There are numerous places to post your photos online. But are they really safe? No. For instance, some Flickr users had their children’s pictures stolen. And they were used in a disgusting manner.

Orkut is a social-networking site popular outside of the United States. Some of its users think it’s hilarious to create fake profiles. They use pictures of children when signing up. The biographies on the profiles are filled with sexual innuendo.

The perpetrators likely aren’t pedophiles. They appear to be pranksters. Still, the changes were disgusting. And many parents were rightfully upset.

You don’t have to put up with this. Simple privacy precautions are available. These will help you control access to your photos.

Flickr

This is the premier destination for photo sharing. By default, all photos you upload are public. But you can restrict access to specific people.

Sign into your Flickr account. Click your user name at the top of the screen. Select the Privacy & Permissions tab.

Flickr gives you fairly nuanced control over your account. For full explanations of settings, click “edit” next to any entry. But for our purposes, there is only one you need to change.