The online social network Facebook, is one of the most famous in its field. The website was launched in 2004 for Harvard University students in the United States, but it was finally accessible to everyone in 2006. Although it has enormous resources, Benefits, this social network also has drifts, just like the Internet in general.
The principle of Facebook is simple, you have friends with whom you stay in touch no matter where you are. Some people you do not know can add you using a friend request. This unknown sees your profile picture and coverage then some information about your name and age. He can see the publications you make "public" as well.
Let's take the tragic story of this father who uses Facebook to illustrate this work:
A father proud to see his daughter during her first school year, takes a picture in her new clothes. He then posts this photo on Facebook, to share his joy with his family and close friends. He adds a legend saying that he and his wife are really happy to see just how much their daughter grew up, notifying their location and the school where she is.
Earlier in the morning, this father had accepted an invitation as a friend of someone he did not know. This new friend uploaded the photo, without being aware of it and sent it to a pedophile with the addition: "Young girl of 5 years. Brown hair and blue eyes. 5.000 € ".
This dad then allowed child traffickers to have a picture and a location of his daughter, putting it unconsciously for sale.
But the worst happened for this father, when he went to get his daughter out of school, when he realized that she had disappeared. The girl had been kidnapped and sold to a pedophile. Worn missing, the girl has never recovered.
This kind of story is not commonplace and happens very often because although we publish content on Facebook, we are not vigilant enough to protect our personal data on the Internet. Here are some precautions to take when using a social network or Internet, to safely navigate the virtual world.
Precautions for Internet use:
- Never mention your home address, bank details, or phone number because even if you delete messages containing this information, a trace remains on the web and identity theft is possible.
- Use privacy settings to preserve your private data, you are in control of your profile and can activate private mode by managing the people who will see your publications.
- Sort and share only a few of your photos, preferably those where you do not see your children, and ask your friends to publish content on them. Be aware that some employers look at your Facebook profile before an interview and can be cooled by your evening photos.
- When buying online, check the truthfulness of the site as well as the security of the payment. You can check it by the address of the page because at the time of payment, it must start with "https". Pay close attention to the "s" at the end. Also, to avoid scams, do not hesitate to rely on your first impression.
- If you use dating sites, beware of perverts wishing only to see you undressed or financially scammed. Extend the virtual meeting beyond several days, as they try to waste as little time as possible. Also consider a meeting in real life and have a friend accompany you, who will be able to leave hopefully.
- Update your anti-virus because as the adage "Prevention is better than cure", so stay alert to enjoy the benefits of the virtual world!