by Saurabh Pal

Created on: September 10, 2009

This is the era of open communications and websites like Facebook, Orkut, MySpace etc. promote this culture. The younger generation has taken to this in a great way. People find these to be a great social connecting tool which gives them ability to stay in touch with their friends from school, college or work. However this is not without its share of risks as there are certain people waiting to get hold of personal information. So it is important to ensure that you take proper precautions and undertake online protection to secure your personal profile information. Here are some tips to keep your information safe -

Make it a point to check out the Privacy tab. This controls who has access to your personal information and what all can they see. You can also restrict access to your profile for people who are not on your friends list. Similarly, you can control whether your name turns up when people search on your name. Often we make friends with completely new set of people on the web. We may not know them personally but it is often great to make friends with them. But after a couple of exchanges, you may not like that person and it is possible to block them out so that they can no longer see your updates and keep a tab on your activities.

Avoid putting your address, phone numbers etc on your profile page. This will only be helpful to people who intend to misuse this information. You may counter by saying what harm can this do? Well, you never know when predators are on the prowl and what intentions they have.

Remember it takes all sorts to make the world. All the stories you read about abuse, stalking and intimidation is true although it may not have happened to you or your friends. So always be on your guard. Think twice before adding a person to your friends list. It is generally advisable not to add people unless you know them either directly or through your friends. This is all the more important if you put information about where you live, your contact numbers, your daily routine, and all other information. If you do this then you remain vulnerable.

Another way you can compromise yourself is by uploading pictures. Women stand a greater risk on this aspect. So even if you are sharing pictures of your sister or girl-friend, remember you could be compromising their safety. There are stories of how people download pictures from social networking sites onto their personal computer. If you are prone to doing controversial acts then refrain from sharing them with the whole world. You never know when someone may catch you on the wrong foot. It is becoming common for recruiters to do a search on you when you appear for interviews or discussions.

The bottom line is safety first. Remember you are responsible for your own protection and hence do not do anything that can compromise yourself or anybody in your family. Unfortunately we do not live in an ideal world and there are lots of people out there who have ulterior intentions. Rather safe than sorry.

Learn more about this author, Saurabh Pal.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.