Social Media Security Tips

We have all received email requests from our friends inviting us to join a social media group. The curious nature of humans causes us to want to know what our friends are doing all the time. We like them and want to keep in touch or we're just nosey.

We have many accounts created on the Internet for one reason or another. Eventually we forget about many of them or just don't have a need or desire to go back. Keep in mind that, particularly with social media, site developers are not necessarily interested in our security. They just want us to join their community.

• Take a minute to review the security settings for each site to make sure only those you want to see your information are actually seeing it. Many social media sites make all of your posts, photos, and personal information viewable to the public. Remember that the Internet public means everyone in the world with access to the Internet.
   
• Delete accounts you are not using. Many of them have an option to completely delete your account. Choosing to suspend your account won't delete the information nor will it hide it from Internet searches.
   
• There are services that will attempt to eliminate or lower your online presence. If you are going to use of these, investigate them first before giving them your personal information as they may be worse at security than the social media sites.
   
• If there isn't a "delete me" option in the site, you can do it manually. There are blogs and sites that will give you step-by-step instructions on deleting your accounts.
   
• Always keep up with the security changes. Most sites, particularly social media sites, update security terms often. Review them when they are published and adjust your settings accordingly.
  
  The more accounts we have set up on the Internet, the higher the risk someone can steal our confidential or private information. It's up to us take responsibility for our own Internet security.