This article on Naijaknowhow contains everything you should know on how to protect your online privacy. With so much of our lives online — from banking and emails to health records and passport details — being so connected online comes with some serious security risks. You’re not alone. Online privacy is an important issue.
There are, however, steps you can do to better handle and protect your personal and financial information when surfing your favourite websites, online communities, news, and entertainment platforms.
Without further ado, let’s dive right into it!
Here Are Some Effective Practices to Protect and Enhance Your Online Privacy:
1. Turn on two-factor authentication for your main and private accounts
For an extra layer of security, some devices and accounts let you enable 2-step verification. This form of authentication is strong, as it requires something only you know i.e. a password and something only you receive i.e. such as a multi-digit code sent to your phone via email or SMS.
2. Use quality antivirus software
Antivirus software is a data security utility that is installed in a computer system with the purpose of protection from viruses, spyware, malware, attacks, spam attack, and other online cyber threats. If not installed on a computer, viruses will be free to attack and infect hard drives, and removable disks, duplicate themselves multiple times and cause much damage beyond repair, compelling you to buy a new computer.
Quality antivirus software can protect from viruses and their transmission, ensure protection from removable devices, defend against hackers, and invasive data-collecting companies and do so much more. Check out the Best Lightweight Antivirus for Windows 10 and How to Use Antivirus Tools for Improved Data Security.
3. Install the latest security updates
It’s important to keep your apps updated, especially ones that hold personal or financial data. By keeping apps up to date, you ensure you’re using the most secure version with the latest bug fixes and security patches.
4. Delete some apps from your phone. Use a browser instead
The apps on your phone tend to send back a great deal of data to their developers. They can learn a lot about you due to all the different types of data they can access via your phone. Most apps are more secure to access on the web than on the phone since the company itself hosts them. The security offered means that any data you upload is unlikely to be hacked since it is not stored on your device and it restricts the amount of information that can be collected from your phone. You can instead rely on mobile browsers on your smartphone instead of applications.
5. Use strong passwords or passphrases for your accounts
Too often, people pick weak passwords that are overly easy for anyone to guess. When choosing a password, make it as hard to guess as possible. Be creative, aim for a long mix of uppercase and lowercase characters, numbers, and symbols. Once you have a strong password, make sure to protect it. Don’t use the same password for all your accounts and logins. Of course, having lots of unique, complex passwords can make it hard to remember them all. That’s why you should use a password manager to store your hard-to-remember passwords and access them from multiple devices.
Is it Safe to Use One Password for Multiple Accounts?
6. Use End-to-end encrypted messaging apps for privacy
End-to-end encryption means that only you and the recipient can read the message you send and no one, not even the company (in most cases) can access the message. It’s highly advisable to use an app that has end-to-end encryption, such as Telegram or Signal if you want the contents of your messages to be secure.
7. Browse in incognito or private mode
Most browsers these days offer a ‘‘incognito” or “private” browsing mode. This restricts your browser from saving your surfing experience to your browser’s History feature. It also prevents your browser from caching web pages you have visited. This makes it a great option for hiding what you do online from others who have physical access to your computer. This feature doesn’t mean you’re safe from data thieves. Your data such as IP Address, location and ISP is still collected. You’ll need a VPN to help you with protecting that, more on that soon.
8. Use a virtual private network (VPN)
VPN services have become more and more popular in recent years. It plays a huge part in your online safety. It hides your IP address and encrypts your network data so no one can see what you’re doing. Furthermore, It allows you to access any content, no matter your location. Find out the best VPN and VPN you can use for free on your mobile device.
9. Try a different search engine
Traditional search engines like Bing, and, Yahoo and Google allow you to make searching the internet easier and more accurate, however, the sites and web pages you visit share your information with these search engines. Your IP address, unique search query, location, and more could be shared with websites. This is why you should use search engines designed towards your online privacy and security rather than ads and profits. DuckduckGo search engine is an excellent option for those who want to take back control of their digital footprint. Others include Brave browser, Tor browser, Mozilla Firefox, etc.
Conclusion (Protect Online Privacy):
There is no way to fully guarantee our security or privacy on the internet, but by actively following and committing to the safety guidelines, tips and advice in this guide, we can vastly improve our online security and digital privacy. Check out the articles below, these apps would help improve your privacy online.
