Read the WSJ’s Series On Online Privacy

The internet/connected era has revolutionized how we communicate, shop, and consume media. For many people, it is difficult to imagine life before text messages, Facebook, blogs, file sharing, and Amazon.com.

In fact, according to Nielsen, we spend one-third of our online time on social networking sites and applications.

Unfortunately, it has also revolutionized the ways in which our personal information is exploited.

Identity theft has become such a common occurrence that it no longer surprises people to learn that a stranger is opening credit cards in their name.

In recent weeks, stories detailing the ease of hacking smart phones have added an additional reason to be concerned about the security of our digital data.

And now comes the revelation that 100 million Facebook users had their personal information bundled together in a downloadable file, and most of the people affected don’t even realize it.

That is why I commend the Wall Street Journal for their fabulous new series on the ways companies track, save, and use your information while you are online. I recommend that everybody check it out at this link.

You may not be interested in all the stories, but you should at least be aware of what is going on.

If nothing else, you should read their article detailing actions you can take to maintain a semblance of privacy here.

Increasingly, you have to put as much work into guarding your online security as in “real life,” if not more. Companies failed to mention that in their rush to have us adopt these new products, but the information we need to protect ourselves is available.