With all of the recent changes to Facebook I know that many people continue to be confused about the best ways to keep their profiles both safe and private.  Here is a summary of what I feel are the top 5 most overlooked security and privacy settings in Facebook:

1) Protect Your Facebook Account from Being Hacked with Login Notifications & Approvals

Having your Facebook profile hacked is no small inconvenience.  Not only can it feel like a complete invasion of privacy it can also expose you to risks of having other important websites hacked (e.g. exposing possible password reset answers for your banking site).

You have the ability to receive notifications when your Facebook account is accessed from a computer or mobile device you haven’t used before.  You can also set up a separate Facebook security code to be used each time an unrecognized computer or device tries to access your account.  To activate these Facebook security settings go to Account Settings>Security>Login Notifications (and Login Approvals).

2) Prevent Friends From Sharing Your Personal Information

Facebook apps are extremely popular with tens of millions of people using them everyday.  Not everyone is comfortable using apps because of the personal Facebook information these apps have access to.  What you may not realize is that your friends may be sharing your personal information when they use Facebook apps.

To protect your Facebook information you can control the categories of information that people can bring with them when they use apps, games and websites.  To access this setting go to Privacy Settings>Apps and Websites>How People Bring Your Info To Apps They Use.

3) Avoid Embarrassing Facebook Photo Tags

I used to hear a lot of people complain about being tagged in embarrassing or inappropriate Facebook photos.  For the longest time the only way to deal with this problem was to be reactive – once you were tagged you deleted the tag manually.  Of course, this meant that the image was visible to your friends and their friends until you realized there was a picture of you out there and you took action to delete it.  Your friends also have the ability to check you into public places – notifying the world where you are at any given moment.

Now there are two important settings for you to consider turning on:  Profile Review & Tag Review.  Facebook now enables you to review tags before they are shared publicly with your Facebook Friends.  This applies to friends who tag you in their posts or when a friend adds a tag to your post.  You’ll find this setting under Privacy Settings>How Tags Work.

4) Prevent Facebook from Using Your Name to Promote Products or Pages

Facebook’s Social Ads show an advertiser’s message alongside actions you have taken, such as liking a Page.  These ads may include your name and your profile photo.

To prevent Facebook from including you in Social Ads go to Account Settings>Facebook Ads>Edit Social Ads Setting.  You will need to change the setting for “Pair my social actions with ads for” to “No one”.

5) Protect Yourself for Friend Requests You Don’t Really Want

Most people appreciate the connecting power of social networking.  Sometimes, however, there are individuals who would prefer to be in control of who they connect with – rather than encouraging every yahoo from Grade 9 to try and befriend them.  Not everyone is comfortable turning down a friend request.

There is a setting in Facebook that would prevent people from looking up your profile by name or contact info.  This doesn’t mean that they won’t see you commenting on a mutual friend's wall… but it does mean that if you don’t share a connection then they won’t be able to easily find you on Facebook.  You’ll find this setting under Privacy Settings>How You Connect.

Geoff