Five Tips to Using Online Location-based Services Safely

Peter Cameron, Managing Director of AVG (AU/NZ), says: "By themselves, certain shared facts may seem harmless enough. But disparate pieces of ourselves can easily be assembled like puzzles to create holistic pictures of our daily lives. Don't make it easy for criminals — follow these tips to protect yourself."

1. Don't post pictures online. If you must, make sure they can only be viewed by those you trust. There are privacy features on Facebook that will let you do this, but remember there is nothing to stop your contacts from copying and pasting pictures openly elsewhere.
2. If you want to share location or other personal info on Twitter, or you're afraid of inadvertently giving away too much, create a separate network just for those you know and trust, and set the privacy setting to protected. But again, nothing prevents your contacts from publicly retweeting your updates.
3. For your larger online networks, always consider how someone might use posted info against you before you post. It is also a good idea to regularly look back on what you've posted to see how updates might be combined together to indicate where you live, work or go to school.
4. If you have a smart phone, disable the geotagging feature. But if you must use location-based services such as Foursquare, never "check in" from home as this will disclose your address.
5. Google yourself to see what others can find out about you online. Be sure to remove yourself from Spokeo and other aggregators of personal content.

See http://www.avg.com.au/resources/security-tips/