WHILE INTERACTING ON A SOCIAL NETWORK SITE … PROTECT

While interacting on a social network site … Protect your Personal Information (PI)

Accessing social networking sites Using Your Computer

• Share the minimum amount of Personal Information (P I) : never share passwords or account information. Comments, “likes”, photos are permanent and can be shared by many, on your behalf

• Even if you trust the site : refrain from sharing birth dates, maiden name and other identifiers you may be using with your bank accounts or other important accounts

• If in a public place, make sure no one is looking over your shoulder: when you login on the site or when you interact online. They can learn things about you that only you know and then use them to “friend” you online

• Check your “online friends” thoroughly – “friend” only people you know personally because you cannot verify who is behind their online identity

• Be cautious with your comments on social media sites, they are permanent. Be in control of your reputation online

• Check your privacy settings on the site often. Many sites upgrade and change their technology which may affect your privacy settings

• If your privacy settings are set to “public” or “everyone”, you are sharing everything with everyone who is viewing the site

• Use unique passwords for each social networking site : if someone was able to get one of your passwords, they will try it on other accounts

• Ensure your geo tagging privacy settings are turned off – be in control of broadcasting your location. Geo tagging refers to your geographic coordinates revealed

• Be a good privacy citizen online : respect everyone else’s privacy – don’t share information that is not about you (including photos) and you will set a great example of privacy behaviour that others will respect

• Don’t click on any link you see until you verify its legitimacy – avoid accidentally launching malware or viruses that may attempt to get to your personal information (PI) stored on the site

• Never exchange personal information, including passwords, PINs, date of birth (DOB) and other confidential information in the form of a wall message on the site or in a chat room

Accessing social networking sites using someone else’s computer

• A public or a friend’s computer may be running malware unbeknownst to you : minimize the use and amount of information “crumbs” you leave behind

• Treat your friend’s computer like your own : don’t click on links or pop-up windows until you verify their legitimacy

• Be sure to log off, clear your browsing history and cookies

• Don’t plug your own USB into a friend’s computer without their permission and don’t accept a USB from an unverified source

• Don’t open any confidential personal files and don’t setup a new account or fill out an online form

• Avoid performing financial transactions where you have to provide credit card information and passwords online.

• Refrain from checking your banking accounts online on a public computer

Protect your computer

• Malware can get to the personal information you keep on your home computer or devices : don’t click on unverified links that may invite malware and viruses into your computer

• Keep your operating system, firewall and anti-virus software up-to-date; don’t act on pop-up messages

• Keep a separate backup of your important files including any personal information

• Password protect your home computer and other devices and don’t share those passwords with anyone – including friends and family

• Protect your home WiFi with a password your neighbours can’t guess and change the settings to WAP encryption and not broadcasting your ID

• Don’t plug a friend’s USB into your home computer – you may have just infected your machine

• Don’t store passwords and account details in an unprotected file on your home computer or device