Safety First on the Internet

The information superhighway has changed the way we live.  Whether we are socializing, shopping, bill paying, blogging or researching amidst the vast wealth of information that is now at our fingertips, more and more of our activities are conducted via the Internet.

For all of its greatness, one of the great downfalls of the Internet is that it makes us vulnerable to individuals and organizations that spend a lot of time and find ever-increasing ways to hack into and steal our personal information. From stalkers to bullies to hackers adept at identity theft, the ever-engaging cyber world is also rife with dangers. Despite this, it really is possible to go about your business, and stay safe at the same time.

Facebook Security Tips

In order to preserve your privacy yet still be able to enjoy the pleasures of Facebook, it is worthwhile to take the time to adjust the privacy settings on your account. You will get a range of options from which to choose, effecting everything from who is able to see your profile page to who is able to see your personal information to who can or cannot see your activity. Do you really want people to be able to see every time you comment on a friend’s page, or make a new friend? Ask yourself these questions as you determine where you do or don’t want others to have access to your information. The more privacy measures you take, the better off you will be. If you toggle all the appropriate options, you will maximize your privacy so that only your Facebook friends will be able to interact with you, see your information, and know you exist. You can then carry out your activities online with confidence that no other entities, whether private, governmental, corporate, or the like, can learn anything about you without your permission.

Twitter Security Tips

If you like to Tweet, keep in mind that Twitter possesses fewer security lock-down features than Facebook. Nonetheless, you have several options at your disposal to stay current with friends and loved ones on Twitter while still keeping safe from Internet predators.

Similarly to the Facebook approach, you can optimize your security on Twitter by logging on and selecting “Settings” in the upper right corner of your screen. Under the “Account” tab, check “Protect my updates,” and click “Save.” This protects your tweets from being displayed in the public timeline on Twitter, and it hides your updates from those who don’t follow your account. 

Other safety measures can be taken in choosing an online alias rather than your real name, creating strong passwords that utilize a range of numbers, letters, and characters, and maintaining an appropriate level of public conduct in the way that one expresses oneself. Don’t hesitate to use the blocking features on both sites if you want to stop interacting with anyone, and report any harassment or offensive violations from other users on Facebook or Twitter. Also, change your password frequently.

Alas, the first and foremost defense against online predators is ourselves.  It is important to use caution whenever we post information about our personal lives, or pictures of our families and children. Remember that the things that we put out on the world wide web seem to stay there for posterity. We should remember that future employers and schools might gain access to our information, and we should never post anything that we may regret later on. 

HTTPS

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) essentially combines hypertext transfer protocol (http) with SSL/TLS to encrypt communications with an extra level of security.  It is generally used to protect financial transactions and for more sensitive transactions in corporate information systems. Https enables one, for example, to use one’s credit card information online with relative safety. Https is what facilitates the online marketplace.  

Https uses certificates of authority to ensure security. Essentially these certificates are installed with browsers that target and keep out eavesdroppers, third parties or middle men who might try to grab the information. The certificates of authority verify that a company or site is what it says it is. 

Choosing a Search Engine

Who knew that when you were typing a word or phrase into a search bar, you were letting loose a bevy of spiders, crawlers, and robots? These are in fact pieces of software that follow hyperlinks from document to document around the web. They also accommodate the fluidity of the web, and the fast rate at which its information is used and copied, by updating the information available.

Search engines are very fast and smart directorie,s which can sort through the innumerable and ever changing lists of information at a rate exponentially faster than a person with an outdated card catalog in the local library. Google is the best known search engine, and claims to be the biggest, with 3.3 billion plus pages in its index.  Alltheweb, one of Yahoo’s many search platforms, claims a close second with 3.1 billion plus pages.  But there are a plethora of search engines out there, some that are specific to countries, others that are content specific, such as Kayak for travel related searches, and still others that are “meta-search engines” combine the top lists of a group of engines, such as Dogpile.

If you have a website for your business, or a blog, you want to work proactively to make sure that your site gets picked up. Gone are the days when one’s site could get picked up just by virtue of being out there. Being smart about getting your information out there is not confined to paying list fees. Including meta tags in the head of your document will help the document get picked up with key words. You are giving those robots and spiders more to grab a hold of. 

However meta tags are not as effective as they were in the late 90s, do to their overuse.  In some cases it may be worth hiring a professional skilled at search engine optimization.

Just as the Internet has the power to create, it has the power to destroy. It can help grow business, gain clients, “followers” and fans. But it also has the power to steal your identity, and corrupt the sanctity of your home. So while it is there to be used and enjoyed, it must also be respected.