affiiac ons, imerests, and ther personal informacion you have posted ‘Whar does a hacker do with iat infaz (One ofthe most commons used security quescons online barking accounts require is your mesher’s maiden name. Think sameane can fin it? Hoss about your favorite pers name—another common security question? “You've inked yar Facebok aconunt eyo rons the hackes knows who she ie, and you've posta photo Dt you with your dag and incaded yer pers name in te pow comments 1 all in you Fatcbook account Hackers eam use this informacion ro ty 0 nase sci gineering attacks against your ork nesark by glsaing informacion fom Facebook, thay am masquerade you and dpe an unsuspecting informa: tion eh ie into chaning our passer serding thes your protected information, or gra ting them physical assess 0 vous work menor, ‘Oh, and Facebook hava new feature far mobte wes You can update your physiallocaion and le your “frenemies” knovrexnetly where yo are This fra prety ssa: featats, bat one you must use with caution ‘When you post on your stats update thae vou zd the family are enjoying a week in Barbacs, burglars krow 1S good nme fora breakin ‘An Ounce of Protection Does al this mean you shel elose your social network ing accounts? Absoluelr not. But you should protect sree and yo informa, Here ane few has ips 1. When setting up your Facebook account, use an email address from one of the free sites, stich as Gmail or Yahoo. Doss use she primacy email dress vow ise for work, Banking, ny wll meal SIE you have wendy ek pt 14 sanuagy 201 | SCHOOL BUSINESS SFFAIRS a Wh yoni eli, {an change ic inthe aesounesesings area, 2. Never display your entire birth date. Ifyou wan wo ge those betalay wises (and whe doesnt} Simply display the months and day. Keepin ring that xen you don'e dieplay your yeze af birth but helong ra “high schon! lass nf 1990" Facehook ‘group tis simple mats to figure out your year of birth oat 3. Use the Facebook privacy settings to restrict who can see your profile informa tion. Do wot serie so “everyone” can see your information. Limit your public profil informacioa to the minim dita reqsred allow your troe Fanily ard Iriends 1a find you 9y choosing ne “Friends? of "Feends of Friends” settings 4.Don’t become friends with just anyone. If you dor’: know chem, don't accepe hei frienship reaqest. in dan, make them prove yon knew tach other via eal bef ve vou asepe thee rand request. 5. Always use a strong password and chang frequently every 90 daysor so 6..Be careful of the various applications asso- ciated with Facebook. Many ol them as you for permission -« access your personal informacion. Do ou koa whee they ae doing wth it? Whe ce can tin acess toi 7, Be watchful of changes in Facebook poli- cies, Security polices that are in eflec taday may change dows the oa. 8. Ensure that your antivirus software is up-to- date. Heed virus warnings. Viuses sprezd guik’y sia Facebook 9. Remember that whatever you de on Facebook remains on the computer you are using. Ifyou use a computer at wor’, You Tikelyngve no exportation of prisscy show anything yon post or say whi wing that compar, Make sre yar districe policy permits using vial et working sites User Beware ook isa powerful ool: ssconnect and say oa- rece ta lily aa rer, but all thas mpotete information inthe hands ofa erininal can have cara ‘erophic ramifications. [will continue to use Facehsnk, boutalwavs with an eve toward protecting myself and xy Family as walls the personal iafoemation under sy ‘ace. You should a Davi 7. Gallant president o¥ GolantComouter investigative ‘we asbolatlors