Most times, these data are not leaked from a security vacuum, nor by any hacker. On the contrary, most of them are posted by us,believing incorrectly that only our friends see it.
It's an unpleasant yet not uncommon phenomenon nowadays for users to lose their tempers,composure, jobs, their homes and even their very lives from data posted on the social network which certain malicious elements have no problem using against you.
One tragic case that recently came to the light from ''oversharing'' is the Amanda Todd Case (A Canadian teenager that was driven to suicide from ''innocent'' photosharing and location updates).
Protect yourselves! Here's the five things you should never reveal on Facebook and other Social networks, regardless of how jacked up your security settings are:
1) Birthdates
As satisfying as it may be, everyone ''remembering'' us on our birthday, the truth is that our birthdate is a hackers first step in discovering our ID/Social Security Number or even passwords (many of us use a variation of our ID as our password). If possible, hide your birthdates or at least your birth year. Your true friends will know your birthday.
2) Social Status (Married,Single,Engaged etc)
Whether you're in a relationship or not, it's not always the best idea to share it. The reason is simple. There are many Internet trolls out there preying on the ''Single'' just for kicks that are dying for a reason to bombard you (or your ex) with pesky messages. Such discomfort can usually be treated with block or report the user but if he knows enough about you things can get complicated. The best thing you can do is to ignore completely the relationship status, or even to have it permanently "in relation".
3) Location
Many Facebook users often use the geotagging service to publish their location and status in their messages, photos and the check-in function. If you're prone to doing this, think again! Recipient of such information are not only your friends, but also the cunning, who would give anything to know your location so they can stalk or even rob you. It's been reported that users who posted this information while on holiday fell victim to burglary.
Instead of "uploading" your pictures from your cell phone in real time and saying to Facebook, ''Greetings from Thailand.Wish you were here,we'll be back next week'', it would be safer to use vague texts and post the photos AFTER you return home.
4) Alone at home
Posting ''Whoopee!!!...Hubby's on a trip, kids are at granny and I have the whole house to myself and a bowl of popcorn in my lap in front of the TV'' is a definite NO,NO.
Not surprisingly though it's not the Adults that break this golden rule often, it's Teenagers that advertise this to their friends. This is even more dangerous as the world has their fair share of perverts that prey on kids home alone. Needless to say, use a phone text,inform your kids on this danger and monitor their accounts afterwards.
5) Posting and phototagging the names of your kids, friends and relatives.
The vast majority of parents on social networks publish photos of their children with their names and dates of birth and in many cases, this is done even before coming home from the birth clinic. This creates ample opportunity for evil elements (like stackers ,con men and perverts) to study your kids,relatives,friends and approach your kids pretending to be a friend.
Apart from that, many people (and rightly so) don't want their photographs, especially ones with name tags to be posted in any way,shape or form on the net without their consent. So, In order to avoid conflict with them, just avoid it completely!
Conclusion
In general, the upgraded security services and Facebook privacy can certainly give you the ability to share information only with people you want to share witth. The reality however is that you have no control on your friends accounts and security,meaning that anyone could retrieve you information for malicious purposes.
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