Safety only takes a little knowledge

Freedoms and the responsibilities that come with them can sometimes be considered to be restrictions which imprison us and keep us fearful. This article hopes to converse with those not-so-literate in computer security and set concerns at ease by explaining the simple things we can do to keep ourselves away from danger.

Whilst we all reap the benefits of social media making the world a smaller and more connected place so it’s easy to forget that someone you’ve never met from the other side of the globe can come across an account of yours and get your password which may grant them access to other social media networks you are on and possibly your personal email account too.

The tweeting bird of Twitter

Twitter, the popular 140 character based spewings of consciousness, just released a mild warning relating to people’s accounts which have been compromised by using certain torrent sites. Twitter itself spotted and corrected the error and reminded people how to keep their Twitter accounts safe.

Facebook - Very worthwhile tool

Facebook, the open and easy way to keep in touch with people, has certain tools users can add called apps (applications). These apps can sometimes be useful such as being able to play Scrabble with friends elsewhere in the world or pinning badges of identity to yourself through your affiliations with political movements, cultural significances and shared appreciations for certain things. Sadly though some apps have been created with one purpose in mind and turn out later to be rogue apps. Rogue apps can steal your login data (which is your Facebook email address and password), send messages to those you know usually promoting some underhand business in an unethical manner or can sit and wait for an appropriate time to do all of the above. There is a Facebook group which hopes to educate people if and when these appear again in the future – it’s worth joining so you can keep you and your safe from harm.

These are just 2 examples of some social media issues with security. It is in all legitimate companies best interests to keep their users safe and free from potential harm. However understanding the risks you take when you join an unknown website through a Facebook link or Twitter link should help give you pause for thought. Is the website you are on reputable? Is it a family friendly or safe-for-work website? Is it offering something of perceived value for free? These are the considerations I would recommend for sites you are unsure of. Usually ‘lurking’ allows you to see the membership of the site, events that they have and the general air of civility around them. Nothing is completely safe, but taking care of the problematic early on saves you the hassle of trying to disconnect from it later.

Google are always inspirational

Google released a video for the annual International Privacy Day (January 28th) which explains what information they keep, why they keep it and how and why you might want to have this information removed from their system. This transparent policy is created to alleviate any fears people may have with who knows what about them. See the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fvL3mNtl1g

2010 will surely be the year were personal account security becomes paramount in people’s minds. From shortened URLs hiding a links destination to applications that integrate into your social network tools privacy is becoming a thing harder to define.

As long as good privacy policy is adhered to and questions are open and transparent for all to see regarding data then we should all be happy. However vigilance is always called for when surfing the world wide web and specific areas of importance will be addressed in future articles.

Comments, as always, are welcome below.

About Scott Lyon

Scott is our renaissance man. Combining his love of community development, varied cultures, travelling and computing skills he helps guide the web site towards one which shows our projects and good works whilst maintaining user privacy and promoting Open Source software.

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