The internet’s reach has enveloped the farthest corners of the globe and in the coming years, with the coming of 5G internet access technology, our mobiles, tablets, and computers will be at the center of our lives, affecting almost every human endeavor under the sun. However, the growing concern of netizens as well as experts in the threat to the user’s privacy.
Pick A Strong Password
On the internet, the activities of almost all users are centered on emails, as the membership of various websites has a prerequisite of providing one’s email. For most websites, when seeking membership, one needs to register with username and password.
When picking a password for any website, you need to ensure that the quality and nature of the password should be such that it could not be guessed or cracked easily by someone else. Often, for easy remembrance, most people pick a password that has some meaning in their life such as their birthdays, name of their pets, parents, or a phrase that has some reference. These are weak passwords. A strong password should be a complex combination of alphabets, numbers, and symbols.
Hide Your IP Address
Use A Search Engine That Does Not Track Your Preference
Most of the prominent internet search engines such as Google are able to track your internet surfing records, your searches, and even your passwords. This feature remains a threat to your privacy online. Further, the data collected is also sold to different companies, thus, your privacy rights are completely compromised. For protection, you might consider a search engine such as DuckDuckGo.
Use An Anonymous Browser
With increasing complexity of codes embedded within internet browsers, the webmasters are able to identify your location and service provider. If you want to hide your identity and protect your privacy, you should start using different browsers that are new in the market and specially designed for this purpose. One of the best examples of such browsers is TOR.
Use 2 Factor Authentication
Also known as 2FA, a 2-factor authentication is a method of confirming the identity of the user with a combination of 2 different factors such as offering information about something that they know and something they have. As part of this method, the website requires a temporary code generated at random during login and sent to you on your mobile or email. This method protects your account from simple password hacking.
Using Private Browsing Feature On Popular Browsers
If you do not want to use browsers like TOR and still want privacy online, there is one way, you should use the Private Browsing feature available on any of popular browsers such as Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. For example, Google Chrome has an Incognito feature and Firefox offers Private Mode.
Click Only On The Links From Trusted Sources
Whenever you check your email or any website, always click only on the links from trusted sources, as there are many sites that seek to steal your information and sell it.
Use HTTPs Links
If you feel a link cannot be trusted, you need to check the URL. If this link starts with HTTPS, it is a verified and authenticated link and can be trusted.
Do Not Connect To Unknown Wifi
Whenever you go out, before connecting your device to the internet, you need to note that the Wifi owner can easily see and record your internet browsing. Thus, for protecting your privacy, you need to ensure that the owner of the Wifi hub you have connected your device to, is someone you know and trust.
Enable Remote Wipe On Your Mobile
If you want to keep online privacy, one feature that you should use on Smartphones is Remote Wipe. Both the mobile operating systems iOS and Android support this user-friendly feature. With this feature, you can erase your phone’s sensitive data remotely, in case your mobile is stolen.