Has the internet ever been too social for you (when visiting Facebook-linked sites, for instance)? Maybe it’s okay to know that Tom Trekker likes Timbukto when you visit and explore TripAdvisor, but maybe you don’t want others to know where you traveled!

Here’s nine tips I can think of to help protect your privacy and protect you  from phishing, scams, viruses, and other malware.

In General

• Use a password with six or more characters, including at least one special character.
• Run anti-virus software on your computer. (How often should you run a scan? See this forum.)

For Social Networking Accounts

• Log out of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.  when you’re not using it – simply closing your browser or web page isn’t enough, apparently. (Learn more about this in the last two articles recommended below.)
• Watch out for phishers pretending they’ll provide clues or virtual objects for online games.  (Better yet, can you skip those games and use your online time ministering to others instead?)
• Add a security question to your account.
• Remember if something doesn’t sound right, it just might not be!  You can tell if something sounds peculiar coming from Uncle Owen, so don’t respond to the request (or check with him some other way).

Specific Facebook Tips

• Some may suggest using totally unique account information for Facebook, that is, different from those for other social sites.  For instance, have only one eMail account dedicated to Facebook.
• You could choose a specific browser for Facebook-only activity and  dedicate another browser to be Facebook-free. So, you can use TripAdvisor on the first browser to see what friends recommend and use TripAdvisor on the second  browser when you don’t want to share your internet and ministry activity with others.
• You can also block Facebook activity on browsers using add-ons:
  • Facebook Blocker for Firefox disables third party sites from sending information to Facebook.
  • Facebook Disconnect for Google Chrome disables Facebook tracking.

What steps do you take to protect your identity or protect your online accounts?

Related Articles:

• What You Need to Know about Passwords (this site)
• Too Many Passwords? (How to keep track of them! On this site))
• Google’s advice for strong passwords.
• Scams on Facebook Are Personal (this site)
• My Facebook Photo Album Was Hacked and What I Did About It (this site)
• Logging Out of Facebook Is Not Enough (ghacks.net)
• Logging Out of Facebook Is Not Enough (New Web Order – extensive look at security for my techie friends)