As a blogger, I share a lot of who I am online. Although I love sharing who I am through music, fashion, hobbies, interests and travels, there are things that I keep private for the sake of myself and my family. Sam, an Infrastructure Engineer from SingleHop (“a leading global provider of hosted IT infrastructure and Cloud computing“), asked me to think of things I would never share online. From my list, he provided some sound advice, which I have provided below. For more information regarding different types of secure server offerings, you can visit SingleHop’s site here. Thank you Sam and all at SingleHop for inspiring me to write this post about online safety and allowing me to share it with the readers of Any Second Now!
Things to Avoid Sharing Online
Phone Number
This is a favorite data item requested by forms on the Internet. It is often an optional item, but sometimes it is a required field. Your phone number is another way to access other information about you, especially when sites use two-factor authentication to verify your identity. Reverse phone directories can show the name and address of someone with a particular phone number. It also can be sold to telemarketers so you’ll get those annoying phone calls about vinyl house siding during your dinner.
With the growth of smartphones, a phone number becomes as important as a social security number. With only your phone number, you’re able to purchase items through your phone and even access some of your financial accounts. Your phone number could be used to purchase products that are later returned for cash or credit.
Home Location/Address
Keeping the location of your home secure should always be a priority. In the hands of cyber criminals, your address can be used for identity theft and lead to big financial losses. You may think you are dealing with a secure site, but so much is stored on cloud hosting these days. Security breaches are not that uncommon and it is not worth the risk. If an address is required, but the site seems suspicious or unsecure, call to provide this information rather than typing it in.
Frequent Locations
Be wary when ‘checking-in’ to certain locations on a regular basis. This can include your home, your child’s school or favorite park, or even your place of work. If you provide a distinct pattern of behavior, it does not take very long for someone to be able to figure out where you will be at any given time.
That being said, sharing your location at all can be risky. This means you need to be careful when posting pictures online, as well as textual information. Make sure if you are posting information about school events for your children, or your workplace, that you make sure not to mention too many specifics. It would be so easy for someone to find your child solely from a photo of an awards ceremony which has their picture, school name, and full name listed on it.
Putting It Together
These examples supply a lot of useful information by themselves. By the same token, you should be wary when anyone you’re talking to online tries to work questions about such things into the conversation. What you really need to remember, though, is that when these bits and pieces are all out there in the cloud, they can be combined by someone to get a clearer picture of where you’re at and what your vulnerabilities are. Make sure that any sites you use have are encrypted and use secure servers to store their information, which will make them less susceptible to hacking.
(Top photo courtesy of Uknowkids.com)