Watch what you say or do at Facebook! – this is a statement quoted by the president of U.S.A to some school children recently.

But this statement is valid for all of us – especially Pakistanis. With all the hype that social networking sites have created around the world it is now necessary to watch what you say on Facebook.

A recent study on social networks concluded that almost 30% of today’s employers are using Facebook to check on potential employees prior to hiring. In today’s tough economy, the question of whether to post those embarrassing party pictures, as well as silly updates and comments on your friends’ updates could now cost you your paycheck, as well as a dent large enough to destroy your career.

So what we do now? We can’t quit Facebook, can we? So, what we can do is to use some of the security options provided by the Facebook developers in order to stay on the safe side.

But one simple problem that these security options may provide, especially if you are a tech savvy person, is time spend to learning them.

So here are some steps which will make you more secure than ever:

Step 1: Create many lists.

Yes, this will consume a considerable time if you a few of those who have 3001 friends and friends’ friends. But once you are done with this, it will worth maintaining.

As the name suggests Friends Lists are those lists in which you can categorize your friends in different list so you can limit them for viewing your complete activities.

To create a friend list, click on “Friends” at the top of the Facebook homepage. In the left-hand column, click “Friends” again under the “Lists” section. Now you’ll see a button at the top that says “Create New List”. Click it. In the pop-up that appears, you can name your list and pick members. If you’ve ever shared an application with your friends, the process of doing this will be very familiar.

Step 2: Raising the privacy level on your profile

At the top right menu there is an option called, “Settings”, which usually many people ignore. Well guess what! This can be your best friend when it comes to security.

To start with, roll over the cursor to “Settings”. Now choose “Privacy Settings”, and finally, click on “Profile”. This will take you to a page where you can give limited access to any or all of your friends.

Under each section on this page you can assign certain settings for your friends. The best practice is to enter “Only Friends” in this way only your close friends can see your full profile. If you choose any other settings this will not be a wise selection. In this anyone can see your full profile, your friend, your friend’s friend or any other person whom you have added in your friends’ list.

You can also block certain groups from seeing these sections too. On any item that offers an “Edit Custom Settings” option, you can click that link to display a pop-up box where you can choose people, or lists to block (see where it says “Except these people”). If you haven’t made custom lists as explained in step 1 above, you can enter individual names here instead.

Step 3: Hiding your contact numbers

Are you among those who have displayed their home and cell numbers on the site for all to see? If yes, then this is definitely not a very safe option.

You can limit this feature too. In order to protect this information you can follow the same procedures as mentioned in Step 1. You’ll notice that the page has two tabs at the top – click on the one that reads “Contact information”, and follow the rest.

Step 4: Hiding yourself from the world

Have you been inundated with friend requests? You are already very satisfied with the number of friends that you have on your list. So why don’t you hide yourself, instead of blocking each and every request that comes your way.

Click on the “Settings” menu on Facebook’s homepage, and then click “Search” on the following page. You’ll be taken to a ‘Search Privacy’ page where you can specify who gets to find you on Facebook.

Want to be wide open? Change the “Search Visibility” drop-down box to “Everyone.” Want to keep it a little more limited? Select “My Networks and Friends,” “Friends of Friends,” or “My Networks and Friends of Friends” instead. Don’t want anyone finding you on Facebook? Change it to “Only Friends.” That means only the people who you’ve already friended can find you in a Facebook search.

Step 5: Be vary of sharing information with Applications

Be very careful when you use an application on Facebook. When you do, the application shares your personal information with the developer which can be a tad bit risky.

From the Facebook homepage, hover your mouse over to the “Settings” menu and choose “Privacy Settings” from the drop-down list. On the next page, click “Applications” then click the tab that reads “Settings”, which is next to the “Overview” tab.

On this page, you can check and uncheck boxes next to your personal information (picture, education history, wall, religious views, etc.). Yes, your friends’ apps can see your personal information if you do not make this change.

Believe it or not, you don’t have the same control over your own apps. The best you can do is head over to the Applications page and delete the apps you’re not using anymore. (Use the “X” to remove them.) You see, once you authorize an application, you’re telling it that it’s OK to access any information associated with your account that it requires to work. While some developers may only pull what’s actually required, many others just pull in everything they can. Scary, isn’t it?

Conclusion

Well, this is surely not the complete guide on Facebook’s privacy matters and security, but as these five easy steps show how simple it is to protect your privacy with little effort. After all, it is much better to have some protection than no protection at all.< >< >< >< >< ><–>