While chatting with someone in the Yahoo! chat rooms, always remember to ignore unsolicited links sent to by you by members who are not on your buddy list. The probability of these links being sent by a hacker who is looking to get into your system by establishing a connection between you and himself. There is no telling what data the hacker may extract from your computer and how he may use it, which makes it even more important to avoid any link sent by them. Do not let yourself give in to your temptation to click the link, as the consequences can be severe.
If you have a webcam connected to your computer while you are active in the Yahoo! chat rooms, keep yourself and your privacy safe by setting the webcam broadcast status to “Always ask for permission.” This will alert you when a hacker tries to access your webcam. To set up the webcam broadcast status to the setting just mentioned, open your Yahoo! Messenger application. Select “Preference” from the “Messenger” tab and then click on “Webcam Broadcast,” which is located in the left-hand category window. Now click the “Always ask for permission” radio button, which is located under the “When someone tries to view my webcam” option. Save the changes by clicking “Apply” followed by “OK.”
One of the most important things to remember when using Yahoo! Messenger, or any other IM (instant messaging) service for that matter, is that the data being transferred is not encrypted and therefore anyone could be listening to it. Therefore, never share personal information such as credit card number, pin code, address, etc. while chatting to someone.
Posted by zane in Social Media