In this fast-paced digital era, privacy on the internet has become more important than ever. Everything you put up on the internet, your personal or financial information, is out there for everyone to see and misuse for their gain. Your email passwords being compromised can lead someone to read your private emails. Your bank information that you add on the internet is also being used somewhere else for payment and you have no idea about your balance turning zero. The scenarios are endless. These breaches to your private information can happen and will continue to happen as long as the internet is here. But there are steps you can take manually to prevent that.
Before trying out ways to protect yourself against any threat on the internet, you should consider having a good internet service provider, after all, your information is being accessed on the internet through their service. Some internet service providers (ISP) offer security to their customers against threats of such kind. For instance, Xfinity internet, along with its affordable and reliable internet packages, has guaranteed advanced security in their internet plans against any cyberattack, with no additional cost. Apart from that, it also includes exclusive Wi-Fi management tools and parental control. With this much heavy activity, it does not interfere with the speed of your internet for it to run smoothly. As it goes, their security is also continually updated whenever the device is connected to the internet to provide safety against new viruses and ransomware.
Soon as you establish a secured internet connection, it is now your turn to make sure your data is protected from any violation.
Virtual Private Network
Websites can track everything you do. It does not mean very much but every click that you make on each website page collects information about you, your habits, and your preferences. The websites you visit regularly provide all your data to advertisers or companies and that will be enough for them to figure out the kind of person you are and that is how the algorithm works.
VPNs or virtual private network encrypts your internet traffic and routes it to a server of their own. That way if someone were to track you or spy on you, they would be directed to the server owned by the VPN company and your privacy is protected.
What is the best way to ensure privacy when on the Internet: Two-factor authentication
Most of the social media applications that you use offer two-factor authentication to log in. Two-factor authentication includes sending a code to your mobile phone or email to log in to the application. Only you have access to your mobile phone or email where you will get the code. It is the application’s way of double-checking before letting you into your own private space.
Strong passwords
If you have already activated two-factor authentication, the next thing you should consider is having a strong password. Your password must be unique and random: do not use 1234. Your password must also be different for each of your social media accounts. Otherwise, if all your social media accounts have the same password, there is a risk of all of them being compromised just because one account got hacked.
What is the best way to ensure privacy when on the Internet: Security updates
Many software applications send updates to their users to let them know about the updated changes they have made in the software applications. They are mostly about bugs and issues in their patches that they are constantly trying to work on and improve to give you a better experience in using their applications, but those updates also include updated security against new viruses and security breaches. You should allow those updates to continue so you can continue using the software application more securely.
Phishing
This includes ways for individuals or attackers to access your private information by using deception through emails, text messages, or instant messages. You receive an email from a source claiming to be a trusted one, often a real person. It is someone claiming to be from the bank, says that your bank account has run into some problems and they need your private information to access your bank account to try and fix the problem. If you, or any victim falling for that trap, give away private information. Then they will immediately access the bank account and transfer the whole amount to their bank account.
This is known as the oldest type of cyberattack, with people continuously falling into the trap and attackers finding multiple and new ways to deceive them into giving away their private information. To deal with phishing, do not respond to or open any messages or emails that do not seem credible. Double-check from the bank or your company, to make sure whether the email you have received is real.
What is the best way to ensure privacy when on the Internet: Encrypted apps for chatting
To keep your chats saved from being violated, it is better to use software applications that ensure end-to-end encryption, like WhatsApp or Signal. End-to-end encryptions mean that only you and the recipient have access to your chats and no one else, not even WhatsApp or Signal. For instance, WhatsApp is owned by Facebook. Even though Facebook is receiving information about you sending a message to a recipient, they cannot see the contents of your chats.
Moreover, if you are an iPhone user, your iMessages are encrypted when the receiver is also an iPhone user but not when the receiver is an Android user. For that, Signal ensures encryption between Android and iPhone messaging.
Having an idea about the extent to which your privacy is violated in the digital space, it is better to take steps to ensure that your private information is not being misused by anyone. Also, allow yourself to use the internet securely.