I promote the use of Facebook and Twitter as a viable opportunity to communicate with our customers. It’s instant, its on-demand, and its free. However, users of social media need to be cautious about clicking on just any ole’ thing on their Facebook page.
It used to be that computer viruses attacked only your hard drive. Per the New York Times, ‘malicious programs are rampaging through Web sites like Facebook and Twitter, spreading themselves by taking over people’s accounts and sending out messages to all of their friends and followers.’
Take me, for instance; I have a couple hundred family or friends on my personal Facebook page. All of them have been given expressed permission to access my life. Who better to trust than the ones you’ve invited to be part of your network?
Often the victims lose control of their accounts after clicking on a link “posted” by a friend. In most cases, the perpetrators are hoping to profit from the referral fees they get for directing people to questionable e-commerce sites. (from the NYT)
Our email messages, traveling from computer to computer, are more likely to be stopped by antivirus or firewall software. On the Web, such measures offer little protection. It’s best if you exercise good judgment instead.
I’ve had a couple of my friends post a thing or two that raised my eyebrows. Because I know them, I could discern that this particular post was “just not them” despite the warm personal invite to follow the link. What doesn’t help is that the URL posted is a shortened link so you can’t tell where you’re going until its too late.
If you become the victim of one of these hackers, you can delete the post by going to your administrative side. Post a quick note right behind the offending post and tell your network that someone hacked your account. Change your password immediately.
FaceBook has recently updated its privacy options. Check your profile settings. Take advantage of the added security and be careful with your personal information.
Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
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