Online safety, identity theft, “big data”, hackers, spam, phishing, initiatives like SOPA, ACTA, PRISM, etc. Internet today can be a very dangerous place. Some say we live in “post-pc” era. We use internet daily, only many devices, we share data with friends and family, we use computers, tablets, mobile phones. We post pictures, opinions, we use online banking, in many case we are online 24/7. Internet became something of an ordinary thing. Today we will try to highlight some points in regard of online safety that should help you be better protected.
Read before you use!
First thing you need to do, as with documents in real life is to read about the website and services provided. Cookies, privacy policy, logs, what happens with your data and thing you’ll share. Social networks are very popular these days, the most important to use with such services is common sense and good judgement!
No service security and application can replace it. This is why in case of social websites before we post or share anything we should be sure what we get ourselves into!
Privacy settings and third party apps…
If you decide to use services like Facebook, Google +, Twitter, Instagram and similar make sure you will check all the privacy and security setting. You need to be sure that things you share with the service and people you know will be share with just them. For example in case of Facebook, make sure that all your posts are shared privately. As a default, setting for sharing is set for public! Also, if you use mobile device, make sure that application you use or allow to connect to your account is well known and checked. Good example of possible problems are phishing apps that can be found in shops for your mobile devices. They pretend to be social games, photo sharing apps, etc. but underneath they can compromise all your data and passwords stored on such account and mobile device.
Secure (encrypted) data transmission is important!
We truly hope that all of you use a good antivirus software and firewall. This is all (almost) good for data you download. Why do we say almost? Because data would be way better secured if they would be encrypted. Only than you can be sure that no one else can peek inside. In case when such transmission is captured encrypted data are useless to any hacker. You also have to remember, that antivirus or firewall do not secure data you are uploading in any way.
VPN is the best encryption tool to use these days! It will give you few different encryption protocols to secure your data and is very easy to use. Also it is good to know that VPN connection can hide your online presence.
Use only well known networks!
This is especially important when browsing on the move with mobile devices. Sometimes you might be tempted to use Free Wi-Fi hot spot if your GSM connection will be very slow or very expensive (for example with data roaming during holidays). But even if you think network is safe you might be wrong. Without VPN data can be stolen at any time – even in the restaurant or at the airport. Active, good VPN ensures that your data are always invisible to third party.
Browsers with private mode and VPN…
… together they make the best combination when browsing websites. Private mode of your browser will ensure your device will leave minimal trace and that it will delete all content uploaded to your computer by a web site. At the same time VPN will make sure that your online presence is hidden, your IP address is hidden and in reality that you are invisible.
To sum up – make sure you know what you do online. Make sure your security software (antivirus and firewall) is up to date and make sure you use well known, recommended VPN service.
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