Tip #6: Understand new features before you use them

Have you heard of the days when people would have to go to an arcade to play a video game and a cell phone was a big clunky thing that could only be used to make a phone call? These days, portable gaming systems make it possible for you to have a virtual arcade in your pocket. Many cell phones can connect to the web and include video cameras, meaning what was once a phone is now a mini broadcast studio.

And it doesn’t stop there. Technology is advancing every day, meaning that there are new products and online features available all the time. And while some of the new features can be fun and useful, some are designed to take or reveal your personal information, so it is important to understand them before you use them.

Take  geo-tagging, for example.  Most newer-model smartphones allow geo-tagging  – a  feature that can reveal your location. If you enable the feature, when you take a photo, thanks to GPS technology, it can be tagged with your location. When you post your geo-tagged photo, people can discover where it was snapped. Who can know your location? Anyone you allow to see your photo – and anyone those people share the photo with. It could be friends or family. It could also be teachers, ex boyfriends or girlfriends – and, of course, complete strangers.

Geo-location applications can be helpful, even fun, since they allow you to see, on a map, the exact location a photo was taken. The point is that it’s important to understand what is happening to this important piece of your personal information before you use the application. It is important to think carefully before you tell the world exactly where you are at all times.

And this is an important tip to consider before you use any new piece of technology or online application. Think about the effect it will have on your personal information before you use it. In the case of geotagging, find out exactly what information is being shared and consider if you’re comfortable with that before you use the application.   

For information on how to disable geo-tagging on many smartphones, click here.

Stay tuned for Tip #7:  Online impersonation: prevent people from hijacking your account and pretending to be you.   

Our Office has created a new video with tips and advice on what to consider when you are posting information online. Most of us understand that there are no do-overs online – the words, pictures and videos you post can follow you forever. And while you can’t control everything, we’re hoping this video will help you control what you can. Check it out!

Tip #5: SEXTING: NOT WORTH IT

Sexting means sending sexually explicit messages or sexual images, primarily between mobile phones.

According to Common Sense Media, young people may send these kinds of messages for a variety of reasons, like responding to peer pressure, showing off, or just showing someone that they like them.
 
Recent media reports suggest it may not be as big a problem as experts once thought. But for a school of 1000 kids, that’s still about one hundred kids potentially putting themselves at risk.
 
Remember that photos and messages can be widely shared and remain online forever. And think about the emotional or reputational damage that can come from having intimate photos of yourself go to a friend who can become an ex-friend and forward them to everyone you know or even people you don’t know.

Our advice on this is easy – don’t send sexual messages or images across the Internet. The risks and consequences are just too great. And it’s just not worth it!

Stay tuned for Tip #6:  Understand new online features before you use them.

Tip #4: Know who your real friends are

Take a minute to think about the number of friends you have on your favorite social networking site. Would you say that, on average, you know these friends:
1) very well?
2) well?
3) somewhat?
4) not at all?

In the real world, we are generally selective about the company we keep and the personal information that we share with them. However, when using social networking sites, too many of us forget to think before we click.

Accepting a new friend means more than just a click of the mouse. If you haven’t set up different privacy settings for different lists of friends, you are giving that person access to all of your personal information.

Many of us have social media “friends” that we would more likely consider acquaintances in real life. Now, take a moment to think about the information that they can see about you. If you are revealing details about your life that could potentially be twisted or used against you – which could be details about a relationship, or even a simple expression of your feelings towards someone who turns out to be less of a friend than you thought – you really need to think about who you are allowing to view that information. For example, when you write something as simple as “off to a ski chalet for the weekend” as a status update, that may signal to a thief that there’s nobody at your home all weekend, making it an easy target.  This is an extreme case, but the same principle holds true for other, less extreme scenarios. Maybe you announce that you’re going somewhere, and someone you don’t want to see makes sure to bump into you there.  In the end, the more you share, the more information that is out there for others to use – potentially in ways that you hadn’t thought of.

We aren’t encouraging you to avoid social networking sites. We do, however, want you to be aware of the potential risks when posting information, and encourage you to take a few precautions to fully benefit from the positive aspects of these sites. This may mean taking a second thought about the information that you post online. It may mean taking another look at your privacy settings, which may have changed since you last checked them. If you are very active on your social media pages, maybe you should only let your real-life friends see your page, limit what some friends can see within your page, or limit what you post.

Go over your friend list frequently, and restrict access to friends who are no longer in your ‘inner circle.’ While you can always delete friends, it’s best to avoid going through that trouble in the first place by being careful when accepting a new friend request. Consider only giving your real friends access to content that you consider private – someone you don’t really know doesn’t need that information anyway!

Stay tuned for Tip #5: Sexting – don’t do it!

Tip #3: What you post on the Internet is not private – and what you can do about it

Consider these two real-life examples, which illustrate how un-private things can be online.

1. Last year, a teen at a Canadian high school e-mailed a photo of herself to her best friend. It was a personal photo and it was clear she didn’t want it shared. Later, the two girls got in a big fight, and the second girl printed a bunch of copies of the photo and taped them all over the school the next day.

2. A few years ago, an American sports reporter was changing her clothes in a hotel room. A creepy guy was spying on her and filmed her. He ended up posting the videos online. Even after suing him, the videos continued to circulate online, although most have computer viruses embedded into them.

For further evidence that what you post on the Internet is not private, consider this line from the privacy policy of one of the most popular social networking sites out there right now:

“We cannot guarantee that only authorized persons will view your information. We cannot ensure that information you share… will not become publicly available.”

In other words, even if you have made your privacy settings very restrictive, this particular social networking site can’t guarantee that only your “friends” will actually see your personal information. It’s the same with e-mail or anything else you post online: just because it goes to one person doesn’t mean it’s going to stay with that one person.

Whatever you post can be copied, pasted and transmitted anywhere else on the Internet. Sometimes they can also be saved onto hard drives, printed out or e-mailed to anyone else.

So if you decide, 15 minutes later, or next week, to take down an embarrassing picture or comment, it might be too late.

So, what can you do about this?

First, if you don’t want something shared, don’t post it online.

Second, always think carefully before you post something, keeping in mind that everything you post could become public and could be permanent.

Third, restrict your privacy settings. Every social networking site has privacy settings and you can use them to take some control over who sees what you post. It could be everyone, or you can restrict it to specific groups and individuals.

In a nutshell, always remember that whatever control you have online, it’s only at the front end. If a friend copies your picture or comment and sends it around to other people, there’s nothing you can do to stop it. This is why it’s so important to always think carefully before you post anything.

Stay tuned for Tip #4: Know who your real friends are.