There is no doubt that social networks are very interesting platforms to be in contact with friends and family, inform us or even promote our business. But it is also a reality that they can be a privacy problem. In fact, on many occasions we expose more data than we should and that can affect network security. In this article we are going to talk about it and explain some points to check if we are too exposed on social networks.
Do you share too much on social networks?
Sharing a lot of information on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social network can be a major privacy issue. We are giving information that can be used by a hacker to, for example, carry out a Phishing attack and steal passwords.
They could even use that data to attack us on a personal level, sink a business or any other problem in daily life. Ultimately, it is data and information that can be made available to anyone if we do not take action. We are going to explain some factors that may indicate that we are overexposed on social networks.
Open social networks
The first error, the first thing that tells us that we have exposed social networks, is to have them open . If anyone can see our Facebook profile, for example, everything we publish, who are our contacts, where we live … That means we are overexposed on the network.
This information can be used for criminal purposes. For example, bots can collect information to find out where we work, what our hobbies are, etc. This can be used to launch Spam campaigns, Phishing attacks and, ultimately, compromise security.
You do not separate the personal from the work
It is also another mistake to use social media accounts for both personal and work. Not separating them means that we will be overexposed. We will share information, opinions and anything with friends and family, as well as with potential clients or colleagues.
This is not something that affects all users, but it is especially a problem for those who have a business and use that account for their store or company, but also to be in contact with others on a personal level.
You publish exposing data
By this we mean especially publishing content and showing, for example, the location where we are. Some social networks like Instagram allow this. We can be telling anyone where we live, where we work, where we move … In short, exposing too much information.
Whenever you publish content you must be aware of the possible data that you are exposing. You may not be interested in having that information appear next to a photo you upload or next to a comment you post.
You don’t filter the contacts
Do you control the contacts you add to Facebook or any other social network? Sometimes bots sneak in and, pretending to be a real person, all they want is to collect personal data that they then use to launch their attacks.
It is important to filter what type of contacts we are going to want to add to social networks. The interesting thing is to know that it really is a person or a profile of a real company. Otherwise, we don’t really know with whom we are sharing all that information.
In short, these are some important points that you can take into account to avoid overexposure on social networks and that personal data can end up in the wrong hands. It is essential to know if a social media profile is real.
