Responsibility, Security, & Social Networking

By Ven On May 27, 2010 Under Advice, Opinions

The #1 rule of secure social networking is this… The primary responsibility for protecting your personal and private data falls to YOU!

While sites like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace have a responsibility to provide options for you to protect your data, it is you and only you who is responsible for understanding all the risks and options available and then learning how to use them to protect yourself, even if that means NOT using a service if it’s not secure enough for you. It’s also up to you to ensure that the options you end up choosing are actually working for you.

One of the complaints I often hear, especially with Facebook recently, is that people will set their privacy options once and then assume they’re going to stay set. They never bother to check them again and then they’re shocked when they find out what they thought was private, isn’t. Never, Never do this. If you have anti-virus software, and you should, you’re aware that it updates constantly. Why? Because the computer world is always changing and what works one day, may not the next. Assume the same is true for any website you are a member of.

Every piece of code that runs the internet is written by human beings and human beings are not perfect. They make mistakes. They act irresponsibly. They do stupid things. Plans fail. Code fails. Accept that fact and act accordingly. Nothing will ever be 100% secure. It’s not humanly possible.

If you want your data to be as secure as it can be, do the following on a regular basis:

Check your privacy settings and make sure they are still correctly set.
Log out of your accounts and then access your pages to see what unauthorized viewers are REALLY seeing about you.
Don’t post anything that you aren’t willing to risk revealing. Always assume that somebody you aren’t aware of is going to see it, even if it’s just an employee of the social site in question.
Remember that anyone who sees your data is a risk. Friends can betray you just as easily as a stranger.
Never post data like addresses, phone numbers, or other personal information that could endanger you or someone else. Being embarrassed by a lapse in privacy is bad enough, don’t invite something worse.

Social networking is a great way to stay connected with family and friends and a wonderful opportunity to make new friends. Just take my advice and remember to use common sense and protect yourself. Don’t rely on anyone else to do it for you.