Create Your Private Space Online

Remember the good old days when you were driving in an unknown region, you had to stop on many crossroads and ask Panwala, Chaiwala or a stranger about your destination. Tell me in last few years, while driving you ever stopped to ask about directions to your destination. Thanks to Google Maps, navigation is as simple as eating a plum cake.

In last few years, staying online has become reality of our daily life.  Wi-Fi hotspots, mobile internet, and broadband connections span almost across the globe.

On one hand, this gives us an overwhelming amount of information at our fingertips, makes our life much easier, one the other hand it exposes surprisingly large amounts of our personal information to the rest of the online world.

Depending on the websites and services we use, all manner of data from our browsing habits through many information such as  birthday, address and marital status can be harvested from  online presence.

Even if websites, connections and devices we use do their best to hide our personal information, there are still serious risks to our online privacy.

Web Tracking

When we browse the web for any amount of time and we  notice adverts following us from site to site that are filled with products we may have been looking earlier. That’s because somebody is tracking all our online activities..

Historically, website cookies have been used to track web browsing via a piece of data inserted into our browser, but other techniques such as MAC address and account tracking can be used to see what we do on the web.

While some people might not mind this, preferring to have adverts served up to them that are relevant to their interests, some may find it an invasion of digital privacy.

Now many websites notify visitors that they’re using cookies, but there is a need for more transpareny about  other methods they are using to follow us online.

Now data is becoming more important to companies, developers and advertisers, there’s a lot more tracking going on by default.

To minimize online tracking, it’s always worth delving into the privacy settings of various services, apps and web browsers to make sure they’re set to give  the level of privacy we want. Alternatively, there all anti-tracking tools and browser extensions to keep our activity under wraps.

Data collection

Whereas, the tracking  follow  in real-time, a variety of internet companies and services  collect our browsing data and share our computer or router MAC address with third-party advertisers and companies.

With this data companies you have no direct interaction with can build up a pretty good profile of our internet habits and web browsing.

And now mobile apps are also a source of our exposure, who in order to offer us their services ask for access to our phone number, contacts and other deeper phone functions.

Services like Google Maps track us in the  real-time and historic location by default, which can be great if we  want to know where we might have stumbled off to after a heavy Friday night. But to others could be seen as always being stalked by faceless tech companies.

While this can be the price people need to accept for free apps and services, some the data they potentially surrender may be pretty invasive.

Lack of security

Websites and online services that don’t have the latest and most robust security, can effectively leave the information they might hold on us and the data flowing between our computer and a web server, as easy prey for the hackers.

For example, websites using the now-outdated HTTP web communication standard, rather than the more robust HTTPS, lack an encrypted connection between a computer or smartphone and the web site it connects to. This means the data flowing between the two points can be monitored by other companies or potentially snooped on and stolen by hackers for more nefarious purposes.

Furthermore, if the servers that support a website or online service are hacked, then the cyber criminals may  access to some of our personal credentials, not just infringing upon the privacy but also paving the way for fraud and identity theft. To avoid such problems, it’s worth trying to only use websites with encrypted connections and making sure to have up-to-date cyber security software.

It is true that we can’t prevent a web server from being hacked,  but by using tools like two-factor authentication and keeping an eye out for any legitimate warnings that alert you to potential breaches of our data will help keep our personal information safer.

Internet of Things (IOT)

Smart TVs, fridges, thermostats, and speakers might seem like futuristic tech, but they pose a big threat to privacy.

A lack of security standards around the Internet of Things, the collective name given to connected and smart devices, means some devices might not have encrypted connections to the servers that power their smart features, or may be vulnerable to simple hacking techniques, making them ripe targets for cyber criminals.

Or alternatively, devices such as smart speakers could end up listening to you all the time, rather than just respond to an activation phrase, which, whether deliberately or not, would be a massive breach of privacy.

More regulations and standards are being in the process of creation to ensure smart home devices are kept secure and the data they collect and use is done so in a fashion that does not infringe upon a user’s personal privacy. But for the time being, if someone  values his privacy, it’s worth selecting smart home tech that has strong security and is transparent on how the gadgets collect data.

Public Wi-Fi

With all the things we can do on smartphones these days, it can be easy to plough through mobile data allowances pretty quickly, which makes logging onto public Wi-Fi hotspots very tempting.

But the problem is they often have weak or no form of security or encryption, meaning that hackers can snoop on the data going between our device, the hotspot and the web.

Some hotspots have a web portal that require us to part with our email or login via Facebook or Twitter, meaning we have to part with some of our personal details, potentially opening us to email spam, or force  to provide permission for the Wi-Fi service to have access to our social media posts.

It's worth being vigilant with the data we have to part to get a taste of free public Wi-Fi and identify if a provider will track your activity and use your details for intrusive marketing purposes.

We should consider using a virtual private network or VPN which encrypts our web traffic and can hide our machine’s MAC address, making it difficult for others to snoop on your activity when out and about.

Government spying

The governments world over carry out online surveillance and don’t really allow their citizens to web browse privately. In many countries, the Investigatory Powers  allows the government authorities to legally spy on the browsing and internet use of their citizens.

As such, the government can directly breach your online privacy if they suspect you may be involved in criminal activity, though they need to apply for a warrant to do so, which should mean the average person isn’t being spied on by agencies.

However, the Investigatory Powers Act forces internet service companies to collect metadata on their customers and hold it for twelve months, which with a warrant can be collected in bulk by a government authority and used to combat terrorism or stop organized crime.

This means data relating to your personal internet use could get sifted through as part of a law enforcement task force even if you’re no way related to an investigation, which can be seen as pretty intrusive to your privacy.

Again, the use of a VPN or a proxy server can help boost your online privacy by hiding your IP address from the prying eyes of government agents and the police.

Social networking

An open Facebook profile is arguably a stalker’s dream, with all manner of personal details, from current city of residence to phone numbers and photos available to browse and swipe.

For example on Twitter, many users regularly post pictures with their location tagged, all of which allows for people to know their whereabouts with relative accuracy, as well as let savvy burglars know you’re not at home.

Privacy settings have been boosted on various social media sites to limit personal data to only friends or select contacts.

But there’s still the problem of your Facebook friends or Instagram followers, with fewer privacy settings,  tagging you in pictures they have of you and your escapades, potentially exposing some of your personal activities, location, and information to their friends who maybe strangers to you.

While the use of social networking sites at their very core are the antithesis of privacy, the use of them can be more intrusive that you’d perhaps first realize.

So for people wanting to keep their profiles low-key, it's worth taking time to go through the privacy options menu of such sites, and be aware of what you’re posting and how some updates can contain a lot more personal information than you’d think.

Thanks to living in an ever-more connected world we have  lot more useful services and information but a mouse click or tap on a phone away; the downside is it exposes some of our personal data, habits, and life to a wider world.

But before you yank out the router and delete your Netflix account, there are techniques and approaches you can use to keep yourself away from prying eyes and fraudsters.

From tweaking web browser extensions and settings, to using VPNs and anonymous search engines; plenty of tools can help you enjoy the fruit of the internet without sacrificing your online privacy.

Can Anti-Virus Programs Help

An Antivirus software is a must-have utility to protect your computer from viruses, spyware, trojans, and worms. These malicious programs are designed to invade your privacy and steal your personal data. As such, it's critical for you to protect your devices with the latest antivirus program(s).

There are plenty of free as well as paid versions available. Just be sure to use good antivirus programs from trusted companies. Watch out for fake antivirus programs that use popup messages to tell you that your computer is compromised. According to PC Magazine, AVG and Ad-Aware’s free anti-virus programs scored the highest in their malware cleanup and malware blocking tests. For paid solutions, Webroot, Norton, and Kaspersky’s anti-virus products have the highest ratings.

Keep in mind that antivirus so­ftware only protects your device, not your internet connection.

EMAIL SECURITY RULES

We have to exercise utmost caution while opening emails, clicking on links, or downloading attachments - One of the cyber criminals' favorite tricks is to pretend to be our bank or other legitimate businesses and ask  to provide private and personal information or ask  to click a link to a site where it will ask to enter our bank user name and password. This is called phishing and it’s quite common.  These types of emails are to be just deleted.

Additionally, do not download any attachments if the email seems suspicious, even if the email is from the person that you know. Your friend's email could be hacked and it could send malicious messages to you and anyone that's on your friend's email contacts.

Always use a secure email service. Do don’t feel in the trap of free email services. Among the free email services, Gmail and Hotmail are safer. There are certain secure email providers like Hushmail and Vaultmail, which encrypt the emails that are in transmission as well as emails that are stored on servers, they are paid services.

Surf only Secured  SHOPPING SITES

For shopping online, make sure that the  site uses SSL, which is a security protocol that encrypts all your data. You can tell if a site is using SSL by the presence of the “HTTPS” at the beginning of the website address and the padlock icon.

Always Use Strong Passwords

Most people tend to use their names, birthdates, driver’s license numbers or phone numbers to create passwords. The most common, believe it or not, is to use the word “password.” This is a big mistake as it makes it easier for hackers to crack your account.

If you have too many passwords to remember, you may want to use a password manager like Lastpass (it’s a free browser plug-in) to help you securely manage all your passwords. With Lastpass, you only have to remember one password. That one password is all you need to enable you to log you in to any site with your saved login credentials. There are also several popular password lockers for your mobile device, which you can have with you at all times.

Always Delete/ Clear Tracking Cookies

Tracking cookies are small pieces of code that websites attach to your computer to store information about your online activities. Information about you can then be sold to companies around the world without your consent.

If you are concerned about what information about you is collected and how it is used, you should block or remove unwanted cookies on your browsers on a regular basis.

By following these simple tricks  and using the tools recommended above, you can go a long way in protecting your privacy and securing your identity!