internet safety

Posting information on websites may seem harmless, but can actually have many consequences. Not only does posting sensitive information online pose a threat to financial information breeches but also information that may seem harmless such as photos on social networking websites and opinioned blogs online. Exploring the dangers of posting different kinds of information online may help in deciding what information an individual will post online in the future as well as how to prevent information breeches in the future.
It may seem harmless to post photos of friend gatherings on social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook. Posting a photo drinking alcohol is actually quite dangerous and can result in expulsion from a university. Imagine something has harmless as a photo online can result in expulsion, well this almost happened to my friend at Western Michigan University. My friend Melissa posted a photo with a bottle of alcohol on her Facebook, the floor moderator of her dorm building was her friend on Facebook and seen the photo and reported her, Melissa was not expulsed but could have been. Thanks to Facebook’s specified technology it works likes a database of people using auto fill to find others and with “tagging” of photos people can easily be found and identified. Colleges now may speak of Internet safety to student at orientation: “The schools also are warning students about the impression the photos and text posted on the sites could give to others, such as future employers. Some colleges now discuss Facebook and MySpace.com, another networking site, when talking with incoming freshmen about the problems of unlocked doors, cheating on assignments and other risky behaviors at college.” (Olsen). At Penn state it has become part of the freshmen orientation to speak about Internet safety, something that was not an issue before. The college warns of the potential threat of posting information online in regards to future employers posing an important question of what should be posted online.
It is quite frightening that posting information online could actually diminish a person’s chance of getting hired for job. Imagine not being hired for a job that you were promised and not knowing why. Blogging and expressing oneself online may seem empowering but have you ever wondered if a hiring manager ran across your blog online and you happen to have very different views on issues? It could hurt your chances of getting hired and you may never be informed of it. People are becoming closer with technology and employees and bosses are becoming “friends” on Facebook and MySpace, it makes it may be difficult to overcome extremely different opposite lifestyles and political view’s differences in the work place. Sometimes a minor mistake at work can trigger a boss’s upset with information he or she seen about an employee online. It is alarming to know that information posted online is not only sensitivity to financial realm but also information voluntarily posted public.
The day where transactions and money were only on paper are gone, banking and checking, buying and selling, account information are all online now. It is inevitable not begin checking information regarding banking and credit card online, it is convenient, fast, updated and “secure”. Finical information online has become more secure online then before with new encryptions and tighter security hacker are having a harder time “hacking” information. “Where there is a will there is a way” and hackers are still able to hack information online most recently of TJX “The TJX breach is the latest in a string of incidents that have exposed sensitive consumer information.” (Evers). The TJX case effected many people but the money has been recovered. Hackers are still able to hack information, which may seem scary but new technologies and features have made the Internet a safer place.
The Internet is actually becoming much safer, with increases in security and encryptions becoming longer it is difficult to access information in regards to finances in an experiment with online banking “Customers who experience effective communication with their online bank are likely to trust that bank.”(Rodgers). As for social networking it is difficult to have specific to have specific rules for what to post and what not to. The simple rule I believe is that do not post anything online that you would not reveal to an employer. The Internet can be a wonderful tool as well as recipe for disaster.