A third of social networking users enter false information to protect their identities
A growing trend amid all the Web 2.0 hype is concern over whether your MySpace or Facebook profile is a security risk. Certainly if you’re a smart identity thief, you could probably retire from rooting through dustbins, in favour of simply scanning social networks for people who give up too much information.
It seems many people are aware of this, though. A survey conducted by research firm Emedia suggests that 31% of users have entered false information on their profiles to protect their identity, while 62% say they’re worried about the safety of their personal data on these sites.
“As we become citizens of cyberspace and with social networking sites making details of members visible through public search engines, we need to learn how to use privacy settings in better ways and use computers safely,” says Andrea Simmons, consultant security forum manager at the British Computer Society.
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