TOP TIPS FOR PROTECTING YOURSELF ONLINE

This is a guide to protecting your privacy online. Learning how to do this is key if we all use the Internet more and more regularly.

Unfortunately, there are many criminals who try to take advantage of our online life by accessing our data for using their own illegal means. It can open us up to online fraud and attacks, which can not only cause us financial difficulties. Here are top tips for protecting yourself on internet.

 

ONLY USE HTTPS LINK

HTTPS is a form of technical jargon from which very few people know the real meaning. You should always make sure that a website uses it as part of its address. If you simply see HTTP or some other derivative, it's not safe to use.

The reason it is not safe is that a website that is not HTTPS can install malware from a cyber criminal. This means that they can get access to the communication between the user and the website. Hackers can then get sensitive data about website users.

HTTPS makes sure that any intruders cannot tamper or make unauthorized access with website or its users.

TURN ON TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION

Two-factor authentication means that you have another layer of security that you don't just need a username and password to get into your accounts. If the data in an account is valuable and the account offers two-factor authentication, you should enable it.Various services offer two-factor authentication like Gmail, Dropbox, etc.

Think about it if someone tries to sign in to your account and you've enabled two-factor authentication via SMS, you'll get an SMS every time someone tries to sign in to your account.

 

USE UNIQUE PASSWORD FOR EVERY LOGIN

One of the simplest ways that hackers steal information is to get a number of username and password combinations from one source and try the same combinations elsewhere. For example, suppose a site was hacked and the hackers got your username and password. 

Hackers may try to log in to banking sites or email services using the same combination of username and password. The best way to prevent a data breach from having an effect is to use a unique password for each online account.

• Make your password long (at least 14 characters)
• Include symbols, lowercase and uppercase letter and digits to make it more stronger.
• Avoid using personal information’s.

UPDATE YOUR COOKIES

With cookies, websites collect and store information about your browsing history. This means that websites can use this data to analyse your behavior online and to better market products and services to you.

However, this also means that these websites can sell this analysis to third parties so that they also have the information about you. Given that we put so much of ourselves online these days, it's good to try to keep track of where data comes in about us.

Although not all cookies are bad, it is worth changing your settings slightly so that you are at least notified when a cookie is automatically installed on your computer or device. This way you can know exactly who is reading your online activities.

 

USE PUBLIC WI-FI WITH CAUTION

Accessing the Internet via a hotspot or public Wi-Fi on our devices makes us extremely vulnerable to online attacks. This is especially true when we use this public Wi-Fi to log in to online accounts - on social media or in some other way.

Public Wi-Fi has no encryption options, so anyone who uses the same Wi-Fi can read the data you have transferred. This means that overall access to financial data, bank accounts is possible. It can be so tempting, but it's just not worth it because there is a risk of passwords and sensitive data being exposed.

However, if you need to use public Wi-Fi to access your bank or other highly sensitive data, make sure you are using a VPN at the same time.

USE VPN

VPNs may be one of the best ways to protect yourself online and have truly anonymous browsing sessions. They connect users to the Internet through another server. This connection is then encrypted by the VPN provider who set up the virtual private network.

VPN creates a tunnel for encrypted connection and becomes very difficult for hackers to enter and collect data while a user is online.

 Because the data is encrypted, they cannot read what is being sent over the Internet even if they infiltrate the tunnel.

One of the advantages of a VPN is that the provider hides the user's IP address and gives him another address as soon as he is connected to the server. This means that a VPN can prevent websites from tracking your actual IP address, and therefore your location and surfing habits.

 

USE PRIVATE BROWSING MODES

Some browsers have a private browsing function to meet the increased need for online security and to remain anonymous online. These functions help users to protect themselves when using the Internet.

A good example is the incognito function of Google Chrome. Many people will recognize it from the symbol that looks like a hat and glasses. It certainly has its limits, but if you don't have a VPN, it's better than nothing.

 

TURN OFF YOUR GPS

Turning off your GPS on your phone in the Settings application is key to maintaining your privacy online. If you deactivate it, all of your applications cannot read where you are. Most of the social media apps take use of the GPS

The reason why this is bad for your privacy is that it tells when you are not at your home. This is a security risk for so many reasons. Also, knowing that you can be followed and tracked anywhere is not always the best feeling.

Turning off your GPS is an easy way to stop geotagging and the risk of disclosing your location.

DISABLE AUTO FILL OPTION

Disabling the auto-fill option is an easy way to protect yourself online.

Auto-fill recognizes known words and numbers when you fill out forms online. Have you ever noticed that when you enter the house number, an auto-fill option also includes your street name? This creates a risk situation for several reasons, but especially because this information has to be stored online for this feature to work.

When saved online, it can reach to hackers. To prevent this from happening at all, simply disable the auto-fill option. Ultimately you can survive without it and protect your identity online.

 

REMEMBER TO LOG OUT

It sounds so obvious, but so many of us just don't log out of our accounts when we log in online. This means that our accounts remain open and run in the background. It led to a security breach.

This is because the accounts or websites you're signed in to can read everything you do online.

It is important that closing the window of the account to which you have logged in is not sufficient. A social media giant like Facebook can read everything you're up to, even if you've closed the application or window that you used to access Facebook.

Facebook then saves what you have done online, which then becomes a valuable asset for third parties. You also have no control over what happens to this precious commodity.

In order not to remain traceable, simply log out each time you access an online account. Again, it may take a few moments, but the time you spend can save you a lot of pain later.

CONCLUSION

Protecting your self on the internet has become one of the top priorities in our live. Try spending some hours extra to protect yourself. Its well worth the effort.

I hope this article helped you to find out Top tips for protecting yourself online.