5 things to Avoid Doing Online

The internet's reach is massive. And at one point you probably entered a phase in your social network life where you added just about anyone you could find in Facebook, event the ones you don't know. You might have well over 1,000 friends but that achievement could bite you back one day. Below are some mistakes that you should avoid doing when you're online.

1. Using an easy password for online accounts

This is a really basic mistake that a lot of people are making. Passwords were put there for a reason, to deny access for people besides you. Unfortunately there are a lot of possible situations wherein an individual would want to hack into someone's account, be it online banking, your email account, or your Facebook account.

Here are some easy tips for stronger passwords.

Have at least one numeric character in your password.

Have at least one capitalized letter in your password.

Do not use names of family members, birthdays, or anything that could be traced back to your personal information.

Just these 3 simple tips can help you get a much stronger password, but you could also make it more secure by adding other characters.

2. Not thinking before you post.
This goes out to ranters and status message spammers who let their emotions get the best of them and blatantly scream their lungs out online through tweets or status updates. Heck, I'm guilty of this just as much as you are. Your boss, family, ex or whatever can see your posts. Behave yourself.  Avoid talking about someone behind their back online, they'll eventually find out.

3. Underestimating Privacy Controls
Google Plus sets privacy to a whole new level with their Circles concept, but Facebook also has a more than decent set of privacy controls at your fingertips. Play around with them. Use them. They're good for you.

4. Putting your complete birthday on your profile
One of the stupidest mistakes one could ever do is post their complete birthday on a public profile online. This gives just about everyone the chance to recover data from your other accounts, even personal ones like social security.

5. Telling everyone you're not at home

You're basically opening your doors to thieves and scoundrels of all types to grab your Macbook Pro, your 5 thousand inch LED TV, your kids, and a whole lot more. It's much better to post that you "went on vacation, here are the pictures" instead of  "Guess what, not at home right now, off to the mall!"


How often do you see people committing these mistakes on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus? I'm pretty sure you've seen your fill. Have you ever told them about it? Please comment below or share this post by using the buttons to the left if you know some people who commit these mistakes and needs to know about it.