Facebook is a social media giant, a behemoth of epic and unchallenged proportions. This is an accepted fact amongst all web users but there is another side to things other than the success of the site. Hackers, malware professionals, malicious adware, spammers, and all other forms of annoying tech species surface on Facebook looking for fresh profiles to stalk and new users to target for an assortment of unsavory reasons.
Many have fallen victims to these scams on social media, in worst scenarios we have seen cases that led the lost of fortunes. That is why I decided to share this 5 steps to stay safe on Facebook. These tips can also be related to other social media platforms like Twitter, Google Plus, Linkedin and many other.
Facebook itself has come under fire on many occasions for its lack of privacy and have had many users gritting their teeth trying to work through the ever changing privacy settings which seem to get more difficult to understand every time a change comes around. But of course, that does not mean one stops using the site, rather one has to exercise a little bit extra precaution. So use the following steps to make sure you and your family stays safe on Facebook.
Also Read: How to Post to Hundreds of Facebook groups & Pages at Onces
5 Ways to stay safe on Facebook
1. Only Friends. Right from the beginning you should make sure that everything you upload and share on Facebook, meaning pictures, videos, and other tags are for the individuals who are a part of your friends list. Leaving them open for the public to see may seem like a liberal idea but the truth is getting targeted by computer and internet monitoring apps is not a liberal walk in the park.
2. Cover Photos. The newest addition to the Facebook profile is the cover photo. There is no configuring the privacy on this one and hence whatever you choose to upload as your cover photo remains open to just about anyone who can access you via search. It’s great to have huge banners of you and your loved ones as the background to your profiles but remember, there are a lot of people out there waiting to exploit your personal information. Make sure you think through what it is you are posting as Cover Photo content and the possible consequences of it especially if children are involved.
3. Profile Pictures. Just because Facebook has changed the way you change the settings for privacy on profile pictures does not mean you should get lazy about it. Make sure you check the privacy settings which are available by clicking the small icon on the right hand top side of the page every time you change your profile picture.
4. Change Your Password Regularly. The last thing anyone wants is to have their profile hacked and accessed by strangers looking to make quick bucks. But asides strangers, the chances are that there are many people amongst your close friends and family circle which would love to get into your account. So regularly change your password and make sure that you do not disclose it to anyone, no matter how close.
5. Do not go Click Happy. Finally, whenever using apps or games on Facebook, make sure that your address bar always reads www.facebook.com and not anything else. Also avoid clicking whatever pop ups or fishy looking links you get leading you away from the page. If you use Facebook for Mobile then be extra careful as many third party apps disguise themselves as Facebook apps only to turn out to be cell phone spyware.
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