7 Things to never do on Facebook

Over the last few years, Facebook has emerged as the most popular online destination. The world's no.1 social network is almost essentially a part of most Netizens virtual life.

Whether its a birthday, recent holiday or any other important occasion (at times not-so important one too), everything is shared on social networks these days. It is also a medium to get in touch with friends, express your views on various happenings and solicit support for any cause or issue.

However, there are things that we should never be doing on Facebook. ConsumerReports.org recently listed 7 things that are a complete no-no on Facebook.

1. The first thing that one should never have in Facebook is a weak password. With so much of your personal information at stake it is essential to have a strong password. Avoid names or words that can be found in a dictionary.
2. Another thing that you should never do on Facebook is give your full date of birth in your profile. Your complete date of birth is just what identity thieves may require to potentially gain access to your bank or credit card account.
   In case you have already done it, here's how to edit the info: Go to your profile page and click on the Info tab, then on Edit Information. Under the Basic Information section, choose to show only the month and day or no birthday at all.
3. It is imperative to restrict access for almost everything on Facebook. It is critical to provide restricted access to your personal info (including religious views and family information) and photos to only your family and friends. Also, avoid giving contact information like phone number and address.
4. Another complete `no-no' on Facebook is to give your child's name in a caption. Also, don't use your kid's name in photo tags. In case someone else has tagged your kid, ask them to remove it.
5. This again can be dangerous and is akin to putting `no one's home' signboard on your door. Wait till you are back home to share details about your wonderful holiday. Also, be always vague about your trip dates.
6. It's easy to find details about anyone these days, courtesy Search engines. Make sure you don't reveal yourself to everyone through these Search engines.
   
   To make sure strangers can't access your page, go to the Search section on Facebook's privacy controls and select Only Friends for Facebook search results. Also, make sure that the box for public search results is not checked.
7. Facebook has limited its membership to ages 13 and above. However, children younger than this can do it, as there is no foolproof way on the site to detect someone's age.
   
   In case your youngone or younger sibling is on Facebook, become their online friend. This can be one of the best way to superwise them. You can also use your e-mail address as the contact for their account so that you receive their notifications.
   
   Similarly, a child who posts the comment "Dad will be home soon, I need to get back to finish my homework" every day at the same time may inadvertently revealing too much about the parents' regular comings and goings.