The other day I wrote a post about Mint.com, an online budget and financial planning site. Later, I received an email from my husband (yes we email each other, don’t laugh) that was titled “Just Say No to Mint!” He had serious concerns about giving our account info and passwords to an internet site. It seemed safe to me, but since he knows a lot more about internet security than I do, I have decided not to sign up.
This exchange with my husband got me thinking about internet security in general. I have a blog, and I occasionally write about and post pictures of my children. Longtime readers know my geographical location, and many people know my first name.
I have some friends who refuse to put any information about themselves on the internet, they don’t bank online, or even have a page on Facebook (gasp!). I have come to realize that many of my readers (almost half) do not have a blog of their own. I now wonder why I have so many readers who are nonbloggers, and if you are a nonblogger do you put other information about yourself on the internet in the form of online banking, bill pay, facebook, and other similar sites?
I know many readers are hesitant to sign up for free offers because they do not like to give out their name and email address.
Where do you stand? Do you feel the internet can be a safe place for your information? When you make an online transaction do you think your credit card number is protected? Have you ever been a victim of identity theft because of an internet transaction?
I would love to discuss this topic with you, because it is something I think about on a daily basis and wonder, how much is too much?
Feel free to leave a comment, but I have also opened up a discussion thread in my forum because I am able to follow and respond quicker in the forum.
