In case you missed the announcement, Facebook is adding a new feature that threatens to expose all of your dirty laundry. It's called "Graph Search" and it's a new, expanded search engine built in to the social media giant that will not only search users, but your status updates, likes, and links--everything you've posted.

This is huge... but there are ways to ensure your privacy.

Everything you've added to your Facebook profile, from your employer, address, phone number, and likes, to the content of your status updates, will soon become searchable via Graph Search. Remember the office Christmas party two years ago? No? Facebook does... and there are photos.

Here are three changes you should make on Facebook right now to protect yourself from Graph Search:

1. Limit who can search your profile. Click the lock icon on the upper right-hand corner of your Facebook page and select "Who Can See My Stuff." Make sure that's limited to friends, or friends of friends, and you're okay. If your stuff is private, Graph Search can't display it.

2. Check photos you've been tagged in and locations you've checked in at. Click the lock icon again and select "Who Can See My Stuff." Now click "Use Activity Log." That will open up your personal Activity Log that shows everything you've posted, or been tagged in. If you click on photos on the right navigation menu, you can untag yourself in your friends' photos, or ask Facebook to remove the photo entirely.

3. Lock down your past posts. So you may be all private and mysterious now, but what about two years ago? What about right after your set up your account? Luckily Facebook now allows you to go back and retrofit your old posts with your current privacy settings. Click the lock icon one last time, and then click "Limit Past Posts" next to "Limit the audience for old posts on your timeline". Click Limit Old Posts and you're done.

If you have your privacy settings locked down, you should be safe from Facebook's Graph Search. It will not display results that are private. Keep in mind though that all of your friends will be able to use Graph Search and they have unfettered access to the darkest depths of your own particular brand of crazy.

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