Ways to Protect Your Personal Information Online

If you want to know how to keep your data safe, then here are some tips to try:

1. Use Secure Websites

It's arguably easier to purchase stuff from online stores and websites than to physically go to shops. With this ease in carrying out transactions comes a danger of data breaching. Any legit website should have SSL encryption that guarantees data safety. When you perform a transaction online, there's communication between your browser and the site's server. Third parties can interrupt this data transmission process if proper encryption is not in place. While websites ought to ensure their client's data is safe, it's unwise to leave the security of your data to others. Verify whether the website uses secure encryption software before performing any transaction.

2. Utilize a Double-Factor Authentication

It’s easier to prevent a problem than to solve it. Two-factor identification involves double-checking a user's login attempt authenticity, thus making it harder for hackers to infiltrate your account. This security feature requires you to verify that a login request is indeed from you. You can incorporate this feature in many apps or online services. Hackers can compromise your password through phishing scams, guessing, or other means. However, this feature makes it impossible for anyone to access your account even if they successfully cracked your initial password.

3. Be Careful with What You Post and Who You Talk to

Social media forms an integral part of our daily lives. People publish all kinds of content without paying attention to the dangers that may arise later. Posting your pet's name or birth month might not seem dangerous until you realize that it could aid hackers in breaking into your accounts. If your pet name or birth date is part of your password, then you've unknowingly given a hacker half of the clue to accessing your account and gaining access to your data.

Before engaging with someone you met online, verify their identity on Nuwber first. It’s especially important not to reveal any personal information to people you barely know. When you talk to someone, don’t reveal anything that people might later use against you.

4. Verify Bank Protection Policies

Robbing banks these days has become a challenging endeavor. Criminals would rather whisk away unsuspecting people's money online. If you frequently perform online money transfers, ensure your bank has policies and processes safeguarding your data. Black hat hackers have upped their game to defraud many people. Phishing attacks are the most common financial scam attacks.

5. Adopt Safe Browsing Practices

Today's digital world allows you to make purchases and browse through products from the comfort of your room. Online service providers pay close attention to your online activity, and so do fraudsters. Subsequently, to prevent illegal and malicious monitoring of your online activity, use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for a safe connection. With a VPN, you can rest easy knowing there is an encrypted link between your browsing device and the internet.

6. Don't Share Your SSN via Email

Some circumstances may warrant you to send your social security number (SSN) via email. It could be when applying for a job, renting a car, or setting up an appointment. If anyone has your SSN, then they can gather all your data together. When an email is sent, it goes through multiple servers before getting to the recipient and can, therefore, be intercepted. Hackers can also get your SSN from the recipient's email should your email be forwarded to another party. To be safe, avoid sharing your SSN via email.

7. Use Multiple Email Accounts

Hackers are getting smarter by the day and have scammed people using email links for a long time. Many people still don't know how email scams work and will likely become future victims. Using different emails is the simplest way to ensure you don't become an email scam victim. You can have a primary email for financial affairs and another one for family and newsletters. If you want to safeguard your data, ensure your primary email remains confidential and protected with a strong password.

8. Maximize the Use of Privacy Settings

Do you know that the safety of your data is a joint duty between yourself and service providers? Online users have more control over what information is public than they know. Privacy settings allow users to consent or disagree with how their data is handled. Apps and websites today are required by law in most jurisdictions to enable their users to review privacy settings regarding personal data.

Having secure privacy settings reduces the chances of hackers getting access to sensitive data.

9. Learn More About Data Breaching

Hackers are increasingly becoming smarter and coming up with better ways to steal your data. If it were possible to have one solution to hacking, then data breaches would vanish. Unfortunately, data breaching tactics constantly change, and you must keep up. Besides phishing, hackers use more advanced techniques to steal data, such as malware and keystroke recording. You could easily fall victim to these techniques if you're unaware of them. If you want to be safe, learn about different data breaching trends and how to prevent them.

10. Set Up Malware Defense

Technology is becoming more connective by the day, and so are increasing opportunities for data breaches. How can you protect yourself from something if you don't know how it works? Malware comes from links you can unknowingly easily download from different platforms. The first safe thing is verifying whether your device is encrypted. Many phones and computers aren't securely encrypted and are, therefore, prone to malware attacks. Install antivirus or anti-malware software on all your devices to prevent malware threats.

Conclusion

Keeping your data safe can shield you from many dangers. Many people have fallen victim to data breaches because of a lack of access to the right information. Preventing a problem is the best and the most correct solution. Hence, it's advisable to be proactive in securing your data from all threats highlighted herein.

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Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.