New Media has revolutionized the world we lived in , making it possible for people all over the globe to connect instantly and be updated about world events. But with all this communication going on, is our personal information actually kept safe and secure?
Once you post a piece of information, it is nearly impossible to contain. Copying and pasting is one skill that everyone is sure to know, and so is Googling information.
Posting URLs of your personal blogs, email addresses and even telephone numbers are all great security risks and you might be a victim of identity theft.
But most people feel that it is harmless posting such information Social media such as Foursquare , allow the user to "check into" venues, such as banks. These information could not only divulge private information, but put you at risk of crimes.
This is a very real risk rampant online nowadays, mostly harming teenagers who have a very active social and virtual life. Yet that does not mean that adults are not at risk of their personal information being exposed.
Eg.
In South Korea, netizens are in the frontline of investigations.
5 students from a cyber-security school were given a female celebrity's name, age and internet ID.
With just these pieces of information, the students managed to uncover shocking details.
All done without any illegal hacking software.
This phenomenon is known Netizen Crime Scene Investigations (NCSI)
For more information please visit : http://www.allkpop.com/2010/11/the-netizen-crime-scene-investigation-phenomenon
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So how do you protect yourself?
1. NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR IDENTITY NUMBER
No social networking website would require your identity number for registration.
2. INVEST IN A GOOD ANTIVIRUS PROGRAMME
Sites such as Twitter and Facebook ever had cases of sending out viruses and Trojans to log keystrokes from third party companies.
These are the basics steps that everyone can take in preventing anything from happening to your online persona.
Perhaps it's time we started to put more thinking into what we post online?
What are some of the steps you take to protect yourself online?
Agree much, as long as you dont leak out information, those hacker will never target you. For me, I don't give out personal info to anyone on the net, its a precaution I do.
ReplyDeleteI always use a pseudo name online. Unless im comfortable with letting the other party know my real name. OHOH, i also use a fake age hahhaha, like 40 or something. This way u can make people lose interest in you . (:
ReplyDeleteIn order to protect myself, I do not reveal too many information about myself. For instance, I do not use my full name. Also, I did not display personal particulars such as my phone number and address online as I realize the importance of cyber security.
ReplyDeletei guess we can all take preventive measures such as making sure we do not reveal too much information about ourselves online, and make sure we know who has access to our information as it is really scary to know that your information can be stolen so easily and used to find out other details about you
ReplyDeleteYeah! I agree that putting your real name and phone numbers on the internet is too much of a risk.People might make use of this information and do something quite bad to you, like misusing your identify or spreading gossips. Precaution is really important as it allows you to keep yourself safe and can have fun on internet too.
ReplyDeleteI think posting information on Foursquare is really too risky. I mean who knows who will be refreshing your page every 5mins to know whr you are, right?
ReplyDeleteFor me, I just make sure that whatever I post on my facebook profile, whatever I tweet, and whatever I blog do not put me at a risk. Other than photos, there is nothing on my profiles that fully disclose my identity. -fatin
ReplyDeleteI think everyone should only reveal their names online. Perhaps the school you go to but anything more detailed than that could put us at risk. I ensure my own privacy by changing my settings so that the photos I upload can only be viewed by the people in my friend's list.
ReplyDelete