Online Security means more than protecting your PC from viruses and keeping your personal data safe. It also means protecting your online reputation. If you have a website, use a social networking page such as MySpace or Facebook, or have a blog, you owe it to yourself to protect the content and ensure that everything on the sites you control is accurate and reflects you as you want others to see you.

Here are a few guidelines on what you might not want to put on your personal blog or MySpace page:

1) Avoid publishing pictures or confessions of you doing illegal activities. I know this one sounds obvious, but it never hurts to put a little reminder out there. Many employers are now trolling the social networking sites when would-be employees apply for jobs. They are looking to see if a potential new hire will positively or negatively affect their image as a company if they hire you. Would you hire someone who confesses to be drunk and out partying all night and every weekend?

2) Avoid libel. The Internet has turned everyone into potential publishers. Anything you put online will remain online in one database or hard drive somewhere, even if you take the original page offline. Be sure you keep your comments and opinions clearly denoted as your opinion and that they cannot be taken as false statements or attempts to defame people, companies, or their products.

photo credit: joelogon

3) Be aware of what personal information you make available online. Your online presence should reflect a level of professionalism that is distinct from your personal life. Giving out your real name, a phone number, or an address can lead to unwanted attention from strangers or identity theft. Carelessly giving our private information online is a major mistake no one can afford to make.

4) Use the search engines to view the web content similar to yours. This is market research of a minor form and you can use it to ensure your content is associated with the people and products you’d be proud to be seen with.

5) Be aware that plagiarism exists and be prepared to deal with it. Learn the copyright laws and how they protect you. Once your content goes online it can be taken and used elsewhere without your permission very easily. Keep an eye out for keywords and content that you feel is being used without your permission or in a way you do not appreciate. Ask the plagiarist to take the content down or contact the web master for assistance.

The Internet is perhaps the easiest and fastest way to get content online and viewable by the largest audience possible. However, as I’ve stated before, it is a double-edged sword if you are unprepared. Learn the tricks to keep your personal data and your content safe. The things you do, publish, and are associated with will influence how others see you. You have to work hard to make sure the image you want projected is visible at all times.

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More Blog Posts From Around The Web:

Protect Your Rep: The Importance of Online Reputation Management – David Snyder, a Search and Social Media Strategist at http://snydeysense.com/ will be lending his knowledge over in this neck of the woods about once a week. Here is his first piece for… Your Online Writing Life: Protect Your Reputation — and Future … – Your Online Writing Life: Protect Your Reputation — and Future (Part Six). Perhaps this series will never be concluded so long as the creative ways in which people use the Internet and the true impact of the information disseminated via … Security Trends of 2008 Part 4: The Dreaded Storm and MPack – In order to protect your system from those malware, new ways are being preached and practiced. IronPort’s 2008 report summarizes these safety measures into five:. 1. Secure web traffic. The reputation of a website is a key to determine … How To Protect Your Reputation Online – Do you have a clue what your customers are saying about your company online? Do you follow the leading consumer blogs that discuss products and services in your industry?

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