Social networking sites, sometimes referred to as “friend-of-a-friend” sites, build upon the concept of traditional social networks where you are connected to new people through people you already know. The purpose of some networking sites may be purely social, allowing users to establish friendships or romantic relationships, while others may focus on establishing business connections.

Many social media accounts are fake and designed to harvest data through deceit. One way to see if a profile is fraudulent is by downloading its profile picture and then doing a quick Google image search to see if it’s actually a stock photo. If it is, the profile is risky to engage with and […]

Adding a geotag to a social media update is a nice way to enrich the post, but it comes with some risk. Someone viewing your feed might assume – correctly – that you aren’t home and try to break in. Moreover, sharing your location can expose you to certain types of targeted advertising. Err on […]

Third-party applications may provide entertainment or functionality, but use caution when deciding which applications to enable. Avoid applications that seem suspicious, and modify your settings to limit the amount of information the applications can access.

If you’re flying somewhere, you might feel compelled to post a photo or video of your boarding passes to a social network like Instagram. It’s a risky move, though, as strangers can use the information contained in its various codes to change your contact information with the airline or even alter your reservation. Handle your […]

Early 2019 marks the fifteenth anniversary of Facebook’s launch. Since the winter of 2004, social media has come a long way, becoming deeply ingrained in the live of billions of people worldwide. According to the Pew Research Center, 73 percent of Americans used YouTube in 2018 and 68 percent were on Facebook. Even smaller network […]