The Internet has undoubtedly become one of the most crucial aspects of our lives. We rely on the Internet to send messages on social networking sites, receive and share photos, search for information, send and download important files, send and receive emails, and shop clothes, etc. Even it has become a whole lot convenient for us to connect to the Internet even when we are on the go. We just have to connect our handheld device to a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Unfortunately, some of us are too careless and don’t take our online privacy seriously. There are many people out there that are involved in online fraud and attack.The result is financial distress as they can access our credit card details as well, let alone the added stress that comes with becoming an online attack victim. This is why we should be careful about how much personal information we share and what activities we do online. When we are cautious, we are less likely to fall prey to data breaches. With marketers tracking your online activities, shady people keeping their eyes on the photos you shared on different social networks, and data breaches, you are left vulnerable to the invasion of your privacy and identity theft.
However, you still have control over the data you share and there are different steps that you can take to protect your financial and personal information while you visit your favorite social media, online stores, entertainment sites, and news. If you take your online privacy seriously, consider using the following tips to protect it and stay safe online.
Don’t Overshare on Social Media
If you are active on social media platforms, then what you need to know is that networks have a lot of information about you, and you might be surprised how much of your information is visible to internet users. If you don’t want hackers to do identity theft or any kind of data breach, then it make sure that you don’t overshare on social media.
This is one of the smartest ways to protect your privacy online. Bear in mind, sharing too much personal information on different social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, could be helpful for cybercriminals to find your personal information, which could make it easier for them to access your financial information or steal your identity.
There is one effective way to protect your online privacy: Just make sure that you ignore the “About Me” fields in all your social media profiles. There is absolutely no need to let people know your year and place of birth. If you provide such information, it could make you an easy target for identity theft.
On top of that, take time to explore other privacy settings, as well. Chances are, you will want to limit the number of people who can view your statuses, photos, check-ins, and more. In order to protect yourself from any kind of data breach, we strongly recommend you check your privacy settings: It depends on you what kind of info you want to share with your friends versus complete strangers. Social media platforms even allow you to share your info and photos with nobody but you. To set privacy, you need to be connected to Cox Internet.
Browse in Private or Incognito Mode
Needless to say, every device saves your browsing history. If you don’t want your computer to save your temporary internet files, cookies, or browsing history, just ensure that do your web surfing in private mode. You can this form of privacy protection on the web browser you are using. In case you use Chrome, it offers its own privacy protection that is known as Incognito Mode. Internet Explorer calls it InPrivate Browsing for its privacy feature and in Firefox, this setting is called Private Browsing. When you search for something online with these modes turned on, nobody would be able to trace your browsing history from your computer.
But what you need to know is that these private modes are not completely private. When you are searching for anything online in private or incognito mode, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can keep track on your browsing activity. In case you are using the computer provided by your company, they can also track your activity. What else? The news websites, e-commerce stores, and other sites that you visit can see your activity. So, it would not be wrong to say that browsing through incognito or other private modes is beneficial in a certain way. But they are certainly not the only reliable ways to maintain your privacy while online. You could also use virtual private networks to boost your online privacy like never before.
Consider Securing Your Devices with Passwords
We all always save a lot of our data on our computers and phones store a lot of data that everyone wants to keep private, so make sure that you protect them with passwords. Remember, these passwords don’t necessarily have to be way too unique and complicated, but you need to make sure that no random people can unlock them.
On your mobile device, you could consider using actual passwords or six-digit PINs instead of screen-lock patterns and four digits. Even if you use a password to secure your data, you still need to be careful.
