We are all social media enthusiasts in our own way. Social media channels including and not limited to LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter connect us together in a digital society. This allows us to make the most of our social liberties. Businesses are effectively beginning to engage with potential clients and the public at large using social media as one of the preferred tools even budgets towards social media in place of traditional advertising are re-allocated.
There are many benefits to sharing and communicating through social media, but there are also risks. Hackers have taken advantage of the relaxed way that people use their social media platforms, usually with bait schemes that put users at risk with a simple tap or click on a disguised link. Below are tips on how to use your social media effectively and enjoy sharing opinions, photos, join groups and many other useful tools to get you engaged in the social media sphere.
1. Be alert when you click on links that you accept in messages from your network of friends on your social account. Some links can be links to hack into your account retrieve all your data and information be very cautious.2. Know what you have posted about yourself. Always ensure you check your post threads to make certain that the information posted is from you. The notifications box on the social media channels are there to keep you update, ensure that the notification is from groups you have joins or comments you have entered on a certain known page, profile or group.
3. Do not trust that a direct message really is from whom it says it’s from. Hackers can hack into social media accounts and send messages that appear as if they from your friends, but are from hackers. If you suspect that a message is fake, use an alternative way to contact your friend to find out.
This includes invites to join new social networks.4. Type the address of your social networking site straight into your browser or use your saved bookmarks. If you click a link to your site through e-mail or another website, you might be entering your account name and password into a fake site where your personal information could be stolen.5. Be discerning about who you accept as a friend on a social network. Identity thieves might create fake profiles in order to get information from you.
6. Choose your social network carefully. Evaluate the site that you plan to use and make sure you understand the privacy policy. Find out if the site monitors content that people post. You will be providing personal information to this website, so use the same criteria that you would select a site where you enter your credit card.
7. Everything you put on a social networking site is permanent. Whether you can delete your account or post, anyone on the Internet can easily print photos or text or save images and videos to any device and distribute them on social media platforms.
8. Be careful about installing extras on your site. Many social networking sites allow you to download third-party applications that let you do more with your personal page. Criminals sometimes use these applications to steal your personal information.
To download and use third-party applications safely, take the same safety precautions that you take with any other program or file you download from the Web.9. Privacy Settings are there for a reason use them.
Social media has evolved to a stage were certain content can be segmented and shared with the required people, group or page. Groups and pages have been designed for people to interact with work colleagues in a group or a group with people who share similar interests without anyone from that group gaining access to your profile and seeing what you post on your profile.
