Written by Benjamín Kroitoro, October 2011

At La Piazza we are always committed to giving you the best advice on how to protect yourself from the dangers of social networks and the Internet.

On this occasion, we are giving you a summary of the article published by Benjamín Kroitoro, General Manager of Panda Mexico, in the PC World Mexico magazine:

Social networks are fantastic. They allow you to interact with old friends, meet new ones, stay in touch with people from all over the world… but they can also pose serious risks and dangers.
Avoid risks and enjoy social networking sites by following these simple tips:

  • Don’t share sensitive personal information: your phone number, your address or other private information.
  • Just as you wouldn’t accept a gift from a complete stranger on the street, don’t accept files or anything else you might be offered by email, on the Internet or social networking sites.
  • If you have been using email for any length of time, I am sure at some point you have probably received a message from a friend with a text similar to “Just saw this picture of yours. It’s so funny!”. The best thing to do is make sure that the email you have received is legitimate. Ask your friend whether they have actually sent you the message before opening it.
  • Never accept to be friends with people you don’t know. Avoid chatting with strangers.
  • If you are using a shared computer, make sure you log off completely from any programs you have accessed using a user name and a password. Otherwise, other users could easily access your professional, Facebook or Twitter profiles, etc., get private information like addresses, account numbers or passwords and use them to steal money from you or carry out other malicious activities.

This may seem a bit repetitive, but remember, prevention is better than cure 🙂

For more tips like these, go to the ‘Internet in Safe Hands’ campaign website: http://protectyourfamily.pandasecurity.com/es/

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Read the full article here (in Spanish): Consejos de seguridad para las redes sociales.