Most computer users unsure about social media safety, report says

Even though there are 800 million users on Facebook, many of them might be more scared than we'd expect when it comes to the safety of their information on that social network and others.

A new report from IT security solutions provider Avira found that four out of five users are worried about their personal information being stolen or misused on social media sites.

Focusing on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, Avira researchers tried to identify which one of these social networks seems the most threatening.

If they could choose only one, a quarter of respondents went with Facebook, followed by Google+ at 19 percent. Twitter must appear the least menacing as it only drew two percent of responses.

Although the report doesn't identify reasons behind the respondents' choices, Facebook and Google+ could have come in higher because users on these social networks share considerably more personal information than they do on Twitter -- depending on what they're actually typing into that 140-character box.

Nevertheless, when taken altogether, 40 percent of survey participants admitted that they are equally concerned about the safety of their personal data on all three of these networks.

For reference, this study's results are based upon the responses from 2,710 Avira customers worldwide, surveyed in January and February 2012.