How to stay safe online

Netsafe's Sean Lyons' advice:

Basics

* Never share your passwords with anyone. If you can't avoid doing it for some reason, make sure you change it afterwards.

* Don't use the same password for everything that you do online.
Change your passwords regularly.

* Don't use information in your passwords that can be easily discovered, like birth dates or pet names.

* Make sure your password isn't made up of only names or words found in a dictionary. These are the first things that someone trying to get access to your accounts will try. Mix in punctuation marks (like # or *), capital letters and numbers. But don't make it so hard to remember that you need to write it down.

Check your password strength here.

Settings

Facebook provides the ability to change the security settings on just about every different facet of its site, so that people can choose exactly what to share and with whom. It can seem a little daunting at first, but its worth taking the time to look at each part and think to yourself: "Who do I want to give access to this?"

By choosing "only me" you will ensure that no one can see the information. By choosing "everyone" then you let all Facebook users see the content.

You can choose either extreme or choose to share with "only friends" or "friends of friends" for each part of Facebook.

Remember when choosing "friends of friends" the size of this network is potentially huge. If for example you have 100 friends, who each have 100 friends, that's a potential audience of 10,000 Facebook users.
More information here and here.

Who are you going to call?

For any concerns about any aspect of online safety or security, get in touch with NetSafe - an independent, non-government, not-for- profit organisation that helps New Zealanders navigate their way safely through cyberspace.

If you believe a page on Facebook is breaching the terms and conditions of the site, which include harassment, bullying, posting offensive, racist, or hateful words and pictures, then you can report the page online.

If someone is impersonating you on Facebook and you do not have a Facebook account, you can still report the offending site online.

If you receive threats of physical harm to yourself or your property, you should contact the police immediately.

Deactivate

You have two choices if you decide that you and Facebook are finished. Deactivation makes your information inaccessible to the Facebook service. You information is stored however, and you can re-activate it at any point.

Permanently deleting your account gives you no option for recovery and ends your relationship with Facebook for good. To do this, you need to submit a request to Facebook which it will process and respond to, usually within 48 hours.