The month of October has officially been proclaimed Cyber Security Awareness month by President Barack Obama. Cyber Security has been an issue in the past, but in this day and age it is of paramount importance.
It seems like everywhere we turn we are using some type of cyber technology. Most of this technology we view as harmless but as we will discuss, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Whether it’s YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace or one of the other social media sites most of us use on a daily basis, there are several things that can affect your security on these sites. In order to use them safely, there are several things you need to know.
Let’s start with the most popular social network, Facebook. Over the past several years, Facebook has evolved into one of the most used websites on the internet. What most do not realize though is that the privacy settings have also evolved. What most do not realize though is that the privacy rules have also evolved, and with each change in Facebook’s policy, new settings need to be made.
When Facebook updates its privacy policy, the user needs to check their own privacy settings to make sure their parameters are as they wish. Sometimes, as with a few of the big privacy overhauls in the past year or so, a new policy means a total reset of privacy settings.
Our best advice is to simply keep an eye on your privacy settings. Check them regularly, and play it safe when you’re deciding how much information you want to share with your 600 closest friends.
Next on our list: Twitter, which is now used by millions of people. Like Facebook, if you educate yourself on possible security risks, you can generally avoid them.
Of the several security threats faced by Twitter users is malicious links that can be sent by using shortened URLs, and following anyone who follows you are two of the most dangerous.
The problem with shortened URLs (created by sites like bit.ly, ow.ly, tinyurl, and many others) is that you have no idea where the link is leading you. Obviously, if you follow a link to an unknown site, the site can obtain any number of things like viruses or other malware that can harm your computer.
One of the basic uses for Twitter is to be able to provide small messages to a large amount of people and at the same time, receive just as much information from those you follow. By following people you don’t know, you run the risk of being spammed. Also, if you don’t set your account to approve all followers, spammers can follow you and fill your direct message and reply feeds with spam. Often, malware and viruses come through spamming accounts or “bots” (automatically run “fake” Twitter users).
The good news is both of these threats have an easy solution: make sure you know who you are following as well as who is following you. If you know who you are following, you can trust their links more often than not.
Like the other sites, Myspace also can bring about some potential security risks for its users. Once again though, these risks can be mostly avoided by simply being aware of your security settings.
When you initially set up your Myspace page, you have the option to block strangers from viewing your profile. This is a very important option. If you don’t block strangers form viewing your profile, you open yourself up to receiving dangerous links, malware, and viruses.
The most obvious way to keep your information secure is to check your security settings on all sites that you have personal information on. Doing this decreases your chances of being harmed enormously.
For more information visit the Defense.gov special on Cyber Security.
