techsupport Here’s a hard truth: by 2023, online privacy will be virtually non-existent if you don’t work. Social media and retail websites extract your data to provide you with hyper-targeted advertising. Your Internet service provider keeps an eye on everything you do on the network.
Security on the Internet is now more at risk than ever, and protection on the Internet is essential. privacidadenlared ensures security and privacy on the Internet.
Websites use cookies to track your activity and advertise anywhere on the network. And yes, all this happens even if you surf the internet in incognito mode. If this is a little disturbing, we don’t blame you. Knowing that all your online activity is being tracked and analyzed by companies or people you’ve never interacted with isn’t a comforting thought.
Luckily, there are many ways to regain your privacy online, and in this article, we’ll teach you how to keep your data locked. So, let’s get started.
Use a VPN
Using a VPN is the easiest way to improve your online privacy at the network level. Here’s how it works: A VPN is a service that helps improve your anonymity and online privacy. When you connect to a VPN, it acts as a bridge between your device and the server you’re connecting to:
A VPN also encrypts the data you send to the server, ensuring that no one can intercept and read your data.
There are plenty of ways a VPN can help improve your online privacy, including:
- Avoid ISP tracking. A VPN can encrypt your data, preventing your internet service provider (ISP) from tracking your online activity.
- Avoid hacking. VPNs protect you from various types of cyberattacks, such as man-in-the-middle, doxing, and others.
- Hide your IP address. Your IP address is unique, like your home address. Any person or company with your IP address can use it to identify private information about you and your activity. Using a VPN disguises your real IP address, allowing you to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.
If you want to use a VPN to enhance your online privacy, choose a premium VPN instead.
2. Reduce social media
Almost all social media platforms record your activity and data and use it to send you advertising.
Facebook, for example, tracks:
- Personal demographics. This data includes your age, country, marital status, etc.
- Activity on Facebook. This data includes almost every way you engage with Facebook: the type of content you like, who you text to, and even what you send.
- Off-Facebook activity. Facebook also tracks your activity on other apps: what media websites you visit, what apps you use, where you go for your morning coffee, etc.
If you want to see all the information Facebook has about you, you can go to your privacy settings on Facebook and click “download your information.” So how do you stop Facebook and other social media websites from tracking your every move? Here are some options:
- Leave social media. Easier said than done, but it’s the surest way to improve your online privacy.
- Stop using apps on your phone. Most social media apps track everything you do on your mobile device. If you want to avoid this, stop using the app and visit the website directly (e.g. visit Facebook.com instead of installing the Facebook app).
- Turn off location services on your phone to prevent location tracking.
- Edit your privacy choices. You can edit many privacy options on most social media platforms, such as who can see your posts, what kind of data you allow them to track, etc.
3. Periodically delete cookies
Cookies are small text files that store information, usually to improve your browsing experience.
They store information such as:
- Credentials and address fields to save time on future orders and logins.
- Time spent on specific web pages.
- Online purchases made.
- And various other types of information.
At first glance, cookies are relatively harmless, as they work to improve your online experience. However, some online privacy issues are associated with them, as cookies can be used to deliver detailed advertising.
Here’s a simple explanation of how this works:
- You visit your favourite online store and order a pair of gloves.
- In doing so, a cookie is created on your computer that records the purchase of the pair of gloves.
- The online store owner can use an advertising platform such as Facebook or Google to target people who have previously purchased this pair of gloves with personalized ads (for example, a scarf to match the gloves).
- Since the store owner used Facebook or Google to run ads, this also means that advertisers on both platforms can also target you with ads (if you fit their targeting criteria).
At first glance, the information you’ve purchased gloves may seem pretty harmless, but the data stored in those cookies accumulate. Unique data points quickly reveal preferences and patterns, which can ultimately be used against you.
If you want to prevent advertising through cookies from being targeted, here’s what you can do:
- Altogether disable the tracking of cookies through your browser. Here’s how to do it with Chrome and Firefox.
- Delete cookies from your browser from time to time.
- Use an app like Privacy Badger or Disconnect to turn off third-party trackers for the websites you visit.
4. Switch to a privacy-focused browser
Most popular Internet browsers track your online behaviour and use it to target you for advertising. If you’re signed in to Google Chrome, it follows pretty much everything you do on the web. Or if you use the Chrome mobile app on Android, Chrome sends Google your location every time you search.
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5. Install an antivirus
In 2023, the use of an antivirus is practically essential. If a hacker manages to compromise your device, it can do a lot of damage:
- Encrypt your files and ask for a ransom.
- Install a keylogger to capture all your keystrokes. It allows the hacker to find your usernames and passwords for each website you visit.
- Install spyware on your device, tracking sensitive information and data.
An antivirus like VIPRE will regularly scan your devices for threats and quarantine viruses before they can cause real damage. However, using an antivirus is not the end of everything. It is also helpful to follow some basic hygiene rules on the internet to avoid getting infected with spyware or other types of viruses in the first place.
Try some of our other internet safety measures for basic digital hygiene:
Keep an eye out for phishing scams. When you receive an email, always ensure that the recipient is legitimate. Hackers can impersonate banks or other organizations and send you a link to a virus-infected website, trying to get you to click on it.
- Avoid dubious websites.
- Use a strong password for any website you frequent. Fun fact: The most common password in 2019 was “123456.”
- Beware of public Wi-Fi. Most of them have non-existent security, and it is straightforward for hackers to hack your device through them.
