In today’s digital age, where everything is being shared all over the world, there is no more important thing for the privacy-conscious individuals than to keep their online privacy protected. Yes, this is because wherever we go, people always have their gadgets with them, and they can record any events and share anything that they want at any time. You can also do the same. So, living in today’s digital age might seem to be devoid of any personal privacy, especially online.
However, despite the widespread of social media and various gadgets everywhere, you are still always in control of your own online privacy. Unless you spoil your own private information, it is quite difficult for others to find out about it. But still, unscrupulous third parties might still manage to spy and monitor on your online activity to get your private information without your concern. This is why it is important for you to keep your online privacy protected all the time. Here are the mistakes that you must never do if you want to keep your online privacy protected:
1. Disclosing The Details Of Your Personal Life On Social Media
While there are some people who want more privacy on the internet, there are multitudes of people who want to expose their privacy online. A part of these multitudes also demands companies and governments to protect their privacy while at the same time exposing their own private life on the internet. This is the reality of social media today. It is as if you don’t feel really exist without using these social media platforms.
What you need to do to keep your privacy safe is to avoid disclosing any of your private information on social media. It is better to stay completely anonymous and avoid using it altogether though you can still use these platforms to create business connections and get in touch with your friends.
2. Using Public Networks To Browse The Internet
Public networks aren’t safe anymore as many of them are vulnerable to hacker attacks. It means that public networks might be used by hackers or any other third parties to monitor your online behaviors, and you need to be aware of this. Using public networks to browse the internet is the same as exposing your private information for easy access to these hackers. So, it is better to stay away from using public internet hotspots, especially the WiFi networks that are not encrypted.
Moreover, it is important for you to use VPN whenever you connect to the internet in order to keep your connection private. The VPN connection will also help you to stay anonymous online and prevent any unauthorized third parties from monitoring your online behaviors.
3. Using Online Services That Are Not Reputable And Trustworthy
There are thousands of online services that you can find today, and you can use most of them for free. You just need to sign up to their services and you are good to go. However, at some point, you will be required to submit your credit card information and other personal information to these services.
The bad thing about this is that when you use online services that are not reputable and trustworthy, your personal information might be used without your concern. Moreover, you can’t really control your own online privacy when using these services. So, stay away from them.
4. Visiting Websites That Offer Illegal Content With Lots Of Ads
There are many ways that are used by hackers and other unauthorized third parties to steal your personal information or infiltrate your operating system. One of these ways is by putting their ads that contain malware in various illegal websites that offer illegal content. Since there are thousands of these websites, and most of them are very popular, you need to be aware about the privacy risk that these websites might have.
Visiting websites with illegal content that has lots of ads in them has the potential of bombarding your system with adware and other types of malware, putting your online privacy at risk.
5. Not Using Any Privacy Extensions On Your Browser
Aside from VPN, there are many privacy extensions that you can use on your browser, which can help you to keep your online activities anonymous. For instance, there are extensions like password manager, ad-blocker, malicious website-blocker, HTTPS encryption, and many more.
What you need to do is to use these privacy extensions as the way for you to improve your online security and privacy to make your browsing activity a lot safer. So, don’t forget to install and use these additional privacy extensions today.