Simple Tips for Staying Safe Online

By Donna Davidovich

It is rare to discuss a marketing plan or objective without taking social networking into consideration. That makes sense because social networking offers you a unique opportunity to reach a broader audience, strengthen your brand and increase brand loyalty. However, as you surge ahead in this ever-changing online world, don’t forget the basics when it comes to safety.

Passwords
While this may seem like an obvious point, your password holds the key to the information you choose to share online. Maintaining the integrity of this information and keeping hackers out can be as simple as choosing an effective password. Immediately eliminate simple passwords such as “password,” “12345,” birthdays, street addresses and last names (yes even your mom’s maiden name) or personal information that someone can find out about online. Instead choose something more complex that has meaning only to you and cannot be easily guessed by others. Include a variety of numbers, characters and upper and lower case letters.

Choose Your Security Questions Carefully
These questions allow you to recover or reset your password when answered correctly. When setting up most online accounts and social network profiles, you are usually asked to choose and answer a security question. Take care to select questions that are personal to you. Be sure to eliminate anything that you may have already shared online and therefore could easily be answered with a quick online search. 

Get to Know Your Followers
It is not unheard of for people to be dishonest online and some users may not be who your think they are. People with ill intent may try to mask their identity and attempt to either flood your feeds or engage you in a believable scam. To steer clear of scams, take the time to visit the profiles of each new “friend” or “follower” to determine if an account is real. Be sure to block or disassociate yourself from any accounts that make you uneasy. 

Understand Privacy Settings
All social networking sites have privacy settings. In most cases (e.g. Facebook) there are default settings in place when you create your account. Don’t settle for the default. Take the time to navigate through and choose the settings that are right for you. If you are a small business, be sure to separate your personal accounts from your business accounts and never share personal information such as your home address and personal phone numbers. 

Verify Short URLs
Short URLs have become more and more popular as attempts to fit more information within the Twitter character limit. Visit websites such as www.longurl.org to examine short URLs before actually clicking on a link to find out where it will really take you. Clicking before checking can lead you right into viruses, phishing scams or malware.

Antivirus Software
The most basic and necessary safety precaution to take is to install current virus software on your computer. If virus software is not installed on your machine, you will eventually encounter spyware or some other undesirable code or virus.

Remember, sharing information online is never 100 percent risk free. Following basic security protocols will help you safely navigate the online world of social networking.

Donna has over 14 years of strategic marketing experience that includes project management and graphic design. She has a BFA in Graphic Design and held positions at EDS, DynCorp, Kensington Creative Worldwide, Inc., and The Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.

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