Online protection in social networks in 2010

The Global use of Internet in 2010 will be bigger than ever.

The growth of social networks in 2010 will continue like never before. The Swedish teachers union has suggested that “Social Network Knowledge” should be a school subject. A more important subject is probably the inherent risks associated with social networks.

An emerging trend in 2009 that will certainly grow even more in 2010 is that Facebook and other social networks are targeted by hackers. 3rd party applications are permitted to run on social network’s platforms. This “openness” also creates a potential opportunities to distribute malware, which has already been illustrated by several Facebook account hackings in 2009.

Other applications present in online networks might be ok but still behave as rogue software. A good example are the games in social networks. They attract people by o. It is free to choose if you play the games or not. But the potential for addiction and spending lots of money is still there.

The use social networks to distribute malware and potentially include user accounts in Botnets is an example of security problems associated with social networks.

Many kinds of social networks will most likely be affected by malware and spam in 2010. Instant messaging (IM:ing) can also be seen as a form of social network and has also been increasingly plagued by unsolicited contacts made to existing users. This is called Instant Messaging Spamming or SPIMMING for short.

Malware in social networks can be more than an annoyance, with more and more people posting sensitive information online this data can be harvested, sold or abused.

In short, the growing use of online social networks will increase the risk of being infected or at least affected by malware and SPAM. The staff at digital defender recommends all users of social networks never to open emails by unknown sender and to very cautious with which applications you sign up to. Remember to never ever give away your password.

Installing a good antivirus and a good firewall will also help to keep your computer safe. If you need more ideas or recommendations for security software please contact us at info@digital-defender.com or go to our website http://www.digital-defender.com to read more.

Stay safe online in 2010

Best Regards,

Kerry Reid

digital defender