Social Networking Safety

We all know how great using social networks online are but are they safe? Too often people put in all their details to these sites and never use the privacy settings. Did you know it can only take a hacker 15 minutes to have all the details of you they need to start using you identity!?!

Social Networks seem like a bit of harmless fun - a way to reach old and new friends around the world, share experiences and photographs and build up a new circle of mates. But social networks may give away more than you'd like, as Paris Hilton has recently discovered.

The socialite heiress favours Facebook to host details of her partying and is canny enough to use the security protections it offers, so access is restricted to her closest friends.

She posted supposedly private pictures of a big night out after the Emmy awards, which were promptly accessed by a Canadian computer expert. Facebook promptly unveiled a security upgrade but the expert, Byron Ng, breached it easily.

It's a timely warning to the millions of Facebook users around the world - and to all of us who use MySpace, Bebo and even Friends Reunited - to think twice before posting anything personal online. So take these simple precautions if you want to carry on poking your mates without revealing more than you'd intended:

1. Be careful how much information you give away

Many people give their full names, e-mail address, contact numbers, and date of birth, plus intimate details such as pet names and mother's or wife's maiden name - everything a fraudster would need to steal your identity and make a good guess at the passwords that are meant to protect your bank and credit card accounts.

The general rule is to be very cautious about how much information you give away and who can see it. Some of the sites have privacy settings that allow you to restrict the degree to which you share information, by allowing only your friends to view your profile, which includes your contact information and your photos.

Play it safe and allow those who are not close friends to see only very limited information of you. Also, you may want to limit who can post messages and view your wall as they may reveal more than you may want others to know!

2. Don't take anyone at cyber-face value

Signing up friends can become quite competitive, with some users accepting offers of friendship from people they don't know at all, without stopping to think that people can and do tell lies online.

The more people you accept on blind trust, the higher the chance that someone will take advantage of the information you post, so always try to double-check new potential friends. If they claim to know genuine friends, ask about them. If in doubt, don't accept invitations from strangers to link up as friends.

Also, if you join any networks or groups, all members will usually have access to your profile so it's important to limit the information that others can see about you in order to protect your personal information, otherwise there could be hundreds of thousands of people who have access.

3. Never share your passwords

Don't be tempted to give out your password to anyone, even to enable a friend to look at your photos or check your messages for you while you are offline. You should always keep your passwords to yourself!

Facebook specifically recommends that users never share access passwords with anyone not even your boyfriend, girlfriend or best friend. There is always a risk that someone will abuse your trust. For example, they might post distressing or offensive pictures as a joke or add personal information you'd rather keep private.

4. Be aware of potential employers searching through your profile.

It's also worth remembering that educational institutions and employers have taken to searching these sites to see what you get up to in your spare time and whether your CV matches reality. Some people have even faced disciplinary action because of comments they have posted on their profiles about their job or employer.

So even if you think those photographs taken when you were drunk will give your friends a laugh, think twice before posting them. Be selective with the type of information you display in your profile and if in doubt, keep this personal information off the internet.

5. Check that your ID is safe

If you are worried about your personal information being compromised via a social networking site, use an online credit monitoring and identity protection service to keep an eye on your credit report.

This is the personal history of the credit that you have taken out, such as loans, credit cards, mortgages and mobile phone contracts. Lenders search it and leave a record whenever you apply for credit, so you can see if anyone has been trying to borrow money or buy products on credit in your name.