More LinkedIn Coverage on CIO.com

In fact, I've received several e-mails from readers who said they were solicited for products or irrelevant jobs on the service. In each case, they had no idea how the person found them (and didn't appreciate the spam for that matter).

How private you decide to make your LinkedIn information will affect the inquiries you receive for job opportunities as well as, in some cases, the amount of information you're able to find about others. To access the privacy settings, simply and click on the tab in the upper right hand corner of your homepage.

Here's a walkthrough of what I'd pay most attention to as you alter your settings. It's important to know that some of them don't appear under the "Privacy Settings" area, but nonetheless require your attention.

Your Public Profile