Safety of Women Online
Using the Internet and social media has been a great boom to researching our ancestors over the last 20 years. Yet, there also has developed problems. One’s personal passwords getting hacked, private images being leaked online, sensitive data compromised, data being held captive for ransom, are just some of the new problems.
So continue with using the Internet but do review the following safety suggestions and make changes where needed. 
Suggestions:
On Facebook, every few months review the names of people on your ‘Friends’ list, make sure you do know each one. Never accept friend requests from people you don’t know, even if you have mutual friends. Delete those of any question.
Keep in mind … the internet or a social media site gets hold of your pictures, information, etc., you have no control over it. Anything you put up can be grabbed, copied and saved on someone else’s computer and mirrored on other sites – not to mention hacked by thieves or subpoenaed by law enforcement agencies.
It works in reverse what is posted … anything your family and friends post online about you is now also available.
When setting up an online account, whether it’s to buy things, to join a group, or open an account, you should know what that site does with the information you share. Review their policies and any questions either write them or don’t set up that account. This includes all sites, even your local public library online site.
Have a different password and username for every account that you have to log into. If a password is decoded and it is the same for other sites, you have a massive problem.
Your user name never should be your name, in any form. Now maybe a private family nickname that no one else knows might work. For example, my husband’s nickname is ‘gravy’ … only known by two family members, no one could guess that.
After being on a site that you logged into, ALWAYS Log Off.
To help protect what you have on your computer, place all your files, photos, documents, sensitive information, and so on should be stored on either a physical drive (external hard drive) or on cloud. This will help you make sure that you are protected in case there is a security threat. 
These are just a few ideas to try to be a bit safer online – for women and men.
Photos: Online safety, tips, keyboard, and smart phone.
Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:
Family Tree Lite – -FamilySearch
What Can be Located about your Family on the Internet?
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