Here's how you can beat FB Timeline blues

BANGALORE, INDIA: A study by Sophos Security points out that more than 50 per cent of users are worried about the Facebook Timeline, which has become a mandatory feature from Wednesday.

It sampled about 4,000 Facebook users about the new feature and came up with the results. Timeline effectively categorizes your personal information, including your status updates and Like, based on the period when you posted it ever since you joined the social network.

That it would make the task easier for those on your friends' list and others to skim through the details of you from the neatly sorted out archives is a major cause for worry now. Identity thieves and stalkers could profile users is an added concern.

"The Facebook Timeline will be a wake-up call to some that they have shared too much in the past, too freely," Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, said on the Naked Security blog.

He advises that users should re-evaluate what they share, "spring clean" their accounts and friend links as well as ensuring that they share what they actually want to.  "After all, a website which holds details on your entire life, likes and loves, is gold dust to scammers," wrote Cluley.

In fact, the feature has spurred the security expert to shut down his account. If that is the case with him, it assumes a more worrisome tone for regular users.

One good thing is, you can have the cake and eat it, too, as far as Timeline is concerned. Some simple to sightly complex steps will ensure that your information is protected from public view.

• You can make your Timeline private, by going to Privacy Settings > How You Connect and change the settings for Who can post on your timeline? and Who can see posts by others on your timeline? from Public to Friends

• You can also change the visibility by selecting Privacy Settings > How Tags Word and changing the settings from Public to Friends

• In order to restrict your past posts which might have been open to public view, you can click on Limit the Audience for Past Posts > Manage Past Post Visibility > Limit Old Posts to Friends Only

• If you want to hide past posts, go to Highlight posts on the right hand side of Timeline and select Hide from Timeline or Delete. Now, select month by month on Timeline and hide or delete the posts

• One can also delete posts from friends' and others' Timelines by selecting Activity Log > All > Your Posts

These five steps will bring down the risk of someone misusing your information and defacing your profile.

Happy Facebooking with Timeline!