After reading Stephanie’s last post about things to NOT post on Twitter or Facebook, I started thinking about all the things that can happen when you use social media. While using social media is a great way to keep in touch and get your message out there, it presents an opportunity for hackers and scammers to take advantage of you however they can. These attacks, some of them just plain old mean and untrue, range from harmless (but annoying) spam, to actual crimes, such as identity theft.
The internet is now a part of everyone’s life. We can’t escape it – but then, why would we want to? Perhaps when the telephone was invented there were some who thought it was a fad, but time has proven that any innovation in communication will quickly become integrated into our lives. The internet is not going anywhere, we just have to be careful while we’re out there using it. Here are some ways that you can protect yourself and your loved ones:
Current & Up-to-Date Virus Software
This is a big one. It’s hard to believe, but there are actually people out there designing malicious programs to attack your computer and mess you up. Please, please, please get an up-to-date virus software for your computer. If you’re like me, and you’re too cheap to purchase the software and pay a subscription fee, then download AVG free. It is a great, lightweight virus scanning program that updates often. Sure, they’ll send you an ad every once in a while to see if you want to upgrade to their full edition (which comes with some sweet benefits) but the free edition is enough for general purposes. This will ensure that even if you do mess up, you’ve got a line of defense.
Recognize, Prevent & Report Spammers
Unfortunately, Spam (the electronic kind, not the delicious treat pictured above) is a big part of social media. Advertisers are going to throw everything they can think of in your face in the hopes that one of their ads will spark your interest. The result is a cluttered mess, as well as an interruption to your communication with legitimate friends, family, and even businesses. Almost all the social media sites have a way for you to report these “spammers.”
Most Facebook spam comes in the form of friend invites from people that you’ve never heard of or group/fan invites to misleading groups. If you don’t know someone, don’t accept the friend invite. On Twitter, spam is usually done through bots (programs that relentlessly follow people and post advertisements for websites and products), so you can use TruTwit to wade through it all. This forces the people who follow you to fill out a CAPTCHA. This really helps to cut down the amount of junk you receive.
Be Aware of Keyloggers and Fake Websites
I play World of Warcraft. The threat of getting a keylogger is a very real thing. Even though the characters and goods that I create and accrue on my Warcraft account are virtual goods, there is a real market for them. People who are less then scrupulous are always trying to figure out ways to get hold of the account login information of WoW players. The Keylogger is the main way that this happens. (By the way, this is a concern any time you shop online or enter your credit card number to any website).
Having an up-to-date virus detection program helps a lot with this, but really it comes down to not clicking on things that don’t look good. One thing I try to do is hover over a link before I click it to see where the link is actually going to take me. Most web browsers have a little window in the bottom left-hand portion of the screen that will show you the target (or where the link is taking you). The link may say that it is taking you to facebook.com, but it actually takes you to tacebook.com or focebook.com or something like that. Make sure that you don’t click something that is not from a source that you trust. If all else fails, you can enter the address manually; at least then you know where you are being taken to.
Conclusion: The Common Sense Factor
Being gullible is something that we all need to work on. We all want to believe that there is a “great deal” out there somewhere. Here’s a good rule of thumb: “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” You should really inspect where every offer, group, or message is coming from. For instance, Facebook will not announce a “dislike button” via a group that someone made. Also, a representative from Facebook, Twitter, Hotmail, Paypal, or eBay (or any reputable organization for that matter) will NEVER ask you for your password to your respective account. If someone is asking you to send them your password via some type of message, they are feeding you a line and you are about to get scammed. If a message is telling you to enter something into your browser, DON’T DO IT.
I digress. I’m starting to create another list. At any rate, before you take any action on these sites, give it just a few more moments of thought. Why would this group, list, or message be created? What is the motivation of the creating parties?
For the most part, knowing there is a trap is the first step to avoiding it. Be aware of where you are and what you are clicking on. If you take the necessary precautions, then you can keep yourself safe.
