Last weekend, there was another Twitter security breach — a phishing attack. As the Twitter micro blogging service comes into its fourth year of existence, it is more popular than ever, which makes it a perfect target for cyber criminals. The nature of Twitter has always meant to be very open, so what are the best ways to protect yourself?

AVG (AU/NZ) has put together a list of top 10 tips to help you stay safe on Twitter. Don’t forget to tweet it to your fellow tweeple!

1. Limit what you say
It’s easy to tweet about where you are and what you’re doing, but do you think about who is listening? What might seem like a harmless comment initially could be used to piece together a picture of your whereabouts and plans! Unless your tweets are protected, they are going to be out in the public domain. Fraudsters can use this information in many ways.

2. Be careful what you click on
Be suspicious about links that you are sent and posted. Many people use URL shortners on Twitter, so it is often very difficult to check what you are clicking on. AVG LinkScanner® can help check suspicious links, but remember: if you are in doubt, don’t click!

3. Be vigilant
Watch out for suspicious activity in your tweet stream and inbox. If you start receiving strange messages or your friends are being unusually spammy, it might be worth double checking that their account hasn’t been compromised.

4. Think before you tweet
Remember, the whole world can see what you write and even though tweets can be deleted, they are still searchable. Don’t tweet when you’re in a state of mind that might have you saying something you’ll regret later. While it is funny thinking about it, the consequences are often not as amusing. Additionally, by including ‘hash tags,’ you increase the search for your chosen term, so think about who will be searching for your tweets.

5. Don’t be too trusting
You can never be sure the stranger you ‘networked’ with via Twitter is who they say they are. Don’t be easily befriended by strangers on Twitter who may not have your best interests at heart.

6. Check third party applications
There are hundreds of applications out there for Twitter. Before signing up to one of these, check to see that they are safe. You can do this by looking for mentions of the tools on trusted sites. Remember that the apps generally require your password and log in details so be extra cautious before sharing this information.

The same basic rules that apply to other social networking sites can also be applied to Twitter, so don’t forget the following too:

7. Password information
Use different passwords, or better still, set up separate email accounts for your social networks. That way, if you stop your account, you can easily delete the email account too. Be mindful of where you are sending your updates and the types of security questions you set.

8. Signing in
Check your browser settings on your computer so that your information is not stored for anyone else to see if you are on a shared computer!

9. Watch out for phishing attacks
As Twitter gets more popular, the likelihood of phishing attacks grows. Be aware of attempts to get users to give up their login and passwords by tricking them with fake tweets and direct messages.

10. Being mobile
Be mindful about who might have access to your mobile phone. If you have a Twitter application, make sure you log out once you’re finished with it.

Lloyd Borrett, Marketing Manager AVG (AU/NZ) advises, “As with any online activity be smart, be aware, be careful, and you can stay as safe on Twitter as anywhere else online.”

Can you build a business with social media? This is a question that's been occupying my mind over recent weeks. When any new business launches it needs to get some sort of customer base quickly or it risk atrophying before it really gets started. Statistics in Australia suggest that at least a third of small businesses fail in their first year of operation.

The question is particularly relevant to me as I launch a new online publication (Netbook Mojo) and I begin the task of attracting readers and advertisers (in that order!). There are some people out there who boast that it's possible to create a profitable business on the back of social media tools. However, I'd argue that a social media strategy (and there are more than a few people out there promoting themselves as Social Media Strategists) is just one part of an effective marketing strategy.

Over the coming weeks I'll be using whatever tools and energy I have at my disposal to make Netbook Mojo a success. I'll report back on what works for me, what didn't work and what I've learned about the tangled web of social media marketing.

I'm anticipating big things in 2010 when it comes to social media. Over the last couple of years, the social media scene as moved from infancy and childhood into adolescence and is rapidly approaching maturity.

Until the middle of 2009, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and their ilk were seen as the toys of either uber-geeks or the young. However, a tipping point was reached and suddenly everyone was either on Facebook or at least had made a decision to not be on Facebook. A lot of this was driven by our tabloid society's fascination with looking into the private lives of celbrities. As soon as the rich and shameless were letting us into the inane details of their private lives we were hooked.

The burst of traffic that the celebs fuelled was phenomenal. Sure, the number of Twitter and Facebook accounts that wither from abandonment is around 30% after three months but the growth rate seems to be outstripping the mortality rate.

The recent earthquake in Haiti (I have a sponsor child there and have no news from the aid agency yet) highlights that social media tools can be used to great effect in mobilising donations of money and goods, as well as sharing images and on-the-ground reports of what's actually happening. Similar things happened last February during the bushfires that engulfed vast swathes of Victoria, my home state in Australia.

While Barack Obama's Twitter debut, from Haiti, was interesting and will probably make an interesting Trivial Pursuit question one day, it's significant as the President of the country likely to give the most aid and support to Haiti saw it as a worthwhile communications channel.

I suspect that 2010 will see more businesses use Twitter as part of their formal company communications strategy. It will become a common way for disemminating press releases, company news, special offers and other interesting tidbits.

2010 will be the year that social media really grows up.

Yesterday, Australia's so called Minister for the Information Economy announced that a system of mandatory filters will be deployed in a bid to curb access to material that has be refused classification by the government's censorship and rating board. The government says that their "approach to cyber-safety has been informed by the Government’s trial of internet filtering and extensive industry feedback about the most appropriate way to improve safety online".

The good news is that those not wanting the government to filter their feed can work around any proposed filter so easily that one wonders why the government is even bothering. Perhaps they're playing a smoke and mirrors game to distract us from the colossal failure that their emissions trading legislation has become and the complete collapse of anything resembling common sense in Copenhagen - a forum that our government is strongly championing.

The filter that's proposed simply won't work. The sort of material that the government is proposing to ban (child pornography, depictions of sexual violence and the like) isn't kept on websites for long periods of time. Many of the sites appear and disappear in hours - they are likely travelling salesmen that stop for a short time to sell something and then move on.

Bypassing the Filter

The filter works by simply blocking access to sites that are on a government blacklist. That blacklist will be a secret until the next time it's leaked (the original blacklist was leaked almost as soon as it was created!).

Some sites will be easily opened. Simply Google for something that's on the blacklist and rather than opening the link to the search result click the "Cached" link. This will direct you to a copy of the content that's stored on Google's servers as part of their index. Somehow, I doubt that the Australian government is going to block Google.

Alternately, you can sign up for one of the hundreds of free or cheap VPN services that are available. These create a secure connection between you and a proxy server that collects the content for you and sends it to you. The connection is encrypted and inaccessible to the government.

Protest

It is incredibly important that everyone should protest against this stupid, ineffective waste of taxpayer dollars. Not only is the scheme trivially easy to bypass, it will be open to abuse. Perhaps not by the current government but laws don't expire at each election.

Imagine if Australia engages in an unpopular war (Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq?) and footage, stories and images come out of those places that embarrasses the government. It's conceivable that they could use this filter to attempt to block access to information.

I encourage all Australians to write to their local member and protest this Big Bother approach. If the goal is to protect children then find ways to teach parents and guardians how to work with their children to use the Internet sensibly. It will be cheaper and far more effective.

I've been using an Amazon Kindle for the last week or so and I am totally sold on the product. Not only has it made reading far more accessible for me but it highlights how old world markets are being turned on their head by new technology. I'd not be surprised to see Amazon do for books what Apple's iTunes Store has done for music. However, I think that there's a missed opportunity.

People love to talk about the books they read. I'm currently rattling my way through Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Sure, they may not be the best written stories around but they are fairly engaging and as the father of a 12 year old daughter I like to read what she's reading. As I was walking around the office today, I saw someone else reading a book only to discover we were reading from the same series. That became a conversation that i'm sure will continue over the coming days.

Amazon is well placed to become the iPod and iTunes Store of books. With their always-connected mode it should be possible to let readers know when someone near them is reading the same book. Sharing comments, reviews and other story-related communications could be facilitated from within the reader creating a virtual book club.

Amazon already has an extensive database of reader reviews. Wouldn't it be great if the Kindle could put you in touch with a recent reviewer if they were online while you were reading so you could discuss the book?

Social networks work when they link people with common interests. Reading is perhaps the world's most popular past-time so it makes sense that a global social netwrok could form around the kindle and the way it brings readers together.