Facebook is a fabulous way to connect with friends and family. Of course, Facebook is also a spectacular way to embarrass yourself. And it happens almost every day.

Users post personal photos and intimate status updates that they think only a few friends will see. Then the posts get broadcast to friends of friends or - worse - everyone.

Anyone can be surprised by an episode of oversharing if they're not paying attention - even Randi Zuckerberg, a former Facebook executive and sister of CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Last month, she posted a family photo intended for friends, but didn't choose the right privacy setting. A friend of another Zuckerberg sister grabbed it and posted it on Twitter.

Fortunately, Facebook has a new tool to help simplify your privacy settings. In the hustle and bustle of the holidays, you probably also missed it. That's OK; it's easy to find.

When you're logged into Facebook, you'll notice a new lock icon in the top tool bar. Clicking on that brings up the new Privacy Shortcuts menu, where you can manage the Big Three privacy concerns: Who can see my stuff? Who can contact me? How do I stop someone from bothering me?

Without dropping what you're doing and navigating somewhere else, you can quickly block (unfriend) someone, verify that only friends are seeing your posts, filter how you receive messages and control who can send you friend requests.