Social media offer great ways to socialize and connect with friends and others who share similar interests. . And if you haven't met the person in real life, it's hard to know their true identity or their real intentions. Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself online.
. When was the last time you Googled yourself? Doing so regularly is a good way to see what kinds of information about you-or images and videos of you—are publicly available. You can also set up a Google Alert（谷歌快讯）for yourself so you'll be told whenever a new item about you is posted online.
Be careful when you check in or share your location. When checking in somewhere or sharing your location, be aware that you're actually sharing your whereabouts（行踪）with everyone who has access to what you post. .
Don't share personal information online. Regardless of what kind of social media you're on, don't share personal information like your phone number, home address, email address or student ID number. . Make sure you know who you're sharing it with and why they need the information.
. We all have too many passwords, but it's important to ensure that all your passwords are different. A good password should contain a few capital letters, numbers and a symbol. Don't share your passwords and be sure to change them regularly.
A. Be aware of what's public
В. Keep an eye on your passwords
C. If you need to share that information, do it privately
D. However, it's easy to hide or change one's identity on any of these social media
E. You're announcing where you are to your friends, but also, possibly to strangers
