I was aware of the need of being cautious before, but after what happened to Cherish the Home's blog-friend and to Lulashardt's daughter's friend, I have decided to be even more cautious.I have reverted to signing as 'Mrs M' and have decided to NOT allow my Blog to be listed in Bogger's Site Listings and to NOT allow search engines to search my Blog.
The impact of not allowing search engines access to my Blog has more importance than I realized when I decided to choose it under the SETTINGS category!
It means that whatever a guest says in a 'comment' is kept 'semi-private' ~ only viewable by those who are sent here via word of mouth. If you have NOT chosen this option yourself, it's worth considering in light of what has happened recently!!
IF you choose to continue to ALLOW search engines access, then EVERY SINGLE COMMENT posted on your Blog is listed on the search engine!
Just out of curiosity, I did a google search for under various names of Blogs we all know and enjoy, and sure enough, their 1st names WERE SHOWN in the search as well as their Blog URL ....
So, IF you've ever posted a comment on any blog and signed with your 1st name or your Blog name and/or URL or Mrs 'So+So', even if you delete your old blog and begin anew, your 1st name is still out there . This is because most bloggers ALLOW search engines the ability to search their blogs ~ whether intentionally or in ignorance of the possible implications?!
The other really important precaution that I read about tonight was choosing a PASSWORD that is considered 'strong' -- use a word or phrase that is EASY for YOU to remember but spelled in such a way that hackers won't have a clue how YOU spelled it :o) Use a mixture of symbols, numbers and letters.
DON'T make it easy for anyone to access your Blog WITHOUT your permission by using a word or phrase spelled correctly ~ that's what I learned tonight when checking up about this and makes sense!
Just something to consider and ponder ... It's so unfortunate that these things happen but I feel personally, it's worth being cautious.
5 comments:
Thanks for the tips!
More great tips on this subject.
I have changed some settings,did a lengthy warning post on my blog,took off some pictures and who knows what is next.
This is very sad, but truthfully a wake up call to many of us to be more careful
Deby
Thank you for the tips. It's so sad we have to be extra careful these days!
Tracy, Daughter of the King and Sharon - thanks for your comments!
It IS very sad but it is better to be safe than sorry, especially in relation to our children or grandchildren's photos, etc.
Blessings to all 3 of you -
Mrs M
Great tips and the good that's come out of a bad situation is that being careful is on our minds now. (o:
Post a Comment