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The Security Costs of being too Social

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One of the arguments against being very virtually social is that nobody is SO important that everyone wants to know, for instance, that this person is going to be at the local sports bar watching the Super Bowl (or almost nobody; sad to say, some celebrities have half the world following them).

14DAnother argument, however, against tweeting and posting your every move is that this tells burglars when you’ll be away from your house.

So, you’re important enough to post every detail of your life on Facebook…but NOT important enough to be the victim of crime, right?

WRONG.

Maybe you’re not so virtually chatty, but other people actually tweet and post from the sports bar to keep followers updated about their emotions regarding the big game. At the same time, these folks are letting burglars know they’re away from home and not returning too soon.

Why You Should Curb Cyber Socializing

  • It’s true: People have been burglarized because the thieves found out they were on vacation or away via their social media posts.
  • Because posting your whereabouts in social media could lead to a burglary, you’ll have to pay for the natural fallout of the crimes, such as a homeowner’s insurance deductible and a higher premium rate due to multiple claims.
  • You could even lose any claim-free discount on your policy.
  • Though carriers won’t deny coverage if your car was stolen as a result of something you tweeted, the carriers want you to know how potentially risky it is to make personal posts, such as, “Hey, the whole gang’s going to my Uncle’s lake house to watch the Super Bowl on his monster flat screen!”
  • Save the mundane updates for after the event, when you get back home: “Hey y’all, just got back from watching the game at Uncle Budd’s…I’m gonna call in sick tomorrow ‘cause I’m so upset that we lost!” Which as you can see, is just as stupid, because you’ll get fired.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

10 Tips to Protect Yourself on Social Networks

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With the prevalence of mobile devices, more than ever, it’s easy for us to share our lives with the world. And yes, social networks are all about staying in touch with friends and family, and sharing events in your life, but perhaps it’s too easy to share information?

14DWith just a few clicks, posts and messages, you could give away enough personal information to compromise your privacy and even open yourself up to identity theft. So that’s why it’s critical that you know how to protect yourself when using these sites. Here’s my top 10 list:

  1. Remember the Internet is permanent: Assume that once you put information on the site, it stays there forever. Even if you delete the account, you don’t know if someone has already printed/copied your text or photos off of it.
  2. Be selective when accepting a friend: Do you really know that their profile is real and not fake? Only “friend” people you know in the real world.
  3. Exercise caution when clicking on links: Even if they’re from friends. Hackers prey on social networks because you are more likely to click on something from your friends. Also be wary of offers with the word “free” in them, or ones that sound too good to be true, as they usually are.
  4. Manage your privacy settings: Make sure that you are only sharing information with friends and family and check them regularly in case there are any changes.
  5. Be aware of the fact that the information you share on one social network may be linked to another: For instance, a photo you post to Twitter may automatically post to your Facebook profile.
  6. Don’t reveal personal information: Be suspicious of anyone who asks for your personal information online and never share your home address, phone number, Social Security number, or other personal identifying information.
  7. Turn off the GPS function on your smartphone camera: If you plan to share images online, make sure that you turn off the GPS on your device to keep your exact location private.
  8. Don’t enable auto login: Make sure that you don’t have your apps set to automatically log you in and that you don’t have your computer’s browser “remember” your login and password. That way if someone does get access to your devices, they can’t automatically access your social sites.
  9. Change your passwords frequently: Choose hard-to-guess passwords that are at least eight characters long and a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols, and change them regularly. Also make sure you use different passwords for each account.
  10. Close old accounts that you don’t use anymore: Don’t risk leaving personal data in an old account, such as a MySpace page you haven’t used in years, or on an online dating site you no longer need. Instead, close the accounts you don’t use and delete as much personal information from them as possible.

Social networking is meant to be fun…let’s keep it that way by staying safe online. 

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.

How Can I Ensure My Social Network Interactions are Secure on Wireless?

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Privacy on social networks seems a little oxymoronic to me. We tell the world about our lives, but we don’t want everyone to knoweverything. I know many people who only want some people to share in their experiences, but those same people often friend people they don’t know. See what I mean? Anyway, it is still a good idea to lock down all your privacy settings and avoid friending people you don’t really know.

But what about security?

When using WiFi, the information that travels from your device to the wireless router can be seen/read (or “sniffed”) if a hacker has the right tools. Keep in mind that not all hackers are criminals; some are what are called “penetration testers” who use software specifically designed for seeking out vulnerabilities in wireless networks or in websites themselves. The problem here is some of the tools penetration testers use can also be accessed by criminals, making your information vulnerable to a bad guy.

Back in 2010, a (non-malicious) “white hat” hacker created a tool called Firesheep. Firesheep is an extension for the Firefox web browser that uses a packet sniffer to intercept unencrypted cookies from websites such as Facebook and Twitter. As cookies are transmitted over networks, packet sniffing is used to discover identities on a sidebar displayed in the browser, allowing the user to instantly take on the login credentials of the unsuspecting Firefox user by double-clicking on the victim’s name.

Since then, social media sites have done a much better job of securing their sites with SSL, which is short for Secure Sockets Layer, a security protocol that provides communication security over the internet. However, many sites that exchange personal or private information still use HTTP without the SSL, and numerous tools for auditing (hacking) WiFi or wired Ethernet connections exist.

To protect yourself, do the following:

  • When sharing data, always login via sites that encrypt user data using SSL, which is designated in the address bar as HTTPS.
  • Use a secure virtual private network (VPN).Hotspot Shield VPN free proxy protects your identity by ensuring that all web transactions (shopping, filling out forms, downloads, etc.) are secured through HTTPS.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield VPN. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen  See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures.