Safety Concerns

Internet safety has been a hot topic lately. It seems that every talk show, every news program, and seemingly every magazine feature segments and articles warning internet users about the possible dangers of utilizing the internet. While these risks are real, I tend to think that the sudden attention stems from the desire to provide back-to-school coverage rather than any new hacker advances. 

Recently my Facebook wall has been filled with a post warning about the dangers of posting and sending photos from a smart phone. I was surprised that my location is automatically embedded in the files that I have been freely posting. Then I began to think about it, and I realized that I often tag myself on Facebook, Twitter or FourSquare, so a hacker probably doesn't have to dig too deeply to figure out where I am.

I was introduced to social media as an avenue to reconnect with friends and family. Unbeknownst to me at the time, these avenues would become a new career. I love what I do and each day I'm thankful that I get to work at a job that I find so personally rewarding. Because of my visibility online, I do not weigh safety lightly.

As Robby is becoming older and as I am becoming more informed about the security issues of the internet, I have become increasingly concerned about our cyber security. I have recently begun utilizing a VPN on my computers and smartphone allowing me to mask my true IP address. Since installing Hotspot Shield, I am reassured that my physical location cannot be tracked through my emails, or when I use the chat features.

Since learning about the dangers of sharing smart phone photos, Scott and I have both reconfigured our cellphone settings to remove the GPS information from all of our files. (If you follow me on Facebook you know that I post a lot of photos!) I am going to continue to tag my locations (when appropriate), but I will change the timing of these posts. Now instead of using the feature to announce my arrival, I will start doing it as I leave. People will still know where I have been, but I won't be there when it is posted.

Because of my blog and my social media work, I have chosen to live my life in the public. There is very little that I conceal or hide about myself. I enjoy being accessible to others, but I am also not foolish about safety. I am going to continue to make simple changes to safeguard myself, but I do not want to change the way that I interact with others. This is going to be a balancing act that will continue for the foreseeable future.