In today’s world everything we want seems to be available online. We all seem to know what’s cooking in everybody’s kitchen of life. As online privacy continues to diminish, this becomes more and more true. In fact, the term ‘privacy’ is becoming a thought of the past. While people proceed to enter all kinds of personal information and their personal/private activities online, they often don’t realize the crucial information they are putting on the web. Be it knowingly or unknowingly, the information you put out there may become available to those who shouldn’t have it.

Whether it’s a company that has relaxed privacy policy in place, or a device/app that accesses your data on your phone, or your phone number or password is stored without encryption, your data is constantly at risk.  Those of us who do pc computer repair in Hamilton have dealt with this all too often.  Considering everything we do and the amount of trust we place in online companies, it’s hard to understand the danger of a breached server or a misplaced file, or even the wrong access to company users. Therefore, it is essential to consider the following tips to keep your privacy as intact as you can.

Share Less

We all like to share with our family, friends, and others.  There is a psychological effect when people care about us or our actions.  This effect often leads to us oversharing and hoping for that satisfaction.  Share less! Especially when it comes to personal information. The less you disclose your personal information the less the chances of getting into trouble. Also, be very careful of the pictures you are uploading.  Remember, once you’ve uploaded those pictures, they no longer belong to you.  They belong to the internet and can be used by anyone.  Especially avoid pictures that may reveal personal information like location, personal details, etc. Although it is becoming easier and easier to share online, be cautious and err on the side of sharing less.

Educate Yourself

Though sharing less on social media will prevent many issues, you should also consider educating yourself about the consequences of a privacy breach. Several groups like Black Hat and Lookoutkeep their social audience engaged with information and protection tips posted on their site.  You can also find regular news stories about identities being stolen, relationship scams, and stolen money. 

Stiffen your Privacy Settings

Knowing the problems and sharing less is great; but, there are also special settings in our social media apps that help protect our privacy as well.  For those who can’t stop their habitual selfies or expressing their feelings to the world as often as possible, this will also help.  In your social media apps or any mobile app, be sure to limit the amount of data they are collecting and don’t let them constantly know where you are. Customize your own privacy settings and limit your content from the people you don’t want.

Adjust your browser

A big myth that more and more people believe is that only social networking sites can threaten your privacy on your computer. But, the fact is it’s not just social networking platforms who play with your online privacy. Any the web browser can lead you into a situation where your personal data may get affected. Technically most web browsers are harmless; but, not in all cases. The biggest issue is when you start visiting malicious or hacked websites. These can start requesting information or dropping temporary files on your computer which allows hackers a way into your data. If you don’t know exactly what website you are on based on the address bar, and that website is demanding your personal information, make sure you don’t give it.

Usage of Dedicated E-Mail Accounts

Websites aren’t the only thing that drops temporary files or might have malicious content.  Emails can also be a source for this.  Be sure to run dedicated email accounts for any type of spam signup.  Keep your personal email separate from any mass emailing campaigns.  Also, don’t open any email from someone you don’t know or something you didn’t signup for. The chances of this being a virus escalate dramatically.

You won’t be able to keep yourself 100% safe but following these tips will get you as close as possible.  Those of us who do home computer repair in Hamilton hope you stay safe and keep your information safe while online.