PROTECT YOURSELF ONLINE


The internet provides the ideal environment for criminals to carry out fraud, identity theft, bullying and computer damage. Get Safe Online


Protecting yourself when using social networks


Unfortunately, hackers, spammers, virus writers, identity thieves, and other criminals can target you when using social networks. Your organisation may allow you to use these sites at work, but do monitor your usage. It is important to be aware of the risks and take some simple precautions:


• Think twice before you use social networking sites at work. You may inadvertently put your organisation or your professional reputation at risk.


• Assume that everything you put on a social networking site is permanent. Even if you can delete your account, anyone on the Internet can easily print photos or text or save images and videos to a computer.


• Be careful what you post about yourself. To break into your account, hackers use the answers to your security questions, such as your birthday, home


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town, school, or maiden middle name. Don't create passwords from material anyone could find with a quick search.


• Be cautious about who you accept as a friend on a social network. Identity thieves might create fake profiles in order to get information from you.


• If you have suspicions about a message, use an alternative method to contact your friend to find out. Hackers can break into accounts and send messages that look like they're from your friends, but are not. This includes invitations to join new social networks.


• Do not automatically follow links in messages on these sites or in email messages. First ensure they are not fraudulent.


• Type the address of your social networking site directly into your browser or use your personal bookmarks. If you click a link to your site through email or another website, you might be entering your account name and password into a fake site where your personal information could be stolen.


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