Pay attention to what you post and upload. Social networking is public.

• Consider images, videos, and information you publish
• You shouldn’t publish your address, date of birth, etc.
• Use a nick-name that only your friends know.

Choose your friends with care.

• Do not accept friend requests from people you do not know
• Verify all your contacts

Protect your work and environment and avoid reputation risk

• When joining a social networking site use your personal e-mail address
• Be careful how you portray your company online
• Do not mix your business contacts with your friend contacts

Protect your mobile phone and the information saved on it from any physical intrusion

• Do not let anyone see your profile or personal information without consent
• Do not leave your phone unattended
• Do not save your passwords on your mobile phone
• Use the security features available on your mobile phone

Turn off Location Aware Services

• Twitter, Google Buzz, Foursquare and new Smart-phones will publish your location when you post an announcement. Letting the entire world know you aren’t home. See the website http://pleaserobme.com/
• Instead of using a GPS to mark your home location, have your GPS set home to a familiar landmark near your home, such as a corner store. If a thief breaks into your car, not only do they know you aren’t home, but they will have access to your garage door opener and turn by turn directions to your front door.

When Planning Vacation

• Do not post dates and times you will be away, rather write posts as a journal of events that have happened so it’s a surprise that you were gone for a period of time.

Anti-Phishing Flow Chart

A hacker found a personal email account. Similar to the Sarah Palin Yahoo! account hack, the hacker researched social networking sites to find the answers to the “secret question” required to reset the account’s password. In going through the emails in the account, the hacker apparently found the password used for Twitter which was linked to Google.

Therefore, when you are asked secret questions while setting up an account, do not use your mother’s maiden name when asked for your mother’s maiden name. Use nicknames for your mother’s maiden name or question if you really need to have that account created.

The safety of our information at work requires us all to have separate passwords from those in our personal lives. If you have separate passwords for your MySpace and your Online Banking, then great! If your logon to Yahoo! email and your work account are different, then congratulations! You are practicing safe computing!

Identity Theft – Protect Yourselves
Here is a list of ways you can stop identity theft from happening to you:

• Destroy private records and statements. Tear up — or, if you prefer, shred — credit card statements, solicitations and other documents that contain private financial information.
• Secure your mail. Empty your mailbox quickly, lock it or get a P.O. box so criminals do not have a chance to snatch credit card pitches. Never mail outgoing bill payments and checks from home. They can be stolen from your mailbox and the payee’s name erased with solvents. Mail them from the post office or another secure location.
• Safeguard your social security number. Never carry your card with you, or any other card that may have your number, like a health insurance card. And do not put your number on your checks. It’s the primary target for identity thieves because it gives them access to your credit report and bank accounts.
• Don’t leave a paper trail. Never leave ATM, credit card or gas station receipts behind.
• Never let your credit card out of your sight. Worried about credit card skimming? Always keep an eye on your card or, when that’s not possible, pay with cash.
• Know who you’re dealing with. Whenever anyone contacts you asking for private identity or financial information, make no response other than to find out who they are, what company they represent and the reason for the call. If you think the request is legitimate, contact the company yourself and confirm what you were told before revealing any of your personal data.
• Take your name off the marketers’ hit lists. In addition to the national Do-Not-Call registry (1-888-382-1222), you can also cut down on junk mail and opt out of credit card solicitations.
• Be more defensive with personal information. Ask salespeople and others if information such as a Social Security or driver license number is absolutely necessary. Ask anyone who does require your Social Security number — for instance, your insurance company — what their privacy policy is and whether you can arrange for the organization not to share your information with anyone else.
• Monitor your credit report. Obtain and thoroughly review your credit report, now available for free at Annualcreditreport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228, at least once a year to look for suspicious activity. If you spot something, alert your card company or the creditor immediately. You may also want to subscribe to a credit protection service, like Experian’s CreditCheck, which alerts you any time a change takes place with your credit report.
• Review your credit card statements carefully. Make sure you recognize the merchants, locations and purchases listed before paying the bill. If you don’t need or use department-store or bank-issued credit cards, consider closing the accounts.

Twitter is a great networking tool, but … things to be aware of the URL (web address) shortening programs such as http://tinyurl.com/ among others. Some tweeters may find sweet deals online and tweet that there is, for example, an amazing product at Amazon for 60 percent off but to click a shortened URL that may redirect one to a user name and password harvesting site. After entering credentials the Web site stores the information in its database and then forwards the victim to the real site’s bad password page. Figuring a typo, the victim actually authenticates none-the-wiser.

Web applications designed to get money from you are out there as well. Social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook among many others, are a great way to stay in contact with family and friends and how better to interact with each other than to play games or answer quizzes to see who is smarter, better looking, or which zodiac signs are compatible. The quizzes are normally very easy, but when it comes time for the results, the application will ask for a cell phone number to text the answer to. This also puts the victim into a one-year contract for a notification service, billable at $9.99 a month.

Rogue security software is advertised on many Internet sites, claiming that a person may have a virus and to install their product to keep their computers safe. Truthfully, they do scan and remove one virus (whether the computer has the one virus or not), but they inject many others and open a backdoor. Purchase only reputable antivirus products. Most new computers come with a trial version that can be upgraded.