What worries a lot of people today about the internet is privacy and their peace of mind. Knowing how to maintain and guarantee privacy on the internet is a fundamental principle that helps us avoid getting any negative surprises in our browsing experience.
The internet is a world of possibilities, but it also hides dangers. Therefore, it is important to know how to improve privacy on the internet and how to protect yourself and your personal details/information. You should stay one step ahead of the dangers and be able to maintain the best level of security possible.
Here, in this article, we would like to introduce you to several basic rules to incorporate into your day-to-day routine to protect your online privacy:
1. Be attentive:
The first tip is the most obvious of all. Privacy on the internet begins with oneself as a user. Attention paid to what you are doing, the websites visited, the keys provided, and the people you interact with is a must.
For example, if you use free Wi-Fi, you should understand that it is potentially dangerous. Hackers often create their own network with a similar name and wait for connections made by mistake. As a result, all traffic goes through the network of intruders.
You can use free-access connections, but you should limit the use of sensitive websites with that connection. Avoid doing online shopping, visiting social media, or accessing your bank account or email.
In addition, do not share sensitive information with any unknown person over the network. We recommend verifying the details of your new acquaintances on PhoneHistory. Or you may Google them to check their accounts across the web.
2. Configure your privacy policy:
The privacy policy is something that is in the hands of users, but it is rarely worked on. Any user can modify key privacy points for the spaces they visit, i.e. for social networks, instant messaging systems, digital banking, etc.
The privacy policy establishes some minimums that all users must comply with. But there is always an option to choose certain custom criteria. Properly managing the privacy options in these digital spaces is essential to guarantee control of data privacy and security.
3. Use antivirus and firewalls:
Traditional internet protection systems are usually effective. Having a good antivirus, an adequate firewall and an updated operating system are basic steps that we all should follow to establish internet security.
It is not a matter of totally entrusting the success of the security of your devices to these systems. It is good to have powerful tools, but the idea is that your browsing is done in a safe way.
Therefore, the best thing for an antivirus to be effective is that your browsing is done on websites that offer security guarantees. Choosing safe sites helps optimize the activity of your antivirus.
4. Trust cookies:
There is a widespread belief that cookies are elements designed to spy on users. The only job of cookies is to track users for the marketing and advertising reasons. But in no case is their objective based on spying.
Cookies are systems that allow you to access some content. If a website requests cookies to display a certain type of content, it is asking for your consent to use that information. If you think the information provided by cookies is good enough, you accept and trust cookies.
But, as always, before anything else, you should read the terms and conditions. We are accustomed to accepting all kinds of conditions without reading them. This work will prevent your later problems.
5. Build more secure passwords:
The password is another of the pillars on which privacy is based. Without a good password, all the data you have on the network could end up in the hands of anyone.
For this reason, you should design complex passwords. Ideally, they should combine different types of characters (uppercase and lowercase ones), numbers, and symbols… More characters make it more difficult to guess the content of the password. Security will be amplified and it will be much more difficult for other users to access your data.
Another way to improve password effectiveness is to use different passwords for each site. By changing your password, you will be making it difficult for those who want to access your accounts to work. Remember, the more obstacles, the better.
6. Keep systems secure and up-to-date:
Of course, to preserve our privacy on the internet, it is essential to keep the systems secure and correctly updated. A good updated antivirus prevents the entry of malware that could compromise our information.
That is why it’s very important to keep software updated. Vulnerabilities are surely exploited by hackers to deploy their attacks. It is the manufacturers themselves who release security patches and updates that we should always incorporate.
7. Trust safe sites:
Websites with a security indicator using an SSL Certificate are those you can trust. As these websites handle sensitive information they guarantee that your data will not be compromised by possible data leaks or hacking work. As it could not be otherwise, the digital spaces of banks are among the websites offering such type of protection.
The SSL certificate confirms that the website has activated a protocol for secure data transfer and that all data will be encrypted and transmitted over a secure channel. The user will have a special key with which they can read the information intended for them. If hackers try to intercept users’ messages, they will not be able to read them, but will only see a set of random characters, letters, and numbers.
To ensure that you provide personal data only to secure sites, you should interact with the network critically. Choose those sites that, because of their structure, because of what other users tell you, or because of your experience, are really safe.
Thus, these are several online privacy measures you should keep in mind to fight intruders and keep your data secure from unintended use by spammers or other fraudsters.
