Social Media
For various reasons, people tend to give out personal information more freely via social media than they do face-to-face.
While most people are harmless, social media predators rely on your posts, tweets, feeds, check-ins, and connections in order to attack you.
The more information that you post about yourself, the more susceptible you become to identity theft, financial fraud, and even more frightening crimes like stalking and assault.
Preventative Measures Against Social Media Attacks
Limit the Amount of Personal Information You Post
Use common sense. Do not post anything that makes you uncomfortable. Posting vacation pictures or posting photos of yourself while you are out for the night, has been known to lead to home burglaries.
Remember That the Internet Is a Public Resource
Limit the personal information you share, and don’t share business information at all. Disable Global Position System (GPS) or location tracking. Many digital cameras encode the GPS location of a photo when it is taken. If that photo is uploaded to a site, so are the GPS coordinates, which will let people know that exact location.
Do Not Use Public Wi-Fi
Public Wi-Fi is not secure. Lamar University provides secure Wi-Fi access and secure remote access through VPN for employees and students.
Be Skeptical
The Internet makes it easy to hide identities and motives. Be extremely cautious about giving information to strangers.
Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are your first line of defense. Create a password that is hard to guess. Do not use what you have posted on social media to create your password. For more tips see Password Security.
Evaluate Your Settings
Take advantage of a site’s privacy settings, and review them often. Don’t post anything you wouldn't want the public to see.
Check Privacy Policies
Some sites may share your phone numbers and emails. So before you provide your information to them, read their privacy policy.
Use and Maintain Anti-Virus Protection
Anti-virus protection safeguards your computer against known viruses. Use it and keep it updated. Go here for more information on Cyber Security.