According to internet world stats, 2.4 billion people are using internet till writing this post. With such a huge growth remaining online changes the fate of many. Some connected with this massive audience specially and now they are considered giants in their own field. Like in real life there are also thieves, spies and secret agents on internet as well. What they really do is to steal your information and then exploit this information through illegal ways. They can sell your important personal data on internet to others.
It includes your debit/Credit card info, e-mail addresses, bank account info, passwords, hard drive data and much more very important information.
While browsing on internet, you daily open many websites, download/upload videos, software, images and data files. During all this, still there is a chance that someone between you and your recipient can trace and hack all these information.
In past big tech giants like Google, Apple and Facebook are found involved in users data spying. The social networking site Facebook installed cookies in its user’s browser to spy what the user do on internet. By getting all these information they judges the behavior of that user and it help them to show relevant ads on user’s Facebook profile. Similarly Apple and Google involved spying data from their famous mobile OS (Android and iOS). They spy contact no, voice calls, text messages and user online activities.
America is watching you
Recently NSA (National security agency) of America found that they track people’s all information what they do on internet. “Edward Snowden” an ex employee of NSA leaks the reality of NSA to the world. Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and DropBox provided NSA direct access to their users’ data base. So it means if you send any email, upload any image or video, make a voice call, send online text message or update any status, your all these information is stored in NSA servers. So basically this agency is the biggest spy surveillance organization in the world.
So if you worry about your privacy and want to secure your online activates, here are some methods that prevents spies to steal your information.
6 ways to protect your personal data on internet
Use Encryption
Encryption is considered to be the best and easiest way to protect data. Full disk encryption (FDE) is used to protect hard disks. Or you can buy portable disk with built in FDE function. External software can be used to protect hard drives like Bitlocker in windows. So in case if your laptop/PC gets stolen. No one can access your data without a password. Similarly you can encrypt your emails with an encryption tool but in this case the receiver must also have that encryption tool to decrypt emails. A very popular method called PGP (pretty good privacy). PGP is powerful enough that US government tried to block its export in mid 1990 by saying that it is so powerful it should be classed as a weapon.
Use TOR
Like emails your activities on internet can easily be tracked by anyone standing between you and the site you’re trying to reach. TOR, short for “The Onion Router,” helps make your traffic anonymous by bouncing it through a network of routers before spitting it back out on the other side. Each trip through a router provides another layer of protection, thus the onion reference. TOR uses relays to make your surfing anonymous. The disadvantage of TOR is that it is a slow service. If you have a slower internet connection TOR is a nightmare for you. But it’s worth noting that TOR may be ineffective against governments equipped with the powers of global surveillance.
Secure your Phone like a computer
Smartphone have access to your email, address book and many other sensitive pieces of data. If you use an Android or BlackBerry phone, you can add phone-based privacy protection by installing an app like Lookout Mobile Security. Make sure to couple this antimalware measure with a phone password in case the device should be lost or stolen. And always read the instructions before installing any new apps. Security software on your phone, like your computer’s antivirus, can’t protect you if you ignore security warnings and install the app anyway. Use these privacy tips to protect your personal data on internet.
Secure saved password
We recommend you not to save your password in browser. Because these days hackers are focusing on browsers rather than installing software. If you saved a password in the browser and it got hacked, you are at extreme risk. Instead of saving password use extra security layer to protect your login information. Google and Facebook provides SMS verification when you login in your account, use it. You can also use Google authenticator plugin to login in Google and WordPress account more securely.
Be cautious where you’re logging in from
Always check system before entering any password, if you are using an Internet cafe or a friend’s computer. May be the computer you are accessing is unsecure. Key logger can be installed in it to track your information. Also do not save your password in browsers if your computer is shared with other coworkers. If you are connected with a wireless network, make sure logging into secure network using WPA or WEP to avoid anyone intercept you.
Avoid using debit cards for online purchases
Credit cards offer some protection against identity theft and can limit your financial exposure in a fraudulent transaction. On the other hand, debit cards give an attacker immediate access to a bank account and all the available funds. Consider using just one credit card for online use and agree a strict limit with the issuing bank. Never share your credit/debit card information on any website without verifying its authenticity. Always chose websites that has “s” (https) before the site address.