Do you have toys and gadgets on your wish list this holiday? A stuffed toy or a cell phone or camera? Chances are you do because these days these toys and gadgets are more than they used to be. Just a few years ago a stuffed animal was something to cuddle with and a phone was, well, just a phone! Now, many stuffed animals come with codes that allow you to register them online so you can play games, feed and care for them, and even chat and play with other kids. And many cell phones are phones, computers and cameras, all in one.

And while such toys and gadgets can be fun, we want you to enjoy them without putting your privacy and personal information at risk.

Here are our tips for protecting your privacy as you enjoy your new gadgets and toys:

Think before you click – The Internet is a public arena, and photos and comments you post are permanent. Even if you delete them from a web page, they could continue to exist in archived pages, in your computer’s cache or on the computers of other Internet users who may have copied them. If you don’t want certain people to see something, now or in the future, don’t post it!

Pick and protect the perfect password – Your information is only as safe as your passwords. Use different passwords for different systems; make sure they are strong (eight characters or more and a variety of letters or numbers); never share them with anybody; and change them regularly.

Know your friends – Online, you can’t be 100 per cent sure who you are talking to. Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know in real life.

Protect your identity – Identity theft is a growing problem and the Internet is the least private of spaces. Don’t post or e-mail personal details such as your social insurance number, phone number, home address or birth date.

Be careful on online gaming sites – Online gaming sites are hotbeds of people accessing personal information. Be aware that ill-intentioned people can use information from your profile to establish accounts in your name, or use your stolen identity to access your existing accounts.

Be wary of e-mail or instant messages from unknown people – Don’t open online messages that seem odd or are from someone you don’t know. They could contain a virus or let a hacker gain access to your computer.

Have a happy holiday and enjoy all your new toys!

You bet it can. Case in point: an article on MSNBC detailing a recent post on Twitter, a social networking site that allows you to let “followers” know what you are doing, in 140 characters or less. One hundred and forty characters was all it took for one follower, known as “theconnor” to engage in a “social networking comedy of errors” by boasting about, and then being way too honest about, a job offer s/he had just received:

“Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”

Not long after the post went up, a representative from the company had responded, “the connor’s” true identity was revealed on the Internet, and a video mocking “theconnor” started circulating on YouTube.

What’s even worse? After seeing the reaction, “theconnor” changed the privacy settings on the Twitter account, making them private, and deleted the content of the home page. But, “it was already too late… thanks to Google Cache, the deleted content of “theconnor’s homepage resurfaced on CiscoFatty.com, a Web site erected to commemorate this cautionary tale”.

The article details other social networking faux pas that resulted in the creation of the term “Facebook fired”.

It just goes to show that nothing on the Internet is private, nothing on the Internet can ever really be deleted – and if you’re not careful about what you post, the Internet can get you fired.