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A message from one of your friends appears in your in box, sent via a social network site that you use regularly. The message promises a big deal and points to a Web site you’ve never heard of. You click the link—and the next thing you know, your PC is misdirected to a phishing page that steals your log-in details or to a drive-by download site that infects your system with a password-stealing Trojan horse. And your friend says that she never sent you the message. This is a security threat in social networking.

Whether the culprit is a fake LinkedIn profile page that serves up URLs leading to dangerous Web sites or a bogus Twitter message that purportedly comes from a friend, social networks are rapidly becoming the newest medium for malware attacks. As operating systems and applications became harder to hack directly, online criminals came to realize that it was much easier to fool people into clicking bad links, opening dangerous files, and running malicious software. They also figured out that the most effective place to exploit the trust that naturally exists between friends and colleagues was within the mechanisms of the online social networks themselves.

By now, most Internet users are savvy enough to recognize spam e-mail. But what about a spam tweet that seems to come from someone in your circle of friends and links to a page that looks almost exactly like the one you use to log in to Twitter? A week may go by, and suddenly the data thieves who now control your account begin sending messages with URLs—some of which perform drive-by downloads and infect the recipients’ PCs with malware—to everyone in your social network.

Facebook and MySpace users have already had to deal with a number of worms and other nasties that are designed to spread independently of any action taken by the account holder.

If you think that details of your social networking account may have been stolen or compromised in some other way, report your suspicions to the site’s support team immediately. Change your password frequently, and avoid clicking message links that purport to transfer you back to the social network site. Instead, to get back to your account, type the site’s address directly into your browser

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Mention the phrase “social media” and most people automatically think of Facebook and Twitter. But if you have any dealings in the corporate world – whether you’re a CEO, salesperson, human resource manager, administrative assistant, or anything in between – you’ll want to take a closer look at LinkedIn. You will find it a useful tool to make your business relationships more meaningful, and more profitable.

Before you dismiss the idea of using LinkedIn because you only know it as that “bland” social media site where people go when they’re looking for a job, realize that currently there are 90 million LinkedIn users worldwide. One new user joins every second of every day. And unlike social media sites like Facebook where many people use the site for entertainment, all LinkedIn users are business minded. That means the connections you develop on LinkedIn are more likely to positively impact you or your company in some way. Therefore, if you want better or more professional business relationships, LinkedIn is the place to be. Even if you have a business profile on Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn makes a perfect addition to your personal or business branding efforts.

Business Resource: The key to making LinkedIn work for you and your company is to use the site regularly. That means posting something, either an update or a question/answer, every seven days at a minimum. Why? Because the more you use any social media site, the higher your “Google Juice” will be – in other words, Google’s algorithm will notice your regularity and you’ll get a higher ranking with Google than you would otherwise. Additionally, the more you interact and post on LinkedIn, the more prominent you’ll become within your network – your name recognition will grow.
Fortunately, staying active in LinkedIn and a regular user is simple when you understand how LinkedIn can benefit you professionally. Use the following ideas and suggestions to make the most of your LinkedIn account.

Skills: It’s as easy to set up your profile in LinkedIn as it is in Facebook. Make sure your profile is well written and that it highlights what you currently do, what you have done, your strengths, your talents and your education. Remember that people will access your profile for many different reasons (recruitment, background information, professional contacts, etc.), so be thorough and always make your profile public. Since your LinkedIn profile is essentially a mini resume, keep it updated, tasteful and accurate. Additionally, you have an opportunity to display recommendations for you. As a point of etiquette, when you ask someone to write a recommendation, you must reciprocate.

Meaningful: By posting status updates that contain valuable content, you show your network that you are a team player and that you care about other people’s success. Remember that status updates are not the place to advertise your company’s products or services, nor is it a conversation group. A better idea is to share a best practice, announce a seminar/event you’ve been to or are going to, or give a quick tip.
If you can’t think of anything to post, it’s perfectly acceptable to post a meaningful or motivational quote. The key is to post something interesting and relevant to your network. And always remember that what you post stays on the Internet forever. So if you wouldn’t want your comment on the front page of the newspaper, don’t post it on LinkedIn.

Conversation Starters: LinkedIn is a great place to get an inside glimpse of people. For example, you can look up potential clients or vendors on LinkedIn and see what kind of books they read, where they went to school, what their main interests are (based on the groups they belong to) and so much more. Now you’ll have more to talk about when you meet the potential client, potential vendor, or potential networking friend. Think of LinkedIn as a gateway to have a professional relationship with someone much quicker. In fact, some estimates show that by using LinkedIn to research the people you plan to interact with, you can have a six-month head start on the relationship.

Spot Trends and Hot Topics: There’s an amazing amount of real-time information available on LinkedIn. By being a member of various groups that interest you, you can see what people are thinking on a certain topic by the questions they’re posting and the responses they’re getting. You can then use the information you discover in your
own company.

Get an “in” with Top Companies: Whether you’re looking for new clients, new vendors, or even a new job, with LinkedIn you can search the companies you want to work with and see who in your network has connections there. You can then ask that person – your connection – for an introduction to a decision maker who can help you. Even if you find that no one in your network has connections with a particular company, perhaps someone in one of your groups works there. That’s why it’s important to belong to every group that interests you. Continually build your
LinkedIn relationships and make those key connections before you actually need them.

Missing Link: Even though 82 percent of people use some kind of social media regularly, social media itself – including LinkedIn – is much like the Wild West. It’s not tame yet, and best practices are still being formed. With that said, if you’ve spent much of your time on other social media sites and feel they aren’t working for building professional relationships, then it’s time to give LinkedIn a try.

The key to making LinkedIn work is to work it regularly. Commit to spending at least 30 minutes per day on it, posting your ideas in updates, asking and answering questions, participating in groups and reaching out to potential connections. Yes, it’s one more thing to schedule in your calendar, but by building relationships and gaining new information on people and topics, it’s something that can make your company better positioned.

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Linkedin take a closer look,  if you have any dealings in the corporate world- whether you are a CEO, salesperson, HR manager or anything in between. Linkedin is a useful tool to make your business relationships more meaningful, and profitable. Before you dismiss the idea of using Linkedin because you know it as a “bland” social media site, realize that currently there 90 million Linkedin users worldwide. Unlike other social media sites like Facebook where many people use the site for entertainment, all Linkedin users are business minded. That means the connections you develop on LinkedIn are more likely to positively impact you or your company in some way.
Therefore, if you want better or more professional business relationships, LinkedIn is the place to be. Even if you
have a business profile on Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn makes a perfect addition to your personal or business
branding efforts.

The key to making LinkedIn work for you and your company is to use the site regularly. That means posting something, either an update or a question/answer, every seven days at a minimum. Why? Because the more you use any social media site, the higher your “Google Juice” will be – in other words, Google’s algorithm will notice your regularity and you’ll
get a higher ranking with Google than you would otherwise. Additionally, the more you interact and post on LinkedIn, the more prominent you’ll become within your network – your name recognition will grow.

Fortunately, staying active in LinkedIn and a regular user is simple when you understand how LinkedIn can benefit you professionally. Use the following ideas and suggestions to make the most of your LinkedIn account.

It’s as easy to set up your profile in LinkedIn as it is in Facebook. Make sure your profile is well written and that it highlights what you currently do, what you have done, your strengths, your talents and your education. Remember that
people will access your profile for many different reasons (recruitment, background information, professional contacts, etc.), so be thorough and always make your profile public. Since your LinkedIn profile is essentially a mini resume, keep it updated, tasteful and accurate. Additionally, you have an opportunity to display recommendations for you. As a point of etiquette, when you ask someone to write a recommendation, you must reciprocate.

By posting status updates that contain valuable content, you show your network that you are a team player and that you care about other people’s success. Remember that status updates are not the place to advertise your company’s products or services, nor is it a conversation group. A better idea is to share a best practice, announce a seminar/event you’ve
been to or are going to, or give a quick tip. If you can’t think of anything to post, it’s perfectly acceptable to post a  meaningful or motivational quote. The key is to post something interesting and relevant to your network. And always remember that what you post stays on the Internet forever. So if you wouldn’t want your comment on the front page of the newspaper, don’t post it on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a great place to get an inside glimpse of people. For example, you can look up potential clients or vendors on
LinkedIn and see what kind of books they read, where they went to school, what their main interests are (based on the groups they belong to) and so much more. Now you’ll have more to talk about when you meet the potential client, potential vendor, or potential networking friend. Think of LinkedIn as a gateway to have a professional relationship with someone much quicker. In fact, some estimates show that by using LinkedIn to research the people you plan to interact with, you can have a six-month head start on the relationship.

There’s an amazing amount of real-time information available on LinkedIn. By being a member of various groups that interest you, you can see what people are thinking on a certain topic by the questions they’re posting and the responses they’re getting. You can then use the information you discover in your own company. Whether you’re looking for new clients, new vendors, or even a new job, with LinkedIn you can search the companies you want to work with and see who in your network has connections there. You can then ask that person – your connection – for an introduction to a  decision maker who can help you. Even if you find that no one in your network has connections with a particular  company, perhaps someone in one of your groups works there. That’s why it’s important to belong to every group that interests you. Continually build your LinkedIn relationships and make those key connections before you actually need them.

Even though 82 percent of people use some kind of social media regularly, social media itself – including LinkedIn – is
much like the Wild West. It’s not tame yet, and best practices are still being formed. With that said, if you’ve spent much of your time on other social media sites and feel they aren’t working for building professional relationships, then it’s time to give LinkedIn a try.

The key to making LinkedIn work is to work it regularly. Commit to spending at least 30 minutes per day on it, posting your ideas in updates, asking and answering questions, participating in groups and reaching out to potential connections.