While software updates and good passwords are important for protecting our myriad online accounts, I think the most overlooked aspect of our security is our online reputation. Facebook would be the first thing that comes to my mind, but there are plenty of other social networking site that are just as guilty.
The fact is that it is now so easy for people to find these profiles that we put up. When you Google somebody's name their Facebook almost always come up right away. If you have a very common name you just have to put the city they live in and there it is, at the top of the list.
Facebook in particular is notorious for changing it's online security settings. One day nobody can see you or find you, but the next your whole page is open to anyone. I think they are getting better at avoiding this, but if it happens when you are interviewing for a job you can bet they will look closely at what you do online.
Better than tweaking your preferences on Facebook would be to simply put nothing online that you don't want the whole world to see. It's almost a cliche to say so these days, but it's still very true. Since I finished high school I've been parsing my Facebook profile down and down.
No comments:
Post a Comment