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Day-in-day-out, computers, and smartphones are becoming an integral part of our lives. With the expansion of remote and hybrid workplace models due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most of our work and social interactions revolve around browsing the internet and social media. However, this comes with a great deal of responsibility on our shoulders — keeping ourselves safe against cybersecurity threats such as malware, identity theft, or ransomware. Keep reading to discover these seven everyday internet privacy tips to help you with the same.
1. Keep an Eye on the Privacy Settings
Whether it’s social media or collaboration tools, they always provide privacy settings to enable you to limit what can be seen about you. Always check all your accounts to make sure that personal identifying details aren’t visible to the public. Also, it isn’t late to disable lock screen notifications on your mobile phone.
2. Use Quality and Up-to-Date Antivirus/Anti-malware Software
With so many vendors claiming world-class protection against viruses, malware, or spyware, make sure you choose a reputable one for your PC. Additionally, installing alone isn’t enough; always be on the lookout for new security patches from manufacturers to better protect against the latest threats.
3. Strong Password and 2FA
Using popular or easily guessable passwords (e.g., your name or phone number) opens loopholes for hackers. Worse is when you use the same password across different accounts. Always use strong and unique passwords and, whenever possible, enable 2-factor authentication (2FA) for maximum protection.
4. Clear Your Online Activity
Marketers are after profiling your online activity to target you with ads. Use private or incognito browser windows to better mask yourself from tracking. On the other hand, regularly clear cache data to delete all saved cookies and browsing history.
5. Beware of Insecure Sites
It doesn’t matter whether you’re browsing, making an online purchase, or signing up for a new account; insecure websites are hotcakes for cybercriminals. This is because information entered on these sites can be “listened to” by an attacker. You can always tell a site is insecure by looking at the URL — if it starts with HTTP and not HTTPS, run! Also, browsers like Chrome will indicate an insecure site by a red open padlock icon on the left side of the URL bar.
6. Be Careful with Links
Phishing links continue to threaten personal and company data as cybercriminals get new methods to get the victims to click them. Take the extra step of verifying the link sent via email or social media inbox before clicking. Emails requesting personal info or with questionable sender and .exe attachments pose a significant danger.
7. Make Use of VPN
Virtual Private Network works by converting a public network to a private and masking your IP address. This enables you to safely use public Wi-Fi hotspots without the fear of eavesdropping, while helping you to be anonymous on the net.
The Gist
No one would ever want to dream of their credit card details falling into the wrong hands. Adopting these internet privacy security steps can significantly reduce the chances of ever falling victim to cybersecurity threats. For all your PC repair needs, get in touch with PC Geeks today.
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