It seems everyone is on social media in some form these days.  Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pintrest and other sites, we interact a lot via the Internet. The fact that you’re reading Reflections just proves the point.

The ability to have conversations with people, share information—even conduct business transactions—on the Internet is a remarkable convenience. It also means that there are more opportunities for scammers to try to take advantage of people.

That’s why privacy and online security are more important than ever.   By taking these few simple measures, your online experiences will be safer and more enjoyable:

• Create strong, unique passwords.
• Manage the security and privacy settings of your devices, applications and online accounts.
• Consider turning off location tracking.
• Don’t share too much of your personal information. on social media. Once it’s out there, it is difficult to control who uses it and how.
• Be careful when accepting friend requests to avoid impostors and scams.
• If you have children, use and set parental controls on their devices, applications and accounts.
• Take time to talk to your children about privacy, security, and cyberbullying.

For more tips and information, a good resource is the National Cyber Security Alliance’s web page on social media. It’s located at https://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/securing-key-accounts-devices/social-media/.