Cookies help us display personalized product recommendations and ensure you have great shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    image fx (67)
    Improving LinkedIn Ad Strategies with Data Analytics
    9 Min Read
    big data and remote work
    Data Helps Speech-Language Pathologists Deliver Better Results
    6 Min Read
    data driven insights
    How Data-Driven Insights Are Addressing Gaps in Patient Communication and Equity
    8 Min Read
    pexels pavel danilyuk 8112119
    Data Analytics Is Revolutionizing Medical Credentialing
    8 Min Read
    data and seo
    Maximize SEO Success with Powerful Data Analytics Insights
    8 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Personal Information Online: How Much is Too Much?
Share
Notification
Font ResizerAa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Data Management > Best Practices > Personal Information Online: How Much is Too Much?
Best PracticesPrivacySecuritySocial Data

Personal Information Online: How Much is Too Much?

maggiefox - Social Media Group
maggiefox - Social Media Group
6 Min Read
SHARE

 

 

Screem mock up Top Personal Information Online: How Much is Too Much?80x15 Personal Information Online: How Much is Too Much?

Charlie Sheen’s Infamous Tweet

Have you ever posted something on Facebook or Twitter and felt immediate regret? Scrambling to delete something that truly cannot be undone? You’re not alone.

More Read

network security credentials to stop data breaches
Network Security Certifications to Combat Growing Data Breach Threats
Web Content Management: An Open and Closed Case?
The Future of BI in Two Words
Police Body Cams to Use Government Cloud to Store Data
Carole-Ann’s Predictions for 2015!

From Charlie Sheen tweeting his phone number, to Anthony Weiner tweeting a questionable private picture, down to the recent tweet from New York Times’ Brian Stelter leaking news of Christiane Amanpour departing as host of ABC’s “This Week.”

You know as well as I do that it’s not just the celebrities who have been getting themselves into social media hot water. I’ve seen people post the most ridiculous updates to their feeds, like the handful of Vancouver rioters posting Facebook updates bragging about the damage they’d done.  For a real head-shaker, type “I lost my phone” in your Facebook search bar and see how many people are publicly posting their contact details.

Blur FB1 Personal Information Online: How Much is Too Much?

(No one was harmed during the faking of this FB status.)

Recently, a friend mistakenly tweeted his credit card number and expiry date. This happened because his tweets are delivered to his iPhone in the same format as text messages, so he thought he was sending an SMS. Interestingly, he noted a few new followers (within minutes), one of which was a self-proclaimed hacker according to his bio. Yikes!

I once saw someone post that social media was like a needy girlfriend: “Facebook asks me what I’m thinking, Twitter asks me what I’m doing and Foursquare asks me where I am.” It’s funny, but does sharing your likes, interests and whereabouts present you as an easy target to cyber criminals? A recent survey cited 15% of respondents admitting to posting their current location or travel plans, 34% their full birth date and 21% had posted their children’s names and one in five said they hadn’t used Facebook’s privacy controls.

Charlie info Revised Personal Information Online: How Much is Too Much?80x15 Personal Information Online: How Much is Too Much?

SMG’s Online Security Bad Habits

In 2010, Consumer Reports estimated that cybercrime cost American consumers $4.5 billion over two years. A few things to keep in mind when it comes to protecting yourself:

  • Don’t use your full birth date in your profile (Or, if you do – utilize privacy settings to make sure it’s only available to those you want to see it)
  • Utilize privacy controls (This applies to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, whatever network you’re using)
  • Post your child’s name in a caption
  • Don’t broadcast you’ll be out of town (Unless following it up with ‘And _______ is taking care of my place!’)
  • Leverage Facebook Lists to control who sees what and when. I like to use them for industry-specific posts to avoid my mom replying with “What’s a Foursquare?”
  • Do a good ol’ Facebook friend clean-up. With 23% of Facebook users admitting they didn’t know some of their “friends” well enough to feel completely comfortable about their own or their family’s security or safety and 6% admitting to having a friend who made them uneasy about those things, this is a commonsense way to protect yourself.
  • Use a strong password

Let’s talk about passwords for a minute. Is yours painfully obvious? Does it include the name of your partner, child or pet? If so, give yourself a shake! You likely don’t use your birth date as your banking PIN, so why do it online? According to Consumer Reports, 75% of Americans don’t use the strongest kind of passwords for their most sensitive accounts. Here’s some more food for thought: 32% of respondents used a personal reference in their passwords, 29% store passwords on a list they carry with them, near their computer, or in an insecure file on their tablet or mobile device and almost 20% used the same password for more than five accounts.

Password 101: Strong passwords should contain at least eight characters and have a combination of upper and lowercase letters, a numeral and a special character.

The inadvertent posting of non-sensitive personal information may seem innocent but there is a dark side to sharing your interests, location, and even favourite local pub. Studies have shown that we’re not choosing the best passwords, and the likes of Charlie Sheen, Anthony Weiner and New York Times’ Brian Stelter have proven anyone can make a bad social media move.

Millions of people worldwide are constantly sharing personal and private information with friends (and strangers) on social networks. Think before you tweet and be smart about what you’re sharing.

Share This Article
Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

power supplies for ATX for data scientists
Why Data Scientists Should Care About SFX Power Supplies
Big Data Exclusive
AI for website optimization
Free Tools to Test Website Accessibility
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive
Generative AI models
Thinking Machines At Work: How Generative AI Models Are Redefining Business Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence Business Intelligence Exclusive Infographic Machine Learning
image fx (2)
Monitoring Data Without Turning into Big Brother
Big Data Exclusive

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
33.7kFollowersFollow
222FollowersPin

You Might also Like

Taking a Dimension-Free View of Data

4 Min Read
IoT for security
Internet of Things

How IEC 62443 and Other Regulatory Requirements Help Enable IoT Security

9 Min Read
AnalyticsBest PracticesBusiness IntelligenceBusiness RulesCRMData ManagementData MiningData QualityData VisualizationData WarehousingMarketingMarketing AutomationModelingPredictive Analytics

The Enterprise Graph – From Connections To Customer Insights

24 Min Read
mac malware attacks
ComputingExclusiveITPrivacySecurity

Modern Mac Malware Is Worse Than Your Wildest Dreams

5 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

ai is improving the safety of cars
From Bolts to Bots: How AI Is Fortifying the Automotive Industry
Artificial Intelligence
ai chatbot
The Art of Conversation: Enhancing Chatbots with Advanced AI Prompts
Chatbots

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?