Many of us love to pop onto Facebook and Twitter to tell our friends and family little snippets of our lives. But (there is always a but) how well do you protect yourself from online criminals and fraudsters? Here is some advice on how to stay secure whilst tweeting and poking!
Privacy tools
This is an important one and one we would recommend you go and check on Facebook ASAP. From your privacy settings page you can manage who sees your updates, who can view your pictures (we recommend just your friends), what happens when you get tagged in someone else's photo, who can message you, who can post on your timeline and much more. It only takes a few minutes and who wants strangers looking at pictures of you and your friends?
Know your friends
It may sound a bit obvious, but do you really know and trust that person you became Facebook friends with 4 years ago? Don't be adding any strangers as friends and clear out the ones that you have already done. As mentioned above, do you really want a stranger that you know nothing above looking through your Facebook albums and reading what you get up to every day?
Personal information
There should always be a limit as to what you publish online, and personal details can go over that limit! Again, this is like the the 2 points above - you don't want certain information getting into the wrong hands. Yes, we know you (hopefully) don't share bank details but sharing things like when you are going on holiday, or going to be away from your house for a few days could been seen as a "opportunity" to the wrong type of people. Make sure your phone number and email address can only be seen by friends aswell.
Overall, most of it is just common sense but there are other things to watch out for as well. The classic, well known one is related to work. Be careful if you are friend with your boss or other work colleagues, especially when posting photos from Saturday night or complaining about your day at work! We also recommend following our password tips as well - make sure your password is strong and changed regularly.
