Reasons you should be worried about securing your privacy:
- Companies and websites track everything you do online. Everything. Online Data by default is unencrypted.
- Every advertisement, website, and social network button collects information about our location, browsing habits, and our online data.
- Ever wondered why Facebook and other social sites know exactly what product you’re aiming for or know what interests you have?
- Data advertisers use all this information to pinpoint exactly the type of person you’re and provide you with similar advertisements.
- This easy online invasion gives open access to cyber thieves to hack our private information and data. Sensitive information as our debit card details can also be hacked!
In this article, we’ll go through some ideas and tips to discuss the best ways that can protect our privacy while browsing the internet.
1. Use a VPN:
Public Wi-Fi networks are a place where hackers, cybercriminals, and other cyber thefts are common. An unsecured public Wi-Fi connection could direct you to a malevolent website. So, it’s best to use a VPN as a security path system.
What is a VPN? Virtual Private Network is software that protects internet browsing by hiding the true IP address and encrypting the online data.
Why should you be installing a VPN? A VPN secures the online data through secure tunnels until it gets to the DNS server. It means you’re surfing the internet anonymously by hiding your IP address. It is almost impossible for a cyber thief to access your data in presence of an enabled VPN.
2. Use an Ad Blocker:
Some adware’s follow up through our cyberspace and can gather information as much as our location, browsing history, and intervention in our data to provide relevant ads. Data Marketing agencies use every tactic to attract the target audience. It does so by accessing the person’s browsing history. It is best to use an Adblocker to avoid such issues. It blocks the popup ads and in-website advertisements to prevent unwanted cookies. AdBlock is one of the best and recommended advertisement blocking sites. It comes off as a Google Chrome additional add-on as well.
3. Turn on private browsing:
Enable the private browsing setting in your website browser. After you close the window, it deletes cookies, temporary internet files, and browsing history. Every company that advertises online is interested in knowing your measures. Though VPN is an incomparable way to avoid these issues, another easy option can be by simply turning on private browsing.
4. Secure your Smartphones
Smartphones are another factor your privacy can get stolen. If you have a question how? You will be amazed to know that there’s many spying apps and remote administration tools in the market like androrat that let the user easily can take over your remote smartphone.
How these tools work. Well, attacker creates a malicious coded app and sends the target to install on their phone. Once the application gets installed, they get full control of the target phone. Make sure to install apps from only known sources. Never install any app from any un-trusted source.
5. Turn off your Location:
Keep your location on your cell phones, tablets and laptops off until and unless you need to look for a specific address or are looking for something that requires you to trace your information. Every ad, social media platform, website lookout for your address while targeting the audience. Targeted ads are one of the Internet’s most disturbing innovations and coming can lead to a whole dimension of cybersecurity issues.
6. Keep an alternate email address:
While surfing the internet, you may go through several web pages that ask for your personal information. Keep an alternate email address for such purposes, instead of giving off your professional email address. Giving off your data to untrusted, third-party websites is not safe and can lead to internet hazards.
7. Don’t click on links from unknown sources:
Be careful where you click! It is advisable to not go to uncanny website addresses and links. Close the popups that appear when you go through some websites. Don’t agree to process on a website that says you’re being gifted an iPhone miraculously or your android needs an update. Such tactics are called phishing attempts where scammers try to trick us into provoking our valuable information or access to our device.
8. Use a different search engine:
We heavily rely on Google as a search engine for all our searches but the truth being told, google does collect and share our history and data. It’s best to use some anonymous search engine that can reinforce our online privacy.
9. Use Antivirus software:
It is advisable to use an antivirus on your computer that protects the system from cybersecurity. A decade ago, every PC would have antivirus software but now this practice is seen no more. Our computers are still unprotecting and still need an antivirus to protect ourselves from popups, personal data protection, and malicious websites. It is advisable to keep antivirus software on a computer. Now, even google chrome offers antivirus applications as an add-on. One of the best add-on antiviruses is ‘McAfee Advisor’. It acts as a barrier to protect your online browsing from the latest malware, spyware, and another invasion.
10. Using an Anonymous Browser:
The best way to protect online data while online surfing is using an anonymous browser. One of the best examples is TOR (The Onion Browser). It is specially made to protect user privacy. It wraps online data in layers of encryption. Another example is Epic Browser. It automatically deletes the session data once we close our browser.
11. Regularly delete your cookies:
If you’re easy with Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge, it is better to regularly delete your cookie caches. Better would be to set out preferences to prevent websites from storing cookies at all. Though website cookies are harmless some third-party cookies remain active on the websites that even they don’t originate from. It can monitor your browsing history and be malicious. Henceforward, it is better to protect your data from such online cookies.
12. Keeping Drivers Up to Date
Have you ever thought that the outdated drivers or playing games online can also be a risk to your privacy? You must take it seriously and securely when it comes to device’s drivers. Make sure to install the un-touched softwares for every gadget and gaming gear. If you’re using the Logitech gears, install and keep the all in one Logitech G Hub software download and get rid of other annoying drivers that might harm your system.