Facebook privacy: Are you sharing more than you should?

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Photographer: KNSD, NBC NewsChannel
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Posted: 06/21/2012

Jonathan Warner is never too far from his Facebook page.

"I check it at least three or four times a day," said Warner.

He says he keeps in contact with friends and co-workers using the popular social networking site through his laptop computer and smart phone.

But Jonathan worries about who has access to his page.

That's why Stephen Cobb with the computer security company ESET says it is time to go over your security settings on your Facebook page. Facebook comes with a set of default settings, but Cobb says people may be surprised what it allows others to be view.

"They usually find they are sharing more than they thought they were sharing," said Cobb.

The "security evangelist" says the place to start is clicking on the downward arrow in the upper right hand corner of your Facebook page, then clicking on "account settings" and "privacy settings."

Security settings allow you to decide where you will access your Facebook page.

It will actually block access from an unfamiliar computer unless you give it a certain password.

That password can be sent to you through email or text message.

Speaking of passwords, "You want to change your password to something fresh and also something that is very hard for other people to guess," Cobb advises, "and something you are not using on other accounts."

Cobb says you should not use the same password for Facebook that you use for your online banking.

Scam artists are always trying to hack into Facebook and other social networking sites in order to access financial websites and email accounts.

By going into the "privacy settings" on Facebook users may limit access to their accounts to "Friends" only.

They can also control which apps and websites are able to collect and share Facebook information.

Now that Facebook has taken on the "Timeline" homepage, it means users should take another look at what is accessible to visitors. It may be time to limit exposure to just "friends" rather than "friends of friends."

Jonathan Warner tries to control who views his page but admits, it's not always easy.

"I hear so many horror stories of people getting in trouble with their postings," said Warner, "Just because they're not keeping it private and it is really unfortunate."

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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