For Google's new social network to succeed in the way that the search giant seems to want it to -- that is, to see it crush Facebook, Twitter and competing social networks to become the predominant place for communicating with friends and followers on the Web -- it's going to have to show its expanding userbase that it takes privacy seriously. "Sharing selectively with specific circles means that you can easily let certain people see your posts, while keeping certain posts hidden from other users," Scribbal explains. "However, scammers and cybercriminals will undoubtedly soon be targeting users of Google+, particularly those who have not taken steps to eliminate privacy concerns."
With the site still in field testing mode, new users must be invited by those who have already made its past the digital velvet rope and into Google's new playground. This has kept out most spammers and scammers. But Google has said that it will soon make Google+ available to the general public, perhaps as early as next week, and nobody can be sure what we will see then.
Before the floodgates are opened, check out this new infographic from ZoneAlarm, which walks you through Google+'s privacy settings so you can make sure you're not doing anything wrong and put your mind at ease.