Do you use Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace to post information to your friends and family? Many people do and this is not something that will be going away any time soon. Social networking websites are extremely popular nowadays and even many companies are using these sites to advertise or market their products and services. I use Twitter, as you can tell by looking at the main page of this site, and I find that it is a nice way to send quick updates to the people that have chosen to follow me. There are some things that you should be aware of though to protect yourself and your identity when using these sites.
Personal Information
Be very cautious about entering personally identifiable information on any social networking website. Saying something like “I cannot wait to go on vacation this weekend. It will be nice to be away for an entire week.” only tells your followers that your home will be vacant. While this might not be a big deal for those individuals you know and trust, if your account on these social networking sites is not restricted in any way, other people who are strangers to you might see this. If you intend to post updates like this, understand that Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace offer security features that restrict who can view your profile. It is a good idea to leave out cell phone numbers and addresses as well, for obvious reasons.
“Someone has a secret crush on you! Download this application to find out who it is.”
I have seen these type of notifications quite often on Facebook and it requires you to access a third-party application in many cases. Some of these applications will install spyware or adware on your computer potentially allowing them to access personal information or control how your computer operates. It is better to skip these type of messages altogether.
“Did you see this video of you?” scam
A recent scam on Twitter was sent to many people with those exact words. If the “tweet” was sent by a friend, you are much more likely to click on the accompanying link. However, this would have taken you to a website that looked like Twitter but was not. Entering your Twitter account information then provides your details to the bad guys. If you think “Hey my Twitter account is restricted” remember that there are incidents of hacked accounts happening on both Facebook and Twitter all the time. Beware of this trend and always use a solid password that is not easy to guess and that is not only a few characters long. This scam has also popped up on Facebook with slightly different wording.
Test your IQ
If you recently clicked on a link offering an IQ test on Facebook you would have noticed that to get your results you would have to enter your cell phone number. Doing so also enrolled you in a $30 per month text messaging subscription service. Using the “applications” feature on Facebook gives third-parties access to your profile. In many cases, as also noted above, they could also install spyware or adware on your computer. It is better and safer to not use this feature at all.
“Prayers are requested for Avi Ben Stella, a 12-year-old crash survivor now in a coma. Update your Facebook profile for 1 day.”
Messages like this are popping up on Facebook all the time. It is good to note that no such person exists although there was a similar story reported but the child’s name was Avi Amenov. While some of these prayer requests may seem legitimate, many are not. This is simply another way that people with bad intentions are using the generosity and hearts of unsuspecting Facebook users to spam their messages across these social networks.
While it is very popular to use social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, you should do so with a certain level of caution. Just because these sites offer tons of features does not mean you have to use all of them. Do not be so eager to get right in and test out everything. At the very minimum, know who is sending you requests and what certain features mean and will do in regards to your account at these sites.
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Mark Blair
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/iammarkblair
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Recently I have been using a program called Malwarebytes. This handy, and free, application seems to be able to rip through most spyware and eliminate it in their tracks. There are many options available to you for scanning and removing spyware. I will link to those other solutions at another time. For now, check out 
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