Recently I discussed Facebook in my Tech Talk feature in the Goole Times. Facebook is an extremely popular website and it is a great way of keeping in touch with friends and family. It has its problems though, as in order to keep the website free, Facebook have opened it up to advertisers and to application developers. These adverts and games aren’t all that innocent and you should be careful what you accept and what you agree to install within Facebook.

Here are some tips for safe browsing on Facebook

1. No such thing as a Free Lunch

When someone sends you a ‘gift’ and you are asked to allow the application access to your profile, remember that you are sharing that information with people you do not know, and they might not be trustworthy.
if in doubt – don’t run it

2. Privates on parade?

Learn to manage your privacy settings.
They are under the settings link on the right hand side of your FaceBook account
There are choices for how people can view your profile, photos, personal information etc.
You can choose only your friends, friends of friends, even everyone.
Make sure you know who can see you and what they can see.

3. Emails – cloak & daggers

Hiding false links in an email is easy – taking you to a site that looks like facebook but it’s really a mask
As you enter your details, they are being stolen and stored!
Beware of emails coming from FaceBook.
NEVER click on a link in an email which is supposed to have come from FaceBook.
It is always better to go to the FaceBook website – eg type into your browser directly and login there

4. Say ‘NO’ to Trojan horses

Some FaceBook applications or adverts will try and download toolbars, or change settings on your computer.
Be sure to read every alert and do not just click allow or yes to everything.
Some of these toolbars are very malicious and extremely difficult to remove after they have been installed

5 Card Sharp

Check your credit card account when you get it
If you have an online service, check your account weekly
The sooner your bank knows there is an issue, the sooner they can handle it for you
We hope that you find these tips useful, but overall would suggest that you take your time when you are online and FaceBooking
The ads, gifts and games are all designed to get you to do something on impulse – if you make a rule to wait and read it again a day later, you’ll find that you don’t get drawn in so much