Data Harvesting of Your Profile

Some of the personal details that you might share on social networks, such as your high school, hometown, or birthday, are often the same items used in "secret" security questions for banks and Websites. An attacker who collects enough of this information may be able to access your most sensitive accounts.

Cheek your Facebook privacy settings: After signing in to your Facebook account, click Settings on the menu bar and select Privacy Settings.

Facebook's privacy settings allow you to choose who may see various personal details. You can hide your details from everyone but your Facebook friends (our recommendation), allow members of your networks to view your details as well, or open the floodgates and permit everyone to see your information. You can also set the privacy level for each component of your profile – for example, your birthday, your religious and political views, the photos you post, and your status updates.

Don't accept any friend requests from strangers; From time to time you may get a friend request from someone you don't know. If you're serious about protecting your personal information, you shouldn't accept such requests,

Share with caution: Consider removing valuable information such as your birth date and hometown from your profile. You should also think twice before par­ticipating in Facebook quizzes and chain lists – though it seems innocent and fun to share your favorite breakfast cereal, the first concert you attended, or where you met your spouse, an attacker armed with enough of these tidbits can assume your identity.