Stranger Danger on the web

Today I have an important message for everybody who reads this blog (all 4 of you) about:

Stranger Danger! On the Web!

It's a simple message. If you have an email account Never give your email password to a website unless that's the website you're actually checking your email on.

Hotmail account? Use your password on the hotmail website.
Yahoo account? Use your password on the yahoo website.
See the pattern!

Don't for the love of all that is sensible in the world type in your email address and your email password into a website because:

• It will 'help' find which of your friends are already members.
• It will allow you to send messages to your friends to invite them to join.
• Or even because it seems like you have to in order to join the website.
• Any other reason at all!
  

Essentially you cannot trust the website to keep your password secure, to not send spam to all your friends, to read every email you have sent or recieved, etc.

How do I know this? I work with web systems. It's my job. I work in the companies that run these web systems. The website may have 15 million members and not have a single complaint registered... today. But tomorrow might be a different story. It only takes a single hacker and your email account might be totally useless.

Remember that you've probably sent email to bosses, exes, co-workers and dozens and dozens of people you don't want to be automatically linked to.

Don't be lazy. Type in your friends email addresses if you want them to join! Think and don't trust your email password to a website you really don't know anything about at all.