Staying safe on social network sites

  • Published
  • 5th Security Force Squadron
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Social networking sites allow people to interact with others and find individuals with similar interests or backgrounds. These sites are popular worldwide, which underscores the need to understand potential risks associated with their use.

One's online activities may inadvertently expose excessive information about their identity, location, relationships and affiliations, which creates an increased risk of identity theft, stalking or targeted violence.

A safer social networking experience is available by accepting the following basic assumptions and recommendations:

Remember:

· Once something is posted on a social networking site, it can quickly spread. No amount of effort will erase it - the Internet does not forget.

· One is not anonymous on the Internet.

· There are people on the Internet who are not who they portray to be and will take advantage of the social network user if afforded the opportunity.

· Participating in more social networking sites increases one's attack surface and overall risk.

· Everyone on the Internet can see what is posted; where it was posted from; view who the user's friends and associates are; the comments a user's friends make and their "witty" replies.

· An embarrassing comment or image can come back to haunt the social network user one day when they least expect it -at the least opportune time.

· There is a complete record of one's online activity ... somewhere.

Recommendations:

· Do not ever post anything that would be embarrassing to see on the evening news.

· Do not accept friend/follower requests from strangers; independently verify identities.

· Avoid using third-party applications; if needed, do not allow them to access social networking accounts, friends list or address books.

· Do not post personally identifiable information such as addresses, phone numbers or photos of military identification cards.

· Be cautious about the images posted. What is in the images may be more revealing than who is in them. Images posted over time may form a complete mosaic of one's family.

· Avoid allowing others to tag you in images they post. Doing so makes you easier to locate and accurately construct your network of friends, relatives and associates.

· Securely configure social networking accounts to minimize who can see the information on those sites.

· Do not use "check-ins." If it is enabled, disable them. Do not post your specific location.

· Be cautious when accessing online accounts from public Wi-Fi connections. Someone might have installed software capable of capturing login credentials and other sensitive information.

· Do not use the "save password," "remember me" or "keep me logged in" options from public or shared computers.

· Limit social networking to personal use.

· Do not use the same password for all accounts. Make sure the passwords for financial sites are not permutations of other passwords.

· Do not use social networking sites to login to other sites. Create another user account on the new site instead.

· Use strong, unique passwords. Consider passphrases for an additional level of safety.

· Keep anti-virus software current.

· Do not arrange meetings with people you meet online.