Tips for social networking safety

Social networking sites such as MySpace , Facebook , Twitter , and Windows Live Spaces are services people can use to connect with others to share information such as photos , videos and personal message . As the popularity of these social sites grows , so do the risks of using them . Hackers , spammers , virus writers , identity thieves and other criminals follow the traffic . Read tips to help protect yourself when you are using social networks . • Use caution when you click links that you receive in messages from your friends on your social sites . Treat links in messages on these sites as you would links in email messages . ( For more information . • Know what you've posted about yourself . Common way that hackers break into financial or other accounts is by clicking the " Forgot password ? " on the account login page . Sign in to your account , they are looking for answers to your security questions , such as your birthday , home town , high school class or the name of the deceased mother . If the site allows , make your own password questions , and do not draw them from material anyone could find with a quick search . For more information , see : • Do not trust the message is really from who said of . Hackers can break into accounts and send messages that look like they are from your friends , but not . If you suspect that the message is fraudulent , use an alternative method to contact your friend to find out . This includes invitations to join new social networks . For more . • To avoid giving the email address of your friends , do not let social networking services to scan e-mail address book . When you join a new social network , you may receive an offer to enter your email address and password to find out whether your contacts on the network . The site may use this information to send email messages to everyone in your contact list or even everyone you 've ever sent an email message to that address . Social networking sites should explain that they would do this , but some do not . • Type the address of your social networking site directly into your browser or use personal bookmarks . If you click on a link to your site via email or other web sites , you may enter your account name and password into a fake site where your personal information can be stolen . For more tips on how to avoid phishing scams . • Be selective about who you accept as friends on social networks . An identity thief may create a fake profile to obtain information from you . • Carefully choose your social network . Evaluate the sites that you plan to use and make sure you understand the privacy policy . Find out if the site monitors content that people post . You will provide personal information to this website , so use the same criteria that you would choose a site where you enter your credit card . • Assume that everything you put on social networking sites 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 about installing extras on your site . Many social networking sites allow you to download third-party applications that let you do more with your personal page . Criminals sometimes use these applications to steal your personal information . To download and use third party applications safely , take the same safety precautions you take with another program or file that you downloaded from the web . • Think twice before you use social networking sites work . For more . • Talk with your children about social networking . If you are a parent of children who use social networking sites .