I can't tell you how many times I've sat down at a library computer during a break to check my email, only to discover that the last person using the terminal had failed to log out of their email or some other usually sensitive personal account(s). In fact, I find this sort of thing happening with alarming frequency and wonder to myself if these people really understand the potential risk they are taking by not clicking on that little old "sign out" button.
Leaving personal accounts open on public computers is the equivalent of offering identity thieves free and open access to your entire life story. Basically, you are not only leaving the front door wide open when you're gone, you're leaving a whole set of keys in the door as well for future entry. People have all kinds of private data stored in emails, attachments, photographs, saved passwords and the list goes on. An open account is an information goldmine that in the wrong hands can easily result in some very negative and lingering consequences.
Though they are the most typical finds, I'm not only referring here to open email accounts, but unclosed PayPal, bank, and credit card accounts as well. Even an open social networking account like Myspace or Facebook can pose significant threats to one's privacy and personal data security.
The question is, with so much personal information already made accessible on the web, why make it any easier for the unscrupulous to get a hold of any more of your data? Actually more to the point, why put yourself at such an unnecessary risk when the alternative is usually as easy as just clicking on that log out tab?
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