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The growth of the Internet has brought with it increased opportunities for exploitation. Each day, billions of e-mail messages “phishing” for personal and financial information traverse Cyberspace. Despite all the warnings published by financial institutions and e-commerce enterprises and news coverage of such schemes, some people are fooled. People at the University have seen e-mail messages very cleverly designed to look as if they came from the Princeton University Credit Union. For tips on some of the dangers in Cyberspace, see the Information Security web page (www.princeton.edu/protect).
Another, newer, type of danger is self-exposure. The rise of Facebook, MySpace, and other “social networks” encourages people to let their metaphoric hair down and to express themselves in ways that, in retrospect, might be a little too open for comfort. While communications or postings in the online facebook of a Princeton residential college are generally protected from the immediate view of the general public, statements made, and images published, on the Internet can typically be seen anywhere, can last essentially forever, and can have serious unintended consequences. Some things to consider while using Facebook discusses the risks facing students who participate in on-line social networking, but similar cautions apply equally to employees who publish profiles on MySpace or similar venues.
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