Social media platforms have become an integral part of our online lives. While social networks are a great way to stay connected with others, you should always be wary about how much personal information you post.
| 1 | Privacy and security settings: Always use the privacy and security settings on social networks. They are there to help you control who sees what you post and manage your online experience in a positive way. |
| 2 | Your online reputation is your brand: Recent research also found that recruiters respond to a strong, positive personal brand online. So show your smarts, thoughtfulness and mastery of the environment. |
| 3 | Keep personal info personal: Be cautious about how much personal information you provide on social networking sites. The more information you post, the easier it may be for adversaries to use that information to steal your identity, access your data or commit other crimes such as stalking. |
| 4 | Be honest if you are uncomfortable: If a friend posts something about you that makes you uncomfortable or seems inappropriate, let them know. Likewise, stay open minded if a friend approaches you because something you have posted makes him or her uncomfortable. People have different tolerances for how much the world knows about them respect those differences. |
| 5 | Know what action to take: If someone is harassing or threatening you, remove them from your friends list, block them and report them to the site administrator. |
| 6 | Once posted, always posted: Protect your reputation on social networks. What you post online stays online. Think twice before posting and sharing pictures online. Recent research found that 70 percent of job recruiters rejected candidates based on information they found online. |
| 7 | Unique account, unique password: Use separate passwords for every account and make sure passwords are long and strong. Combine a minimum of eight capital and lowercase letters with numbers and symbols to create a more secure password. |
| 8 | Remember to log off: When you are not using the social media application, remember to log off. This will prevent someone who does not have authorization to use your account while unattended. |
| 9 | Phishing Attacks: Links in messages from adversaries posing as someone you know could be a part of a phishing attack trying to trick you into sharing personal information or contain malware that infects your computer. |
| 10 | Know and manage your friends: Social networks can be used for a variety of purposes. Some of the fun is creating a large pool of friends from many aspects of your life. That does not mean all friends are created equal. Use tools to manage the information you share with friends in different groups or even have multiple online pages. If you are trying to create a public persona as a blogger or expert, create an open profile or a “fan” page that encourages broad participation and limits personal information. Use your personal profile to keep your real friends (the ones you know and trust) up to date with your daily life. |