How to Safeguard Your Online Security
Social networks are fun to use, helpful for job hunting, and great for keeping in touch with friends, business contacts, and relatives. The downside: The bad guys know you're using these networks like crazy, and they're gunning for you.
Other online security threats may come from credit card exposure and the Google privacy factor.
Why You Should Care: Sneaky sociopaths are using social network sites to infect, phish, and spam you.
Scenario: A message from one of your friends shows up in your inbox, sent via a social network site that you use regularly, such as Facebook (To understand social networking better, read "A Peek Inside Facebook").
The message promises a big laugh, and points to a Web site you've never heard of. You think you can trust it, so you click the link--and the next thing you know, your PC is misdirected into a phishing page that steals your log-in details or to a drive-by download site that infects your system with a password-stealing Trojan horse. Your friend says she never sent you the message.
