Google+ has proven popular, but is it secure? In the few weeks that it has been open to a small group of Google users, the new social network has not had any major privacy snafus, but as more and more people join Google+, keeping tabs on how your data is presented, and secured, will likely become a bigger issue.
Check Point, which produces the ZoneAlarm security suite, put together a list of Google+ privacy tips, the first of which is to take advantage of the Circles feature, which lets you select which group of people can see your links, photos, and other updates.
"It's no big shock that cybercriminals–perhaps too easily caught on other social networking platforms such as Facebook–will pick Google+ as a new target," Check Point said in a blog post. "Should this give Google+ users a cause for concern? Maybe, but let's take a look at several ways you can keep your privacy secure."
The company recommends locking down your profile since most profile information is visible to anyone on the Web. "Unless you want to share all your information with the world, then you'll want to change these settings so only your Circles can view it," Check Point said.
When PCMag examined Google+ privacy, one of the suggestions was to choose whether you wanted to be visible in search. Check Point agrees, given that search doesn't just apply to Google+, but to Google.com search as a whole.
The company also recommends getting more granular with your privacy settings, like limiting who can see other people in your circles and only streaming to appropriate circles. Check Point also reminds users that comments on posts from other Google+ users might be open to the entire Web, so be careful what you say.
One thing you can't change, however, is your name. Google took some heat recently for disabling Google+ accounts that used fake names. To address this, the search giant said recently that an upcoming update to Google+ will provide users with warnings before their accounts are disabled for violations of the social network's name policies. This week, meanwhile, Experian Hitwise said Google+ traffic took a dip, but Google said the report is incomplete.
For more, see PCMag's full review of Google+ and the slideshow below.
Also check out the 15 Google+ Users You Should Add to Your Circles slideshow, as well as 6 Things Google+ Can Do That Facebook Can't and Social Networking Showdown: 8 Facebook Features Google+ Doesn't Have (Yet).
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