Social Media has entered in our life in a big way. It has completely changed the landscape of human interaction. People spend more time on social media than with their loved ones. Though social media gives us an easy access to connect with family and friend anywhere in the world but it comes with a price. People share so much of their personal lives on social media they forget there is someone lurking in the darkness to exploit their life. Every other day we hear the news of someone hacking in user’s account and stealing private information, or use it as proxy to carry out illegal activities or sometime cyber bulling. With gargantuan increase the size of social media ecosystem the disorder creeps in and it’s fundamental that few people will invariably seize opportunity to carry out unworthy acts.
Here are few things that can be put into practice to guard you from social media –take it seriously.
1. Read the Privacy Documents
None of us do this and yet it is imperative to read the privacy document before accessing any of the social media network and sharing content on the platform. These documents use tiniest of the fonts and mentions what is right and wrong to do on their social media website. Almost 90% of the text takes away your freedom and remaining 10% doesn’t make any sense. Don’t just scan with your eyes but read with your lips – sometimes time “wasted” on these documents will be most helpful in case your account is compromised and you want to raise your voice.
2. Survival of the fittest password
Always provide accurate and updated information while opening an account on social media network this comes handy in case if someone tries to trespass your account. Make sure that the password you choose is unique and something difficult to guess but at the same time easy for you to recall. Phone number, birthdays, pet, ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, or your grandparent’s names should be avoided at any cost. Try to be innovative and keep a password with a mix of text, numbers and special characters. Your password for each social media account must be unique and different. The password that survives the hacker’s guess and bot attack is the fittest. And just like parents tell their children never talk to strangers it is prudent in that light to say never to share your with anyone no matter how close they are.
3. As you post so shall you reap
Went on a vacation last month? Ready to tell the whole world how awesome it was? Ready to post some happening photos of the vacation? Great but rein in your enthusiasm and get rational – social media platform is for the world to see. Though you can hide it from few people but what about search result? Have you thought of it? Today employer do a back ground check by scooping on social media networks to get a brief back story about the candidate they are hiring. You don’t want to post photos that make you feel embarrassed in front of your employer, family or friends. The best way is to curate photos that you post on social media and keep rest of the no-so-shareable photos with yourself to relish those awesome memories.
4. Don’t become a victim of cyber bullying
Children mostly become victims of cyber bullying but today even adults are not immune to it. The reason for cyber bullying can be varied but some of the common reasons are people who indulge in these kinds of practice may wants to take revenge for past enmity, they see themselves as invincible, peer pressure to stay famous and get others attentions also adds to this practice. Right way to stay away from cyber bullying is not to accept friendship request from people whom you don’t know well and in case if you ought to accept their request then never share any personal information. If they find your vulnerability they will target you. At times there are trolls that responds to your comments and tries to provoke you for verbal fight – don’t give into temptation. And at any point of time if you feel that you are a victim of cyber bullying report it to respective authority, talk with your family and friends about it, block that person and practice caution in making unsolicited friends.
5. Don’t use public computers to access social media sites
We all have our devices to access social media sites but many a time it happens that you are at friends or public place and you access social media sites through their system and one fine day unsuspectingly you receive a mail saying that someone changed your password or your account has been hacked. It is not right to say that it happens all the time but certainly there is a wide opportunity for this and it is better you follow some caution. Always stick with your devices to access your social media accounts.
6. Look out for wolf in sheep’s clothing
Congratulations you have won a brand new iPhone please enter the detail and click Submit! Seems familiar? It is called phishing mail this is send with the intent to retrieve confidential information from you. When it happens to others you give a lengthy sermon on how not to fall prey for something so silly but when you fall victim to such tricks it seems just like a bad luck. Such spam and phishing mails are rampant on social media network. Without entering any contest if you get an unsolicited mail from unknown email id claiming that you have won $$$$ or a free holiday trip in Las Vegas - BEWARE! It’s not always that difficult to separate chaff from the grain – all you need to do is look closely and do some across check, like opening the links on a new browser, verifying the email id, calling the company and talking to the representative, checking review on Google etc. If you find the mail to be spam then delete it and report it as spam.
7. Secure and Be Sure!
Securing your PC, Mobile and Tablet with latest security software helps in having a secure social media access. Always keep your security software updated so that you are protected from the latest security threats like viruses and malware.
