How To Protect Your Online Identity? As you go about your day, imagine getting a notification that someone has logged into your bank account. Or, after a long day of classes, you finally have a moment to unwind when you receive a text informing you that someone is using your identity to create a false profile on a dating app. There are simple actions you can take to safeguard yourself online, but worry not—scenarios like these and others like them are all too prevalent.
October is designated as “Cybersecurity Awareness Month,” highlighting the significance of safeguarding computerized systems, networks, and programmes from outside intrusion and online threats. Keeping your social media, email, and other personal accounts secure is crucial to maintaining your online identity as incidents of identity fraud become more frequent.
The Daily compiled four easy steps to safeguard your online identity in collaboration with Erman Ayday, an assistant professor in the department of computer and data sciences at Case Western Reserve University.
Online privacy: What is it?
Online privacy is certainly a topic you hear about more than ever right now—and not just in the news. Governments and digital behemoths share a major concern about privacy, although the two frequently disagree on what it means.
What does it actually mean, though? Online privacy essentially refers to defending your right to keep personal information to yourself.
Surprisingly, not many places have legislation defending those rights. Even when there are internet privacy laws in place, not all businesses abide by them, as was the case when Cambridge Analytica used Facebook to gather a massive amount of data on American voters.
Internet security and privacy are two distinct but connected concepts. While cybersecurity focuses on unlawful data gathering (like defending your accounts from hackers), privacy typically deals with legal data collecting (like what you publish on Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media platforms).
There is, however, a lot of overlap. Privacy is improved by strong security, while strong security is maintained by improved privacy. You may enhance both by performing a few straightforward actions.
How to Keep Your Privacy Safe Online
Make secure passwords.
Avoid using phrases or numbers that a hacker may easily decipher, such as your birthday, when choosing a password. Select mixtures of symbols, numerals, and letters in both lowercase and uppercase, and switch them up occasionally. Additionally, using the same password on multiple websites is not recommended; a password manager tool can assist you in keeping track of your passwords.
Don’t share too much on social media
Everyone has at least one buddy that shares far too many personal details about their life online. This not only has the potential to be unpleasant, but it also poses a risk to your personal data. When posting your location, hometown, birthday, or other personal information, use caution and check your privacy settings to ensure that you are aware of who is viewing your posts.
Take care when using free WiFi.
Someone can never go wrong with a little online shopping, right? The majority of free public Wi-Fi networks have very little security safeguards in place, making it simple for other users of the network to view your activity. Before pulling out your credit card, you should wait until you’re at home or on a safe, password-protected network.
Beware of attachments and links
Cybercriminals are cunning, so they frequently craft their phishing scams to appear to be official correspondence from a bank, utility provider, or other corporate institution. Spelling mistakes or an email address that differs from the usual sender might both be signs that an email is spam.
Verify the website’s security.
Look at the top of your browser before putting any personal information there. The site is safe if the lock icon is present and the URL starts with “https.” A website privacy policy, contact details, or a “verified secure” seal are a few further indicators that the site is reliable.
Visit ihowd again soon to read more articles.