Technically speaking, most of you are cyberstalkers.
Lancie Affonso, adjunct instructor of computer science
“If you’ve ever looked at someone’s Facebook profile – an enemy, a co-worker, whoever – that’s cyberstalking,” says Lancie Affonso, an adjunct instructor of computer science at the College of Charleston.
But most people understand the difference between browsing social media profiles to learn more about an individual versus attempting to gain someone’s personal information to do them harm.
Affonso, who teaches a course titled “What does Google Know?” says don’t assume that the content you share with your family and friends in cyberspace isn’t also being viewed by people you don’t know.
When asked by students and others how they can protect themselves against cyberstalking, Affonso offers the following five tips:
1. Don’t publish your life story.
Be careful what personal information you share online, including email, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, and chat rooms. It is very easy to glean information from posts and pictures about where you live, the places you love to go to in your area and the people you care about.
The same goes for personal identifying information such as your real name, address, birthdate, age, social security number, and phone numbers.
2. Create multiple e-mail accounts.
Create a different email account for registering in social networking sites and other online spaces. It will help avoid spam, and your personal email won’t be revealed if the online service doesn’t have a good privacy practice or is hacked.
3. Check your settings.
In Facebook, if your primary network is the city you live in, and people in your network can see your profile, that means everyone in your city has access to your profile. An estimated 63 percent of Facebook profiles are public to other users, and about 16 percent of cyberstalking on the Internet occurs on Facebook, Affonso says.
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4. Stalk Yourself.
Do an Internet search of your name regularly and monitor where you appear online. If you find unauthorized information about yourself online, contact the website operator to request its removal.
5. Read the fine print.
You know those annoying screens that popup whenever you subscribe to a new service or download a new app? They ask you to accept the company’s terms of service, which may include language that allows the company to track and store your personal information. In other words, you could be giving your permission to be cyberstalked.
Lancie Affonso, adjunct instructor of computer science, can be reached at affonsol@cofc.edu or 843.628.6357.
