Protecting your Personal Information Online

Last Updated: 26/10/10

Reasons for being careful revealing personal information online:

• You might become the victim of identity theft, cyberbullying or cyberstalking.
• Your family or a prospective employer could find out something about you that you would rather they did not know.  Major employers now commonly check common social networks before inviting people for interview, e.g. Facebook, MySpace. 

Tips for protecting your personal information online:

• Be careful about revealing personal information such as your date of birth, mother's maiden name, your favourite pet's name, etc.

These and similar items of information are often used as basic security questions and as proof of your identity, so you shouldn't share these details unnecessarily. Never share these details over the phone unless you make the call.

• Use more than one email address so that one is reserved solely for your personal communication.
• Use email encryption like WinZip to encrypt data sent in emails. Find out how to install WinZip.
• Never send passwords by email, and share passwords separately by phone or in person. 
• Keep anti-virus software up to date.
• Configure your browser to manage pop ups, cookies, or block specific web sites.
• Provide email addresses and information that do not identify you personally on websites you’re not familiar with.
• Change passwords on a regular basis.
• Restrict access to your social networking sites to only people you know. Assume everything you put on such sites is permanent and public.
  

Other articles you might be interested in

• Identity theft explained
• Cybercrime explained
• Malware explained
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