Know How to Protect Yourself on Social Networking Sites

Online communities have been around since the very beginnings of the Internet. First, there were message boards, then mailing lists, which allowed millions of people around the world to connect with each other, communicate, and share information. on common interests. Nowadays, by allowing users to instantly share messages, photos, files, and real-time updates of their activities and travels, new social networking sites have dramatically increased the range of possible interactions on the Internet. However, these functions are not new or unique, as it is possible to carry out each of these actions on the Internet without registering with a social networking site.

While these networks can be useful in many ways and facilitate social interactions, both online and in real life, their use can make some of your information significantly vulnerable. Picture a social networking site as a huge reception. There are some people there that you know well, but others that you don't know at all. Imagine strolling among the guests with a sign stuck to the back with all of your personal contact details (as well as minute-to-minute updates of your intimate thoughts!), So that anyone can read them without even reading them. that you realize it. Do you really want everyone to know all about you?

Remember that social networking sites are owned by private companies. They make money by collecting information about the users of their services and reselling that data to commercial advertisers. When you connect to a social networking site, you are giving up the freedoms of the Internet to enter a private network governed and regulated by the owners of the site. Privacy settings only protect you from other members of the social network; they do not protect you from the owners of the service. In fact, by creating an account, you are entrusting all your personal information to them and have no choice but to trust them.

If you are handling sensitive information or working on sensitive issues, but are still interested in using social networking services, it is very important that you be aware of the security and privacy concerns that this entails. Human rights defenders are particularly vulnerable to the dangers posed by social networking sites and should therefore be very careful with the information they disclose about themselves and the people with whom they work. Before using social networking sites, it is important to understand the risks they pose to you and take the necessary steps to protect yourself and the people you work with.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN IN THIS CHAPTER

How social networking sites facilitate the unintentional leakage of private or sensitive information.

How to protect the information about you and the people you interact with when using social networking sites.

GENERAL TIPS FOR USING SOCIAL NETWORKING TOOLS

Always ask yourself:

Who can see the information that I put online?

Who owns the information I post on the social networking site?

What information about me can my contacts transfer to other parties?

Are my contacts comfortable with me sharing their information with others?

Do I trust everyone I network with?

Make sure you always use strong passwords when signing in to social networks. If someone else manages to connect to your account, that person will directly access a bank of information about you and about all the people with whom you are connected through the interface of this network. Change passwords regularly; make it a routine. Please see Chapter 3. Creating and Saving Strong Passwords for more information on this.

Make sure you understand the privacy settings that are set by default on social networking sites. Also know how to modify them accordingly.

Consider the possibility of using different accounts/identities (or adopting different pseudonyms) for your different campaigns and activities. Remember that the most important consideration in using these networks safely is being able to trust your members. Creating separate accounts can be a good way to achieve a good level of trust.

Be extra careful when connecting to a social network on the Internet from a public hotspot. Clear your password and browsing history when you access the Internet from a public place. For more on this, see chapter 6. Permanently destroy sensitive data.

Only access social networking sites using the HTTPS: // protocol to protect your usernames, passwords, and other information you post there. Using HTTP: // rather than HTTP: // adds an additional element of security by encrypting traffic between your browser and the social networking site. For more on this, see Chapter 8. Maintain your anonymity and circumvent Internet censorship.

Be careful about the information you post in your status. Even if you trust the people in your network, it is easy to copy the items you post.

Most social networks allow their users to integrate their content with other networks. For example, it is possible to post an update from your Twitter account and have it automatically reflected on your Facebook account. Take special care when integrating content from your different social network accounts! You may be anonymous on one site but completely exposed on another.

Be concerned about the security of your content on social networking sites. Never rely on social networking sites as the primary medium for your content or information. For government agencies, it is very easy to block access to social networking services within their national borders if they deem certain content to be objectionable. Social network administrators can also decide to remove certain content they deem objectionable, rather than being censored in a given country.

PUBLISH PERSONAL INFORMATION

When you create an account, social networking sites ask you for a lot of information about yourself to help other users get in touch with you. The greatest risk this poses to users of these sites is the possibility of identity theft, a practice that is increasingly widespread. In addition, the more information you reveal about yourself, the easier it is for the authorities to identify you and to spy on your activities. Online activities by diaspora activists in some countries have led to the persecution of their family members in their home countries.

Think about it: is it really necessary to post the following information online?

Your date of birth

Your phone number

Your address

Details about your family members

Your sexual orientation

Your education and employment history

FRIENDS, FOLLOWERS, AND CONTACTS

The first thing you do after providing your personal information on a social networking site is to find people to connect with. It is assumed that these contacts are people you know and trust, but it is also possible that you join a virtual community made up of individuals with whom you have affinities but whom you do not know personally. The most important thing at this stage is to determine what information you are allowing this virtual community to access.

When using a social media account like Facebook, where a lot of information about you is displayed, consider the ability to connect exclusively with people you know and trust completely (i.e. people who will not misuse your information).

STATUTES

On Twitter, Facebook, or other similar networks, status updates are used to answer the following questions: What am I doing now? What is going on in my life? The most important criteria to determine about status updates is the category of users who can read them. In most social networking applications, the default settings are set so that any Internet user can read them. If you want to make sure that only your contacts can see your status instead, you need to change the app settings to hide your updates from the view of all other users.

To do this in Twitter, look for the "Protect my tweets" link. In Facebook, change your privacy settings to share your status with your "Friends only". Even if you follow these guidelines, remember that it's easy for your friends and followers to re-post your comments. Agree with friends in your network on a common method for transferring information posted to your respective social media accounts. Likewise, you should think about what information you disclose about your friends that they might want to keep private. It is important to be sensitive to these questions and to ask your friends to also be sensitive to the information they reveal about you.

The information posted by social media users has been used against them in the past. Teachers in the United States have been fired after sharing their impressions of their students; other employees lost their jobs after posting comments about their employer. This is a question that virtually everyone needs to pay close attention to.

SHARE INTERNET CONTENT

It is very easy to grab the attention of your friends by sharing to share a website link. But who else is paying attention? And what will be their reaction? If you report that you like a site that in some way is linked with a political intention to defeat a repressive regime, the regime's agents might suddenly take an interest in you. If you want to ensure that only your friends are able to see the items and links that you mark as interesting, be sure to change your privacy settings accordingly.

REVEAL YOUR LOCATION

Most social networking sites will display your location if that data is available. This function is usually provided when you use a mobile phone equipped with a GPS to interact with a social network. But don't assume that such a thing is impossible if you don't connect from a mobile phone. The network to which your computer is connected may also provide location coordinates. The best way to find out is to double-check your privacy settings.

Pay special attention to location settings on photo and video sharing sites. Don't assume they don't share your location - check your settings to be sure.

On this subject, see also On Locational Privacy, and How to Avoid Losing it Forever on the Electronic Frontier Foundation website.

SHARE PHOTOS / VIDEOS

Photos and videos in the public domain can very easily be used to reveal people's identities. It is important that you have the consent of the people who appear in the photos or videos you post online. If you post someone's image, be aware that you may be compromising that person's privacy and security. Never post a photo or video of someone without first obtaining their consent.

Photos and videos can also reveal a lot of information unintentionally. Several camera models incorporate hidden data (meta tags) that reveal the date, time, and location the photo was taken, the type of camera, etc. Photo and video sharing sites may display this data when you upload content to them

INSTANT MESSAGING

Several social networking sites have tools that allow you to chat with your friends in real-time. These tools work like instant messengers and are one of the least secure ways to communicate on the Internet. To make sure your instant messaging sessions are safe, you and your friends should log into your social media accounts using HTTPS: //, or better yet, use an email client like Pidgin with the Off-the- add-on. Record, which uses an advanced form of encryption. On this subject, please read the 'Pidgin + OTR Secure Instant Messaging' how-to guide.

CREATE / JOIN GROUPS, EVENTS, AND COMMUNITIES

What information do you reveal when you join a group or community? What do you say about yourself? Similarly, what do people reveal about themselves when they join groups or events that you have created? Is it possible that you are putting these people at risk?

When you join an online group or community, it reveals something about you. In general, you might be led to believe that you support or agree with what this group says or does. This can make you vulnerable if you openly align yourself with protesting political groups, for example. If you join a group that has a large number of members that you do not know, it may compromise the security and privacy settings you have established for your account. Think carefully about the information you reveal before joining a group. Did you use your photo and real name so that strangers can easily identify you?

Similarly, if you create a group, what do the people who choose to join it say about them? For example, if it is a gay and lesbian self-help group that you have created to support this cause, the members of the group openly identify as gay or "gay-friendly" and may risk getting into trouble in the real world. You have to be aware of the risks.

Antivirus install your pc protect your pc