Protect Your Identity

You already know the importance of not giving out your personal information to someone you don't know, or in chat rooms. You are well aware of not intentionally making yourself vulnerable to physical harm when first meeting someone you have talked to over the internet. However, there is a recent epidemic of people trying to sneak into people's personal and financial information that you should be aware of.

Recently, particularly on social networking sites such as Facebook and myYearbook, hackers have been using seemingly innocent or flirty email messages and comments to hack into people's computers. They start by possibly sending you a friend request, or an email asking you to click on a link to view nude pictures or videos. Once you do, they are, at a minimum, able to hack into your user account for that site. This can cause all types of problems for you.

First, let's say you are a member of a adult-oriented site. You may have pictures and/or videos posted there that you don't want broadcast to the world. Bear in mind that if they are posted on the internet, however, that there's always a risk of that. But, hackers and others with ill intentions can make that happen much more quickly and easily. This is only one of the minor risks you may face. They could use your profile to send unreasonable obscene, or perhaps even illegal, messages, pictures, and comments to other members of the site. At best, you could get banned from the site. At worst, you could face prosecution.

If they manage to take it one step further, and hack into your computer, they could have access to any files you have on that computer, including financial records, personal memos, family photos, etc. Many hackers also use something known as keystroke capture to log every keystroke you make, including usernames and passwords that you may use to log on to online banking websites, and other sensitive passwords that you wish to be kept secret. They also may be able to implant a virus (or worm) onto your computer, that may cause your computer to not work properly, or in some cases, not work at all.

Bear in mind that if you have a computer connected to the internet, there is always a risk that your computer could become infected with a virus, or that a hacker could break into your computer. There are many ways to prevent such things from happening, but basically, it's like the old saying goes..."locks are only good at keeping honest people honest". If someone wants into your computer badly enough, they will get in. So, all you can do is take all the precautions you can, and try to keep sensitive information to a minimum on any computer you have connected to the internet.

As far as keeping these hackers from using social networking sites to get to your computer, use a little common sense. If you receive a message from someone you don't know, chances are, they have ill intentions. The most common method they are currently using is to ask you to click on link to view nude pictures of videos. Do not click on the link, because that's when the trouble begins. Report any such messages to the administrators of the site, and delete them immediately. If each one of us does our part to stop these malicious people, eventually we may be able to stop them from trying to do harm to people who are just trying to have a good time and connect with like-minded people.