Nowadays, online privacy is a phenomenon that everyone is concerned about. Most people, who do not know much about the online precautionary measures regarding online thefts and scams, are often the ones falling into the trap of scammers.
Many things have been made easy with the help of technological innovations, but online privacy theft has raised some concerns among most internet users. Consequently, internet privacy is essential because it gives you control to secure your personal information and identity. Without fixing online privacy issues, your identity and data are at stake.
If you are one of those people who want to fix their online privacy issues and need to be aware of methods to fix them, then you are on the right page. Here we will discuss some strategies which will be helpful enough in protecting your online privacy.
Get your devices secured by using Encryption
Encryption is a process that converts a readable message or text into a code that cannot be easily understood by any individual, also known as ciphertext. Encryption can be of many types, some of which are listed below.
- Internet traffic encryption
- On-device data encryption
- Cloud encryption
- Email encryption
- Message encryption
Globally, the Android operating system is a leader in its sphere with a 71% market share, so let us get started and learn the basic steps of using Android OS encryption.
- First of all, make sure that your phone battery is at 80%.
- Secondly, make sure that all the data is backed up on the device or online.
- You must have the updated version of the OS.
- For the encryption, go to Settings > Security.
- Click the option “Encrypt Phone.” Having clicked this option, the encryption process will get started.
- Keep your mobile connected to the charger until the encryption is done.
Moreover, if you want to encrypt your Mac and window device, you should visit SpreadPrivacy.
Using a VPN
VPN basically stands for virtual private networks that protect your identity even in case you use public or shared Wi-Fi.
How can you enable a VPN for a device using the Android operating system?
There are several VPN applications available that can help you safeguard your online privacy.
Other than that, here are some basic steps if you want to manually set up a VPN for the device with Android as an operating system.
- Go into Settings of your Android phone.
- Hit the Network & Internet option.
- Click Advanced.
- Click the Plus sign.
- Enter your administrator information.
Preventing brute force attacks for online privacy
Do you know who brute force attackers are? If you don’t know, let’s get to know more about them. Brute force attackers try to hack online accounts by blindly submitting various passwords or passphrases to unlock your accounts until they reach the correct passcode.
How to tackle brute force attackers:
- Lock accounts
- Block the root via SSH
Lock accounts
You can fix your online privacy and tackle brute force attackers simply by locking your accounts after attempting the wrong passwords several times.
Block the root via SSH
One can also secure online privacy by making the root user inaccessible via SSH by editing the sshd_config file.
Reduce Digital Footprints
Before moving forward, you must be curious to know what digital footprints are. These refer to your online activity, communications, and contributions that are stored while you are online.
By reducing these digital footprints, you can minimize online privacy risks. The next question arises: how can we reduce our digital footprint?
You can minimize it in several ways, some of which are mentioned below.
- Keep your social media private.
- Inspect and investigate those who send you a friend request anonymously.
- Turn off the location.
- Unsubscribe from all the emails you no longer use. Closing unused accounts will minimize the risk of breaching your online privacy by hackers/ scammers.
Moreover, hackers also use phone calls and pretend to be government officials to gain your personal information to make you the next target of scams. Suppose you receive a call from an unknown person. In that case, you can check their details through PhoneHistory and report to cyber security agencies, which can also reduce the risks of online identity theft.
Improve your online privacy by using Anti-virus
If you want to fix your online privacy, an anti-malware program can play a vital role in that. You can secure your online privacy by simply installing the software mentioned below.
- Windows defender threat protection
- Reason Core Security
- Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit
- Malwarebytes Anti Malware
- Anti Hacker
- Trojan Remover
- McAfee Security Scans Plus
- HItmanPro
- SUPERAntiSpyware
- Spybot Search & Destroy
Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), a Microsoft security product, is designed to detect and respond to threats to fix online privacy. Microsoft offers this software on payment as well as free trials. This software is very beneficial if you want to fix your online privacy issues.
Fortify your online privacy by turning off irrelevant trackers and clearing browsers
Getting the anti-malware or consulting a cyber security professional can be a bit costly. But do you know that one of the most common and inexpensive methods of securing online privacy is turning off unnecessary trackers, including your activity, usage and location history tracking, clearing your browser, and turning off ad preferences?
You must consider how to do all the above-mentioned for different browsers. So here is how to do it.
Chrome: Settings > Privacy & Security > Clear browsing history > Select what you want to clear
Safari: Setting > Safari > Clear history and website data
Edge: Settings and More > Settings > Clearing browsing history data > Select the option you want to clear
Conclusion
Your online privacy is of great concern, but sometimes, it is at risk because whenever you are surfing online, you are exposed to the whole digital world, which makes your privacy vulnerable. Maintaining your online privacy at a level you feel comfortable with requires developing a watchful mindset and taking care of your data. However, it is also true that certain circumstances are beyond your control. Because of this, it’s critical to understand what to do if you discover that your data has been disclosed, leaked, or otherwise exploited maliciously. Yet you can prevent it by utilizing the tips and techniques discussed above.
