The Web site Facebook.com — which started as an online club for college kids — now attracts millions of senior citizens.

The reason is simple. Facebook helps you use the Internet to make friends, reconnect with old acquaintances and family members, find people who share your interests, launch a second career, promote your business, get a date or swap information, including pictures and videos. And it’s all free.

But while Facebook has some big advantages, you must use it carefully. If you don’t, you could become the target of malicious e-mail and other unwanted contacts, often from people who want your money.

EASY AND USEFUL

Thanks to many new features, Facebook is relatively easy to use, and it’s growing fast — with more than 200 million users worldwide.

How it works: Facebook lets you create a “profile” of yourself on the Internet. The profile can contain a photo and as little or as much information as you want.

That’s just the beginning. On Facebook, you can start or join causes, such as those devoted to animals, education, the environment, religion or people with ailments. You can play poker and other games as well as connect with fans of your favorite sport teams.

Do you occasionally forget someone’s birthday? Facebook’s reminder feature can prevent that from happening. And you can find others who share your interest in business, fashion, finance, food and drink, gambling, music, photography, politics, sports and travel — you name it.

The younger generation is fascinated with the Internet. That means many children who don’t enjoy speaking with older relatives on the phone often spend hours on the same relatives’ Facebook pages, looking at pictures and reading anecdotes about the family. In fact, many families now use Facebook as a way to coordinate certain events, such as vacations and holiday get-togethers.

SAFETY FIRST

Fortunately, problems with Facebook are rare and they’re easy to avoid. Here’s how to keep your information safe, whether you’re already a Facebook user or are just signing up…

E-mail address. On the sign-up screen, you’re asked to enter your name. You’re also asked to enter your e-mail address and to choose a password.

Problem: Many people have e-mail addresses that reveal their actual names. That kind of e-mail address can help other Facebook users who you may not want to know track you down through online phone books and/or other Internet searches.

Safer: Create an e-mail account for Facebook that has nothing to do with your actual name. Today, most e-mail providers let users create multiple addresses at no additional charge.

If you’re already a Facebook user and have a revealing e-mail address, consider changing the address, even if it means creating a new Facebook account.

Password. Anyone who knows your Facebook password can change the information in your profile.

Examples: A relative with a grudge against you might alter your profile to say that you’re gravely ill and in need of money.

Safeguard: Pick a password of at least six characters, including numbers and upper- and lower-case letters.

Helpful: One way to make your password easy to remember is to start with a common phrase and alter it — for example, “to be or not to be” becomes “2BorNOT2b.”

If you find that someone has hacked into your profile, immediately change your password and correct any altered information. If you cannot access your profile because a hacker has already changed the password, contact Facebook via the “Help Center” on the home page (you do not need to log in) and follow the directions under “Hacked accounts and spam.”

BEING A SAVVY USER

To protect your personal information…

Don’t include a surname with your profile. You have to supply your last name when you sign up for Facebook, but you don’t have to enter it on your profile that other users can see. Including your surname with the profile makes it easy for someone to find your physical location and/or phone number.

Be aware of how much information you put on your profile. Facebook asks for basic information that other users will be able to see — gender, age, schools you attended and the town you most identify with. Again, you can supply as much or as little information as you want. You also have the option of including information about your political and religious views, about the gender you are interested in having a relationship with and whether you’re interested in friendship, dating, a relationship or networking.

Under “Personal Information,” Facebook also asks about your favorite music, TV shows, movies, books and quotations and any other comments you want to make. Then there’s an opportunity to list your address, telephone number and other contact information — but again, only if you want to.

Limit specifics in regard to your locations. For example, the name of the neighborhood where you live could help disreputable users find your residence. Many users, in fact, don’t use Facebook to contact strangers at all, but only to search for old friends and to share pictures and videos with people they already know. In that case, there’s no reason to include specific information about your location.

Bottom line: You can always change or delete the information you supply. But since others may have already copied it down, it’s best to err on the side of safety by only supplying a minimum of information and then perhaps adding to it later.

SHARING YOUR PROFILE SAFELY

By clicking on “Invite Friends,” you can enter e-mail addresses of friends and acquaintances to whom you want Facebook to send invitations. The invitations are immediately e-mailed and read: “Hi. I set up a Facebook profile where I can post my pictures, videos and events and I want to add you as a friend so you can see it. First, you need to join Facebook! Once you join, you can also create your own profile. Thanks.”

Caution: Facebook makes it easy to send invitations to everyone in your e-mail address book, but that’s generally a bad idea. Reasons: A personal invitation is better for some acquaintances. For others — an ex-spouse, for instance — an invitation might not be appropriate at all.

What to do: Instead, use the Facebook feature that lets you choose the specific friends you want to invite. If you have a home business, for instance, you might want to use Facebook to network with business acquaintances… and then start another profile for interacting with social acquaintances.

Facebook’s privacy controls are very effective, but many users overlook them. To set the controls, click on the “Settings” icon at the top of the Facebook page. They give you control over such features as the e-mail address where other users can contact you and which users have access to your profile.

Example: You can let all Facebook users see your basic information but allow only friends to browse through your pictures.

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