In this highly connected world, where personal information is constantly being shared across the internet, it has become more important than ever to maintain and preserve your online privacy. With the increase in the number of data breaches and identity theft with every passing day, it has become essential to take proactive steps to protect your personal information in this digital age.
If you don’t understand the concept of online privacy, it refers to the level of protection that a person and their personal information have while being connected to the internet. Every time we browse the internet or use any social media platform, we leave a trail of data behind that can be used for various purposes, including data breaches and identity theft. Therefore, it is important to take proactive steps to protect your personal information.
In this regard, we will explore some practical tips that will help you protect your online privacy and safeguard your personal information.
Evaluate the Current Status of Your Online Privacy
You should begin by evaluating your current online privacy status. Without understanding where your online privacy stands, you won’t be able to effectively safeguard your personal information. Start by searching for your name on various search engines and social media platforms to see if any of your personal information is publicly available. If there is any personal information available on the internet, review your social media privacy settings and ensure that your personal information remains private.
Assessing the level of your online privacy will allow you to identify the areas where you need to focus to enhance your online privacy and find out how much of your personal information is available publicly on the internet.
Browse Securely
While browsing the internet, make sure that you are only browsing secure websites. You can check whether a website is secure or not by checking for the “HTTPS” prefix in the URL. HTTPS is a protocol that secures communication and data transfer between a user’s web browser and a website. When a website has an HTTPS prefix in the URL, it usually means that it is safe, since HTTPS is harder to intercept for hackers.
Regularly clear your browser’s cookies and cache to minimize tracking and remove sensitive information. If possible, prefer to use a VPN while browsing the internet because a VPN reroutes your connection through a secure network, making it difficult for anyone to track your online activity. Even your ISP, such as PTCL, won’t be able to track your online activity with a VPN.
Manage Social Media Privacy
We have mentioned it earlier, but stating it here again: review and adjust the privacy settings of your social media accounts to control who can see your posts and personal information. Ensure that you have prohibited search engines from crawling your social profiles so that your information is not publicly available.
Along with this, limit the amount of personal information that you share publicly on the internet. This includes your date of birth, address, email address, phone number, social security number, etc. Be cautious about adding unknown people on social media.
Understanding the Settings of Apps and Websites
Along with social media settings, take some time out and understand the privacy settings and policies of the websites and applications that you use. This will allow you to understand how each app or website collects your data. You can then adjust the privacy settings on your devices to limit the sharing of your personal information. Beware of data collection practices, and if any app or website wants to collect your personal data, opt out of it.
Secure Your Devices and Network
While you are taking measures to reduce your digital footprint, don’t forget to keep your devices secure, including your mobile phone, laptop, computer, and wireless router. Install reliable antivirus software on all your devices to keep them secure, and enable a firewall on your wireless router through 192.168.10.1 to detect and prevent malware attacks. Install the latest operating system, software, and updates on all devices to keep them protected against known vulnerabilities.
Educate Yourself
As important as it is to take precautionary measures, it is equally important to educate yourself about online privacy. Keep yourself informed about the latest privacy news, data breaches, and evolving technologies that cybercriminals use. Educate yourself on the best practices related to online privacy and share these with your friends and family too. By educating yourself about online privacy, you can use the internet responsibly and safeguard your personal information.