It is getting much harder to protect your privacy online. Lots of great networking tools and applications are starting to pop up. Social networking is a big thing right now also.

What should you do to preserve your privacy? Follow these 5 simple steps as a start:

1. Do not use personal information – whether you are using forums or social networking tools, do not tell the world about every aspect of your life. Who can access this information? Well that really depends. If you have changed the default security and privacy settings, then only your friends. But what if the site gets hacked?

2. Only allow friends – In social networking tools, Only allow friends, not friends of friends. You have no way of knowing who can really access your information and more importantly whether you can trust them.

3. Do not use your real birthdate – your birthday is one key piece of information that is needed to steal your identity. Obviously when doing financial or credit transactions you must use correct and accurate information.

4. Use an alternate email address – When registering for forums, newsletters or online applications it is better to get another email address. A hotmail or google mail account are perfect for this. It also helps protect you from spam and unsolicited email.

5. Be careful of phishing emails – there are a lot of emails that try and get you to click on a link in the email and enter your user name and password details. These are mostly aimed at banking sites, but can also be aimed at email and social networking sites. Remember no legitimate organization will ask you for your username and password.

There is a lot more that you can do, but more importantly you need to be aware that almost everything you do online is subject to an End User License Agreement. Read the EULA so that you know what they can legally do with your information. If you are not happy with it, do not use it.