Your online privacy can be compromised easier than you may think. Our personal data is increasingly threatened on the Internet. Large companies constantly collect data for advertising and marketing purposes. Worst, criminals also collect them for malicious purposes. Keeping Internet privacy safe becomes a serious problem.
In this context, it is quite normal for you to wonder if your information is safe when visiting a website. That is a very legitimate reaction, but the most important aspect is how to protect yourself. The first step is to be careful about what you visit and where you add your personal information on the Internet. Otherwise you are already a victim.
Your online privacy and Social Networks
These days information is gold and some people use social media sites as a mine. You have certainly noticed it since it is increasingly difficult to remain discreet and not be spotted by browsing the Internet. For instance from the very minute you add your email on facebook it can be collected. Taking some precautions can help protect your internet privacy, but it is not an unfailable solution.
How to keep your info confidential on social media?
Keeping confidentiality on the web is very difficult but not impossible. The first thing to do is to avoid revealing too much about you. Once published on these social websites, information can be shared, retweeted and rebroadcast thousands of times; you have no control over it anymore. That is, avoid sharing things you don’t want people to know about you.
You can also set your privacy settings so that the information you post is visible only to your friends. In this case, you need to add and approve only and only people you know. In fact, even with your own friends you need to be careful. Your Internet privacy can be invaded and ruined by family member, a jealous boy/girlfriend or EX…
Your Internet privacy and Cookies
You certainly hear this term many times, but do you know exactly what cookies mean. An Internet browser cookie stores information about your device, information about the sites you visit, and so on. These are a bit like your footprints that others can follow. They can prevent you from always re-entering the same things, but also allow website owners to analyze your browsing history. The risk of violation of online privacy rights is so great that major Web organizations have adopted a series of regulations to inform visitors of the presence of cookies on each site they visit.
How to protect your info from cookies?
If you do not want everyone to know where you are going on the Internet, you can erase your cookies and no longer accept them. To do this, simply go to the options in your browser and search the settings related to privacy or your history. Remember that after deleting the cookies, you will have to re-enter all your passwords and, if necessary, the URLs to access the sites. Since cookies have disadvantages but also some advantages, you can decide to remove cookies from sites that you rarely visit and keep those sites on which you often go.
Your online privacy and Hyperlinks
In general, when you delete your cookies (at least some) you increase your chance of being invisible on the net. But this may not be enough. A scammer can still follow your activities by inserting code in links. If you ever click on a link or banner, you can be forwarded to a malicious site, and thus having your information stolen.
What data these links can collect?
They can gather the origin of your click, such as a web page or email address, the time you clicked on the link, and so on. Companies like to collect all this information to know what makes you want to click. For example, if you click on a link in relation to dogs, it is probably because you like dogs and you have one. Before you know, you start receiving offers regarding dogs.
To be sure that this information is kept confidential you need to avoid clicking links on sites that you do not trust. It is better to re-enter the URL in your browser instead of clicking on a link. This is the best way to avoid being followed. Just do “Right Click” and choose “Copy Link Location” from the menu.
You want more help to protect your online privacy? Some companies offer to users safety tools or services to allow them to use the Internet in total confidentiality and preserve their internet privacy and login credentials. You may need to use a program for more reliable protection.
